maxstyles Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 (edited) Wow got a chance to look at this an my eyes popped out. This is a great piece! Beautiful work! The only suggestions (and I am be really knit picking here) is maybe sprinkle a little bit more of the rune color on the other parts of the model. I love the way that it pops off the runes and knee pad so maybe add it to some of the other equipment? Don't know if that may be too much but its something to consider. Also maybe darken the under wings a little more? its hard to tell from the photos how dark it really is. The phase I keep hearing in my head is "Higher Highlights! Deeper Shadows!" (thanks reaper college!). I agree with Mr Melons about the eyes... Maybe make them match the rune color? Nice Job! Can't wait to see more photos. Edited May 29, 2014 by maxstyles 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocha Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 It's DONE-- thank you everyone for your votes & input! It feels really great to finish a mini I took into account your comments and ran with the stony armor look but boosted it with pure white on the parts that would catch the most light. I changed the eyes from green to red and made the weapon grips from a similar color to tie in the yellow-orange-red elements that are prevalent on the lower half of the model. I know I don't have a proper base, but that'll be a future undertaking. Basing really intimidates me and I want to make sure I do my research before I dive into that as a separate study. Other than that, I'm really happy with how this mini turned out after I did a last round of highlights & shadows. 22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nissiana Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Congrats on finishing him, he looks great! The shift to red on his eyes really helps in drawing your eye around the model. Looking forward to seeing what you do next! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willen Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Love it. What's next? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGP Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 This looks wonderful Mocha. I know I don't have a proper base, but that'll be a future undertaking. Basing really intimidates me and I want to make sure I do my research before I dive into that as a separate study. Basing is the easy part. Even I can do basing. It does not need to be elaborate. He sort of has a base already. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocha Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 Thanks! And yep, I got lucky with this model since he has a base built into the sculpt. Not sure what's next, but I'm thinking one of my lady minis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuro Cleanbrush Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Amazing work; I love him! Your blends are simply wonderful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocha Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 Thank you Kuro! You taught me well-- both by showing me tips & tricks in Corporea's Corner at ReaperCon and just by me stalking, er, studying your work Your minis are very vibrant! In fact, think my next venture will incorporate some lighter color schemes since I tend to favor medium skin tones, darker features and overall muted color concepts. While I haven't decided on what to finish next, I still had painting energy & time left so I practiced on another Reaper mini that has some bits missing (she used to have a rapier I believe). After I put down some fairer color coats for skin, hair and lips, I played with Surf Aqua and used it for her eyes (and next time I'll go with a less-stark eye lining-- she looks positively shocked!), jewel necklace, and subtle blending on the right side of her jerkin-tunic. Working with brighter colors in the near future will definitely test the limits of my highlighting & blending abilities. Looking forward to the challenge! 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fanguad Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Mocha, it's awesome you're already putting your new ReaperCon skills to work. The gargoyle is very nice, especially the smooth blending. I can't wait to see where you go from here. For the lady you have posted above, if you don't want to completely redo the eyes, you can still clean them up a bit. First, put some brush-on sealer over the eyes. This will protect your current paint job. Carefully go around the outer edge with your skin color to make the black line thinner. Keep a second brush wet and nearby - if you make a mistake, quickly go back and wipe off the paint. You might have to scrub a little bit (the brush on sealer from earlier is to make sure the scrubbing doesn't hurt previous paint). 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CashWiley Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Mocha, how do you blend? I was focused on Jessica's instruction but I should've been watching you, too! So smooth. I think you should jump into some basing asap, even if it's rough at first. I shied away from basing for a year and then my crappy basing really brought down my paint jobs because I had waited so long (and I'm still bad at basing, but learning). 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuro Cleanbrush Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 (edited) I'm loving her skin, and she looks like she's on her way to awesomeness already! In regard to the eyes, if I may make a suggestion, I don't think that the reason she looks shocked is totally because of the lining. I actually think that that effect is coming from the placement of the catchlight. Your catchlight is very centrally located, which makes it read as a part of the pupil, which in turn gives a little bit of a "deer in the headlights" look. The eyes really are looking good, but if you feel brave enough to go in and modify them a little by moving each catchlight a little up and to the right (almost, but not quite, touching the very edge of the iris), it should change her expression quite a bit even without doing anything to the eye lining. EDIT: After thinking about things further, another possible alternative (or it could be used in conjunction with the above advice) would be to slightly increase the size of the iris, but all of these things that I'm mentioning are merely options. Her face is great already, so only tweak things if you really want to! Edited May 30, 2014 by Kuro Cleanbrush 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willen Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I want to learn to blend like Mocha 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocha Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 I appreciate the encouragement! Cash, you're right, I definitely should get into basing. I'm glad I'm not the only one who shied away from it initially. I just bought some pre-cast themed square bases that should be a good first effort in prepping & mounting my painted mini. In the meantime, I'll source some of the textured grass clumps and go poke around outside for bark & twigs to collect. Yesterday I went to a hobby store and bought Milliput and the same pin vise Loim has: ...only I forgot wire for pinning. Whoops! Thank you for the kind words about blending! How do I choose to blend? Hmm. Layering, really. While I haven't yet studied two brush blending, I want to make sure I have the layering technique down before I move on. Layering takes considerably more time, but I find it a rewarding practice in patience (which does not come naturally to me). Other than that, I use all Reaper paints and my wet palette (the same one Kuro has) with parchment paper. I don't put any additives into the paint, just a bit of water. First thing's first, I think today I'll put fanguad & Kuro's advice to use with Maralise. I'll clean up the outer edges to thin out the stark line and change up the iris/catch light. Then I'll decide on the next mini and get started (or if I'm on a roll with Maralise, I'll run with her). It's cloudy and rainy outside today-- a perfect day for painting! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seej Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 That gargoyle is fantastic. I love the novel take on the skin tone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocha Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 (edited) Alrighty, here we go! Time for a mini that will challenge me with lining and a bit of NMM. Reaper Miniature "Arnise" Step 1: skin base coat Step 2: lining clean up & start the eyes Fast-foward... Step 5: finish face, start hair/armor (Edited to add:) I'll be honest... I feel my WIP thread is getting too "bloggy". I'm not sure whether I should only post pictures when I'm stumped and need advice and/or when I want to show I've made significant progress (ex: limited to maybe 3 pictures per mini). Right now I'm definitely following the "...or if you want to take us on a step by step journey through your process..." concept of the WIP description. Since I'm still fairly new to this, I'll defer to you guys for what's most appropriate. Edited May 31, 2014 by Mocha 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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