Anval Thricedamned

[thebigdog]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forums here and after recently completing Anval Thricedamned as a commission piece, I thought I'd share my final work with you to see what you think.

 

I'm always trying to improve my technique so any constructive comments or critique are welcome.

 

 

[hosercanadian]

The axe head is very nicely done and shows a certain amount of character.

[thebigdog]

Thanks hosercanadian. I was trying to go with a desaturated tone overall, especially on the skin tones but the axe head needed to contrast the paler areas.

[AnneO'Leary]

I like the way you've made the metals look worn as if this is a warrior who has seen many a battle. The red on the kilt was also a nice way to break the palette up. 

 

Welcome to the forums!

[ub3r_n3rd]

Welcome to the forum, a great way to join and show your work!

[Dr.Bedlam]

The axe head is very nicely done and shows a certain amount of character.

 

What he said. Nice use of a couple of flickers of color, to offset the browns and grays.

[thebigdog]

Thanks for the kind words folks. I'm working on another piece at the moment. I'll be sure to post it up when its complete.

[Joe the Revelator]

All around very solid work. And like everyone else here stated: Dat axe!

 

Can't wait to see the next piece. Gonna start a WIP section?

[thebigdog]

I suppose I could try. It's just a question of time management because I have a couple of other commissions I'm also working on. The next piece is the townsfolk gravedigger mini which I'm going to try some lighting effects on. The idea will be to paint him as if he's in moonlight but also include the glow from the lantern. Not at all sure if it will work but I do like to challenge myself!

[smokingwreckage]

Heh heh heh. "Dat axe". Heh heh heh.

 

But seriously. Nice axe!

 

And also nice work all around. I was going to comment on the de-saturated colours, but that's exactly what you were going for, so: excellent!

[thebigdog]

Yeah, I like quite a gritty feel to my minis, especially on grim looking characters like Anval. The problem with using desaturated colours is you can lose a little focus on the mini so a bit of contrast works to pick it up a bit. The actual gold is paler than the picture. I git a new camera phone and I'm still trying to get to grips with its settings.

[Limey72]

Excellent mini and I fully agree with the use of red in the loincloth, one question what color or color mix is your red highlight. When I try to lighten red I get pink you got an awesome highlight.

[thebigdog]

I use GW and Vallejo paints rather than reaper. I think the base was GW mechrite red, I gave it a was of Army Painter strong tone shade. When washing I tend to direct the paint into the areas I need rather than saturate the whole area. It means you have more control over your shading but also means you don't alter the base colour with the wash.

 

When the wash was dry i went over the non shaded areas with thinned Vallejo gory red. To highlight I mixed in a touch of GW bleached bone, adding a further spot of GW snakebite leather takes the out the pink from bleached bone and pushes the colour back to the slightly orange-muted red range. I wanted the red as a spot but also wanted it to be a little washed out. If you're looking for a more vibrant red, shade by adding white, cream, yellow, orange or a brighter red then make a couple of passes over it using a red glaze. That will shift the overall colour back to red and smooth any colour transitions out. Hope this helps

[Mr Melons]

I suppose I could try. It's just a question of time management because I have a couple of other commissions I'm also working on. The next piece is the townsfolk gravedigger mini which I'm going to try some lighting effects on. The idea will be to paint him as if he's in moonlight but also include the glow from the lantern. Not at all sure if it will work but I do like to challenge myself!

http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/51939-77143-townsfolk-undertaker/

 

if you need inspiration.

[thebigdog]

Aww, damnit, someone beat me to it! :D

 

Thanks for the link mate, that's just what I was thinking.