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Dark Sword Critter Collaboration (Erin Hartwell, Tish Wolter, Rex Grange, Ian Markon)


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Simply wonderful. I love it. The shield freehand. I love the sword, and everything on his sword arm, it screams SENMM.

 

Which leads me to a question, as I have little experience painting NMM. To my eyes, I have difficulty reading his breastplate and helm as SENMM. This might be the pictures, it might just be me (I have difficulty seeing those 3D optical illusions that were popular in the '90s). I just don't get a "so polished it reflects" vibe off those two pieces, even though I can see where the ground is supposed to be reflected. Thus my question: does SENMM work better on certain surfaces i.e. small vs large , narrow vs broad areas? Surfaces that are angled just right to catch both the ground and sky reflection?

 

Thanks for any insight you can offer.

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Thanks all!  I really appreciate the kind words!

 

I do have to clarify, though, that the otter on the shield was actually not freehand.  It is sculpted into the shield.  My actual freehand is not that good!

 

On 3/2/2019 at 2:53 PM, ManvsMini said:

Simply wonderful. I love it. The shield freehand. I love the sword, and everything on his sword arm, it screams SENMM.

 

Which leads me to a question, as I have little experience painting NMM. To my eyes, I have difficulty reading his breastplate and helm as SENMM. This might be the pictures, it might just be me (I have difficulty seeing those 3D optical illusions that were popular in the '90s). I just don't get a "so polished it reflects" vibe off those two pieces, even though I can see where the ground is supposed to be reflected. Thus my question: does SENMM work better on certain surfaces i.e. small vs large , narrow vs broad areas? Surfaces that are angled just right to catch both the ground and sky reflection?

 

Thanks for any insight you can offer.

 

Thanks!  You are not wrong; those areas don't read as SENMM as well.  With the helm, that line of rivets actually interrupts what would have been my prime horizon reflection area, so I was unable to fit a nice wavy horizon reflection what it normally should go, and therefore the effect doesn't sell as much.  With the breastplate, it's possible that my horizon geometry is off slightly (i.e. too angled instead of more rounded) and robbing from the effect.  Also, the effect is easier with brighter blue sky colors, but I did not want to use those in order to not detract from the color cohesion of the whole scene.

 

In more direct answer to your question, though, the effect is easier to pull off when used on round or cylindrical objects that are positioned such that they can reflect both the ground and the sky.  Those plates which only "see" ground and those which only "see" sky can be less effective.

 

I've done this technique on a whole miniature before, and (partially because of the above effect) the technique sells better on the back than on the front.  The backpack in the pictures below is ideally placed for this effect.

 

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Note that I did not use the same colors as the Space Marine because those are more suited to a desert environment than the gray-skied lands I envisioned our current party being in.

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*jaw drops*  Wow... that is one gorgeous base.....  Bonus points for puppy head at the base of the stairs! ^_^;;;

 

Also, wow....  Just how does one make cork go from cork, to, uhm, well....  The look of stone o_O  It's so.... Seamless.... 

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apoxie sculpt is my new best friend! I glued the cork together, then put a thin layer of apoxie on the sides.  Then I just took a piece of cork and tore the edges so it was irregular, and used it to make the stone-like texture.  Last I formed the stone edges with a narrow wax sculpting tool.  I used a thicker tool because I figured these were more massive stones. 

 

The only down side to this project is now I am finding glitter everywhere.  :lol:

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On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 12:41 AM, Corporea said:

apoxie sculpt is my new best friend! I glued the cork together, then put a thin layer of apoxie on the sides.  Then I just took a piece of cork and tore the edges so it was irregular, and used it to make the stone-like texture.  Last I formed the stone edges with a narrow wax sculpting tool.  I used a thicker tool because I figured these were more massive stones. 

 

Another plus side to this project is now I am finding glitter everywhere.  :lol:

 

FTFY!

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ok, still covered in glitter, but I managed to get some work done on the base:

comp5.jpg.a44abf9cc33c4bbcd5c2183ac2990b68.jpg

comp6.jpg.656135b65a93b0522f038b3f028ddae6.jpg

 

I attached Mr Kitty so at least one of the party is ready for the "Afterparty" Just think of all the gold we get to divvy up!

 

To share a bit of the process, when I think about OSl, a way to sell the effect is to use surroundings, rather than just what you can paint on the mini.  While his staff would look lighter, the rock wall behind him helps compound the effect.  I find miniatures in isolation work less well from an OSL standpoint than those with scenery.  It's a cheat, but use it and it will help you!

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On 3/9/2019 at 6:41 PM, Corporea said:

The only down side to this project is now I am finding glitter everywhere.  :lol:

 

It's never truly gone. The herpes of the crafting world...

 

 

17 hours ago, Corporea said:

To share a bit of the process, when I think about OSl, a way to sell the effect is to use surroundings, rather than just what you can paint on the mini.

 

That really does sell the effect, I was admiring your OSL before I finished reading the post. Thanks for sharing that.

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