Some painting

[iago]

I've been painting some miniatures lately. 100% for practice, since I haven't painted a human-shaped miniature in probably 6 years, and since back then I wasn't so good at it. I doubt these miniatures will ever see a game, unless we're desperate.

You can see more, and from different angles, in this folder: http://www.javaop.com/~ron/images/pictures/miniatures/


Here's the first one:

I'm not a big fan of him. First of all, I completely blew the face to the point where it was unsaveable and it looks like crap. But the robe turned out decently, all things considered. Note also that I didn't shrink it to make it look better, I cropped it.



The second one didn't turn out too badly, and he's reminiscent of another mini I painted a long time ago. The hair looks kind of goofy, but not terrible (you can see the hair better in this angle. The gloves and boots are pretty boring, they looked like crap so I repainted them.





The third one, I like. I'm getting decent at this, and I liked the miniature. I might actually use this one. The shading on the boots/gloves looks all right, for the first time ever the face doesn't look horrible, and I really like the colors of his cloak. He definitely isn't perfect, but he's a step in the right direction.


That's all I've done for now, but I'll post more images as I work on them.


<edit> I changed the last 3 pictures to be brighter, they were hard to see.

[deadly7]

Neat.  The shadows and stuff are a little off, but that's just nitpicking.  Other than the clashing colors (which I'm assuming is gold and stuff like that) they are pretty cool.  I have a question though.. why do they have such large bases?  Is your character a troll?

[iago]

Nitpicky is good, but I don't exactly understand what you mean.

Where do you mean the shadows are off, and in which miniature(s)? I'm not the greatest at layering paint, but I'm trying to learn.

Also, which clashing colors do you mean? If you're talking about the final one, you might mean his sword hilt, which is yellow. I wanted to do it brass, but didn't have the proper color so I tried to do yellow over silver and it looked pretty bad. That's my least favorite part about him. The other thing you might mean is the green by his neck, you can't see it too well but that's where his cape is hooked on with something round, and the only color I have that I hadn't used is green so I figured I'd go with that.

For the large bases, I'm assuming you're talking about the first and last minis. The reason is that while painting, I glue it on so I have something to hold. I don't take it off till I'm sure I'm done.


Here's another picture of that last miniature, using sunlight it looks a little nicer:

Or if you want to see a close-up for some reason, this link won't be around forever, but http://www.javaop.com/~ron/hpim1510.jpg

[deadly7]

Yeah, that picture's a lot better.  His left ankle (because his knee is extended over it) should be slightly darker and things like that are what I'm talking about.  You did a good job, though.

[BigAznDaddy]

Thats sooo cool i could never paint like that.

[iago]

Yeah, that picture's a lot better.  His left ankle (because his knee is extended over it) should be slightly darker and things like that are what I'm talking about.  You did a good job, though.

Ah, that would be tough shading. I don't put any thought into where the light might be coming from. I'll have to keep that kind of consideration in mind when I do the next one.

Thats sooo cool i could never paint like that.

I might have said the same thing at one point. But really, I'm the last person who would expect to be good at this for these reasons:
- I'm impatient
- I have bad eyesight
- I don't have a steady hand
- I'm not artistic.

To answer those points in the same order as I presented them:
- Impatience doesn't affect this much, because I enjoy it a lot, I just have to get up and walk around sometimes
- I got a magnifier-light to help me see details, which makes a huge difference
- I tend to hold my arm on the table to steady myself
- Painting these isn't terribly artistic, it's practically paint-by-number without numbers

[deadly7]

Ah, that would be tough shading. I don't put any thought into where the light might be coming from. I'll have to keep that kind of consideration in mind when I do the next one.

Yeah, that's why it's being nitpicky.   It's really good though, except for the face.  But you already know about the face... and I have no helpful suggestions there.  Is there a guide or something that comes with each figurine or do you just paint on your own?

[iago]

On my own. Painting with a guide is for losers

[deadly7]

You might want to get one, just until you can get faces nailed.  The bodies are fine, but the face is too blotchy as you know.  True, practice will help a lot.. but a book would probably bring instant gratification.

[iago]

No, a book wouldn't help. I know how to do faces, I just have trouble doing it.

[iago]

I think I'm getting better at this photography thing. Can I get opinions on this (in terms of photography, rather than miniature quality)?

[iago]

I started putting my miniature pictures on OSPAP (don't ask me why I wasn't before *shrug*), here's the category:
http://www.javaop.com/~ron/ospap/show_category.php?category_id=42

I re-took all the pictures today, cropped them, and adjusted the colors a bit (not to improve how they look, but to keep the light even). So now you can get a better look at how lame my first one is (and you can see a picture there where I re-did the face of the first one).

[iago]

Here's the guy I did today (more angles on OSPAP, check the link in my previous post if you care):


Notice two things:

First, I worked hard on the shading for his cloak. The cloak is made up of 4 different colors, mixed.

Second: I outlined everything in a thin black line. I think it gives it a bit of a cartoony feel (especially in the first one). I like it, but I'm curious what others think. The outline isn't perfectly even, but that's a practice thing.

Opinions are very welcome! I'm still learning here, feedback is infinitely helpful.

[deadly7]

That's pretty awesome.  I like that one a lot more.  The shadows look right and everything.  The face could still use a little work, but that'll come with time.  Good job!

[Sidoh]

He's wearing a cloak.  There, I was infinitely helpful. 

They look good, if you ask me.  I agree that the face looks a bit off.

This is a bit of a tangential subject, but didn't you say you were generally against the use of miniatures, iago?

[iago]

Yeah, the face still isn't perfect, especially his left side. But each time I do a face, it gets better

Yes, I've always been against the idea of using miniatures in a RPG. And I'm also not a huge fan of wargames (warhammer, etc).

However, I've always liked painting miniatures, which kind of leaves me in a bind which, up till now, I've filled by painting other people's minis.

In this instance, I AM painting D&D miniatures, which is a little hypocritical. However, the final call as to whether or not miniatures are to be used is made by the DM, and I'm not the DM, so I have to respect what he says. On the plus side, all signs point to him being an awesome DM (although we haven't played yet), so I think it'll turn out all right.

[iago]

If anybody cares anymore (not looking so good!) I finished another:


The eyes still aren't any good, but I'm getting a little better at shading colors right. I don't like this one much because he's all brown, which is kinda boring.

Oh, and for the record: I'm never going to buy a miniature wearing studded leather again. What a pain!

[deadly7]

lol.  That just looks like it would suck to paint.  Good job, though.  Different shades for the win.

[iago]

I'm sure it's not for everybody, but I really enjoy painting. It's relaxing and rewarding.

And it's not terribly expensive, as far as hobbies go. I have spent ~$100 on brushes, paints, and miniatures, and new miniatures are only $4 each. I have all the paint I need, and brushes tend to last fairly well.

I only used a plain brown/red for this. The armour/boots/gloves/string on the gloves/holster are all mixtures of them. The only thing that isn't the same shade of brown is that strange thing hanging from his back, but I'm not really sure what that was so I painted it yellowy-brown

[deadly7]

It's a huge loaf of bread.

[iago]

Apparently it's a sheath for his sword. *shrug*


The next miniature I'm painting now is going to be awesome. I got the eyes almost dead on, and I'm painting him bright colors. he's also really simple and really well-sculpted, with lots of textures to add shading on. Stay tuned! (tomorrow or Thursday, depending on when I have time.. definitely not Wednesday)

[iago]

This one is, by far, my favorite:


Note the shading on his robe, boots, and hat. The feather is pretty boring, but I didn't want to risk screwing up that hat. I should have done the feather before the hat, in retrospect, but eh?

[d&q]

You've shown visible improvement in shading, especially on the cape! I wish I could do that, but I do not have a steady hand as well, possibly to a higher degree. It's really noticeable when I try to take pictures; they come out all lopsided  . Anyway, nice work!

[iago]

Thanks!

I have a rather unsteady hand, and remember that those guys are 22mm (about 4/5 of an inch) from nose to toes, so it's really hard. I always end up blowing the lines, that's why the thin black lines aren't really that thin. I generally hold both hands against the table, which helps keep me steady. I'm not so bad at taking pictures, but if I try ISO 100 (slowest shutter speed my camera can do) by hand, it always looks awful. The pictures of my miniatures are all done with ISO 100, for the quality, but the camera rests on the table

The thief with the hamburgler mask was my first shot at shading, which makes this the third guy I've tried on (the ones before weren't shaded, just drybrushed). So I've been learning as I go along. I'm glad it's improving noticeably!

[deadly7]

Hahaha.  I love the newest guy.  Awesome.  I just wish the leaf wasn't dead.. but I'll deal.  So cool.

[Sidoh]

Looking good.  However, I have no artistic feedback as my talent in this region doesn't extend the "shiny test."

I demand to see some diversity in your miniatures!  Where are the Iranian wizards?

[iago]

Looking good.  However, I have no artistic feedback as my talent in this region doesn't extend the "shiny test."

I demand to see some diversity in your miniatures!  Where are the Iranian wizards?

"shiny test"?

The thing is, I'm making a thief/rogue/con-man character, so these miniatures are all sort of experiments. So I'm painting everything in sort of the same theme.

[Sidoh]

"shiny test"?

The thing is, I'm making a thief/rogue/con-man character, so these miniatures are all sort of experiments. So I'm painting everything in sort of the same theme.

It's a very intuitive name!  If it appears shiny, then I say it is shiny.

That's no excuse... racist!