General Elessar's Improvement WIP

General Elessar · **Posted:** Fri Sep 02, 2011 1:01 pm

Hi all,

I have finally decided to start my own WIP. The aim of this WIP is to improve my painting skills; I plan to paint a model each month (for the Painting Challenge if possible), and try to progessively improve my painting. Therefore, I welcome any criticism, suggestions, advice, judgement, comment, remark, etc. Hopefully, with your help, I'll be able to improve.

I hope that's all clear, so here's my first model:

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Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I painted this Aragorn for the painting challenge. He's easily the best model I've ever painted, so I'm pretty proud of him. Are there any specific areas that especially need improving? Are there any bits that were done especially well? Like I said, all criticism and comments are welcome.

Dead Marsh Spectre · **Posted:** Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:14 pm

Well done - this is an all round well painted miniature. The only think I can suggest (and thats if I'm being really picky) is another highlight stage on the face - Just the forehead , cheekbones and bridge of the nose, this will define the face more.... don't get me wrong your work is excellent I'm just trying to be constuctive.

Keep up the good work!

Sacrilege83 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:23 pm

Yeah the problem I had with your Aragorn was the photo itself. It's a dark paint job using dark colours not bright so it was hard to make out the details on it, this is where camera lighting is very important. You should make use of your flash and if the flash makes the model too bright and shinney then use a lamp light instead. When I was voting I found it very hard to pick up on the highlights and shading of your model because of lack of light.

Overall I remember being at your stage, actually I still paint that way for models I want done and over with quickly. From what I can tell, you do have some layers of subtle dry brushing/highlighting. The very good thing you have done is keep the colours where they belong, I don't see any errors where your brown crossed over to the cape and vise versa and you've fully painted every detail on the model with the sword hilt and scabbard, etc. Only the eyes I don't pick up on.

Also when looking at the leather armour and garbs the colours look plain even though you do have a layer or two of dry brushing. What I mean (this might be confusing) is that your leather being dark brown is all around dark brown; your cape dark green is painted all around dark green. You take a look at the spectacular painters that we were discussing before, what they've done is while giving the appearrance that the overall colour of a garb is dark green, that is not necessarily true when you look more closely. You'll see hints of yellow, blue, a totally different shade of green. All to create an effect to make the base colour of the garb pop out creating a realism effect, it's contrast. I haven't reached this stage yet myself, but I realise there has to be a blending and gradiation of colours. I hope you can understand the point I'm trying to make.

Overall right now you do a basic good job because you keep the colours where they belong and you do add layers of dry brushing.

Sacrilege83 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:40 pm

To further my example, here's the one you've pointed me to Emi78. The garbs are all around gray but it's more involved than that. He has a blue hue to it if you look closely. Either he washed that on or dry brushed it and then he highlighted more gray on top of it. Also he has brown on his robes as well, heavy at the bottom to represent the dirt but very very light brushing going to the top and all around to give a filthy look.

General Elessar · **Posted:** Tue Sep 06, 2011 11:20 am

Thanks for the feedback so far. I have a question for you - what do you think of Aragorn's sword?

I'm currently working on a Fellbeast for the painting challenge, so that will also be my next model here.

Hilbert · **Joined:** Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:07 am **Posts:** 2088

The sword is excellent... :yay:

Sacrilege83 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 06, 2011 3:00 pm

I can't really make out the detail all that much on the sword because the picture lighting is too dim, but as far as I could make out you've done some basic highlighting. It's very evident in the dagger anyway, and it's a start. You must have used boltgun metal or some darker version of silver as a base colour first and you have dry brushed mithril silver on as a highlight. That's what I'm seeing and that's usually an improvement from a flat 1 shade of silver sword.

Next what you're going to want to try is adding more shades of silver. Try to do a gradiation of going from dark silver to light silver back to dark silver and maybe possibly back to light again, starting from the hilt of the sword going to the tip. The more values of silver you have, the smoother the transition will be where it is hard to tell where light and dark begins, meets, and ends. For a good showing you should have at least 3 different shades of silver, but to make the sword totally awesome you should have five or six. Also you can add tints/hues into the silver: a bit of blue or yellow mixed into the silver on the paint pallette. This gives an effect. Then you do a light dry brush of Mithril Silver.

It will take some trial and error through time after painting various models until you pick up the right technique that you like in painting swords. As with everything else your skills improve model after model when you try something new and find out what works and what doesn't. Keep the good and leave the bad.

General Elessar · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:53 pm

Here's my second model for this thread, which I've also entered for the monthly Painting Challenge:

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As always, comments, advice, and criticism are much appreciated.

Hilbert · **Joined:** Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:07 am **Posts:** 2088

Indeed I love it

edge67 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:23 pm

Yeah, I think you have done a really nice job on the fell beast. I especially like the skin tones - especially the membrane of the wings, that looks great. The flaming sword also worked out really well.

GothmogtheWerewolf · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:26 pm

As I said in the painting challenge thread, he looks very majestic.

Bastion.HUN · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:36 pm

You should use some black wash for the Witch kings armour. The metal now is too simple.

GothmogtheWerewolf · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:43 pm

or a wash of devlan mud.

Hilbert · **Joined:** Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:07 am **Posts:** 2088

It is like it's new amde... Maybe some codex grey or boltgun metal mixed with a little chaos black would be good...

General Elessar · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2011 9:23 am

Bastion.HUN wrote:

You should use some black wash for the Witch kings armour. The metal now is too simple.

I did actually do a black wash on the armour on the feet and hands. Maybe another wash and a drybrush would have been better.

General Elessar · **Posted:** Tue Oct 11, 2011 7:44 pm

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Here's my Elrond, the next model for my Improvement WIP thread, and also for the Painting Challenge. He's not finished yet (obviously), but is going pretty well. I'm trying some NMM on the sword, any tips?

Hilbert · **Joined:** Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:07 am **Posts:** 2088

Nice progress...

GothmogtheWerewolf · **Posted:** Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:22 pm

looking good

al;so much better picture quality now

General Elessar · **Posted:** Thu Oct 20, 2011 6:07 pm

Here he is, all finished now:

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I feel that I've made some big improvements with this model. It's the best highlighting I've ever done, and I'm please with the face too (first time I've specifically painted the eyes and mouth). I also tried NMM on the sword, which looks ok in the photo. Like I said, I feel I have improved tremendously, but I do feel that I can and will improve lots more. I'm looking forward to next month's painting challenge.

BilboOfTheWhiteTower · **Posted:** Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:41 am

Well done!!

General Elessar's Improvement WIP

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