Faces can be very challenging, I haven't done much work on faces in a while so I am going to be watching some videos by painting buddha. These guys do an amazing job of explaining how to paint certain things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p_tSAv2n_w

This is a great tutorial.

Thanks for that. A good watch!

Next up on the table are the Armoured Mirkwood Elves. Been wanting to start these for quite a while. Very cool looking models.

Spent a while researching various schemes and at first went for the usual metallic gold idea. However it looked far too Easterling ish and although not a total disaster it was really not what I had in mind...

So I decided to go totally different and try something I'd never attempted before by going down the non-metallic route and instantly came to the conclusion this was definitely more what I was looking for.
And rather surprisingly far far easier to get to grips with than painting with standard gold paints!







This might be the most fun I've had painting and experimenting in a long time. Only hope I have the patience and psyche needed to bosh out another 22 of them!

Any advice and comments would be greatly appreciated.

Wow....just awesome work ! Really impressed, and can't offer anything beyond stating that now you have to make a super base that is worthy of that elf. I'm not usually a big fan of NMM, probably because I can't do it - LOL, but I really like what you've done here. It's understated (if that's the right word here ?), but the model still 'pops', and I think it's great.

If you can match quality that on 22 more Armoured Elves, you can stand up and take a bow - and then take some pics too, because that'll be a sight to see !

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T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair..
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her..

Also....can you please share the colors that you used, especially for the gold ?

I've got a batch of my own Armoured Elves waiting for their paint and I might try to copy what you've done here, or at least try to and likely fail ! LOL

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T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair..
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her..

Hey thanks for that. Nice one

Nearly finished with number 2 today. Really hope I can keep going with these guys and keep the consistency up across them all too. I shall aim to complete 6 for now and see how it goes...

Recipe for the armour is as follows: Base of XV-88, Agrax wash, XV-88 again followed by gradual mixes of Balor Brown/Zamesi. It could do with more highlighting I'm sure but not brave enough to go that final step yet, so may leave them as they are.
Red cloaks are a mixture of Khorne Red and Doombull Brown. Wash with Agrax before lots of thin highlights with Khorne Red/Doombull again. I'd like to mix in some Vomit brown for the final highlights.

Interested to hear how you get on!

Nice work Ethan. For the cloak mix in a brighter red as a mid tone then pure red for the highlight. You can also mix in some Vomit Brown if you wish.
Adding some glazes of a dark blue in the deepest points will help the contrast and create depth

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Never tried using dark blues and other such shades before to add depth etc. Always scared of messing it up. I shall give it a go though, cheers!

Keep the paint thin and next to no paint on your brush. Stroke in one direction only, toward the deepest parts

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It looks pretty good for a first attempt for NMM Oropher. Looking at it though, for NMM, you definitely need some more contrast as "Gandlaf" has said. One of hardest parts about NMM is simply figuring out how and where to put points of light, midtones and dark shades. Once you figured that out, it is actually quite easy.

Also, you are probably already doing this, but really hammer at blending.

Mally(Gandalf) is one where he prefers to paint with a thinner consistensy of paint, at least that what's I got out from reading his blog haha.

I on the other hand, like to keep my paint: water ratio a little more opaque.

Find out what works for you, and keep practicing. Also, check out paintingbuddha on youtube. It's one of the best resources for learning how to paint mini's.

If you have any questions about NMM, don't be afraid to ask me or even Mally too. I guess you could say we know our stuff when it comes to NMM haha.

feanorthenoldor

Thanks for the comments and advice Feanor. Really trying to push my painting at the mo so anything you've got for me is super appreciated.
First 6 of these are virtually done. Here is what is up next... I'm liking the armour so far but think he's looking too blue and needs toning down to a more grey ish look.

Your painting is looking great on those elves. I have yet to purchase any models from the Hobbit range, but the elves were among the first to catch my attention, even though I lean more towards evil models. Great work!

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Oooh... damn me. Those are the best painted armored Mirkwood elves I've seen so far.
I really like your scheme. I'm crashed, while I know I can't/won't touch mine for a long time, since so many precede. I'll be watching your progress.

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Thanks for the encouragement! Really great getting comments for helping to continue pushing my painting.
Hoping to have a few more done over the next week and I'll be sure to post up more WIP shots.

This reminds me of this photo:

It's a great color scheme, and you've pulled it off very well. For some reason the Hobbit Elves aren't as interesting to me, but I really think it's just the studio paint jobs that aren't all that inspiring, because this one certainly is!

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Jonathan

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Battle Companies

Great work - it is always going to be a challenge to get a satisfying rendition of these designed in a mere 28mm. There is so much in them plus the movie makers tweak the colour palettes to suit their own needs.

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Tell me about it. The colour palletes in the movies, especially The Hobbit, can change from one screen shot to another. LOTR not so much...