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Canew's WIP log -- YES, an update!

13K views 32 replies 20 participants last post by  Canew 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi all:

I realize I've lagged behind in a lot of logs I started, and these days my painting adventures have meandered all over the place, so instead of trying to keep up with multiple logs, I decided to start a new one that's more general-purpose.

About six months ago, I moved into a new house, and it took me a while to even set up a new painting rig, let alone tear time away from my long commute and various homeowner's responsibilities, so I've been uber-slow to catch up on my hobby stuff.

I don't have any new pictures to offer yet, since I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong (I use daylight bulbs, macro mode, no flash, all the suggestions everyone says I should do), but they're not as quality as I'd like them to be. I think I need to move them closer to the camera, and maybe move the lights further away.

But just to kick it off, here are some past images I took before the move. First, a group shot of my Necron warriors. I like how these guys came out, but my expansion into the monolith, Tomb Spyder and Immortals has led me to paint in some gold. I'm slowly changing all the shoulder pads (even these guys) to have a matching hue to tie it all together.

But for now, here are my metal men!



Pretty basic, I know, but they're done, aside from the shoulder pad makeover I'm planning.

Also in the works are the Avengers of Dyeshr, my custom Space Marine chapter. Basically, I liked the "dusty" look of the Deathwing, but rather than a blatant rip-off of that, I thought "Hmm, what if I had a blue base instead of brown?" This prompted the following:



I'm overall very pleased. The shoulder pads came out better than I expected, but someone at a local store suggested I shade the wolf grey better, and since then my entire project has been held up as I have slaved over trying to find a way to shade them. I've discovered that a good "shadow" color is a 4:1 mix of VGC Wolf Grey (same as Citadel's Space Wolves Grey) and VGC Sombre Grey (same as Citadel's Shadow Grey), but how to go from that to pure Wolf Grey without it looking striped or "two-toned" has been... challenging. I already had to put five test models (yep, FIVE) into the Simple Green in frustration, but I think I've finally figured it out. I'll soon be posting pics of my sprue-based experiments, hopefully over the weekend.

Finally, the gf meant well when she bought me the Assault on Black Reach set, but now I fear I've been bitten by the Orks, and may just have to, ahem, "try out" painting the Orks in that box set, too.

To date, I have nearly 1,850 points of Necrons I am trying to finish off, then I have well over 1,000 points of marines (working up to 1,850 points too), then the Orks in the AoBR set and *sigh* probably more of them too someday. :sinister:

One more thing: I also have about $100 US in Cygnar, with some mercenaries too. I'm painting my first PP miniature EVER as well, and am working on getting good pics of her to post.

Comment welcome, as always.
 
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#2 ·
Good stuff. I really like the look of that marine, the blue and white go well together.
Glad to hear your move went smoothly and that you're getting more time to paint now. ^_^ I hope you start to get the quality of photos you're aiming for, just keep playing around and trying to find the right method.

*subscribed* >.O
 
#3 · (Edited)
Updates!!!

I finally got the camera to take better pictures, so here are some of the latest experiments and WIPs of mine. Any tips on how to make the photos better, or obvious errors I'm making, let me know. I feel like an amateur all over again for some reason.

First, the obligatory workspace shot:



Next, the Deceiver, who will serve as my second Necron HQ. It's just basecoated for now:



Here's the back of one of the Immortals. I will eventually have seven. Three of them are official GW models, and 3-4 of the rest will be scratch-built with conversions and green stuff. I went against my better judgment and painted them gold, which is different from my normal chrome guys. To link it all together, I plan to paint everybody's shoulder pad in a deep purple. It took me a few tries, but I finally came up with something I liked.



This is a good time to mention that I prime with a clearcoat brush-on primer, so that left arm isn't actually unprimed. I just paint stuff in pieces. By the time I'm ready for another update, that will be painted.

Here are some WIP shots of my Tomb Spyder. Here, the carapace will get the same purple treatment. It's only basecoated now, and you can barely tell there's purple mixed in with the black in the photos:



And the front:



Finally, the "experiment" that will later become my marine color scheme. I've been trying to blend my 5:1 VGC Wolf Grey/VGC Sombre Grey "shadow" color into the pure VGC Wolf Grey that is the main color (not white, although it looks it in the pics).

Here are some of the failed experiments:



Some really bad attempts at layering and wet-blending there. Then, I flipped it over and tried again:



Much better this time. I particularly like the results on the left. Both of those are pretty similar, just thinner "stripes" between the changes on the top. I have to thank Mayor Quimby for giving me ideas and inspiration that led to the breakthrough. It doesn't look as good in real life as it does in the pics, but it's more than good enough to play with. I am finally confident to take that to an actual marine model and know I'll have a reasonable shot at success!

Next update, once I get good pics, my first Privateer Press mini WIP ever.

Comments are very welcome!
 
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#6 ·
They miniatures look great, can't wait to see them finished.

I really like the smoothness of the blend on the top left of your second experinment photo (and the top right of the first one at a second look). I have found that the direction of your brush strokes makes a big difference, generally more paint is left behind at the end of the stroke, so if you are painting from dark to light then start with the brush at the dark end with the lighter colour and brush towards the light end. Hopefully this prevents what happened on the top right of the second picture.

I was probably stating the obvious in a very convoluted way then but I look forward to seeing more anyway.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thanks for the feedback. The sprue in the upper picture looks better in the picture than in real life. :D I'll keep that advice on the brushstrokes in mind. I think I always just kinda "did" it that way, but now that I know there's a specific benefit, I'll make sure I KEEP doing it that way.

I've cleaned up and primed a AoBR marine, and sometime soon he'll be getting a paint job to "test out" my new blending method. I'll be sure to post pics when it's done.

xbanditsx: Most of the PP stuff is Cygnar, plus Reinholdt (sp?) and the mini I'm doing now, Eiryss. It's the "free" model that No Quarter magazine gave away with three cut-out coupons from the mag. It's a very nice sculpt. I'm trying out a new technique for doing leather on it, and trying to figure out the best way to shade snot green on her cape. Getting the face right is driving me insane, too. She's been the hardest to photograph properly. I may have new pics available tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, the AoBR Ork test model is going pretty nicely. I'm in love with the Winsor & Newton brushes! Pics to come soon!
 
#9 ·
Update tme!

First, an updated shot of one of the Immortals. This guy's not fully painted yet, but he is fully assembled, aside from the gauss coils. He's mostly done. Still need to highlight the green and do his eyes.



And here's a BIG first for me: A Privateer Press mini! This is the Eiryss model I mentioned before. She has no arms for now, as I wanted to paint them separately. This is coming along quite well, though I apologize in advance for the bad front photo. I don't seem to be able to get close enough to get real detail here. Bah!





Her face vexes me, too. I don't seem to have very good shading. Speaking of shading, as you can see, the cape is pretty flat. I basecoated with Citadel's Snot Green. I tried highlighting with the Thraka Green wash, but no dice. It's like I did nothing at all. How would you shade this? Badab Black? Thinned-down Dark Angels Green? Suggestions and comments, as always, are welcome.
 
#11 ·
Hi Canew! Your Immortal looks good, is that brass or bronze? The plastic one looks much better than the old metal ones I had. Your Privateer Press girl looks nice, I think a heavy Dark Angels green wash and a new highlight of Snot Green might help.

Cheers!
Frankie
 
#12 ·
Hi Canew! Your Immortal looks good, is that brass or bronze? The plastic one looks much better than the old metal ones I had. Your Privateer Press girl looks nice, I think a heavy Dark Angels green wash and a new highlight of Snot Green might help.
Thanks for the compliments! Actually, that immortal IS the metal one. The plastic ones (I'm doing three) are very WIP right now :D

I did a basecoat of tin bitz, a very heavy wash of scorched brown, and drybrushed shining gold, then burnished gold.

Yeah, I'm thinking a dark angels green wash is in order for her cloak as well. Thanks!
 
#15 ·
Thanks for the attention, bro! Yes, there's been mucho progress, just haven't had time to set up the camera. I've nearly finished the Eiryss model, finished two of my 7 immortals, and even got a new model from my newest army finished! It's been good.

I'll post pics asap.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Yes, friends, if you can believe it, an UPDATE!

I think I figured out the camera. The pics will certainly be lighter. Hopefully not TOO light, though. Let's just say I discovered the white balance setting :D

First, for those who asked, finally some better pictures of the immortals. I'll probably add a little mithril to the blades, but otherwise, these are done.

Front:



Back:



Only five more :p

Now, on to Eiryss. This is a gorgeous model, so it pains me that I did such a bad job painting her. I could have gotten more creative, giving her different colors for each layer of clothing, but I ended up doing it all in leather. On a positive note, this is my first shot at doing leather, and I think it came out pretty good. It's also my first real cloak, too, and I think that came out well, too. I'm going to add grass to the base at some point, and I really hate the skin and blades, but overall not too shabby for my first PP model ever!

Front:



Back:



And finally, my first... ORK! This is from the AoBR box, which is part of my new army that I'm painting along with my marines (which are NOT ready for pics yet. Grr). I think the skin in particular came out pretty good. He should have a yellow helmet, but we won't worry about that right now. Overall, I'm very pleased with the results:

Front:



Back:



Comments most welcome!
 
#19 · (Edited)
A few disjointed thoughts I had:

I think the Necrons with Purple Shoulders idea is great, especially if you like the look of the gold/bronze Immortals/other important models, because then you have a unifying element between the troops and the higher ups, but the Immortals and such won't just look like bigger versions of your troops (I find that an easy trap for Necron painters to fall into)

I don't think you should be disappointed with the Eiryss, especially considering your handicaps (first PP model, first cape, first leather). It certainly could have been cool to paint it more creatively, but the way you have it here has a nice element of realism to it - even if it might have looked more original with some Purple Leather, it wouldn't have fit quite as well.

The orc: I agree that his skin came out nicely, especially the face. The texture/shading on the sword look good too.

I also like your paint scheme for your Marines, so how about you get some more pictures up!
 
#20 ·
Thanks much for the feedback! Yes, I know I'm notoriously slow at painting, but I'm ALMOST finished with a few more of the AoBR Orks. My style is beginning to come together now. I thought the skin would be hardest. Just the opposite! :D

I also have another PP mini in the works. The marines are primed, but not ready for photos yet. Bear with me!
 
#24 ·
LOL working on it, guys. I'm almost done with one model, then it's picture time. Been a little crazy around the house lately. :D
 
#27 ·
Took me bloody ages to get my pictures to come out right, my camera has measure white balance control so perhaps see if you can find that, like the color of the necrons, very cool, i would perhaps try another highlight on them, You can paint gold in several different ways.

1) base coat vermin fur
2) paint all raised areas gold of choice (i like shinning gold)
3) heaily water down a brown wash (chesnut ink i found good) and apply to all joints, etc
4) hightlight by mixing mithril silver to the gold, really up to you how many highlights you do, i tend to do two or three depending on how lazy i feel.
 
#28 · (Edited)
H'okay... been a while. A loooong while, actually.

Part of the reason has been that I've been out of work for a while, but also that I've been TRYING to find a better way to take photos of my stuff.

After Christmas, I managed to pick up some very nice OTT-Lite light bulbs. They're pricey, at $12 US apiece, but it's worth it. The yellow tint issue is now history. I also made a gradient background in the GIMP and am using that as background. I just spent the afternoon adjusting my camera all over the place, and now I think I've finally done it. An ISO of 80 removed much of the graininess problem. I THINK I'm all set, though I'll probably tinker a bit more until I'm finally happy.

Another update: I picked up a cheapo airbrush and am now learning how to paint minis in bulk and paint vehicles without leaving brush marks. Fun stuff. Pics of THAT work are still in the works, but for now, I have finally settled on a color scheme that looks good and is easy to paint.

Presenting: The new and FINAL test model for the Avengers of Dyeshr!

Front:


Rear:


And here's a multi-melta gunner:

Front:


Rear:


As you can see, there's nothing yet on the shoulder pads. The marine transfer sheets don't come with black troops arrows, so I'm going to have to freehand those, I'm afraid. I also do not yet have a good symbol for the Avengers to put on the other pad. Earlier in this thread, some helpful folks offered some images of trees, which I like because it symbolizes that they've been uprooted, which they have. Trouble is, I can't figure out a way to freehand it without them looking like the "broccoli warriors" or something. I wish I knew enough about graphic arts that I could convert that into a symbol that would be easy to reproduce. Any suggestions out there are most welcome!

Ok, moving on. I've also jumped into Warmachine. I'll post a couple of highlights here. I'm going to start another thread for that.







And finally, a new project (as if I don't have enough!). I wanted to try some hard-core plasticard stuff, so I got some templates (no, I will not tell you where, nor will I send them to you. Don't ask.) for a Macharius tank.

Here is the progress so far. I must say I'm liking this. I find I've made plenty of mistakes, which you can spot if you look closely enough, but at a glance it looks pretty decent, I think.

Here's a panel from one of the track assemblies. It basically needs rivets and it's done.



The other side's gotten a little more attention.



I ripped off the track link idea from somebody on (gasp!) another forum who did a similar project. I'll be setting up another thread, I think, once I do more with this.

As always, comments are MOST welcome!
 
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#29 ·
Holy Balls that's a lot of work! That tank, I mean. It's just... Wow. So much plasticard.

The painting looks pretty good, too. I love your take on the warmachine minis, it's good seeing some not-entirely-blue Cygnar!
 
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