Latest Dwarf

[Perv]

Heres a pic of my last achievement.  theres a few bits I'm not happy with.  The flesh wash ran into the moustache a bit, varnish ran some of the yellow, studs on the drum holding skin on it look shoddy but cant really see them.  Its getting there though, I am painting another which is looking ok too....I've never produced 2 figs in a row that I liked...this will be arecord for me, back to back figs   :icon_razz:

[Bruenor Odinson]

Looks fine to me.

[Dr.Evil]

Looks great to me too, how are you going to do the base.

[Custom_Hobby]

I like the way he is coming along George. So what are you going to do with the base?

[gi6ers]

The best painting advice I've ever had was to throw away the flesh wash. Try using a couple of very thin washes of scorched brown (flow enhancer will stop it from leaving tide marks too).

I like your colour choices, your flesh could do with another highlight.

[Perv]

cheers guys, basing.....erm...one thing at a time....not brave enough there yet.  Gonna practice on a couple of primed figs b4 mucking this one up.  He'll have a grey base so as to fit in with a mountainy theme though.  I was gonna paint all the figs, make the diorama and then base the figs according to where they will be in the diorama.  Its gonna contain a few hundred different Dwarfs so its a big project.

get rid of the flesh wash eh?  I was told this too by Alex Elpers who won a Golden Demon I think.  I have flow enhancer, only ever used it to dilute paint that gets too thick over time.  Will give it a go on the next fig I do but one I am currently on has the wash already on it.

I will give the flesh another highlight tonight

cheers for advice

[gi6ers]

For flow enhancer, make up a very dilute mix of your chosen paint and add a tiny drop. Made a huge difference to my painting. While we are picking on your painting - I'd be tempted not to blackline between nose and cheek - unless this is for gaming in which case ignore me  :toothy5:

[Perv]

the way I did this one was:  base coat all the colours, give entire model a wash of water, black ink and vallejo matt medium.  Picked out colours in basecoat colour again and then gave a highlight.  Then a thin flesh wash over face. Finally I painted the eyes in.

I will wash the whole fig except the face when I do the black wash again.  I see what you mean, its too dark around those parts.


The flow enhancer really does make the paint better.  I used to put just water in pots to thin them from drying up over time but since using this stuff its defnately improved my painting.  Almost out so will get some more soon.

could I use Vallejo matt medium with an ink to make it flow better as a substitute for the flow enhancer?  have 2 bottles of this still and dont tend to use it much

[Dr.Evil]

I got an eye dropper with bottle from the chemist and have a mix of water and a few drops of flow enhancer in it, this is ready to add to the paint on my paint mixing tray.

[gi6ers]

I'd lose the inks completely personally....you get a much nicer finish with multiple thin washes of paint and flow enhancer. If you are just using the back ink for blacklining just use it where two colours meet...brownlining works better for me and looks less stark and more 'natural' IMO.

[Custom_Hobby]

I am with Matt. Thin down the paints and use more layers. It gives a very smooth finish. He was right about the Brown for lining too, it gives a much more natural transition. Also when lining try to make the lines a little thinner if you can. I hope those help.

[Perv]

I see what you mean about the brown being a more natural liner but I like the effect the black gives, it sets other colours off better and makes the colours look more dramatic.  The look I am after is a cross between a realistic paintjob and a cartoony paintjob. I dont like 100% cartoony or 100% realistic so want a mix of the two.  Not easy I know

My main reason for painting the way I do is cos i am prettey damn useless in all departments of painting and rely on techniques to get me results.  I cant line in as I make too many mistakes so rely on the all over black wash to give that effect.  I am just exploring techniques still and havent found my preffered methods yet so my style will change yet again I think.

Eye dropper bottles, very handy, must get some  :icon_razz:

[cheddarmonger]

I like him.  Old skool, lots of character, good job!  I'd be proud to have it in my collection!

[Perv]

cheers Cheddar, I look at a lot of old White Dwarfs, latest issue I have is 174 I think which is at least 10 years old.  Guess thats where my old skool style comes from....must buy a new one so I can see whats happening paintingwise.

I need to fill out the left eye a bit more, pupil looks too small.  I fell asleep at 7pm last night so didnt get any painting done and missed the footie...will try again tonight

[gi6ers]

My main reason for painting the way I do is cos i am prettey damn useless in all departments of painting and rely on techniques to get me results.

Balls to that!

Painting is 99% technique, your results here are good and will keep getting better. Your colour choices are good and you're painting is neat.

Relying on Black washes for shading will make your minis look dirty, if you apply coloured washes and work on your highlights you'll just keep getting better.