Topic: Sy's Mini Painting Journal

[beo]

cool. kind of wish i did a diy chapter - the black templars are badass, but it's great fun coming up with your own scheme, name and chapter symbol. making an army that no-one else has.

[sirean_syan]

And they're finished.

I'm really happy with these guys, especially the spears. I put some effort into making something of a wood grain effect and it works for the most part. Best of all, they look great in a group, so it'll be sweet when I have a regiment of them all dolled up to flee from the battlefield.

I'm actually sorta looking forward to them sucking in the game, in a way. Part of the reason I want them is because of that unpredictability. I imagine it'll add a different kind of fun to the game.

[Quemaqua]

Looking great!  You're right, they have a really nice symmetry happening in a group like that.  It works well.

[sirean_syan]

I did a little work on my Zoanthrope tonight, mostly on all the exposed fleshy parts. Of course, the special thing about this guy is the exposed brain and I wanted to do something interesting with it. After a few experiments I came out with a color mixure and effect that I liked. I had one that looked kinda bloody that was cool, but it didn't jive with what the rest of the guy should look like when done. I think it sorta looks like the brain is glowing now which works because the thing is more or less a giant floating psych brain, so the glow would be a visualization of that.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, that's an excellent color job.  That sort of glowy implication is really a nice touch.

[Jedi]

How man. How did you do this?

[sirean_syan]

What? Keep painting?

[beo]

ooh, nice. is that a pink with purple wash, or progressive highlights of pink over purple (or some other technique entirely)? either way, it's looking good.

[sirean_syan]

Basically progressive highlighting from purple to a light purple/pink mix. The bloody style I mentioned was a wash over pink. It looked interesting, but the pink still stood out too much after a few coats of the wash.

[sirean_syan]

Now for something really random.



Yes, they're sheep. I found these in a model train store a couple months ago and immediately picked them up because Aimee really has a thing for sheep. I think she was always sad that there was nothing resembling a sheep in any of the minature lines I've looked at, so this was perfect. I figured they'd make a fun gift for her at some point and that's the plan as they'll go with her birthday gift tomorrow. They're pretty tiny (about the height and width of a dime), so I went with a pretty simple grey wash over white and let the paint do most of the work for the work.

[Quemaqua]

Wow, they look great!  And we'll forget about the fact that Julia almost spoiled the surprise.  Heh.  I don't think either of us expected you to take very long to do them, and I'm quite sure I didn't expect them to look so nice.  Cute.

[sirean_syan]

Yeah. You'll forget. We'll see if it managed to fall out of Aimee's head in the past month. I like how they all look a little angry. That would be my little touch.

[sirean_syan]

Alright, the actual coloring of the Zoanthrope is done, so now I need to seal him up, add the varnishes, and finish up the base. I think I might go back and work on the little talons a bit more... they look off.



This is the real point of the post, however. I've been meaning to take a shot of this for a while now because I sorta like how my desk looks after a good painting session.

[Quemaqua]

He's looking good.  But you're right, the talons seem off.  Still, I think he works nicely.

[PyroMenace]

I love the work you did on the brain. Plus the green you did on the shells looks awesome. As for the talons, I agree, they could use some more gradient.

[Pugnate]

haha the sheep are cool.

[beo]

awesome work! how much stuff have you got done in your army now?

[sirean_syan]

And he's done.



Here's a detail shot if you want so see how he really works.

So yeah, I'm pretty happy with him. There are a few small details that I would change a little if I could without potientially making them look bad, but those are all things that mostly arrose from working on a guy who's much larger than what I'm used to working on (here's a size comparison, just for kicks). I learned a lot about how I'm going to do stuff on that larger bugs that are to come in the future, which means this guy was a big learning experience. Even still, I think he came out looking pretty damned cool.

As for the total count, that brings me very close to the magical 500 points of fully painted Nids. I think I might actually have 500 points, but it's not really what I want my first small army to be just yet. I want another group of Warriors for more synapse coverage (think Overlords in Starcraft), at the very least.
10 Gaunts
12 Hormaguants
6 Genestealers
3 Warriors
The above Zoanthrope and a handful of Spore Mines to fill out small spaces left over.

[Quemaqua]

Fucking dammit that looks nice.  The drool is a much nicer touch than I anticipated.  His mouth is just built for it.  Yeah, I think you really nailed that one, man.  It looks nice, not overstated, and totally imposing.

[sirean_syan]

Well, it's been a busy month but I managed to get something pretty cool out during some free time.

Leaping Tyranid Warriors.

These are warriors, just like my other ones, only these ones are geared for getting in close and tearing apart anything they can get their claws on. I had to do several small conversions to the legs in order to get the poses right and I think I pulled it off for the most part.

So yeah, I've easily hit the 500 point mark and actually have a solid core army now. Que and I need to get a second army together now so we can learn to play.

[Jedi]

Oh wow that must be your best work yet. They look outstanding!

[sirean_syan]

Thanks. I'm really happy with how the came out, so it's nice that to see other's thinking the same.

[sirean_syan]

Alright. I've got another guy done. I showed him off 8 months ago when I got him assembled, but he's sat on the shelf since then. I actually did most of him while I was in Thailand. While I was in Chiang Mai, I would put an hour or so in while staying in the hotel. When I got back to the states I finished up a couple details (mostly the goggles), sealed him, and added the little grass bits.

[Ghandi]

I love the flamethrower and the goggles. That guy kicks ass.

[Quemaqua]

The cigar just makes it, but the goggles are awesome.  Your ability to do those shiny things makes me jealous.  I haven't had so much luck with that at this point.

[PyroMenace]

Needless to say I love it. I finally get to see how you do on ork skin. With my first models, well, my only models Ive done, I tended to dry brush everything on. It didnt look all that bad looking at it with your eyes, but examining closer with a lens it looks like shit. Washing adds more uniform coats which I need to do. My most impressive thing about it is the checkered cloth and the base, both seem to look flawless. You also did good on the gun with the non-metallic piece, it didn't stick out like I worried it would.

[sirean_syan]

Finished up some Gaunts (basic fodder unit for Tyranids) today and while I don't plan on posting every time I do that (if I actually finish this army, I'm going to need to do like 50-60 of these guys), this is kind of special. Almost exactly a year ago I painting my first group of them and am able to make an almost direct comparison of how my painting abilities as well how much scheme has changed slightly over the course of a year. I think both have changed for the better. Since these guys are massed units, I try not to spend as much time on them, but you can still the idea. The newer one is the one on the right. I'm still struggling a little with my new camera to get mini-pictures I like. Man I wish that Powershot A630 didn't break on me.

[Quemaqua]

Your work has definitely improved, though I've had the luxury of getting to watch it happen firsthand.

And this reminds me, I've yet to take pictures of all the work I did on the still-nameless captain conversion.  I have to do that soon.  I'm proud of him.

[sirean_syan]

Finished a couple more guys today. The important one is a Broodlord and essentially my first true commander unit. Like any good Warhammer unit, he looks angry.



I also did a Rippers swarm, which are the smallest Tyranids available. They're just what they look like: small mouths with claws that exist only to eat.



Finally, I took a big group shot of all the Tyranid's I've done so far. Apparently, large scale macro shots it something neither of my cameras are very good at (either that, or I just don't know how to do it). Still, you can get a good idea of what everything looks like together so far.

Linked because it's a bit larger than the other shots.

[sirean_syan]

I revisited my ideas for an Eldar color scheme over Thanksgiving as well and I'm pretty happy with the results. It has mostly to do with a cleaner paint job, but I did make a few small changes and things are looking closer to what I'm thinking I want my guys to look like. I'm thinking I'll be making the lightest blue parts a shade darker. I'll also be starting with a black undercoat to darken things up a bit, but the way I'm painting him it really shouldn't change things that much. More likely, it'll just make it easier to shade him.

Anywho, I posed him with the first test for comparison purposes. The new one is on the right.

[Quemaqua]

Definitely a better paint job.  I think that's what makes the most difference, because the colors look almost identical.  I can see the differences, but they're very slight (the place it seems to make the most difference is the helmet).  I do love the color scheme in general, though.  I think it looks fantastic.  Very regal, but not so gaudy as to be an eyesore.

[sirean_syan]

Did another couple tests. The one on the left is from the last tests you saw and is there for comparison.



I like the colors more, but I'm thinking I'm going to drop the color scheme and start anew. Actually, I'm thinking of going back to my original plan and use of one of the pre-made factions in the universe. There are two that I really like.



Now, I like the fluff for the blue guys more, but I'm totally torn on the colors. The cool thing with the blue is that the stipple pattern sometimes used looks really cool on large characters, but the white and green has it's charms too.

[Quemaqua]

I definitely like the green better.

So... why the change?

[sirean_syan]

I don't know exactly. It just doesn't feel quite like I imagined it earlier. When I imagine it on other guys it doesn't work as well, especially when I was imagining how I would paint the Farseer and Wraithlord. I want those to be my centerpieces, so those have to look great. Originally I was thinking of going pure Altaitoc (the blue guy) be switched away when I went to buy the paints. Part of it was wanting a "traditional" Eldar army, going straight into the fluff and sticking with it. That means a premade. Also, from what my tests are looking like compared to the Eldar stuff that I think works, all the great schemes are ones with two high contrasting colors. I like blues and I like greens and that pretty much gives me the schemes already used.

I started leaning towards the Biel Tan (green and white guy) last night when I was thinking about it again, but whenever I see something like this I immediately get drawn back to Altaitoc.

[Quemaqua]

I can see why.  It looks really great on a large scale... just not so great on the small (to me).

[sirean_syan]

While I was visiting my family over the past couple of weeks I had a lot of free time to do painting and stuff, so I'd like to share the results.

First up is another couple of Eldar tests. I've gone back to my own color schme and I think I'm almost settled. Now I just have to decide if I like the light or dark blue more. Right now, I'm leaning towards the brighter blue because it makes the purple look more interesting and is just more bold. Plus, I'll be using that dark blue on some other guys in the Eldar army so it's not like it'll be lost forever if I got with the brighter color.



Most of the time painting was spent with the Tyranids. Nothing really huge or amazing, just different variations of the basic Tryanid unit. I did eight of the ones I have pictured here.



I also put together some more Marines for the army Que and I are making, but I'll just post them here since Que and I are really the only ones who read these threads regularly.

[beo]

good stuff. i think i prefer the darker blue, but they're both really nice.

[Quemaqua]

My bet is on the brighter guy now.  I switched opinions with the better photo, apparently.  The brighter just looks better.  Also, the 'Nids look friggin' sweet.

[sirean_syan]

The past couple of months have been busier than I would have imagined, but I slowly managed to finally paint and complete the Carnifex I put together almost a year ago during the OW Meet. He's the biggest guy I've done yet, so I pictured him with another guy for size comparison.

So, I'll just put up the link.

[Quemaqua]

Totally awesome.  He looks a lot meaner than a lot of the ones I've seen.  Nice job modernizing him and fitting him to your scheme.  I think he looks fantastic.