DescentBB

Here's the link to the mondo-huge, photo of my painted MAD-3R/5S Marauder 'mech miniature-
http://sapphirewolf.net/images/ismechs/marauder_1.jpg

Here's the link to the diorama-
http://sapphirewolf.net/images/dioramas/ambush.jpg

(Background of the mountains, courtesy of my mom. And we did the ground)

Do you use a primer on those? And what kind of brushes?

Yep, I used either black or white primer on 'em before the paintjob. As for the brushes, not quite sure on that. Do you mean by size (e.g. size 000) as well as type of size (e.g. liner)? or do you mean by the type of bristles of the brushes?

all of the above.

Hmmm... Let me think (size and type of size)...
For the drybrush:
-size 8
for the basecoat:
-Size 0
for the highlight:
-Size 5/0 or 10/0 (both liner)
for the wash (black first, then red):
-size 0
for the metallics:
-either size 000 (round) or size 5/0 (liner)
for the cockpit:
-size 10/0

for the types of bristles... sorry, I'm not quite sure of the types. Let me look 'em up on camospecs.com in the how-to section and compare with the kind of brush bristles for each of my brushes.

nice work!

Kilarin wrote:nice work!

x2!

I tried my hand at minitures years ago with AD&D. couldn't afford the minis, the paints, the brushes ... yea.. I was in school and living at home.

Very nice. If I had one critique, it would be that you could have gone in with a fine tip brush and added detail slightly darker than the chosen pain. What I mean is, adding more plates, hatches, vents, etc.

The models my wife has painted that have turned out really well are the ones with little details that really pop -- a metal buckle, lettering on a jacket, a pink ribbon in the hair, stuff like that.

I think these models could use the same thing -- like Octopus said, plates, hatches, vents, etc. Right now, it's fairly monotone, and the details of the model just blend in. I'd paint the various bolts on the legs silver with a light coat of very-watered-down black (makes it look like aged metal), and do the same for various panels along the legs and arms. Paint little black bolts onto the corners of larger panels, too. Put some black deep in leg joints to simulate hydraulic lines, and maybe do some black-orange-yellow concentric circles on the gun tips to give a \"firing glow\".

It would also help if the little logos on the side had a background behind them, especially the red heart-lookin' thing. Put it on, say, a white circle and it'll really pop out.

Well guys, thanks for the nice comments, suggestions, blah blah blah. I should've applied a black wash within the panel lines.

SCORCH MARKS!! WE NEED SCORCH MARKS!! ...or is this new off the showroom floor ..

I know.. Put a \"Boeing\" logo along one leg! (they have to do SOMETHING in the future don't they??)

Duper wrote:SCORCH MARKS!! WE NEED SCORCH MARKS!

Bingo! I forgot about that! but first, I need the appropriate item to use for applying scorch marks. black or dark-gray chalk maybe (by rubbing chalk on sand paper and use a brush to apply it on the muzzle ports (just an example)
As for the appropriate decal for the 2nd Sword of light, I need to get one (or two) at fightingpirannhagraphics.com.

This is great work! I admire your creativity!

if you have a fireplace, different color ash mixed thickly with water should work. Spray a final flat coat over it all to lock it down.

It looks to me like your wash undid a lot of your drybrushing. The shading doesn't follow the contour of the model very well--see how you have lighter colors in crevices and darker ones on open panels or where you'd expect overhead light to hit the model? That, and the uneven shading from the black wash, give it kind of a dirty look. That's usually what you get out of a wash. If you're going for a heavily battle-damabed look, that can be what you want, thought not always. (Also, it looks like your drybrushing hit a lot of edges, even on the underside of the model. I actually find it looks more natural to simulate and exaggerate the effects of light from overhead or an angle.)

I definitely agree with others here--that model has some details that are just begging to be picked out with color. Gears and bolts and buttons and levers and guns. Pick a good contrasting color like a shiny black and go to town.

I'll show you what I mean. Not to derail your thread (and not likely I will, given the horrible photography), here are some minis I've done, to illustrate some techniques:

Photo 1
Photo 2

See that big cyberdemon in the back row? He's kind of close to what you're working on. Lots of little bits and parts and pieces stand out at a glance, and that makes him look cool overall. Models thrive on detail. Even when you don't have something in the model to highlight, you might want to make it up out of whole cloth. The blood on the cyberdemon's horns, the tatoo on the beastman, veins on the cherub's body--those are totally made up. I've got models with fireballs and shadows and logos and whatnot that are just painted on.

I put the baron there in the back row because he's also kind of like what you're working on in that he's mostly one color. He's just a big fleshy blob, as was the original I was emulating, so there wasn't much I could do with it in terms of contrasting colors. So what I did instead is make every little bulge and sinew pop as much as I could. That's a dark pink base, a lighter drybrush, and then a detailed deep red line in every crevice, faded a little bit at the edges. The overall effect is still very visually interesting, even though the model's pretty monotone.

Also, look at the yellow mancubus on the right. He's a big round fleshy shape, but he's drybrushed to simulate overhead light--light yellow on his shoulders, knees, and the top of his round belly, and darker in his crevices and shadowy bits and underneath. You can clearly see his shape even with the crappy photography--those light effects aren't from the flash.

Also, his guns are one of the few places I used a black wash. They look dirty, but I also mixed the wash *extremely* *thin*--practically water--and mopped up anything that pooled on the surface while it was drying. The effect was that the black ink ran down into the cracks and outlined the gun bits, as well as making the whole thing look aged and dirty (compare with that bright and shiny minotaur's chainmail . . . )