Re: Arrayed for War: painting log (update 07/09) i have finished making my salamander i know its not the best model you'll ever see but as a FIRST (as in first, nothing has ever been sculpted before this) its a decent attempt. i am planning on painting it yellow orange red as the skin has very little texture which i thought could be disguised. also my tetto'eko base is coming along, ive added a log which shall be painted to look like its rotting. and then this little totem pole out of some leftover stuff only about an inch tall. so know i have to make a tetto'eko: im planning on doing one like this http://lustria-online.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=7306 as this is an AMAZING model, i dont think mine will be as good but i dont really mind. then ill have a hell of alot of painting to do. P.S. does anybody know where i can get hold of just 1 handler for my salamander; i have 3 but i want an extra without buying a model.
Re: Arrayed for War: painting log (update 09/07) I love your salamander It reminds me of the first miniature i sculpted (that also was a salamander). Sculpting is not easy, and you have to know what you're doing and how you want it, and it takes time, so just keep trying and you'll get better. Here's a link you might find useful about miniature sculpting: http://handcannononline.com/blog/2012/03/27/a-beginners-guide-to-sculpting/ There are like 9 parts, i just posted the first one (look for the rest through the blog), so just read it and try, and it will get easier.
i've added a yellow basecoat to the salamander now, ive painted the plants (having a goo at some wet blending, i need more practice...) and ive painted the rocks (brown basecoat, black basecoat; watered down, it looks pretty cool actually) im also going to have a go at making a kroxigor for 2 reasons: -it will improve my sculpting skills, -its a kroxigor! ive taken more time on the armature and i know more about sculpting so this one should be better also, a question, im going to use regular skinks for sally handlers; they're already constructed; but i want them to look different; should i paint them differently or whar? any help would be great!
I think your salamander turned out pretty good, probably a much better than what mine would look like, if I ever decided to disgrace the clay to make one... I only wished you had made the tail a bit longer. Still, very nice start for your "sculptor career"! For the handler's, I like to either paint them with matching to the salamander or at least give them some details, maybe to the crest, that carry those colours. That would indicate that the skinks were "born to handle the salamanders" or something.
Ok, I'll paint the handlers with some fiery red scales or something. And the tail curves round; which doesn't show very well in the picture, I'll take an overhead view to see if it looks any better Thanks for the advice/ comments!
heres the pic, it looks a little longer from this angle but i do see your point; unfortunately im to far along the process to change it now.
I have finished painting my Sally! I gave up on the colour scheme I had gone for and went for a grey with a red Tint around the scales; it looks alright IMO. Also the kroxigor has started (although it will be huge- about 12cm tall; maybe use it a a kroxigor giant) and I have a basic body, basic legs and a basic head. I've decided to scrap the skink standard bearer as it wasn't working at all. I've also begun painting my first Saurus warrior, it the same as GW but with red scales in the head (like some GW models ) Will post some pics in the not to distant future.
firstly i shall say sorry for the quadruple post; but i have a much needed update. i have begunn on my saurus and have my first shield: its not much but i though i could show the style of them, but they will have more variety than just the purple and red. i also have some skink shields in a similar style; some also have "slash" marks on them, but they seemed very difficult to get a decent picture so i will post them with my skink model - when i start on them. i have also finished my salamander; its not what i had hoped but as a start its not bad; but i can sense i may have to do another it the future to improve the model over this one (or do as most do and buy a model: but im being ignorant) also my legendary kroxigor giant; this guy is huge and will be about 12cm high when finished; i should have researched what height it needed to be but being me i launched myself at the challenge: i can tell i may need some special rules for this one. for his weapon he will have a boulder which he is holding above his head; because it will look cool and i will struggle making him a weapon, what do yuo guys think? and his (40mm) base. within the next couple of weeks i hope to have finished my skink skirmishers and possible finished sculpting my KG, i will need to make some skirmisher movement trays: can anybody point me in the right direction with that one? thanks
If you look at my lizardman and skaven blog links you'll see a lot of photos showing how I sculpt. The main thing that you are missing is in your anatomy - you want to avoid, if you can, having a body part come out looking like a blob. To get the shape right you have to sculpt from the inside out, meaning you have to have some understanding of how bones and muscles connect and how they extend and contract to make the body move. From the photos you've posted, it seems you are doing the whole miniature (or at least nearly all of it) at once. I can occasionally get away with that because I've been sculpting for about 15 years, but even with all that experience I still, generally speaking, work in layers, taking usually five separate steps to build up each limb. The steps are as follows: 1) wire armature, i.e., "the bones"; 2) major muscle masses at 2/3rds full size; 3) final 1/3 of muscle masses, including tying muscles together where they join; 4) layer of skin, including muscle striations; and 5) texturing, including veins if any should be visable, fur, scales, etc. I'll finish by offering some "tips", but please bear in mind that these are not "tricks". There are no tricks. This stuff takes practice, concentration and a desire. And you will fail 99 times before you get it right, so steel yourself for disappointments. Remember however, your failures are actually something to be grateful for. The minute you are no longer able to see your own failings, you cease being capable of improvement. Tip # 1: Work on your artistic skills. You can't master sculpture until you learn to visualize exactly what it is that you are trying to do. For this, to me there is no better training than drawing in 2D. Learn to draw things from different angles. Tip #2: Your armatures should have very definite joints and should be made to the correct proportions and take into account the added mass of the finished piece. Again, know your anatomy, both for two legged creatures and four legged creatures. Know how they are similar and how they differ. Get some good anatomy reference books and study them. Tip #3: The armature wire should be thick enough to hold up the work and not bend while you are working. On the other hand, arms and leg joints that you might want to adjust the pose of during the process should be thinner wire, so plan ahead! Tip #4: Add masses to your work in small sausages (or balls, or triangles, or whatever other shape makes sense). DO NOT try to do it all at once. (See above, the STEPS you should break things down into). Tip #5: When you work in 3D, get used to turning your piece over and over in all 3 planes (yaw, pitch and roll, if you will), because if it doesn't look right from all angles it probably isn't right from any angle. Learn to subtract putty or clay from your work as you go. You should be equally comfortable with a clay shaper or spoon burnisher as you are with a knife, carver or loop tool. There is no way to make too much material look right until you subtract what you don't need. Tip #6: Know your putty and its properties. You need to play with the stuff and not just jump right into sculpting with it. Every putty I work with is different, and sometimes I mix two or more putties together to get the characteristics that I want for what I am sculpting. For instance, a gummy putty might be better for flesh, but will simply not work if I need sharp edges and intend to file the piece after it has hardened. Consider the following questions: - What is the curing time of the putty? - How quickly will heat decrease the working time and what is the temperature of the room I am working in? - How elastic is the putty? - How soft or hard is it when first mixed, and how does that hardness increase as time passes? - How carvable, drillable, sandable is the putty after it is cured? This is a lot to consider, so I will stop here. I will also append this to my blog, because people ask me this a lot and it takes a long time to think this all through and write it down in a comprehensive and understandable fashion. Hopefully it is appreciated and not taken as criticism.
Very much appreciated. I think for now work on the KG will cease and for now I'll work on plasticine. I think your advice is sound and thanks very much for taking the time to write it.