My first mini (My first Beholder)

[DanyTancou]

Hello everyone,

I just joined this forum, wrote a quick blurb about me as "requested" and wanted to post a couple of pictures of the first mini I ever painted (although before this, I painted some pillars). I was so excited to start painting though, that I completely forgot to clean up mould lines and fill in gaps before priming and started to paint.. the mould lines aren't terrible but the gaps are ugly, so I guess my first question to you guys is, is it a good idea to fill the gaps at this point or should I just cut my losses and chalk this up to a n00b mistake?

I know the colour scheme may be a bit odd (off?) but I've always wanted a beholder like the one at the end of the first Eye of the Beholder video game, so here I am. The color reproduction in the pictures is pretty accurate, even though my lighting setup was.. well, it WASN'T a "lighting setup" as all I used was the desk lamp I use to paint. (My old ring light finally gave out a couple of days ago and the new one hasn't arrived yet.) ... I tried to pull back on the highlights caused by glare a little bit, but didn't want to alter the images too much. Anyway, I have a feeling you guys are experienced enough to see past all that and comment on the paint job not on the picture.

As for how I painted... (1) I did gradients on the eyestalks by drybrushing -- or sort of: I applied brown first, then purple towards the end, and then I used a completely dry brush to "pull the purple over the brown" (kept drying it over and over, of course); I repeated this with the red near the tips. (2) I wanted to shade the recesses a bit more, but this didn't really work for me and the whole figured just ended up being a bit darker than I wanted; I'll have to practice this on some sculpts I'm going to make with modelling paste. (3) I also wanted to pick out the bumps (warts?) and ridges by drybrushing, but while I think this was a bit more successful than my shading, I still don't think it's quite right. (4) The tongue (such a central part to the model, I feel) is a bit boring, but I'm not quite sure what to do with it; again, I tried to shade it since it's textured properly, but this didn't work here either (so I think I'm doing something wrong, even though as far as I can tell, I'm following Zumikito's, Squidmar's, Marco Frisoni's and others' advice to the letter... ) Anyway, if you guys have any comments and/or tips, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks so much in advance!

Dany


P.S. I didn't place him onto a base because he's going to be part of a diorama in which I want him to "levitate," so I'm actually going to stick him to a wall -- meaning that yes, I will have to somehow extend the black thing that burrows into his lower backside down and back -- but that's for later to figure out.

 

[KenBoyle]

And now for something completely different!

The best figures to paint are ones that excite you and obviously fantasy/scfi fits the bill for you. Although not being familiar with the video game you mention, I think you did an fine job with this first figure. You are already practicing different techniques and moving forward. I'd say move on to the next figure in the diorama as more and more practice is what advances your skill. And if you can keep this level of excitement in the hobby you will certainly be successful and have a great time on the journey.

Welcome to Planet Figure Dany!!!

Cheers,
Ken

 

[Rob]

One of the classic D&D Monster Manual creatures.

That is a great start to your painting, colours look good but you are lacking identifiable highlights & shadows, for example the purple on the eye stalks is the same colour on the top and the underneath, you have a good graduation from brown to purple to red but need to define the light source more.
If you are planning a diorama it will be critical to make sure all the figures (and scenery) are painted coherently according to how the light hits them in their final location and pose.

 

[Nap]

Hi Dany

Well done for this , do like the eye , as Rob say bit more definition between highs and shadows

Certainly looks a fun piece to paint ...again like Ken says move to next ...practice is the key

Have a good time at the bench

Nap

If this is for a diorama why don't we move to V. Bench so updates can go on one thread , that will I think show your progress with each Figure

 

[DanyTancou]

Thanks, gents! I really appreciate your replies!

I had a feeling that I would get suggestions/comments regarding the lack of highlights and all that, but even so, I think I'm going to leave this guy as is. I have two reasons for this (if you'll permit me to explain them) both quite "personal" and neither of which are "retaliatory" in any way (i.e. me, some total n00b, going against well-established conventions/techniques). First, I have a degree in theatre lighting design and I've been working in the entertainment lighting industry for over 25 years, so I am familiar with how light works in rl; as a result of this (most likely, anyway) for the time being, I simply cannot bring myself to think of "light being 'painted onto an object'," when really, once light is cast onto it, that object's shadows and highlights become visible naturally. (Sorry if I seem like I'm trying to take the "easy way out" here, but that's just basic physics. I'm not one to never say never though, and I somehow think that my views on this, at least as they apply to painting minis, will change.) Second, I don't feel I have the skill to paint highlights on the colour gradients I applied to the eyestalks, so I would probably end up ruining what even I (and I'm my biggest critic) consider to be pretty decent work; on top of this, I do not believe that such highlights will actually be visible without a magnifying glass, given that the eyestalks are only 1-2mm in diameter. ... So I guess what I'm saying is that while I am not necessarily adverse to the suggestion, it is not one that I will act upon, or not at this time.

I don't think this will be a problem though, because my vision for the diorama I mentioned has included lighting from the very beginning, and a few well-placed Gantom spotlights, along with a multitude of bare LEDs, will do wonders. I will definitely post in the V. Bench sub-forum, but I need a bit of time to sketch out the diorama in Blender or whatever, first.. Showing the w-i-p is a good idea -- thanks! (I'm pretty terrible at "recording progress" for projects I work on, so let's see how this one pans out.)

As for moving on to the other figures for the diorama, I started on a batch of four Mind Flayers last Sunday, but I hadn't climbed in three days so had to give into my addiction an hour later, no choice. (Hey, there's worse things to be addicted to, right?) I'll post pictures soon though, once I'm done applying the base colours on all the minis.


Thanks again,

Dany

 

[Oda]

Thanks, gents! I really appreciate your replies!

I had a feeling that I would get suggestions/comments regarding the lack of highlights and all that, but even so, I think I'm going to leave this guy as is. I have two reasons for this (if you'll permit me to explain them) both quite "personal" and neither of which are "retaliatory" in any way (i.e. me, some total n00b, going against well-established conventions/techniques). First, I have a degree in theatre lighting design and I've been working in the entertainment lighting industry for over 25 years, so I am familiar with how light works in rl; as a result of this (most likely, anyway) for the time being, I simply cannot bring myself to think of "light being 'painted onto an object'," when really, once light is cast onto it, that object's shadows and highlights become visible naturally. (Sorry if I seem like I'm trying to take the "easy way out" here, but that's just basic physics. I'm not one to never say never though, and I somehow think that my views on this, at least as they apply to painting minis, will change.) Second, I don't feel I have the skill to paint highlights on the colour gradients I applied to the eyestalks, so I would probably end up ruining what even I (and I'm my biggest critic) consider to be pretty decent work; on top of this, I do not believe that such highlights will actually be visible without a magnifying glass, given that the eyestalks are only 1-2mm in diameter. ... So I guess what I'm saying is that while I am not necessarily adverse to the suggestion, it is not one that I will act upon, or not at this time.

I don't think this will be a problem though, because my vision for the diorama I mentioned has included lighting from the very beginning, and a few well-placed Gantom spotlights, along with a multitude of bare LEDs, will do wonders. I will definitely post in the V. Bench sub-forum, but I need a bit of time to sketch out the diorama in Blender or whatever, first.. Showing the w-i-p is a good idea -- thanks! (I'm pretty terrible at "recording progress" for projects I work on, so let's see how this one pans out.)

As for moving on to the other figures for the diorama, I started on a batch of four Mind Flayers last Sunday, but I hadn't climbed in three days so had to give into my addiction an hour later, no choice. (Hey, there's worse things to be addicted to, right?) I'll post pictures soon though, once I'm done applying the base colours on all the minis.


Thanks again,

Dany

Welcome aboard Dany,
Nice having you here and well done on your first mini.Keep up the good work.Regarding your argument on 3D objects and lighting keep in mind that what we paint are not 3D objects but 3D objects "in scale".So if I paint an 1/32 hussar then this fellow lives on an Earth which is 1/32 of the original and is lighted by a sun which is also 1/32 of the original,casting beams that are 1/32 as intense as the original.We do not paint minis living in our world.We paint entirely separate worlds and Universes with entirely different rules.We try to present a "reality in scale" not small objects that exist in our reality.
That said it is of course up to every modeler to paint what he or she likes,the way he or she likes best.Most important thing is to have fun in the process and continue to experiment and evolve.
Looking forward to more of your works and possibly a few tips on "staging" and "prop-setting" both fields on which you have extensive experience.

Oda.

 

[Rob]

........So I guess what I'm saying is that while I am not necessarily adverse to the suggestion, it is not one that I will act upon, or not at this time......

There is no "right" or "wrong" way to do any of this, we all tend to find our own approach so go with whatever works best to your eye.

As Oda mentioned in his excellent reply, the thing you will not have dealt with in lighting full size sets is the issue of how reduced scale surfaces affect light reflection (ie colour).
It is one of the most complex and oft discussed issues around miniature painting. There are some incredible miniature painters out there whose entire style consists of pushing the effects of light and shade in miniature to the absolute maximums. Websites like Putty & Paint, although lacking in discussion and interaction, have incredible miniature galleries that are a wonderful resource for ideas.

I look forward to seeing your diorama set.