Romeo Models Viking WIP
- Thread starter NikToo
- Start date
Help Support planetFigure:
Don Johnson
Active Member
Nik, it looks like you have the basic colors blocked in rather well.
I'm assuming that you will next focus on shadows and highlights. The sculpt looks like it offers lots of opportunities for shading - the cape, the quilted jacket, the pants.
Would the pattern around the hem of green garment be repeated on the cuffs?
The same shading comment applies to the ground work - all three rocks are the same shade of grey presently. Use slightly different colors to introduce some variation. And a personal pet peeve - make sure you put some paint on the grass clumps to blend them into the scene - I use acrylics, starting with dark green or mid-brown at the root level (depending on season), then lighten as you get to the tops, hitting the very tips with a yellow green or light tan to make them pop visually.
Looks like you've made a good start. Keep going, and you'll have a nice figure for the display shelf.
Good luck! Don
I'm assuming that you will next focus on shadows and highlights. The sculpt looks like it offers lots of opportunities for shading - the cape, the quilted jacket, the pants.
Would the pattern around the hem of green garment be repeated on the cuffs?
The same shading comment applies to the ground work - all three rocks are the same shade of grey presently. Use slightly different colors to introduce some variation. And a personal pet peeve - make sure you put some paint on the grass clumps to blend them into the scene - I use acrylics, starting with dark green or mid-brown at the root level (depending on season), then lighten as you get to the tops, hitting the very tips with a yellow green or light tan to make them pop visually.
Looks like you've made a good start. Keep going, and you'll have a nice figure for the display shelf.
Good luck! Don
Thanks Don. I've actually done most of the shading... Or thought I had. The sleeves aren't quite done yet but the padded jacket, tunic, cape and trousers I've done. Perhaps it's not enough? The rocks have also been drybrushed, it's probably the photo not quite showing it. Here's an extreme closeup of the top, showing the jacket. Should I do more on it? What sort of colour would be good for the shading? Tried different browns but nothing really worked very well.
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
Goetz
Member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2011
- Messages
- 72
Nik, concerning the shadow colour of the jacket have you thought about a dark blue? What sort of paint are you using? What's about some daker lines along the inner stitching of that padded area (darker brownish tone would look interesting) and some lighter lines at the upper edges of these squares, where they are hit by light?
And I would recommend the same as Don: the repetition of the pattern on the cuffs.
Atfer finishing him, please think about some dirt down from the knees and the bottom of that cape, otherwise he would be a very tidy pal... ;-)
Cheers
Goetz
And I would recommend the same as Don: the repetition of the pattern on the cuffs.
Atfer finishing him, please think about some dirt down from the knees and the bottom of that cape, otherwise he would be a very tidy pal... ;-)
Cheers
Goetz
Don Johnson
Active Member
Nik, I didn't mean to leave you hanging, but life intervened . . . let's keep a couple things in mind here. First, I'm working from a couple of images, while you have the figure in front of you. Second, there's a difference between technique, and style.
From the images, I think the shading is a bit on the weak side. From a technique perspective, each of the quilted squares (diamonds?) should have both a shadow and a highlight. The fabric puffs up toward the light in the middle, and is drawn away from the light where the stitching is. Add to that the normal garment shadows, and there's plenty of opportunity to be a little bolder with the contrasts. (Still talking technique here...)
You ask about shading/highlight colors - you have a "tan" base color. I would mix a little warm brown into whatever color you used for the tan shade, and shade with that. I'd use a lighter tan or warm white with your base color for the highlights. I'd go a bit darker in the dividing lines with a brown wash, first, and then do my shades and highlights.
Another method is the so-called "dark-to-light" approach. When I first tried to paint with acrylics, it was a mess. I couldn't control the contrast - it was either tiger stripes, or too subtle. Then I stumbled on a article by a wargame figure painter, who talked about priming in black, and moving from dark to light only. I tried it, and suddenly it made sense. (Paint color "triads" was my other saving grace!) Now I think of where I want to end up, and move from the dark shades to the lighter shades, with much more control, and transitions that are much more pleasing to look at.
The same approach can work with artists oils, too. By lightening the initial color mix, a range of shadow-to-highlight tones can be developed.
Which brings us to . . . style. If you're a frequent visitor to this site, you know that there is a bit of a divergence these days regarding the amount of shading an artist might use on a figure. There are some painters who seem to be pushing the contrast limits with each new figure they do. Deep shadows, strong highlights, lots of difference in "value" (strength or tone of a color). Some of this is driven by what the fantasy painters are doing with color and contrast. On the other hand are painters who take a more traditional approach to contrast. My bias is probably with the "realistic" crowd, artistically, but I study the technique of the contrast painters.
What the heck am I babbling about? Look at the folds of the cloak behind the figure's right shoulder. Based on the image, I think you have your shadow and mid-tone colors in place, but are lacking the highlight color. Again, based on the image, I would hit the tops of the folds with a couple brighter shades of red, to emphasize the parts that are receiving the most light. Same for the green of the sleeve - it looks like the underside of the right arm, and the top side, have the same color value. The underside should be (slightly) darker than, and the top should be (slightly) lighter than, the "base" or middle green color.
Now, on the leather bag, I see some lighter tone around the edges, which looks good. It breaks up the brown color, and adds visual appeal. Maybe one more shade lighter on the edge of the flap would pop out that detail even more.
Of course, maybe all this is really there, on the figure, but the lighting washed out the contrasts, or the camera just couldn't provide an image that really shows your work to the best advantage.
Nik, I hope some of this will be helpful. Bottom line - be a little bolder - push for one more highlight when you think you've done enough, and see if that doesn't produce a pleasing result. Best of luck, and KEEP PAINTING!!! All the best, Don
From the images, I think the shading is a bit on the weak side. From a technique perspective, each of the quilted squares (diamonds?) should have both a shadow and a highlight. The fabric puffs up toward the light in the middle, and is drawn away from the light where the stitching is. Add to that the normal garment shadows, and there's plenty of opportunity to be a little bolder with the contrasts. (Still talking technique here...)
You ask about shading/highlight colors - you have a "tan" base color. I would mix a little warm brown into whatever color you used for the tan shade, and shade with that. I'd use a lighter tan or warm white with your base color for the highlights. I'd go a bit darker in the dividing lines with a brown wash, first, and then do my shades and highlights.
Another method is the so-called "dark-to-light" approach. When I first tried to paint with acrylics, it was a mess. I couldn't control the contrast - it was either tiger stripes, or too subtle. Then I stumbled on a article by a wargame figure painter, who talked about priming in black, and moving from dark to light only. I tried it, and suddenly it made sense. (Paint color "triads" was my other saving grace!) Now I think of where I want to end up, and move from the dark shades to the lighter shades, with much more control, and transitions that are much more pleasing to look at.
The same approach can work with artists oils, too. By lightening the initial color mix, a range of shadow-to-highlight tones can be developed.
Which brings us to . . . style. If you're a frequent visitor to this site, you know that there is a bit of a divergence these days regarding the amount of shading an artist might use on a figure. There are some painters who seem to be pushing the contrast limits with each new figure they do. Deep shadows, strong highlights, lots of difference in "value" (strength or tone of a color). Some of this is driven by what the fantasy painters are doing with color and contrast. On the other hand are painters who take a more traditional approach to contrast. My bias is probably with the "realistic" crowd, artistically, but I study the technique of the contrast painters.
What the heck am I babbling about? Look at the folds of the cloak behind the figure's right shoulder. Based on the image, I think you have your shadow and mid-tone colors in place, but are lacking the highlight color. Again, based on the image, I would hit the tops of the folds with a couple brighter shades of red, to emphasize the parts that are receiving the most light. Same for the green of the sleeve - it looks like the underside of the right arm, and the top side, have the same color value. The underside should be (slightly) darker than, and the top should be (slightly) lighter than, the "base" or middle green color.
Now, on the leather bag, I see some lighter tone around the edges, which looks good. It breaks up the brown color, and adds visual appeal. Maybe one more shade lighter on the edge of the flap would pop out that detail even more.
Of course, maybe all this is really there, on the figure, but the lighting washed out the contrasts, or the camera just couldn't provide an image that really shows your work to the best advantage.
Nik, I hope some of this will be helpful. Bottom line - be a little bolder - push for one more highlight when you think you've done enough, and see if that doesn't produce a pleasing result. Best of luck, and KEEP PAINTING!!! All the best, Don
Don & Goetz, thank you both very much for taking the time and for your advice. It's all greatly appreciated and taken on board. The figure's pretty much all "coloured in" now, so will work on enhancing the shadows and highlights (and adding the pattern on the cuffs 
). Realising how much I've missed painting.
). Realising how much I've missed painting.
Bailey
A Fixture
NikToo, you're off to a good start on this one. I agree with a lot of what Don has said (I'm also a dark to light painter... but go with what works for you). I tend to prefer a little more contrast between highlights and shadows, but that is really more about personal preference than right or wrong. From the last picture I can see the shading on his skin and on his sleeve and I think that looks good, especially the shading on his face. But other areas like the quilted jacket and the lower part of his tunic look a little too flat to me. You've shaded the quilt creases, but each of the patches looks like a single color. A highlight along their upper edge and a little variation could help. In the end how much shading and highlighting you do is up to you and the look you're going for. However, it seems to me that while the shading might look great when you're working on the mini and you're right up next to it, when you take a step back the variations seem to fade and are less apparent. Since most of the time the viewer won't be as close are you are while you're painting, I find a good rule of thumb is to take what looks right from close up and exaggerate it a little bit. Make your shadows a little darker than you think they should be and your highlights a little lighter. No need to go to extremes, just a little exaggeration.
Another thing that I see a lot of painters do when they paint folds in capes or clothing is, for the creases, paint every valley dark and peak light. I don't have a good view of the back of the cape but it looks like you might be approaching it that way. Instead you should think about where your light is coming from (directly above the figure) and how it hits the folds in the cloth. Shep Paine gave a great explanation of how to do this which he called the stop sign rule. If you haven't read about it, take a look at this link:
Shep Paine's Stop Sign Rule
If the link doesn't work, here is a brief recap. Imagine a stop sign with a light directly above it. Each surface would get a different amount of light and thus be a different shade based on it's angle. Of course your figure is a much more complicated shape, but the idea is the same. The angle of the surfaces dictate how light or dark they should be. The link has some nice images on how this should be applied to the figure and folds in the cloth.
That's a lot of advice but keep in mind I think the figure looks good and you're on the right track. These are just some ideas to help you on the next one.
Another thing that I see a lot of painters do when they paint folds in capes or clothing is, for the creases, paint every valley dark and peak light. I don't have a good view of the back of the cape but it looks like you might be approaching it that way. Instead you should think about where your light is coming from (directly above the figure) and how it hits the folds in the cloth. Shep Paine gave a great explanation of how to do this which he called the stop sign rule. If you haven't read about it, take a look at this link:
Shep Paine's Stop Sign Rule
If the link doesn't work, here is a brief recap. Imagine a stop sign with a light directly above it. Each surface would get a different amount of light and thus be a different shade based on it's angle. Of course your figure is a much more complicated shape, but the idea is the same. The angle of the surfaces dictate how light or dark they should be. The link has some nice images on how this should be applied to the figure and folds in the cloth.
That's a lot of advice but keep in mind I think the figure looks good and you're on the right track. These are just some ideas to help you on the next one.
Another quick WIP. I decided to take the old advice of "kill your darlings" and redo the jacket. You can see where I've done the panels in a pale brown around the midriff and not yet on the bottom and the arms (the top panel in apex of the "pyramid" has just been painted with the base colour, hence why it looks darker). Hopefully it will come out a bit better. Really tried to get some contrast in there. Also done the leg wraps and shoes (some of the paint has been scuffed off the right shoe).
Thanks for all the feedback. I've really tried to push myself with this figure.
Bailey
A Fixture
Yeah, that's a big difference between the bottom and the top. Keep up the good work!
One slight point is the shading on the padded gambeson is the opposite of what it should be I know it's counter intuitive but it should be lighter in the seams not darker, basically the deeper a seam/fold on something like this the cleaner it will be. Here's a couple of pics of my bike jacket to demonstrate,they are very dark as the flash loses the difference
Steve
Steve
Just found this (originally posted by Mark S here http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/norman-knight-hastings-1066.56128/#post-568974) which shows exactly what I mean
Steve
Steve
Don Johnson
Active Member
Nik, Congratulations! The 2.0 version is definitely bolder, and to my eye, more appealing.
Regarding Helm's comments, as I am very much a horse-and-musket era fan (roughly 1750 to 1865), I will most always defer to those who have knowledge and interest in the earlier periods, especially Ancient and Dark Age subjects. Notwithstanding that, I'd continue with the new version of the jacket, and save the new info for the next similar figure.
In any event, keep going, keep pushing yourself, and enjoy the process! Don
Regarding Helm's comments, as I am very much a horse-and-musket era fan (roughly 1750 to 1865), I will most always defer to those who have knowledge and interest in the earlier periods, especially Ancient and Dark Age subjects. Notwithstanding that, I'd continue with the new version of the jacket, and save the new info for the next similar figure.
In any event, keep going, keep pushing yourself, and enjoy the process! Don
Tubby-Nuts2
A Fixture
Just found this (originally posted by Mark S here http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/norman-knight-hastings-1066.56128/#post-568974) which shows exactly what I mean
Steve
Hello Steve! ... I have always thought this!.. and knocked out a thread about it a while ago! (Reverse shading) ... however most bod's preferred the 'Zenithal' lighting method, as it seemed easier!
Mark
Don Johnson
Active Member
Nik, you've done a good job on this figure. The additions you've made in the past week represent some significant steps forward. You finished the piece. You listened to some advice, processed it, and changed a couple of things that you likely thought were "finished". Congratulations on all of that. Now grab another figure that you like, and dive right back in! Good luck!! Don
Looks very well colours are nice and muted not sure if it's the light but it looks a little glossy in places on the fabric, if it is I would suggest using a little Tamiya X21 in your mix for next time, but excellent first go
Steve
Steve
Thanks Don & Steve. Yes, I will stick some Testors Dullcote on it once finished. And extra thanks to Don for "pushing me" that extra bit. It's definitely been a learning experience which makes it even better to me personally. Going to do some tidying on it tonight and then varnish tomorrow.
It's definitely been a learning experience which makes it even better to me personally. Going to do some tidying on it tonight and then varnish tomorrow.
Paul Kernan
A Fixture
Well done, Nik. Love the progress you made on this figure
