US Marine-Brutal Honesty Required

[Mike Stevens]

Please give your Honest Opinion and Critique.

How do I make the, Eyes, Nose, Chin and General face in that order better, Painted in Acrylics

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Einion]

Hey Mike, I'd like to see larger pics for a start. It looks like they could do with being a touch lightened as well (if you need tips on ways of doing this just shout).

From what I can see the contrast looks a bit high, but scale is a factor with this - what suits 54 is a bit much on a 75 or a 90.

Sorry don't know the figure, is it a commercial piece so it's just the paint you're looking for critique on?

Einion

 

[Mike Stevens]

Hey Mike, I'd like to see larger pics for a start. It looks like they could do with being a touch lightened as well (if you need tips on ways of doing this just shout).

Sorry don't know the figure, is it a commercial piece so it's just the paint you're looking for critique on?

Einion

I'll upload the large pic's tonight when I get home.

 

[Bailey]

What scale is this? Is it a 54mm?

You've got a nice range in the skin tones. I think you could use a little more blending on the right side of the face though. The line going from the top of the eyes, around the outside of the cheek, and down to the chin stands out a bit. And maybe it's the angle of the picture or a reflection from the light, but I would make the right side of the nose darker. Looking at the middle picture you get a clear highlight on the front face of the nose and the top of the nostril with a darker section on the side, but in the 3rd picture the nose looks to be almost only a single shade.

This may be too much of a pain to correct, but the left eyes seems to have drifted too much towards the nose giving him a slightly cross eyed look. The right eye seems to be looking straight ahead while the left eye is looking a little to the right. I try to balance the amount of white to the right of the iris on each eye and the amount to the left on each eye. It's never easy.

Overall it's looking very good.

 

[Mike Stevens]

What scale is this? Is it a 54mm?

You've got a nice range in the skin tones. I think you could use a little more blending on the right side of the face though. The line going from the top of the eyes, around the outside of the cheek, and down to the chin stands out a bit. And maybe it's the angle of the picture or a reflection from the light, but I would make the right side of the nose darker. Looking at the middle picture you get a clear highlight on the front face of the nose and the top of the nostril with a darker section on the side, but in the 3rd picture the nose looks to be almost only a single shade.

This may be too much of a pain to correct, but the left eyes seems to have drifted too much towards the nose giving him a slightly cross eyed look. The right eye seems to be looking straight ahead while the left eye is looking a little to the right. I try to balance the amount of white to the right of the iris on each eye and the amount to the left on each eye. It's never easy.

Overall it's looking very good.

Hi David, It's a 120MM.

Thanks for your opinion

 

[Mike Stevens]

Hey Mike, I'd like to see larger pics for a start. It looks like they could do with being a touch lightened as well (if you need tips on ways of doing this just shout).

From what I can see the contrast looks a bit high, but scale is a factor with this - what suits 54 is a bit much on a 75 or a 90.

Sorry don't know the figure, is it a commercial piece so it's just the paint you're looking for critique on?

Einion

Just the Paint: It's a 120MM. New release.

 

[housecarl]

I think the others have most of the points covered Mike. I think your contrast is too high for the scale, and you transitions could do with smoothing out. The frontal highlights appear to be just one colour, no variety from low to high. Having had a look at the unforgiving close ups, I stand by what I said, that being the blends need more work, and lose some of the stark contrast.
Nice eyes though.
Is this an old sculpt?
All opinion expressed are mine, and not necessarily those of an expert.
Carl.

 

[Bailey]

In my opinion the stark contrast is more of a stylistic choice. I agree with Carl and Einion, I probably would tone it down for a scale like 120 (with a 54 I think it's more expected)... but I think this is more of a personal preference than a right/wrong sort of thing. If he's outside under harsh sunlight, it might well be the right look.

My advice is to be consistent. If you like the large contrast use the same range for the rest of your figure.

 

[Anders Heintz]

While I agree that the smaller the scale, the higher the contrast needs to be, I don't think Mike has gone too far on this one. Looks about right to me, but I like contrast and for a figure to pop, I'm not much into the 'duller' painting styles.

As for critique, his right side of the face could use some better transitions, you can clearly see the lines between the shadows/midtones/highlights, this is easily fixed with some mixes of your various tones painted over the transitional lines very diluted. The ears could use some more work as well, look pretty plain, and not many midtones. The nose could also use a little more attention, shading around the nostrills, anf hi highlighting the nostrill tips as well as the ball of the nose. A touch of color under the nose is always a nice touch as well.

I like the view of the face from the front, looks really pretty good. The highlights are especially good. Also like the color selection for the tunic, they are very much in harmony with eachother.

Way to stick your neck out there brother to help get this forum started off in the right direction!

 

[Mike Stevens]

I think the others have most of the points covered Mike. I think your contrast is too high for the scale, and you transitions could do with smoothing out. The frontal highlights appear to be just one colour, no variety from low to high. Having had a look at the unforgiving close ups, I stand by what I said, that being the blends need more work, and lose some of the stark contrast.
Nice eyes though.
Is this an old sculpt?
All opinion expressed are mine, and not necessarily those of an expert.
Carl.

Thanks Carl, I think that this kind of feedback is what we should convey to folks who want our collective opinions on how to improve. It may help some of out as well who are static and trying to improve as well.

The feedback should be direct, to the point. Make suggestions on specifics of the figure. More on technique and less on style.

 

[Mike Stevens]

While I agree that the smaller the scale, the higher the contrast needs to be, I don't think Mike has gone too far on this one. Looks about right to me, but I like contrast and for a figure to pop, I'm not much into the 'duller' painting styles.

As for critique, his right side of the face could use some better transitions, you can clearly see the lines between the shadows/midtones/highlights, this is easily fixed with some mixes of your various tones painted over the transitional lines very diluted. The ears could use some more work as well, look pretty plain, and not many midtones. The nose could also use a little more attention, shading around the nostrills, anf hi highlighting the nostrill tips as well as the ball of the nose. A touch of color under the nose is always a nice touch as well.

I like the view of the face from the front, looks really pretty good. The highlights are especially good. Also like the color selection for the tunic, they are very much in harmony with eachother.

Way to stick your neck out there brother to help get this forum started off in the right direction!

Thanks sir, very concise and to the point critique.

 

[pmfs]

Hi Mike!
I think each your new figure is better than the previous one and this face is very well done, nice tones.
I never painted a 120mm, but maybe the highlights are to intense in this particular scale???
Try to use a flesh base color heavily thinned between the borders of high and shadow places and you will see the harsh effects vanish of the figure face.
Just my true opinion, I´m still learning mate many steps behind you.

Pedro

 

[Meehan34]

Looking good so far sir. The right cheek as mentioned previously is really the most bothersome area for me. The blending is just lacking. I do like how you keep pushing ahead on these figures but I must say you are one crazy SOB to tackle a 120mm figure.

 

[kaz6120]

I like contrast on even in 120mm scale, so I think the contrast of highest highlight and the deepest shadow is OK.
This means you already set the top and the bottom, so you can add more variety of colors beween the top highlight and bottom shadow. If I were you I will add more orange or reddish tone on cheek and nose area to give a life to the face.

 

[Joe55]

Hey Mike, I don't have much to add as everyone else has it pretty well covered. What I will say is that you went after painting a figure using paint and techniques that are difficult enough in 54mm let alone on 120mm. My hat is off to you! Every figure is a learning experience and each one is just a bit better than the last.

Joe

 

[Mike Stevens]

Hi Mike!
I think each your new figure is better than the previous one and this face is very well done, nice tones.
I never painted a 120mm, but maybe the highlights are to intense in this particular scale???
Try to use a flesh base color heavily thinned between the borders of high and shadow places and you will see the harsh effects vanish of the figure face.
Just my true opinion, I´m still learning mate many steps behind you.

Pedro

Pedro, I like your comment on flesh colored base to even out the transitions. I think you may be referring to what we call glazing in the U.S. That is good advice for anyone posting on this forum.

 

[Mike Stevens]

I like contrast on even in 120mm scale, so I think the contrast of highest highlight and the deepest shadow is OK.
This means you already set the top and the bottom, so you can add more variety of colors beween the top highlight and bottom shadow. If I were you I will add more orange or reddish tone on cheek and nose area to give a life to the face.

Hi Kaz,

Thanks for responding to the invitation to critique this figure. You have offered some valuable advice that other painter can use.

 

[Mike Stevens]

Hi,

I want to thank everyone who was invited to critique this piece as well as those who were not and then chose to partake and added their valuable experience to the mix.

I believe that the experiment is working.

For the most part we had clear concise and constructive feedback.

Hopefully the folks who post here in the future will know how to as for specific advice that we can comment on readily with our collective knowledge regardless of medium that we use.

I'll add a Part II in another post with a different group of Reviewers invited to critique the top half of this figure of this figure and a Part III for the lower half of the figure with yet another group.

 

[Einion]

This is a 120?? I would never have guessed that based on the sculpting, which is pretty crude for the scale. Kinda looks like the standard about 20 years back, not today's.

Mike, I suspect the photos aren't doing your paintwork justice and I have to be honest here, I don't think the sculpting of the face is helping you any here with achieving a subtle/more subtle effect.

But from what it looks like (with the pics lightened and colour-corrected in Photoshop) the contrast is a bit high for the scale. It's not that your lights are too light or darks too dark though, it's how much of each are showing and the transitions between the two that are key.

Similar point to what is sometimes said about painting red, where you want to be careful about how you highlight and shade it so that the viewer's first 'read' of it is red? For larger scales I think skin should generally be painted so that the first impression is skin colour; so just like with red, more midtones. Here's a photo of Colin Firth in fair neutral lighting showing what I mean:

If we imagine this is a painted head... while the shading is quite subtle you still notice it straight off (so it's not overly flat which "less contrast" might be equated with in the mind), and the darks under the nose and just under the browline are plenty dark, that dark value is just used judiciously and there isn't much of it. Which there shouldn't be, this is a light-to-medium value being depicted, it shouldn't be so much about dark shadows in the type of lighting we generally try to simulate.

Einion

 

[debrito]

Hello Mike,
The way I see this thread is a bit odd – different from V-Bench and the Painting section... Here, I think if we do not comment is because we like the result on the other hand if we do not like on the V-bench and painting section we will not comment...by saying that I do like your face even if the photos are a little small everything seems to be well balance..
Best regards