Sanson Farstrider – more blending.

February 16, 2023February 16, 2023 DebbieForsterLeave a comment

This time, I wanted to try a blue steel effect with blending. I enjoyed the green and liked how it looking in my last attempt, so tried it on Sanson Farstrider, who I had just laying about.

I am super pleased with how it has turned out. I think the blending looks smooth and the tones have come out really well. I do think the blue needs more mid-tones, though I am happy with the levels of contrast in the mini. I think the red cloak and plume stands out well against the blue metals. The gold looks alright too.

I hope everyone appreciates Eagley on his wrist too!

miniatures.

Primaris Dante – finished!

April 9, 2022April 6, 2022 DebbieForster3 Comments

I have finally finished Primaris Dante! He took me ages to complete but I am so proud of how he turned out. Here are the finished pictures:

miniatures.

Dante.

March 1, 2020 DebbieForster6 Comments

I finished Dante today, after what seems like forever. When I picked him out of the second hand box he came in, I decided he would be a great opportunity to try a brighter version of Non-Metallic Metals than I have done in the past. Here he is in all his finished glory:

Thoughts on Non-Metallic metals then. I like how much brighter the paints I used turned out. It was difficult half way through because it looked awful but pressing through and using the yellow really brought it out. The blue blends on the axe look super smooth and I really like how the lightning looks as though it is dancing over the blade rather than just stuck on.

Improvement points: I need to make the lighter sections larger, I feel the mini is still rather dark in places. I could use smoothing out the blends as well to make the transitions better. This shows particularly on the larger, flat areas. Silver spots remain a sticking point but this will get better with time.

The base needs a touch up.

All in all though, this has been a great learning process and I have some ways forward for myself. I am pleased with him and he will soon join his brothers in the cabinet!

miniatures.

Dante’s Leg – Non Metallic Metals

January 27, 2020 DebbieForster10 Comments

Usually, Monday is the build day but I found myself with some time this evening to paint some of my own miniatures. As a part of the hobby audit, I wanted to practice non metallic metals. This is a technique I have started with but by no means mastered. I have found my efforts before have been rather dark and look like antique gold, as a friend said.

So, I found the miniature who wears a lot of shining gold and decided to have a go at something a bit lighter and more polished. Dante. Who else? I don’t have any Custodes that belong to me in the house and he was there waiting.

Here are my efforts so far:

Not bad for a first go. it looks lighter at least and more polished and I am pleased so far. What I have learned is that finecast seems to have a slight texture to it, as though it is porous and that is making the blending awkward.

Still, I am learning from the task adn that is the most important thing!

40K · Age of Sigmar · miniatures.

Shalaxi Helbane – Finished!

October 10, 2019 DebbieForster3 Comments

Mostly. I need to just touch up the base and tidy up the rim. The miniature is finished however and here he/she is! I am so very, very pleased with how this turned out:

I am so pleased with the blue skin and how the layers came together. The purple cloth looks alright as well, though I think the fabric layers could vary in colour a bit more.

The gold non-metallic metal has a slightly warmer tone to it than I have done before and that is something I want to build on further in my next attempt at something like this. The silver could use more work I think but regardless of this, I am pleased!

40K · Age of Sigmar · miniatures.

Slaughterpriest

September 13, 2019 DebbieForster2 Comments

After the disappointment of the last miniatures I painted, I decided I needed to do something totally different before I moved on to the next set. I have had a slaughterpriest kicking around the house for a while and I wanted to practice some non metalic metals as it has been a while since I have done them. Last thing I want is to forget how to do them after all. The slaughterpriest seemed as good a mini as any to have a go at and so he became my willing volunteer.

I also tried something new out on the leather he wears as well, I wanted to give it an aged, cracked feel and I had a tutorial on Pinterest that I wanted to try, adding my own tweaks in here and there if I needed to. Here are the results:

Best parts for me are the red plates with the blended highlights, and some of the areas of the brass look pretty good. Others could do with improving. Painting silver is pretty tough, but I am not going to improve that without practicing it. This is only the second time I have done so and I am hardly going to be an expert at it already. Just keep practicing!

miniatures. · painting

Teaching Painting!?

July 23, 2019July 22, 2019 DebbieForsterLeave a comment

Last week, I met with my good friend Rhiannon (https://rhiapaintsminis.blogspot.com) with the intention of showing her how I do non metallic metals and layering. I was a bit unsure about doing so, as I have only just acquired the technique myself and it is by no means perfected. Still, I had the rough idea of what to do and there is no harm in showing someone what you know. We could learn together after all.

So, I started with the layering principles: Using very thin layers, blending back and forth until there are no seams in the colours and being patient with it. Also, not worrying if it goes a bit wrong because you can add more layers to correct it.

I always keep some old Chaos Space Marines around for testing things on, so I took a couple with me and we got to work on layering.

We used the same iniatures for Non metallic metals as well. Explaining that knowing how light behaves and where it hits is key was easy enough, and then we talked about using a picture for reference – Pinterest is everyone’s friend I think when it comes to learning techniques and finding pictures. Why not use expert pictures as a reference for your own? We also talked about starting with dark shades and working up.

It was just a case of trying it out and seeing what happened, keeping the brush strokes in the same direction and practice!

Here are the results:

The above two are my efforts

Rhiannon NMM

This one is Rhiannon’s. All in all, I think we did very well considering that neither of us are ‘experts’. It is a case of refining what we tried out today and just keeping at it!

miniatures.

Abaddon the Despoiler

July 12, 2019 DebbieForster2 Comments

I have not disappeared! I have a friend staying over from Sweden adn we have been off on many adventures together while she stays here. Today however, to give my little car and our feet a rest, we decided to have a painting day. I have used the time to catch up on painting some more of Abaddon for Everchosen. Some of you may remember that I wanted to try Non-Metallic Metals for it and I have been taking my time with the blending highlighting.

So far, I am very pleased with the result. One of my worries was that parts of the miniature wouldn’t look as good as other parts. So far, I think I am alright.

I think I need to touch up the skull on his knee as it looks as though I have knocked it with some darker paint – this shouldn’t take too long at least.

I am also glad I decided to paint him and build him in parts. It has made accessing different areas a lot easier. I know I have a lot to do yet, but this feels like a great start!

miniatures. · painting

Everchosen and Non Metallic Metals.

June 28, 2019 DebbieForster6 Comments

During the painting tutorial day Wednesday, we discussed the Everchosen contest that is on the 27th July. I said I hadn’t planned on entering but was persuaded otherwise. I had a couple of option in my head. One was Ahriman floating about on a balewind vortex, the other was Abaddon. Now, Ahriman would have been too large for the category I want to enter, so Abaddon was the only remaining choice.

He is a wonderful miniature and I want to do him justice. I also want to learn new things and push myself for the contest. So I decided I was going to have to learn how to do Non-Metallic Metals. For those that don’t know, that is painting metal areas with non metal pigment. It is pretty hard to do.

I learned a lot about layering while I was painting the sword on Wednesday, and it was with that in mind I went about this task. I grabbed a test miniature, in this case a chaos space marine, and began looking at pictures on Pinterest. I don’t like watching videos, part of the fun for me is looking at a picture and figuring the rest out for myself.

I’m not secure enough in my knowledge to really share or offer tips on this, I have a lot to learn yet. However, I already learned a great deal and look forward to trying this again very soon.

Here are today’s attempts: