# Totem Pole Studio workbench



## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Apologies in advance for the english, as its not my main language. 20 + years of devouring hollywood films and american popculture, doesn't guarantee bulletproof grammar, I am afraid.

For some time now, I've been toying with the idea of starting my own painting studio. I know I've got decent enough skills, but the management, customer dealing, and general logistical side of such an enterprise is currently beyond me. I decided that before I'll even begin thinking about setting up my own studio offering commisions, it would be best to start a painting log, as baby steps. To learn the trade, get critique and suggestions on the paintjobs, and perhaps advertise my works a bit. Get a better feel of whats involved in the buissnes of commision painting.

My current goal is to set aside any display models for my own private collection, and for now focus on pieces meant for Ebay. I would like to try training and dedicate a regular amount of hours per day, so that I can complete several good quality models/units a month. Get a better grip on managing time and learn to paint more effectively.

The last piece I finished was a unit of three Necron Canoptek Wraiths:



















































If You like em, please leave a vote here:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/330651

The minis are currently on sale here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Painted-Necron-Canoptek-Wraiths-/151031301298?


Also, a few months back I finished and sold this beast. It was featured some time ago on the the Procrastinator's blog



































If You like it, please leave a vote here:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/314368
http://www.coolminiornot.com/314364

Comments and critique are welcome.

Cheers!


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## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

These look aweseom, i can't really give much of a critique because your painting at a much higher level than where i am, the only thing i can see, and it's a minor thing which you'll probably get over with even the next model you paint, The pallet on both of these example pieces if very similar to the point of nearly beign identical. You would do well to do something with some bold primary colours or realistic military feels to diversify your current portfolio.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Yeah, I know what You mean. Recently I've been painting mainly "evil" armies, and most of the paintjobs are based around some combination of black and red, ie "eviiiiiiil" colours  Currently working on Tau battlesuits, experimenting with camouflage, should bring some variety to this thread.


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## alasdair (Jun 11, 2009)

I absolutely love these, that is probably one of the best helbrutes I have seen. One niggle is that the basing is a bit bland on the wraiths in particular. Perhaps some scrub or patches of grass to break it up and add a little contrast?


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Yeah, I get that a lot about the bases. It's just that for some reason, I always feel that elemets like grass and foliage don't suit armies like Necrons or Chaos. When basing such miniatures I always try to go for a "battelfield desolation" look. I experiment using modeling powders and sand, but in the end it all looks a bit too uniform, I agree. 

My current wip is a Tau Battlesuit, I allready started working on the base, this time it will be a bit more elaborate.


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## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

If you didn't want to bring nice healthy vegetation into the chaos and necron bases you could always base them up with glowing glyphs or architecture to give you an additional spot colour on their bases.
Edit:


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## CubanNecktie (Nov 2, 2012)

I'm gonna disagree with the above comments. I think the gore and osl effects are so insanely dynamic that a mute base is exactly what you need.

No one should get a pokemon-level seizure from too much stuff going on. Btw could you pleaseeee do a short guide on the hellbrute blood stuff. No need to give away trade secrets, but damn that looks great.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Its cheap office glue glazed with dark red paint (blood red + red wash + chaos black), and covered with plenty of gloss varnish. 

Clear, universal, liquid glue. Find an office glue that leaves those annyoing, stringy spiderwebs every time You touch it. The cheaper the better, as finer and more expensive brands usualy don't leave that sort of web. Then simply apply it on the figure and string it between any two parts of the model. After the glue dries, color it the way You want with acrylic paint, and cover with gloss varnish. Done. 

You can also check this tutorial, I found on YT:


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## Dave T Hobbit (Dec 3, 2009)

The Necrons look good at long to medium range and the OSL is great.

However, the distressing on the metal areas looks slightly less professional than the rest of the model close-up. I suggest using thinner lines to give a crisper finish.


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## Dave T Hobbit (Dec 3, 2009)

The Necrons look good at long to medium range and the OSL is great.

However, the distressing on the metal areas looks slightly less detailed than the rest of the model close-up. I suggest using thinner lines to give a crisper finish.


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

The Necrons look very 'Matrixy' in a good way. The OLS is great on them.

The Helbrute is really nice too, I love the skin tone you've achieved, it's very raw and contrasts well with the rest of the figure.


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## bigray023 (Jul 4, 2011)

I agree with teh Matrix comment and I think they look awesome. The Hellbrute is also impressive and is a great color combo for it and the gore is a nice touch.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Okay back from the dead. Real life issues in the last few months, dragged me away from the hobby completely, but now I am back to painting, and working on finishing old projects. 

Currently on the agenda:










This is guy is about 90% finished. Still need to touch up a few details, plus do the pigments weathering. 


































Also, I need to paint the base. If everything will go well, this whole project should be 100% finished tommorow.


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## Dies Irae (May 21, 2008)

I'm going to follow everyone and say that OSL on the Necrons is one of the best I've ever seen, but that the metals need a little something (maybe and ultra-thin Nuln Oil wash to tie the colors together?). The Helbrute is top notch, pretty impressive blood effects (thanks for sharing).

I'm not entirely sold on the Tau Battlesuit, it could really be improved with a contrasting colour, like bright Sept markings/ rockets/ energy cells, or orange chips on the rusted edges.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

Agreed that tau is looking pretty rough, like he's a tau from mad max's Australia.

He definitely needs some accent colors.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

The Tau was supposed to be an Urban camoflauge battlesuit ravaged by wear and tear, so its mean to be pretty rough.

But now that You guys mentioned sept markings I just had the "oh sh%t I totally forgot about the decals!" moment. Couse I did  

I allready covered the guy in weathering powders, but I'll think about adding some transfers and symbols to the armour. What coulour would work or contrast nicely with the greys? I am thinking about orange or white.


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

I really like Tau tbh, it's like an urban version of Lew's ones. That's some pretty amazing brush work you have going on there!

For sept markings I say go white, I think the orange might clash a bit with the green lights and the greys.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

The Tau Battlesuit is finished. I am happy with the model, though its not 100% what I envisaged when I started the project. The heavy weathering doesn't look as good on a camoflouged model, as on a plain colored one, since it all meshes together a bit too much. It does look better in-hand though. The various scratched metal bits are more prounounced and visible, plus the mixture of diffrent textures from the beaten metal, semi-gloss camo paint and matt, chalky residues of battlefield dust and dirt creates a nice, realistic contrast. 

I am allready working on another battlesuit. This time it will be less gritty and more 'Eavy Metal.

The mini is for sale here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151138635999?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

If You like the model please leave a vote one CMON: http://www.coolminiornot.com/342750


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Really great work so far, I have nothing to add for the crons and hellbrute that hasn't already been touched on. 

In regards to the battlesuit. I think becuase you're adding so much weathering, you could take the camouflage lighter, used lighter greys and made the model lighter in general before the application of the weathering. Because the weathering dulls the overall colour so much it wouldn't have been as stark as you might expect, but it would make the model look a little less drab. The quality is evidently there, it's just masked by the weathering (which is good too, it's just hard to distinguish between them on some parts)


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

Well I can't fault the skill at the camo, the weathering or the OSL. It's bloody amazing. I think it possibly needs more OSL specifically around the Fusion Blaster vents and the shiel. I think that would possibly make it pop a bit more. That said it's a bloody amazing job you have done on it!


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

I find the lack of different colors on the Tau suit makes it boring. The effect looks good on necrons but not so much on the Tau. Having fought in an urban environment that would stick out like a sore thumb. 
Necrons looks great and the metal work is much better executed then the Tau as well.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

After the previous, perhaps overly gritty and weathered Battlesuit, my next Tau paintjob is going to be more vibrant and in a more 'Eavy Metal style:


























Also, something else I finished recently. DE Shadowblade. Now that's one hell of a sculpt. Never seen such a dynamic figure before. GW really nailed it. Pics don't do justice to just how energetic this sculpt looks in hand. 

The mini is currently on sale here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151153836912

I You like it, please live a vote on CMON: http://www.coolminiornot.com/344074


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Loving the colour choices on the new battlesuit, it looks awesome! 

The DE looks good, but the cape looks quite flat, which is more becuase of the cloak (which just looks likes something someone stuck on with GS and no real modelling skill, not the standard we've come to expect from GW at all.)


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## Dies Irae (May 21, 2008)

Nice to see more of your work. There is something I always wondered when facing things like this battlesuit: do you start the black areas with a white basecoat then apply a dozen layers of very thin black paint or start black and then paint the edges in light grey? It seems almost impossible to reach some of those lines.

Shadowblade is indeed an amazing sculpt. What I like the most is that when facing the mini directly it's hard to see either of the blades.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

@ Dies Irae

Unfortunately the black was done the "standard" way. Black bascoat edge highlighted with two stages using a brush, by adding some white to the mix of black. Then after the second highlight I flooded it all with a heavy glaze of pure black mixed with a lot of glaze/lahmian medium, to help bring it all togheter and tone the highlights down (I went a bit overboard with the final highlight which was too bright). And I admit it was a pain in the ass.

But If You're looking for a quicker, mass-production method of highlighting black, then undercoating the black parts in white and then flooding them with several heavy layers of black mixed with liberal amount of lahmian medium, should work. Due to the nature of the glaze, the paint should concentrate mostly in the middle of each surface, leaving the edges mostly just tinted with black. Of course the whole thing will have a non-uniform, "washed" look to it, but You can always touch up any flat areas that aren't black enough with pure black paint, that should be a easier and quicker to do than reaching all the edges with a brush and highlighting them by hand. 

But the end result will never look as sharp so I haven't tried this method yet.

Another suggestion is to bascoat the area in black and then simply drybrush the highlights with grey. The drybrushing will stick mostly to the edges producing a sharp highlight. And if any of the highlight paint will get on the flat areas, You can always touch them up later with pure black.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Finaly got some free time to finish the battlesuit. When I started him I wanted to go for totally comic-book like, anime style with plenty of vibrant colors and high contrast, "glowing" highlights. In the end I opted to down him down a bit, with some weathering. Much lighter though than the previous Battlesuit. I might buy another one and paint it up 100% clean this time, since I have such a good time painting Tau mechs.

The mini is now available for sale: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151184540300

Also, If You like it, please leave a vote on CMON: 
http://www.coolminiornot.com/346766


















































Next up - a Dark Angels tactical marine :biggrin:


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## Ddraig Cymry (Dec 30, 2012)

That's a damn fine battlesuit! Really really love the colors, the weathering, the pose, everything! Great work!


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

That is a tasty battlesuit right there! :shok:


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

*Index Astartes: Dark Angels*


























































_*Brother Baradiel - 1st Chapter Adeptus Astartes, 5th company, 3rd tactical squad.

One of the most decorated tactical marines currently serving within the Dark Angels battle companies. Baradiel distinguished service record and unquestionable faith and resolve, have recently garnered him the attention of Chapter veterans. In recent months he felt the higher scrutiny and attention placed upon him by his elders. Baradiel senses doors within his own chapter battle structure opening before him, and recognises the coming opportunity of proving his worth to serve within the Dark Angels inner elite. His masters will not find him wanting.

Note:
Ceremonial 'Iron Halo' mounted on the backpack - a rare honorific to be seen amongst the rank and file of Adeptus Astartes. Awarded for tactical initiative during the battle of Verenheim Reach.

Personal heraldry on right knee pad. Paint partialy damaged due to battle conditions, but the general pattern still visible. Black and white, checkered field contiguous with three white swords on a red background.

Company marking on left knee pad. 

Chapter maxim engraved on the bolter. 

Skulls of fallen battle brothers ceremoniously consecrated and attached with spikes to left shoulder guard. A morbid form of remembrace. 


*_Recently I rummaged through my bitz box and found that I had enough various parts scattered about, to make several full marine figures. I started kit bashing them to represent different chapters and I got an idea for a new series of display minis, featuring various Marine Chapters/Legions. Starting today with Lion's 1st. 

The mini is currently on sale: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151213385915

If You like it, leave a vote: http://www.coolminiornot.com/349438


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Current Work in Progress:


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## Dies Irae (May 21, 2008)

It baffles me how some people can achieve pinpoint accuracy with a paintbrush. I see those pictures on a 22" monitor, so the minis are displayed about 3 times their normal size, and yet the swords on the DA's kneepad and the thunderbolts all over the Night Lord's armour are less than a millimeter thin. Congratz.

As always I am not fond of the battle-damaged look, some scratches here and there are fine with me but this Dark Angel looks like he has not repaired/repainted his armour for a year or so. The skulls look fantastic though, as well as the lenses.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of this Night Lord, this helmet paintjob looks promising.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Since the Night Lord got shelved, this is what I've been working on for the past 3 days. Coming up next - Scythes of the Emperor, also known as Imperial Bumblebees.

It's still a heavy wip, about 60% done. Should be ready in 2-3 days.


























Plus, a proof that everything looks better with terror markings


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

That is amazing! Everything from the pose, the equipment choice and the painting is awesome!


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Jesus and i thought i was meticulous when it came to painting. Well done mate.


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## xenobiotic (Jun 7, 2008)

My hat of to you, Smith. You are a talented painter indeed from the looks of your work here. I must say I think your skill with paint is really showing on that Scythes marine, I think that scheme just fits your style if you know what I mean?

And it's no news to me that terror markings makes everything better (painting Night Lords myself at the moment).


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## Uveron (Jun 11, 2011)

I love that marine! Looks fantastic!


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Had to take a short hiatus due to work, but now I am back and the figure is almost done.

Just finished the base, thought I would post a crude step-by-step:










The bare resin base. Bought from Micro Arto Studio.










The base was coated with metallic layers. In order to differentiate the look and the texture, I used metallics from different brands: Citadel,
Humbrol and Vallejo True Gold. Acrylic, enamel and alcohol-based respectively. It didn't matter all that much in the end, since the base was later flooded with washes that toned down the natural reflective qualities of each paint, but still I think it was better to use different types of metallics to create some variety in look. The effect is very subtle tough, so it's perectly ok to use just one brand of paint. Some silver scratches were also applied to the golden/brass areas.

The small teal colored blobs on the floor tiles are patches of masking fluid applied randomly by detail brush and sponge. It will later be basecoated and removed to create a scratched paint effect. In addition to masking fluid, I also covered the floor with a coat of Mig Productions Chipping Fluid.










The floor tiles are basecoated. The brass grate-ish thingy is covered with black oil wash.


















The masking fluid is removed to create a scratched paint effect. More Mig Chipping Fluid is applied on the floor and then worked with old, stiff brush to damage the paint and produce fine chipping. But that step can be easily omnited if one doesn't have any Chipping Fluid, since the effect is so sublte, that it can either be ignored or replicated by applying metallic paint with detail brush if one has steady enough hand for it. I also painted very small patches of rust using dark brown paint. It was mostly applied in places where I scratched the paint too hard and digged into pure resin.


























I wanted to create patches of heavy corrosion around the base. The kind of rust that in addition to discolouring the metals, also produces a heavy, grainy texture. This is where the new Typhus Corrosion technical paint would be ideal for the job, but since I didn't had any, I improvised by applying some Liquid Green Stuff by way of stippling it with old brush to create texture. It was later coloured with dark brown paint to knock-back the green and then drybrushed with Ryza Rust technical paint.










The entire base was given a wash of black oil pant. More Ryza Rust was applied in several places. Instead of drubrushing it, I first layed down several, watered-down washes of Ryza, and then applied small blobs of pure Ryza Rust in random pattern to create difference in rust texture.


































The finished product. To get there the entire base was given a wash of Mig Production pigments and Mig Dust Effects. It was a light, general wash to give the base a subtle patina of dust and dry it up a bit (all the previous oil washes, gave the base a slight sheen). Heavier and more concentrated washes of dust were applied in some of the "criss-cross" sections in- between the floor tiles, as well as in few places on the brass grate. Even more Ryza Rust was added here in there using the same method as in previous step. Dirty oil spill was made on the floor around the pipes. It was done simply by painting on a wash of brown and black oil paints. After the wash dried, the oil spill was covered in gloss varnish. Some final pure-silver scratches were applied to the metal surfaces with detail brush, including painting them inside the small patches of metallic scratches on the floor tiles (I made sure those last silver scratches were smaller and finer than the original ones). Finally a spill of some poor, unfortunate bastards blood was splattered on the floor with the new Blood for the Blood God technical paint. I dipped the paintbrush in some BFTBG, held the brush near the base and then blew on it with air from my lungs to create a natural looking splatter (painting those things by hand, usually results in artifical looking pattern). Before You do that, practice on a piece of paper to make sure the splatter size won't be too big.

That's it I guess. Hope it's usefull to someone. If anything is unclear from the descriptions, just ask here.


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Holy crap. This should be put up int the tutorials section. Awesome work man.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

_"For the ghosts of Sotha!"

Brother Cordiel - Scythes of the Emperor Chapter Adeptus Astartes, 2nd company, 2nd tactical squad.

Pictured above during the assault on the engine deck of "The Gorgon's Eye" - flagship of Rouge Trader Valerian Zeth. Zeth's support of the Nerubian dynasty's forces was instrumental in the succes of their rebelion which swept over all of Toretuga system, their later secession from the Imperium and succesful resistance which lasted for over 30 years. Zeth and the formidable armada that he amounted over his many years as Rouge Trader, has eluded the wrath of Throne's forces time and time again, during the Toretuga campaign. It was only after Scythes of the Emperor 2nd and 3rd companies joined the fighting, did Valerian Zeth finally met his end, as a surgical strike force comprised of three tactical squads of Adeptus Astartes was launched via assault pods againsts Zeth flagship, targeting vital sections of the vessel. Brother Cordiel was part of the squad that stormed the engine deck, effectively crippling the ship in a matter of minutes. The whole operation was a textbook assault with no Astartes casualties, which saw the ship under Imperial control within mere 10 minutes after the first pod pierced the hull. With Variel Zeth executed and his considerable resources handed over to Imperial Inquisition, the Nerubian dynasty's armies were no longer able to maintain an effective resistance against the wrath of Imperial Guard regiments and Adeptus Astartes strike forces amassed against them over the years. The official end of the Toretuga Campaign was marked two years later

Note:

Bolter with drum feed magazine.

Toretuga campaign badge on right, lower leg armour. Partially obscured by battle damage._


I am quite happy with the way this one turned out. Unfortunately I botched it a little bit at the end by applying a bit too glossy a varnish to the armour, which looks good in-hand as it provides difference in textures, however it reflects too much during photography, which muddles up some of the highlights and makes the armour look just a tad sloppier in the photos than it really is. But overally it came out better then expected. I don't know if it shows in the pictures, but in hand it's a level above the dark angel which came out a bit too busy and messier than I intened when painting that model.

The figure is now available for sale: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Painted-.../151223499149?

Also, if You like it leave a vote here :
http://www.coolminiornot.com/350445​


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## torealis (Dec 27, 2006)

Yellow and black? Incredible


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)




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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Next on the agenda. Somethin heresy-ish.


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

_Very_ nice! :good:


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Here's some xenos heresy for You this day - a squad of Tyranid Warriors I finished yesterday. It's nothing special, certainly not a display unit by any measure. It was supposed to be a tabletop level, speed paint job, so I didn't cared too much about blendings or details, hence the slightly sloppy look of the three. However I did place attention to the colour scheme which was supposed to show a more grounded looking take on the Tyranids. Something a little bit disgusting perhaps and invoking the images of real world chitinous, insectoid little horrors. It took me a week to finish, and I think that overally it's nice compromise between a tabletop gaming unit's speed paintjob and an visually interesting vibe and style. Quite happy with the little buggers. Perhaps I should add a bigger Tyranid to the list of future projects.


The unit is now available for sale: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Painted-.../151238655144?

If You like it, leave a vote on CMON: http://www.coolminiornot.com/351910

Cheers!


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

maybe its just me but something about these warriors keeps me from Loving them. They are a really well done models and youre selling yourself short on saying that they are tabletop standard as they are far beyond that. I think my aversion to them is the large areas of glossy red. I love everything about them (considering im not a tyranid fan by any means) but the red really detracts for them model IMHO. Still have to give you rep for this. really well done in a relatively short amount of time.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

@ SwedeMarine

Yeah I know what You mean, I wasn't too sure of the red after I've painted it at first as well, but with time, somehow the combination of red and brown has grown on me and I've decided to keep it. Originally I thought about replacing it with yellowish bile, but I thouhht that would make the squad just a bit too overally "brownish", too uniform looking and some contrast was needed. I figured some aertial, gory, meaty red is necessary on any Tyranid mini, no matter the colour scheme.



Here's a bit of a quick "salvage" paint job. Previously I've posted a WIP of this mini, and later said that the project got shelved, couse I got a different, more ambitious/complicated idea for a Night Lord figure. This new version would be something completely different and would have to be built from the ground up, which meant that the NL WIP that I allready had, was basically useless to me at that point.

But as I've allready laid the foundation of a paintjob, I though it would be a waste for it to just sit on my shelf and collect dust, never to be used again for anything, so I gave it a quick makeover to bring it to a presentable level and sell it on Ebay.

This means that the paintjob is rather unsatisfactory, definitely much more crude than the Scythes of the Emperor Marine, with no detailed weathering, no zenithal lighting and just the most basic edge highligting. Plus, upon closer inspection it's just a tad too sloppy for my taste. I know it's not exactly the best advertisment for this mini, but I really didn't mean for it to be a display miniature, just a quick salvage job to bring the WIP into a presentable look, so that perhaps someone else will find use for it, as I certainly wouldn't have at this point. A better, different Night Lord will be made in the future though. The mini is available for sale here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151246345668?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649


Today I also wanted to post pictures of a brand new Astartes that I've just finished (Howling Griffons), but right after I've sealed the mini with varnish, I went to the bathroom, which created an opportunity for my dog to jump the table and...chew the marine up. No, seriously. Fortunately, he didn't swallow any of it, as that would portend a possibly painful bowel journey. But he did mangle and crush it like a Carnifex, so all in all, I have to start over. Life, eh?


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

Love the terror markings on the helmet and the blue tone is fantastic. I think the "wings" let the mini down and look off but that's a problem I have with kit itself rather than anything you have done. The only other thing I would mention is the helmet he is standing on, it sort of looks a bit off as it is the same color as the marine rather than looking like a fallen enemy. That's just my opinion though, it's technically painted very well!


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## venomlust (Feb 9, 2010)

Awesome stuff. Those warriors are striking, especially with that yellow pattern. You don't overdo it with the color, it's just enough to be effective.

That Night Lord is also reeeeally cool. Awesome use of the Sons of Horus helmets. I planned to use them one day for a different set of models, and I really really your use of the skeletal facial design. It could be very Khorny. Thanks for the pictures and inspiration!


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## Iraqiel (May 21, 2008)

Loving this excellent painting and helpful step by step breakdown of your method, it is very impressive to watch. Thanks for sharing!


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

venomlust said:


> Awesome use of the Sons of Horus helmets.


Actually that's not a Sons of Horus helmet, that's a converted mk 4 head. I've filled in the grill vents with liquid green stuff, so that I could have a smooth, even surface to paint the skull on. And the head spikes I've simply glued on. I think they came from the handle of a Dark Eldar whip, if I remember correctly.


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## venomlust (Feb 9, 2010)

Oh wow, extra nice work then.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

My newest model - a Stone-crusher Carnifex painted as a commission for a client's army. He bought my previous Tyranid Warriors and wanted a Carnifex in the same colour scheme.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

Looks good! What did you use for the transparent red (tamiya clear red)? 
Or was it a transparent red under a clear coat?


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Kreuger said:


> Looks good! What did you use for the transparent red (tamiya clear red)?
> Or was it a transparent red under a clear coat?



To paint the red accents, I first covered all the edges and raised areas with a solid, opaque lines of 'Evil Sunz Scarlet'. This same colour was later watered down, mixed with some 'Lahmian Medium' and then applied as a glaze in 1-2 layers in order to slightly blend in the initial lines of red. 

Then I took the basecoat colour of the surface I painted the red on (in this case it was the carpace of the Carnifex - black mixed with just a dab of brown), heavily watered it down, mixed it with 'Lahmian Medium' and then used it as a glaze to cover the entire painting area. It helped to further blend the red into the underlying surface, though it's all still pretty rough and crude at this point, with not much in the way of truly smooth transitions. 

And finally I took some 'Blood for the Blood Good', watered it down and applied as a glaze to the areas we previously painted red, in order to blend them in further. I did about 2-3 passes of this in various places. BFTBG has a very nice "transparent jelly" effect that helps blend everything together, even if the underlying sufrace is pretty rough. It also really enriches the red underneath it, and knocks back some of the "dirtiness" from the earlier black-brown glaze. 

Then I covered it all in glaze varnish.

My current WIP.










I am happy to say that I've been taking on some commission jobs in the last weeks. It's usually units and monsters for various armies, but since my painting logs deal mostly with diplay pieces rather than gaming stuff, I realised that I don't have many squads and tabletop level units to show to clients, as examples of the level of work they can expect from me. So becouse of this, I've recently been busy painting various squads in different painting levels, as sort of templates and examples of quality for potential clients. I usually divide my work into 3 painting levels - first two are reserved for units and monsters, while the 3rd is for display miniatures only. I didn't have any examples of level 2 squad, so I decided to paint up a small combat unit of Imperial Fists to showcase it. Level 2 featues high quality finish (at least for unit standards) and attention to detail that treats every figure almost like a individual character.

This project started as a simple "example paintjob", but I had a ton of fun kitbashing and customising every Astartes. The squad photo above is a WIP so there's still lots of 'bling' to come for each mini.

Here's the first fully finished member of the squad. I am happy with the way he turned out. I might later revisit the black casing of his boltgun and the leather pouches at his greaves, as I feel the highlights there, have been flooded with too much black glaze, and might use more definition.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

Thanks for the explanation on the red! That's really helpful.

The Imperial Fists are looking excellent. I like the subtle nature of the weathering and scuffing on the armor plates. I haven't seen anyone do it precisely that way, and I think it really works.

The only part of the "done" model that I think isn't working is the OSL on the eyes. Considering the brightness of the yellow, and the quality of the highlights, the amount of red light being cast looks like it is far stronger than I would expect. Or another way of saying that is, the eyes don't look all the bright, and the ambient light suggested by the quality of the highlights suggests to me that there shouldn't be any or almost any visible OSL on the face mask.

Keep up the awesome work!


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Another member of the squad is ready for active duty. Meet brother Varen.










































































Not 100% happy with the base. The sand and pigment work isn't really that convincing. Might revisit later. Plus there are two scratches on the metallic part of boltgun, that turned out way too big and it's bugging me. Will correct later.

The more pieces I paint and photograph, the more I realise that upping my photography mojo (or equipment) should be my top priority right now. The photos came out OK'ish, but I have a feeling the real piece looks just a little bit better in hand. There's something tricky to photographing yellow so that all the highlights and details will be visible and not diffused or blown out, I also have a real trouble photographing metallics. Metal surfaces are generally harder to take pictures of, but recently I've been using a lot of alcohol based and buffable enamel metallic paints, that have a super shiny finish in hand, but somehow turn out very 'flat' and dull on the photos. And since I am no pro, I don't really know how to play around the reflections of light to make them stand out.

My friend studies photography and has access to some really good equippment. I think I'll try hitting him up, after I finish the entire squad, and we'll see if we can improve the results.


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## maximus2467 (Jun 14, 2007)

I am just in awe of your imperial fists, at first I thought "this guys obviously good, how come he's not using nmm?" But tbh these models look better with the metallic paint. Very very nice work mate. Love it!


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Another squad member ready. This time it's Veteran Sergeant Ademar. He might be my favourite of the bunch, for some reason. 3 down, 2 more to go.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

Looking great as always!


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## SonofVulkan (Apr 14, 2010)

Love the battle damage on the marines. Very nice painting.


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## LokiDeathclaw (Jun 19, 2013)

Awesome work! Love the battle damage effect, not over done, just right!


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## Roganzar (Feb 16, 2014)

Working on my own Imperial Fists currently, among other projects, and these look amazing. They're making me want to step up my own skills.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

And another one - Brother Pythol. One more to go. Happy with the way he came out. Though after I took the photos I've noticed that one of the grooves in his plasma gun barrel, needs to be filled with black wash, so I'll correct that later. Also thinking about perhps adding a heat mark to the gun barrel.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

He looks great. Again I think the only thing not working is the OSL on the eyes. 

Compared to other highlights the OSL seems way too bright, it increases the visual size of the eyes, and with the feathering the eyes lose definition and are no longer the correct shape in the face. 

If you are going for the OSL look, why didn't the plasma gun cast a glow? Not that it has to, but if the eyes glow then the generator of incandescent plasma should probably glow too.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Kreuger said:


> He looks great. Again I think the only thing not working is the OSL on the eyes.


Yeah, I know what You mean. I am thinking that maybe for the future projects, I should drop OSL around the eyes, if it involves a bright base colour (like yellow). Or maybe perhaps a thin line of darker red in the deepest recesses of the eyes, would help define them better.











The Fists are finally complete with the addition of the last member - brother Arnfried. I think he is my least favourite of the bunch, as he turned out just a little bit sloppier than the rest, but I am still rather pleased with the result. The whole squad took me a bit longer to do than planned, and has outgrown the initial "test piece for future customers" concept, but I think it was worth it. Next up - either Blood Angels or heresy Dark Angels.

The squad is now available for sale: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151300188314?ru=http://

Also if You like it, You can leave a vote on CMON: http://www.coolminiornot.com/357637

Cheers!


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

Good god I love that individual heraldry you have got going on there. Really great work.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Back to painting after a longer break. I allready have couple of Astartes kit bashes ready, but first I wanted to finish a box of Imperial Scions, I bought earlier. Yesterday I finished the first two squad memebers. I went for a 'Eavy Metal'ish style, with lots of edge highlights on every detail. I also fitted them on custom resin bases, to give them that urban feel. I recommend the scions box to every painter. The figures are great and a joy to paint.

One of the biggest problems, at the begining, was deciding on the colour scheme. Couse the "sci-fi soldier" imagery is such a rich ground, for all manner of camos, and colour combinations. I had several versions in mind, in the end I went for a combination of blue and black (with some white insignias), as this seemed, like the most classical aproach to the "swat in space" theme. I do have a lots of other colour schemes in mind to try out, and this won't be the last Scions box I buy. Though I will probably paint the individual schemes on single, display minis, as painting a whole squad of those, takes a lot of time, due to all the gear and detail.

Here are the first two squad members.


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## maximus2467 (Jun 14, 2007)

First time I've liked the look of the new storm trooper models, well done sir! They look amazing


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Specialist gunner joines the squad.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Had to take two weeks off the hobby, but I am back and the Scions squad is almost finished. Should be 100% ready tommorow. For now, here's the sergeant.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Finally finished the last Scion. Also made some small tweaks to the previous ones. Those bastards turned out to be more time consuming than expected. But I am happy with the way they turned out. The sculpts are such fine subjects. Will probably experiment with different colour schemes in the future, but only on single Scion display minis. Not touching a whole squad of those buggers again.

The figures are available for sale if anyone's interested: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRO-PAINTED-Imperial-Scions-/151419369465?

If You like it, You can leave a vote on CMON: www.coolminiornot.com/365817

Okay then. Back to painting Marines, I guess.

Cheers


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

When I did my Imperial Fists squad a few months back, the idea was to create a quick unit as an example for clients, of a mid-level painting quality I could provide. But I got lost in that project and it grew to be something else entirely, with a lot more work made on each model. That squad got me some attention, but I was still left without any examples of quicker painting levels.

So I decided to paint another squad, but a simpler one this time. Without any airbrushed area highlights, with simpler weathering and focusing on edge highlighting for a more crisp 'Eavy Metal inpired look. The goal would be to spend no more than 2-3 days on each model.

I decided to go with Blood Angels Devastators. There's something in that red and blue combination, that I find eyeplesing, plus the simple nature of the unit, will go well with the idea behind this project.

So here's the wip. This what I managed to do in 2 days. As I said, I don't want to go beyond 3 days on each squad member. That's why I am posting the wip here now. To get some motivation, to finish the guy tommorow, or get some public shaming. If I don't post pics of the finished model by this time tommorow, You all have my permission to flood this thread with pictures of penises or Nicholas Cage.

The armour is more or less finished on this guy. What's left to do are metallic areas, the gems, some minor weathering touch ups, and a bit more blacklining.

Oh, and the varnishing, which I will do now, before the metallics (I don't want the protective coat to dull their shine, and the alcohol based metallics I use are supposed to be more resiliant to wear and tear than normal acrylics anyway). And that's something I dread. I've been having problems with varnishing lately. Up until recently, I didn't really had any need for protective coats, as with display models You don't really need to worry about wear and tear. But as I started painting gaming units for clinets and Ebay, I was forced to seal my minis and the effects were mixed. Frosting is a constant worry for my. Especially since aerosol cans varnishes is what I've been using so far. With the Blood Angels Devastators I'll be trying something new. First I'll cover them with GW ardcoat closs with brush, for protection. Then I'll try to dull the shine with Army Painter anti-shine I just bought, but I'll be applying it using my airbrush, instead of a spray can, so we'll see how it goes. Will try it on a test model first.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

The Blood Angel is finished. I know it's way overdue, but I had to leave town for a couple of weeks. In terms of actual painting time, I've finished him over three days, which is within the previously established deadline.

I am really happy with the paintjob itself, but I almost ruined him at the end, while varnishing. I've been trying new varnishing method with this one. Thrown away the old Army Painter spray can (frosting :/), in favour of GW ardcoat gloss, followed with AP matt varnish sprayed through an airbrush. After the initial coat, I was really happy with the results. The matt/satin finish had a very nice silky feel to it, and it brought the mini together. Even the metallics weren't as dulled as I expected (though I did a quick retouch of highlights on the metallic areas). However, as LutherMax warned me - the red did lost some of it's intensivity and richness. Which was a bummer couse I was really happy with the initial hue of red I got with the paintjob. For me it was the perfect mix of orange and more scarlet tones and represented well, what I thought a Blood Angel should look like. But after the matt coat, the red went just slightly into more pinkish/fleshy tones.

So I tried another coat of varnish. This time a more satin mix of matt and gloss. And it brought some of the richness back to the red. However, the more varnish coats You buildup on the model, the smoother the surface gets (especially with the initial protective ardcoat gloss underneath it all), so the figure looked much more gloss and reflective than I wanted. Although the colours were richer, the mini lost a lot of definition becouse of light reflections overtaking painted highlights. It was especially bad in the crevices and all the shadow areas, couse thats were the varnishes pooled and collected, resulting in a very smooth surface and light reflections in areas that were supposed to be dark.

So I said, "screw it" and went back to the matt varnish. The red lost its original hue becouse of it, but the mini overally looks much more presentabe now, with the edge highlighting better defined. It's not completely matt, couse as I said - multiple varnish coats smoothed out the surface, so there's no way to go 100% matte now. There will always be a bit of shine here. But it's no longer as strong.

Lesson learned. The next BA will be better. I think when applying the ardcoat gloss, I will avaoid crevices and areas of shadow, to prevent varnish pooling (also, such areas are usualy shielded and don't need much protection). In fact I am thinking about only applying the initial gloss, to places on the mini, that look like they would be handled a lot.

Brother Bellerophon


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

Wow.... :shok:


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## Matcap (Aug 23, 2012)

I see your stuff pop up in the 'eavier metal fb page now and again, really nice work! I'm usually not a fan of a lot of weathering on infantry but here you managed to make it subtle but substantial. Also very nice to read your thoughts and workprocesses while working on these models. Top notch stuff.


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Lol. if this is your "Quick" method and its results i really need to reevaluate myself as a painter. It looks great.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

New guy - Black Templar Crusader. This one turned out to be a bit of a suprise project for me. It originaly started as a super quick test mini, that I wasn't even going to post here. I wanted to try a quicker, simpler paint scheme, that would look more or less like the Eavy Metal painted troopers, we see on box pictures. So simple but crisp and clean looking figure, with less highlight stages, little or no weathering and no special effects. And I did that, finishing it in a single day. But then, as I was prepering to varnish it, I couldn't help but add a few details here, a bit of weathering there, some little freehand, some clean up and corrections, some other stuff. And well, here we are 

Quite happy with this one, especially since it was unexpected. My only regret is that if I knew, I was going to spend more work on him, then I would have waited a few days to score some BT-specific bits, such as the torso with tabard and arms with weapons chained to the wrists. I tried some new things with him too. First I changed the way I painted eye lenses. This time I did them Eavy Metal style, meaning painting them like gems, with fake reflections (it's more noticable in hand than on the photos though). I also spend more work on the base. Adding a series of stone steps/slate rock that I carved from plaster, as well as a skull. Unfortunately I botched it a bit, by giving it one wash stage too many, which kind of ruined the paintjob on the stones, and gave the base a little less defined "chestnut ink drowned" look. And by that time the marine was allready glued to it, so repainting it was too risiky. But it's not bad, and a decent start I think. Working on replicating realistic, or Eavy Metal'ish, eye catching terrain is something I wish to explore firther, on my future minis.

I have no use for him now and wanted to sell him, but I got so pumped for Black Templars paintjobs, that I think I will do a 5-man squad of Crusaders, and this one will be the first member.


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## gen.ahab (Dec 22, 2009)

Love the paint job; it looks fantastic. One issue, though: if there's blood spatter on the sword, where is the splatter on the armor? At least I think it's blood spatter. It is, isn't it?


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Yeah I know. That thought occurred while I was taking the photos, but at that time, I was too chicken to change it, since splatter effects can be quite tricky to pull of naturally. The whole idea with the bloody chainsword, was a bit of an afterthought to be honest. Just quickly applied some GW Khorne blood, right before I took the photos.


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## R_Squared (Mar 24, 2013)

There has been some simply awesome work in this thread.
I particularly liked your Tyranids, the glossy flesh and carapace detail was very effective. The attention to detail with the metallics in your base for the Scythes of the Emperor marine, the free hand detailing on your Imperial Fists along with the subtle weathering and battle damage throughout. However, the Hellbrute is quite simply my favourite interpretation that I have seen so far. To me, it accurately portrays the daemonic fusion of flesh and machine, with just the right smattering of gore. :good:
I'm looking froward to seeing more of your work.


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## Iraqiel (May 21, 2008)

Seconded. I'm not a good enough painter to claim to take inspiration from your work, but you definitely give me a good idea of what I want to develop the skill to work towards!


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## alasdair (Jun 11, 2009)

Phenomenal work. Your armour scratching is just so realistic and intricate. Great stuff.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

An exercise in quicker paintbjobs. Finally one that was a success, instead of another figure, that I keep on embelishing and adding details to, like an OCD case. This guy took me a day of focused painting. It uses the same techniques as the Black Templar I painted earlier, but simpler, quicker, less precise. With highlighting and detailing made mostly with instinctual brush-strokes and relying on muscle memory, rather than focusing on precison. Also, not as much clean up of sloppier brushstrokes, simpler weathering and no freehand. I think of it as a "lower resolution" version of that Black Templars model.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

A quick paint test. Normally I paint my marines around the principle of edge highlighting, like the GW 'Eavy Metal team. But sometimes I also try a more advanced way of hand-blending, area highlights, as opposed to just keeping to the edges. However this style is reserved for single display models (like the older Scythe of the Emperor on the background photo of my page), as it's too time consuming and complicated for armies. Well, today I sat down and quickly painted this Dark Angel (or rather part of the Dark Angel), to see if a simler version of this technique could be done quick enough for squads. And I think - yes. So perhaps that's an option I will offer to clients from now on.

Full disclosure - Some of the blendings on the mini are just slightly, slightly less smooth in real life, than on the photos (taken at different settings, hence the lighting). Looks good enough in hand, especially since it's supposed to be a look for a whole unit.


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## Belovoj (May 14, 2014)

DUDE! this is awesome!!! cheers! I am trying to find my style now and I really like the way you handled the damage on the shoulder and the hand! really great work! For the highlight, I wonder if there is way to do this with a paint brush not the airbrush...


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## Nordicus (May 3, 2013)

Belovoj said:


> For the highlight, I wonder if there is way to do this with a paint brush not the airbrush...


Correct me if I'm wrong, but the above does not look like it's done with an airbrush. It looks like a blending technique has been used and as such, it is fully doable with a normal paintbrush.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Belovoj said:


> DUDE! this is awesome!!! cheers! I am trying to find my style now and I really like the way you handled the damage on the shoulder and the hand! really great work! For the highlight, I wonder if there is way to do this with a paint brush not the airbrush...


It's all been done with paintbrush. I used either 5 or 6 highlight colours, if I remember correctly, and then once the highlighting was done, I covered the mini in a transparent glaze of the original base colour, to tone the highlights down and smooth them out a little bit.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Back from the dead. Part of the current commissioned DA tactical squad. The pics are a bit crappy, as the set was done on a borrowed camera. The highlights in real life aren't as saturated and contrasting. Also the varnish left some reflective glare that was picked up by the camera and overpowered the painted highlights, making the minis on the pics a bit too shiny and "busier" than they really are (especially the one without robes for some reason). 

I've added an impression of a cross-hatched, woven texture to the robed marine. One - to make it more detailed and realistic. And two - to bring across the point that these guys are not walking around in silky smooth fabrics, but rather in crude, heavily-woven, penitent robes.


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## Matcap (Aug 23, 2012)

WOW! Those Dark Angels are mindblowing. Outstanding stuff, I usually don't really go for the weathered models, but these are great! Which colour did you use here if you don't mind me asking?


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

You mean for the armour?

I started with Caliban green for the basecoat and then added highlights by mixing Caliban Green with progressively higher amounts of Yriel Yellow. The final edge and point highlights were Caliban Green mixed With Yriel Yellow and a small dab of white.

This gave very strong, over-saturated, neon-like highlights, so to tone them down (and help blend them a bit), I covered the whole mini with two separate, heavily watered down glazes of Caliban Green mixed with some Lahmian Medium.

Also, as the client wanted his DA's to be dark and wasn't fond of high contrast, Eavy Metal style highlights, I applied a thrid and final glaze that was like the two before, but with a bit of black added to it. This darkened the armour slightly, knocked the neon out of the higlights, and enriched the basecoat.


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## Matcap (Aug 23, 2012)

Great, Thanks! Shows me I need to learn how to glaze more effectively and invest in some glaze medium.


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## Roganzar (Feb 16, 2014)

Those are great!
I really have to work on my weathering techniques, personally. Though I usually do that on vehicles. 
Still, I think the higher contrast, you were forced to temper, would have looked amazing.


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Great work as usual but i found one thing that bothers me about the models. The gun barrels. Is there a reason you don't drill them out? I think it kinda takes away from the model as a whole not having the barrels drilled.


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## Star Forge Smith (Apr 23, 2013)

Simple - I don't own a modeling drill  But Yeah, it's bothering me to. I might finally buy this tool, as I always feel wrong painting that black hole at the end of the barrel, as if it was a looney tunes wall portal to another world.


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## venomlust (Feb 9, 2010)

Top-notch work all around. That weathering is perfect. Seeing your stuff both inspires me to start painting and intimidates me as well. If I end up to be a fraction of the painter you are I'd be happy. Maybe one day I can ask for some advice with a World Eaters and dark purple/black CSM scheme.


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Star Forge Smith said:


> Simple - I don't own a modeling drill  But Yeah, it's bothering me to. I might finally buy this tool, as I always feel wrong painting that black hole at the end of the barrel, as if it was a looney tunes wall portal to another world.


As someone who used to do this often with my old minis i can defiently say the investment is worth it. plus you will find other uses for it in the long run.


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## LokiDeathclaw (Jun 19, 2013)

Your work is simply awesome! Great work all round really like the step by step progress


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

Great work. You do some of the most tasteful battle damage and weathering I've seen. . . . And I tend to be both a critic and I tend to dislike battle damage and gore. 

So well done!


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