Loki's work - Swordsman finished!

[Loki]

The best way to introduce myself goes through pictures I think. So here they are...

First a conversion of the Inquisitor scale space marine (Artemis) into a Justicar. This was my first work on commission so I didn't have much freedom for some aspects (the base especially, which HAD TO BE the base of origin...). First a picture of the conversion job, and a quick comparison with the mini I used as a guide: click here. (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/justicar/justicar%20global.jpg) Then the painting... I wasn't asked to make it as perfect as I could, but I still tried to make it something I wouldn't be ashamed of.

http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/justicar/global_01_11_petit.jpg
(bigger picture here (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/justicar/global_01_11.jpg))

http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/justicar/vues_generales_01_11_petit.jpg
(bigger picture here (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/justicar/vues_generales_01_11.jpg))

Top details here (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/justicar/details_haut_01_11.jpg).

Bottom details here (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/justicar/details_bas_01_11.jpg).

From 15 to 20 hours of painting, mostly spend on metallics, which were my first serious attempt en TMP.


I also like to scupt. No I should say i LOVE it. Here's my second full miniature:

http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/swordman/sculpture_finie_face.jpg

I had much fun doing this, especially with the super sculpey that I was discovering after years of using milliput and green stuff. I'm close to the end of the painting on this mini, but I must say I'm not happy with its final look, a bit too dark and not that readable. But as it'll be the first thing I can finish in 1 year, it still feels good. I'll do better on next ones... A picture on the WIP:

http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/swordman/metaux_31_12.jpg




A VERY rusty car now to finish with recent works... It was my first serious attempt on a scale model and my first attempt with pigments. I started with the interior which ended up pretty rusty, so I had to keep the outside as rusty as the inside. In the end then, we don't see anymore all the texture and transparency effects I experimented on the painting job, before the pigments (I can show them through "WIP" pics if some are interested though). Here are the pics:

http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/DSCNN3653.jpg

General views:

http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_o...r/DSCNN3653.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/DSCNN3653.jpg)
http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_o...ar/DSCN3654.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/DSCN3654.jpg)
http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_o...ar/DSCN3655.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/DSCN3655.jpg)
http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_o...ar/DSCN3656.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/DSCN3656.jpg)
http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_o...ar/DSCN3657.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/DSCN3657.jpg)
http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_o...ar/DSCN3658.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/DSCN3658.jpg)

Details:

http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_o.../gauche_det.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/gauche_det.jpg)
http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_o.../droite_det.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/droite_det.jpg)
http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_o...dos_top_det.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/face_dos_top_det.jpg)

The pictures are not that good so I'll re-do them when I have the occasion. I'm thinking about making a diorama with it, including a 1/35 mici that I would probably sculpt.

I'm working on several projects, slowly: a big sculpting project that's coming to an end (54mm), a vignette based on a quick conversion (54mm) and projects of painting unmodified miniatures, ranging from 54 to 90 mm. First, I'll finish the sword bearer I showed you here. The skin is almost done, then I'll re-do the helmet and a couple of quick details, then the base and there you go! Maybe pictures on the days to come.

I also have many "older" stuff but... it's older hehe. So I don't know if it's worth posting them.

[Harhad]

Wow , looks all very very awesome !!!
The Car looks so real...just great ... and super sculpt !
But HOW did you make that great and flat metallics ??Have you pollished them ? Just very very nice !!

[Stoessi]

Hey Loki,

Very impressive stuff you posted there. Love your sculpting (Dude, you need to make some copies of the Pinocchio guy!! I want one, too!).
Could you please post some pics of the car before you put the pigment on? Would love to have a way to see 'before' and 'after'.

Cheers,
Thomas (Stoessi)

[Angelus]

Hi Loki,

I love the TMM of your scratch build mini. Looks very good. I wished I could paint this way :).

I also love the rust effects on the car. Can you tell me how you made this?

Greetings
Angelus

[zaphod]

Hey Loki!

Wow!

Your metallics are awesome. We have a guy here (simonm) who has a very simmilar style on your metallics.

But what I really love, love, LOVE is the car. You simply have to post some WIPs, because just today I received my package with rust pigments that I have ordered for some of my 40K tanks ;)

Did I mention I love that car?

Regards,

Zaphod


P.S.: I love the car.

[Loki]

Thanks for your comments and reactions, guys. It's really a good motivation. I don't have many occasions to have my hands on brushes or sculpting compounds, so such comments are really of big help to keep on "miniaturing" hehe... It's almost impossible for me to enter contests with the speed I which I create things, so my only leitmotiv is "fun and pleasure".

Here are the answers to your questions:

@Harhad: No polishing, I simply use the metallic paint exactly the same way as other non-metallic paints:

- I start from the main color (boltgun metal + a bit of black), spread uniformly;
- I enlight it first with boltgun, then by adding some mithril silver, until pure mithril;
- for the extreme light spots, I use some "metallic medium" from Vallejo acrylics (it's called "Prince August" in some countries); it's the lightest metal I found until now, very useful but a bit difficult to control sometimes;
- then I reshape the various zones by going from lights to shadows, using a lot of mat medium. The shadows are deepened by the use of black also. That's a part of my "secret" in order to increase contrasts, because then the shadows don't shine. You can see on the picture hereunder an illustration of the concentration of metallic pigments (yellow) versus non-metallic pigments (red) in function of the intensity of the figured light. The pictures a. and b. show you what the mini looks like when the light for the picture is "zenithal" (b) or when it is frontal (a).

http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/swordman/metaux_06_01_details.JPG


Well, the thing is that, especially when painting metallics, my technique is a bit "chaotic" and the dilution or the amount of mat medium I use varies much in function of the effect I want to obtain. At the end I also modulate the lights and shadows using various glazes of saturated and unsaturated colours.

Last things: the more you superimpose thin layers, the shinier your flat metallics will look, just like when you superimpose layers of diluted non-metallic paint. So all in all, I work on TMP metallics exactly the same way as NMM, playing at the same time with contrasts based on shadows/lights and on mat/shiny.

I have several pictures of the WIP, and a small tutorial (in french) on how to obtain "quickly" a similar aspect for 28mm grey knights.



@Stoessi: Sorry, I don't have what it takes to reproduce minis and, anyway that particular one has many volumes "in the air" which would make it very hard to cast properly.

Here are some pics of the car before I added the pigments: here (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/carrosserie_avant_4.jpg) and there (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/carrosserie_arriere_4.jpg).

I've taken some pictures o the WIP for the painting process before the pigments.



@ Angelus, zaphod:

There are many ways to use pigments. There I used various techniques:

- set some pigments on the surface to weather, take a wet brush and spread the pigments. Once dry, you can take away the excessive pigments by the use of dry or wet brushes, "kitchen-paper" (you know, the one that's a bit strong and can absorb some water) and the cotton you use to clean your ears. By varying the pression on the surface when you wipe it, your movements, ... you obtain various effects;
-spread some dry pigments and then wipe them with "kitchen-paper" or anything useful to give a rather dusty appearance;
- take pigments with a needle or anything thin, spread it as little spots and then press it with the cotton-thingy I mentioned above. It'll create some little spots, like the light ones you can see here and there.
- mix the pigments with water on a palette, take a piece of foam (from a blister e.g.) and wet it with the mix, then press is on the surface. It'll give an impression of rust biting the paint on a rather irregular pattern, so kind of "natural". You can use a piece of paper to remove the "paint" when there's too much of it. By varying the pressure, rubbing the paint on the surface while still wet, adding some light/dark pigment to the mix and setting it here and there, you create a texture and give life to it.

Edit: the tools I use commonly, here. (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/burnt_out_car/tools.jpg) the sculpting tool and the needle are mostly used for taking the pigment and spread it where I want to. The sculpting tool is also used to press it sometimes.

Well, I hope I made my answers quite clear. I had to summarize a bit because it's already really late and I work tomorrow... If you're interested, I could translate a piece of tutorial I made for BDOW's forum, to be a little more extensive and explain a full process.

The best thing with them, is that you can try almost whatever you want because you can always remove it kinda totally with something wet and a bit of patience. So just try and have fun! The only limitation is your imagination on how to use them, here you can already try 4 of them...

[toxc]

Hi :)

Well, I really like your painting-style, especially the metallics. During the last years I worked hard on TMM, but I must admit that yours is far better than mine.
Please keep on posting your work it's a great inspiration for me 8)

[Bestienmeister]

Hi,



really impressive. I like your sculpt of the knight, really a pity that you didn´t cast it. Very simple to paint, yet very effective.

The car is insane, looks like real rust. Thanks for the small tutorial on the use of pigments. I am still looking for a way to use dry pigments and fix them on a miniature ( without a spray or something that makes the pigments wet ). Any idea ?


Great work overall. :wink:



Cu, :D

[Loki]

Thanks again for the nice comments, it's a real motivation for me.

I am still looking for a way to use dry pigments and fix them on a miniature ( without a spray or something that makes the pigments wet ). Any idea ?

Hmmm not really. Well, it depends on what you intend to fix them on, or more exactly on its use: exposition or game? In the first case, as long as nobody puts one's fingers on them, they will remain fixed on the surface. In the second case, it's more of a problem. One thing that could help you is using alcohol instead of water. It still wets the pigments, but the result looks more "mat", as the alcohol interacts diffferently with the pigments than water does, and as it evaporates quicker.



Finally I've found some time to paint! I chose to finish the swordsman that was lying unfinished on my desk for 7 months before beginning anything else.

http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/swordman/fini_zoom_tete_15_09_07.jpg


Pictures here: http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/swordman/fini_15_09_07.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/swordman/fini_15_09_07_petit.jpg) (those with a screen in 1280x1024 a little bit bigger than its real size) . The same pictures, but bigger (~500 ko), are here: http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/swordma...ni_15_09_07.jpg (http://skarpe.diem.free.fr/galerie/swordman/fini_15_09_07.jpg) .

Well, all in all the sculpting and the painting are full of defects (amongst which the flesh zones in both cases have been a bit left behind the rest). But my main idea was to realise a concept that came to my pencil, like from "nowhere". I wasn't planning to make something perfect, but as good as it gets, without it becoming "boring", without forcing myself to multiply steps, and so on... the goal was fun, much before "trophies". All in all, the color scheme is not as "personnal" as the concept, but I'm still happy with it.

Now I'm already working on two other things... pictures of the WIP to come in a couple of days I think.