Achilles Westerners so far...

[Achilles]

So I've got a few of my models painted so far... please excuse the pictures as my light box is quite broken.

So, enjoy!

Baptiste Valombre




Mister Valet



Fencer



Aidan St James



Sara



Marouffle



Dopplesoldiers




Grenadiers




Arquebusier

[Silveri]

Are these guys dipped? The brownish general look, the "stockyness" of the varnish and the shine seem to indicate so. I'd suggest a coat of Testor's Dullcote to kill the shine.

[Angora]

Very nice work. They have a certain richness to them that I rather like.

[Achilles]

No, they've been hit with Testors... which I find is still a bit shiny. Problem is the lighting which is going right at the model and not being diffused.

The men are in general painted with a brown pallette (PPP Bootstrap Brown as a base) that includes the new Citadel Devlan Mud wash on some parts... probably why you think they look dipped.

[Silveri]

Oki. Nevermind then. (strange though, my dullcote is teh shine killer)

[Achilles]

They're not shiny... it's my lighting putting a high reflection off on them.

Normally I use a lightbox to photograph my models with results like this....



This model has the same reflectivity as my Helldorado figs when I hold it in my hand. The lighting is just keeping the shine down because it's defused.

I'll get better shots when I rebuild my lightbox. My old one was trashed when my girlfriend moved into my condo.

[Silveri]

Women, the bane of of the miniature hobby. 

[Achilles]

Or at least light boxes.

[BlasterBonatti]

Nice work man. I use a lot of ink and find it incredibly shiney (especially brown for some reason), I use satin varnish though which dulls it back down a bit, I quite like what it does to metallic paints as well.

Anyway, I was wondering if you could help me. Any tips on painting eyes on such small models? All my westerners currently have no eyes! I'm using the tiniest of tiny brushes but they always come out looking a bit "giez yer mince".

[Achilles]

Don't try to paint them white and dot the centers... it always gives you googly eyes.

Instead; paint the eye area in black, and dot the corners. This gives you more control of where the model is looking.

Check out CMoN for some good eye painting tutorials...

Painting Eyes Easy

[AndrewGPaul]

Funny; I've always had more problems doing it your way.

Try 'em both, and see which one works best. Or just play Demons and Lost, and paint the eyes an all-over red.

[BlasterBonatti]

Well I tried using a pin, which worked ok. But I read that link and - technical pen! Genius! I'm sure I've got a 0.1mm one kicking about somewhere.

[Angora]

I generally find it easiest to do the eye white and add the pupil later. I normally do this with a 10/0 or my lovely W&N Series 7 000. Keep the paint thin and don't overload the brush. I'll normally do the eyes just prior to the final highlights on the face so that if I go a bit over on the lower lid I can simply retouch it.
It's sometimes useful to add just a dab of grey or brown to the white too to stop the "Terry Gilliam" eyes you sometimes get with pure white.
EDIT: ooo... and I very rarely place the pupil dead centre either - that only makes the stares worse. Find the line the model seems to be moving in and place the pupils appropriately.

[Achilles]

Everybody has their own trick that works for them.

Just make sure the 'dark' iris of the eye touches the top and bottom of the eye, or you'll have white all the way around. And that just makes your minis look crazy.

[BlasterBonatti]

Everybody has their own trick that works for them.

Just make sure the 'dark' iris of the eye touches the top and bottom of the eye, or you'll have white all the way around. And that just makes your minis look crazy.

Like Michael Jackson.