It's my Spring/Summer project to slap some paint around, specifically on the Blood Bowl minis I've picked up in the past month. So, as I get time - a few hours here and there, a week - I'm working on painting up the Orcs and Humans that came with the core set, a box of Dwarfs, and an Ogre.
First up are the Orcs. Pretty standard paint scheme. This is probably about 5 hours worth of work.
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I'm a pretty mediocre painter, so getting a solid basecoat down, cleaning up the (rampant) mistakes, and getting a shading wash on the minis is reaching the pinnacle of my skill-set. Maybe when I've finished off the dozen orcs, I'll try a little highlighting. It'll be a new technique for me.
Cool. I am thinking of getting some painting stuff to do some board game miniatures.
Nice work! I have neither the skill nor patience for this but appreciate others doing it.
I like your work--it looks nice. The patches of grass and dirt look _really_ impressive.
One of the artists I follow on G+ gave some advice that works well for me. He tries to work on 3-4 pieces at once. He works on one a bit and cycles through. That way he sees the first piece "fresh" and can spot things he'd otherwise miss. I find this is true of painting minis for me, especially 6mm. If I paint it, and then go back the next weekend, I can spot all the parts I missed or slipped on and fix them. I can't do it the same day.
Hey, thanks!
The basing is the simplest part of the whole process. Apply PVA glue, then some Gale Force 9 "Fine Basing Grit". After drying, paint over with a heavily watered down, dark brown. Dry; more PVA glue in patches; then, apply some GF9 "Green Static Grass". Done. The static grass really does the work for you.
I do the assembly line approach, too. I work with 4 pieces at a time, cycling through the stages of basecoating, clean-up, washing, more clean-up, then basing on all of them. The 'rotation' does help to catch mistakes more easily, and makes me feel more productive.
I also use a magnifier (on a movable stalk) which REALLY helps with spotting and fixing mistakes. Not to mention helps with my gradual farsightedness. The end result is that the minis end up looking pretty decent on the tabletop; fair through one magnification level; and oh my god, the horror on the next magnification level. :)
Quote from: K Peterson;951014I also use a magnifier (on a movable stalk) which REALLY helps with spotting and fixing mistakes. Not to mention helps with my gradual farsightedness. The end result is that the minis end up looking pretty decent on the tabletop; fair through one magnification level; and oh my god, the horror on the next magnification level. :)
I have a similar magnifier with a built in light (and use over 40 eyeballs :cool: ). I paint 6mm figures, which means if I don't do the "several days later clean up" the minis look pretty decent on the tabletop but then up close or through the magnifier you see a sword grip half painted or I missed half the belt. LOL
Ok threadjack for nearly blind people:
What magnifying lenses do you guys use?
I have one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0011X2GN4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . Which works decently. But I've been thinking of checking out a "headband magnifier" to see if it's more convenient.
I am looking at these two (haven't decided yet):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MF5ZJSA/ref=crt_ewc_title_gw_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1I8ZH8EHJ6J6O
https://www.amazon.com/SE-MH1047L-Illuminated-Multi-Power-Magnifier/dp/B003UCODIA/ref=s9_simh_gw_g469_i3_r?_encoding=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=7XZF36WP87TTPXFX6EWW&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1cded295-23b4-40b1-8da6-7c1c9eb81d33&pf_rd_i=desktop
Quote from: CRKrueger;951672Ok threadjack for nearly blind people:
What magnifying lenses do you guys use?
I use this: https://amazon.com/gp/product/B003EW1ZNC
It is a 2x magnifier on a bendy arm, with an LED light and a spot 5x magnifier. I use it with 6mm minis. It works great since it is easy to swap between zero magnification, and 2x or 5x. With presbyopia from age and nearsightedness from nature, I'm not sure I could use the head-mounted magnifiers. Also, I don't find myself using the magnifier all the time, but I've often got stuff in both hands, which would make switching a head-mount more difficult.
K Petersen, you inspired me to work on my 6mm figures this weekend. Thanks!
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Nice stuff!
I've never tried 6mm. 15mm's the smallest I've gone. I bet you could put together some epic armies, siege engines - hell, entire citadels/castles.
Bit of a busy weekend, with some Rpg gaming, but I'm trying to get a couple hours of painting in. Finished off 4 more orcs; gradually working on the remaining 4. Once they're all done, and based, I'll apply decals and post the results.
Nice work gents.
Quote from: Voros;953026Nice work gents.
Thanks. I need to find something that looks less like green hay at 6mm scale and more like grass. :D But I like how these came out overall. I still really, really like how K Peterson's basing looks.
Basing looks quite a bit tougher with 6mm, getting the scaling right. Your rocky (aerial) base, the snow base, and the unicorn's base all look excellent. But the individual warriors look a little overwhelmed by the size of the rock/sand pebbles. Makes it look like really rough terrain to march through. :)
Just a suggestion, but you could try switching to a superfine grit and see how the pebble size compares with the minis. And maybe use more of a general flock rather than static grass.
Or, rather than grit/sand, you could try a texturing paint (like GW's Stirland Mud). I've not used something like that, yet, but photos I've seen make it look worthwhile.
Quote from: K Peterson;953069Just a suggestion, but you could try switching to a superfine grit and see how the pebble size compares with the minis.
That's what I was thinking. This was an inexpensive four-pack of basing materials that came pre-boxed. I hadn't thought at the time about the size differences.
It looks like Baccus makes some nice 6mm specific materials. Their US supplier doesn't have them in stock. But the materials are lightweight and one order will pretty much last forever. LOL (ETA: and it's an excuse to order some of the 6mm cattle, cows, sheep, and camels.)
https://www.baccus6mm.com/catalogue/Basesandbasingmaterials/BasingMaterials/
The only super fine stuff I could find was from GF9. Maybe also get the fine and super fine (tan) grit from GF9 and save the large rocks for scattering around?
Quote from: K Peterson;953069And maybe use more of a general flock rather than static grass.
By "general flock", do you mean covering the entire base or making a smaller, more bush-like, patch, like right next to the wolf on the snow base? (It's hard to see because the white portion over exposed.)
Quote from: K Peterson;953069Or, rather than grit/sand, you could try a texturing paint (like GW's Stirland Mud). I've not used something like that, yet, but photos I've seen make it look worthwhile.
I was actually thinking of seeing how the snow or GF9 grit take paint. GF9 uses organic grit (cork I think) so it will accept paint or glue better.
BTW, I use Litko bases--they seem decent and pretty cheap and you can get whatever thickness, size, and shape you want.
Quote from: Tod13;953077By "general flock", do you mean covering the entire base or making a smaller, more bush-like, patch, like right next to the wolf on the snow base? (It's hard to see because the white portion over exposed.)
Nah, I mean a grass ground-cover that has more of an ... I don't know, powdery texture(?), than the clumpy strands of static grass. Finer particulates. Perhaps something like Gale Force 9's "Summer Flock Blend" (http://www.flamesofwar.com/gf9online_store.aspx?CategoryID=13166)? (I'm not intentionally shilling GF9 here - just looking for something close). Would have to see what the particle size and texture would be like, though.
I wouldn't cover the entire base. A mixture of a fine grit, with sporadic grass cover, and some static grass bushes/shrubs sounds like it'd be appealing - even at 6mm scale.
Quote from: K Peterson;953093Nah, I mean a grass ground-cover that has more of an ... I don't know, powdery texture(?), than the clumpy strands of static grass. Finer particulates. Perhaps something like Gale Force 9's "Summer Flock Blend" (http://www.flamesofwar.com/gf9online_store.aspx?CategoryID=13166)? (I'm not intentionally shilling GF9 here - just looking for something close). Would have to see what the particle size and texture would be like, though.
I wouldn't cover the entire base. A mixture of a fine grit, with sporadic grass cover, and some static grass bushes/shrubs sounds like it'd be appealing - even at 6mm scale.
Ah. OK. Thanks!
I don't mind people suggesting stuff they know and like. Other than GF9's fine and ultra fine and Baccus' 6mm specific materials, it is actually pretty difficult to get meaningful information about the sizes of the material.
What do you think of this? http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/FineTurf
It claims "Particle size is approximately 1/1000 in - 1/32 in (0.025 mm - 0.079 mm)"
It also looks to be a lot easier to get here in the states.
That does look worthwhile. The 'related video' on that page definitely shows a very fine particle.
I ordered the Woodland Scenics Fine Turf selections. I'll base some up after I get them and post results. Thanks K!
Looking forward to seeing the results!
I'm trudging my way through the last batch of Orcs. Have some basing to do, and then I'll post photos of the 12 of them. That'll leave applying decals and varnishing them. Might work on those steps after I get the Humans painted and based. We'll see.
I should say: I've got no complaints if this thread veers off course, or gets threadjacked. I'm a slow painter, and weeks will pass between when I post photos of completed players/teams. It's a slow assembly line.
Here's the Orc team. Still need decals but they're close to completion - at least to my standards.
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Cameraphone flash overbrightened the armor. The red isn't quite that bold, but the non-flash photos looked a little muddy.
EDIT: I just realized that I omitted a 12th player - the 2nd blitzer. Basically looks identical to the leftmost Orc in the top photo.
Cool. Can we get a closeup of one of the figures?
You mentioned doing a wash earlier. Are you doing any dry brushing to bring out highlights?
I'll see about getting a closeup later tonight. They're painted to around 'tabletop level' so they're not going to be that remarkable or detailed at close range. But, hell, I'm fine with criticism.
I've not done any highlighting through dry-brushing. I've considered doing some edge highlighting to make them stand out a little more. That's going to take some practice, though, because I haven't done much of it. I wasn't kidding when I said that I was a mediocre painter. :)
Here are two extreme closeups. [EDIT: Well, I guess not that extreme. The forum image uploader does some resizing).
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A little hard for me to look at. And makes me want to sink more hours into highlighting, detailing, and fixing more mistakes.
Quote from: K Peterson;953539Here are two extreme closeups. [EDIT: Well, I guess not that extreme. The forum image uploader does some resizing).
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A little hard for me to look at. And makes me want to sink more hours into highlighting, detailing, and fixing more mistakes.
They look awesome. Looking forward to seeing them complete with the decals.
Quote from: CRKrueger;951672Ok threadjack for nearly blind people:
What magnifying lenses do you guys use?
Little late for this one but... I got one of those stalk magnifiers, and it worked ok. But what really helped were some over the counter reading glasses.
Quote from: Ratman_tf;954298Little late for this one but... I got one of those stalk magnifiers, and it worked ok. But what really helped were some over the counter reading glasses.
I've heard of some other people using the jeweler's magnifiers. I think y'all tend to paint using the magnification, right?
I already wear bifocals. I like the stalk magnifier because I tend to look at the 6mm minis under the magnification, to help spot places I've missed painting or to note details I want to paint, but most often I paint without magnification. Some individual minis might differ from this rule of thumb. I'm using the 4-5 I'm currently working on as a reference, as I paid attention to when I used the magnifier this time.
I started my own 6mm thread here: http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?36624-Painting-6mm
Quote from: Ratman_tf;954298Little late for this one but... I got one of those stalk magnifiers, and it worked ok. But what really helped were some over the counter reading glasses.
I've got some prescription reading glasses that I really should be using...
Quote from: Tod13;954342I think y'all tend to paint using the magnification, right?
I've been painting pretty much everything using the 2x magnification, just to insure some clean and steady lines. I probably wouldn't need to use the magnifier as much if I wore the aforementioned reading glasses. 3.5x magnification is great for cleanup and very fine detail work.
Quote from: K Peterson;954604I've been painting pretty much everything using the 2x magnification, just to insure some clean and steady lines. I probably wouldn't need to use the magnifier as much if I wore the aforementioned reading glasses. 3.5x magnification is great for cleanup and very fine detail work.
Does the stalk magnifier mess with your depth perception? I can't tell how close the brush is to the mini. :confused:
Not really at 2x magnification. But definitely at 3.5x. Then, I have to gradually bring the brush and mini into focus and target a very specific spot. And if I move on to another section I have to 're-home' to line everything up right.
I took a sanity break from painting greenskins to play around with painting humans. Here's a couple of photos:
No camera flash
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Camera flash
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Painful closeup shot
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Yesterday, I was out running errands and stopped by a game store. Grabbed some paints; grabbed the newly released Blood Bowl Troll.
I bought a couple of Citadel's textured paints to try out a different option for muddy bases. (The GF9 sand is OK, overall, but it requires quite a bit of paint to cover, and it doesn't seem to adhere as well to the Elmer's Glue). So, I bought a bottle of Stirland Mud, and Stirland Battlemire to see how well they covered and how they compared.
I first painted on the S'Mud, let it dry overnight, and it looked pretty decent in the morning. It's a bit less gritty and 'rocky' than the S'Battlemire. To get more texture, I layered the Battlemire over the top in select spots - to reflect a few rocks on the playfield. I liked the end result. The Humans in the pictures above were based with this method.
The textured paint is pricey stuff, and I certainly wouldn't want to use it to paint up a large army. But it seems like a good option for teams or squads of minis.
Quote from: K Peterson;955069I took a sanity break from painting greenskins to play around with painting humans. Here's a couple of photos:
Those are incredible. I'm still jealous of your basing. I hope to improve my basing over time.
Working through the assembly line of Humans. 7 near-completion; 5 more to go.
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Painted up the Human tokens. Nothing special here. I glued them down to bases for more stability, but really haven't decided how I'm going to base them.
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An Ogre that's a work-in-progress. Basecoated, wash is drying. Needs another coat of base colors, plus some cleanup, and a lot more work on the head.
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The Ogre in a mostly-completed state:
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I'm working my way through 2 blitzers and a lineman. That'll leave 2 lineman to finish up the Human team. Once they're done I'll start working on decal-ing both the Orcs and the Humans.
Quote from: K Peterson;957323
I'm working my way through 2 blitzers and a lineman. That'll leave 2 lineman to finish up the Human team. Once they're done I'll start working on decal-ing both the Orcs and the Humans.
Looking awesome. I like the stitching and the skin tone.
LOL. When I saw an update here, I immediately wondered "did the decals get put on yet?" :D
A couple of blitzers and a lineman. I need to do some more cleanup work with these guys; they don't look that great closeup.
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Quote from: Tod13;957333LOL. When I saw an update here, I immediately wondered "did the decals get put on yet?" :D
Yeah, I get distracted. But this morning I picked out a couple of Humans and a couple of Orcs, put a coat of varnish on select spots (to give the decals a good surface to adhere to), and will apply decals to them over weekend.
Do you use wet transfer decals or dry? Thanks!
They're wet transfer decals. They're included in the base game and with each of the expansion teams.
Quote from: K Peterson;957551They're wet transfer decals. They're included in the base game and with each of the expansion teams.
Thanks. I want to put two of the letter "C" on a small 6mm banner. (My fantasy players end up knocking on dungeon doors and shouting "Cave Catering!")
Been a busy week; haven't gotten much painting done over the past week. I applied a few decals mid-week, and then a couple more today:
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The white decals don't look as great on the red armor as the blue. I had the option to apply black decals instead, and perhaps they'd have blended in a little better with the red.
Quote from: K Peterson;958806Been a busy week; haven't gotten much painting done over the past week. I applied a few decals mid-week, and then a couple more today:
The white decals don't look as great on the red armor as the blue. I had the option to apply black decals instead, and perhaps they'd have blended in a little better with the red.
The white works for the orcs I think. Try popping it into a paint program to see how black looks.
A dozen Orcs, decal'd up:
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Hmm.. not that great of pics with flash. Let's see how a no-flash version looks...
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Humans. Still have a couple to paint for an even dozen.
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A Troll
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A rather complex model to assemble and paint, kind of a pain in the ass. I could have done a better job and broke out the green stuff to ensure that some pieces fit together more seamlessly. But after a while of working with the Troll, I just said fuck-it.
Looks good to me!
Quote from: CRKrueger;951672Ok threadjack for nearly blind people:
What magnifying lenses do you guys use?
I tried a lighted magnifying glass, and kept knocking the damn thing over. $25
I tried one of those magnifying visor things, and it made my neck ache, because it was weirdly balanced. $15
Finally, I got a pair of shitty x3 magnification glasses from the local pharmacy, and they work great. No complaints at all: $5
Quote from: Herne's Son;973704I tried a lighted magnifying glass, and kept knocking the damn thing over. $25
I tried one of those magnifying visor things, and it made my neck ache, because it was weirdly balanced. $15
Finally, I got a pair of shitty x3 magnification glasses from the local pharmacy, and they work great. No complaints at all: $5
I used a lighted magnifying glass on a flexible "arm". This one https://amazon.com/gp/product/B003EW1ZNC (https://amazon.com/gp/product/B003EW1ZNC)
I tend to, almost randomly, go between magnification and no magnification. The light also adds good light to my workspace. In use, I put the base of the magnifier such that my arms go around the flexible arm. When I'm not using the magnification, the base goes to my right and the magnifier/light goes over my arm.