Awww yeah. Looking super nice bud. Love the feel of the robes... really nice highlighting and shading there. Robes are tricky... I don't paint a lot of cloth and getting the highlights right can be tricky but I think you are nailing it. Good job on not going to heavy on the silver on the armor plates... its awesome being able to see that beaten textured look to the surface of the metal. Looking soooo nice. Keep it up man it looks killer!
Cheers man. The silver being a little beaten/tarnished is a happy accident. It's just the Leadbelcher spray with an Agrax Wash. In the Warhammer TV guide, Duncan would have you then highlight it all with a dry brush of Necron compound. However, when he does it, quite a lot of silver goes on the gold parts that he has already completed. I can't remember who said it (think it was on your plog), but someone said that GW take their golds too far into the silver range. I agree, so I decided to leave it as a basic base coat + wash. I think it works and I'm glad you like it.
Wow, you've done a great job on those robes!
The shading and highlighting of robes etc is always something that I've kinda struggled with. I managed to fluke a decent look on my Corsair Prince's using my Airbrush but I'm not sure I could replicate it! You've really nailed it here though, a good balance of colour with the metal parts too. Nothing looks out of place
I need to finish the robes with wild rider red and a tiny bit of fire dragon bright, but thanks AP. I tend to find robes quite tough too, but I'm fairly happy with this result. It's really quite striking up close.
Anyhoo. Update time!
Not a painting update, but an update on the Secret Santa Painting Competition!
Holy amphetamine parrot, did people raise their game this year! Last year, there were 6 entries, only about 2 of which were ok, and mine. I won most of the awards that year. This year, I'd be shocked if I received any votes for best painted. There were some seriously amazing entries on display!
People went all out. LEDs embedded into the dioramas, extravagant bases, a miniature copy of White Dwarf, UV Sylvaneth runes. Wowzers. My additional touches didn't put me out in front of everyone, they barely kept me with the pack!!
Here are some of the entries:
I loved this entry. Voted for it for Best Painted. I believe it came 2nd after a few tie breakers were thrown into the mix to break a deadlock at the top:
This entry was lovely. Not quite as stunning as the last IMHO, but a really clean paint job and really well put together. He had mini propaganda posters and the tiny WD in an ammo crate (Sorry, forgot to get a photo). He won the Best Converted in the main competition:
This guy won Best Painted and Best Converted in the 'Haven't yet won a painting comp' Category. It was really nice. The paint work on the minis was excellent; I can see this guy competing for the top awards in future competitions:
This chap won 'Best Theme' in the 'Haven't yet won a painting comp' Category. It was nicely put together, had a strong theme and was well painted, just not nearly as well as the above entry.
This was the overall Best Painted. I'm not going to lie, it didn't really do it for me. I think it's very good, but not as proficient as either of the 2 marine entries.
That said, he painted it in 2 days. 2 freaking days. Insane.
All wasn't lost though, as I managed to pick up the 'Best Theme' award in the main category (For folk that had won Armies on Parade etc). I was really happy with that, but I know that I have to up my game significantly in the future if I want to compete for Best Painted awards.
All in all, it was really fun, so I look forward to next year's competition!