Digital Camo Vindicare Assassin

[cadianshock]

I've just finished this fellow and thought he came out pretty well for my first real freehand work. Thoughts?

[URL="http://cadianshock.com/painting-a-vindicare-assassin-in-digital-camo/"]Digital Camo Vindicare Assassin[/URL]

[YorkNecromancer]

Love the idea of a Vindicare in digital urban camo. However, the paint seems a bit thick on his legs (I think I can see some small lumps of clogged paint, which is one of the first signs); did you do the light grey in one coat, or several thin ones?

Also, you might benefit from a thin wash of blue over the whole thing, to unify the colour scheme and add shading. It'll stop things being too dark (as with the Nuln Oil), or too grubby (as with a brown wash).

[cadianshock]

I'm afraid to say you're right on all fronts. I'm still learning and impatient when it comes to using paints, hence the clumps. Plus photos never seem to do a mini justice, they remove the best bits and exaggerate the worst parts!

True and fair points. Well said.

I did the greys from darkest to lightest.

Any blue wash in particular?

Thanks for reading and commenting. Always good to get a little constructive critique!

[YorkNecromancer]

It's easy to say, hard to do, but never be impatient; miniature painting is an intensely meticulous process by nature - you can't rush it. Which, frankly, is a pain in the hole some times, but there there it is. Just thin your paints by dipping in water - the aim is to get them to the consistency of milk; not so runny that capillarity pulls them off your brush and into the cracks of the model, not so thick the paint stands out proudly on the other layers, or, worst of all, clumps. I just sort of 'stab' the surface of the water once when I've loaded the paint onto the brush; that way, it's not submerged long enough to go watery. It did take me a veeeeeeery long time to get the hang of it, though, so be prepared to practise!

As for the blue, I've had good results with Drakenhof Nightshade; it dries to a nicely matt finish; you can use it neat, but if you cut it in a 50:50 mix with Lahmian Medium and do maybe two coats, you'll get a much nicer, more subtle finish that keeps the darker tones you're clearly after.

You've got a nice model there, and you've made a nice start. And if it all goes pear-shaped, you can always leave it in Dettol overnight, strip off the paint and have another go.

[cadianshock]

Nice advice. I do do the water dip, but clearly not often enough and with all my layers. I am happy with this, I have another two assassins to do in the same style so will apply your ideas there. Then revisit this model once I have learnt more!

Thanks!