STORMIES!!.....super works!
Sorastro's Painting
Well done Leveton! The storm troopers are probably the most "look-easy-but-really-aren't" figures in the game and yours look 10x better than unpainted lumps of plastic. The trooper on the left looks a fair bit better than the one on the right as you've managed to leave more of the darker washed areas in the recesses - good job!
Are there any figures that would be easier for someone struggling with real fine brush control? Like, on a scale of 1-10, where would the Stormtroopers be, and where would the AT-ST be? And thanks for the encouragement.
Hi Sorastro and other painters I need some help with my basing decisions.
First here's the basing for my Jungle/Endor units. I'm really happy with them: http://imgur.com/Tms7Hh1
Which snow looks better, the Probe droids or Hired Guns?
Droids use a mix of Elmers and Model Train Fake snow, Hired Guns are snow texture paint by citidels, dry brushing and some shrubery that I dry brushed white a bit.
Which Desert/Tatooine looks better, Hired Guns or Tusken Raiders?
Hired Guns use super glue and some Model train sand/rocks, Tuskens use texture paint and some dry brushing.
Well done Leveton! The storm troopers are probably the most "look-easy-but-really-aren't" figures in the game and yours look 10x better than unpainted lumps of plastic. The trooper on the left looks a fair bit better than the one on the right as you've managed to leave more of the darker washed areas in the recesses - good job!
Are there any figures that would be easier for someone struggling with real fine brush control? Like, on a scale of 1-10, where would the Stormtroopers be, and where would the AT-ST be? And thanks for the encouragement.
I would put Stormtroopers on the higher end of the difficulty, not because there's a lot of details to do, but because getting a lot of white to look good is **** hard. Shading and highlighting black and white I generally find hard to do well.
I think the Nexu was fairly easy and forgiving. I used a large brush to paint the underside in an earthly brown. Then painted the top side in a zombie flesh tone, then painted lighter tones on top in broad strokes before washing the whole model and picking out details afterwards. Much inspired by the approach of Sorastro.
Anyone else having trouble with patreon today? Just getting blank pages...
Well done Leveton! The storm troopers are probably the most "look-easy-but-really-aren't" figures in the game and yours look 10x better than unpainted lumps of plastic. The trooper on the left looks a fair bit better than the one on the right as you've managed to leave more of the darker washed areas in the recesses - good job!
Are there any figures that would be easier for someone struggling with real fine brush control? Like, on a scale of 1-10, where would the Stormtroopers be, and where would the AT-ST be? And thanks for the encouragement.
I would put Stormtroopers on the higher end of the difficulty, not because there's a lot of details to do, but because getting a lot of white to look good is **** hard. Shading and highlighting black and white I generally find hard to do well.
I think the Nexu was fairly easy and forgiving. I used a large brush to paint the underside in an earthly brown. Then painted the top side in a zombie flesh tone, then painted lighter tones on top in broad strokes before washing the whole model and picking out details afterwards. Much inspired by the approach of Sorastro.
Stormtroopers are a pain to get right. They look deceptively simple but getting white surface to look good is difficult indeed. I noted (after practice) that using a bigger brush is actually better on white surface as it helps getting an even coverage.
I think easy starts would be the probe droids and the royal guards. Royal guards are nice way to learn highlighting and layering and it really isn't difficult to get the figure looking decent. Probe droids are really easy though painting the eyes and light requires some dexterity which might be difficult if it's the first or second figure you're painting.
Are the new videos no longer available on you tube? Just curious.
Are the new videos no longer available on you tube? Just curious.
The Han Solo one only came out on patreon this past weekend, otherwise all the other videos are visible to me directly on youtube. (descent last, then gideon before that)
I've got a few minis primed and ready to go. I'll post pics when I'm done, assuming they don't end up looking like abominations.
Sorastro's videos got me interesting in painting them... I don't think I've painted minis since Hero Quest in 1990.
Are the new videos no longer available on you tube? Just curious.
Hi HK! Yep Ep.16 is just a week later than usual due to the Descent video (I totally over stretched myself trying to produce two videos in one month) but will be on general release by Monday
thanks for the update. looking forward to it.
I watched the new video yesterday and I loved it. It had a new approach to painting skin and the results were amazing. Shame that I've already painted my Han. I really appreciate the effort put into these videos. It's far more than just helping to pick the right colors. It's the, often surprising, color mixes and new techniques introduced in every video that make the series so awesome.
The skin paint method introduced in the video would probably work well on figures with lots of skin as it would allow more details (e.g. Runebound / Descent figure Master Thorn). And I think the method will be helpful when painting Fenn too.
Amazing work as always, Sorastro.
And now that I've finished painting Runebound I think I'll move back to Imperial Assault. Boba Fett has waited long enough.
I watched the new video yesterday and I loved it. It had a new approach to painting skin and the results were amazing. Shame that I've already painted my Han. I really appreciate the effort put into these videos. It's far more than just helping to pick the right colors. It's the, often surprising, color mixes and new techniques introduced in every video that make the series so awesome.
The skin paint method introduced in the video would probably work well on figures with lots of skin as it would allow more details (e.g. Runebound / Descent figure Master Thorn). And I think the method will be helpful when painting Fenn too.
Amazing work as always, Sorastro.
And now that I've finished painting Runebound I think I'll move back to Imperial Assault. Boba Fett has waited long enough.
Thanks a lot Elrath! I'm glad you like the extra effort that went into Han's skin tone. Great job on your Runebound minis btw! I wish there were more hours in the day so I could paint mine too; as it is I've just started on Luke
I've been watching your vids from the beginning. So many great tips and tricks....after some practice, my figures and ships actually look awesome. Thankyou Sorasto for this great resource. its turned a meh painter into alot better one. ( I'll post some picks when I get my digital cam....stocking stuffer from Santy).
Have a wonderful season all!!!
I posted these on my FB groups and sent them to friends, but totally spaced on posting them here!
So to sum up I used Tamiya Aircraft grey primer instead of uniform grey from army painter on the AT-ST. It is really close to celestra grey and aided greatly in the base coating. I initially had too much fun with the rust effect, but scaled it back with a simple dry brush. I may have gone a bit dark on the guns, but I actually kind of like the contrast. The mud effect was really fun to do and I think I may have to do my Nexu with that as well.
The officers were interesting. Highlighting went faster than I thought it would. When you use the thin layers they really dry quickly. One thing I feel I messed up on was the rank badges. I spent all that time highlighting the silver and making sure it was shaded only to not be able to make the color badges small enough to show silver through. Bummer.
Edited by flightmaster101
Thanks a lot Shadowmax! Looking forward to seeing some pics
Lovely work flightmaster! Good move with the Tamiya primer - looks great and must have saved a fair bit of time too
Hello fellow painters!
I've been a casual visitor to these forums for a little while and since there's now a painting sub-forum I thought I 'd share the progress I've been making with the IA miniatures.
I've noticed some very kind references to my tutorial videos in some of the other painting threads and am very humbled by how well they have been received - so thank you if that applies to you!
Anyway, I managed to finish my Royal Guards the other day; I love how they contrast so nicely against the B&W of the other imperial troops:
I had an awful lot of fun painting the AT-ST; What a fantastic figure!
Phew! The Imperials now have their leader:
Vader now has some hired help
Rage against the Empire!
Diala laying the smack down on IG-88
Absofragging gorgeous!
Lol Deathseed - that's quite a big quote, but thanks
Episode 16 is now live by the way.. hope you like my attempt at painting Han!
So I went HAM today and painted 14 minis. Sure, 9 of them were Stormies, 3 were Imperial Probes and 2 were E-Web Engineers... but I haven't done this since I was 10, so I guess I had lost time to make up for.
So! A few observations:
1) I used Tamiya primers and they worked very well. I'd recommend them to anyone who's thought some other brands have come out gritty; these are nice and smooth.
2) Used Testor's matte varnish to seal the finish. I am convinced it is made of 50% chloroform, 50% rohypnol, 50% aerosol... and trace amounts of varnish. I used it in my basement and I barely made it out alive.
3) I really love how the Engineers and Probes came out!
4) I'm pleased with the Stormies even though I can see obvious parts where I could have done better. What can I say, it's been a while. But! I started thinking about it some more... The Stormtroopers in the movies kind of suck, right? They can't hit anything! And that's when I realized that's almost certainly because they had poorly painted helmets they couldn't see out of! So while my Stormtroopers absolutely do not look as good as Sorastro's, I will forever maintain that they are more lore friendly . Yeah.
Dunno what's up next, but that was an awful lot of fun.
So I went HAM today and painted 14 minis. Sure, 9 of them were Stormies, 3 were Imperial Probes and 2 were E-Web Engineers... but I haven't done this since I was 10, so I guess I had lost time to make up for.
So! A few observations:
1) I used Tamiya primers and they worked very well. I'd recommend them to anyone who's thought some other brands have come out gritty; these are nice and smooth.
2) Used Testor's matte varnish to seal the finish. I am convinced it is made of 50% chloroform, 50% rohypnol, 50% aerosol... and trace amounts of varnish. I used it in my basement and I barely made it out alive.
3) I really love how the Engineers and Probes came out!
4) I'm pleased with the Stormies even though I can see obvious parts where I could have done better. What can I say, it's been a while. But! I started thinking about it some more... The Stormtroopers in the movies kind of suck, right? They can't hit anything! And that's when I realized that's almost certainly because they had poorly painted helmets they couldn't see out of! So while my Stormtroopers absolutely do not look as good as Sorastro's, I will forever maintain that they are more lore friendly . Yeah.
Dunno what's up next, but that was an awful lot of fun.
Your stuff looks amazing. I really like the probes and the Troopers are spot on.
Keep up the awesome work!
Your stuff looks amazing. I really like the probes and the Troopers are spot on.
Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks! I touched up the bases on some of them a bit since I snapped that, but I'm really pleased with how stuff came out especially for a first cut and for doing so many in one shot. Sorastro's tutorials were super helpful.
Guess who's back...
Getting ready for yesterday's round of "work."
It's the OP quadruplets starting to come together while Vader oversees the project.
Wild NEXU appeared! Kal used SORASTRO TUTORIAL! It's super effective!
The OP quadruplets await varnish and glaze, while in the background, the Elite Beat Agents risk life and limb by calling on Vader to pop and lock.
Trying to stay ahead of my campaign. If I'm ambitious, today will be the Officers, Vader, and the AT-ST.
Amazing work on those Nexu!
I'm working on my second core now with snow bases, wrapping up E-webs tonight, then I'll just have royal guards and trandoshans to go!
Question for Sorastro (or anyone else, really). I got a $10 off $30 for my local Hobby Town, so I am probably going to use it to get some more paints. I currently have the following Citadel paints (along with a few from Reaper and Vallejo):
Agrax Earthshade
Ardcoat
Biel-Tan Green
Cadian Fleshtone
Caledor Sky
Carroburg Crimson
Drakenhor Nightshade
Gehenna's Gold
Ironbreaker
Jokaero Orange
Kabalite Green
Mechanicus Standard Grey
Mephiston Red
Necron Compound
Nuln Oil
Sycorax Bronze
Troll Slayer Orange
Tuskgor Fur
Ulthuan Grey
Looking at the colors used so far in Sorastro's tutorials I came up with the following 9 colors (8 would be just over $30) that seem to be used most (I have a black and white that are not Citadel):
Celestra Grey
Druchii Violet
Eshin Grey
Evil Sunz Scarlet
Leadbelcher
Mournfang Brown
Reikland Fleshshade
Screaming Skull
Steel Legion Drab
So, my question is, do you really think that the colors on that list are what I should be picking up? Is there something I'm missing that might be more important? I really prefer paint in dropper bottles (I'm looking at trying to transfer my Citadels to them), so I'm trying to be as efficient as possible about what I buy.
Thanks for the help, and for the awesome videos (and the inspiration from everyone else posting their results here)!
Edited by HestisDoes anyone have some good tips on basing figures.
By that I mean I've bought some nifty industrial looking bases for my heroes. I have 2 of each hero so one right now is on a snow base where I just built up my environment on the provided base but for these I'd like to rebase them. Is there any easy way to detach a painted miniature from the FFG bases, is there a certain tool I should use?
What about attaching it to the new base? Plastic glue, super glue, elmers?
Thanks all (and sorastro for your amazing videos that really motivated me to paint in the first place!)