Beffer posted:

I don’t follow it closely, but there has been quite a bit of debate about the judging approach to golden demons in the past few years.

They don’t judge on flaws, because as you say, anything with an obvious flaw wouldn’t get that far. But there has been criticism that the judges are overly concerned with technical perfection at the expense of concept and design. (For a while there was apparently a critique that you had to paint in the eavy metal style to win, but that was probably never true and certainly isn’t now.)

The slayer winner this year is a triumph of realising a unique concept by creating an illusion of a reflection in a pond. I would love to see it in person as I struggle to believe that the illusion holds all the way around the model. But people are saying it does.

Beffer posted:

The slayer winner this year is a triumph of realising a unique concept by creating an illusion of a reflection in a pond. I would love to see it in person as I struggle to believe that the illusion holds all the way around the model. But people are saying it does.

Lumpy posted:

Having seen it in person (albeit inside the case, so I couldn't see a 360º view) it looked "correct" from every angle I could view it at.

Ravus Ursus posted:

His Instagram has a video showing most of its angles.

It REALLY pops on the black background photos he took. He has a photo of it upside down that looks like it could have been submitted that way too.

Ravus Ursus posted:

His Instagram has a video showing most of its angles.

It REALLY pops on the black background photos he took. He has a photo of it upside down that looks like it could have been submitted that way too.

Grey Hunter posted:

While technically, all these painters are so out of my league their playing another sport, (a fancy one where you need to own a horse), I personally find them most of them to busy, I cant really focus on what I'm looking at in the picture.

The pool 100% deserves to win though.

Eej posted:

Well here's an easy example:



This one won based on (imo) the clarity of movement in the piece. The ice bridge is rougher in front and flows out into smooth lines at the back which intuitively gives you an idea of where the model is moving. The fur in the front is painted with diagonally downwards lines, to evoke the feeling of the elk pushing powerfully with its front legs and the fur further to the back is more horizontal, to indicate the movement of the body itself. The cloak too has highlight lines starting sharper to the front and diffusing out towards the back. It's also highlighted in warmer colours towards the front and ends up in a cold blue towards the back, kind of like a comet trail (the bright is where it's going, the darker is where it's leaving). Everything is done to indicate to you that Thranduil on his elk is charging forward.

Eej posted:

Well here's an easy example:



This one won based on (imo) the clarity of movement in the piece. The ice bridge is rougher in front and flows out into smooth lines at the back which intuitively gives you an idea of where the model is moving. The fur in the front is painted with diagonally downwards lines, to evoke the feeling of the elk pushing powerfully with its front legs and the fur further to the back is more horizontal, to indicate the movement of the body itself. The cloak too has highlight lines starting sharper to the front and diffusing out towards the back. It's also highlighted in warmer colours towards the front and ends up in a cold blue towards the back, kind of like a comet trail (the bright is where it's going, the darker is where it's leaving). Everything is done to indicate to you that Thranduil on his elk is charging forward.

Spanish Manlove posted:

Knowing Marco he probably finished that in an afternoon

Lostconfused posted:

Going a day without sleep sure drives me crazy, and that's what it takes to produce some real art right?

Nessus posted:

I believe you also need to buy more paints.

Spanish Manlove posted:

Knowing Marco he probably finished that in an afternoon

Flipswitch posted:

planning on using the ak terrains sandy desert and using a sculpting tool to make gentle sand waves.

Yeast posted:

yep, pretty much nailed it. That stuff rules. remember you can also shade it with washes, and highlight it too!

Once you've done your basing I'd also highly recommend using a pigment powder on your figures feet to marry it to the base even more.

Nessus posted:

Arrakis also had its share of black stone which would also be a logical place where poo poo happened, since running around in the desert seems like it calls Shai-Hulud, who can be portrayed by slapping a flexible heating duct on the table.

So that could add visual diversity, even if maybe not to each individual base.

Professor Shark posted:

Well, I wanted this guy to be done, but I see from these pics I need to do another round on the flamer tube and revisit the base- I can’t seem to find a muddy brown method I’m happy with.

Virtual Russian posted:

Art contests involving high levels of skill aren't judged on flaws. Flaws will count against you extremely heavily, to the point of essentially being disqualifing. It is far more likely they are judging concept and execution. Basically, what was the artist's original concept, and how do all the elements of design and painting support that concept.

I submit art to contests periodically (and have judged too), if I send something with flaws I know I won't win. It isn't even enough to send a good piece without flaws. To win, I must send something where all the elements of design are working in unison to support my concept.

Cease to Hope posted:

i don't know how they score but all three of those strike me as better compositions than what they're compared to. on the same level technically but clearer lines of movement and focus

Dr. Red Ranger posted:

Professor Shark posted:

Well, I wanted this guy to be done, but I see from these pics I need to do another round on the flamer tube and revisit the base- I can’t seem to find a muddy brown method I’m happy with.

armorer posted:

Y'all probably know this already but I just found them - There are a ton of textured panels on thingiverse and printables that you can use for testing paint on your brush when drybrushing.

Lovely Joe Stalin posted:

While better than nothing, you really want the material to be wood, because the idea is to let you balance moisture and paint load in the drybrush. If you use tissue/kitchen paper you take out all the moisture and your drybrushed paint will go on too dry resulting in chalky finish. If you use plastic you just take out paint but leave moisture in the brush. Textured wood will let you take out water until it feels right, and then add paint and take that off until you're depositing the right amount.

Lovely Joe Stalin posted:

While better than nothing, you really want the material to be wood, because the idea is to let you balance moisture and paint load in the drybrush. If you use tissue/kitchen paper you take out all the moisture and your drybrushed paint will go on too dry resulting in chalky finish. If you use plastic you just take out paint but leave moisture in the brush. Textured wood will let you take out water until it feels right, and then add paint and take that off until you're depositing the right amount.

Bark! A Vagrant posted:

Looks great to me, I don't know if orks would worry about perfectly painted hazard stripes but I could see why it'd bother you. The details on the horns

Bark! A Vagrant posted:

Thanks, this really helps. Taking another look I think I see what you mean. Taking the silver and bronze from the Aos Large Miniature for examples, here's what I see now and people can tell me if I'm totally missing the mark:



Overall impression of the scenes is that the bone reaper is standing guard at a pass, and the flesh eater is rallying troops for a charge or delivering a Shakespearean monologue.

Both models are elevated relatively high off of the base. The bone reaper is off-center with the stairs circling up to them in the upper-right which creates a nice impression, while the flesh eater is centered which has a neutral effect.

The shield resting on the rock, the chipping on the shield, and the destroyed banister give an eternal guardian vibe. These details, the spread body language of the mini, its sight line, and the stairs/framing all complement and reinforce each other.

The flesh eater's pose calls to mind fantasy movies where the general strikes a dramatic pose before leading the charge. But they're standing on the ruins of a building, on a rocky outcrop, which is a bit at odds with the story of the pose because that doesn't meld with where most armies would do battle. Centering the mini also gives it a more static impression as if it were urging the troops forward, but if that were the case the sight line wouldn't match because then it should be looking forward. The raised arm and sword are telling one story and implying motion while the rest of the composition creates a more static impression instead of accentuating the impression of motion (or imminent motion). I could be reading too much into this arm and head pose as saying "let's charge", but the only other reference I have for that body language is dramatic theater productions.

Eej posted:

Not an art student here so I can't be as clinical in my analysis but I agree with most of yours. One thing is that the setting of the flesh eater's diorama is fine, standing on top of a ruined building to give a little bit more height to rally your weird vampire beasts to battle is perfectly in setting. You're right that it's too "centered", when you look at it you just see the flesh eater as is, mid action in a scene. The bone reaper's base makes you want your eyes to walk around and up the stairs to arrive at the bone reaper itself which gives the piece more movement than the flesh eater.

Also another thing to note, the bone reaper is cold and saturated while the base is warm and desaturated. It's this cold metal thing standing in the middle of a hot desert. The flesh eater is roughly the same as the rest of the scene, so it's more like a still from an action scene than a painted piece.