Nos Draig Army (picture heavy)

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:36 pm

hey everyone, i though i'd finally show my small army to you all as i've plucked up enough courage. Its still growing! Fluff is is still being written for them by myself... Nos Draig is gaelic for Dark Dragon.
helpful comments and advice are welcome

Harabec · Post by **Harabec** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:40 am

Not bad. A very unique colour scheme which is always a nice bonus. Shields are pretty plain with just the base green though. Maybe free hand a rune in white, or put on some of the shield bosses. There are a few areas (it might just be the photo though) where the black undercoat is coming through, sleeves on their arms, some of the weapon blades, and the back of the chainmail skirts on some of them.

If its not just the photo, then you will want to touch those areas up. The colour contrast is very vibrant but I like it, just take care when applying the light green edging as some areas (shields, etc.) have some areas blank and others painted in relatively far.

Dictator · Post by **Dictator** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:25 pm

I only have a few comments on your army:
Overally color contrasts are great. I like the brighter look. Since GW has gone to the "dark side," most people have followed. It think this is a happy medium which is between the old 5th ed and now. I love it!!!

The weapons color is interesting. Is this a reflection of them living in the wilderness so long they think their weapons are made of ice??? Just an idea.

As for the models:
The models skin is a big contrast between light and dark colors. I would suggest adding in another skin shade/base color to have three colors and not just two for the skin. I love the colors but you have to go back through and search for your mistakes. I am always finding my own after I have completely finished the model(missed or went over the lines). IMO it is necessary after each application of color to go back through to "check" your work. It helps you in the long run to fix problems and make them more aesthetically pleasing.

Keep going, I'd love to see your progress on your army!

The same applies to the others but not as much. It seems as though you paid more attention to them.

Post by **Layne** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:36 pm

All very true. It's a nice colour scheme, somethng like this was in my "short list" - but in the end, I figured if I want green Elves, I'll get Wood Elves...

Still, it looks a good combination, green and purple is a good match. You really must tidy things up though, get these paint jobs clean and clear, you'll have a sweet looking, unique army right there.

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:45 pm

thanks guys. i see now the problems with my sloppy painting....i will of course touch up the bad parts!
@ Harabec im unsure about embossing my shields as my free hand painting isnt very good on flat surfaces, ill have to think about another way of making them abit more interesting

the shields are meant to have some parts with the lighter scorpion green and others not as i was trying to get a shine effect on them.....messed that up!

To dictator, i think i the skin tones have abit to much contrast aswell, i will remedy this. thanks!

@ Arnold Layne. Ill tidy them up for your viewing pleasure

i think i rushed a bit with the application of the paints.

thanks guys for the feedback, almost finished my heroes aswell.

Dictator · Post by **Dictator** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:04 pm

I'll be looking forward to seeing the final products then. I wanted to ask when you do get a bigger army will the "same" characters get an upgrade i.e. Manti/DP/steed?

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:38 pm

im undecided as yet, as i dont actually have a job (still in school) money is quite tight. I have been thinking about it though

abit of snipping and GS and im sure my characters will be mounted for war

, the manti is a firm favorite as i have an old brettonian hippogrif (bad spelling) that i surppose i could use as one.

Phierlihy · Post by **Phierlihy** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:56 am

The green and purple are a strong match on the colour wheel but with the light blue (and white skin) it makes a really rough contrast. I'm sorry but I find your army really hard to look at.

Silverheimdall · Post by **Silverheimdall** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:07 am

Maybe a purple wash over the blue weapons could give a better result? Giving a small tint of purple to the weapons to reduce the effect of the blue and purple/green combo

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:56 pm

Phierlihy thank you for telling me that...but as i have said above 'helpful comments and advice' all you have done is told me what is wrong with my army, not how you believe i could remedy this.

Thank you silverheimdall for the advice, watered down purple ink maybe? Im softening the skin a bit as dictator advised with elf flesh, so it'll be no where near as vibrant as the skull white.

i've also finished my fluff, so ill put it up later for everyone to see.
and the heroes are nearing completion!

Dictator · Post by **Dictator** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 5:24 pm

Thank you silverheimdall for the advice, watered down purple ink maybe? Im softening the skin a bit as dictator advised with elf flesh, so it'll be no where near as vibrant as the skull white

Remember a bit of white will go a long way. I am learning that out even more so now with NMM

Careful with the purple wash though, I could see it almost overpowering your scheme too much.

Good luck

Phierlihy · Post by **Phierlihy** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:17 pm

Sorry, I'll try and be more constructive. You have too many colours from too many points on the colour-wheel so you've got a bunch of clashes. Start with the weapons and go away from the frosting-blue to a metallic. You could mix some blue in with mithril silver to try obtain a more metallic blue. If you want a pale skin tone, just add white to elf flesh and get the pale look. Pure white (or pure black) should never be used on a model except for clothing or banners. And lastly go with a green theme or a purple theme. Both are great colours with a lot of visual power but right now neither is over-powering the other so there's no smooth transition from one to the other. Pick one as a main and the other for "highlights". Hope that's more helpful.

Mnesthius · Post by **Mnesthius** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:26 pm

How long do you take to paint your army?
and how many brushes do you have?

when i started painting a few years ago, i only had one brush to drybrush and paint details with, needless to say, it didnt help. If you already have a fine detail brush, i recommend using it to tidy up the edges etc using black, and then going over them again, you seriously won't believe the improvement that'll make. If not, invest in one, you won't regret it.

i don't object to your colorscheme, but the green especially needs highlighting, (i'm looking at this pic here: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff38 ... G_3982.jpg)

your army is coming along great, keep up the work, you'll pick up more technique as you go

take your time with the minatures, when i started again recently, i painted my warriors in groups of three's because i used to rush the job and ended up with lots of paint where they weren't meant to be

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:34 pm

thanks mnethius and phierlihy for the feedback will try to sort that out, i'd say it doesnt take me very long to paint a miniature, maybe 10 minutes altogether on each DE warrior .

Bassman76 · Post by **Bassman76** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:47 pm

Ok, I am the slowest (and laziest !wink! ) painter in the world, but 10 minutes is a bit too fast.
Even if you work in series.
Painting is a matter of patience, slow down, enjoy every step, you cannot be accurate if you hurry up.
If you have no time or patience do not make many layers, two or three layers could make wonders if there is precision and attention.
It could be a bizarre suggetion but I tell you to slow down, try to use at least 20 minutes for each mini, so 2 hours for ten-fifteen warriors. You'll see the difference both in your painting and in your pleasure

Dictator · Post by **Dictator** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:47 pm

@Demonclown: Bassman76 is spot on. I agree too about taking your time to make sure your model is getting a good paint job. Don't worry about anything else than that model. I would even suggest another motivator: money. The models for a DE army are not cheap. That's why I am motivated to paint well because I paid so dang much for them.

Hateshighelves · Post by **Hateshighelves** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:08 pm

20 minutes a model seems lightning fast to me and I don't consider myself a very good painter. It took me about 10 or 12 hours (spaced out over many days, of course) to do 15 witch elves. I still haven't finished them. Perhaps I'm TOO slow.

Nevertheless, taking time to get it right is always worth it.

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:41 pm

well, as im going to watch Wales VS Scotland tomorrow in the 6 nations and i wont be back until wednesday (Half term) im not gonna be able to get any pics of my army. BUT i have cleaned up all my Druchii, based my executioners and lord and i have also painted my 6 ogre bull mercinaries! WILL put up pics when i get back! COME'ON CYMRU!

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:19 am

helpful comments and advice are welcome! cheers again

Harabec · Post by **Harabec** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:03 am

The finished bases are definetly an improvement. I think the new weapon blade colour is much better then the plain ice blue of previous as well. I perssonally dislike the grey skin colour and the ogre skin is to light and white for my tases. Thats more of a personal concern then anything though. I can say though that the skin on some of them is still a little underdone. Especially some of the warriors don't appear to have a full even coat of colour yet. An extra coat on the hands and faces will help the black from showing through and will make the painting look much cleaner.

Keep up he work though and glad you are enjoying it.

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:46 pm

thanks harabec for the encouragement! I choose very white or grey colour schemes because they are from a very cold and icy place. Like a camoflage, without much sun and constant snow blizzards etc. their skin over long periods of time would become pale. Just to justify their pale skin colours!

i think its mainly on the hands that i have under done it am i right?

Phierlihy · Post by **Phierlihy** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:28 am

You've definitely made improvements! You're paint looks blotchy though; could your paint be old or are you storing it in the sun/heat?

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:06 pm

blotchy? some of its quite old but its still in good nick, in which pics does the paint look blotchy phierlihy? ill have to remedy it somehow

Mnesthius · Post by **Mnesthius** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:49 am

HatesHighElves wrote:20 minutes a model seems lightning fast to me and I don't consider myself a very good painter. It took me about 10 or 12 hours (spaced out over many days, of course) to do 15 witch elves. I still haven't finished them. Perhaps I'm TOO slow.

Nevertheless, taking time to get it right is always worth it.

that sounds like a decent time for a unit of 15 elits

i think phierlihy is talking about the helm of the noble on this shot here: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff38 ... 4199-1.jpg

i noticed that the tops where you highlighted the helm stand out... i duno, its just a guess at what he means actually

do you dilute your paint a little before application?

going good, keep it up!

Demonclown · Post by **Demonclown** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:57 am

i do, but i can see what you mean

cameras always pick out the bits you dont see

. It might be uneven metal casting.