Blog The Nexs-Files - [SAURUS LEADER!! ERMAGHERD!!]

Re: The Nexs-Files - [oldblood conversion]

Thanks kblock. I can't really get rid of the flower, it's their as a weight bearer.
What about colour, any better ideas? Does pink work?

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [oldblood conversion]

I think we're finished. What do y'all think?

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [oldblood conversion]

Looks awesome! Especially the white colouration on the Cold One is fantastic, gives it a lot more character. It just bothers me a wee bit that the flower is pointing to the direction the Cold One is coming from. In my opinion, it should be pointing to the opposite direction, as if the Cold One is pushing it away from it's path. But like I said, a very minor detail. Otherwise the flower looks great, and I like how you painted it to stand out. Keep up the good work!

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [oldblood conversion]

Thanks for the feedback. I tried to be very careful with this flower placements (as it was needed for weight bearing).
I've tried to make it so that the flower is under the 'heel'. With the foot coming back down to the ground, it being under the heel would push it backward. I'd hoped... haha

Also, pushing it more forward would have given me problems with ranking him up

In other news, I have begun working on the scar vet

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Scarvet+GW conversion]

Ok so I have some progress!

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Progress!]

The Oldblood looks great. I like the color of the flowers now better than the earlier pink color. And you are off to a great start on the Scar Vet.

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Progress!]

Ok, I've had a good look through your log and at the work you've been doing in order to make a crit for you.


First off, kudos for starting small rather than going int for a full body part change.

First thing I'd look at doing is getting some clay shapers (especially the flat one), this will help you get smoother edges and surfaces when you're sculpting stone, metal or other areas where you're trying to get that element of smoothness and especially sharp edges.

Next up is I'd look at using less GS with each bit you do, especially on weapons, you're probably using about twice the amount you realistically need. Along with this, spend a little more time with the surfaces, put down your initial layer (or just the one layer) and spend a little more time pushing and pulling the shape of it with your tools. The same goes with spikes on weapons (assuming they're not organic, but metal).

Getting flat surfaces and sharp edges is fairly easy, the downside of it being it requires you to put in a lot of effort or working and re-working the edges to make sure they get the look you're going for. The advantage with things like weapons is you can actually make a roughish shape with something like milliput and then file it when it's dry (it's what I do with mine).



I hope you don't mind but I did download a copy of your SCOR scar vet to mark on some things worth keeping in mind.


First off, the arm with the great weapon, quite a nice idea with the shoulder but be a little more mindful of the bones underneath, the shoulder shape and position make the humerus look like it has a curve in it (red line to indicate what it needs to do).

Secondly, look at the green circle around the hand, now try replicating that pose with your hand and shoulder in that position, it's probably not very comfortable, bones do not just add structure to the body, they will also limit movement, whenever you plan a pose with a mini, try and mimic that pose yourself, it should be something you can do without discomfort (not taking into account how flexible you are as an individual, as there will be wiggle room here).

Lastly have a look at the blue arrow I've drawn (this is assuming that the weapon you've given him is a great weapon), great weapons are HEAVY, even with two hands they are supposed to be heavy enough that you're very slow in using it as it requires both your strength and the actual weight of the weapon to cause damage. The issue here is not that you've got him holding it with only one hand, it's to do with the angle he's holding it at.

The blue arrow indicates where all the weight of the weapon wants to go, down. Combine this with the angle of his hand (remember how holding your hand in that position feels) and think about how much weight it would realistically take to completely dislocate your hand, not very much.


That's the problem with great weapons, they realisitically need to be held close to the body (unless in mid swing with both hands, so the viewer can see the arch and direction of movement) and with one hand, probably quite low too due to the weight.




Hope this hasn't disheartened you, this is the sort of crit I get when sculpting for companies and is what I would rate as a level 3 crit. You've done well and it's nice to see you being varied in what you do and how you show it, it's a very important style to hold on to, always mix things up and try something new, even if you already have a method you like.

If I can help further I will, I just hope I haven't come across as being too harsh.

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Progress!]

Thanks Rikard, greatly appreciated!
I'll segment your comment to make it easier to respond to

I'm not sure what clay shapers are... Unfortunately, greenstuff is the only thing i have access to, at least at this stage. But I do find that GS is a pain in the butt sometimes!

Could you please elaborate on this, as I'm unsure what you're referring to. Since you mentioned layers on your blog, i'd been doing just that wherever practicable, so any more specific guidance would be excellent.

As i said earlier, I've only got GS to work with at the moment, so I can really only live within the constraints of that beast :/
What I've done here for the spikes (assuming that's what you're referring to) is put a pinch of GS down, let it cure for 15ish minutes and work it into a roughly pyramidish shape. Once it dried, i filed it into flat planes.

Of course i don't mind

The angle of the image makes it hard to tell, but the bend in the arm is actually at the elbow(which, when lifting heavy objects, is needed). But your picture has outlined some things to me:
1. if i'm having the elbow bent then the forearm looks to be broken :O
2. I'll have to check the model again, but maybe the shoulder is too high(I'd have to build the back up to compensate for this as the shoulder is pinned and has 2 layers of GS...)
3. the wrist looks equally broken :O

I actually did that (and do it alot, it comes from my younger days when i used to draw alot). My note above should apply here

This is something I had in mind the whole time but had 2 problems
1. the left arm doesn't reach across to the weapon
2. this is pretty much the only place that the model will rank up with his buddies. I wanted to have the weapon swinging low to the ground but it was simply impossible to rank up

No, no! I've asked for heavy critique and it's certainly very helpful!
I have a couple of options here:

1. Bring the weight of the weapon closer to the fist, allowing it to be more easily handled (thinking of a sledge hammer). This will be difficult because the wrist is pinned and may cause problems pinnon the top of the weapon back in after cutting it down.

2. break off the body part and re-heat it to twist the body, allowing me to try and get the second hand on the great weapon, but keeping the weapon at the same angle(for ranking up purposes). In this scenario I'd have to rip the head off and reposition it, but that shouldn't be too hard.

What would you suggest?


Thanks again for taking the time to go through this

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Progress!]

Ok, I'll see if I can tackle all the points here.

First off, here is a link to some clay shapers (they are sold both uk, us and elsewhere, fairly inexpensive too).
http://www.artifolk.co.uk/brushes-knives-and-colour-shapers/colour-shapers/colour-shaper-artists-tool-soft.htm?r=googlebase&gclid=CMymsI3m6sICFfTJtAodFVAAJg

You don't need more than 2 for professional level sculpting, only the flat and bullet tipped ones (firm, or grey) in size zero.

Layering is good for complete builds, but for the ball end on the great weapon, you really only need the one layer to make the metallic band that circles the weapon. As for the amounts, less is more, only put on half the amount you think you'll need and it's often the right amount.

Ranking up is always an issue, especially when you want something dynamic, there's ways around this, such as increasing the terrain on his base to raise his overall height slightly (I will be showing some examples of this later on in other thread). As for the pose I'd go with two things.

1: What is practicable, both in terms for using a great weapon whilst riding (so overhead wouldn't be a good idea) and what you can realistically get away with so that it ranks up.
2: What you want.

Make sure you find references and resources though, especially when looking for artwork examples and stock images.

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Progress!]

OH! Yes, i know what you mean, and I've been keeping my eye out for them. I love the silicone shapers as they look really nice to work with!

Yeah, the weapon was all one-layer work, did you mean to say that you think the weapon is too large?



re:

Who knows, a cold one may perform better with a concussion
Also, I think I may try and twist the body around and get the other hand holding the weapon. You're right, even though Saurus Leaders are very strong, a great weapon is still heavy

I'll try and get these changes done soon and post the results up!
Thanks again for all your help thus far!

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Progress!]

I'm not the best at explaining things, I think it's why I tend to go a bit over board with explanations, but I'm hoping to work on that on the next scratch build.


What I mean, is more to do with the band you sculpted around the ball end on this character.



As for overall size, it's subjective, I do think there is a margin, it could depend on whether it's a magic item, what the material is made of and height of character against height/mass of the weapon.

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Progress!]

Oh, i'm with you 100% there. that was my first attempt at intermediate greenstuffing. That weapon has since been removed and a giant Battle Standard has placed on top instead

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Progress!]

So... Dark Eldar is creeping into my life.

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Now for something completely differe

I would just like to say that this is the first time I've looked over your work and have enjoyed the progression over the last 6 months or so. I'm not sure how long you've taken up the hobby, but I can tell it's something you love and you are continually getting better at.

That being said, my favorite model you've posted so far has been the Oldblood with the Sword of Bloodshed. Thanks for all the great pics!

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Now for something completely differe

Hey mate! Thanks for that It's really been the last 6-12 months that i've been getting heavily into the green stuff. I enjoy the greenstuff (not pot LOL).
I think I'm going to try and walk in rikard's shadow and do a full sculpt from scratch soon.

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Now for something completely differe

Here's a few pics of the completed archon.

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Now for something completely differe

Took me fricken ages to get the eyes right!
It's pretty much 3:1 white:kabalite green and 3:1 wateraint. the glow around the edge is darker then the glow.

Is that what you mean?

 

Re: The Nexs-Files - [Now for something completely differe

More evil updates!
I accidentally got this new Archon kit. Despite my original opinion of it (warped by the poo "Eavy Metal paintjob), it's a really nice kit!

He's not finished, obviously, but he's coming along nicely!

 

Image dump time.
Finished archon (from above)






AND!!
Brad did some LIZARDMEN STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!
Finished the toes, gaps filled and scales.

Next step is; knob for the toes to grab hold of, pointing hand knuckles, kneepad and maybe something onto the cold one