6 replies to this topic

[jatbugg]

Well, I decided I wanted to try and up my painting ability, so I broke down and bought the learn to paint NMM kit. I don't think it looks right.. Can't quite figure out why. But I figure with some more practice I should figure it out. And I also figured out how to paint better eyes. Overall I like how she turned out. She is the character my sister is playing in my dnd group. Let me know what you think!

[DavidVC04]

Wow, nice job. I can't comment on the NMM as I can't do it myself, but I really like the flesh and cloth.

[olliekickflip]

I like this one...the face is very nice. Nice and smooth blending and the eyes look very good as well. As for the nnm....it is very good for a first try. I suggest looking up the top models on coolminiornot and seeing how the "masters" do nnm. This will give you some insite as to how and where to put the highlights and shadows. Just remember that metals require a LOT of contrast between the light areas and dark areas. Anyways, keep practicing!!!

[Ishil]

Good job. And the NMM is good for a first try. I haven't even tried it myself, but I'm sure it takes plenty of practice.

Ishil

[GreyHorde]

Good job, especially the face and eyes. Very smooth, very convincing. NMM looks better than any of my attempts so far. Keep at it and you'll have it down in no time.

[jatbugg]

Thanks. I'll have to study the whole NMM thing some more. Any ideas on how I can improve, though?

[All-Terrain Monkey]

Hey Jatbugg, that was definitely a great go at NMM. One thing to watch when you're doing it is the precision of your lines. Swords, armor, and anything else that's metal and not dinged/battle-damaged will have precise lines and edges. While the actual pewter miniature itself might have some imperfections, the painted figure itself usually looks best with those imperfections filed away before hand or paint-plastic-surgeried. For instance, look at the short sword in her left hand. Looking at the picture, about 2/3 of the way down her hand the line between the sharpened face of the sword and the rest of the sword wavers. If you go back in with your pure white and make that line a precise curve it will help immensely in increasing the believability of the NMM.

Another thing to look at is the amount of light and dark colors used. Any plane or surface facing the sky is going to have a greater percentage of brighter colors than darker colors, and vice versa. On the same short sword the upper plane is dark for about 1/3 of the area, medium grey for 1/3, and bright for 1/3; I would try making the area brighter overall, expanding the bright area and medium area.

The last thing I'd suggest for you is to keep practicing your blending/layering. NMM depends on smooth, seamless transitions between colors, and while you have a good start there's always room for improvement for everyone . If you look at the sharpened plane of the short sword you'll notice the colors change more abruptly than on the upper plane of the sword. Luckily, NMM is a great way to practice layering, and layering is great for practicing your NMM.

The rest of the figure is very cute; however, now that you are able to punch NMM's contrast by going from a super dark grey to pure white, you need to start punching up the contrast in all of the colors of the piece. It's a vicious cycle.