18 replies to this topic

[Adrift]

So here is my first ever attempt as Sky/Earth (aka Horizon) NMM. I feel like my everyday NMM is strong enough that I really wanted to stretch myself...and did this ever stretch my abilities. At this point I feel like regular NMM is child's play compared to what I attempted to do here. I have mixed feelings on the results depending upon my mood.

I attempted the technique on her right bracer (front/back), the small metal disc at her waist, and her sword blade. I think the sword blade might have been too ambitious given I've never tackled this before, and the angle at with the blade lies toward the horizon in every direction. I also feel like I didn't "grey down" the 'earth' on her bracer and that it has the propensity to blend in with the leather of the bracer itself. Had I been a little less focused on my frustration, I should have changed the color of the leather of the bracer to offset.

It will be a while before I try this again.

There is a slight flaw with the miniature on her left leg as there appears to be some faint dimpling of the metal. I treated this problem, but as I was painting realized that I hadn't treated it enough.

Her mouth is quite awkward. I should have painted her lower lip a little less full (width wise), b/c I feel like she has the propensity to be a trouty mouth.

In general, I'm very frustrated right now and just want to break all my brushes in half.

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[Girot]

WOW. What did you use on the base? That looks amazing!

[Corporea]

deep cleansing breaths. put brushes away where they are safe... unless they are citadel brushes, then it's ok to take out frustration on them. I like the sword. I like the idea of sky/earth, but for some reason it seems to work better if more of the miniature echoes the effect, which can't be done with most non-armored fantasy minis. Seriously awesome that you're trying it, 'cause quite frankly the scheme intimidates the heck out of me!

[Hawker]

I'm really impressed Adrift, you should be very pleased with your work. My only concern though is that if you hadn't told us it was an Earth & Sky NMM painting I might have wondered what the brown goo was on her blue sword.

Now don't for a second think that that's a fault with your work because its not. Its more a perception thing and my fault not yours, but the fact that its possible to mistake it is the issue for me. It might be solved if the base & darker reflection colour were a more distinctive colour so they don't compete with the leather?

But then what do I know? Your way beyond my skill level.

[MonkeySloth]

This type of NMM is hard and I've felt it never looks right unless you're actually trying to do the reflection correct. I think you have the skill for it but the unrealistic ground reflection doesn't work for me, as is common with this style.

That being said you did a great job for your first time with this technique.

[klyons99]

This is a great take on this sculpt, and something to be proud of. You certainly have the skill to pull this off, despite how tough it is. Personally, I think it's a pretty workable chrome look, great for a first attempt. So keep the brushes intact, take a few deep breaths, and go relax.

[Stubbdog]

Adrift,

Very good first attempt. I do remember haveing lots of the same frustrations on my first attempts.

Take these as learning critiques...

Main think I see is that your horizon line simply went perpendicular to the object rather than go based on the actual angle of the object to the ground. The sword is at an angle, yet the horizon line of the nmm did not adjust to that angle. Or maybe its that it did adjust to the angle rather than staying with the ground.

Similarly, on her wristband piece, her arm is at an angle downward, which means a lot more of the piece of metal would be facing down reflecting the ground, rather than up reflecting the sky. Yours has it 50/50 right in the middle.

Lastly, your base has lots of greenery in it. Yet, your nmm is all browns, no green.

[ObsidianCrane]

It's a good first go & you are braver than I am.

There are 2 things that I see as problems. Your horizon line is not aligned to the ground instead it's aligned to the object. The other is your sky and ground are too dark for most of their area.

[evergrin]

Yellow and blue look great. I love her sharp highlights.
She looks fantastic. :) (No, don't break your brushes.)

[Adrift]

WOW. What did you use on the base? That looks amazing!

The turf on her base is a combination of 3 woodlands scenics turfs; Blended Turf (green blend), Underbrush Clump-Foliage (olive green), and Underbrush Clump-Foliage (medium green). The clump foliage is great b/c you can pull at it, turn it on it's side and make it look taller in areas and shorter in others to get a more natural look.

And thank you everyone else for your assistance with getting my head straightened out with regards to the NMM. There are a load of valid observations, all of which I'm excited to make use of the NEXT time.

[Metalchaos]

I like the chromatic reflection it's sharp for a first try, I never tried that myself. Her blue clothes are also amazing.

[Furongian]

I'm really impressed with her hair. Blonde can be so hard to paint.

[Adrift]

I like the chromatic reflection it's sharp for a first try, I never tried that myself. Her blue clothes are also amazing.

Thanks a bunch. MamaGeek's recommended reading on Color Theory has given my brain a whole new way of looking at color; not just a palette overall but also the colors I use for shading and blending.

I'm really impressed with her hair. Blonde can be so hard to paint.

Thanks! I originally had her planned to be a raven haired beauty, but opted for blonde to enhance the rest of the palette.

[Kuro Cleanbrush]

First off, PROTECT THOSE BRUSHES!!! You did too good of a job with them to sacrifice them now.

Second, I really admire your willingness to experiment; that's what has allowed you to get so good so quickly. I seem to vaguely recall commenting and giving advice to you on your first few minis that you posted to the forums (not even a year ago!), and now I'm the one who needs to be asking YOU for advice!

Third, (and on to the actual comments on the mini) as you've probably noticed I'm completely unwilling to break away from True Metalic Metal (TMM), so take my advice with a grain of salt. Adding some green to the SENMM probably would have been a good idea. Also, this is just a theory, but I wonder if the effect wouldn't be easier to sell if like 50% of the metal surface was actually left "metalic" instead of reflective and the SENMM was confined to a smaller area.

Fourth and last, I had a few miscellaneous comments and critiques. Her hair is awesome! I think her naval is a bit too dark, however. Also, the disk at her waist is near-perfect in my opinion!

In conclusion, you did great, so DON'T BREAK YOUR BRUSHES! Your next attempt is going to be even more awesome!

[Adrift]

Thank Kuro, it's funny you mention her naval; minus the pictures it didn't look so dark to me. I take the pictures and thought the same thing. I might go back and touch that up a bit, but I'm done with the SENMM on this one for now.