[Acoustico]

I'm sure you all had that moment after the first time you painted in which you felt so good, or maybe it was only me, I just had a very good feeling afterwards, that, here, I'm finally progressed from having only minis and now became more serious about 40k

The Album:
http://img153.imageshack.us/g/dscf2310r.jpg/

Just let me remind you that that was my very first time! I of course accept C&C but please don't expect this to be 'Eavy Metal

For what I did:
The carapace:
Base colour was Chainmail, then I did a 50:50 mix of Mithril Silver and Shadow Grey and then highlighted with Ice Blue, later I also washed it with a very very watered down Asurmen Blue, which took down the metallic look, so it was a mistake.

Note: These colours were my friends so they were GW, I bought P3 colours (which are absolutely awesome) well because they were cheaper but comparing them with the other colours my friend has, I think they are better than GW paints. If you never touched P3, I'll translate it into GW

So for the flesh the base colours were a mix of Battledress Green (which in GW colours would be a more darker Camo Green, like an olived tinted Camo Green) and Battlefield Brown (Darker Graveyard Earth), these two together gave it a very earthy look, I highlighted with Thrall Flesh (a bit greener Rotting Flesh).

For the talons, I painted them with only Battlefield Brown then highlighted them with 'Jack Bone (a more grayish Rotting Flesh), that was really hard though, and I'll need to get better with the talons, highlighting those little things was really hard, but I guess that with bigger 'Nids with talons it would be an easier task! I also added a bit of Scab Red at the end of the talons so it will look bloody, it was OK I guess...

I painted the teeth with 'Jack Bone and then I washed the whole body (Flesh + Teeth) with a 50:50 mixture of Armor Wash and Brown Ink, both together proved to be an awesome mix and worked very well

All in all I think I'll make the carapace lighter, and instead of Chainmail and Shadow Grey I'll mix Chainmail and Ice Blue, and then highlight with a mixture of Ice Blue and white, or only Ice Blue as it would be lighter anyways than the Chainmail + Ice Blue, but I'll see

 

[Phenious]

Its a very dull color scheme, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. A bit of detailing would really make this great, that and bases that are very animated I guess is the right word. not vibrant but alive you know? Dynamic, there we go. Have your models kind of slinking or sneaking out of the base. It makes them look better for sneaking. Vibrant sticks out on the table, but on a battle field sticking out makes you dead.

 

[Azkaellon]

To be honest you should upload your pictures to this site, not link to them.... Also i can't say i like the color scheme since nid's arnt really metallic......at least in my book's.

 

[WarlordKaptainGrishnak]

A promising model.

What i would suggest is giving the boltgun colour a wash of Babad Black (yes you want to use P3 paints but GW washes are some of the best around to I'd invest in some) to give it a more dull grey-ish tint.

Then for the sort of colour it looks like your going for, for the skin tone you could follow this sequence: Calthan Brown, Delvan Mud wash, Khemri brown, delvan mud wash

What a good thing for Nids is, is to have the skin tone brighter than the carapace colour in order to create a contrast. Your concept can work with some tweaks.

Main points are;
Dull the boltgun down and
Brighten the skin tone

Good luck with your next models.

Grish

 

[Euphrati]

I think some of the issue might be the images themselves. Try taking the model outside in daylight to snap a few pictures as I've got a feeling we aren't truly getting the colours and contrast well at all.

Saying the skin should be lighter is more a matter of taste. Some of the best 'nids I have ever seen were actually dark 'skinned'- A deep crimson red with silvery-white carapaces. The painter worked up from a dark grey to pure white then hit a final highlight of mithril glints on the chitin and it really gave them a unique look.

It is more that there seems to be a lack of contrast in the model than anything. Everything is very one tone which can be an easy rut to fall into. My suggestion would be to first get some pictures in true sunlight if possible.

 

[Acoustico]

Pics:
Without Dots:


With Dots:


I thought light dots would help the contrast

And for why the metallic carapace:
The fluff about this Hive Fleet suggests they were in the process of destroying another planet when an Ice Age began on that muddy planet. So they went underground to sleep until the Ice Age would stop, their body stayed underground (thus the muddy, greenish flesh colour) while their carapace stayed outside in the freezing cold. After the Ice Age ended and they went out to keep destroying planets the carapace just completely changed and became ice blue and not brown like it used to be.
So to give it an icy, crystallized look I mixed the Shadow Gray with Mithril...

 

[Varakir]

I think the colour scheme works, and as your painting improves you'll be able to sell it better. The important thing is your colours have gone on strong and your painting is neat.

Personally i like the white dots on the skin, and i think painting the claws in a bright bone colour and picking out the eyes with a brighter colour will bring it together well.

 

[Acoustico]

Thanks a lot!
It's not white dots but a bony colour called 'Jack Bone.

For the claws, painting them is ok, but I have no idea how to highlight them...

EDIT:
And I tried a lighter colour for the eyes and it didn't work well, the brown I've used is better