Warhammer 40k Forum and Wargaming Forums banner

My boyz of the green tide. Progress, but mainly please advise me thread ;)

3K views 56 replies 19 participants last post by  Eeveria 
#1 · (Edited)
So a few first thing firsts... Some lovely admin may have to resize them for me;).. (oh no its ok.. ooo who knew i was technical!)

I am rather shiny and new to the hobby, and these pictures below are here as they do not yet deserve a place in the gallery. I have only been doing this for just under a month, so I know that I have a lot to learn.
I am buildingup the ranks of my ork army, aiming to try for a rather mixed approach, but for the time being a green tide of infantry. I will pop up a point list ater for those that are interested :D
The pictures that follow are from models throughout the course of this first month, so i am showing you the warts and all learning curve that i am on.. its bloody steep too. i am learning as i go, making the mistakes means i am able to push myself on from them, so as it stands i will not repaint those that infuriate me, as i need to be able to look at them and realise the problem areas.

One thing i have already learned.. get a better camera! so sorry in advance. Secondly it is only when you zoom right in that i now realise just how much more work should of been lavished on my boyz, but gutting as it is, it has also pushed me forward into now knowing just how far i really do need to improve.
I thought my higlighting on brow ridges etc was improving, until i zooomed in with this camera... i would .ike to say it is the camera and light quality not picking up the tiny details.. but i think i would be fooling myself!

I know it is all personal preference and choice, but I like my boyz a non neon green, rather than mixing up a pot of pre mix, i tend to do each model at a time, as i like the effect of the differing colour range of greens, from dark and muddy, to sickly yellow. To me it is more of an organic realism... they dont have the luxury of standard issue regimented armour, and all skin tones, alien to human differ underneath. But that is just my taste...

I am self taught and have yet to take up the invitation to attend a gw for help... so please any advice or criticism is appericated as it helps me learn.
I struggle with frustration at not being able to base them as they deserve, and goggles and reflected glass or all types!
currently i free hand all my checks and dags, but i am thinking about attempting placing transfers on at the base coat stage and see how this turns out, as i will be able to weather and 'scratch' them up. At the moment i think the wobbly lines and mismatched sizes of checks lends itself well to the imgae of a big crushy bashy thick orkz fingers painting them onto a buddys armour. (you do realise that is just an excuse dont you?)

This is my very first character away from painting boyz. It is a painboy. I tried to aim to go for a sickly yellow tone on the skin. with a slight lobotomy scar peeping out from under his hat. I now see I should of done differing tones in the blood spatter.



 
See less See more
2
Discussion starter · #2 · (Edited)
A few more of the army in progress

No pain boy is complete without a grot.



Gaz... who grumbles at me continously for not being based as he deserves...


see need help with goggles... drives me crazy


Weridboy
Another of my lighter skin tone models, i think sometimes having the larger ones a differing colour makes tham stand out once the army is formed up. Makes them a little more striking at the front. I wasnt happy with the affect on the skin of this one, i was aiming for a lumpy, almost starting to mutate feel, but i think i lost some of the detailing that i should of achieved with better highlighting.


 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
my beloved boyz

random beloved boyz.

Stompy crushy blasty killy orkz always look better in a tide






One of my darker tones, i learnt that i truly needed to work on highlighting, I do it free hand mostly rather than drybrushing as i am still too heavy handed with a db, and leave brush marks. I leave to much paint rather than just pigment on the bristles. This below model, whom cried out to me to allow him to stomp on a gretchen, lacks any detailing where he deserves it.
Forgive my chipping nail varnish:blush: but it is the only pink allowed near my boyz




below is a boy i painted straight after the above, i am hoping the learning curve in the muscle and highlighting to pick out deatils shows in contrast to the above... i hope :S or i am learnign nothing lol



rust ... rust... no ork army is complete without rust..(ignore the ork skin :whistle:)
i currently use boltgun metal as a base, tin blitz watered down as a wash, allow it to dry . db methril silver on areas that i want to apear scratched up. wash with devlan mud. then free hand around all the edges with silver again and a steady hand to make it appear higlighted but also define the scratches.. I am going to try more pitting work. i was thinking of using black on a small area, then orange, then a silver. to make a corosion affect... but not to sure. at the moment i allow the tin bitz wash to pool where i want the most rust and add and layer that area again once each is dry. Sometimes adding a very very watered down drop of black onto rivit detail.



and just because!.. beacause i love them all... and enjoy painting them to the extend of hmming a special gretchin tune when i do

 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
Currently finishing off my mek, as this forum has become a welcome distraction... and i tend to give him five minutes then abanddon him!

after my mek, the next on the to do list is 10 gretchin, then onto the trukk. Which i am a little concerned about, as it will be my first vroomy thing on wheels, so any tips will be so warmly recieved.

xx
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
KhainiteAssassin, thank you so much for the feedback..its nice to have a fellow lurker alongside me :D

and you didnt ramble at all!
Its nice to have replies, especially from people that suffer with the eyes like i do.
I like the challenge of the skins, and trying to get the muscle and sinew definition, i am hoping the more i do the more comfortable i will be with doing it. I think its only through making the mistakes that i will get better... hehe trying to soothe myself now..

thank you again, and cant wait to see your log when you start your new lot in nov!
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Thank you both for your kind comments.
I have to say i do really enjoy sitting down in the evening to devote some time to my boyz.
I think the fact that i do really enjoy modelling of the army itself, the customisation opportunities, the fluff, and like Shaantitus said, their imperfect nature of the orks themselves, means i too am really keen to keep up on this journey of progression.
Mistakes and a shaky hand go well with these guys too, like you said... so they do suit my ability lol
I dont tend to get any tedium or boredom setting in, which is a big relief seeing how many boyz need my attention!
Some of the other ork work on here makes me gulp and wonder how i will ever get there, but i hope i can try.
 
Discussion starter · #12 · (Edited)
sadly not even a ladette ;) more like a lady.. mostly.maybe.in half light and if you squint.
:D thank you though.. but its nice to know you think they are ok..especially knowing you were saying it thinking i was male :D trust me i can see all my errors or the flaws and the little bits i should of focused on, so this thread is a great tool for me, as when i am uploading the pictures it knocks my confidence as i see my errors in zoom :D

I am a leeds fan though :D but sadly also a southerner so my accent isnt fully yorkshire-ish yet :D
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
you tell me lol... that's me in the avatar! did you think it was just a normal ork?
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
its an easy mistake to make Foul, dont worry :D its the green skin, its good at hiding the feminine features :D... i actually liked being called a lad :D
 
Discussion starter · #21 · (Edited)
age, and mek

i am verrrrrrrry old with many wrinkles. At 25 i started aging backwards so i am now 21 again ;)

I thought I should pop up my mek, he is paler slightly, than the rest, as i assumed he would not see much of the sun while he is busy working away at his bashing and welding of dakka dakka items.



I am not sure I like the metal work as of yet..



I might go back to him later this evening and work on the pipes and wires tbh
 
Discussion starter · #24 ·
i have already admitted this in a pm to KhainiteAssassin, who has been a great help with tips today, but.... no laughing! the cam is actually just a basic webcam...

I tried to get some taken with my little digital last night, but they came up so muddy and blurred. So i decided to sit there this morning and spend some time on hand turning the zoom on the webcam hehe.

i did host them up onto photobucket,as i am used to using this for photos in the past, and i probably should of edited them before i pasted them up here but i decided to just do a straight take and post.
i looked a right state trying to do things with only 2 hands that needed 4.. holding the desk lamp, the cam and trying to press 'snap'.
my digital sadly is a cheap version, and hasnt got the macro/miniature feature.. but i plan on treating myself to a better upgrade. I know you can pick up a reasonable one for under 50 squids :D

I was struggling with the light today, as you can tell.. i think i would drive you mad, i even paint in semi darkness.. i blame being in leeds its always grey ;)
The tripod is a great idea that KhainiteAssassin reminded me about,


base wise i think i might tip toe over to the section that you recommended to the brother on the introduction thread. but someone recommended http://www.modelbits.co.uk/Warhammer+40k.htm ... i actually was so impressed thinking all the gallery shot bases were painstaking hand made ... i am such a noob

and thank you again Alice.. like i said in the pm,, always room for Gaz, a waaaaggghh wouldnt be a true one without him
 
Discussion starter · #29 ·
Thank you all. :D

I do currently have a squad of 5 lootas, and 5 burners. they need a little loving though and a few coats of paint. Hopefully I can add to them when money allows.

I have a large number of models made up and crying out for me to lavish time on them, I have been trying to build up a solid frame work for my boyz. I have the trukk as a next key piece to focus on, but i do have 5 kopters, and 5 bikez squished into the orky garage. I am hoping that i can get a good technique into my brain from the work on the trukk before going onto the smaller fiddly areas of the smaller vehicles.

Thank you all for the kind comments.

I am indeed a novice, but a little competitive with myself and dont like to settle for a 'just ok-ish' job. Saying that when i compare some of the very first to the most recent the standard to my own eye is such a massive gap from one to the other. But i think we are all probably critical with ourselves :D

I am oddly nervous about doing the bases, i think i might invest in some sculpted ones and paint them up to start with, before trying my hand at my own.

I am away from my paints and boyz for a week, but when i return i am going to concentrate on getting a trukk painted up. I plan to use the week away to probe this forum and get a few ideas about how to paint up vehicles affectively... so any tips and advice will be really welcomed.
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
Thanks Vash.. i may be filling your inbox up.. you may regret offering your help hehe.

The metals are a little cleaner on the larger models as i like to try to paint them to stand out a little to the tide, many of my boyz are rather grubby looking! I am a fan of the devlan mud! It gets many outings when i paint ;) In the main the i think the metals look cleaner as i tend to free hand a lot of scratches.. i think maybe there is a better way to do it, but at the moment i use mithril silver to create and define the scratches. I am going to try a more rusty and corrosive affect hopefully, and test it out in the trukk.

I started my first few boyz a lot darker and muddier looking, and i was worried that the muscle and sinew definitions werent contrasting enough, so admittedly as the month has progressed the boyz are getting lighter in tone. I do personally like the deep dark greens too, but i was worrying that they were to flat. I think maybe if i focused more attention on highlighting the features then it wouldnt matter about them being darker toned.

any advice is wanted :D i am getting a little lost in my habits
 
Discussion starter · #34 ·
sorry for quietly lurking i have been painting...

If I havent yet thanked you for replies then... thank you thank you :D all feedback is recieved in good grace.. mostly ;)

I am sorry for being a llittle quiet recently, I am still lurking about, however i am also in the process of packing up my life and lifting it to another county. It is so inconsiderate hehe.. Sadly this means I have also packed away most of my orky transports. So I have had to make do with instead painting the odd escape artist that refuses to be packed away.

I still need to learn how to base them as I want them, and so try to close your eyes on that.

Once again the camera is bad.. still working on that but as before almost everything is packed away.

I have been working on a Kommando squad, and found this a good excuse to treat myself to Snikrot.

It was a toss up whether or not to do Snikrot a dark and muddy green, in order to blend in with the undergrowth he creeps about in, but I decided the model cried out for muscle and sinew definition, and I seem to struggle to do this with a darker skin tone, so any hints would be greatly accepted. Ended up going for a paler complexion, as i found the darkness came from the contrast made by the shadows cast by his gear. I realy like the cast of this model maybe one of my favorites. Still struggling to do googles or lense glass justice. Looks around with fluttering eyes for help.

Planning to do the rest of the squad a darker muddy green.
I have been trying to try out a brusing of the skin around implanted metal, or grafted weapons. I want to try to perfect a angry rawness. With a open sore blending into a raw flesh fading into a blue tinged brusing. I am thinking possibly next time to try a mix of bronzed flesh and bleached bone, to get a colour more akin to dying flesh, instead of a bruise. I found trying to mix the right blend of a red hued purple a battle.







Now once I can hunt my way into the correct box I may be able to complete my squad of Kommados ;)
 
Discussion starter · #36 ·
Thank you Rev!

You do realise I am trying my hardest to even approach your standard? You kind of set the bar for me.

I have to admit I think I have found my favourite models in the Kommandos and purchased Snikrot to boost their stats just so I had an excuse to lavish time on them.. but don't tell the gretchins that! ssush.

Thank you for the compliment on the goggles, but maybe the blurred camera makes them appear better than they are, it is one of the areas i am really struggling on. It is frustrating me greatly. I can't seem to get the realism with them, or the right highlighting. You would also curse me if you could see my attempt at a marine helmet and its flat eye glass, that is dangling on the backpack of this Kommmando. I was hoping for advice on glass and goggles.

Thank you about the base tips.. how do you avoid getting paint on the dirt? I am terrible when painting boots. Do you use a pva glue to secure it? I do have some bits and bobs to use but i am almost nervous of not doing the job justice, and ruining the look of the model.

The snow sounds a great idea! I bet your marines are looking fab on it... not sure my boyz would like it though, too cold on the toes.

Thank you as always
 
Discussion starter · #38 ·
Good evening Squeek.. :D and thank you for the welcome back.. its nice to be typing again hehe, but I do lurk so much better.

I was being so dense about the basing wasn't i?
thank you so much for the tips. I am currently sat here, the lapbook thing balance on one knee and my paints and brushes on another. I plan to try to get a few grots done tonight.. unfortunately the flock and gravelly pieces I did buy a few weeks back are somewhere hidden in the depths of a half packed box.
I will definitely be a little braver about basing once I have settled down in the new place, and hopefully show a step by step update of the bases so everyone can advise me as I go in case I do something rather simple and dim!

Thank you for the comments and time again :D
 
Discussion starter · #40 ·
I will :D thanks for the tip.
Sadly my cam and the light bleeds a little of the detail out, I am a little bit obsessed with my orkz skin a and muscle tone, i tend to layer many shades of mixed and blended greens, to try to get a realism.
However you are right, i think at the moment the layers are all falling a little too much in the same spectrum.
I am currently painting a grot handler so i wil take your advice with him and try a little something different and more beefcakey :D rawrrr grrrr
 
Discussion starter · #43 · (Edited)
Thank you both for the comments, it is always nice to wake up to some Orky love.

Azwraith, you are too kind but thank you. You have no idea just how much inspiration i get from other fellow ork painters. I have been known to tip toe over to your project log too.
You seem to have perfected a darker muddy green than myself. I can never seem to get the right type of muscle definition when my boyz are of a darker tone.
Your yellow is just right, and looks as if it is supposed to be there. Applied by big lumbering orky hands rather than to bright. Its nice to see all the different visions of the boyz. I have tired a moon paint job, i convinced myself he could of creep into the waaaagghh of goffs by being left on a world. He turned out very orange :(

Many thanks to you Chaosftw, if it makes it any better, I love looking at Chaos armies. I am glad they seem thuggish, I was a starting to feel a little insecure about them not looking tough enough.
WWaaaghhhhh ;)
And thank you for the rep too! It is very appreciated.
 
Discussion starter · #45 ·
Hey no problem! They really do look great! whats next on the agenda for this army?
I actually have quite a few boyz demanding attention! I tend to buy and assemble my army as I go, then sit down to lavish some time painting them.
At the moment due to packing and unpacking with moving home I am a little restricted to whoever escapes the bubble wrap.

So at the moment hopefully finish my Kommandos, and a few gretchin have managed to avoid the boxes.

Once settled I am really wanting to try to get some vehicles painted up. Trukk first to practise and perfect some rusty worn bashed up grills, before I try it out on the smaller fiddly bikez and kopters.

I find doing a set of one type then moving onto another keeps me really wanting to finish, a little variety :D
So in my head I have a list forming of: Kommandos/gretchins, Trukk, Stormboyz, kopters, lootas and burnerz, then back to a squad of boyz .. then back to vehicles, maybe the bikez..then just keep rolling them through :D

I am looking forward to the truk to be honest. It is sat all grey and naked looking.
 
Discussion starter · #46 · (Edited)

Forgive the rather messy desk.. there is order to my chaos... excuse the pink box of shiny things in the background.. not sure how girly stuff managed to get close to my boyz..

Just a little shot of the painted ranks so far. Not very high quality I am afraid, plus the camera can't fit them all in, there is a little line from one end of the desk to the other side at the front but bashy stompy killy shooty greenskins always look best in a tide.
I wil not include the mass of assembled and pleading to be painted models, suffice to say they number over double of the painted ranks. Gulp.

just noticed a lost and forlorn space marine laying down in unpainted dispair in the back ground muahuhaua
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top