Valadorn's WIP__ 1/2 "Olog-hai and a host"

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sat Sep 20, 2014 11:57 pm

Got a bit late to start this topic...

Here I will post my final work for conversation or post my WIP to ask advice.
I restarted painting after my childhood six months ago and I believe that I have done some fast steps over the painting part of the hobby. Plz help me improve

All my minis will be included after many years in some huge dioramas that I am preparing. I fast paint the troops and focus more on elites. For now I will use em for tabletop.

Beacause of my studies in architecture I can easily and fast use photoshop so you will see some edited backgrounds (and some superb terrains laterz haha). Of course I don't edit the model's photo, it would be hilarious.

So, let's roll !
This is a part of an Isengard army that I will later include in a Helm's Deep diorama.
Sorry for the glowing mistake on the photoshooting I will fix that in next photos.

This cap is inspired from the Uruk that screamed as Saruman's host arrived at Helm's Deep.

Ok this is 90% ready, I will smooth some highlights another time.
This is converted and the idea about the banner came from Paliouras, so special thanks to him! I think we saw the way in hdrskirmisher.com but I cant find it. I could draw it with straight lines without any mistake but I don't thing uruks could do that. So I made it dirty, with paint running. The blood on the base is symbolic and the whole model represents the supremacy of the army that Saruman made.

I wanted my Berserkers to be inexorable, deadly and mad, filled with blood as they rush into the first lines.

A quick photoshop I made for my profile pic. I did NMM on the staff, it is a bit better than the photo tbh.

Vrasku !

The boys! To Helm's Deep!

Some of the Pikemen.

Gwaryan · **Posted:** Sun Sep 21, 2014 10:47 am

Love the Beserker with the converted helmet! Really stands out. It's not exactly in their nature but you could potentially take him as a captain to lead a beserker warband

Everything else looks fantastic too.

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Sun Sep 21, 2014 12:25 pm

All look good but the background is a touch dark to make them out.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sun Sep 21, 2014 12:33 pm

Gwaryan wrote:

Love the Beserker with the converted helmet! Really stands out. It's not exactly in their nature but you could potentially take him as a captain to lead a beserker warband

Everything else looks fantastic too.

Thank you for your kind words! I make conversions when I have a model with the same stance more than once, so that they look different. Especially in uruk warriors with shield I ve made many conversions for that purpose. In Pikemens I couldn't, guess why hahaha

Gandlaf the Grey wrote:

All look good but the background is a touch dark to make them out.

I know, I know. Actually this is not the background, I tried to enlight it. It is the source of light I use, I have 2 lamps of "daylight" type and I photoshoot with a 12.1 megapixel camera. A glowing effect on the model that I can't correct is making this and I know with this glowing on em you cant see the quality of the highlights. I am trying to correct this :/

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sun Sep 21, 2014 1:20 pm

Here is some raw stuff of the full army from a panoramic view.

paliouras · **Posted:** Sun Sep 21, 2014 3:28 pm

At last, hehehe.
That's an excellent banner . One for me too, please.
The background in the first batch of photos is disheartening, though, so many details are difficult to be distinguished.
I really like them as a lot, nice work on most of the parts of the painted models, I'd like to see some more details on the skin, though.
Nevertheless, that's a great start and a very nice army to meet with at the battlefield.
(You already know my need to see only painted minis on the battle mat)
All the best, contact me, if you need anything.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:20 am

paliouras wrote:

The background in the first batch of photos is disheartening, though, so many details are difficult to be distinguished.

I had a really bad situation when I tried to photoshoot for first time yesterday. My "studio" is for photoshooting architecure models that are in a larger scale. I must change many options. I will repost with terrain or coloured paper.

paliouras wrote:

I really like them as a lot, nice work on most of the parts of the painted models, I'd like to see some more details on the skin, though.

To be honest there are many layers of highlighting, I ve focused on making em smooth but I couldnt overdo it with uruks, they are dirty and dark. You will se them in a battle ^^ But yeah generally they need more layers in some details, all in all they are a bit WIP here

paliouras wrote:

a very nice army to meet with at the battlefield.
(You already know my need to see only painted minis on the battle mat)

I have exactly the same "problem". I want at least my army to be painted in a standard. But that hastes me a lot to finish the paintjobs in all of em :/

paliouras wrote:

All the best, contact me, if you need anything.

Thank you for your attention and your kind words, I sure will!

Valadorn · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:36 am

After a small break for my exam period I raised my brush, full of mood, to paint some warg riders. So I am makin a WIP update.

Check how I use to paint the riders like the one in the middle ^^

I can't still shoot quality photos due to my budget camera, so some mid highlights are not pictured... :roll:

Soon the full sprue with some interesting conversions!!

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:49 pm

A few highlights on the face, like you've done on the fur will help.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:52 pm

Now that I see the maximum highlights for each part of the whole model, you are right, the head should reach to almost white. Seems like I should decide from the very beginning the max tone of each part, so that light and shade will work better in overall. Such a helpful advice thank you!

I will post my final work as soon, corrected with any instruction said :-D

Valadorn · **Posted:** Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:20 pm

I took a break of the warg painting to work on something fast and special , so I painted a castellan. I hope I am improving my photo's quality, though it still has some disturbing white pixels.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:55 pm

They seem like almost ready. Some fast photos, simply attached in one layout.

If you wonder, the chieftain in the white warg is an old broken Grishnakh body, which I changed position, sculptured a cloak to fit the head of a morannon captain (without the skull), he also holds a morningstar. The conversion is not that good, but I did it before maaany years that's why I suppose it could be way better.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sun Jun 07, 2015 1:21 pm

Thare was no updates here because I am gathering money to get my dslr to photoshoot what I am working on. I have really many minis to photoshoot so I will post some buddies here.

This is the latest update. The (almost) finished ugly Moria Troll.
The three-tone skin is done because I will include him in a balin's tomb diorama where I will use blue dim light for display purposes. No tanned flesh though XD

Valadorn · **Posted:** Mon Aug 24, 2015 1:25 pm

I had one month to rest this summer and found time for some work. A garden near to my parent's home was great for photoshooting!
Bases need grass and turfs to be completed..

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sun Nov 15, 2015 2:48 pm

Some minis of my latest work.

The challenge of the "bad casted" Lego. Legolize him!

Faramir mt, converted with lance and shield. Check the base

Cirion

paliouras · **Posted:** Sun Nov 15, 2015 4:44 pm

Hey Vala, that's some awesome painted miniatures. And some major improvement in how your minis look in general. Well done!
I really like your Legolas, I'm really impressed by its looks.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Mon Nov 16, 2015 8:25 pm

paliouras wrote:

Hey Vala, that's some awesome painted miniatures. And some major improvement in how your minis look in general. Well done!
I really like your Legolas, I'm really impressed by its looks.

Hello George, long no see you, hope you are doing great. Precisely said, as I had time those months and practiced on many models I made this improvisation on everything: deeper highlights, clear painting, colorful bases and tone association.
Of course as always, your work is very inspiring and by paying attention on what you do it helps me improve myself.

Waiting for more feedback here by everyone on what should I improve, it would be very helpful. Mentioning once more, I paint models good for battleboard and large dioramas, not detailed for showcasing.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sun Nov 29, 2015 5:34 pm

More speed painting due to the haste for the cup games.

Experimented on fog bases here:

And the dirty-oriented painting directly from the north.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Thu Jan 21, 2016 3:16 pm

Bought my new dslr for my job and tried some raw photoshooting with my recently painted iron guards.

I insisted on intense highlights even if they are for tabletop use. The colours are the ones that GW suggested for the dwarves of the first attack on Khazad-dum by balin.

Hapotte · **Joined:** Sun Dec 27, 2015 5:06 am **Posts:** 15

There beautiful, I love the strong highlight you've done.

Valadorn's WIP__ 1/2 "Olog-hai and a host"

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