See, I do like ogres!

Starting off my new Ogre Army with a little skin test, what do you think guys?
Just the skin so far, nothing else is done, it's a lot different from my last one on the older army.



*it looks better from a greater distance!*

Any chance of seeing it from a couple feet away? Paint styles like this don't always work as well up close (which you know).
Anyway, it looks good. I really like that style of painting, especially on big models like ogres. It could do with a little less wash though (see: right shoulder, left elbow, sternum, forehead).

I think it looks good from this angle too...the differentiation in the lines and such add a certain realism to the model; I am feeling a jungle/tropical appeal to it. Looks pretty cool I think. A dark green for the paints maybe, with just a shade lighter for the banding perhaps?

Also, I notice you already have your metallic down for the club stubs, plate and shoes - do you paint the rust effects backwards or are you just doing contrast to test the skin? I thought about doing the reversal once, but the formula in the OK codex works pretty well (and frankly Im too lazy to redo it once its done so I didnt want to experiment!  )

Can you post a pic of his back? Ogre backs are really good for showing larger areas of the pattern and such and may give a better perspective. 

Overall, I like it! Good work as always FF

I dont Like it at all Fantasyfreak..
You're a Better painter than this..

Thanks for the comments guys!

Any chance of seeing it from a couple feet away? Paint styles like this don't always work as well up close (which you know).
Anyway, it looks good. I really like that style of painting, especially on big models like ogres. It could do with a little less wash though (see: right shoulder, left elbow, sternum, forehead).

Your wish Reg......

Can you post a pic of his back? Ogre backs are really good for showing larger areas of the pattern and such and may give a better perspective. 

Overall, I like it! Good work as always FF

I feel like a Fairy Godmother (or something more macho and Ogrey that grants wishes 



With note to the metal, it was just an old model that I gave a test on.
But yeah I used to mess about with painting metal, then browns and more metals, rinse, repeat and so forth.
The way you mentioned is much more effective and less time consuming 

I dont Like it at all Fantasyfreak..
You're a Better painter than this..

I feel like I've been told off!     
I can do better, that much is true, but I wanted to try out a fast effective way to do the skin, in a totally different style than my old Ogres, I can do this style better, but wanted to see what I can get away with in regards to time VS result.
What is it you don't like Z?

Doesnt look any better from far away... Maybe really far away might work a little better..   
I Just dont like The Technique.. Your Tones are too far apart to be using that Technique in general.. Both your highlights and shading are heavy handed..
Ive seen you Paint far better..
I personally wouldnt use this Technique at all.. But if you just Have too.. Thin those Paints down A lot..
Do you have an air brush?.

I see what you mean about it looking slightly odd close-up, but even so I still like it, and IMHO it looks good, and very distinctive, at a distance. I think a whole army like this would look very good in a group shot.

Yep, I already know what you're saying with the thinning of paints and the tones, I've done this style before but with paint thinned down much futher and a lot more different tones to help it blend better (also a thinner brush).
The major plus for me was the time it took though, I knocked the skin out in about an hour 10, which is very quick for me, a factor that is pretty big when army painting.
I guess though if the quality is taking a massive beating the time saving isn't productive in the end.
I don't own an airbrush dude, what could I do with it if I had?

I personally think it doesn't look too bad, but that could just be being positive 

Does anyone else actually like it? (I'd prefer blunt honesty)


EDIT: Cheers TUM-Bob, one thing I realised it that not a lot of people really look at models as close up as I take pictures or look at them myself , people tend to do it at least 1 foot away, if not 3, so it could work if it's not being ultra-magnified.
Thanks for you comment anyway dude 

I don't own an airbrush dude, what could I do with it if I had?

If you did. I would Mix a 50/50 shader/mid-tone and spray that(you can bulk spray a batches), Brush mid level highlights with the mid-tone and then just quick highllights.. Super smooth and far faster than this..

Does anyone else actually like it? (I'd prefer blunt honesty)

Im a No. But I wouldnt ever patronize you.. 

I was about to just say "Sorry I dont like it." but realised that wasnt actually a helpful comment. Its really the highlights I dont like. The colours under that seem to be fine but the last level of colour seems to contrast too much with the paint under it. Its almost like you got fedup  and jumped a few tones to the highlight. I have done that a few times and end up needing to go back. I know you are after speed but Im not sure what to suggest, perhaps a wash to tone it down or just a few more layers? Hope that doesnt sound too harsh.

I'm not a fan, my problem with it is there are far too many lines in there, almost looks like he was skinned.

I'm not a fan, my problem with it is there are far too many lines in there, almost looks like he was skinned.

hehe

To me it looks like you took a risk with a concept or used another painting scheme from another model on this model.  It also looks like a ton of work, with an interesting result, but I believe the common visually accepted concept of Ogre flesh is not down that path. 

I would see that as a base coat if it was with smaller brush strokes, and then finalized with either a wash or a dry brush to conceal the hardness of the lines.  Trying to get the multi-textured skin tones in a model of this size is ver hard.  I am sure you know, but many of the miniatures that GW paints and has in their books are scale ups that are then shrunk with manipulating the models down to a scale that looks normal to us.


I feel taking the risk with schemes like this takes guts, and warrants at least constructive discussion.  With my army I am trying to overcome the multi-texture skin tone issue myself.  I chose to use a base wash, followed by dry blending, and a dry brush.  So my skin is 3 completely different colors, but it gets close to normal from the book skin tone with a slightly higher yellow amount in the hue of the skin.  I will post a video in my when I get to the gnoblog post setup, right now I am still painting too many. hehe

IMO keep taking risks, and GL with future endeavors.

ps. My dry time is longer than the painting time for my ogres heh

Edit: it also looks like you used army painter, imo that lowers the appearance over all in armies.

I don't like it - it looks sloppy but probably takes time to achieve so it techically isn't sloppy just odd/bad.

You can either go like Wiltshire (the blue Ogre in the back of the book dragging the beastman) with thinner more compact lines, or just go with larger areas of paint.

But your choice and you should do what suits you and what you are trying to achieve.

I think the fact that it doesnt look like the typical ogre skin is what makes it so cool looking. To me, it adds a certain "tight" look to the skin, like he's so fat and muscular that his skin is pulled around the natural curves. Also, we are looking at it from just the skin perspective, with the model complete, it could push the stronger red accents down and make it look even better.

The red is a little strong underneath, but again, I think that adds a cool appeal to it. He's almost has like a Freddy Kruegar look to him. Maybe thats a theme? Nightmare Ogres. Mwa ha ha ha j/k FF

The skin has my approval (for what its worth)

I think it has potential,


I would lighten the recesses slightly and have the lines on the skin be less obvious.

more blending of the tones and it will look great.

Too much contrast.   But I only have to look at a few of my own armies to know that sometimes I value speed over painting to my ability level. 
Technique could work with subtler color transitions.  As it is if it were in reds he'd look flayed...  Which is kinda cool.

Thanks for all the comments and constructiveness (if that's a word  )
I really do apprecite it.

After all this, I still think it looks ok 
Maybe it's the picture that is showing up it's flaws (the tones are certainly wrong in the pic), but IRL it looks better (to me anyway, it's possible my eyes have suddenly gone!  ).

I'm going to take it to the club and ask some IRL opinions to see if the pic is doing a dis-service.

I'm also going to test some other schemes, maybe that are more traditional to my usual style of smoothness, I'll post pics too to hopefully redeem my good name and please Z   

Shawn at BTP has talked about how cameras tend to be fickle, they either show the detail as if it is within your eyeball or it is in the next room and a blur of color.  I personally worked a lot on what range and zoom I want to use with my camera... it took me a while, and it looks pretty good imo.  However, taking pictures are easier now with all the tools on fairly cheap cameras now days.

If you are getting some major differences between real life and the model, I would play around with that, and even take notes if you need/want for the future.  I would also build or use single color back drops so that the camera doesn't try and do color correcting or zoom on something other than the model.   Not that you had issues with that exactly, but the random things in the picture and glossy coat on the wall distract from the picture.

I would also look at the miniature in natural light, that is always more awesome if you painted it right.  Many times when I am painting I am not happy with it, I take a picture and I think it looks better than what I am seeing.  When I get it outside though I see it like the picture does and I am normally blown away.  Sometimes I have poor lighting where I paint though, currently  in a basement lol, and I am always balancing heat issues with more light.


I also think that once you get it done and grouped up it will look more unified, btw that doesn't mean better, it just wont look so strained imo.  Also doing that you set a tone for the rest of the army, you can not have one unit like this, and others looking normal... it would be weird.  Also you should start thinking about how you would do Gnoblars like that too if you continue this way.

IMO keep the ideas going, but don't waste your life on something you wont be proud of.  The first time someone did an alternate light source for lighting effects, they had balls of steel (whether it was a man or a woman, at that moment anyways), and it paid off... now thousands of models are done up that way.  I do not think this is that unique or cool looking, but it is good to experiment with painting techni

I actually like how it looks from the front, but as some had said, it looks like he's a muscle man from the back. I think the technique looks like it works well in the face especially, but when you get to larger parts it starts to look a bit off.

Keep it up though!

"Constructiveness" the state of being constructive...works for me! If it aint a word, it should be lol

i used that kind of feathering on some of my ogre, and i think the only thing you'd need to change, is to use a larger brush for the darker tone, going with finer and finer line as your highlight go lighter.

Maybe that would help remove the whole line over line over line of the model.

Again cheers for more comments guys I really do appreciate the time a lot of you have taken to contribute 

"Constructiveness" the state of being constructive...works for me! If it aint a word, it should be lol

Thanks! 

I've decided, after much deliberation, that I like the effect of the skin from a distance, but it doesn't hold up so well close up.
The tone is better IRL but yeah, I've decided to go for my usual smoother more blended effect of highlighting.

I'm liking the colour of this one, holds up better close too.
Obviously needs a varnish to take the shine off and the skin is the only thing finished.

What do you guys think?
Z?

Both front and back views, close up and not.

Much much better! It will need another round of highlights in the end before Its "done" in my mind.. And a few of your washed areas look a touch dark, But its already miles above that last one..

& Nothing says your Model cant Look Amazing from BOTH  Extremely close up and Far far away...

Wow that added some serious depth to the center of those muscle clusters - that looks really good. You need to tell me how you did the original pics though, I really am thinking of doing a Nightmare on Elm Street theme now...that would be AWESOME!!!! lol

It will need another round of highlights in the end before Its "done" in my mind.

You're correct as usual 
Better now I think.....






Freddie FTW Cor!

Foundation flesh
ogryn flesh wash
devlan mud wash, kightly
foundation flesh streaked
foundation plus white streaked