Painted figures...

[DevinNight]

I would not be surprised if a lot of the great looking minis weren't photo-shopped before posting... not that there aren't some great painters out there, just that getting really good pictures of them is tough.
I have been trying to sneak downstairs to paint up a few of my Descent and DnD minis. If I do anything good I'll post a few.

[mearrin69]

Descent. Is that the Fantasy Flight boxed game? I'd love to see some of those painted up. I've been ogling that game for a while now wanting to buy it...looks pretty cool. I can't much find board game players in my neck of the woods though I haven't tried very hard. I picked up Tide of Iron and an expansion a while ago and have been itching to play it (should be called Box of Iron...it's friggin' heavy).

Edit: Yeah, I had to stay my hand to avoid doing a little touch-up on my photos before posting. They really *do* look better in person. I was so proud...until I got the photo onto my computer and saw how hacked they look!
M

[rdanhenry]

I think if you want to do good photos, you need either natural or studio lights so you can see what the effect of the lighting is. Using a flash just doesn't give the same control.

[mearrin69]

I think I'd need a better camera to even bother. All I have is an HP digital camera (with a broken battery door...have to hold it closed with my thumb to keep it on) or the one on my Blackberry. Neither are great for taking pictures of stuff up close. Hey, I'm not much of a picture taker and I doubt I'll take up the hobby at this point. My wife has an old Nikon 35mm and a couple of lenses (not a macro lens, though, if I recall) but I don't even have a clue what half of the gadgets on it are for. Guess I'll stick with my poor photos for the time being!
M

[DevinNight]

Yep, that's it. It's a game that takes too long to play, unless you have 6-7 hours to kill on a given day. But the quality and number of minis drew me to it.... I plan on taking all the pieces and reworking the rules to make the game playable in 1-2 hour sessions. I think the time it takes to play is the biggest drawback of the game. I'll snap a photo or two later... I haven't painted even half of them since I got the two DnD games which are easy enough for my younger girls to play and my wife will even play.

[RobA]

I would not be surprised if a lot of the great looking minis weren't photo-shopped before posting... not that there aren't some great painters out there, just that getting really good pictures of them is tough.
I have been trying to sneak downstairs to paint up a few of my Descent and DnD minis. If I do anything good I'll post a few.

My son and I finished all the Descent monsters. I just spray primed the heroes.

This is one of the demons photographed. A levels adjust was the only post processing. Shot in an ad-hoc photo booth consisting of 2 clamp lamps and one trouble lamp with my telephoto lens (gotta get me a macro lens one day...):


(We "dip" painted them after painting)

-Rob A>

[mearrin69]

That's sweet! Are they bendy plastic like the DDM figures or more solid, like WH40k plastics?
M

[DevinNight]

This might be a personal choice but it's a bit glossy. Have you ever tried using dull-cote or a non-glossy sealant? The painting looks good... it's got enough detaqil in the face to fool people into thinking these things are bigger than they are.

[jfrazierjr]

Rob has the right idea. If you plan(and have the space) to do much in the way of photo-ing mini's you should really consider spending a few bucks on a "booth", usually 2-3 feet on a side and and several light sources to reduce shadowing. I am certain there are internet tutorials about how to set these things up on the cheap.... With enough directed lighting and the right camera setting, you won't get the flash and will just get a good pic(tripod is best).

[jfrazierjr]

Rob, that's a really cool pic. I do agree a bit with Devin though about the glossy being a bit to pronounced, but it's still a really cool mini! Do you have a DSLR? I seem to think you mentioned on another thread you did. If so and you have tripod, you might want to try to up the aperture a bit and decrease the shutter speed to help the entire figure be in focus. This should work well with a telephoto lens since you already have an excellent booth/tripod set up.