ROUND 2 Graaf Achendross and Four Azure Princesses of Sedona V vs Cultists

[D@rth J@ymZ]

You got my vote Froggy, the Sedona V princesses are painted really well and I personnally like the composition of the photo (that one out-of-place base is kinda wierd though!  ). My real issue with the cultists is although they are great models and painted well, the photo appears over-exposed.  Other than that, the stone slab sacrifice victim looks out-of-scale and I find it kind of distracting (Pil mentioned this already)...

[gamer Mac]

Having the same base on each figure would make them look a lot more like a group.
I did like your painting both the eyes and the pink colour really stand out.
Are the figures characters from a story? Maybe thats why I don't see them as a group, I don't know the story.

[Froggy the Great]

Each character is from a different scenario in a linked series - that's why the one with the rebreather, for example, is based on sand - you'd not find flagstones on the sea-bottom, at least not for her scenario.

[Hitman]

The basing on the princesses is excellent, as is the colouration on the robes. The skin tones look very nice.

The cultists look great as well. The shading and hi-lights on the robes is second to none.

Thanks to both of you. Good luck to you both as well. Great work!!

[Sinewgrab]

You got my vote Froggy, the Sedona V princesses are painted really well and I personnally like the composition of the photo (that one out-of-place base is kinda wierd though!  ). My real issue with the cultists is although they are great models and painted well, the photo appears over-exposed.  Other than that, the stone slab sacrifice victim looks out-of-scale and I find it kind of distracting (Pil mentioned this already)...

My wife mentioned that she looked a bit small when I was done painting her - and when I responded 'not if she is only 10 years old', she looked at me, and told me that being creepy is nothing I need to do anymore.

What could I say? I just shrugged.

[Vonkluge]

Hi Froggy,

Wasn?t it you who made the comment on "backgrounds" in the LPL3 forum? and when I agreed with you we got shot to pieces?...! You can see that a lot of people here look at the overall entry as I said in my long post on the subject... so being my first LPL competition I cinched up mee pants and did as the "natives" did! Check my entry "vonkluge" "Where's the Game" darkest Africa entry. It made a BIG difference. I think you said you did not have much or any terrain? There are other things you can do, simply cutting and pasting your fig picture onto a "jpg" background might help. On this entry I would have put the male figure center and the arranged the girls around him with all their looks looking in his direction as if he is about to do something. That will help give interest and tie your figures together. Good job on the painting, nice "blend". Both entries are great jobs!
Bill W

[Sinewgrab]

Oh, and thank you, BTW, to everyone complimenting the yellow. When all is done with this round, someone remind me, and I will try to get a tutorial put together. It took me years, quite literally, to finally get a good technique for it. In the past, I just didn't use yellow at all.

[Chambersofminiatures]

I am stealing the blue skin...

Both painters really know how to turn up the heat when it comes the number of painted miniatures.

I thank you both.

[Malebolgia]

I would be very interested in hearing how I could improve my composition for next round's entry, since the comments are indicating it might be necessary.

1. I'd take the pictures from a greater distance. Now the miniatures are really on the front of the image, making it harder to see them well together. If you back up the camera 2-4" the miniatures will be easier to see. Sure they are farther away and the painting would be slightly harder to see, but you'd see more than enough to judge them well.
Personally, I like the photo from my first entry ("Brotherhood of the Beast" - the cultists in red robes) a lot better than my second entry ("Arkham Investigators" - the investigators in suits) because the second group was also too close.

2. I agree with Brax...your whitish background is kind of hypnotizing making it hard to see things well. In addition, I would never recommend using a white background for your pictures. The white is so strong on the eyes that it's not too nice to look at. A softer and colored background (or a printed gradient) would work so much better.

3. The setting. I was really confused by the weird machine in the background and really couldn't match it with the miniatures. In addition, the machine looks weird on top of the white background. If you'd use machinery or other things for your setting, make sure to go all the way; use something for the floors, walls/sky, etc. so you'd get the effect of a diorama. It doesn't have to be complicated or over the top. Just make sure it fits in with the miniatures and forms a solid picture. For example, my last picture (The Arkham Investigators) were placed on a piece of foam road on top of a grass mat. Behind the road were two resin buildings and behind it all a blue paper. Very simple to do and makes it all work nicely.

4. Colors. In this picture the four miniatures in the front don't match with the colors of the machinery in the back. The miniatures look delicate, subtle and have nice and soft tones. The machine in the back has a very dark, weathered and almost simplistic look in comparison. It doesn't really match. I think that something like soft marble collumns and a wall with (printed) paintings would have been much more fitting for the miniatures and the colors would have worked better.

5. The bases. Now the bases are obvious and look strange this way. If you'd used a setting with sand (for the right miniature), green marble or stone (for the second one) and regular flagstones for the others, the effect would have been fantastic! So using different types of bases is not that much of a problem, but it does mean you need to work harder on the setting and background in order to make it work well.

[Le matou rouge]

The yellow gowns are very good, but I can't resist to this blue flesh 

meow,
Matt