WOTC Chainmail mins (updated April 4th Undead Minotaur)

[Damien]

As you all know I love anything related with D&D and so bought quite a few of these figures when they came out. Most of them are well sculpted and fun to paint, I've been painting a few lately and will post them here as I finish with them.

The first one is a 'Skeletal Dwarf Soldier', I love painting undead from other races as I think they are under represented.

Quick question about photography: Is a black background better than no background (should I have placed the black background closer?).











Sorry if I posted too many pics.
Also pay attention to the minis helmet, it was sculpted as a face, really cool.

Thanks
Damien

[manic _miner]

 The Chainmail miniatures line has some really cool sculpts in it.

 I never got the undead dwarf miniature.Got quite a few of the others though.

 Do you know who sculpted this one?The others were done by Roy Eastland.

 The helmet visor is nice and makes him look like a chaos warrior.Nice painting and cant wait to see more.

[Erny]

Looks good, personally I'd like a less fantastic shield but thats a matter of personal choice not design quality.

How big is he?

Oh and you can never have enough photos, some people like plain backgrounds, others like me like a good bit of terrain to make the scene.

[Neldoreth]

That is a damn nice figure, and a great execution!

As for backgrounds, I'd suggest either a light gray or blue gradient, or a background image. Or, if you want to take some time to set up, throw in some terrain.

This is my set up:


Thanks
n.

[Orctrader]

Nice figure.   

...Is a black background better than no background (should I have placed the black background closer?).

The main thing with any background is to make it "complete."  In your photo the camera is having to deal a very pale "floor" and a very dark backdrop.  Makes it easier for the camera if they are both the same.

I occasionally use black for certain effects.  The thing I realized was on my camera I had to adjust some settings for a decent shot when using black as opposed to white or blue/white gradient.

Example:

[phreedh]

Great fig, Damien! Regarding backdrop, I use my gaming table. It's the context in which the minis will be used thus I also photograph them there. Photos would probably be better if I used a gradient or something like OT's backdrop - but as I don't paint studio level miniatures, don't have a studio level camera and don't do publicity shots I figure the faux in-game snaps work best!

[Neldoreth]

I occasionally use black for certain effects.  The thing I realized was on my camera I had to adjust some settings for a decent shot when using black as opposed to white or blue/white gradient.

I found that if you can't figure out the settings on your camera, it's easy enough to apply those settings after the fact if you're using a half-decent image editor... Even the shareware editors support pretty good image adjustments I think.

n.

[Thantsants]

I'm with Phreedh on this one - gaming table and a few bits of terrain and maybe a backdrop stuck on the wall (with blutac - but don't tell the wife!  ) for wider shots.



Picasa seems to be good enough to edit my photos and you can fiddle around with a few effects if the fancy so takes you...



Like your little setup though Neldoreth.

Oh and nice job on the skeletal dwarf! 

[Damien]

Hi manic _miner, sorry but I don`t know the sculptor of this mini, thanks for the comments though.

Erny, the shield is a little over the top, all undead ranges seem to suffer from huge batwing helmets and skull shields.

The range was 28mm, here is a comparison pic:



Mordhiem Youngblood, WOTC, Reaper Warlord mini

Neldoreth, cool setup, I downloaded the pic for future reference. I really like the idea of having a background picture (nice dialog boxes btw). Quick question but do you do a final highlight of red with pink, does it work well?

Thanks for the tips Orctrader, I went to your site and read you photog thread. I saw that you crop then resize, I do the opposite does it make a difference? Gorgeous mini btw.

phreedh, I might give the terrain idea a go, it definitely makes it more interesting than my kitchen table.

Thantsants, I never even thought doing any photoshopping on the images, I am going to Google Picasa now. Oh and don`t worry no one here is going to tell your wife anything 

Thanks for the comments everyone, they help a lot, I'll keep experimenting

Damien

[abhorsen950]

Stunning work, I'm another big fan of anything D&D related, a smashing figure and I noticed that helmet to, smashing sculpting there, your painting is great, keep it up.

[Neldoreth]

Neldoreth, cool setup, I downloaded the pic for future reference. I really like the idea of having a background picture (nice dialog boxes btw). Quick question but do you do a final highlight of red with pink, does it work well?

Glad you can use the picture set-up concept

As for using pink as the final highlight for red, I really like the effect. I find it creates really bright reds. Here are some examples:





... or dull reds depending on the rest of your highlights...



hope that helps.
n.

[Colonel Tubby]

  

Every single figure is this thread looks great. . .but none of them are mine! 

I know I had some Chainmail figures once (not sure which it was so long ago) but I'll be dammed if I can find them!

Time for more 

[Damien]

Thanks abhorsen950, I am working on a few Chainmail minis right now.

Hi Neldoreth, fantastic minis, I am constantly going to your site for inspiration. Thanks for the tips on painting red, I am going to try the pink next time I want a bright red.

Hi Colonel Tubby, go and find those mins, they are really fun to paint and thanks for the comments.

Here is the new mini, 'Battered Skeletal Troll' he is a big boy and was fun to paint. I have him on a calvary base 'cause he is going to be part of an undead army I am building and I am going to put him in a unit.

I tried a white background, (looks a little dark) let me know what you think.









Thanks everyone
Damien

[Damien]

Actually he looks like a Cleric to me but it said Paladin on the box; so here is a 'Paladin' with a really spiky shield. I screwed up on his eyes a bit so now he does double duty as a vampire as well.

C&C always welcome. Plus what do you guys think of the Skeletal Troll? ^^^ I think he is a pretty cool model.







Thanks
Damien

[DeafNala]

That looks FANTASTIC, Damien...VERY WELL DONE!
Ask for some more advice so we can get some more cool photos up.