Forums
Karpav's Painting Blog (renamed) - Printable Version

+- Forums (https://www.silent-death.mx/forum)
+-- Forum: Miniatures and Models (https://www.silent-death.mx/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=9)
+--- Forum: Techniques (https://www.silent-death.mx/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=10)
+--- Thread: Karpav's Painting Blog (renamed) (/showthread.php?tid=56)

Pages: 1 2 3 4


Karpav's Painting Blog (renamed) - Karpav1 - 08-15-2017

While taking some pictures of recent ship paints the other day, I thought I'd try experimenting with some chroma keyed backgrounds to make it easier to pop in a star-field background so I thought I'd share the results.

     I'll start off by saying I'm an extreme neophyte when it comes to all things cameras, and my equipment is cheap. My camera is a Samsung WB35F. My lights are just what I use to paint with.

     To start off, I grabbed a chroma key of the traditional green and blue varieties from an image search and set up a little area on my table to snap some shots. Since I paint my miniatures on toothpicks and stick that in a rubber eraser to hold, it made getting a good '45 degrees down' angle easy without having to fuss with raising the camera too much.

[Image: ffY5Y1m.jpg]  
I taped parchment paper to my lamp to act as a diffuser because there was some glare.

I then proceeded to fill up my memory card snapping pics using different ISO settings and just about every other setting to see if they made a noticeable difference.
[Image: r1RbqKY.jpg]

Three-quarters of the way through I remembered to paint the toothpick to see if that would make it easier to key out later (it did a little).

[Image: NXBUig1.jpg]
Because of the yellow scheme on the scorpion, I shot it in front of blue as well...
[Image: bxMupel.jpg]
This was actually closer to the original color (but a bit too bright) and I was able to blend both in layers to best match up the color of the actual model.

The rest is just a matter of removing the backdrop and adding a background in your editor of choice.
[Image: 6W2YOZL.jpg]Of note is the colored light from the chroma key bleeding onto the miniature. A little color bleed is to be expected, but I think I had my miniatures too close to the monitor and got some excessive color bleed, so I just adjusted the background to make it appear like it's a natural effect of the light cast by the nebula in this deep pocket of space. Works for me!
[Image: fPYKxRs.png]
I added ship names in 'Silent Death font' (Napoli-Serial-Heavy), and factions to my images, threw them in a folder and have my desktops rotate between my painted ships since they're stuck in a box most of the time.
[Image: BITjrZ3.png]
[Image: uZGt4Dh.png]
I added in some ship debris and light effects for fun to the scavenging Scorpion II, but in hindsight, the lights probably emit from those pits on either side of the observation window. I'll have to correct that.
[Image: DddsKpR.png]

     I think they turned out pretty well for a first attempt... kind of remind me of old model box art. It makes for a nice way to present the ships. I'm wondering if I could pull off a space battle with multiple ships, pulse lasers, torps, explosions and the rest. That would be interesting considering I normally don't detail the undersides of ships (for shame right?) but would have to for the odd angles required in a multi-ship composition.

     Hope you enjoyed my experiment. If you have any ideas or suggestions that might improve the quality, I'd be happy to hear them. The camera just AMPLIFIES every mistake and makes something that looks tight to my naked eye look like a mess when enlarged, so I try to reduce them down in size as much as I can to counter that effect. I've even started to check my work with a magnifying lens while painting to see if any adjustments that would show up in pictures should be done while I have that color mixed & wet. Any minor surface blemishes get corrected with the clone tool.

     House Colos ships (2x Salamander HCR/2x Death Wind HCR) for an upcoming game vs the Sigurd ships posted here are painted up and ready to photograph just as soon as squadrons of Pit Viper II's & Thunderbirds get done in Sigurd/Colos colors respectively. I'll throw them all up soon* in the "Your Works' section.

     Is there any interest for quick tutorials on:
  • making asteroids from Sculpey
  • torpedo marker stands using wooden hex bases, toothpicks, & beads
  • ship debris counters
Most of it's been done before, and I'm not breaking much new ground technique-wise, but if you're like me, maybe you just like reading tutorials for ideas? I'll snap some pics accompanied by wordy text on any of these topics if desired.

     What I'm looking for: Does anybody have any good 3D space mine counter techniques they'd like to share? I've been scouting small buttons, but haven't settled on anything yet. I'm waiting for news of the future release of a 'Coridian Crisis' supplement and want to be READY with those QVP minefields when it drops sometime in the not too distant future...  cackles in Evil Midnight Minelayer What Mines at Midnight:
[Image: FL0mFud.jpg]
"And so he says to me, he says, “You want to be a baaaaad guy?!” and I say, “Yeah, baby! I want to be bad!” I says, “Surf's up, Space Ponies! I'm making gravy without the lumps!” Ah ha ha ha ha haaaaa!"

Until next time: Be good to your maintenance crews and may the reverberations of your quad splatterguns not disturb any Clutchworlds in your sector (but if they do, pass along any intel on them maggots! )


* not to be confused with: soon, /so͞on/ adj. 1. in or after a short time. More the Sloth "soon   ...ish" meme variety     ...Ya know.


RE: Playing with chroma key - Boywundyrx - 08-16-2017

Very cool photographs Karpav, the finished products look great.

For mines, what about craft beads (used for bracelets), there are all sorts of shapes and styles, and if you have a Michael's craft store near you, they're often on sale (and if they aren't, Michael's always has weekly 40% off coupons).

Would be interested in the tutorials for asteroids and ship debris. I've made asteroids with sponge and Crayola clay, and have plans for some foam balls, but I'm always interested in other ideas.

Chris


RE: Playing with chroma key - Karpav1 - 08-17-2017

Thanks for the compliment Boywundyrx.

    Yes, beads- I have a string of iridescent beads bought already that I'll use for hatchling drones, and I think what I will do is find a suitable flat bead/button, sculpt on it a bit, and make a 1-piece mold and cast up some custom Terran mines and tutorial the process.

[Image: BcAWPyk.jpg?1]
    
     Here's the Pyrex full of baked asteroids that I have yet to base and paint. I'm waiting on some 1.5" clear acrylic Litko hex bases to arrive and I'll finish basing and show off. I have plans to make an ice variety with a different type of angular sculpt and paint that I'll log the progress here.

The primer on the Pit Vipers & Thunderbirds still needs some cure time, so I'm back on bugs tonight.
[Image: nOZCvw1.jpg]

     After filling the grooves with plumbers epoxy & sanding, I was able to paint up "Mothra" Monarch last night plus the Vartak. I have Space Pirate Captain Harlock queued up (never knew it existed until I was looking into the Yamato stuff -I live in a cave) and ready to paint up the other couple Vartak, and some Lamprey once I click send.

[click!]


RE: Playing with chroma key - Boywundyrx - 08-17-2017

Nice! I do some kaiju gaming and had Mothra in action last month with my nephew: https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qdEkHkSfcWA/WV_cALxoMZI/AAAAAAAABns/tjOfirq_EkQzI5YUR4MfK4ATOmZXMOhOwCLcBGAs/s1600/20170703_121342.jpg

I don't have photos of my WiP asteroids (though I did get some painted a few weeks ago, at last). Your pyrex ones look good, one problem I had with the Crayola clay was it was too self-healing - I'd poke craters into it and it would start to fill them in; had to wait until the clay was well into curing to make them stick.

Here's a post I did several years ago on beads and other stuff from craft stores, I've found lots of other good beads since.
http://twothreesixmm.blogspot.ca/2009/12/finding-findings-and-other-adventures.html

Oh and I'm working through the Captain Harlock DVDs, bought the full set a year ago. If you're into fleet battles, there's an official line of Yamato ships, but no Acadia as I recall.

Chris


RE: Playing with chroma key - Karpav1 - 08-18-2017

Ha! Oh man, that Kaiju board is sweet.  Saved.

     Thanks for posting the bead blog as well- ^^^the top of the page (Jericho) is yet another example of The Mad Karelian's bead repurposing wizardry. I buy the stuff, but rarely put it to use- it just sits in a box in my closet... you guys produce!

     I really like the long pegs as towers concept. I hadn't done enough gaming at the smaller scales to see them purposed for buildings like you have. Excellent. I was considering the shorter caps for torp carriers because I really like the plastic torpedo counters, but they are a bear to pick up, get scattered easily, etc. especially as I was using the paper maps taped down with a full sheet of Plex over the top at the time I last played regularly. They aren't so bad on a cloth mat, but still not ideal. Nothing beats cardboard counters ability to stack and their ease of use and storage makes them the  option to beat IMO, but I still at least try to invent a better mousetrap, so I made this flawed prototype:

[Image: DPUtVmf.jpg]
The small button was hollowed out with a ball bit filled with some poster tac mixed with black paint. It's supposed to hold a conventional 'stack' of torps, but I just felt the torps would pop off the wires too often, the caps are a pretty hard wood so was a bit of a chore to hollow out without an actual drill press on hand (all I got is a rotary tool), Too many torps on the wires would probably sag and fall out too often. So I thought up the next iteration: The Mk II Torpedo Pallet Deluxe™:
[Image: xt90Xi4.jpg]
The labels are for aging gamer eyes, as the numbering on the torps were hard for us to read 20 years ago. Fast forward to now... you get the idea. Will probably clip the Mk. type off and just let the color coding do that. The picture represents 5 Mk. 10's and a Mk. 30 spread. Might make some double post stands for those times when a lot get launched. The post is a toothpick. Any beads can be used, but I raided the kids' bucket of these-
[Image: Na55e6X.jpg]
for all the appropriate Mk. colors I'll need. It has the advantage of being easy to scoot a large bundle of torps around and still being easy to remove torps as countermeasures whittle them down. Thoughts?  Does this seem like an okay solution? Does anyone have any advice on sealing the plywood? Light polyurethane coats with a slight sand between coats are what I'll try. A gloss coat after the paint and labels are down with minimal bubbles is the goal.

Missle counter idea was craft mini wooden clothespins stained black with the missiles either glued to the pin itself, looped in the pin wire with a black pipe cleaner or just the clip itself with a designation for 5/10 painted on or with a color code.

Todays Brood of the day update:
 [Image: f8Ng3aM.jpg]
I'm gonna have to scrape that mold line off the Squidge. I clean them, I do! But missed that. Saw it when it was primed and thought "Ahh... it'll be OK" But it bugs me. The Squidge gave me more trouble than the Manta: the detail is less pronounced so it's trickier to get a crisp result in my experience with it.

I'm holding off on painting Larva until Beta V 2.0 drops so I can see how much they go down in points & if there is a minimum grouping since I've broken my Brood color schemes into three groups: Blue, Green/Purple, and Orange/Yellow.

Tomorrow is game-night with the guys: Battletech Alpha Strike. Then the following week is my demo for Silent Death!

Thanks for the feedback/ideas so far!


RE: Playing with chroma key - Karpav1 - 08-30-2017

Just quick pics on the primer board update...

Sigurd Pit Viper II's:
[Image: YjSs7kP.jpg] 
     I glued 3 styrene rods under the wings/fuselage of each to represent those mad Mk 30's. Painted a small snek "Jörmungandr" on the tail to tie these in with Loki's Kids. Magnets glued on these, working well so far- some other magnets can be seen being primed in hopes that they might hold a bond better. There's a plate of galvanized step flashing taped under the paper eliminating the wayward ship taxiing off the platform during priming on the balcony in a breeze or even from the spray itself).

 Death Wind & Salamander House Colos Refits:[Image: zIcD8g5.jpg]

     Simulated a red lozenge pattern best I could and hand painted the Balkenkreuz since I don't have any decals (The Salamanders were my first try and need their lines to be cleaned up). My Colos theme will stick to Black, White, Warm Greys, and Reds as pictured for the most part.

Thunder Bird II's:[Image: eglHaQh.png]
    
     I was listening to Clint Mansel's soundtrack for Pi while painting. Figured it would make a good wing marking- The 314th Midnight Bombers (what bomb at midnight) or something...

Torpedo and asteroid bases arrived in the mail![Image: jQPJCdh.jpg]
And the requested birthday gift that blocks their path on my workbench...

I have a Sorenson III to paint up in Sigurd scheme after that, then not sure. Also ordered a 6x4 rubber backed mat from Gamematz with hexgrid imposed. I'll post pics when it arrives since I had a hard time finding any pics of these types of mats with the hexes printed on them.

~Karpav


RE: Karpav's Painting Blog (renamed) - Karpav1 - 09-19-2017

Toot Toot! Time to blow my horn again- the updates help keep me on track. If possible move this to 'My Works' -rather than start a new thread, I felt best to just keep using this one.
[Image: qrkLtYL.png]
Mold line clean-up and grinding flat for magnets. Pretty basic picture, but since it takes up so much time suffer with me. I'm loving the magnet build though so it's worth it.
[Image: gaezfbo.png] Death Wind YS concept color mock-up...
[Image: 0V6TSTP.jpg]
...brought to fruition with a pair of Night Hawk YS in jaguar/SAAF Mirage paint mashup. Not confident in getting the white kill designation shield on the Death Wind wing leader though so I left them off. I wish finding decals were easier. I'm horrible at it. I was looking for some Archer transfers but the railroad shop was out. 
[Image: nId6u2n.jpg]
Another pic for comparison. True color is somewhere between the two. A 50% gray photo background would probably help correct the color issue, but it's not high on priorities. I used a pencil to mark panel edges and some chips on the wing edges with paint, but it barely shows up here.
[Image: spJlFO2.jpg]Blizzard inkwebane with shield stitch/monkey tail motifs. Mostly Brown shades with the Yoka-Shan. Perhaps a supporting element of Jii from a neighboring Maasai world with a red/black/white design? 
[Image: NsMNm2a.jpg]
ASP Technocracy fleet WIP. I was thinking about going pink/blue retro-palette:[Image: IMOrt9g.png]
But afraid if I botch it up it will just come across looking:[Image: Dbo99F8.png]
So I found some Infinity artwork that looked pretty neat and went in the yellow/black/green with glowy blue highlights direction. Base colors are done, just trying to get the edge highlights and blue neon source lights correct.
In the pipeline:
[Image: CcIo6Hc.jpg]
I ordered this box of goodies from the store and it arrived 4 weeks later. All house specific ships/escorts for Colos/Sigurd/Yoka-Shan/ASP Technocracy. Finally, these four factions will get bolstered with proper house ships! Between these new additions, bases, torp stands and sealing ships with matte spray, I'm buried in things to do. Next update in a week or two...


RE: Karpav's Painting Blog (renamed) - Karelian Suomi - 09-22-2017

OK. So I nearly break my damn leg and am forced to take my eyes off of this forum, and Callsign: Karav has bombed the place with beautiful minis professionally photographed, great tips on modeling and basing, and even a handy idea for getting the most out of the itty bitty torpedo markers?

I mean, REALLY! I can't leave you kids alone for five minutes, can I?!!  Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin


RE: Playing with chroma key - Karelian Suomi - 09-22-2017

(08-18-2017, 09:15 AM)Karpav1 Wrote: [Image: Na55e6X.jpg]
for all the appropriate Mk. colors I'll need. It has the advantage of being easy to scoot a large bundle of torps around and still being easy to remove torps as countermeasures whittle them down. Thoughts?  Does this seem like an okay solution? 



What do I think? I think this is damn genius, that's what I think! Big Grin
SaveSave


RE: Playing with chroma key - Karelian Suomi - 09-22-2017

(08-17-2017, 01:15 AM)Karpav1 Wrote: [Image: nOZCvw1.jpg]


Mothra. You just had to do Mothra... LOVE IT!!! Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin

SaveSave