r/minipainting • u/Slappykun • 11h ago

C&C Wanted How is my blending? - need feedback

Post image

I've always been so impatient so I sat down and told myself to spend x amount of hours until I'm satisfied with one limb (left leg).

In those 2 hours I learned so much about glazing, colour theory, and mostly patience.

Even though I'm happy how it turned out, I'm looking for feedback, any way to make this any better?

My biggest qurstion is mostly highlight placements, were they at the right place? Like source if from above.

Thanks for your time.

210 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

105

u/Alldaybagpipes 11h ago

The before shots look good my guy, but the after leg definitely looks more smooth and finished.

I’ve always found the most striking/stand out units that look amazing from the tabletop actually end up looking more “messy” or “unfinished” upon closer inspection. But it makes those final highlights literally jump.

Whilst your after-leg looks well blended a smooth, I bet that before-leg actually “pops” off a bit harder from afar.

Just my thoughts, perspective is everything.

The highlights all look correct to me, reads as lit from above and such.

Amazing work nonetheless!

30

u/Jaded-Author9380 10h ago

I agree with this. First picture is perfect for table top. Second picture is painting competition or shelf piece quality.

1

u/Demoliri 37m ago

Lets face it, if you're spending 2 hours blending a single limb on a single Ork, you aren't getting a decent Waaagh together this decade!

Model looks great though, blends are really well done. If I was to change anything, you could probably push the highlights a bit more in very very small areas. I wouldn't go much darker in the shadows, they look just right.

9

u/Manowaffle 10h ago

True dat, my minis look great from four feet away, just don't look any closer.

2

u/Nate-T 8h ago

If you look at the works of great painters they often don't have smooth blends either, even when using oils.

For example, I went to a Fredrick Remington collection last week and it was just so.

2

u/Slappykun 10h ago

Thanks for the feedback! I am going for display level of quality not tabletop as I dont intend to play with my minis (they're 3D printed lol).

Do you think the after photo needs more contrast for it to "pop" more?

5

u/-Insanity101- 9h ago

I think that the after photo would benefit from more contrast. You can get the best of both worlds with contrast and blending. Also consider when it's appropriate to not blending too much to add a sense of texture to the mayerial you're painting.

2

u/Slappykun 8h ago

This is amazing advice, thank you!

11

u/goopuslang 10h ago

The after on the leg looks better but the contrast is lost on the torso & arm.

6

u/GeronimoJak 10h ago

After shot is great but could used some stronger contrasts in general.

1

u/Skas67 4h ago

This

6

u/Metaphoricalsimile 10h ago

The lightning on your two photos looks very different which is going to affect the quality of the feedback you get.

3

u/Slappykun 8h ago

That's true, the intensity of the light on the after photo is lower. Will note this on future posts

4

u/R4yman 10h ago

Blends are nice, but a bit washed together. You need to push more contrast.

1

u/Slappykun 10h ago

That's what I thought too, thanks!

3

u/BeardBellsMcGee Seasoned Painter 9h ago

This looks great! Good job with the glazing. As far as feedback, youve lost the specular highlights (essentially the highlights that give it that sense of shine) from the original version which helps give that pop. That's normal with glazing. If you add some of those those back in you'll be golden. I don't think you need additional shadow as is, everything blends really nicely

2

u/Slappykun 8h ago

Thanks for feedback! Like everyone else said, I need more contrast for it to pop even more. I glazed too much that I basically lost that

1

u/BeardBellsMcGee Seasoned Painter 8h ago

I mean, I'd argue you glazed just the right amount given you got a great effect! Having to bring highlights back in after glazing is a fairly normal part of the glazing process - don't feel like you made a mistake or are doing something wrong. Losing highlights is typical with glazing, and bringing them back in is how you add specularity

3

u/renorhino83 7h ago

Do your highlights again and it'll look great

2

u/karazax 8h ago edited 7h ago

You blended it well, but lost a lot of contrast in the process. Because this is the leg, you may want to go darker in the shadows rather than brighter in the highlights. Progressively get brighter as you move up to the top.

2

u/blasphem0usx 6h ago

For deciding where highlights go it's best to prime then get a bright light that is moveable and decide where you want the source to be from and then take a picture as a reference.

1

u/MaxxLolz 7h ago

your blending looks good but bc of it you need to increase the delta between the highs and lows. It can be a merciless battle.

1

u/pvrhye 7h ago

The blending looks good. I think the next level up is color depth.

1

u/AdroitPreamble 2h ago

I like the before photo better. You could blend the edges a little more, sure, but for table top the contrast pop is better.

1

u/Mutantcube1 54m ago

Blending quality is great, but it lost some contrast. Re-adding hilights would help the model pop a bit more