First Miniatures ever (Ultramarines)

[BedTimeBeer]

Honorable Battle Brothers,

 

These are my first miniatures...EVER. I've never done any painting before (and mostly just plainly suck at it) so i would be most grateful for any C&C. I'm a general newbie to the hobby and this is the first squad I've managed to paint. Pardon the bad light, the phone camera and the sheer amount of pictures.

 

I would also like to note that i still have to do the decals and i don't even have all the colors i wanted to use so i will have to touch up on stuff when i get them (pouches, the red on the purity seals (highlight) sergeants helmet etc. I would appreciate honest opinions as i want to get better and improve my painting skills.

 

THANKS! 

 

[King Rob the IV]

Overall, if this is your first go around, beautifully done!

The simplest way I can see to improve, is throw down some washes on everything to add shadows and make details pop a bit [i'm looking at the gold chest plate (brown), helmets (blue and red) and boltgun metallics (black)]. Other then that, skills will develop over time. 

I would also thin your gold a bit with the shoulder pads, it looks a bit chunky.

Rob 

[Charlo]

Really really nice, regardless of it they are your first or not.

[BedTimeBeer]

Thank you for the kind words!

I've gotten multiple comments regarding using more shade. To be honest I've shaded everything but got scared to overdo it and get the miniatures to look too dark. Also it could be the fact that i only use 1 shade (i only have that one) Nuln Oil on everything - whilst it would be better to use different ones ex. aggrax earthshade on gold etc. But i will try to work on that in the future. Luckily the second tac squad is already on the "chopping block" :) 

Regarding the gold, I've just noticed that and you are right! I was again scared (God i sound like a coward! :)) to water it down too much as I've heard it's a bit harder to paint nicely and "stick" to the miniature. Again - i will try to do it better next time around :)

All in all - i'm really trying hard to improve and upgrade my skills. I've already fixed one of the errors i saw on the pictures - the sergeants eyes weren't painted - I've given them a nice blue tone now :)

Once again, thanks for all the tips and advises! 

[Sugarlessllama]

Looks great. And they look a TON better than my first miniatures. :D

[Olis]

For your first rodeo, brother, I heartily applaud your painting. My first ones were somewhat less neat (although, saying that, I was twelve at the time). ^_^

[Debauchery101]

Starting off really good. One thing most beginners fail at is the basing. You nailed it brother. If youre looking for some extra definition on the reds using what you have id suggest using the wash you used on the gold. It will work, just water it down bit.

[E_50_Panzer]

They look like great first models to me, colors look thin too. And as others have said, use multiple shades for different colors. Beyond that, later down the line, maybe try your hand at some weathering? It's very easy to do, you can get amazing results with a little bit of sponge chipping and a pigment or two.

[NiceGuyAdi]

What a start, and the basing is excellent. You should be really proud of those.

 

Perhaps a little more focus on the eye lenses (lighter shade towards the bottom front, and tiny white dot towards the back) might help draw focus to the marines faces?

[BedTimeBeer]

Thank you everyone! I've never expected such positive feedback :)

Will definitely work hard and continue improving. I will focus a bit more on the highlighting/shading part as it seems that's where I'm "lacking" most.

When i get the next batch done i will post pictures and hopefully they will be better than these! :)

Cheers!

[Jackalwolf]

Really well done, keep it coming!!

 

Also if you want a tip if you basecoat with brown the gold areas and then color them gold it will be easier to make the gold impose over a very cold color like blue.