Sunday, April 3, 2011

Further cruel enlargements

The problem with digital photography is that it is easy to take pictures (not quite so easy to take good pictures), and then blow them up so the subject is much larger than 'life' size.

So with a painted miniature that you think looks fine when you hold it in your hand, the photograph shows all the blemishes, bits missed, sloppy glueing and all the other mistakes you thought you had grown out of when you finished painting Airfix soft plastic figures as a child.

This 28mm scale Copplestone Castings armed archeologist being a case in point:
The  overall shading is not too bad but the state of the face is not very good. There is also flesh coloured paint on the left hand gun that could do with being cleaned up, and some of the fingers on the right hand need repainting.

I am slightly happier with this Blood Angel figure (assembled from a normal plastic Space Marine and a modified Berzerker head).
The main thing the picture highlights is the sloppy painting of his left fang, I have not been brave enough to either paint in the iconography or use the GW decals. I have two more of these awaiting finishing, not exactly an army!

This Word Bearer (standard plastic Chaos Spacemarine) highlights problems with the photographer more than the painter though again there is poor separation of the colours, this time on the reinforcement of the lower right leg.

The Blood Angel has 'arty' depth of field (the face is in focus, the chain sword is not), the Word Bearer could really do with the bolt pistol being in focus as well. So I need to practice the photography as well.
Once you magnify the figures you can see where your skills need improving. And boy do my skills need improving!

I already use a magnifier for painting, what I need to do is spend more time working in the final details.