Home made light box

One of the things I've been contemplating for a while is improving my TO DONE! pictures. For the most part I've been quite happy with my recent pictures, with the Camera 360 shots adding some effects that have made the pictures my best yet. The main issue revolves around my background picture. The Ferron Proxima backdrop has always been a favourite of mine as it puts the model in context - Red Planet BASE! needs a red planet to make sense, it also really stands out in blog feeds ;) What it doesn't do is help with colour accuracy and it also fails to meet the GW 'suggested criteria' of a plain white background for submitting photographs. For those in the hobby being featured in White Dwarf is a huge achievement and I'd hope to do that eventually, so decided a light box might help that happen. On top of that I'll be less reliant on daylight [again, discouraged by GW] to get my pictures and they'll be more consistent. I'll still throw in the Ferron Proxima background but I'll be doing these as well

These were my first test pictures on my home made light box, I'll go into the full details and show you a picture later but what I wanted was to spend as little money as possible [cos that will help 'sell' your pics to GW] - to prove you don't have to spend over the odds for decent results.

The light box was made from a transparent storage box, it still needs a proper clean [there's a dead spider in one corner] I then bought two of these clip lights. They have them in the UK at Home & Bargain for £1.99 each. They're rated to 60W bulb and I happened to have two knocking around. I am probably going to swap them out for energy saving bulbs though as incandescent bulbs get very hot. That'll be another £3 but other than that I think that's all you need.

Now I positioned the clips on the side of the box with the bulbs running along the outside with the light shining through the transparent box.

As you can see the results are OK, the plain white A3 sheet used as a background is a bit grey so I decided to move the clips.

 Instead of on the outside shining through the plastic I moved the clip lights round to the front of the box, you can see how much difference that made to background. The only problem with this is the lights kind of get in the way and getting quite hot means you have to be careful as you take the pictures, so you don't get scorched on them by accident.

But for a first attempt and for £4 I think that's pretty good. If I can get some higher lumen energy saving bulbs I might even get cleaner shots.

Here I decided to turn off the clip lights and actually it was pretty good without.

One light on the right hand side did this

And then both managed to fill in some of the shadows and the background is almost pure white. I'm really impressed with the results. Just look at the close up on this, the detail is crisp and sharp and makes the colours really rich. I'm not entirely sure if they want a pure white background for cutting out easily but if that's the deal I can do a clipping path anyway in a snap. I'm pretty sure I discovered even .jpegs can retain embedded clipping paths [which I find rather peculiar, but handy].

I need to make a proper white backdrop, get some large white paper, vinyl, or even cloth so it can be draped smoothly. I may consider adding in some more reflective material on the lights but for a five minute 'kitbash' and £4 worth of light fittings what more can you ask for?

Here's a view of the set up when I was taking pics of the Imperial Knight, it struggled to be effective on such a large model, if I'm honest.

This was probably the best picture, which I could probably fudge with a bit of Photoshop to be more colour accurate, maybe even add in that Ion Shield glow.

But I definitely need to work out a better backdrop, even a white pillow case will be better than three A3 sheets of paper! Can't stand those seems and creases, grr!

So there you go, simple and effective, you could obviously download one of those textured backdrops too but obviously I'm getting that effect already with my Ferron Proxima sheet but anyone else - knock yourself out :) Let me know if you have a crack at it.

Imperial Knight - in manufactorum pt 22 - moar shots

Here are the 'cinematic' phone shots, y'know blessed by filters to look them all cool and interesting.

RFemember kids, always take some shots with a bit of 'breathable' space around them, you never know when you are going to want to put something in that space... [I really don't know but it gives me options should I want to].

Face on.

In all his epic majesty.

Moar, moar, moar.

So slight shift in gear as I try out my home-made light box.

Still think there is some colour correction I could do in Photoshop and in all honest my £4 light box is a bit small for such a figure. I have a post coming up that shows the set up and other pics that make it clear it's as good a solution as any bespoke expensive option.

Not sue if these were from my digital camera.

This is clearly Camera 360, throwing in some of it's usual FX.

Lastly some shots with Cozy Magnifier and Microscope which is a bit fiddly but does help capture some really good macro-shots that my other camera apps fail to do.

So there we go, he's complete and ahead of schedule too, by about five days. Which allowed me some nights off actually. I say nights off, I had a game with PeteB and an early night while me youngest was on an Educational trip and the wife was suffering some separation anxiety, so we all watched Bake Off together ;)

Anyway, the Quad Gun and Bastion are next on the painting table. I really need to dig out the Aquila Lander as reference. I managed to storm though that with a bit of concerted effort so I just need to apply the same approach and I should have this done in time for AoP, but what then...?!

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

Imperial Knight - in manufactorum pt 21 - To Done!

21 today, 21 today, he's got the key of the door, never been 21 before! Euronymous is complete I had to concerted last push to get him done with the usual final furlong being more like two or three furlongs - the closer you get to the finish the further away it seems. Does anyone else get that feeling.

I managed to get all the varnishing, flocking, and blood effects and photographs all in the one session!

I have to admit I'm rather fond of him 'sans' faceplate, you can see much more of his face [obviously] but the eyes in particular become a focal point.

Whereas when he's got his face on much of the detail is hidden and also the continuation of the green from the cowl makes the whole head somewhat lost. I'm considering retrofitting some magnets into the front of the head, or alternatively drilling a hole and putting a small rod into the back of the face plate [like I've done on the carapace hatch]. I can just slot it in place then and remove at will.

I think I managed the stomped Termagant gore OK.

The white hot glow might be a bit too far but I think it's much more effective on his carapace than the Cerastus was.

For the time being I'll be leaving the faceplate off but it definitely needed the OSL glow on the inside to even remotely make the eyes work.

I've still to do the alternative weapon options but there's no immediate rush for those, he's AoP complete and I can move onto the remaining elements.

I did try to do proper 'heat bloom' on Thermal Cannon, with blues, purple and orange but I foolishly believed I could do it with paint and not inks/washes. It did not work so I was quick enough to wipe most of it off and just slather on sepia Soft Tone for the orange/brown and then drybrushed it black for the burnt smoke stained charred muzzle as I did with my Dreadnought. I think it turned out all right in the end, saved it from dragging it down at least.

Still dubious about the banner, and it does get in the way of moving the model around as I keep catching it when I grasp the leg but hey, ho!

The view from above.

A Guardsman's eye view.

And again, without cropping off the top of the carapace ;)

And finally he's done.

And with that I get my second Big Purple Stamp of Approval! He's been a really long time in production, make the six months on the Cerastus laughable but he's done and I'll get the other weapons complete soon enough as some of the elements also need the same painting as what I need to do on the bastions and Quad Gun so I'll batch them simultaneously. But so far so good for the season!

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

Imperial Knight - in manufactorum pt 20

As this project comes to a close it seems like progress is much harder to evidence. It's all little things and backtracking on bits that have been missed or could only be started when another aspect is complete. In particular all the hand rails on the carapace but also the last of the verdigris, which I'm hoping was just restrained enough to keep some of the metal visible. I know the verdigris is starting to be less reliable now, the paint is really beginning to break up when watered down. I've got me some Nihalakh Oxide to try but I can immediately see it's lighter than my current efforts. I've things coming up to practice on though soe we'll see how it goes as my current method is becoming less sustainable.

I also started the first of my glow effects - all Maccarius Solar Orange thinned down. There are far more of these 'vent' style things to use it on the Paladin than the Cerastus I may have done too many [y'know like how some Eldar players paint ALL the gems ;) ] but it breaks up the metallics a bit.

I'm hoping the top vents work better than the ones on the Cerastus this time around. Some darker orange to add, and some pure white and then it's pretty much done.

I added verdigris to the chainsword, you can see how much better a dark patina works on the darker bronze. A light verdigris will look quite odd...

I also did the metallics on the missile launcher. Need to paint either chevrons or split 50:50 white and black, haven't decided which yet but it's not essential for my To Done at this stage. 

I've also brought the thermal cannon and battle cannon up to scratch, which leaves it like this:

• More details on the guns
• Metal hand rails on carapace 
• Verdigris [do not go overboard!]:
• Pauldrons
• Guns
• Chainsword
• Carapace
• Metal hand rails on carapace 
• Glow effects:
• Generators
• Weapons
• Back of the carapace
• Head/eyes
• Hatch glass
• Varnish 

Obviously some of the weapon options still needsome of the ticked off elements done but I just need the one configuration complete for AoP so I can move onto the other remaining elements. I can fill in the other options as I continue to work and further down the line as similar requirements [metallics, weathering etc.] crop up I can then batch them together. It's nearly done next update will have to be To Done! - BOOM!

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

The return of the lizard hide

My brother recently asked me to repaint the lizard 'hide' I painted for him in 2013. I should have taken a picture of it in the state it arrived, because it had abotu 50% of the Ferron Proxima red removed. I'd seen the vivarium it was going in so something more natural and hopefully durable was required.

This time I used a grey car primer, followed by matt black car spray. I then over sprayed it with a moss green, trying to get speckles on it for some underpainting texture.

Then I pretty much obscured it all with some burnt umber art acrylic - a couple of coats followed by a shadow wash. Then I drybrushed it again, mixed a highlight and a second drybrush. Then it was a green wash in the crevices to tie it in with the moss green environment it's going to be in.

Finally I added a spray gloss varnish [which was really old and almost like silly string in places], then a spray matt varnish [also old, wasn;t very matt and did spit out all the little white spots you might be able to make out] and then three coats of brush varnish and hopfully it'll stand up a bit better to the litter critter. It's nice to do something different for a change.