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Post by wildagreenbough on Apr 28, 2014 23:35:38 GMT -9
Several years ago when I was wargaming with my children I downloaded this set and we coloured the Elves in with coloured pencils. This evening I was delighted to discover that Microtactix was still offering this set and from the illustration it looked like the set was now in colour. Only it wasn't, it was still black and white. Bad Microtactix for misleading me I've always had a soft spot for this set and with me being interested in a Forces of Nature army I decided that I was going to not only colour it, but I'd make some proper backs for the minis too. I live with a disability and when I'm not well I suffer from fatigue as well as joint and muscle pain. Because of the illness I have my ability to think and concentrate can be affected too so creative hobbies are really good for me. Before it got too expensive I used to be heavily into Lego and I actually have a nice Lego Elf army, but before I get distracted with that I'll get to the point. With my laptop setup in bed and linked to my daughter's incredible old dual processor IBM blade server (she does software development from home) I can potter away at graphics work to my hearts content keeping my brain busying which helps to distract me from the soreness in my limbs and body. Paint.net is my weapon of choice at the moment which suits me because I know virtually nothing about using Photoshop or GIMP and Paint was what I used to create my Silk Road Elves so it does for me. What I'll use this thread for is to report my progress and to ask for advice & etc. The modded Tribal Elves will be for my own use and I'm using them as a practice piece for when I start back with creating my own figures again. Test Elf, still WIP.
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Post by wildagreenbough on Apr 29, 2014 1:38:31 GMT -9
And first test Elf done. With some variations in colour tone this will be the basic colour scheme for these Elves. I decided against making their skin pale because these are outdoor type Elves.
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Post by migibb on Apr 29, 2014 4:21:29 GMT -9
Looks good to me. I have always been put off the Microtactix stuff because ao many of them are black and white. The whole idea of using paper miniatures over regular ones is so I don't have to paint them!!! lol!! A shame - because I love the style of the artwork. Very old-school. You should offer to seel the coloured ones back to MT. Tell them I'd buy a copy for a start!!!
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Post by wildagreenbough on Apr 29, 2014 5:14:55 GMT -9
Looks good to me. I have always been put off the Microtactix stuff because ao many of them are black and white. The whole idea of using paper miniatures over regular ones is so I don't have to paint them!!! lol!! A shame - because I love the style of the artwork. Very old-school. You should offer to sell the coloured ones back to MT. Tell them I'd buy a copy for a start!!! Yes it's that old school quality that I like too Some of Microtactix's other figures are now in colour so I don't know if they're working their way through their range or not, but I've decided not to wait to find out. I don't think my graphic skills would be good enough to interest Microtactix all that much since I haven't a clue how to do all that magic stuff with Photoshop & etc. So long as I'm happy with them I suppose that's all that matters really. Next stage will be to make a back for this first test Elf and then perhaps experiment with hanging a shield on her back or on her left arm.
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Post by hackbarth on Apr 29, 2014 5:56:23 GMT -9
With my laptop setup in bed and linked to my daughter's incredible old dual processor IBM blade server (she does software development from home) I can potter away at graphics work to my hearts content keeping my brain busying which helps to distract me from the soreness in my limbs and body. Paint.net is my weapon of choice at the moment which suits me because I know virtually nothing about using Photoshop or GIMP and Paint was what I used to create my Silk Road Elves so it does for me. My weapon of choice in the GIMP, don't be intimidated, once you dabble a bit you can make some interesting trick on it. Coloring B&W figures for example is so much easier than with pixel-pushers platforms, see here: Coloring B&W figures in GIMP, for the complete beginner
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Post by hackbarth on Apr 29, 2014 5:57:30 GMT -9
BTW, nice figure, remind me of the SJGames Cardboard Heroes.
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Post by wildagreenbough on Apr 29, 2014 10:27:56 GMT -9
BTW, nice figure, remind me of the SJGames Cardboard Heroes. Thanks hackbarth Your tutorial is going to be very useful as I didn't have the foggiest idea of how to do anything in GIMP. I'll give it a go on another test figure and see if I have any success with it.
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Post by dungeonmistress on May 1, 2014 19:29:27 GMT -9
wildagreenbough, I am right there with you, Lady! I too have a disability and have good days and bad. Though I have found getting into this hobby(obsession)has been very helpful to me in a lot of ways, to say nothing of the fun I'm having! Also, I am brand new to GIMP as well! I have a Paint program, but have only minimally fooled around with it. I did just look at hackbarth's tutorial and I am sure once I've spent some time with it, it will explain a lot. So, we two will soldier on, shall we?
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Post by wildagreenbough on May 1, 2014 19:46:28 GMT -9
wildagreenbough, I am right there with you, Lady! I too have a disability and have good days and bad. Though I have found getting into this hobby(obsession)has been very helpful to me in a lot of ways, to say nothing of the fun I'm having! Also, I am brand new to GIMP as well! I have a Paint program, but have only minimally fooled around with it. I did just look at hackbarth's tutorial and I am sure once I've spent some time with it, it will explain a lot. So, we two will soldier on, shall we? Indeed we shall I've downloaded GIMP, but I haven't tried doing anything with it as yet as I've been having a couple of not so good days. Even though I'm a reasonable but slow figure painter I really do find paper minis delightful and enjoy the more hands on craft type process of ending up with a collection of nice minis.
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Post by dungeonmistress on May 1, 2014 21:07:08 GMT -9
Indeed we shall I've downloaded GIMP, but I haven't tried doing anything with it as yet as I've been having a couple of not so good days. Even though I'm a reasonable but slow figure painter I really do find paper minis delightful and enjoy the more hands on craft type process of ending up with a collection of nice minis. I agree! My process is somewhat more involved than most. I print nearly everything at the library in B&W on standard paper, then color it by hand at home, glue it to cardboard (cereal boxes and the like) then score, cut and assemble. It takes some time, but I get good results. Maybe I'll post some of my builds in the gallery...?
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Post by wildagreenbough on May 1, 2014 23:44:52 GMT -9
Indeed we shall I've downloaded GIMP, but I haven't tried doing anything with it as yet as I've been having a couple of not so good days. Even though I'm a reasonable but slow figure painter I really do find paper minis delightful and enjoy the more hands on craft type process of ending up with a collection of nice minis. I agree! My process is somewhat more involved than most. I print nearly everything at the library in B&W on standard paper, then color it by hand at home, glue it to cardboard (cereal boxes and the like) then score, cut and assemble. It takes some time, but I get good results. Maybe I'll post some of my builds in the gallery...? Yes please do post some pictures of your completed minis
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