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Ratman
May 7, 2009 10:59:42 GMT -9
Post by jabbro on May 7, 2009 10:59:42 GMT -9
All right. This figure fills two needs. It fits the HORDE theme and I believe someone on the board specifically requested one. It is scaled. And yes, it is meant to be shorter than Jim's standard 30mm figs. These things do a lot of crouching, so I figured the size evens out. It was my prototype for design but I liked the awkward knife pose enough I decided to make a full figure out of it. This one gave me a lot more trouble than I thought it would. Go figure. Least I learned what not to do next time.
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 11:14:26 GMT -9
Post by Aestelon on May 7, 2009 11:14:26 GMT -9
Ooh, you've done it now. You're totally getting your own board. Jim doesn't do empty threats, you know. That's pretty darned gorgeous. My only critism is that by having the feet hanging below the top of the tab, you're making it difficult for those of us who remove the tabs to flat base our figs. Mind you, I imagine there's an easy way around that, like leaving a wedge under the feet when you trim and colouring it black while edging.
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 11:29:32 GMT -9
Post by jabbro on May 7, 2009 11:29:32 GMT -9
Thanks, Aestelon. I never thought about flat basing. I have a few more Ratmen inked. When I go to color them I will try and do something with the feet besides hang them outside the tabs.
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 11:33:48 GMT -9
Post by Aestelon on May 7, 2009 11:33:48 GMT -9
Nice one. And you should totally think about flat basing - it looks great.
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 13:48:47 GMT -9
Post by abaddonwormwood on May 7, 2009 13:48:47 GMT -9
The figure is great but the weapon - knife/shank is very flat. I understand it's rusted and/or a cast off bit of metal but it needs something to make it pop a tad more. Fantastic to see Ratmen grace this forum.
Lord Abaddon of Wormwood
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 14:48:28 GMT -9
Post by jabbro on May 7, 2009 14:48:28 GMT -9
Lord Abaddon, thanks for the advice on the knife. I have no clue how to give it more dimension. I tried Googling a rusty knife, but most of the ones that are completely rusted over have that matte quality to them.
If anyone has a better example, I can certainly try to mimic it. ;D
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 15:04:34 GMT -9
Post by Aestelon on May 7, 2009 15:04:34 GMT -9
I think the main thing would be to highlight it a bit more on the sharp edge. As long as you keep that highlight rough and speckly, it should enhance the rust texture as well.
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 16:57:05 GMT -9
Post by squirmydad on May 7, 2009 16:57:05 GMT -9
With those spindly arms and legs , it appears that the black is overpowering the figure. Try boosting the highlights on the fur to make them appear more 3D.
That's all I can suggest, great design.
I'm glad you feel inspired to create these designs. Now I'm off to work on the Minotaur. JIM
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 19:11:16 GMT -9
Post by stevelortz on May 7, 2009 19:11:16 GMT -9
Lord Abaddon, thanks for the advice on the knife. I have no clue how to give it more dimension. I tried Googling a rusty knife, but most of the ones that are completely rusted over have that matte quality to them. If anyone has a better example, I can certainly try to mimic it. ;D I tried for a rusty-sword look on my "Another Classic Orc". I left the honed edge white, put in a pale blue for the unhoned parts, and then put pale red-brown splotches on the unhoned parts to suggest rust. Your ratman should probably have a rustier sword than my orc, which would just mean heavier and more extensive red-brown splotches. I'm not sure how to achieve that effect digitally, but I'm sure some of the other contributors here who have wrestled with things like moss on dungeon tiles could tell you how to do it. Leaving the edge white makes it look like it has been sharpened, and will make it pop more. Have fun! Steve
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 19:34:48 GMT -9
Post by squirmydad on May 7, 2009 19:34:48 GMT -9
Yea, that sort of stuff helps define the shape more clearly. This is why it's difficult to do dark colored figures, because the edges all want to bleed together and it's hard to pick out the shape of the figure. Anything you can do to define the edges helps. I sometimes will add a lighter shade outline on darker colors. JIM
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Ratman
May 7, 2009 20:02:09 GMT -9
Post by stevelortz on May 7, 2009 20:02:09 GMT -9
I was just watching a film noir DVD the other night with the commentary turned on, and the actress doing the commentary pointed out how the lighting man put a very thin highlight on the side of one of the guys' faces just to do the thing very thing One Monk was just talking about, to keep the guy's shadowy face from blending into the dark background.
Have fun! Steve
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Ratman
May 8, 2009 5:41:13 GMT -9
Post by jabbro on May 8, 2009 5:41:13 GMT -9
Thanks Jim and Steve for the lighting suggestions. Those helped a lot. I brightened the highlights in the fur quite a bit and added a sheen of back lighting. Hopefully it does not look too bad. I played around with the knife, too, taking out the darker highlight and strengthening the effect of those rust splotches. Hope that helps Let me know if there is anything else that should be fixed.
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Ratman
May 8, 2009 5:49:38 GMT -9
Post by squirmydad on May 8, 2009 5:49:38 GMT -9
Looks better. The key is check it at actual size on screen and see how it looks ,especially with a black outline.
Working on figures when they are large can sometimes work against you, subtle details and texture that look great at four inches high, disappear when you scale it down to the final size.
This is often why I tell people to work at actual size, but in high resolution. This way you can zoom out and see them at actual size.
I really hope you get the bug to do this stuff on a regular basis. JIM
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Ratman
May 8, 2009 5:54:09 GMT -9
Post by jabbro on May 8, 2009 5:54:09 GMT -9
I can see that now. After playing with it, I just had to redo the knife because what I thought showed up at Actual Pixel size, kindda washed out when it shrunk to 50%. Print Size makes it look even worse. GAK!
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Ratman
May 8, 2009 7:06:27 GMT -9
Post by onemonkeybeau on May 8, 2009 7:06:27 GMT -9
Heh, heh...
You'll get it! It just takes a bit of time tweaking and finding your own groove.
onemonkeybeau
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Ratman
Sept 24, 2009 11:36:01 GMT -9
Post by xtea on Sept 24, 2009 11:36:01 GMT -9
Wooow! With highlights looks so brilliant. I love the fur too and the knife. Great pose.
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