Very unproductive week here at Casa Homunculorum. We're in that start of the school year time where most evenings are taken up with meeting and greeting new parents and other treats for the socially anxious.
I did manage to get six bases of Royalist Horse finished for Man Cave Paul's army. Little 6mm horses are soooooooo cute.
Not sure I've really nailed painting 6mm. I'm fine with the detail, but overall the figures don't seem to 'pop' as much as others (cough, Tamsin). Any hints?
Anyway, here they are, ready to sell their lives dearly in defence of the precious values of birth, wealth and privilege. Note the scruffy battle line as they discard any semblance of discipline and order and charge at something that looks like it might be a fox. Oh, and that's 54 figures, which I think is 54 points?
From Curt:
Lovely work Dux! I like how you've based these in ragged lines as it gives a much more natural feel to the units. If there is one thing I can suggest for painting these little fellas is to amp-up the colours and lighten your palette as their smaller scale benefits from brighter colours. If you go 'too historical' in their colours they will have a tendency to blend into the groundwork. Just my two pfennigs. :)
Nice work Alan.
ReplyDeleteColour theory tells us that if we stick to the exact shade and colour as the scale shrinks it will look darker.
DeleteI tend to paint everything vivid and brighter colours. In My head I call it "Mickey mouse" painting. The second way is to add white to all the colours and I call that "Pastel Painting". Both work, both should give different but good results so try them both and find the one that suits you.
Very nice cavaliers Alan :)
ReplyDeleteAs for making them "pop", I'd suggest the following
1. Select the base colours you'd use at 15 or 28mm
2. Select the highlight colours you'd use for those
3. Return the base colours to your paint rack
4. Use the highlight colours
5. Avoid using Army Painter type dips/washes
Very good advice.
DeleteLovely looking cavalry, I have some 6mm ECW in my painting queue
ReplyDeleteIan
I think folks have the right of it when they say go with brighter colors. These look great to me but a brighter colors would make them pop.
ReplyDeleteWell colour me an excited Royalist Commander ready to employ them to fight for their rightful King! A splendid bunch of chaps bravely pressing home their (in all probability impetuous and overly aggressive) charge.
ReplyDeleteShould we call you Rupert from now on? ;)
DeleteOoh! Yes! Call him Rupert!
DeleteNice figures and bases Alan, agree with the others about lighter colours. I tend to go 1 or 2 shades lighter thank would on 28mm figures which seems to work for me.
ReplyDeleteI do like Tamsin's advice! ;) I like them very much as they are and really enjoy your basing, some of the lads do seem very eager to get 'stuck in'! ;)
ReplyDeleteLove the look of these formations! And agreed with the idea of going with a lighter shade, or at least worth considering. I even do this on my 28's! See here for why: http://chasseuracheval.blogspot.co.nz/2014/10/how-i-paint.html
ReplyDeleteMy top tips for 6mm (having cut my teeth on some napoleonics and ACW in the last few months)
ReplyDelete1 - Lighten all your colours. Use highlight shades as midtones.
2 - Do bother with highlights (only 1). You will notice it. Do an extreme highlight (really high contrast, even brighter than the highlight you're using for the midtone).
3 - Use the blacklining method. It works. Its the only thing that will get you definition at tabletop distances. And its fast. Just undercoat black and then paint all the midtone as blobs of colour leaving black round the edges where colours meet or where there would be shadows.
4 - Don't use washes or inks or dip. Its a false economy at this scale.
5 - For the faces, use the four dot method. 1 tiny dot for a nose, a larger dot below for the chin, and two large dots to either side of the nose dot as cheekbones. Leave black in-between. Sounds nuts, works a treat and noticeably improves the overall effect of the figure/unit.
6 - Put as much, maybe more, effort into the basing of the figures as you do the painting.
Hope this is useful!