Using Chaos Cultists for cloth painting practice

Despite finishing my first ten Word Bearers Cultists a long time ago, it was tough for me to get motivated to finish painting the other ten cultists in the Dark Vengeance set. As I get deeper into the hobby, I find myself happiest when dedicating time and effort into painting a single miniature from start-to-finish to the highest quality that I can. That makes painting armies a real pain-in-the-arse, more so when painting stuff I have tackled before. To keep things interesting, I decided to use the cultists as practice for painting cloth, following two simple rules - 1. Use complementary colours (not black) for shadows, and 2. Use layering/glazes to smooth out transitions from shadows to highlights.  

My attempt at painting a realistic looking cloak

My best result was achieved on the cloak of the Chaos Cultist Champion (with shotgun) as pictured above. It was the first mini I had used for the cloth painting practice, so I still had the patience to slowly paint on many thin layers of paint to build up a smooth texture. The cloak was painted using various mixtures of Scab Red, Red Gore and Blazing Orange for the mid-tone and highlights, while Devlan Mud and Regal Blue was used for the shadows. Sadly, the shadow/highlight transitions were not as smooth as they should be as I didn't put in the required hours (more on this later in the post).

Long flowing coats and hoods made good practice subjects

Lack of patience meant the blue hood (right) was just a simple midtone-wash-highlight

Another two cultists which was covered with coats and scarfs for ample cloth painting practice

Layering and glazing for all cloth parts except for brown scarf (right) which had the simple midtone-wash-highlight

Yet another two cultists with significant cloth parts

Can you guess which part was not painted with the layering/glazing technique?

When painting the above six cultists, my patience was starting to wear thin. This resulted in some laziness in which I substituted the layering/glazing technique for a simple midtone, followed by a wash and finished with a highlight colour. By the time I reached the two cultists below, I was sick of the sight of them and the paint quality quickly went downhill from there. I didn't even bother to paint the final cultist in the squad i.e. the one with the heavy stubber. 

Sloppy work at its best

Things don't improve that much from the front view

Results from my mini projects shows that I have a lot of practice ahead of me in order to achieve smoother transitions between the shadows and highlights that would make for realistic looking cloth. Some award winning painters have stated that they sometimes spent up to 15 hours out of a 20-hour project just painting smooth transitions for cloth. Seeing that I am nowhere close that number, I guess I shouldn't expect similar fantastic results from my efforts. What I lack and need is ...

Even a future Golden Daemon winner has to start somewhere

Bling-bling for my Word Bearers

In what will most likely be my first and only (seeing how relatively expensive they are) ostentatious accessory for my Chaos Space Marines squad, I finally glued on the Word Bearers shoulder pads on the miniatures. I had gotten these babies quite a while back but only gotten to utilisng them recently.

Shiny and proud

All for the sake of authenticity in my Word Bearers army

Even after a couple of years in the hobby, I still found assembling the Chaos Space Marines a challenge. While the many separate pieces that goes into the assembly of one marine allows for very dynamic poses, it can get a little difficult (for me at least) to get the pieces fitting perfectly without any gaps or wrongly angled position of the arms. This was especially so for marines holding a bolter. All parts have been glued on except for the heads which were dry-fitted with blu-tack.

While I liked the icon-bearer's pose, in hindsight, the aspiring champion (2nd from right) looks like a disco pose (sigh)

Can you spot the Chaos Space Marine who is grasping air rather than the bolter grip?

Despite my "inner-noobness" getting the better of me at times (if you look at the photos above closely, you can easily spot some mistakes I made), I still enjoyed putting the miniatures together. Assembling sometimes can be just as fun as painting ... well almost as fun. I undoubtedly made things worse by using Super Glue instead of Plastic Glue, but it's a hard personal habit to break. I am so used to Super Glue than I rarely use Plastic Glue, if at all. Until next time, thanks for reading!  

How exposure affects miniature photography

Before you can improve on your miniature photographing skills, it is crucial to get to grips with a basic concept i.e. exposure, which is a measure of how much light the camera's image sensor is exposed to during a shot. In simple terms - an underexposed shot is one that is too dark while an overexposed shot is one that is too bright. For a better understanding of exposure, you will have to explore all the elements involved - ISO, aperture and shutter speed - or the exposure triangle in short.  

Before I get to the more practical aspects of how to utilise the exposure triangle to get the shots that you want of your miniatures, let us first have a quick look, individually, at the three components of exposure as well as some basic theory of how they relate to one another.

Exposure Triangle in a nutshell
a) ISO is the sensitivity of camera sensor to light in which the higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive the camera sensor is to light so less light is required when taking the shot. Too high an ISO setting may introduce noise (grainy patterns) into your shots. General rule of thumb is to keep ISO as low as possible but the latest DSLR cameras are able to take good quality shots at high ISOs.

b) Aperture is an opening at the camera lens which controls how much light passes through to the camera sensor. While a bigger aperture size allows more light into the camera, the trade-off is a lower depth of field. Aperture size is measured in f-stops in which the larger the f-stop number, the smaller the opening (this takes a bit of getting used to) so f4 is a larger aperture opening than f8.

c) Shutter speed controls the length of time light is allowed to hit the camera sensor. At high shutter speeds, less light is allowed into the camera but your shots won't be affected by shaky hands (something important to consider when you are taking shots with a dedicated macro lens). While a high shutter speed also allows you to freeze-motion-capture a fast moving object, this is not an important consideration when taking shots of stationary miniatures.

So how do they all tie together? Well, when you change any one component in the exposure triangle you will most likely need to amend one or both of the other components. For example, you have just taken a perfect shot at the correct exposure and then decided to increase the depth of field by using a smaller aperture opening. Now less light will hit the camera sensor (shot is underexposed). To regain the correct exposure, you will need to use either a slower shutter speed which increases the length of time that the light hits the sensor, or set a higher ISO to increase the sensor's sensitivity to light.

In general, when taking photographs of miniatures, I prefer a high depth of field so as to take in as much detail of the miniature(s) as possible. This means the lowest aperture size I can get away with before a lack of light becomes a hindrance. I also try not to set the shutter speed too low because although I use a tripod to take shots which can help mitigate against shaky hands, at a low enough shutter speed, the act of just pressing the shutter button itself can shake camera slightly and spoil your shot. This can be solved by using a camera trigger cable but I don't have one yet.  

Practical application of the Exposure Triangle
To show the effects of the exposure triangle when taking shots of miniatures, I decided to use two Word Bearers Anointed minis placed side-by-side but with one slightly behind the other. There was no editing done with any image software so the photos are WYSIWYG.

Shot 1: Shutter speed 1/500th of a second, Aperture at f4, ISO 400

Low depth of field at 1/500 - f4 - ISO 400

In my first shot, I used a low aperture setting of f4 which meant a very low depth of field, the effect of which is the blurred out miniature in the background, on the right.


Shot 2: Shutter speed 1/60th of a second, Aperture at f11, ISO 400

Better depth of field but still not good enough - 1/60 - f11 - ISO 400

To get a better depth of field I made use of an important concept in the exposure triangle i.e. reciprocal exposure. To keep it simple, reciprocity refers to the fact that shutter speed and aperture can be adjusted by the same amount in opposite directions to get the same exposure. In this case, I adjusted the shutter speed by three stops (one stop is a measure of light) from 1/500 to 1/60 while the aperture was also adjusted by three stops in the opposite direction from f4 to f11. (A quick search online should give you a chart showing various reciprocal exposure settings).

To explain further, I had reduced the shutter speed which allows more light into the sensor while lowering the aperture size (better depth of field) which reduces the amount of light that hits the sensor. End result is the same exposure as Shot 1 is maintained but at different shutter speed and aperture settings. Note that the ISO value is maintained at 400 so it is the constant variable here.


Shot 3: Shutter speed 1/30th of a second, Aperture at f16, ISO 400

Much better depth of field at 1/30 - f16 - ISO 400

While the depth of field on Shot 2 was much better, it was still not good enough as the miniature behind was still a bit blurry. Using the reciprocity rules, I increased depth of field and compensated with a lower shutter speed. But the shutter speed was so low that any slight vibrations of the camera would have resulted in a blurry picture. So a better solution if you do not have a tripod-camera cable trigger combo would be to take the shot at a shutter speed of 1/60. To get a better depth of field at even lower aperture settings, we will have to change the one thing kept constant so far - ISO. 


Shot 4: Shutter speed 1/60th of a second, Aperture at f22, ISO 1600 

Required depth of field at 1/60 - f22 - ISO 1600

Using the settings of Shot 2 as the base to work from, the aperture was set as low as the lighting conditions allowed which was f22. As I wanted to maintain the shutter speed at 1/60 that meant I had to change the ISO. Under the reciprocity rules, I set the ISO at 1600 to ensure that the exposure stayed the same as (or at least close to) all the other shots so far. Now the differences in the depth of field might not be substantial enough to necessitate reducing aperture settings to as low as f22 but that's a judgement call the photographer will have to take depending on the way the minis are set up.

Next up for macro photography: Achieving the perfect black background in your shots

Word Bearers at Golden Kris 2013

Yesterday, I took part in my first ever miniature painting competition and it was a real eye opener to be there in person to observe the beautifully painted works of many very talented painters. I was a bit hesitant to take part in the latest installment of Legio M'sia's Golden Kris but I have local hobbyists like Khairul, Iqbal, Alvin and Goh to thank, who in their own way helped embolden me to participate even though I felt my minis were not good enough. Encouraging words from bloggers like Jay, Prof Chaos, Sister Lucy, LordAK, Deathkorps, Snake88 (and others) were also always a boost to morale.

My cultists came in third in the unit category but I couldn't be happier

Meanwhile, it was as if my Word Bearers Chaos Cultists were dumbfounded that they had survived charging a fusillade of bolter fire to reach enemy lines and the surprised/shocked/stupid expression they had on their faces pretty much summed up how I must have looked while getting up to accept my third placing for the unit category. In fact, when pictures were being taken I was stuck between smiling and being shocked so I must have looked like a right idiot with a silly grimace on my face.

Looks like the Golden Daemon but only cooler in my opinion

The trophy was a cool looking sculpture done up by a local Malaysian artist, Jarold Ng. Thanks are also in order for the Legio members who had to fund the commission of this nice piece and for organising the event where miniatures painters like myself can be a part of.

Word Bearers Chaos Cultists that went to Golden Kris 2013

My two other Word Bearers pieces i.e. Dark Apostle and Helbrute didn't stand a chance in the event and rightly so. I managed to snap a few pictures of the event with my LG camera phone - it started working again after getting dropped to the floor but for some reason only saved photos to my SIM card which meant I could take only a few photos. My apologies for the less than stellar picture quality but I will post the link to the official photo gallery once they have it up on their site.

Selected pictures of the works of other entrants at Golden Kris 2013

Large Model Category - Bad Moonz Ork Battlewagon

Large Model Category - Night Lords Heldrake

Large Model Category - Khorne Daemon

Large Model Category - Red Scorpion Dreadnought

Duel Category - Khorne Bloodletter versus Raven Guard

Duel Category -Ultramarine versus Ork Nobz

Unit Category - Wood Elves

Single Model Category - Daemon

Single Model Category - Dark Eldar

Single Model Category - Non-GW mini

There were many more wonderfully painted miniatures on display and the photos you see above are just a small portion of the competition pieces on display. And as promised check out this space for the link to the official photos once they go online. (Link to official photos: To be updated later) Meanwhile, here is the link to the official blog post of the event.

Kingdom Death Pinup White Speaker [Completed]

After nearly two years since I first started painting miniatures, I finally plucked up enough courage to finish painting the Kingdom Death Pinup White Speaker miniature which also doubles up as a proxy for a Horus Heresy Word Bearers character called Cyrene Valantion. This miniature marks my second attempt at painting a female figure and its a small step towards emulating a painter whose work I really like: Jen Haley. I am still a long way off from such standards but I am determined to get there.

Kingdom Death Pinup White Speaker aka Cyrene Valantion

Didn't really get the belly dancer getup near her loin cloth but oh well

Does her attire qualify as a +5 armour?

Kingdom Death Pinup White Speaker (side view, right)

View of the Pinup White Speaker minus her fur cloak

If you could kindly take your eyes off her rear assets, you will notice that grass is dying along her wake

The devil wears Prada ... would you just look at those high heels!

Kingdom Death Pinup White Speaker (side view, left)

Bad undercoat means this model wasn't all she could be
This miniature didn't really get off to the best of starts because my lack of experience in using the Citadel Skull White spray resulted in the initial undercoat being powdery and chalky. Sadly enough, the same occurred for the Kingdom Death Pinup Saviour model that I am painting for my diorama. Since then, I have gotten some info on how best to use the Skull White spray so hopefully future minis won't get off to an inauspicious start. An alternative would be to use the Tamiya primer but the only Tamiya shop in the country didn't have any in stock which sucked.

Pinup White Speaker with her fur cloak
The Kingdom Death Pinup White Speaker actually had a fur cloak which attached to her back. But as I am still undecided as to whether to glue it on, I put some blue tack on the collar, stuck it on the miniature and took some pictures to show how she looks with the cloak on her back.

Applied some wet blending techniques on the inside of the cloak

Did some dry brushing on the outside of her cloak, a painting technique which for some reason I almost never use

Getting inspiration to paint her red hair
Now, natural red hair isn't a shocking Blood Red colour, rather it's more of a ginger hue. I checked out some famous Hollywood actresses sporting red hair (whether natural or not) in order to get some inspiration for painting a more natural looking red hair.

Clockwise from the upper left hand corner - Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Christina Hendricks and Emma Stone

Close-up of the Pinup White Speaker's hair

Burning black smoke
Meanwhile for the burning black smoke on the miniature's left hand, I used this beautiful photograph (see below) taken by a photographer and posted on this site. While I may have overdone the burning part when I should be emphasising the black smoke, I decided to leave it be for now.

Black smoke resulting from burning tyres

Close-up of the burning black smoke on the Pinup White Speaker's hand

Thanks for checking out my finished Kingdom Death mini. Please feel free to comment if you think there are parts of the mini that need improving. Any advice for this noob painter is most welcome.

Word Bearers Helbrute in a mini-diorama

After spending more than a month on the Helbrute, I have finally finished painting it ... at least I think I have. Some issues such as planning a mini-diorama in the Helbrute's base; incorporating the four Chaos gods' influence; doing some basic object source lighting as well as some repainting of the armour to show more depth resulted in this project taking longer than it should. And to add to my woes, I had to take about 150 over shots with various camera settings and lighting configurations (the Helbrute was too reflective but that's a story for another day) before I got the photos I wanted.

Word Bearers Helbrute and a warrior of Guilliman

Are you talking to me?

Side view (right) of the Word Bearers Helbrute

OSL effect from the vents is most obvious from this angle

Back view of the Helbrute with the Ultramarine's back armour on the ground

Initially I wanted to put a Space Marine head trophy at the end of the left arm's chain

Side view (left) of the Word Bearers Helbrute

From here you can see that the Ultramarine's line of sight is facing the Helbrute's face

I might still do some touch-ups/repaints later once I have had a fews days of looking over it. Overall, I believe I have done just about the best I could based on my current painting skill level. There are so many other painting techniques that I want to learn and utilise. I am taking stock of my shortcomings by doing plenty of soul searching as to the things I am doing wrong as well as the things that I am neglecting due to lack of patience, some of which I will write about and address in future posts.

Side view of the mini-diorama

Close up of the dying Ultramarine

Ripped off his back, the Ultramarine's back armour lies on the ground

I was very unhappy with my Dark Apostle which I completed previously as I thought I did some sloppy and lazy work which resulted in the armour looking very flat. I did the best repair job I could by painting in several layers of varying ratios of Red Gore:Blood Red.

My version of Marduk and the Warmonger (of the Black Library Word Bearers trilogy fame)

Back view of the Word Bearers Dark Apostle and Helbrute

With such a long time spent on my Word Beares army so far, my 2Q 2013 hobby schedule is dead on the water. While I am suppose to paint my Black Legion army concurrently, for some reason, I am not quite looking forward to it. I am contemplating taking a break from painting an army for gaming and re-starting my diorama project involving a Lord of the Rings Dragon and a Kingdom Death miniature, which will give me more opportunities to try out new painting techniques and improve myself. As always, thanks for reading and may your brushes stay pointy.