Congrats, for the first this is awesome.

I think that the thing that many people leave a side, is colour theory. if you get better in this, your painting skills grow up very fast. You will learn a lot of how the colour works.
In a more technician way, need more cleaning stroke, and go on with the textures like leather, cottom, metals...
Nothing to difficult. Just paint as much as you like, and keep an critical eye on what you do.

Happy painting bro!

Welcome Dormarth, and what a great start

Flesh tones look ok to me to be honest, especially for a first figure, mine still don't look that good after 6+ months since returning to painting. I would call this one done, reflect on what could be improved and take that forward to the next project. That way you'll see real progress. After another 2 or 3 it's good to line everything up on your bench and prepare to be gobsmacked at the improvements from your first attempts to your latest, it's like watching evolution in practice

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work after this great start, thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Billy

P.s. Don't try to improve everything at once, you'll only get frustrated. For example, for your next project you might concentrate on nailing those fleshtones, or buy a figure with a lot of leather and concentrate on that. Slowly, slowly catchy monkey

Billy

P.p.s a nice figure to practice leather and skintones on is the Thracian Gladiator by Scale75 (i.e. Spartacus), there's basically nothing else to it.

Ok, I'll shut up now

Nice tip of eludia, one thing and next another. I colapsed myself sometimes trying to do a lot of things at once. Keep calm and happy painting

Many thanks everyone,

I have made a few changes so as soon as I get the time I shall upload some pictures, I can see improvement I would like to make but I have decided to regard my efforts complete rather than continue working on the same bust as to be honest I can tell fatigue is setting in and I don't want to fall out of love with such a great bust

Good call mate just put what you've learned into the next one
Steve

Looks well for me Dormath. I see you know what you want to get using the colors, shades, different tones... you only need more practise to dominate the pulse and gain precission.
Very well done for first attempt. I´m sure you will improve a lot for the next, because at this starting point, the advances are more obvious.
Keep painting...

Military miniatures painted by Eduardo Garcia

Looks good my friend. Since I'm also a novice myself, returning after many years of hiatus, I've discovered a few tips that may give you some direction as to what to focus on.

I think there are really two main things in paint (Anybody please add anything that you think are important)


1. Technical (Brush control, thinning paint, paint application, blending, using medium, handling metallic paints... etc.)

2. Artistic (Color combinations, choosing highlighting colors, balancing out tones, compositions, hue variations, values of the hue.... etc)

The first part you will probably master within a few mins that you paint; the latter will probably take much longer (unless you already have some knowledge in color theory).

I'm somewhat stuck at the beginning of stage two; my highest art education was in grade 7. After that its just science (left brain) stuff. So yea, I have quite a bit of making up to do.

Looking at your flesh tones, however, you seem to be doing a fine job!! Especially this is your first miniature!! My first few had flesh colors that looked like you put the person through a beef jerky manufacturing process then sundry him for a few days... Either that or it ends up looking like a 4000 year old mummy.....

Anyway, best of luck!!

Shawn

Many thanks for the comments hoping to make my second figure better than the first

You've done a very good job considering it's your first figure,you will only learn from experience and painting more figures my friend,As I have already said its a very good sart.

Brian

Just about to start my first figure, if it's a tenth as good as yours I will be more than happy! More power to your brush.

Thanks Simon,

A little tip from me being my first figure take you time and no matter what goes wrong remember you can always strip it and start again

Yep, thats likly to happen!