NMM (non-metallic metal) has always been a pain in the arse. Gold would look like wood, silver would look like blue wood. And if I spent too long on it, it would end up just looking white. Horribly frustrating and difficult. So to get back into the swing of blogging and painting again I am determined to get good at this technique.
Day 5: Steel, Gold and Silver.
This subject has hundreds of tutorials all over the internet, you can find reference for every type of metal and material on google, and facebook has pages dedicated to teaching it to you. So I don't think my views on it will help So here's a couple of things that I've found out from the first week of doing this. (I've not set myself a time limit for it, I'll just keep going until I can do it in my sleep)
1. Don't worry if it doesn't look like metal. Until the final highlight is down and dry it won't look like metal. Even when it's finished it won't take some pictures and pick it back up. Your tricking the eye into seeing something that isn't there. These are shades of grey and blue no reflection is happening. So stick to the reference and then come back to it.
2. Don't paint with anything other than a matte medium. This might be a personal preference but using a flat matte medium to mix my paints stops your eye being drawn to anything other than the reflections I am painting with.
3. Dont be precious about perfect lines. Razor sharp lines in reflected light may seem to be a good idea to aim for but I've had much more success with something more abstract. implying the armour or metal isn't a perfectly flat surface, but more of a hammered used material.
4. Don't practice on a full character. Grab some unused weapons or chunks of armour, spray 20 of them black and stick them on corks. The idea of painting a full character in this manner is daunting, and when you first set out you'll be improving so fast that by the time you finish it you'll want to start again.
Here are a few WIP pics and tests from the first 4 days.
It's a blast to be back! And for any who are interested I am still working hard at ILM.
Happy painting!
Henry
