Wes Custom: When teh ebil Shreddar attax!

[BigApple3AM]

Wow that looks great, nice paint work!

[Powder]

Indeed, its looking beastly, man.

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by Wes

Thanks, LA.

PROGRESS!




Even with the unsteady edges of the yellow eyes, you don't even want to know how much time I spent painting just that bloody head. People have made multiple customs in less time.

Oh, crap, man. I hadn't seen this head shot. It looks amazing. I'm going to ask you for painting tips.

And, on second thought, don't enter the contest thanks man

[Wes]

Originally Posted by Nelson

And, on second thought, don't enter the contest thanks man

I need encouragement, not discouragement! It's already quite possible that I won't finish this thing on time. ohwell:

But since you like it, here's another pic of that head:



The mold lines on the top of the helmet after I originally painted it bugged the crap out of me, so I sanded and resculpted the top area numerous times in an attempt to get rid of them. The overall result isn't nearly different enough to justify the amount of time I spent doing that -- the shadows on the helmet look deeper and it has a slightly more crackled appearance, but otherwise it looks about the same -- but at least I was able to remove the mold lines to my satisfaction.

[Mutated Turtle]

Originally Posted by Nelson

And, on second thought, don't enter the contest thanks man

What the hell? you are way rude.

On topic:That Shredder looks amazing, Wes!

[VaughnMichael]

Wes, it's looking great!
If there is one thing I've learn since starting, it's that you do them as you want because people are always going to have something negative to say.

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

Originally Posted by pipsqueak

What the hell? you are way rude.

I think Nelson was making a joke...he doesn't want everyone else to lose.

[Blade Raider]

jokes...why the internet has smilies.

It's looking great Wes. Others may be faster, but you have quality.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by Blade Raider

jokes...why the internet has smilies.

sarcasm should be in yellow text, angry comments in red, jealousy in green.
and underage people should write in pink, FBI agents in blue

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by Wes

The mold lines on the top of the helmet after I originally painted it bugged the crap out of me, so I sanded and resculpted the top area numerous times in an attempt to get rid of them. The overall result isn't nearly different enough to justify the amount of time I spent doing that -- the shadows on the helmet look deeper and it has a slightly more crackled appearance, but otherwise it looks about the same -- but at least I was able to remove the mold lines to my satisfaction.

Hey, it's true! The original Wacky Action Shredder does have some marked mold lines in the head. You really got rid of them because they are not noticeable at all in yours. Congratulations, man. But really, I'd like some painting tips. I've tried the drybrushing and wash techniques that are explained in some tutorials on the web but I must be doing something wrong, as they never end up the way I intended.

Originally Posted by pipsqueak

What the hell? you are way rude.

Come on, man. I had just said that it looked amazing. That last sentence was a joke (a bad one), as Oroku_CJJ pointed out.

In any case, I'd like to state that this particular post contains 0 sarcasm. That's why there are no words in yellow. Sorry for the confusion.

[Wes]

It's going to be a squeaker, but I think I'm on track to have Cyber Shredder presentable before the contest deadline! Just need to wait a half hour for this last bit of paint to dry, then add some satin finish for a metal sheen and wait some more... and then we should be ready to shoot.

Originally Posted by Nelson

Hey, it's true! The original Wacky Action Shredder does have some marked mold lines in the head. You really got rid of them because they are not noticeable at all in yours. Congratulations, man.

I appreciate it... those things really got on my nerves! I've sanded down mold lines elsewhere, but in many cases I just leave them alone. Those lines right on the top of Shredder's noggin right bugged me to death, though.

Originally Posted by Nelson

But really, I'd like some painting tips. I've tried the drybrushing and wash techniques that are explained in some tutorials on the web but I must be doing something wrong, as they never end up the way I intended.

Well, I painted Shredder almost entirely with drybrushing (aside from the unpainted flesh of the arms, only the area with his eyes wasn't drybrushed), so I'd like to think I've gotten quite good at it during the time I've spent working on this thing. What specifically is giving you problems with the technique? It looks like you did a good job with it on Casey and April way back when.

Washes I'm less skilled with, but I do okay on that front. What problems are you having there?

Originally Posted by Nelson

Come on, man. I had just said that it looked amazing. That last sentence was a joke (a bad one), as Oroku_CJJ pointed out.

And yeah, I figured you were joking! It's cool.

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by Wes

Well, I painted Shredder almost entirely with drybrushing (aside from the unpainted flesh of the arms, only the area with his eyes wasn't drybrushed), so I'd like to think I've gotten quite good at it during the time I've spent working on this thing. What specifically is giving you problems with the technique? It looks like you did a good job with it on Casey and April way back when.

Washes I'm less skilled with, but I do okay on that front. What problems are you having there?

Yeah, I should have been more specific. Well, with washes what happens to me is that if the brush is too dry, the resulting paint application is hardly noticeable, requiring multiple coats. Is that normal? If I apply a littile more paint in the brush, the proccess is faster, but the brush strokes are noticeable in the figure afterwards.

With washes it's worse. instead of the paint ending deposited in the details of the sculpt, it creates a weird camouflage effect in the figure. And in some parts you can even see some dripping stains once it's dry. And once dry, you can't undo it. Frustrations galore. It could be the paint/water ratio used, but I've tried augmenting the water ratio and I still get the weird camouflage effect. You see, the torso of my Cyber-Shredder custom was washed. It certainly doesn't look like it was, as the muscles are not defined as they should after a wash. I'm beggining to think that after the wash, one is supposed to dry brush the figure with the base color (the one used before the wash), to eliminate the camouflage and end up with only the parts that accentuate the sculpt. But the tutorials don't mention that so I'm confused.

I know it must be hard to you to understand this via text and offer a solution. You don't have to. I guess I just wanted to share my frustations (what a drama queen.)

[Wes]

Nelson: I take it you meant to refer to drybrushing rather than washing in the first part, yes? If so, yes -- it's definitely normal to have to go over drybrushed areas multiple times, and you want to leave as little paint as possible on there to avoid showing brush strokes (unless you want the brush strokes to show; sometimes that's a desirable effect). I think I did about six passes of the magenta on Cyber Shredder, followed by two more passes in a lighter pink just to mute the contrast a bit. With the wrapping on the arms, I started with a black base and drybrushed pewter grey, white, and then antique (somewhat yellowed) white -- with multiple passes of each (and some quaker grey at times, outside of the standard progression above, to mute the colors and provide for additional blending).

At any rate, unless you want different effects (I left more paint on the brush for the darker purple on Rottn Ratt and then "properly" drybrushed the lighter coat overtop, which as you can see provided a much different look than that of Shredder's outfit... though the relative softness of the Splinter sculpt was also a factor there), it's better to have less paint on the brush with drybrushing.

Washes are trickier, and admittedly I still haven't gotten the hang of them entirely. Here's what I've learned, though. First: it's tempting to think that you want to leave more paint in the brush when washing, since you want it to pool in the recesses of the sculpt. But if you have too much on the brush, it'll collect everywhere... which is how you end up with the camo designs. Wipe the brush off like you would when painting normally, then proceed to paint in long, even strokes. Paint in one direction, and don't aim for complete coverage (i.e. don't pass over the same area multiple times, which I tend to do when painting normally).



And here's a trick I like to use. After the paint has been on there for about a minute but is still wet, take a damp cloth or paper towel and gently wipe the surface of your item, which will get rid of the excess on the top but leave some of the paint in the recesses -- which is what you want. Like see how the indents on the Foot Ninja's vest are more pronounced? That's partly the light, but also because of the black wash (even though I wiped most of it off; contrast that with the unwashed gloves). It also helped to make the brown/red less bright than it was before.

However, even a perfect wash isn't only going to darken the recesses -- you're still going over your entire surface, so it's going to darken the raised areas too (just not as much). As such, if you want the raised areas to remain the same color that you had before, you should indeed plan on drybrushing over them again... though in that instance I'd probably just drybrush the piece from the start and skip the wash altogether. I think washes work best on figures with bare plastic (I used washes on my HML Wolverine modification to add depth to the bright yellow and unpainted flesh) or to add distracting grunge to painted areas that look too bright and/or aren't painted/sculpted especially well (like I did with the claws on that figure).

Of course, some people like to mix and match, and each technique has its place, but in general I think I prefer drybrushing to washing. Of course, most novices do, and my opinion of washes might improve if/when I get better at applying them!

Moving on...

So I posted the combined contest image in that thread, but here are a few solo shots. Maybe even more pics to come after I've done a few minor touch-ups, but yeah.



"Classic" helmet, with yellow cyber eyes (when I played TMNT Tournament Fighters as a kid, I always thought Shredder's eyes were glowing yellow).



"Super" head, with normal eyes for vintage appeal.



And per Shredder's appearance in the game, the shoulder armor and cape are removable!

Recipe: ML Wonder Man base; knees and lower legs from XMC Magneto; vintage TMNT Super Shredder and Slice 'n' Dice Shredder heads; Super Shredder armor.

So it took me forever and ended up being way more challenging/ambitious than I'd originally intended (before I was pretty much going to glue Super Shredder armor on Wonder Man and call it a day; you can see the early pics in this thread for an idea of what I was planning at first), but I'm really pleased with the result and think I've learned a lot over the course of creating this bad boy.

And I've already begun work on my second Shredder!



Assuming I'm able to finish it "quickly" and with much less effort (which shouldn't be a problem, since I have a game plan and know what I'm doing this time around), I think I'll try to sell this one. :d

[Ninjinister]

What exactly is drybrushing? I was once told that it consisted of just getting a bit of paint on the tip of one's brush, but that never produces any different effects than standard brushing, for me....

[RayH]

Just so totally blown away by this figure, The drybrushing is just so well done, its the perfect base body to capitolize on drybrushing as well since the BP sculpt has so much texture. Love the blades so much, they make shredder look very imposing.

easily one of the best TMNT customs i've seen, and I think it would be a crime if this doesnt win the contest.

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by Wes

MEGA TUTORIAL

Wow, Wes, thank you! You went above and beyond the call of duty, those are super-precise instructions! Yes, I mixed up the terms and said wash when I was talking abour drybrushing at first. It's good to know that I was not doing it badly, but that I was not doing it enough (please pipsqueak, don't take that sentence out of context.) I'll have to be patient and apply many coats to truly see the effect. You also answered another doubt I had but forgot to ask: how to know when to use drybrush and when to use wash. Thanks again.

I want to paint the Shredder again but I'm kind of nervous about it, so I'll try my new knowledge on that Max Winters figure I bought some months ago specifically to repaint it and see if I can make him look less McDonaldish.

Originally Posted by Wes

"Classic" helmet, with yellow cyber eyes (when I played TMNT Tournament Fighters as a kid, I always thought Shredder's eyes were glowing yellow).

This is the best pic so far.

Cyber Shredder does have yellow eyes, but for some reason the in-game sprite has them white. I was going to paint mine's yellow, but changed my mind at the last minute.

Originally Posted by Wes

And I've already begun work on my second Shredder!

Very cool.

Oh, Ninjister, in drybrushing you have to use the brush (with paint on it) on a piece of paper cloth so that the brush loses some of the paint and end somewhat dry, and it's after that that you paint the figure, softly. That way the paint doesn't cover all the parts of the figure, just the "bumpy" parts of the sculpt.

[Wes]

Thanks so much, guys! And I'm honored, RayH -- what with your awesome original sculpts and nifty repainted NECA Turtles, praise from you really makes me feel special.

Originally Posted by Nelson

Cyber Shredder does have yellow eyes, but for some reason the in-game sprite has them white. I was going to paint mine's yellow, but changed my mind at the last minute.

Actually, I'm now pretty sure they're supposed to be white in the game (the pic in my sig is made from Shredder's ending in part). I always thought they were yellow based on the select screen/vs pics, but actually that's more of a flesh color.

Yellow eyes are cooler, though.

Originally Posted by Nelson

Oh, Ninjister, in drybrushing you have to use the brush (with paint on it) on a piece of paper cloth so that the brush loses some of the paint and end somewhat dry, and it's after that that you paint the figure, softly.

When I drybrush, I start by vigorously brushing the brush onto a piece of paper -- rubbing it hard back and forth, sometimes even twirling it to get everything -- until I can't see any more paint coming from the brush when I swipe it. Then I take it to the figure and start "dusting" it in back-and-forth strokes with the brush -- again, pretty vigorously, though I don't mash the brush down into the crevices. I mostly use a larger brush for the task, though a smaller brush is necessary to get into certain places (like between and below the blades of Shredder's armor).

Also, this ruins brushes pretty quickly -- but works even better with a "ruined" brush -- so I'd use a brush that's already damaged rather than one with straight and neat bristles.

[Topsu]

Hmm, I've been thinking about doing a Shredder custom for a while, but in Archie-comics style. I think I have extra Super Shredder, and I would get spikes from there, but what did you use for those claws?

I made Slash's claws from a scratch, but I wanted those to be less "clean" than Shredders. I'd also need to get me figures before I start, but I thought I'd ask beforehand.

[Wes]

Topsu: An Archie-style Shredder sounds cool! I actually have the parts to make one of those as well -- back when I wasn't sure I would be satisfied with this one, I started acquiring the necessary pieces to put together another Shredder if the need arose.

Anyway, I used curved plastic toothpicks for the claws. I'm not sure how well they'd work for an Archie Shredder (depending upon how accurate you want the claws to look), but I thought they were perfect for Cyber Shredder!

[Topsu]

Originally Posted by Wes

I'm not sure how well they'd work for an Archie Shredder (depending upon how accurate you want the claws to look), but I thought they were perfect for Cyber Shredder!

Well, all my customs have been semi-accurate, I want to make some artistic changes, since appearance of those characters depends much on drawer, especielly in Archie comics. So (if) I do Shredder, he'll be wearing purple/blue outfit with cape. Not too much more specifics, since sometimes he has tight clothes, while in others he his clothes just hang on him, even in same story they change it (Future Shark story for example).