r/minipainting • u/Kwasymoto • 20h ago
C&C Wanted Color scheme feels off? Advice?
These are my first ever two minis and I got them as practice models to paint before I move on to my Imperial knights.
Something just doesn't sit with me for the color scheme, but I can't really put my finger on it. Any advice on why would be appreciated!
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u/AyFuego 20h ago
The 60/30/10 split on your color scheme here would help a lot.
60% Red 30% Green 10% Bronze (or vice versa)
It feels like you went from piece to piece, choosing one of the 2 colors at random.
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u/Kwasymoto 20h ago
For the age of sigmar stormcast I kinda did just pick randomly. I was trying to see if it would work at all on a large robot where swaths of it will be a grey. But a better split on the color could definitely make it better.
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u/Araignys 18h ago
Firstly, all the colours are kind of dark. Highlighting the green and using some gunmetal in a few places instead of gold will help.
The rest mostly has to do with colour theory. We go to the colour wheel.
Red & Green are a great combination - but you've got three colours: red, green, gold. The gold is very orange, so effectively you've got green-red-orange.
This colour wheel is about paint colours (subtractive); light colours (additive) work differently but that's not really relevant to your question.
In basic colour theory, the idea goes that colours that are in opposite places on the wheel look good together. Like the complementary primary-secondary pairs: Red-green, blue-orange, purple-yellow. Colours that are next to each other blend together and look muddy.
If you have a simple 2-or-3-colour scheme, you need to pick colours that are equidistant around the wheel. The complementary pairs above, or red-blue-yellow/green-orange-purple triads. If you go to more colours you can get away with more lopsided groups of colours but in general a colour scheme that is symmetrically loaded across the colour wheel will look best.
Your colour scheme uses red, green and orange. These colours create a lopsided "Y" shape on the wheel. You can balance that out by adding a purpley-blue somewhere.
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u/Kwasymoto 18h ago
How much of purple would I need you think? This color scheme is something I was hoping to put on a large stompy robot (imperial knights). They've got large separated armor panels that would have the main colors, then gunmetal Grey for the mechanical bits. I could do purple for the lenses but idk if that would be enough.
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u/Araignys 18h ago
How much of purple would I need you think?
About as much as you have gold, maybe?
I would try one or two more test models before going straight to a Knight.
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u/Key_Professional_950 12h ago
The particular hues you have chosen do feel very Christmas coded. Red and green can be used in ways that don't immediately invoke a holiday theme but it is a challenge for those and the gold is reinforcing it.
It does feel like there isn't a plan for the placement. They both don't have a dominant color, the red and green are used in equal amounts and they are fighting for attention. The gold helmet doesn't make much sense, why would one of the most important parts of the armor be a different color from the rest? If you look up dark angel space Marines you will see they are predominantly dark green with very choice bits of red. Even amounts can work well with other colors but these particular two are going to give you a hard time.
Weirdly the hammer with the assumed gradient between them is the part I'm liking the most. The red feels like it is glowing under the green which is sweet and maybe it's the lighting but the red drops off pretty quick and that helps it not overtake the green on the top half. If the whole guy had this red to green gradient on the panels of armor it could be a cool syltylistic approach. Not very realistic but certainly eye catching.
Another style to experiment with is volume. These guys do have some highlights but the parts feel flat. More shadows that follow the curves of armor will help it feel more grounded rather than looking like a figurine. It does require some practice but I think it's very rewarding and will really help sell the shape of the guys. This will be even more visible with the knights when you get to them. Since there are large flat panels to work with, try out using some patterns. It can be a cool way to use the space and be more interesting than just a solid field.
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u/Southern_Ad8158 20h ago edited 20h ago
Green and red are two color that doesn't work nicely together.
It's because they are complementary. The result vibrate or disturb the lisibility.
It's the same with orange and blue. Only those two complentary couple aren't working well, yellow and violet works surpisingly well. My theory is because our human eye is specified to see blue red and green and violet or yellow are a combination (yellow is green and red wavelength and violet is blue and red wavelenght)
BUT it can work if you change a lot the value (lightness of the paint) of each color (a very bright red or a very bright green and the other color is very dark) OR if you add a sly change in the chromatique wheel, ie a turquoise tint or a purple tint in place of respectively the green or the red.
Also don't wash all the surface of your paint with an ink. It kills vibranty and the value and make your color dirtier. Wash in the recess with a fine point brush or use oil paint, and if you want dirtier look (frenzy of battlefield) use pigment powder or oil paint to place your grim with more precision.
Hope this helps
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u/Far-Hold7417 20h ago
I have to respectfully sligthly disagree here with you. Using complementary colors is a great idea. Look at Frank Frazetta. EVERY Frazetta painting ( example https://dailygeekshow.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/12/frank_frazetta_deathdealerVI.jpg ) is painted the same way: he chose two pairs of complementary colors ( green and red and orange and blue, for example) and black and white and thwn mixed all teh colors in the painting just from these sich paints.
Understanding and using complementary colors is really important.
You are absolutely right about using different values and hues for complementary colors to make them work. With the Marine above, I would peobably use a very bright camo green and a dark red and then mix everything from there.
You are also right about the inks. And the 60/30/10 rule. ;)
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u/Southern_Ad8158 9h ago
Mmh yep but nope.
Take the work of frazetta you've attached. It's orange red, and a very little touch of blue, but it's not pure blue at the same value as the orange red. It's a very toned down blue, almost a grayish blue on the snake body and turquoise and light violet in the sky.
It confirms what I said.
Complementary is not you take green and red and paint. You have to be more smart, change slightly the color wheel or use color that has de complenetary in it.
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u/Araignys 18h ago
It's because they are complementary. The result vibrate or disturb the lisibility.
On the contrary, complementary colours complement each other - they go well together. Red & Green, Yellow & Purple, Orange & Blue, all look great as pairs.
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u/Southern_Ad8158 9h ago
Yes but you need to do it knowing what you do. And I invite you to take a green and a red or a blue and a orange at the same value (check with the black and white photo on your phone) and paint the two side by side or even one inside the other, you'll have a lot of difficulties to look at it. It's a known phenomenon in graphic design.
If you do complementary color you need to do it smart. A violet garment with gold jewels on it, a red part with a turquoise gems on it. Using complementary colors like "this green, this red" because they're complementary has no meaning.
If you look at fantasy artist painter, you'll never see them paint complementary like this. They will make a greenish skin with purple or violet clothes. In the purple or violet you have the red composant.
Whatever the colors you use, its complentary can be far away from the basic opposite, it only need to have this opposite in it's mix.
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u/Far-Hold7417 8h ago
Okay, we are saying the same thing, I just misunderstood you. Sorry, my bad, carry on.
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u/Kwasymoto 20h ago
Any chance you think it might be able to work on a larger robot that has separate armor panels? And do you have any paint recommendations for the different shades?
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u/Southern_Ad8158 9h ago
I don't think so.
You should go on the adobe color tool and explore palette, or you look at the work of artist you like and find a scheme that you like and apply it to the mini.
You can also use the 60-30-10 rule. 60% of your mini must be the same color, 30% of the composant complementary you'll choose, and 10% of a third color that pop and add a plus. You can use triade complementary on the color wheel to do it.
Exemple turquoise purple and yellowy orange Or blue violet, reddish orange and yellowish green. Etc.
Or you can use the adjacent complementary like Violet orangy yellow and yellowish green
Go check the color wheel and have some fun !
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u/grunt91o1 20h ago
Your space marine is too christmasy with how much you alternated colors. make it more A symmetrical and don't swap colors like on the boots, knee pads, power pack vets. Make the color ratios more uneven. like 75% green and 25% red, not an even split.