Green or brown carapaces.. what do you think ?(pic heavy)

[krede]

So.. I wasn't 100% sure the brown/cream/nougat colour scheme would work out so I did up an alternative in a much more healthy Green to compare.









I still lean towards the original brown scheme, though I think I will be adding a few "insect " markings in bright yellow to the carapaces of the synapse creatures..

But which one do you like best ?

[Davor]

I quit again. Just when I was about to pic up the paint brush I see this great work and look at my stuff and I am all degected again.

Great job. At first I say brown, but the problem is for me, it's too brown, so at least the green gives it some contrast. Still these are your minis and I think the all brown is better except for the top view.

My god that green pattern looks great. So I say do both. Keep the browns for when they are on a dirt like surface or in the city and the green when they are in a vegetation surface like forests or jungles.

On the side views, the green is kinda of meh but top view it's freeking awesome. So I say do both.

[Deleted]

I'm a big fan of green, but I feel like the highlighting on the green is too bright for my tastes. They're well done, I just don't like it as much as the darker one.

The darker one is AWESOME, the blending and color transitioning makes them look very realistic.

[almostmercury]

As it stands, I don't like the green at all. The technique is excellent, but the colours are out of balance. I wouldn't change the flesh part at all, so if you're happy with that I'd recommend one of the following...

Monochrome: keep in mind that your browns are really just oranges with different values and saturation, a fancy way of saying your colours are a base of orange with varying amounts of black, grey, or white added to them. So, going to a more pure orange hue could also look really good while creating a nice monochrome contrast.

Harmony: since you've already added red, so could run a harmony with your oranges adding more red or some yellow.

Triad: you could also exchange your red hues for purple and keep the green Carapace. I think that should balance it out.

All of this being said, it's obviously your choice how you paint your models. But I would recommend the following articles, as they go over colour theory in the most clear and comprehensive way I have found on the web so far.

theback40k.blogspot.ca/p/color-theory-archive.html

Hope this helps.

Oh, and for your carapace feathering, did you use three or four shades? I can't quite make it out.

[GuardDog78]

Love the way the green pops...but the brown looks more natural...more realistic, so I gotta go brown.

[BattleMetalChris]

Green for me.

Maybe try it on a big one, see if it still works with the much larger carapace?

[liberame]

I'm a fan of the brown myself

[krede]

Thanks for the feedback everybody

almostmercury: I see what you are getting at. One issue I have with the brown version is that it has turned out very grey/cream, when what I was going for was a more "warm" orangey look to the carapace.(my girlfriend pointed out that it looked like a dessert!)

I think the brown got 3 layers and the green got four with a yellow ink glaze afterwards.
One annoying issue I have when doing the feathering highlights is that the paint either won't leave the brush!! or get so thin that I I can't do the "stripe" effect, but just blobs onto the miniature .. any advice ?

battlemetalchris: Yahh looking at your critters I would figure that you would go for the bright screaming green! , your paint scheme is extremely bold, far to bold for me, but you pull it off,and it looks SICK! (cant wait to see the rest of the army when you finish it in about.... say 10 years ? )

[BattleMetalChris]

Thanks :-) I've got a few more to show in the next few days. Also, the freckles on the shoulders of yours inspired me, I might try something like that on mine.

Regarding the blobbing paint, you could try a wet palette. You get some tissue folded into ten or so layers and wet it. Then lay a square of baking parchment over the top, and use that as your pallette. The parchment lets just enough water through that it stops the paint from drying out, without watering it down.
You can put the whole thing in an airtight box with a lid and if you seal it after use, the paint can stay usable for days. 

youtu.be/96mjmqWTPfM

You could also try a pot of Lahmian medium, and mix a couple of drops in.

[krede]

Looking forward to seeing your work . I have all ready tried using Lahmian medium.. but I think I will eventually give the whet palette a go. As for the spots, I will experiment with painting them black near the carapace instead of just using brown.. that might look more realistic.

[vespa]

I like the green. But it end to like schemes with a lot of contrast between the carapace and the rest of the body.

[JMech]

I like the brown, much more natural in colour. And now your girlfriend has said it looks like a desert, even more tasty. But personal taste, you've gotta paint them. Either way great scheme whichever you go for.

[monkeychuka]

Brown! No, green! Oh I don't know. Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!

[krede]

Ha ha ha ha

[jawsgid]

Both look great dude, but for what it's worth I prefer the brown