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Weathering Help


Rudebrook
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Okay, I've been at the weathering stage for over a week now and I've only worked on the arm pieces (shoulder bells, biceps, forearms and hand guards). I just can't seem to get this right.

From all the pics I've seen and all the weathering tutorials there are out there, mine looks nothing like them. It's starting to get really frustrating.

I've done 5 or 6 layers on some parts. I've wiped them down and started anew a few times already. Every time it ends up looking the same. Here are some pics. Maybe just changing a few details will make me happy. Any advice or comments are welcome.

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Hey bro... First thing is DON'T STRESS....lol

Try diluting your main body color with different levels of a sand color. Add your earth tones and just paint let dry and wipe with a crumpled piece paper and a cloth. Take your time....its looking good

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I actually think it looks good! I'm only doing the "one color" approach with mine. I think Rolf pointed out that they used oil mixed with dirt on the armor, and I'm sure being in the desert helped. It's interesting to see the first scenes shot had darker weathering (look sir droids scene) and then the weathering gets lighter in latter scenes that were shot (eg: docking bay 94).

People take different approaches. Some like to use multiple layers of varying colors, some only like to do a one color, etc. It depends on what you're trying to go for.

I'll try and post some pictures today, but I'm only going to do 2 passes to try and get the "walked off the set" look with one color. As opposed to the multilayer look.

*ps: a painting tip (coming from an illustrator). Paint the darker colors first, after it dries do a pass with the lighter colors. It looks more fake if you do the dark ones last.

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Hey Rick,

Actually, it does not look bad at all.

Just like Dirty Boy said, don't stress. This is supposed to be fun. :)

If it is not fun at some point, leave it alone for a few days and come back with fresh eyes and mind.

But then, it looks good to me already.

Dont compare your actual parts with pictures of other people so harsh. Weathering appears different in pictures than it is in real life. A good idea could be to compare the pictures of your weathering to other pictures. Or real armor parts to real armor parts.

If there are areas of your weathering that you don't like, try wiping it off slowly until you like it, or until you can start all over again. My bet is that unless you like the really dirty look, you will get a look you are happy with before you wipe it all and have to start again.

One thing I must ask is: Is this armor new, or have you trooped with it before?

If it is an older armor, scratches and rubbed plastic will keep more paint than smooth surfaces. So that could make it look weird sometimes.

Also, either if it is new or old armor, did you washed it with soap and water before applying the paint? Sometimes, plastic is covered with different chemicals previous to thermoforming (in plastic factories I mean), or even during the actual armor forming. This could affect how the paint and plastic reacts.

But don't stress much bro,

For what I can see, your weathering is in the right pad already.

I actually like it a lot.

And one final advice (for now), the parts on their own might look weird sometimes, but once you wear it all together, it has a different look. Maybe try the armor once and have your picture taken. It may give you some other insight and feeling on the weathering.

Hope it helps.

Saludos

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I think your doing a great job and it kinda resembles my armor. Like the others said bro, have fun with it. The weathering is about personal taste, their is no guideline to follow here. If you took 10 members here and lined them up, none of them would look the same.

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Agree with the rest Rick. Now that Im not trying to look at from my iPhone or as I like to call it "The Droid Killer"...it really does look pretty good. Its going to be in line with my weathering so when we troop together we will be close.

anyway as i stated earlier....DONT STRESS....walk away from it...and you will do just fine :)

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Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. I think I'm going to step away from it for a day or two and concentrate on some backpack work I need to do. My worry is that if I'm not comfortable with the job I'm doing now, what happens when I get to more difficult parts like the helmet or chest.

I'll try the thighs in a few days and let you know how that goes. Maybe I just need to stop dwelling on the same parts.

And it has been extremely fun! Part of wants to see the finished project but the other part of me enjoys having it to work on. Now I know why no one stops after one set!

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Your weathering looks good! One of the things that I like about going dirty is how everyone puts their different spin on the weathering and like bountyone said if you line up 10 troopers none of them will look the same. The great thing about it is that even if your weathering is darker, lighter, more, or less than other peoples it doesn't make it wrong. It gives your armor personality.

As for moving on to the harder pieces, I was worried about the same thing. I just forged ahead and waited to see the big picture (everything put together) to see what I thought. I didn't necessarily like the individual pieces after they were weathered, but when I put the armor back on the mannequin I was really happy with the result.

Most of all, listen to Juan... This is supposed to be fun!

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and addictive :P

Aint that the truth!!! Its really cool when you can look back to your original "submission" pics and see a HUGE difference from the work that was done as opposed to the work you are doing. With every skill, practice leads to perfection.

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Aint that the truth!!! Its really cool when you can look back to your original "submission" pics and see a HUGE difference from the work that was done as opposed to the work you are doing. With every skill, practice leads to perfection.

Yep, thats 100% true!

Check this out.

This is my first armor:

post-1761-009838400 1284477782_thumb.jpg

Of course cardboard is not as shiny as ABS but...

And this is my last armor as it was a few months ago.

post-1761-078390000 1284477818_thumb.jpg

Not so much difference except for the weathering... ;) LOL!!!

And this is my first Vader costume... not that I will be making a new one, but...

post-0-027505800 1284477877_thumb.jpg

See.... practice makes perfect!

:D

Saludos.

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That vader rocks! It's based on a very early Ralph McQuarrie sketch isn't it?! :D

See.... practice makes perfect!

This isn't actually true you know. I mean I could practice Spanish my whole life, but unless I was instructed in what Spanish was in the first place I would never speak it. And, even if I learned it correctly I could never be PERFECT at it. :P

So, the saying SHOULD go, "Practice based on correct instruction advances one towards the goal of perfection."

But, of course, that's just silly. :lol:

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Or, maybe...

"practice with a improvement oriented instruction and being a good disciplined and skilled apprentice might make one better in any given skill or field of study, but anyway, if you feel like it is too hard or not worth the effort given the time it takes to actually see improvements, we will not blame you if you quit, but blame your parents and the way they rise you, the society for being so permitting and politically correct (and if in Mexico, also the government), but never you."

HEHEHE!!

That vader rocks! It's based on a very early Ralph McQuarrie sketch isn't it?! :D

Yep... did you noticed the concept board accurate rolled paper lightsaber?LOL!!

I have another one with an accurate toy M16 rifle!

From the cut out scene where Vader was going to Vietnam.

Saludos

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And this is my first Vader costume... not that I will be making a new one, but...

I'm pretty sure my first Vader costume looked exactly the same. The only difference was the lightsaber. I had gotten a plastic one for my birthday (and I always remember these) that had a whistle vent at the top and made whooshing sounds when you swung it.

When I finish my TD, maybe I will post pictures with the Vader costume as my before and after representation of my skills. I think practice has shown an unquestioned improvement even in the last week.

Now I'm fired up. I want to get out of work and take another stab at it tonight!

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