CARNOTAURUS repaints/ruined figures…

[CARN0TAURUS]

This is the one that set me back down this path 5 years ago.  It not only got me back into collecting but it also compelled me to fool around with the repainting concept as a hobby all unto itself.  So it makes me happy when I look at it because of all the joy I've discovered since I started painting dinosaurs.  In the past I would only buy figures that I really liked overall (including paint).  Unfortunately I'd routinely passed on figures that didn't have a paint scheme that appealed to me even tho I really liked the sculpt  

Well, that was not going to be an option with this figure!  I was going to buy it even tho I didn't like the finish because I love the way it looks.  As a kid I might've cut off a finger just to have a dinosaur this nice, LOL!  I love the pose because of the feeling that it get from looking at it.  It feels like something very dramatic is about to happen. 

I decided to take matters into my own hands and change a couple of things about it even tho I had zero experience in modifying models of animals.  I figured if I ruin it I'm out another $17 bucks I'll spend for a new one.  The claws on the hands looked like bananas to me and the paint finish resembled a sea gray color better suited for marine animals like sharks or stingrays.  I thinned out the claws with an exacto knife, gave it a brighter coat of paint, and added some plants plus a muddy wet look to the base. 

I'm not going to lie and say I'm over the moon with how it turned out.  But I will say this, I know that I enjoy looking at it more now than before I painted it.  And because it's my first repaint I will not be changing anything on it for sentimental reasons

[CARN0TAURUS]

As the title of the thread implies, I'll be posting some stuff I'm happy with AND some stuff that didn't turn out as I had envisioned it in my mind, LOL!

[paintingdinos]

Looks great to me! The Safari Giga was the first dinosaur model I repainted as well. Its a really good figure. I don't even mind the original paint, but all the nice sculpt details are very inviting for someone who wants to give painting a try.

[CARN0TAURUS]

Looks great to me! The Safari Giga was the first dinosaur model I repainted as well. Its a really good figure. I don't even mind the original paint, but all the nice sculpt details are very inviting for someone who wants to give painting a try.

I went thru your whole thread and the only glimpse you gave us of yours was the photo where he looks like a medium sized dog staring up at an elephant, LOL!  It's the image with the rearing sauropod.  He looks very dark, you went with a very dark paint scheme.  Feel free to post it here if you want I don't mind one bit or post it on your thread.  Id love to see it either way.

[Lanthanotus]

That turned out very nicely. Maybe the only thing to point out for me would be a bit more depth/wash into the mouth/tongue/teeth. Other than that, you really hit it. I agree that the original paint job is kind of bland and not really fitting for the animal. You gave it a very authentic and exciting new look and the decoration of the base enhances this look even more.

[paintingdinos]

I went thru your whole thread and the only glimpse you gave us of yours was the photo where he looks like a medium sized dog staring up at an elephant, LOL!  It's the image with the rearing sauropod.  He looks very dark, you went with a very dark paint scheme.  Feel free to post it here if you want I don't mind one bit or post it on your thread.  Id love to see it either way.

I'll post some pics on my thread and tag you, don't want to bog down your thread with my stuff!

But I'm excited to see with what else you're working on. Any current projects?

[CARN0TAURUS]

That turned out very nicely. Maybe the only thing to point out for me would be a bit more depth/wash into the mouth/tongue/teeth. Other than that, you really hit it. I agree that the original paint job is kind of bland and not really fitting for the animal. You gave it a very authentic and exciting new look and the decoration of the base enhances this look even more.

@Lanthanotus

I'll be honest, I didn't do the mouth, that's factory.  All I did to his mouth was to stick a big piece of silly putty into his mouth while I was painting him so I wouldn't have to do the mouth all over again.  And your right, it definitely needs like a wash or something and some gloss to make it pop.  That's not a big change and something that I don't mind adding.  How do I do that tho?  What do you suggest?  Like what color of wash would give his mouth more realism?  It's not like these guys flossed or brushed their teeth.  Can you imagine the bad breath on these guys with all the tiny pieces of rotten meat stuck in their teeth, LOL!!!

[CARN0TAURUS]

I went thru your whole thread and the only glimpse you gave us of yours was the photo where he looks like a medium sized dog staring up at an elephant, LOL!  It's the image with the rearing sauropod.  He looks very dark, you went with a very dark paint scheme.  Feel free to post it here if you want I don't mind one bit or post it on your thread.  Id love to see it either way.

I'll post some pics on my thread and tag you, don't want to bog down your thread with my stuff!

But I'm excited to see with what else you're working on. Any current projects?

@paintingdinos
I have several on the bench ATM, a couple in various stages of completion, and some that need complete do overs.  I'm still learning every time I paint one, the mistakes are almost as fun as the ones I like because it allows me to keep toying with and tweaking them and improving them and learning.

Here's an example of one that I've really come to dislike, I ruined this because I didn't stop when I should've.  It was actually not that bad after I did the base coat, the overlay fade of caterpillar yellow, and some small brown  striping.  But then I kept going and going, LOL!  Right now it's primer grey again. And it's a good thing these figures have such deep impressions on the skin.  The extra paint is not hurting the detail at all, it just looks a bit softer which might actually give it more natural looking texture once it's done.  That deep texture is one of the reasons it was tricky to paint too.

[Shonisaurus]

Although you are very critical of that Safari daspletosaurus, with the repainting it has gained a lot in quality, perhaps the painting of the eye is one of the defects that I can highlight from my humble point of view. For the rest it is not as exceptional as the giganotosaurus from Safari (your repainting) but honestly many of us from the DTF would like to paint with the mastery like the one you did in your day that daspletosaurus, but a self-constructive self-criticism on your part with the errors is also good it is learned.

[paintingdinos]

@paintingdinos
I have several on the bench ATM, a couple in various stages of completion, and some that need complete do overs.  I'm still learning every time I paint one, the mistakes are almost as fun as the ones I like because it allows me to keep toying with and tweaking them and improving them and learning.

Here's an example of one that I've really come to dislike, I ruined this because I didn't stop when I should've.  It was actually not that bad after I did the base coat, the overlay fade of caterpillar yellow, and some small brown  striping.  But then I kept going and going, LOL!  Right now it's primer grey again. And it's a good thing these figures have such deep impressions on the skin.  The extra paint is not hurting the detail at all, it just looks a bit softer which might actually give it more natural looking texture once it's done.  That deep texture is one of the reasons it was tricky to paint too.

I think this looked pretty good. Was it the color choice you didn't like or was is the overall coverage of the markings?

I don't think the coverage for the darker brown markings is overkill, but ultimately its what looks best to you that matters most (I often struggle with the "is this too much?" debate when doing patterns). I suspect you might have liked it better with a warm tone brown wash overtop, something like a burnt umber.

Also since you mentioned it earlier, here's a cheat I use for basically all of my teeth:
Base coat them light, grey or white it fine. Build up a couple of thin layers of a warm orange-brown (Tau Light Ochre is my favorite). Then take at least 2 watered down passes at it with a lighter khaki color (Ushabti Bone is my go-to). Don't be heavy handed and leave the areas near the gums almost entirely the base color (mostly focus on the lower half of the tooth). For a crisper look, you can do one final drybrush with the khaki color or even a pure white if you want it to really pop. If you have something like a big theropod and you want his mouth to look really gnarly, do a final very light wash with a warm sepia tone (can use this on the fleshy bits inside the mouth too, depending on the colors you picked).

People don't like GW paints because they are unreasonably expensive and I agree with that, but for something like teeth, which are usually a very small part of a model, I love the consistency of this mix so much that the price is worth it to me.

[JohannesB]

I know exactly the feeling of not exactly knowing when to stop or to go on. It is called the artist's dilemma, and I have it too, often. It is very important to know when to stop. Your repaints are beautiful, by the way. I myself am also trying to find my way in repainting, and sometimes I am very happy with the result, but sometimes I ruin it and I have to start all over again

[Stegotyranno420]

@CARN0TAURUS
I absolutely adore your painting skills, you are very talented.
As for the giganotosaurus from Safari, I used to love that figure a lot. When I joined this awesome forum, I was obsessed with this figure. I don't usually talk about it now, but my first post and my profile picture are about a repaint I always wanted to make. Over time I found the color unappealing and inferior to eofauna's, and got interested in another specific figure, but it still holds a special place in my heart.
I really like your stripe work, and it looks very more realistic than the original.
I look forward to others

[Bokisaurus]

Very nice, great blending of colors.
It's fun repainting and seeing your vision come to life 😃

[CARN0TAURUS]

Although you are very critical of that Safari daspletosaurus, with the repainting it has gained a lot in quality, perhaps the painting of the eye is one of the defects that I can highlight from my humble point of view. For the rest it is not as exceptional as the giganotosaurus from Safari (your repainting) but honestly many of us from the DTF would like to paint with the mastery like the one you did in your day that daspletosaurus, but a self-constructive self-criticism on your part with the errors is also good it is learned.

You are incredibly kind, but I'm just having fun and learning as I go.  Everything I do is off the cuff, it's just a fun hobby to relieve stress.  Sometimes the dinos turn out okay, and sometimes no so much.  I don't own an airbrush, I use Rustoleum spray can paint from Home Depot, and then I finish them by hand with a brush using acrylic paints.  If I improve my skills I might consider acquiring an airbrush set up.  Right now I'm not sure I want to spend that kind of money.  Once I finish the Daspletosaurus I'll post some pictures and hopefully it'll turn out good, thank you for your kind words

[Cretaceous Crab]

I meant to comment sooner, but got distracted.

Fantastic job on the repaints, especially the Giga. Definitely an improvement from the original!

[CARN0TAURUS]

@paintingdinos
I have several on the bench ATM, a couple in various stages of completion, and some that need complete do overs.  I'm still learning every time I paint one, the mistakes are almost as fun as the ones I like because it allows me to keep toying with and tweaking them and improving them and learning.

Here's an example of one that I've really come to dislike, I ruined this because I didn't stop when I should've.  It was actually not that bad after I did the base coat, the overlay fade of caterpillar yellow, and some small brown  striping.  But then I kept going and going, LOL!  Right now it's primer grey again. And it's a good thing these figures have such deep impressions on the skin.  The extra paint is not hurting the detail at all, it just looks a bit softer which might actually give it more natural looking texture once it's done.  That deep texture is one of the reasons it was tricky to paint too.

I think this looked pretty good. Was it the color choice you didn't like or was is the overall coverage of the markings?

I don't think the coverage for the darker brown markings is overkill, but ultimately its what looks best to you that matters most (I often struggle with the "is this too much?" debate when doing patterns). I suspect you might have liked it better with a warm tone brown wash overtop, something like a burnt umber.

Also since you mentioned it earlier, here's a cheat I use for basically all of my teeth:
Base coat them light, grey or white it fine. Build up a couple of thin layers of a warm orange-brown (Tau Light Ochre is my favorite). Then take at least 2 watered down passes at it with a lighter khaki color (Ushabti Bone is my go-to). Don't be heavy handed and leave the areas near the gums almost entirely the base color (mostly focus on the lower half of the tooth). For a crisper look, you can do one final drybrush with the khaki color or even a pure white if you want it to really pop. If you have something like a big theropod and you want his mouth to look really gnarly, do a final very light wash with a warm sepia tone (can use this on the fleshy bits inside the mouth too, depending on the colors you picked).

People don't like GW paints because they are unreasonably expensive and I agree with that, but for something like teeth, which are usually a very small part of a model, I love the consistency of this mix so much that the price is worth it to me.

@paintingdinos
First, thanks a ton for sharing your techniques!  I just didn't like it, IDK, I was enjoying it a bunch when it had less on it and for some reason I just kept adding stuff and then I stepped back and decided it was going back to primer.

[CARN0TAURUS]

I know exactly the feeling of not exactly knowing when to stop or to go on. It is called the artist's dilemma, and I have it too, often. It is very important to know when to stop. Your repaints are beautiful, by the way. I myself am also trying to find my way in repainting, and sometimes I am very happy with the result, but sometimes I ruin it and I have to start all over again

@JohannesB
Is that what it's called?  I'm no artist, LOL!  Thanks for the kind words tho, just fooling around with lower priced figures in an attempt to get a little more enjoyment out of them and in the hopes of improving them a little.  Let's be honest, some of these figures are painted terribly.  So improving them a little is not exactly setting the bar very high. 

I don't know if this will help you but it has improved my consistency a bit.  What I've been doing lately to organize/plan better is I draw a silhouette of the figure then I use different color pens to signify the demarcations where new color will begin.  On occasions I actually color them in with the actual colors I'm going to use.  Here's a rough example of one.  It's been helpful in an attempt to come up with different patterns.

[CARN0TAURUS]

@CARN0TAURUS
I absolutely adore your painting skills, you are very talented.
As for the giganotosaurus from Safari, I used to love that figure a lot. When I joined this awesome forum, I was obsessed with this figure. I don't usually talk about it now, but my first post and my profile picture are about a repaint I always wanted to make. Over time I found the color unappealing and inferior to eofauna's, and got interested in another specific figure, but it still holds a special place in my heart.
I really like your stripe work, and it looks very more realistic than the original.
I look forward to others

@Stegotyranno420
I wish you would've done the repaint, it looks really nice on your avatar.  My first post here was also about the Safari LTd Giga.  I still think it's one of the best things Safari has ever done and I still love it even tho I love the Eofauna too

[CARN0TAURUS]

I'm not sure this qualifies as a repaint but it's something I like to do with some figures.  I just take whats already there and I modify it in the hopes of enjoying it more.  It's not finished and I haven't decided if it's going back to primer or not.  But I feel it looks a little bit better than it did before.

[JohannesB]

I'm not sure this qualifies as a repaint but it's something I like to do with some figures.  I just take whats already there and I modify it in the hopes of enjoying it more.  It's not finished and I haven't decided if it's going back to primer or not.  But I feel it looks a little bit better than it did before.

Not just a bit better. A lot better. You removed the garish contrasts and made the colors a bit less saturated, which to my eyes improves it a lot and makes it look more like a real animal. The eye looks alive more as well.