NMM Theory Video

Hi Folks,
here is the latest episode of straight from the desk.
Some of you asked to spice up the paint-a-long videos with
some videos that are just focusing on a certain theory.
I tried to already incorporate this with in the video series of the ratling tank
by giving a bit insight behind some of the creative decisions involved in creating a golden demon contest piece.
But I wanted to create a video again that is soley focusing on one topic similar to the "how to render different materials" and the how to render different fabrics" videos.
This time we are focusing on the topic of NMM.
To explain and teach my understanding of NMM, I commissioned my good friend and fantastic sculpter Mati Zander to create a academic model.

 For our simplified NMM theory it is essential to analyze the shapes that you find on the model and place the highlights and the reflections according to those.
There is always an correlation between the shape of the light source and the object
it hits.
By choosing a knights gauntlet as our academic model we can feature all of the most common geometric shapes in a pretty direct and undisguised  way.

I decided to give out that model for free to you guys and girls, so you can follow the video at home if you want. Al ot of people own a 3d printer them self and if not there are a lot of good printing services around.
This way you are also able to print the model up to your favorite scale to practice something that you can really use in your daily painting challenge .

I had mine printed between 2,9-3,5 cm wide.

Non Metal Metal Paint is a super fascinating topic.
What is NMM painting? It describes the rendering of a metallic surface by using flat colors that does not contain metallic pigments.

 NMM on miniatures is quite polarizing, some people love it some people hate it. I personally think its good to have the creative freedom to decide whether you would like to see a model painted in NMM or TMM, you should be free to decide what your model needs to get a certain look/ atmosphere across.  

For my understanding NMM is an important tool in the toolbox of every miniature painter. 

NMM forces you to really think about the geometry model and and also to think of a light situation and the environment of the figure. 

Being able to paint a good NMM made my TMM also quite a bit better because I was able to create a more controlled real metal that helps to underline a certain atmosphere.   

Lets explore together what it take to create a amazing nmm!
We will be demonstrating how we can render a metallic surface with only 3-4 key elements:
1. main light
2.environment /horizontal reflection
3.bouncing light

4. reflections or element close by

We find those key elements in fine art but also in miniatures.

and also elements that are being reflected that are close by, can be a good tool to increase the reflective look of a surface.

If we look at those examples it can be a bit intimidating but I hope this theory video should give you enough background info so you can start exploring the world of non metal metal painting !
I would love to see your versions or the knights gauntlet below!
Thanks for your support !!
and last but not least a massive thank you to my good friend and all-time painting champion Kirill Kanaev to let me use his reference pics