Some pointers I as an experimenting noob has found:
Mixing a normal color with a metallic color produces a metallic shade of said normal color.
roughly sand the part you want to paint before hand. Helps the paint stick better.
don’t use too much paint, especially if you are painting with a brush, less is more in this case.
if you are going to paint with a spray can or a sprayer. Spray from left to right in quick succession. Not in circles or up and down.
be outside or in a well ventilated room when using spray paint.
let things properly dry before continuing. Sometimes you need to apply more than one layer. Patience is key here.
Start with a primer color like Black, White or Grey. Black will make the top color darker, white will make it brighter and Grey is a in between that reacts differently to every color.
That illustration is as orange as it can be while still being metallic and the artist labeled it as copper in the entry post, so I think it’s copper. Of course you’re welcome to headcanon it as anything you want.
Now that this contest is said and done, I’m curios to see what people’s views on the Hagah armor and other aspects of the contest look like. Will they be counted as ornamental, or part of the element’s color scheme? Is copper now a water color? Does Bomonga open the door for even more bizarre hand types in builds? How many fingers do Toa have, and can that change?
Ultimately I think its all flexible to be honest. If you look across Bionicle’s run “hands” have most the time been imagined in sets, unless titans which could accommodate hand builds. Personally, my toa mostly always have four articulating fingers and most the time works well with most set ups.
As for color schemes that I think is more definable but open to changes if it fits the character. Not like Gaaki is brown and copper and being called a toa of water. Its her armor that departs from the norm not her main color.
As for future contest characters if im not mistaken the ones left have a connon set color set up with exception of Mawrendar, that one is the one we will see the most differences in for entries in my opinion as all we have is “humanoid”, “living weapon”, and “slightly taller than a standard toa” beyond two legs and two arms and hieght everything is open: color, look, mask, no mask, weapons and so on
Since Bomonga now canonically has metallic green, has anyone thought of chroming pieces to get a closer look to that color? I’ve seen a few good painted pieces, but for some reason, it still doesn’t totally feel like a metallic color. I don’t know if it’s expensive or cheap to do this, but if anyone is willing to do it, it would be nice to share with us how it looks.
I was thinking about something like this, but in green.
It’s not necessarily chromed green. Bricklink lists two metal green colors as the same; “Metallic Green”. One Is pearlescent and one is a drum-lacquered metallic green. You’re referring to the latter.
If you want a more shiny green, of course that’s your preference. However I believe the art intends to use the pearlescent green.
I did just see that in the other topic! I meant to post there originally, actually, putting the comparison here was an accident, so I may drop it over there as well. I do agree with what some other folks were saying in that your model looks a little big/boxy, but I get how it would be a challenge to make it thinner/smaller and still fit, and it’s still incredible for a first attempt in less than 24 hours, so well done!
It could be the noble version of whatever mask gaaki’s is shaped as.
Yeah, that’s more or less what I had in mind. They could be exactly the same, but the “teeth” or whatever they are make that a stretch. Could be a regional variation, Lhikan-style, too, but that might be stretching too far
A good winner, for sure. Probably my second favorite result of these contests, after Artahka. The Gaaki mask is really cool, too. I hope a future contest winner for a character with an unknown Kanohi shape uses it, so it can have a canon power. I am a bit disappointed that Greg didn’t acknowledge Pouks’ and Bomonga’s masks as variants of the Kakama and Mask of Kindred, though. Pouks’ is different enough to be its own mask, I suppose, but Bomonga’s is almost identical to its set counterpart.
Overall, I must say that I’m very happy with these final results.
I’ll admit that, from a contest perspective, I’m somewhat disappointed in the changes that were made from the winning models, such as Gaaki’s colour, or Pouks’s spear and thighs. (Also, the controversial forearm shield on Bomonga is now retroactively accurate, for whatever that’s worth)
But from an overall Bionicle Fan perspective, looking at these results simply as the canon appearance of the Toa Hagah, this team looks really good. I really like that each Toa got a unique metallic colour, and that most of these metallic colours are distinct from the Toa’s traditional Elemental colour scheme.
I know that this next part is more to do with the models than the art, but I never really said it before: I really like how so many of the new Hagah builds managed to find a unique design element while still staying a Metru build; Bomonga has his really cool silhouette, Kualus has his scarf, and Gaaki has her tubes. I guess Pouks is just standard, but even that makes his build stand out for me.
As a tiny little detail, I’m also happy that Gaaki’s tubes were kept silver, rather than being changed to copper. For some reason, I’ve always preferred that they be part of her natural anatomy, rather than being lumped in with her metallic armour. I suppose that, as a nice bonus, that could also be used as justification for why her Rhotuka spinner was still silver as a Rahaga.
Finally, although it’s not necessarily part of the Toa’s canon appearance, I also have to say that this artwork just looks really sweet.
do not slander
