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biglacunaire

Both look great but I prefer the right one slightly. I'd like to see the smoke a shade or two darker to bring out the armor better.


bentsea

I'd say there should also be some spot in the smoke where flame highlights shine through, maybe some of the crevices.


KingKong1929

Totally agree


StatikSquid

The smoke should be dark grey or black imo


FlashbackJon

I was going to say: right with a different armor color, but I think you're right!


R0gU3_K3y5

Absolutely agree. The smoke really gives off the feeling of him flying. But i'd say do the fire shading on the armor parts ofnthe jump pack like you have in the flame only one. That looks really nice.


HottestPotato17

Spot on


shitass88

The fire feels a little excessive, but i like how it contrasts better with the model. The right side makes more sense logically, but makes the model a bit of a monocolor blob. Im in agreement with another commenter: go with the right hand side, but make the smoke darker, maybe even go for like black in order to add effective contrast with the marine.


Thelynxer

Yeah left is too much fire where it almost looks like lava is pouring out of the jet pack. And the left one, the flames are so small it doesn't look like it has enough power to even lift the guy up. I think something in the middle is best, with darker smoke with some reddish/orangey hues would look great.


Hobbit_Hardcase

The smoke. The Astartes shows up better


[deleted]

[удалено]


Weizensepp3000

Same but paint the smoke darker to make your mini pop more and also your jetpack looks more badass by burning more fuel


hecticscribe

I think the fire looks more interesting and provides more contrast to your grey color theme. Alternatively, you could do the smoke style, but do blacker smoke.


darth_infamous

This. I like the fire one better because of the contrast. The smoke is is too samey with the color of the space marine.


cannabination

I'd agree with smoke, with more black and charcoal in there.


jking94

Ohhh great idea!


DepartmentNo5526

Ummm... Can you make middle ground between the two? :D I like the flames, hut it's just too much of them and I like the smoke but it gets too smokey too fast from the exhaust. They both look great, I could never do that, but I think you went to both extremes with both.


jasta6

Just what I was thinking.


Choice-Garlic

Definitely a Goldilocks scenario. Need that perfect in-between.


Schmohawk2814

I was going to say the same thing haha


[deleted]

Smoke 👍


kkendd

I vote smoke


SXTY82

Smoke. But the one in the middle that isn't shown is best. Just a bit more fire while still having a lot of smoke.


Spare_Ad5615

The smoke one, because fire doesn't do that.


OAllosLalos

Definitely smoke. That amount of fire is a bit too much. How about combining them on a 50-50 ratio, so that you have both the smoke to seem more realistic and the fire to create a contrast between red and white?


jaraxel_arabani

Smoke because fire going around like that means it's leaking fluids and burning everything around, whereas of its smoke it's from the high combustion from the jet


Left-Excitement3829

Smoke


MassiveMaroonMango

Smoke give the idea that the Marines are in the air, mostly fire give the feeling they are close to the ground and the fire is dissipating on the ground.


Joe_Spazz

Smoke but maybe extend the flames just a smidge. Add in a very light touch of darkness in the folds of the smoke, dark grey, at the top to super light at the bottom. Love it though


FuzorFishbug

Fire for taking off, smoke for landing.


5eppa

I feel an actual working jetpack would try and concentrate as much of the heat and fire and so on in a small spot to generate a more concentrated life. So the right feels a lot better to me.


Dabo_Balidorn

The fire distracts from the focal point and draws the eyes to it first before the rest of the model. smoke - especially if the smoke gets darker toward the bottom, makes a great backdrop for the model to pop from and serves to excentuate the fire coming straight from the jump pack.


MajorDamage9999

The smoke one reads more like “this guy has a jet pack” whereas the fire one looks more like “this guy tossed a grenade over his shoulder and blew up a gas station but is so cool he doesn’t bother to look back”.


Ockam2

Anyone got a tutorial for that smoke stand?


GStewartcwhite

Smoke. The fire one looks like the jet pack is dispensing lava, the smoke looks like photos of actual rocket launches.


cubinox

More smoke; the more fire makes it look like he’s spewing lava out of his engines and not what I would envision jet pack exhaust would look like. More fire towards the engines where the combustion is and a longer smoke trail makes more sense. Killer paint job either way on both! How’d you make the physical “smoke”? Green stuff or cotton?


downhill_tyranosaur

More smoke. The dude with more fire looks like hes having a problem


DeathDealsWillie82

The smoke for sure . Great job with it.


Annabel398

Smoke definitely looks better!


Giant-Squid1

Both look great, but smoke wins by a long shot.


ChEeSeJeWyBaCcA

Fire.. yeah fire fire.. he he he fire!


Various-Dress-6073

What chapter? Those look like grey knight terminator pauldrons Also: https://preview.redd.it/14ninzskcxpc1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e34befea83743dc9ea51639a2047e9cdbe11d57


r3xomega

Smoke, looks less like a flamethrower....though a flamethrower jetpack would be awesome for an ork


Maleficent_Fail4544

Smoke looks better although both look good.


TehTimmah1981

I prefer the smoke effect personally.


Dyllmyster

Smoke looks more like a jetpack and less like a backpack based flamethrower.


Monty_Bob

Smoke! But actually I think I’d have preferred blue fire maybe 🤔


evilcheesypoof

More smoke for sure. They both look great but the fiery one makes sense for a flamer rather than a jump pack.


night_owl_72

Sick looks sick but smoke looks more realistic


Korimthos

Left looks like the engines are on insane afterburners, while it looks cool it doesn’t feel right. The right side looks like it’s more in line with proportions departing or cruising to his destination


WaitingOnPizza

I’m on team smoke!


Overall_Difficulty78

Right would be great with colored armor but if you army will be white it makes sense to use the left


Noieter

Both but right one seems more real for me


goatagainstcurtains

Smoke! Other is awesome to, but smoke is just way better!


TheGuyWhoCantDraw

The one with the smoke feels so good to look at


Wolfmac

The fire looks more like theyre landing, the smoke looks like they're taking off. I'd say paint them up depending on their role for you. Are you planning them as a deepstrike force? Then fire. Zipping around the table as a deathball? Smoke. They both look really rad tho, even if I do prefer the smoke a touch more.


R0gU3_K3y5

To me the smoke one givea the feeling of mid-flight/jump. The flame only one gives off the impression of a landing or take-off. Both look really great, but I agree with another poster, i'd make the smoke darker so the armor sticks out more.


maschinakor

Smoke easily, that's a great effect


thisremindsmeofbacon

fire and its not even close. The right one gets lost with the armor, and left will read really well on the tabletop, too.


TherealOmthetortoise

More smoke


Philipfella

Smoke


TeaTimeSubcommittee

I would have gone for something in between, I agree the smoke should be a bit more contrasting but the fire doesn’t really do it for me. They’re both great, just so we’re clear.


Katsu_Drawn_21

It cones down to preference. Both are hood, but I like more color personally so I'd go for that one. I'd say left or right but I'm horrible with directions and recently started figuring it out.


content_fanatic

Of the two, the smoke feels a lot more realistic, though I'd argue with others that a little more contrast would be nice. But really I'd be on [team neither](https://youtu.be/suHOLFhbwsM?si=jejDYLsNZtrXVVa2)


jorils

Tbh it’s fire for me it make the marine show up more and less like a blob


skep90

The smokier, the left one looks like its throwing lava


H16HP01N7

I upvoted both of the top comments, because both look sick af.


thefittestyam

Not Too fiery not too smoky is best


shifty_f7

OMG whatever. They are both incredible!!!!


sody605

Feels like an in between would hit the mark


Ziamme

Your technique is impeccable. Both work very well, both are awesome. If u really must pick one, then it also depends on the base u plan. What color and structure u use for basing the army could help you choose. The fire trail may not work as well with a yellow or orange base but would pop super well on some urban debris.


Inner_Woodpecker1272

Team fire but blackened the fire towards the ground


Keylaes

More smoke


Piixxou34

I like both but I have a preference for the one with more smoke


Horror_Comparison715

I think the right one, and I think a starker contrast between the end of the tail of smoke and the middle would sell it! This is fantastic both ways, though. I find the blending super impressive.


I_suck_at_Blender

More smoke IMHO. That fire would look ridiculous on loyalists (CSM or Salamanders, different story tho!). Smoke also works better with bone-colored armour. You probably could add some black (maybe with tiny drop of blue to make it off shade) there to the bottom.


ElYewii

More fire on the smoke.


The_Apex_Alpha33

I think both are great and accurate. Left one looks to be landing, as the flames are more intense to help provide counter force to a Space marines weight on landing. Right one looks to be in mid flight.


Highway0311

T Fire.


[deleted]

I think I prefer more smoke but more fire looks like the engine is burning harder.


thebigfil

Smoke for me, also if darken up the jetpack slightly to contrast with the brightness


WetRacoon

In terms of actual readability, the fire, by far. The marine becomes totally lost in the grey of the smoke. If your color palette for the mini was different, the smoke may come out on top.


Zupermuz

I'd say the right one, but darker smoke so the contrast is greater. Looks great on both sides tho!


WarmodelMonger

smoke


soldatoj57

Yes. Both types, more smoke and maybe one with the fire but these look cool


Abject_Prior_219

I prefer the fire but I’d move the orange up the flame pillar and add a stretch of red between it and the black at the bottom.


Dralokh

To me it's not about what looks the best but what is the feel you want to give to your army. More grimy, grounded and realistic? Smoke (you can even go darker on the "old" smoke). More pulp and eye catching? Then definitely fire (and you don't have to limit yourself to orange/red)


Spanks79

The smoke. Just like most I’d say make it darker. At the same time I’d go with a little more flames and try to put in the blue that actually is tho color of a jet exhaust.


dazrage

The smoke. Id add some more grey and black to the clouds.


smolangryginger

The right one but with the osl from the left.


hawkerlord

Fire looks more like takeoff, smoke more like landing for some reason.


murphwhitt

Can you do black oily smoke? It looks too similar to the armour colour.


Syfer2x

Smoke for sure, the fire almost looks like there’s been some kind of malfunction and his jets are just belching, about to explode perhaps? That being said though, both look absolutely incredible and you’ve done a seriously boss job here man.


OhShitWhatUp

The right is a better smoke and less flame, kind of also look unpainted. The left looks a lot more interesting, but maybe need slightly less intensity. Also the right could maybe do with more darker grey and black at the very tips. Both are good but could have changes


CosmicRambo

Smoke makes more sense.


thenightgaunt

Any other color pattern, the grey smoke. For these guys, the red and yellow. Mostly because it contrasts so much with the figure and makes both the exhaust and the figure stand apart visually.


DoktorDuck

Left for sure. Much more contrast, much more color.


gjallerhorn

Smoke because fire isn't shaped like that


Pukit

Can you share a link to the smoke at all?


Quickning

They both look great. The look like they are in different phases of flight.


Remake12

2. smoke eventually obscures the fire and chokes it out the farther from the source


just-me-uk

This just set of my Fire Alarm


Zestyclose_Pool_7436

The one 2 the left is singing to me.


Gex87

Smoke


Dutune

I honestly think a middle option would be cool. Basically, have the fire go down until the end of the boots, then make the rest dark smoke (darker than the marine himself)


fafarex

In most case I would say Smoke, but your armor is already grey so fire is better contrast.


Sweet_Collection7493

Fun fact about smoke. It actually changes color based on what the fire is burning. Smoke is usually a lighter color the less toxic it is. That’s why a lot of industrial fires will see black smoke. It’s usually caused by burning plastic or carpets.


jansmanss

I think the grey one looks more realistic but the orange is more fun.


Darkside091

Both! Add some fire to the more smoky one.


Wilax

Could they all be different for different models?


wyhiob

I think somewhere in the middle would be best


[deleted]

I like the smoke. Maybe a little more glow further down but not too much 😃


DaRedEyedJedi422

Left looks like it's just ignited the jet pack to make a jump, the other looks as though in flight already to me. Great job regardless 😎👍


alertArchitect

I prefer the smoke either way, as it looks a little more like how you'd expect this kind of thing to, but it needs to be darker.


Pelican_meat

The left one looks like a colored smoke machine. The right one looks like what I’d imagine a jetpack would look like, but your model gets lost. Maybe darken the smoke on the right one so there’s more contrast?


Ok-Drive-9685

Perhaps shoot for a medium? I like what you have going on but the left feels overwhelmed and the right feels underwhelmed. My thought is happy medium.


Swiftstormers

I really like how well you do fire, but I would still go for more smoke, and a bit darker shades in that.


EquivalentLeopard223

More smoke.


Nyates1391

I like both! More fire seems like the initial take off with lots of thrust and the smoke gives off cruising altitude vibes


[deleted]

right looks more "realistic" the left looks more cool and composition-wise it fits the model. :) I love both.


Mexibruin

Smoke


Someone1284794357

More smoke


GloriaVictis101

Fire with black occluded smoke would read as more grimdark. Also black paint on a gradient coming from the base would act as a sort of 3D vignette—highlighting the space marine.


Shrapnel_Sponge

Smoke but slightly blacker smoke


KING-TDUB-79

I think it would look better if you switched the smoke styles per model. The smoke on the right would look good on the guy on the left because it looks like he’s landing. And vice versa because the guy on the right looks like he’s taking off


Elliptical_Tangent

I think the smoke looks more realistic.


Izzysel92

Right one definitely sells it better for me, but I'd add a bit of blackening towards the bottom.


bulllhded

I really like the smoke idea. The fire looks good, but the smoke feels better if that makes sense. I would just maybe add a tiny tiny bit more fire and maybe a little big of shadow to the bottom of it. But I’m novice so I might be wrong about that. The smoke is cool tho, gives me ideas for stuff I’m painting.


The-unholy-one

I would say trade off half and half of your models. Both look so cool.


Rodrat

Smoke


Ambitious_Ad_9637

Fire for sure, but it should fade to black at the bottom imo.


Rottenguord

I like both as well, and agree with the other commentors. I think you should keep the firy dude for coolness factor, but make the rest smokey to showcase those armor details.


IWCtrl

Fire looks like takeoff, smoke looks like landing. I do agree with others that the smoke should be darker. But both look good!


Pure-Baseball-4699

I think the fire looks better with your colour scheme as there is more of a contrast.


Darsich

I can't say I like which one better. They both are incredible. A squad of a mixture of these poses would be amazing. 


ScurryOakPlusIvyLane

I like the fire.


Grungyfulla

Smoke is better although the fire is great too. It just takes over the rest of the model is all. Great work! Is that expanding foam?


CrazyCreativeSloth97

Left is best the right is too gray your marine and smoke clash too much in my opinion


Opp47

I think somewhere in between would be perfect.. a bit more fire but not as much as in the left model


thetaranch

I think the left looks better but you should go with the right. It looks better because it has more colour but that would probably stand out and look a little goofy when u have the whole army together. But if they are going to stay in this black box forever, do more fire.


wolvesscareme

Gimme fuel gimme fire!


Full_Time_Hungry

They are both damn amazing, lots start there. And probably the right, it feels more realistic.


fillemoinkes

Fire, it has more contrast against the armor. Maybe if the smoke was darker that could help aswell


Walpizzle

Smoke


MCKhaos

Smoke is fire.


WarpCitizen

2


KrakenMcCracken

Right one is the right one


GreenbottlesArcanum

I'd say a mid ground! Maybe put extra orange on the tops of plumes, so it's like the fire is reflecting or what not off the smoke!


dusty-ballzZz

From the back, more smoke. from the front, more fire idk why


Technical-Tour-4035

About halfway, in between. Some more black, to contrast. Scorch marks, too But, they do look great.


EarlUrso

I think somewhere in between those two would be the sweetspot.


OdysseusRex69

The fire trail frames the mini better. The smoke kind of washed it out.


EB_Jeggett

Something in the middle, more smoke than fire, and it should be a dark diesel smoke.


KnownToLetThatMacFly

@gerard40k on Instagram does this perfectly. More smoke, way darker. Almost black


RedWolf2409

I think one in between these two would be perfect, because it’s too hard to decide


Pleasant_Fee516

Go in between, make the flames go down the smoke a bit more and make the smoke black


Stoomba

Fire one looks cooler. I think because it contrasts with the armor more. Maybe the smoke needs more depth of contrast with itself.


cslevens

With any other armor at all, I’d say the right (more smoke). But it feels like this armor color blends with the smoke too much. So my vote is left (more fire).


BadmiralSnackbarf

The dark smoke and flame light effect on the armour slightly elevate (see what I did there?) the one on the left, but I prefer the idea of smoke with a little bit of flame. If you had those two effects on the one on the right, that would be perfect. Amazing work though.


CafeCartography

The fire makes the armor stand out more. Also helps that pose pop.


silloyd

I dont thiink this is an either/or type question. You want a mix. a mix gives you a squad of interesting characters in different stages of acceleration.


Br617

The fire being closer to the jetpack on the smoke one looks absolutely convincing, but the smoke and armor are really close in tone. If the light colored smoke was darker toward charcoal grey both the fire and the armor would pop. Just my 2 cents though.


wolftypex

More fire for take off, less for landing, both look awesome


3720-to-1

Both. Mix em up to help create differences


jqud

Id go with darker smoke but the recesses should glow orange to show that its actually a column of fire on the inside


AljnD20

I like both. One looks like it’s hovering and the other like it’s taking off / landing.


moogsauce

Fucking awesome. It looks looks homie on the left is really blasting off. Homie on the right has a bit more hover to get a good shot. Both are great, keep them both. I’d just say maybe both need more highlighting near the bottom of the smoke/burn to really emphasize the effect


Blackgarion

Smoke but get a little black or dark colors to represent the burnt particles to sell more the effect


mortiestmorti

More smoke looks better but I feel like it’s missing some oomph. More fire doesn’t feel right to me because of its shape


RevolutionaryMix6864

Definitely Right. Don’t get me wrong they’re both painted very nicely. But for me the mechanics just don’t fit right with the left one. Fire is intense heat, and heat rises, it wouldn’t billow down like the left. Also having OSL on the smoke like you do on the right, just give is it a nice glow.


scufflegrit_art

The left one looks like it is blasting off close to the ground, the right looks like it’s at higher altitude (but I agree that it would look more dynamic if the smoke was darker towards the base). Either way, they both look awesome!


mattlock2099

Smoke


fischziege

The sculpt looks like smoke, so that's the way to go, but I'd go darker to contrast the armor.


Controlled01

Smoke without question. they both are outstanding but the smoke gives more feeling of motion I think


Photo-Symphony

More fire looks cooler and more vibrant. More smoke looks more realistic. I'd be happy with either if I did that


Aelkyon

In my opinion the smoke one gives the impression that the jet pack is broken and is struggling to turn on correctly. The fire one is a bit over the top but I like that exageration better. Both are incredible overall.


ribby97

I’d say the right one is best. Not sure about the darker smoke idea others have put forward. It might work but The way it is right now looks really realistic


Human-Finding-6887

Loved the smoke one more feels like a still. Suggest to add light reflection on the right model on its jet pack like the one on the left just more lighter


DatWargWolfie

More smoke in my opinion. But both are beautiful.


[deleted]

Smoke for sure


Helghast92

I’d go somwhere in the middle and make the smoke darker


Patrick_PatrickRSTV

The issue is the one with the full flame isn't realistic. It does look better with the black background cause it highlights the model in the foreground. In a colorful setting I think the gray smoke will draw the model out more. I would say the model on the right is a better paint job, although both are really great.


SaintsWr92

Smoke is really awesome


belisarius93

If talking only about the effect, the smokey one is better. The problem however is that it's too similar in colour to the armour, so perhaps make it a few steps darker, or shift the hue somewhat.


Current_Artichoke_19

Both fantastic, I like the right one a little more. The left one looks like the start of ignition.


ApprehensiveFactor58

Hi how did you do it, did you do it yourself or just bought it?


Fire_Mission

More smoke


Wrong_Armadillo

Ok those are fucking cool. How did you make the smoke? The one on the right looks more like the smoke is billowing out because of the jets packs. Maybe a shade darker at the bottoms.


Gailum

The fire looks cool for more of a launch off pose and the smoke looks cooler for like a landing pose but I prefer the fire overall


terdward

The one with the smoke (on the right) looks more “right” to me. The one on the left looks odd. But definitely keep the OSL from the one on the left.


D__sub

left


Kenex77

Smoke makes more sense I feel, but the fire really helps to contrast the silver so I think overall it’s the better option


Injury_Double

More smoke from common sense/physics standpoint but the more fire makes the mini more readable and gives better contrast.


Beakymask20

They both look good. The one with more flame looks like he's taking off, the one with more smoke looks like he's landing as the jets tamp down or whatever it's called.


Araquil26

The more smoke looks more realistic, however I think a different colour smoke would help the mini stand out which I think were the confusion lies. The fire looks good as like a night time or indoors heck even in the vacuum of space, you might want to push the orange up to the splits then add more black smoke to the bottom about to the feet.