Hour 7
OK so I'm finishing these guys up and I'm gonna move on to the charity piece of some more stuff but I think I'll show it to you in the next hour
Hour 6 -- 1/4 of the way there
here is a shot of all my wips
Hour 5
This is the commission piece I really like the green
Hour 4
Here is the primed mini from before
And here are two othersi'm working on
Hour 3
this the first of the charity pieces. Unprimed and ready to go. It's one of the reaper 25th anniversary pieces Yep I'm cool like that
Hour 2
Things are fine. Just a picture of 1 of them
the rest are coming along nicely
Hour 1
Slow start but on my way now
WWMD 2017
And we are off
Jobberdos
So I was supper excited to get these in the mail the other day.
I have always been a bit of a tool junkie -- if you have followed me for a while you may remember that I have built paint racks, have rearranged my work-space several times, made my own miniature holders and tons of other miniature related fiddling. When I saw these at ReaperCon last year, I have been wanting to try them out but never really found a chance to pick one out. I saw Jay Adan 3D print one and seemed to like using it. Seeing it in practice peaked my interest even more. Just as I was about to make one, I saw this KickStarter from Rathcore and jumped all in.
I've been using them for about a week now, and I have to say that I really like them. The bar doubles as a stabilizer for your hand as well as on for your brush when you are doing fine detail. They also make handling a miniature upside down while getting into the hard to reach areas a snap. Or more of a snap. There is really no good way to reach the hard to reach areas on a miniature in a snap, unless its a break with reality but that is a different sort of snap.
True to Jefferism philosophy (Read that as obsession), I now have it my head that I can make my own version of them using cork stoppers, brass wire, and wooden spools. Why? You ask. Simple. I can't leave well enough alone. I know that Rathcore makes the best holders around but somehow I feel that I will be more connected to the hobby if I make my own version. Sort of like the idea that a Jedi must forge his own light saber before he becomes a Jedi. If I am successful I will post some pictures of them.
Here we go again
Anyone tired of seeing the purple dragon yet? Does that sound like some drink that you will travel the wastelands before taking? Like the spice in Dune? "Gorick and Ted traveled for 40 days to have a tall glass of the Purple Dragon. It is said that he who can finish the cup and spill no drops will see the Purple Dragon and be granted an audience. If she takes favor on you, you will be given a boom" Okay, so I have digressed a bit there. I will show you the purple dragon last so you can see..... The Undead Minotaur!
This guy is one of the bad guys from Zombicide Black Plague -- and as a friend says "really no fun to fight". Still I love this sculpt and I have mixed emotions seeing it on the game board. The first is "that is a cool mini" which is followed quickly by "Well shi#$#@... We are dead"
Next here is purple dragon. Drink deep the gathering gloom.....
Still work to do blah blah blah....
More Dragon Work here....
More work on the purple dragon completed this weekend. I like the white claws on the wingtips and horns. Just about getting ready to give the spines on the back the orange treatment. Part of me thinks it will be too much (AKA suck) and part of me things it will be very cool so I have decided to try it with the idea that I can redo them white if I hate it.
I about ready to start working on the face, primarily the eyes, since I'm starting to settle into the details now. I want to draw attention to the face in order to increase the drama. As for basing this bad boy, I would love to perch him on the head of a statue if I can find one that works, adding in some broken weapons, gold, treasure chests, and come corpses. Of course, I am keeping my options open at this point because inspiration may strike and I want to be ready.
More Purple Dragon--plus tank rust
Are you tired of seeing the Purple dragon pictures? (BTW Purple Dragon Pictures is my Imagine Dragons cover band) No? Yes? Well, here they come. I've been working on the wings and claws, but I have been agonizing over the spikes on the back for a while. I don't think I like the orange spikes but I'm not really sure either. Going ivory like the claws would be a pretty safe choice but who gets anywhere by taking the safe choice? Okay, so lots of people... But who breaks new ground by being safe? Lots of people you say? Well, they have to work at it for a long time before they get a breakthrough... Your right I have no idea what I'm talking about. That being said enjoy the picture of Jimi. Next time expect to see him/her with orange spikes just to see what it looks like. I can always repaint.
lastly, there is the tank. I would like to see this in some sort of post-apocalypse game where it is really weather beaten and rusty but I think I underdid it on the rust. I was following along on the Miniature Monthy (subscribe now -- best 5 bucks you have ever spent) site and I like the way the rust came out -- I just wanted more of it. I wasn't aggressive enough with the mold builder. Oh well, I could always redo it but I think I will keep going with it.
Purple the magic dragon
Hi all and welcome back to my purple dragon saga. I've been playing with colors and I kind of like this result -- so far at least. It is in no way close to the image I had in my head, and I have been arguing with Jimi the whole time. Did I mention that I named him Jimi? No? So I named the dragon Jimi. I had to name him because it hard to argue with someone who doesn't have a name. Don't believe me? Just give it a try and see how it works out of you.
Anyway, here are some pictures just to keep me honest.
Purple Dragon all in my brain..
Lately, things to don't seem the same.
Painted it purple. I don't know why....
Excuse me while I post this guy.
----(Sorry Jimi)----
I have somehow got it into my head that I want to do a purple dragon. Why? I don't know but it doesn't seem to be leaving. In fact, it has ensconced itself in my brain like a brain bug. These are the first tests in order to make the voices in my head shut up and mainly to get an idea or what it will look like. Or more accurately, see how the picture in my head will translate into what the finished product will look like. My first thought is that it needs to be darker - a lot darker -- the wings need to be handled more carefully. Not really sure what I mean by that but maybe make them darker and hint more at the color I want them in the highlights.... Any, here are some test shots I took...
More WIPs -- WIP it good.
First up is just a fun side project involving a fire giant and transparent washes... You know the ones from army painter, secret weapon, and GW. Ya those ones. I splashed in a little of the reaper inks into the mix too just to keep things spicy and experimenty and what not. I started using some liqutex white straight from the tube for edging and man does it pop. I saw it in a Miniature Monthly video and thought I would try it. (If you have not seen or joined the miniature monthly service, do it now. It is the best 5 bucks you can spend on miniature painting) Anyway, all these washes were applied to some scale 75 metallic paints to give it depth and color variation. I'm going to have to incorporate this technic into my reapercon entry this year.
Next up is one of the zombies from Black Plague. He is just a quick job so I can get to the game playin'. He has also been subjected to the Secret Weapon Washes, specifically Sewer water and baby poop.
Lastly are some commission pieces which I have finished up. The birdmen are not the same ones as last time but I did try to make the "match" so they would all look like they belong together. There is also a dwarven thief and elven fighter. You can see that I couldn't stop myself from playing with the washes in order to give a golden glow to her chainmail. Someone should really take those bottles away from me.
hello HP
Its been a bit busy round my house this month -- there was a water leak and my youngests birthday party and a major software project at work... blah blah
Anyway, I finally got a chance to get some painting done so I thought I would share. In no particular order, the shoggoth. This little guy was a blast to paint but I don't feel like a captured what was in my head on this one. I've been listening to HP Lovecraft stories on my commute this month which lead to me picking this one up on a whim. If you look closely inside the thing there is a skeleton. I'd like to add some gore effects I learned at reapercon but that will have to wait a bit.
I have been mounting all my zombicide miniatures on clear disks which gives me a sh!t ton of practice pinning. These two are next to be painted.
Lastly are four commission pieces -- an elf, a dwarf, and two bird men. The elf and the dwarf are comming along nicely -- especially the dwarf. I have been playing with some armor effects on the elf's chainmail to make it look more... elfy... and I like the way its coming out. There are also two birdmen which I am trying to paint with a different scheme than the ones I did before.
Some commission work and the reappearance of Hillbert the Hill Giant
First off, I've been working on Hillbert just to get him finished and happy. It has been so much fun that I have broken out my other Giants and will start painting them very soon. I imagine that he is talking to me in a voice like a english Jim from Taxi while I'm painting him. He will say things like "A bit more around the cockles... Careful of my bitters" -- makes me laugh every time.
Next up are some birdmen I'm doing as a commission. I like the way they came out so I thought I would post them.
Hillbert the Hill Giant
I did not get much time to work this weekend cuz... gaming.... but I did get to get a few strokes in on Hillbert. That is what I have been calling him since he has been cooperating very nicely and Hillbert sounds more or less friendly. I makes me think of the kind of guy who you want around in a bar fight -- he is either going to unleash hell or be so friendly and funny he will defuse the situation.
Painting! Its on!
I am so happy to get my studio (office) back online and to get back to painting. I've been trying to pair down my tools and rearrange things to give it a more open space. Here are some examples of what I have been working on. I need to neaten up the tartan on the first guy. I did the tartan on a whim but I think it turned out ok so far. The miniature is a stone giant from the Reaper Bones series that I picked up at ReaperCon 2016 but didn't start there. The same is true of the female giant also. I don't know why I decided to paint her purple but I really like the way its progressing. I'm starting to doubt the white hair but I can always go dark later.
Lastly is a Hill Giant from Reaper Bones also. Since Reaper is doing a 25th anniversary celebration, they are giving out a free limited edition miniature each month on qualifying orders. This has pretty much ensured that I will be ordering something from reaper every month for the next 9 months to get the special mini. When I am finished collecting and painting them I will post a picture (but there are 9 months to go so don't hold your breath). Anyway, that is a long way of saying that I picked up the hill giant as part of this month's order. It is essentially an experiment with airbrushing skin as a foundation to build on before adding details. I remember Aaron Lovejoy saying once that you can apply the colors to about 70% of what you need with blending. You have to add the highlights and shadows to the deepest parts of the model but it seems to be working out pretty well for a first attempt. Luckily I have a second Hill Giant to try out when this one is completed.
Studio back online.... sort of
I can't tell you how happy I am to get this studio to a point where I can a bit and take pictures. Right now its still crammed with stuff as I slowly sort it out and put it back together. I get slower as I try to weed out the tools I don't use anymore. Anyway here are a couple of quick pictures from my new set up. Its not finished yet but it is operational.
