Enemy at the Gates

Here's the first color test figure for the Isorian faction from Gates of Antares.  You have seen me working on lots of Bolt Action stuff from Warlord, but this is going to be quite different! 

Getting back into the Sci-Fi miniatures after all the steampunk, fantasy and historical figures will require a very different mindset.

This genre does allow for a much wider and varied palette, which is always a good thing.  Letting myself get too locked down in extremely muted tones permanently would make things boring, and I would miss out on all kinds of great color combinations and effects.

I had a few goals with this faction.  First, choose a scheme that would be very different from the origainl box art.  Next, I wanted to emphasize all the glowing elements, since Object Source Lighting is a huge obsession of mine!  Finally, I can dive into certain color combinations that I have had to leave behind for a few years.

Shapes such as this are a very nice way to work on "two tone" color sets.  That is, using the tans and oranges in one area, while using a cooler, deeper red around the shoulders to give me a better contrast for the weapon glow.

I like to call this "color chess", as I try to plan and manipulate opposing colors, lights and darks, and even the amount of saturation to maximize contrast.

Best of all, I get to dust off and bring out all the different Sci-fi theme bases from the past, such as this design.  I have also worked on a massive variety of new bases too!

Just as with Bolt Action, there are a number of Gates of Antares figures which will be appearing here on the blog!  Multiple factions and armies are under way, so stay tuned!