Roll Out the Barrel

This rather interesting miniature is the February Raffle figure for the Patreon page.  Anyone who pledges support to the page is eligible for the 4th monthly raffle.  Here's a link to the page:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

There's much more to the page than raffle figures of course.  I do at least 1 2.5 hour facebook live tutorial each week, and starting in March, more YouTube painting lessons will be available to those subscribing $5 or more.  Those pledging $10 will be able to see other special sessions, and more of the Painting Pyramid series as well.

Here's an example of the Dark Sword figure demos, and the kinds of miniatures that will be offered on these 'secondary' raffles:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10212119155668250/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

I will also be doing special Bolt Action battle reports that are only available to the patrons.  Two have been posted thus far to my YouTube channel.

In addition, I have been making some of the Painting Pyramid series available to the Patrons.  I will be sending private links to the Patrons on March 1st, which will be one of the 12 basing videos that I created as part of the series.  There were 53 videos in all covering a variety of subjects, so just about every interest or question should be covered!

I am also making new Painting Pyramid videos covering techniques that I have learned since that first batch was made.  Oil painting, new basing and terrain techniques are all planned!

To all who have already supported the page, you have my thanks, and the drawing of this Raffle figure will take place in a few days during the next live session, so stay tuned!

Shining Bright

As most of you know, I love Object Source Lighting, Basing and NMM... so why not combine them all in one place!  This figure is rather large, and so is the base at about 60mm.  This gave me a great opportunity to create a lava base with some nice dark marble.

The key to this kind of lighting is all about contrast, and that means light vs dark, warm vs cool, saturated vs unsaturated tones, and more.  Each piece helps to work with another to create the effect.  The cooler colors of the marble make the firey base seem that much hotter, while the armor can also reflect those cooler tones.

By making those cooler reflections on the armor, it in turn creates a better opportunity for enhancing the reflections of the lava, which are much warmer and more saturated.

This figure was painted during another Facebook live session, which goes into much further detail.  Each of these are between 2-3 hours long, and I try to pack as much instruction as I can in that time, covering the materials and the techniques.

It takes a lot of effort to do this on top of the usual painting work and the blog posts, especially once or twice a week.  This is why I established the Pateron page last month.  This figure is the monthly raffle figure for December:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10211709390984389/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

Any pledge to the Patreon page makes you eligible to win the monthly raffle figure.  I am working on new possibilities for videos and even some special packages with 'kits' that would be available.  These would include patron only content, which would likely start up in January.

In the meantime, here's the link:

https://www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Trapper

This was part of an exercise during my last podcast with the Models Workshop folks.  While it is an audio cast, it was very helpful to have some things being painted at the same time we were recording, because I had several figures on the table all at once.

I talked a great deal about painting efficiency, and as you know, it is very helpful to have a lot of different genres and types of figures ready to paint.

Figures like this one, which have a lot of earth tones, skin, etc., are even more ideal, since it is going to have a lot of areas in common with just about every other figure.  This means that I can simply grab a figure that has a similar color set, and get that little bit done.

This also keeps me from overworking figures, which can happen if you just keep hammering away at the same figure for hour after hour.

Many years ago in art school, there was a major emphasis on not lingering too long on any particular area or piece.  Grab the figure, work on those common areas, and move on.  You get a "fresh view" of a figure more often with this method... a way to step outside your projects.  

Also, an interesting color combination on one piece might end up being just as good on another, even though it might not have been in your original plans!

I will be doing a few live broadcasts this week, starting on Wednesday.  Late in the evening, I will participate in the Hobby Hangout, which will lead into a Facebook Live session.

On Friday, I will join another broadcast with the Models Workshop crew.  You never know what topic may come up, since it really is a painting hangout at heart!!

I enjoy doing the live hangouts and Facebook live sessions, since they allow me to show the principles that I am talking about here.  I try to make them a "working broadcast", rather than a purely how to exercise.  This shows the down and dirty methods for getting figures painted, as opposed to a pre set demonstration only showing one concept.

As you know, this was a major reason why I started the Patreon page, so that I could do this kind of thing more often.  The people that have seen these kind of "working demos" have been able to get a lot out of them, as they are also more informal and participation is encouraged!

Here's a link:

https://www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Evolution of the Gods

Whenever you have interesting lines and shapes on a pose/character like this, it seems like it is always a natural candidate to play around with lighting effects.  

While there are areas of very nice detailed shapes, there are also more "open" areas that allow you to try out some fun and creative color combos, especially where there might also be metal surfaces.  That allowed me to get into serious reflected light and colors on the back sections of the figure.

I loved getting those prussian blue hues into the metals!

The base was made with the usual sculpey and cork method, along with a piece from Sci-Bor Miniatures and leaves made with the Green Stuff World leaf cutters.  Now that fall is in full swing here, I am trying to stock up on my leaf supply!

This figure is from Demigods Evolution.  As you can see from the coin reference in the above image, he is pretty large, at least 54-60mm tall.

He's also here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/222699702536?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

The Dwarven Rocketeer

There are a number of interesting miniatures in the Demigods ranges, but some are certainly quite different! You don't often see a steampunk, rocket toting dwarf!

This guy was so unusual, I just had to try him out.

The Green Stuff World Celtic ruin texture roller continues to provide some really nice bases!

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222194675458?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Fire and Chaos

This 30mm scale figure is part of the Demigods Awakening line.  Like nearly every figure in the line, multiple options are available for weapons, etc.

On some of the figures, I have seen as many as 3 different options just for one weapon arm!

I had to go with the shield option on this figure, because I really liked the design.  It was not too complex, but the shapes were nicely defined, and that made it so easy to paint!

That kind of shard detail has made all of these Demigods figures very enjoyable to paint.  When you have to fight certain parts of a figure that lack such detail, the fun factor drops dramatically!

When you do have detail like this, your attention can be focused more in interesting effects and subtle color changes.

Lately I have started placing grass and foliage tufts near sources of light, in order to put a bit of OSL on them.  I have been very pleased with the extra touch something like that adds!

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hand-Painted-Miniature-Role-Play-Chaos-Lord-Paladin-Fighter-D-D-Unreleased-/322174432931?

Prepare for Battle!

One more very fun miniature from Demigods Evolution.  Just like most of the other figures from the range, there are multiple options for the arms, with weapons or banners, and so on.

I also enjoyed working all the various filigree into the golds/brass finishes.  The blue marble was done to provide a nice contrasting color to reflect into those golds.

The base was pretty extensive, built up with cork and sculpey.  I put a penny next to it to give you a sense of it's size.  He's pretty big!

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222151232501?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

The Lion Heart

This is a figure that I have been itching to show off for a long time.  He is from a line of miniatures created for Demigods Evolution, a strategy board game.

There are a host of fantastic characters, from a variety of races and creatures.

This impressive character is The Protector, for obvious reasons.  I have done a few unboxing posts on these figures, and those illustrate the weapon options that are typically available for each figure.

For example, I could have gone with a shield in each arm, or weapons in both hands.  There are often different weapons for the same arm, creating even more options and choices.

I did something slightly different with the snow on this base.  First, it gave me the opportunity to try out the Gamer's Grass winter shrubs.  Second, I modified the Secret Weapon products that I normally use for snow.

In addition to the usual crushed glass and realistic water mix, I added the white powder which is normally used to create mud mixtures.  This gave the snow an even more brilliant white appearance.  It was helpful on the more thinned down areas on the small branches and even on the figure itself.

I absolutely LOVED the lion motif on this, and the back of the cloak was incredibly fun to paint!

Each character has a significant back story, which I will pass along to you in the next post.  You can see more of the fantastic miniatures on their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/DemigodsRising/

This image shows you how large he is!  He certainly towers over all his enemies!!

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/322133669796?