Warrior Sons

The most complicated and challenging Army Painting tutorial series is now complete!  I am uploading the 5th and final episode of a 13.5 hour epic.

It all began with basing, of course, with a technique very similar to what was used on the Pyromancer bases: https://wappellious.blogspot.com/2019/05/world-in-flames.html

Balancing the rainbow cloak effects with the shimmering armor and swords meant "building" each effect evenly, since so much of it was reflected on many surfaces!

Managing that over 12 figures all at once can seem like a daunting task, but if you step back in think things through, it can be broken down into more easily managed chunks.

I also kept the amount of paint colors used to an absolute minimum, even though we really do have every color of the rainbow.

Seeing units like this on the battlefield is a real joy, and the satisfaction of knowing how many effects that I put into creating it will surely come through on the upcoming battle reports.  yes, that's right... battle reports!

Here you can see how the basing works hand in hand with the miniatures.  In some cases, you can see a bit of color on the worn, broken stones.  Not just areas of red and yellow paint, but even some cut leaves in a similar color as well.

Using the Reaper Miniatures Pearl White allowed me to get an extra bit of texture on the robes, in effect resembling the semi shiny fabric such as silk.  I had never tried anything like this before, so it was certainly interesting.

While the Army Painting series are the most unique part of the patreon offerings, I have dozens of other tutorials, such as the Dark Sword miniature series, Creature Caster, Big Child Creatives and countless "one off" videos like this:  https://youtu.be/1mMsq-Ktru0

I am working my way through all of the various Song of Ice and fire armies... Lannister in this case, but also Free Folk, Starks, Night's Watch and Boltons.  Here's another video focused on Ghost, which is an example of the "one off" tutorials: https://youtu.be/dB4qtag5r9g

Be sure to check out the Patreon Page, where you can get in on the Army Painting pledge level.  Keep in mind that when you sign up, all the previous series (plus the other videos beyond the Army Painting tutorials) are yours to access!!  Here's a link: www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Blood Knights

Here are some finished images of the Flayed Men heavy cavalry that were painted during a few YouTube live sessions.  Here's a link to the first one where I was working in oils:  https://youtu.be/IkrM2b7xl7E

I continued this unit into another session, where I did some work with acrylics, along with the snow and blood effects!  https://youtu.be/3dpSONjJGQw

I had really been looking forward to painting this unit, since they reminded me of cavalry units from other game systems, except that these were all one piece, unbreakable and had far more motion and action to the poses!

I was able to try out a few new things in terms of painting, basing and even the blood effects, trying out some new materials.

I have another one of these units now, and I will set up some more traditional studio style painting videos, similar to the Army Painting series that I have on my Patreon Page.

That will be available, along with the previous 8 series, when you take the $15 monthly pledge.  This also gets you access to all of the other videos, such as the Dark Sword, Basing, Creature Caster, Nocturna, Black Heart and much more!  Here's a link where you can check that out:  www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

The Lady Val Live!

My latest YouTube Live session showed how I painted Lady Val from the Song of Ice ad Fire Miniatures Game.  She's another NCU, and now joins Craster and the Savage Giants!

I tried to show how to get interesting and unexpected colors in the shadows, as you can see in this image.  Grays, blues, purples and even greens were used, although the cloak registers to the eye as "red".  This kind of subtle addition makes what could be a bland area far more interesting!

I even went into the use of the Green Stuff World leaf cutters and the Secret Weapon crushed glass method on the base.

Here's a link to the live session!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAU3njr2Qc8

How to Take the Black

The final episode of  Army Painter Series 6 is now available to the Patrons... this was a pretty epic series on some principles that seem so simple at first.  That is, painting "black" and creating interesting snow/ice effects.

Each series is usually 5 episodes long, and it begins with basing.  In the case of the Song of Ice and Fire units, it includes the movement tray.  Here is an example of that first episode:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INPfPLCTZcE

While every series begins with basing... it also concludes with basing!  Most of the Song of Ice and Fire trays require some kind of snow effects, but those around and above The Wall need even more dramatic looking snow and ice!  Check out this video of a Free Folk Savage Giant towards the end to get a peek at how that's done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LvJv3dyjEw

I try to show a number of different options along the way, so that you can pick and choose what kind of material that you might want to use.

As always, the why is just as important than the how, and these long format videos really allow me to dive into why I make the choices that I do on my techniques and materials.

Each series is 10-13 hours in duration, and I try to involve you in the process as much as I can.  The "Currency of Time" is something we all have in short supply, and I will actually try to keep track of how much time a given effect might have taken to achieve.  Then this is multiplied by how many figures are in the unit, and then again by how many are in the army.

From there, I try to ascertain what is possible and what may have to be trimmed, saved for special character figures or even left out completely. 

Painting the color "black" is a difficult task... especially to keep the interest of both the viewer and the painter!  I have already seen many posts on the SoIaF pages about boredom when painting an entire Night's Watch army.

It is understandable, because there are no bright distinct colors as you might have in Lannisters.

As I work through the episodes on this series, I attempt to show you ways to make the painting more interesting by creating variations in the colors... a little more greenish here, a little more blue or red there.  You can see in these back views that the leather of the packs and bedrolls are no simply 'tan', but have greens and grays in the shadows as an accent.

At the end of the series, I show the snow and ice process, including my favorite... icicles!  Those tiny twigs were placed in crucial areas of the bases in the very first episode, and now those branches are getting the final decorative elements.

Over and over again during the series, I mention how the "context" of how you will see the colors you are painting will have a huge effect.  The simple act of adding the snow and ice effects darkens the colors you painted by several shades, so it is important to keep that in mind, and not go too crazy with extreme dark tones.

Colors that seem too light next to the dark, snow free bases transform when the snow is placed.

The is the second Song of Ice and Fire unit that I have done as the subject of an Army Painting series.  many more are on the way, leading up to Adepticon.  My next Song of Ice and Fire unit is a set of Free Folk Spearwives.  This is not limited to that genre, however.  I already have 2 Lord of the Rings series, an Age of Sigmar and even a Bolt Action tutorial series on the Patreon Page.

The Army Painter pledge level is $15, and as I mentioned, it will provide access to all the various tutorials that I do that month, which is at least 16-22 hours of brand new video tutorials!

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Tossing Rocks

I have been asked many times if I thought that the Song of Ice and Fire miniatures might work for other games, and I have showed people the alternate paint schemes and spear conversions as an example.

In this case, the requirement was creating some crew for 2 weapons (which I think came from one of the Zombicide games).  To create them, I cut away the shield and sword arms and replaced them with some of the Winter Soviet arms from Bolt Action.

The scale of the arms and hands matched up well, and having plain "sleeves" worked well with the color scheme and even the notion of being a weapon team.  You would not want chainmail sleeves getting caught up in the machinery!

The weapons can either be set up like this, without their bases... or

Placed on a custom base for game play if needed!  I made a base similar to this for the Night's watch Scorpion crew:  https://wappellious.blogspot.com/2018/11/steaks-for-dinner.html

Those bases did make a nice setting for the weapons.  I will be making some more tutorials on this type of base for the Patreon Page:  www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Here's one of the latest tutorials on basing Song of Ice and Fire armies:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INPfPLCTZcE

Comfy Chair

We've heard of Fat Cats in politics before, but now the political track of Song of Ice and Fire has its very own.  Meet Caster, one of the new figures that is part of the Free Folk Starter box!

I had a lot of fun painting this piece, utilizing a number of subtle glazes to get pink and purple in shadow areas of greenish colors, and vice versa.  The idea is to keep what is a very sedentary figure looking more interesting than if it were all shaded in the same boring gradients of brown!

You can also see shades of blue incorporated in the upper parts of the figure, which help to provide even more contrast to the beet red parts of the face.  I tried to follow the concept art on the card as closely as possible.  You can see that at work in the Free Folk Savage Giant video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LvJv3dyjEw

I already have about 16 hours of painting videos strictly for Song of Ice and Fire available to the Patrons on the Patreon Page, and more are being added every week!  I have Night's watch under way right now for the Army Painter pledge level, with Spearwives about to begin.  You can check that out here:  www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

More Giants!

After painting the first Savage Giant from the new Free Folk army box, I was really looking forward to painting his buddy!  If you want a peek at the first tutorial, here's a link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LvJv3dyjEw

As always, I start out with the Shaded Basecoat and glazing process, establishing all the lights and darks as rapidly as possible.  Once those initial colors are in place, it makes is a lot easier to build off of them.  For instance, having the blueish gray skin colors already on the figure from those first layers means all I have to do is put some additional layers of pinks or greens.

Just like the original giant, I did some snow and ice effects.  Since he has a pretty hefty beard, I tried to get some frost effects around his mouth.  That was very fun!

Here's some images of the completed giant, including his movement tray.  The balance of greens and umbers play off each other, and the more grayish skin tones.

You can see that play out in these images.  I also discuss how to work more variety in surfaces such as cloth, and how even that surface can reflect color and light (even though it is not reflective like metals).  The parts of the cloth that are closest to the ground have a cooler, blueish tint, while those facing upwards are a warmer, more yellowish green.

At one point in the video I turn off the saturation completely, making the screen black and white.  This means that only shape you see is provided by the shadows and highlights.  The cloth retains all of its shape, but now you don't see that blueish color tint.

Each of the tutorials I create has that kind of in depth process.  You see every brush stroke possible, and you get an explanation behind every color choice, every highlight, and so on.  I try to repeat these things during the recording to reinforce the information, and make it easier to remember.

I have dozens of painting tutorials on my Patreon Page, which cover every possible technique and topic.  Not just painting, but basing, terrain, and more.

A pledge of just $5 can get you access to tutorials such as this.  Each one is about 100-130 minutes long.  The Army Painter pledge level of $15 will provide access to all tutorials that I do each month.

Joining in on the Patreon Page will provide you with access to a vast number of tutorials, and brand new content every month.  I already have several Song of Ice and Fire unit tutorials in progress, including the Night's Watch Ranger Hunters and the Free Folk Spearwives!

Here's a link to the page... once you sign up, I immediately send you links to tutorials to get you started: www.patreon.com/JamesWappel