Lady of Anguish

As some of you might already know, I have been creating painting tutorials on the Creature Caster figures, which I really love!  I have 8 of them in various stages of filming right now, but the first is complete, and a few episodes are on the YouTube channel for you to see.  

This is episode 1 of 3: https://youtu.be/jyaCXWRPPdw

That first episode focused mostly on the wings, and establishing the color scheme overall, working from a few reference images of butterflies.  I was also using the Pro Acryl paints.  The basing was very important, and that is also covered in great depth.

The second episode of the 3 part series involved the rest of the body, in addition to the face and weapons.  I was also getting to know the ProAcryl paints a little better, after my first test of the paints in this video: https://youtu.be/sFsQ4VrQG44

Here is a link to that second episode:  https://youtu.be/gverWb5dj9k

I really enjoyed creating this series, and the three episode format is what I will be using for the rest as well.  The next series to be released will have the Lord of Slaughter painted as a firey demon: https://wappellious.blogspot.com/2018/07/flame-and-ash.html

Here are some more views of the basing, which included water effects, cut leaves, and even some painted moss!

The concept behind this was to show how to create a very intense color scheme with a "limited" palette.  I did not use many colors, but choosing the right set can let you create all the tones that you need.

The Pro Acryl paints can be used in a variety of ways, and I will certainly be discovering many more along the way, as the line continues to expand.  More of the newest paint colors are on the way here so that I can test them out with the original release!

All of these series will be available to the Patreon page subscribers at the $5 level, but I also have a high level pledge which includes the figure itself.  You can check that out here: www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

The peacock and the skull

Here are a few bases that I created in very little time utilizing some Green Stuff World basing products.  First, we have the Mandala texture roller... here's a link for you: http://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/textured-rolling-pins/868-rolling-pin-mandala.html

In combination with a few layers of cork and placing some Sandy Paste in the gaps, this Dark Sword figure is all set for painting!

Cathy will be painting this on her live stream in association with More Than Dice a Podcast.  She streams every Tuesday through Friday from 3pm Central to 5pm.

I think she will be going with a peacock motif, using the wonderful Jade color from the Pro Acryl series!

Cathy will also be painting this Reaper figure, which was based with the help of the Green Stuff World Crunch Times skeleton sheet and some additional skulls.

Once again, in combination with the cork and paste, those could be merged together quite seamlessly!  I have a tutorial video showing how those are used here:  https://youtu.be/ECA4rXwSAjU

Be sure to check out Cathy's live stream, where she will be working on a few different figures during the week.  Be sure to say something in the chat, because she loves the company while she paints!!!

Swamp Things

The Creature Cast//Slow Fuse gaming paints yield some very interesting results, like this river troll from Games Workshop!  Here's a video that I did a while back when I first got the paints to see what they could do: https://youtu.be/sFsQ4VrQG44

I had a lot of fun with the scales and skin, which felt like they should be fish like, but also of a higher saturation.  The Purple and Jade from the range are favorites, and they have a natural synergy together.

As an intermediary, we have some of the Sky Blue in places.  This helps the Jade to translate into purple instead of becoming more of a gray.  Purple and Green mixes are one of my favorite ways to create Green, so adding the blueish tone first cuts down on that "graying" of the color.

I used the Reaper Liner paints to make them even darker, such as the Green and Blue Liner paints.  I was also using them much like a glaze, and those Liner paints are fantastic for glazing, as many of you have seen in my videos!

I did much of the water with the Green Stuff World clear UV resin.  This can be very handy, as the water effects can take a LONG time to cure on their own.  I will be doing more experiments with this to see how it can be built up to create waves and so on...

I was tempted to add some mushrooms to the base... but perhaps on the next one!  If I do, they will be sculpted in a very similar manner to this tutorial: https://youtu.be/b0ZGhq6GoO0

World in Flames

The latest basing tutorial is up on the Patreon Page now, and it shows yet another use for the Liquitex heavy Gloss Gel.  I have used it for water, icicles, and yes, even fire!  In this video, I also showed how I used the Green Stuff World Lion theme texture roller using sheets of baked Sculpey clay.

The flaming skulls, also from Green Stuff World, were really fun, and just the right touch!

With the Sculpey and Skulls in place, it was time to add some extra flames to the rest of the bases and the movement tray.

This does dry clear, and it can even be tinted.  While I will be painting these in a classic Object Source Lighting with fluorescent paints, you could even mix that fluorescent green with the gel and make your flames that way if you were looking for a quick down and dirty method.

Here's a peek at the tray will all the effects added!  As I mentioned before, it will dry clear, so I wanted to get a few pictures while it was still easy to see.

I did my usual Badger Airbrush Stynlrez primer technique on the figures and tray, so that I could establish some quick shading.

You can sign up for the Basing Techniques pledge level on the Patreon Page at $10 per month.  This will get you access to the regular basing videos, but also the episodes that focus on basing from other series, such as the Army Painting and Dark Sword levels.

Of course, signing up for the Army Painter pledge level will provide access to all the videos done over the month for only $15.  When you sign up, all of the previous content is also sent to you, since I try to build each series and technique on previous videos!!  This means hundreds of hours of tutorials at you fingertips, covering just about anything you can imagine.

Here is a link to the page, where you can sign up for all those tutorials!  I try to create the widest array of techniques and materials to give you more and more options: www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Skulls, Snow and Blood!

One of my latest tutorials loaded to the Patreon Page showed off the traditional crushed glass snow technique... but with a twist!  This time, I added some blood effects.

You can see those strategically positioned not only on the bases of the figures, but the movement tray as well.

I had been looking forward to testing this out for a while, and it was well worth the wait.  I combined the Bader Airbrush Ghost Tint called Fresh Blood with Green Stuff World's True Blood.  I added a bit of Reaper Red liner for added darkness in the driest areas of the blood pools.

The wonderful aspect of the crushed glass snow is that it is crystalline and transparent.  This means the blood actually 'seeps' into the snow, as it would with the real thing.

This view gives you a great look at the overall effect. This was done for the $10 Basing level pledge on the patreon page, but it was also meant for the backers at the $15 Army Painting level.

Here's a link to the Patreon Page if you are interested in tutorial/experiments such as these.  I have many more experiments on the way, since Green Stuff World sent me a host of new products!

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

If you want to get a peek at the figures themselves, I have a live session where I was painting them with the Mig Ammo Oilbrushers:

https://youtu.be/cnJPK4fY6-o

Ancient BONES

The latest YouTube Live session had something very interesting... a combination of a Reaper BONES mini and some Green Stuff World texture rollers!

This was a test piece that I did for a more formal tutorial that will be created for the patrons on my patreon page.  I wanted to show a quick way to snazz up those BONES minis and get some nice results!  It will be part of a new pledge level regarding Reaper miniatures (a link to the page): www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

While my voice recovers from Adepticon, I will be doing a few of these live sessions.  In this episode, I talked about how the base was created, and I take you through the process of painting it.  Then I work on the figure itself, demonstrating some NMM, freehand, and the usual Shaded Basecoat & Glazing.

Here's a link to the live session!! https://youtu.be/uNH48XRMoak

Army Painting... a New Series!

The latest Army Painting series has been completed for the Patreon Page!  I have been eagerly awaiting this Morghul Knights unit for my Middle Earth SBG collection, and now it is well under way to the table.

My next Lord of the Rings series will feature my new Rohan army!

I used the Mig Ammo Oilbrushers as well as standard oil paints throughout the process.  These have a number of advantages, as the consistency is the same as acrylic miniature paints right out of the container.  They also have an unbreakable container, and a handy brush to get that out on to the palette.

I used a number of Green Stuff World products on the bases, which were also covered in Episode 1.  The new Texture Sheets were outstanding, and I also created a few flagstone bases.  

Once the figures were painted, I concluded the series with adding static grass and cut leaves.  You can see the Green Stuff World leaf cutters in the image.  They are really amazing!

I tried to cover a number of topics during the 4 part series, including weathering, NMM, and how to get as much color variety in "black" as possible.  This series allowed me to do a lot more glazing of the oil paints, since I was able to let some layers partially or completely dry.

This is something I have not done very often, and never had a chance to capture on camera.

The Army Painting tutorials are only a part of what is offered on my Patreon Page.  I also have a number of basing tutorials, terrain, and other "general techniques".  I am now filming the 14th Painting Dark Sword episode!  All of these are available for you to see when you sign up for that pledge level.

I have a few live sessions that are more of a conversation about the approach to using the oils, including this recent episode on the Song of Ice and Fire Flayed Men:  https://youtu.be/IkrM2b7xl7E

When you look at the cloaks, metals and horses, you will see that each one is a slightly different shade.  Some have more of a greenish tint, others more red or even turquoise.   These subtle differences create a much more interesting unit, and the oil paints make it a LOT easier to create those kinds of gentle shifts in color.

Even over a layer of dried oil paints, it is still easier to blend in a fresh layer of oils than to do so in acrylics.

Series 8 will also feature some brand new elements, as I work on the Mountain's Men.

The Army Painting series is available at the $15 pledge level, and all previous series can be viewed.  Many more are already in the works!

Here's a link to the page: www.patreon.com/JamesWappel