It's our little secret...

Well, what happens in Wappleville does not always stay in Wappleville. :-)

This is a color test miniature for a new faction in the Dark Age game system.  The head piece was the most interesting element to me.  It would make an interesting statue or neat terrain piece if it were scaled up much larger.

This faction has yet to be released, so this will have to be our little secret for now! :-)

Mighty handy with that shootin' iron...

Just when you thought I had forgotten about those Empire handgunners, guess who shows up?

I have been working on those pretty furiously, so we have another painted mini for the movement tray!

Here he is with the unit...

Fire away!

Nurgle Sorcerer completed!

At long last, this figure is done!  It has been around for a while now.

As has been mentioned on the previous step by step threads, this is one of the neater "space marine"  unnamed, non terminator armored characters.

Usually Nurgle marines are the domain of Cathy, who loves her Nurgle!!

The way the left hand is holding the halberd has been the same position I have done on a few of my earlier Grey Knight characters from years ago.  It was quite a surprise to see that pose now!

I wish the photos could show more of the wild and crazy color combos.  In the future, I may try shooting some video of painted figures to see if that kind of 'live view' might help in that case.

Mixing in the fluorescent paints with the 'ardcoat was a great find during this whole Nurgle project.  Always learning something new!!!

I almost never used 'ardcoat for anything, but trying it out on these figures has opened up a whole new area of techniques.  Constant experimentation is so vital.  Not only does it lead to improvements in painting, it keeps things fresh! :-)

Something stinky is coming...

Here is something that has been in the works for a while... a Nurgle sorcerer.  It is an interesting mini that I had never heard of until it arrived.

These next few images show the usual shaded basecoat process.  Here's the banner being prepped for its darker glazes...

Some glazes applied.  Remember, the idea is to set up my middle tones.  I want to do a broad range of color variations in that zone, especially on a Chaos mini such as this.  Those middle tones are really key to establishing reflected light and such.

Same for the sorcerer.  Working the lights as much as possible, so that the glazes and shading will set up my darkest darks...

Don't be afraid to go super light at this stage, since lots of darkness is coming!

And here it is, some darker shading.  When it comes down to it, many transparent glazes and washes take a lot less time than a similar amount of opaque paint layers!

Part of those middle tones is your weathering, such as rust, which is what I like to add right after the shading/glazing stage.

More work on the banner and sorcerer.  Stay tuned for the final images tonight!!!!

The Flying Tigers: The finished figure

After all the steps displayed in the previous two posts, I am left with this completed figure.

It was very fun!  I look forward to trying out some more, as I try to refine a painting DVD to be created around it.

The next figures from this group will probably have additional markings and insignia.

Enjoy!

The Flying Tigers: Stage Two

Here are the rest of the step by step images of the Archangel from Urban Warfare.  They have always been favorites of mine.

As I mentioned in the previous post, this is one of a few miniatures I have been considering for a Freehand design DVD.  There are a lot of freehand design DVD's concerning cloaks and banners, but not as many on rougher surfaces such as this.  In addition, this freehand is supposed to work directly with the colors on the figure, in a very unique camouflage. 

When I last left you, I was working on the later stages of the tiger face freehand on the wings.  I established the darkest darks on the design.

Then I went back into the middle tones... in this case, the orange/browns of the face.

I was also working on the archangel herself.  With the application of the oranges to reflect the wings, she was ready for some darker glazes.

You can see these on the hair and leggings.  I mixed the Reaper Brown liner with some ashen brown and grey to do these glazes.

The idea behind the colors on the Archangel is to have her feet and gloves be white, like the paws of a tiger.;-)

I did some final details on the eyes, and pulled out a few individual hair areas on the rest of the face.

With all the darker glazes applied to the Archangel, it was time to work back into the middle tones.  I mixed in some light teal greens with my greys, which provided even more contrast with the warmer oranges and browns.

More refining of the highlights.  I also add some tattoos.

With a few more details added, she was attached to the flying stand and the base!  Stay tuned for those finished images!!

If I were to do this as a 'how to' Freehand DVD, I would be adding even more freehand things.  Probably some numbers or insignia on the sides of the gun, perhaps on the base, etc.

I will try to give you all a heads up on which miniatures will end up being the subject of the various titles!!

The Flying Tigers: stage one

Here is something from Urban Warfare.  It is an Archangel from the VASA faction.  You could be seeing more than a few of these as part of our Kickstarter painting DVD's  Obviously, this would be part of a freehand series.

I began with a nice reference of a tiger face, which is going to be painted on the wings...

The girl will also have tiger colors.  This is the shaded basecoat on the flesh and gun...

The first indications of the lights are painted, using a deneb stone.

It is blended a bit with the reddish brown base color

Some off white is added and certain marking are lightened.

The eyes begin with some light green...

A dark brown is used to start pulling out the shapes of the eyes and darker markings...

Stay tuned for the next episode!!