Charge!

I have been working on many scores of historical minis over the last few months.  Most of that has been 'grunt' work, all the basing, prepping, magnetizing, shaded basecoats, etc.

As I was waiting for some huge files to transfer after filming, I did some finish work on more horses...

Here are two of them.

It is strange how similar, yet different, these are to work on.  If they were sculpted by someone who was NOT a former GW employee, it would not be so odd.  I could almost use these horses for Rohan riders in Lord of the Rings.

More to come!

Walking the plank(s)

Ironically, the reason this figure was painted was to provide an example of one of the wood plank bases being used.  As I mentioned before, I am trying to have as many practical examples of the various bases as I can for the basing videos.

So, I sawed this Reaper pirate figure from the base, and put her on the planks!

Yes, I am strange.  Painting a mini just to show off a base... and not the other way around.

Yar. :-)

Basing bonanza

A good portion of this week has been dedicated to filming basing videos and terrain.

While I knew going in that these would require a very different approach than the standard miniature painting videos, it has been very interesting to see the details of what must be done.

I don't want to bore you with those details, but for starters, I am very glad that I chose to use the ancient drafting table that weighs a few hundred pounds!  There is a lot of violent action in the carving of some of the pieces, and the camera might have been knocked over on my original setup :-)

I learned that a white background is also better, because the white sculpey gets burned out on darker surfaces.  The camera is not forced to negotiate extreme lights and darks.

As you can also see in the image, the basing videos are really several projects in one, even though they are all related.  These are the bases covered in the sci-fi basing set.  

I was very glad that I tried to make as many of the painting video figures use these various bases, as that provides some solid examples of how these bases can really spice up a figure.  The Camouflage figures are a case in point!

There was one little twist that I am adding in.  See the chain link fence base?  I decided to paint that one and splice that in at the end of the video, since a painted example would be helpful (and I had about 2-3 minutes of space available!).

So, I will show you some pictures of this painted later tomorrow night!

Cathy's project continues...

Here are some more images of Cathy's base!  You have seen the WIP images of how she built the base from the baked sculpey, carving and weathering each block, as well as the mosaic floor.

This is the second post showing the process of painting it.

Cathy did some color test marble pieces first to practice...

It's always a good idea to do such practice sessions, since it will definitely save you a lot of time and struggle, and yield a better final result.

Here is a reference she was using, a painting by John William Goodward.

Now for some images of the base after this stage of painting:

You can really see the greenish marble, along with the stains in these images...

Stay tuned for the next episode, where she works on the smaller mosaic pieces!

Painting with Powders... it can be done!

OK!  As mentioned yesterday... a miniature painted entirely with 'weathering' powders!

Yes indeed.  No kidding.  Even the base.  In fact, I am really enjoying painting the bases with the powders.  It might even get more interesting when I try out the other Secret Weapon products that make snow and mud.

There was a great deal for me to learn to make those powders work as a painting material.  It is not easy, and you really have to think and plan ahead.

The reason I thought it might gel with what I am doing is that planning ahead is a big part of it.  Starting lighter, knowing that eventually I will be tinting and shading everything darker.

Even with this technique, starting lighter and working darker is a great approach.  You can create de-facto 'glazes' using the fixer product.

For the time being, bright colors are not something that would be possible using the powders, which is why this is more of an "earth tone" piece.  There is a logical explanation for this paradigm.  The vast majority of powders are made for weathering or related techniques, so they are naturally more muted.

If you want to lighten the colors, you can apply them as a 'powder', without any liquids or mediums.  This will give you a very nice smooth look, although you will have to spray it later with dullcoate to seal it.

The original intent for this video was for painting large creatures, but I really wanted to push the limits to see what is possible.  You will find that working on a large miniature after doing this little lady will make it seem a lot easier!  Working with much bigger brushes on the large surfaces should be very nice!

Spiders everywhere!

OK, after another very long night of work, we conclude with some group shots of the Spider Horde.  This really puts the Arachnid in "Arachnids of Evil"!

This represents the spider element of the new army.  They are accompanied by Morghul knight cavalry, and the Shadow Lord on Fell Beast.  My concept is, as I mentioned before, speed and hard hitting multi-wound units.  

With the protection of the Shadow Lord from shooting (as well as terrain for the spiders), I am hoping to be able to deliver some serious punches to the opponent.  The Shadow Lord is supposed to help neutralize banners and captains, either by shooting them down, compelling them, or picking them up and tossing them aside.

The Spider Queen s also supposed to provide a sudden advantage at the point of attack by spawning the broods.  She can also knock down cavalry units, and provide a high strength fight skill 6 set of attacks on pesky leaders.

I am also counting on the multiple attacks and poison of the giant spiders.  They also have a high fight skill, and multiple attacks.  In conjunction with cavalry charges, I think they can be quite deadly.

For those who may not have seen the original posts of those giant spiders, here are a few.

I used WFB spider mounts for goblins.  There is a post that shows how I used green stuff to convert them into giant spiders...

Now it is time to finish off that Shadow Lord on Fell beast!!

When the shoe is on the other foot...

Sometimes, when the shoe is on the other foot, you end up getting a kick in the pants. :-)  In some ways, this was that kick.  I was creating the techniques for the Painting with Powders video.

That had been a major struggle on an off for the last 4 days.  I was trying to achieve the vision that I had for such a technique well over a year ago, when powdered pigments were just starting to gain prevalence. 

Let's just say that I now know what it is like to be all the people who are trying to adapt my methods and mesh them with their own.  This last happened to me in art school, when I had to take what the teacher was showing me, and make it my own.

For the last several years, my techniques had been evolving, so even dramatic shifts were not exactly traumatic, since they were all branching out from one source.

This was something entirely new, completely alien.

Justin from Secret Weapon Miniatures was kind enough to do a demo for me, showing how to use the new Sealer product, as well as rubbing alcohol.  However, I still had to learn all the ins and outs of the materials for myself.

Now, check this out.  It looks pretty ordinary in terms of palettes for me, doesn't it?

However, what you are actually seeing on that palette are only these!

Yes, this miniature is being entirely painted with nothing more than 'weathering' powders.  Here are some images of the earlier stages.  Fortunately, my usual methods of working lighter to darker colors suited this well.

Exchanging Sealer and rubbing alcohol for water and glaze medium was very distracting at first.  I had to learn all new sets of properties.  For instance, the lighter pigments act differently with each medium, while the darker pigments tend to act exactly the same.

I even learned to rub away pigments, and wet blend new colors in!  Imagine being able to wipe away a color you didn't like :-)  So, I will be showing the finished images at some point late tomorrow!  Stay tuned...