A Bird in Hand...

This massive bird from Mierce Miniatures posed all sorts of technical and logistical challenges.  First was tackling the basing.  He is originally meant to stand on a piece of resin, but that was going to be replaced by my "Bark and Branch" method.

I have a link to the original basing that was done on a facebook live session here:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10209658916083798/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

Painting him was a challenge due to so many similar colors on so many broad surfaces.  Getting variety was key to keeping it from getting too boring!

I have a video on the initial painting session using the new Secret Weapon weathering paints here:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10210236304598150/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

As usual, a lot of unusual color mixtures were required to create that interest, especially in those all important "Mid Tones".  This half way area between light and dark is where about 60% of all the colors on a figure tend to fall, which means that you have to play around with muted mixes of opposite colors, and incorporate greens and other tones that you would not ordinarily associate with feathers!

Droud

As I have mentioned before, Siren Miniatures are packed with all kinds of details, and this was no exception.  It seemed like a very simple dwarf, until I started painting it!  Every time I turned around, there was another sneaky element lurking.

It does make it more enjoyable to paint when you have crisp detail.  I believe at the time I was also working on other much older figures that were just the opposite, where everything had to be "painted in".  That was no fun at all by comparison!

I used another Secret Weapon base on him, to make it seem like he was running over the body of a fallen foe.  As I was working on this, I was also painting monsters and historical figures... taking advantage of similar colors, even though the figures were drastically different in genre.

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222660336823?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Attack of the Ents

This massive treeman was a challenge just to put together, much less paint!

I think there were at least 22 "branches" that had to be glued in place.  These had to be positioned in a way that was realistic, but also less likely to break.  I didn't want too many pointing straight up, or out to the sides.  You can see that more than one branch actually points downward.

The other reason I did this was to make the upraised "arm" seem more threatening, as opposed to a mere collection of branches among the whole canopy.  I used some Woodland Scenics foliage on the base and the branches.  This is the same material that I have been adding to my historical figures, especially the large gun emplacements and weapon teams.

I used my typical shaded basecoat/glazing method, the very same one that I used in my Painting Pyramid video series.  It is always quite ironic when I paint a treeman, as the figure that was used in the glazing video was in fact a treeman!

It was the perfect subject for a glazing video.  The best way to get the colors and shading down into the unending crevices is through glazing, and this also allowed me to shift colors rapidly and easily.  Endless layers of lighter colors would have taken a tremendous amount of time.

Eastern Blades

My old Easterling army was a cavalry based force, and this character was one of the key elements.  As the blades suggest, he was very proficient in close combat.  In the Lord of the Rings game system, cavalry not only had speed, but some serious hitting power when matched up against infantry.

Knocking down an opponent was a very key tactic in the game, and this was something that a mounted figure could do to a standard infantry man.  Also, the soldier on top of the horse could survive a hit, as it was possible for the horse to be killed instead.

By comparison, most cavalry in other systems were nothing more than fast moving infantry.

It was this depth that made LOTR my favorite system at the time, and prompted the use of chariots for my Khandish allies.  The chariots had a further level of charging impact, and additional layers of survivability.    Once again, chariots were usually treated like fast moving infantry that might get some generic impact hits.

These cavalry units could be spurred on even further by war drums and priests, increasing their speed and ferocity.

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222664580970?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Home Repairs

Now that all the shaded basecoat has been completed on the buildings, it is time to mark out where the line of shattered exterior stucco begins.  While it is possible to do this with a regular brush, I wanted to show a method that can create a more random looking edge.

We always trend towards creating patterns, and one way to prevent that is to take it out of our hands.  In this case, it will be a torn paper towel, which is something that I used for my spacescapes all the time!

The idea is to tear off some concave and convex pieces of the towel, allowing it to tear naturally.  It should also have some bits of fuzz off of these ends, so don't cut it with a scissors!

You can see the effect in the lower image, where the lighter color has been sprayed to the outside of the mask.  This leaves a very irregular edge along the area where the bricks have been exposed on the collapsed walls.

I try to emphasize this edge even more around shell holes.  Keep in mind, I will be going back over these with brushes and weathering powders to create additional effects.  This process has more to do with establishing where those edges should be.

However, if you are in a hurry, this is a very quick method for getting them presentable!

You can see the look that I am going for here.  If you want, you can place multiple masks on the walls if you are not comfortable spraying onto one side of a mask and risking overspray onto the bricks elsewhere.  

Here I have a wall where the remaining stucco forms a line in between two large areas of exposed brick.  You could use a few bits of blue tac to hold the masks in place.

For a stronger edge, you can use lighter tones, or continue to spray a bit longer.  Again, the whole idea here is to create more random patterns.

I think you can even recognize where the edge of the paper towel and the paint on the wall match.  I turned the mask backwards to get more shapes from that single mask.  I also had a few other pieces that ended up with edges that had a different shape.

This is also an illustration of why I left the bricks a little darker.  Had I highlighted them too much, this new layer would not have as much impact.  Also, I want to have lighter color mortar in between the bricks, and I have discovered that it is much nicer when it is lighter on the dark bricks.

For shell holes on walls that do not have as much exposed brick, I tried to experiment with masks made of blue tac.  It is more difficult to get the random torn edges, but that is something that I can do by hand.

The buildings are now ready for the next set of effects.  I will go back in to these areas with a brush and create a more pronounced edge, painting cracks and other indications of damage, etc.  The weathering powders should also create a more scorched, dusty appearance.

As for the interiors, I have created some wallpaper that should really help to add to the overall look of the buildings.  I did this on some Wild West structures, and that really made a big difference.

That will be covered in the next post, or a facebook live episode if it is too difficult to snap images during the process.

Here's a peek at one of the wallpapers that I made in photoshop.  I found a number of patterns in a "1930's wallpaper" search, and then took the small pieces into photoshop to create much larger sections to cover the walls of the buildings.

Each of type of pattern is actually 8 of these small chunks that I snagged on google.

Stay tuned for the next episode!!

House Painting

After allowing the glue and oxide paste enough time to dry thoroughly, it was time to get some paint on these ruined buildings!  Using the Badger airbrush (Patriot 105) and some primers would not only make this task faster, but save some abuse on the buildings by not hammering away at all the deeper areas with a brush!

I decided to start with a neutral gray Stynelrez primer to seal everything in, and set the stage for the other muted colors.

I tried out these "terrain paints" from Badger for the first time.  They are like weathering powders in a way, comprised of many earth tones and greens.  I thought they might be handy for the brick piles, exposed wood and brick, etc.

I began with the Weathered Black, which was a darker, warm grey.

I worked on all 4 buildings at the same time.  On the "intact" building, I will be putting printed carpets on the floor.  The walls will have wallpaper, just like the ruined structures.  So, the interiors walls were kept pretty simple, focusing on darker grays in the corners.

I also made sure to have some darker shading around shell holes and over the burned out windows.

The airbrush certainly made it a lot easier to reach all those crevices, especially on the multi story ruins.  It also meant that I didn't have to risk breaking away my bricks to get color down underneath them!

Once I had established where the darks would be, I began to work lighter, trying to catch some of the highlights without getting too bright.  I still have to add the browns and reddish colors for the bricks!

You can see the difference in tone once those warmer colors are added.  This is why I wanted that neutral grey to start out, so that the browns and reds would not be as intense as they might have were these primed black instead.

The open ruins structure shows off those warm colors.  Keep in mind that many more layers of powders and other paints will be added!  These are just the initial shaded basecoat setup layers.

You can see the color temperature difference even more on the intact building as the warmer lighter colors contrast with the cooler gray.

An even lighter series of tan/creme colors were applied to give more contrast to the outer walls.

You can see that I am trying to create stains and scorch marks already.  These will be further enhanced with more details later.

A reddish color was sprayed on the exposed brick walls and the piles, making sure not to get too much of a "single color" look.  I have some very fun details that will be added to the bricks to bring them out even more that I will show you in a future episode.

The next episode will feature something very interesting!  I am going to use one of my old spacescape painting techniques in order to lay out where the shattered walls will expose the darker bricks.  Stay tuned!

By the way, you can get these Badger airbrush products at Webairbrushes.com with a link below.  If you use the coupon code wappellious, you will get a 42% discount.

http://webairbrushes.com/

The Marshall

I have painted a few of the Ladies of the West now... but finally one of them is ready for my Lawmen of Wappelville!

Continuing the theme of painting figures that require similar colors,  the palette of this figure matched those of 3 other genres that I was working on at the time.  For instance, if I am working on a skin tone, I will try to find as many figures as possible that require something similar and do that all at once.

I even used some of these same colors on a treeman and a troll... even on a giant birdman and WW2 figures.  The list goes on, and so does the progress.  As I have said before, it is a fantastic way to keep the line moving and get things done more rapidly.

Lately, however, I have noticed the "side" benefit more and more, which is keeping the energy level higher.  Instead of getting bored painting the same thing over and over (especially if the figures are not favorites!!) I can switch to something else that I do enjoy, and take the sting out of painting things that really don't interest me.

She's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322794250839?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649