Chew Toys

It has been a long time since I have had a chance to paint a Malifaux figure, so this set of hounds was a treat!

There were a lot of glazes involved with each one, but on this hound in particular I made sure to include some of the grayish blue glazes that I was using on some of the other hounds that looked more like wolves.

By making the highlights a bit more yellow, the grayish blue registered as more greenish to the eye.

I am always talking about context in miniature painting, and this is another area.  Basically making the eye think it is seeing one color, when it is actually another.

This can provide more depth and interest to your figures without having to mix and place endless layers of opaque paint, especially when you also have to deal with a very fine texture such as the fur.

It was not very pronounced at all, which meant that I could adjust it by freehand applications in the highlights and shadow areas.

Since these figures are a similar color, you can check out this YouTube live session where I talk about this concept:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbiEdQGIqu4

Scouting Ahead

This was the most complex kit that I have done for my Bolt Action armies thus far, and a definite favorite!  It is so iconic for early war, and a vital recon instrument as well.  It has already made an appearance in my latest battle report video!

I painted it with Secret Weapon Weathering paints, where I used the Engine Grime for the first time, which made a very nice dark grey glaze (with a warmer tone).  I used the Reaper Miniatures Gray Liner paint as well, which was also a warmer dark that complimented the glazes of Blue liner.

While these early war vehicles are Dunkelgrau, getting different "temperatures" to your tones is very important.  For instance, the surfaces facing the 'sky' are done with more of a cooler tone, which those facing the ground are warmer, or more earth toned.

Without a doubt, this had the most decals that I have ever had to deal with.  Somewhere between 14-16 of them... most of which were tiny!!  Still, it really helps lend a sense of scale overall.

The other weathering effects were also done by using the Secret Weapon Weathering paints in a more "traditional" way.  There are several mud colors, and the same goes for rust.  I needed to use this vehicle in my video the next day after painting, so the usual oil materials were not really an option.

I used many of the same colors painting the Panzer 38T kit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Z-eAAb1lI

I even tried out the new Secret Weapon engine oil products on the rear deck of this SDKfZ 232.  You can see a bit of that in this image.

Over my last several live sessions and hangouts, I have tried to emphasize that "limited palette" exercises don't have to be so limited!  Even if a vehicle is desert sand, green, winter white, etc., there are many options for creating depth.

All that takes is a bit of forethought, and a willingness to shift a bit of the color to the warmer or cooler side.  I have done this on several "green" vehicles, and on some upcoming desert vehicles.

Here's a few links to some older Facebook Live sessions:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10211564190874477/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

Let the Army Painting begin!!

I have been very excited about the new pledge levels on the Patreon page... especially the "Army Painting" series of instructional videos.

This course takes you through the process of planning out the painting of units and therefore armies, starting with the bases, moving on to the color scheme, followed by the best way to approach that color scheme. 

These are usually 3-5 episodes, and cover all the aspects of army painting that I have developed over the years.  The idea is to get the most out of the appearance of the figures, but in a reasonable amount of time.

The first series has now been created for the backers of this new pledge level, and many topics came up during the process... fluorescent paints, object source lighting, non metallic metals, and so on.  My goal is to tackle different genres with each set, and different materials.

For instance, I want to show how to use oils, do weathering techniques, etc. on future units.  I'll be covering 40k, Bolt Action, more fantasy units, steampunk, etc.

As some of you who are already familiar with the Painting Pyramid know, I start out with the Shaded Basecoat, which was initially developed as I painted my armies.

Here's a blast from the past!!

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/p/using-shaded-basecoat-technique-to.html

Back in 2013-14, I did a kickstarter campaign in which I created 53 different videos, each one about 100 minutes long.  Many topics were covered, including 12 videos on basing techniques and 5 on terrain!

I have been adding to that collection with all new videos, which are available to the patrons.  The new Painting Pyramid videos are designed to incorporate my newest techniques and materials with the methods that I developed in previous years.

Since the original Pyramid days, I have gotten a host of new materials, and they have made life much easier, and opened up so many new options!

There are a lot of things planned for the army painting pledges!  I even have an option to get "hard copy" versions of the videos on a USB drive.  These are higher resolution versions, and you can watch them anytime you want.

Here's a link to the page"

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Painting Dark Sword: Episode 1

This was the first month of the new Pledge Levels on my patreon page, and there was little doubt that I would have to include painting videos on Dark Sword miniatures!  They are perfect for these instructional videos due to the fine sculpting and casting.

Working on this figure was a joy, as always, and it was the subject of the first instructional video.  It's already been posted to the backers who pledged at the level.

If the Page can reach the $1000 goal, I will add a second Dark Sword tutorial for that month.  There is a nice stockpile of prepped Dark Sword figures here, so I am ready and waiting for that to happen.  

The faces in particular, as well as the hair and hands are so much easier to work on at this level of zoom for the camera.  Most miniatures begin to look a little clunky when you get this close, but I was grateful to see how the tiny face on this figure could be so large on screen!

Each video begins with a discussion on the brushes, palette, and paints.

Just like the original Painting Pyramid videos, I take you through the Shaded Basecoat stage, Glazing, Midtones, Final highlights, Details and so on.

The new Dark Sword tutorial painting episodes are not the only instructional videos on the Patreon Page.  I have the Army Painting series, large creatures and Black Heart models busts as well!  Additional levels will be added in August and September.

You can check that out here:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Photo Booth in a Hurry!

Sometimes you just have to take some pictures of your stuff in a hurry, or on the go, or both!

Using one of the TableWar photo mats and a few of my portable LED lights, I was able to set something up to snap images before I had to pack up a number of large critters.

You just saw the Wereshark in a recent post, using the Reaper Pearl White for the first time.  He looked pretty interesting on this backdrop!  I just pointed my phone at the setup and snapped a few images.

These mats are made from the same material as the game mats, which means they are very durable and much more immune to the potential damage from rough handling.

Here's my original post that shows the other mats and the rest of the setup that comes with the kit:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2017/09/big-time-backdrops.html

You might recognize these beasties from Cathy's live Twitch streams of late!

They really looked different on this backdrop... more of an undersea setting.

The mat was actually big enough to get all four of these rather large critters in one frame!

Here's a link to the store entry:

http://www.tablewar.com/macromats-full-backdrop-set/

Woad there...

This figure goes back a ways... the early days of the Confrontation line.

Unlike most of the other figures from this batch (done partially or completely with oils), this guy was done entirely in acrylics.

I know there were a few occasions when people ask if the minis painted with oils look any different.  I know which ones were and were not, and I can't tell.  I say this because some folks insisted that I was trying to get a different look, etc. with the oils.

That is definitely not the case, as the goal is to work on more of the figures all at once, and be able to blend, etc.

Flame and Ash

I have been very lucky to have had the chance to work on some of the nifty demons from Creature Caster!  When I saw this guy, I knew that I had to try my internal "Balrog" effect on it!

Here's a Facebook Live session where I was working on him:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10213076676925683/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

This was one more example of how handy the Vallejo Fluorescent paints can be!  There is an extra intensity to them which you just don't find in any orange or yellow paint.

I extended the base a little bit once I placed it on the wooden plaque, using a few chunks of sculpey for additional rocks, and a few Secret Weapon skulls to continue the pile.

The Lord of Slaughter is only one of several amazing figures:

https://www.creaturecaster.com/collections/complete-catalog/products/lord-of-slaughter

I will be doing a number of other demons, trying out new techniques and mediums.  In addition, I am creating multi episode painting videos for each of these beasts!  For example, the video for the Lord of Slaughter has episodes which cover the wings, the head and weapons, the torso and finally the base.

Since each miniature comes in pretty defined parts along those lines, it made it much easier to paint those elements separately.  By doing so, it meant that I could get more or the finer details on camera.

Also, making them individual episodes means it is easier to locate the section which you may want to see again, and not have to search through several hours of video!

I will have versions available to the Patreon Patrons once we return from GenCon, where I am going to be painting some of these in the Badger Airbrush booth!  Come and see me there.

Here's a link to the Patreon Page, where the latest new video link was sent to the $5 subscribers earlier today:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel