Planning

I'm in the process of trying to finish up some other projects.  Did a little work in the past few days on the Dragoon Officer, did some sketching on the Deaths Head Hussar bust, and of course I need to get back to the Celt.  We've got the SCAHMS show coming up in a month and a half, so I'd like to get at least two of those three projects finished so I can bring them to the show.  Progress has been minimal, but when I get a little more done I will share some photos here.

In the meantime, I've started to plan out a future project.  Black Sun Miniatures just put up a new centaur figure for pre-order.  The sculptor, Joaquin Palacios, also recently did a centaur for Terrible Kids Stuff, but I happen to like the Black Sun one better.  The kit actually comes in two versions, one with an elf rider and one without.  I'm happy they're offering both versions as I just wasn't that big a fan of the elf.  Anyway, I just pre-ordered the centaur and started to think what I want to do with it.  The figure has a great action pose, rearing up with a spear ready to strike.  It's a cool figure by itself, but the pose is just crying out to be paired with another figure for a duel-type scene.  I looked through a lot of companies that carry 75mm figures, considering both fantasy figures, historical knights (which can be used for fantasy), and Greek figures (for more of a mythological setting).  I came up with several possible options, but I think the best may be the Barbarian from Scale75.  Using photoshop and images I grabbed from online, I put together some rough mock ups on how I think these figures will look together.  Here's what I came up with...

Another top contender is Leonidas (also from Scale75).  My main issue with that piece is the figure is essentially naked (except for a cape, helmet, and greaves).  I'd want to sculpt on some clothing/armor if I were to use him.  I could either keep him as a Greek warrior, and go with a mythological theme, or replace the head as well and use him as a knight/warrior for a fantasy piece.  Since I'm not too confident in my sculpting abilities (even if just for conversion), I'm still leaning towards the barbarian... but perhaps I'll change my mind.

I thought about adding another warrior to the mix, but couldn't quite find a figure to fit.  A friend on one of the forums suggesting a non-fighter figure like a woman or a child.  I like this idea as it takes a neat looking duel scene and adds some stakes to the outcome.  Is the barbarian trying to rescue the girl?  If so, will he succeed?  Or perhaps the centaur is her protector and the barbarian the aggressor.  Will she be safe?  Switching it up and having the barbarian be the bad guy would be interesting.  Of course, since the centaur is larger, the barbarian seems like the underdog.  In which case, perhaps I should stick with him as the good guy.

I started to look around for a figure that might work in the non-fighter role.  El Viejo Dragon has a lot of female figures in 75mm, but none seemed quite right.  Plus, most are naked and I'd probably want to sculpt on at least some clothes.  I looked at some other companies and I think my best bet may be this fairy figure from Aradia Miniatures:

I'd probably ditch the wings (easy enough to do).  I could treat her as a human or maybe a fantasy creature like a dryad, naiad, nymph, etc.  I could portray that with coloring (non-human flesh tones) and/or conversions like horns/antlers, replacing the lower legs with those of a faun, etc.  What I pick will influence the story.  As a human, it's implied she's on the barbarian's side and he's rescuing her.  As a fantasy creature, perhaps the centaur is her guardian instead.  Another option is the Fallen Angel figure I just finished.  The one I did was 54mm, but Milosh has a 75mm version too.  As with the fairy, I could leave off the wings and make her a regular human or convert into a fantasy creature too.  Her pose works best for captive.

So, lots of text and not so much painting, but I just wanted to share my thought process and hopefully wet your appetites for this upcoming project.  As always, it will be interesting to see how similar or different the end result will be to these early plans.  Probably won't actually start this for a couple months (don't think the centaur will ship till late March and I've got other stuff on my plate).  But I'd love to get this done in time for next year's Crystal Brush, so I do want to get going on this before too long!

As a final thought, when it comes to creating a scene, sometimes that can come together organically as you go.  That's what happened to me with the hobbit piece.  I started with just the figure holding a lantern and the rest just sort of happened.  In this case, what I want multiple figures to look like they are interacting, I think it helps to plan beforehand.  That way I can start to build the base and get the figures positioned convincingly.  That doesn't mean things won't evolve as I go, but in this instance I want to start with more of the scene figured out.

Lady Mechanika Part 1

I've hit a block on the Hussar bust.  I moved on to the black uniform and it's been giving me a lot of difficulty, so I decided to take a break and work on something else for awhile.  I've been meaning to start on one of the steampunk figures from Scale75, so I figured now was the time.  I'm working on Jessica Thunderhawk, however the sculpt is based on a piece of art for Lady Mechanika so that is how I'm planning to paint her.  Lady Mechanika is the main character in a steampunk comic.  The box art for the figure followed the original artwork exactly... so I felt like I needed to do something different.  I used some of the other artwork associated with Lady Mechanika and here is what I came up with, just a quick base coat and color sketch.

And here she is with a little more work on her.  I spent about 1 or 2 hours cleaning up the stripes on her pants (though they will obviously get more work when I start to shade and highlight them).  I also went to work on the skin.  The approach for female skin is a bit different from male skin.  While you can still have high contrast, you generally want softer transitions and to downplay the more minor features.  So the lines from the nose down to the corners of the mouth are subtle and lines under the eyes aren't brought out at all.  The darker you make features like those, the more masculine the face will look.

Announcements and Paint-Along

I've got a couple quick announcements, including a new paint-along I'm organizing.

First, I'm looking to take on some commission work in the next month or two.  If anyone is interested, drop me a line either at CMON or here (there's a contact form over on the right).  My focus is 54mm and 75mm figures, though I'll paint 28mm too if I feel like I can do the figure justice.  I don't normally agree to do that many commission pieces, so if you're interested now is a good time to ask!

Second, I've been talking with Caleb about teaching a painting seminar up in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The topic would be painting faces and skin tones.  Right now it's still in the very very early planning stages.  If it happens it will most likely be at one of the Game Kastle stores (either Fremont or San Jose).  There are also some shows coming up, so maybe I could do the seminar at one of those.  I'll post more details once we get things figured out.

Third, I'm doing another paint-along over at Cool Mini.  Here's a link to the thread.  The topic is steampunk and a number of us will be working on the Jessica Thunderhawk figure from Scale75 (although you can join in with any steampunk themed project you want to do).  The general idea is for this to run through April and May.  I won't have a chance to start for another two weeks, so plenty of time to get a figure and join in.

Here's a look at the Jessica Thunderhawk figure, in case you'd like to do the same one I'm working on.  If you're ordering from the USA, I recommend contacting Red Lancers.  She's not listed on their site yet, but they carry the rest of the Scale75 line and I'm sure could get her if asked.  Or you can order direct from Scale75.  Of course there are lots of steampunk options (Infamy, Guild of Harmony, Malifaux, etc).

The sculpt is clearly based on this piece of art from Olga Starodubtseva, which is a version of the comic book character Lady Mechanika.  I plan to use that character as the inspiration for my paint scheme, though I won't necessarily be following the colors from this image.

Dark Elf Assassin Part 4

I've begun construction on the base for the dark elf.  The scene I have in my head is a building interior, second floor.  The figure is creeping up on some unseen target.  I began by looking up some reference photos and brainstorming some ideas for the scene.  I sketched a couple out on paper until I got something I liked.  From there I drew out the floor design on plasticard and cut it out.  I placed it and the figure on the wood base to see how the size looked.

It's a wood floor, so I pulled out my bag of assorted balsa wood pieces and cut the boards for the floor.  I used the plasticard as a template and glued the boards in place.

Then I started to build up.  I cut the main supporting beams and put in the cross beams.

I continue with more of the details.  I'm putting in the walls on one side of the base, but not the others.  I put in a railing along his right.

The main structure is there but still plenty of detail work left.

This is one of my largest bases and definitely the largest structure I've attempted to create.  I'm enjoying the build and it's a good learning experience.  However, I'm not sure if it's the best base for this figure.  The paint job on this figure is very simple, so is the base too complex?  On the other hand, a complex base helps create more of a story for the scene.  I plan on continuing to build this scene... but I may come up with an alternative as well and see which I like best.

Dark Elf Assassin Part 3

Thanks for the feedback, Shades and Mally.  I decided to go with your advice and skip the additional design work on the pants.  I took care of the legs and remaining details around his waist.  The figure is just about finished.  Now it's time to turn my attention to the base.  I've built a couple structures for figure bases, but nothing for a figure this large (75mm).  I have an idea of what I want to do, but I need to flush it out a bit first.  Time to do some reference research and perhaps get a little more inspiration.

Dark Elf Assassin Part 2

I'm continuing with the monochromatic color scheme.  The clothing is all variations of Pure Black, Dusky Skin Shadow, Dusky Skin, Dusky Skin Highlight, Weathered Stone, and Leather White.  Without a lot of color variation I'm trying to add some freehand details to his clothing for some additional visual interest.  I'd like to continue that when I do the pants... but I'm not quite sure what to do.  I did a quick test with a checkerboard pattern and another with vertical stripes... but it seemed a bit too busy/loud.  He's a sneaky assassin so he shouldn't have on anything too flashy.  I could maybe live with some thin stripes.  At this point I'm leaning towards a stripe detail down the side of each leg.  Something similar to the design on the hood (2 stripes with some design in the middle).  Or I could try something more graphic instead of an abstract pattern.

 

Here's an even bigger close up of the face.  I think it's easier to see the color in the cheeks and some blue in the lips.

Dark Elf Assassin Part 1

I've hit a bit of a wall on my other projects.  I'll see if I can make a breakthrough on some of them this weekend.  But during the week, when I only have a little time after work to paint, I'd rather do something I know I can make progress on.  So I decided to start on this Dark Elf from Scale75.  I had already prepped the figure while I was waiting for the aide-de-camp to arrive.

I went with a very pale skin, something I've been wanting to experiment with.  The skin is Dusky Skin, Dusky Skin Highlight, and Vampiric Skin.  I then applied some glazes, but I switched these up a bit.  Normally I'd use red in the cheeks and nose, blue on the jaw for stubble, and purple to deepen the shadows.  I skipped the stubble, that didn't seem to fit with an elf.  The other glazes I shifted more towards blue, so red became a reddish purple (2 parts red, 1 part blue) and the purple became a blueish purple (1 part red, 2 parts blue).  The red-purple glaze went on the cheeks, nose, knuckles, elbows.  The blue-purple went in the shadows on the face and shadows on the arms and hands.  I also used a bit of blue above the eyes and in a couple shadows for a little more variation.

For the clothing I thought an overall dark look would fit an assassin character.  The hood is Pure Black, Dusky Skin Shadow, and Dusky Skin.  I'm trying to decide if I want to keep the entire figure in that black-grey-white color scheme and just use hints of color through glazing.  Otherwise I'll just stick to dark colors (dark brown, dark purple, etc).

For the armor I'm taking a slightly different approach.  This time around I'm using inks to build up the shadows and some hints of color.  It's definitely a learning process.

 

Here's a closer look at the face and upper body.  It's a little easier to see the color variation from the glazes.  I tried to keep them subtle, as it's easy to overpower that light light skin.  The colors are a bit more noticeable in person.