Brom Part 1 - Planning

Last weekend I picked up Brom Hard Bark from Enigma and I intend for it to be my next project.  I wanted something a bit more limited in scope than the huge pirate scene, something I could finish off relatively quickly.  And, since I was just doing the historical crusader, I wanted a fantasy figure to change things up.  Though the piece is just getting started, I though I'd share how I go about planning a project like this.

These days when I work on a display or competition piece, I try to either come up with a distinct approach to painting them (different from what I've already seen) or come up with a story that I can work into the scene. Basically the point is to find a way to make the figure unique and (hopefully) stand out. In this case I can't really think of a unique take on the painting, so I'm focusing on the story. For this I look at the figure, the expression and pose, and ask what are they doing, where are they, what emotion is there, etc. Brom looks determined/angry. He's in a fighting stance, but it feels more defensive (he's waiting for an attack instead of charging towards someone). His clothing is ragged, he's got a bandage around his head... he looks like he's in trouble. In my mind he's backed into a corner facing a bunch of enemies. Maybe this is his last stand. That's the story I want the scene to tell, so now it's just a matter of filling in the details.

As I said at the beginning, I want this to be a small project. Therefore the enemies he's facing will be implied rather than actual additional figures on the base. I considered having him literally backed into a corner, with a wall or large stones right behind him. But that blocks off the rear of the figure from view. I also didn't want to have to represent a cave scene in terms of lighting. So instead he's outside and I came up with the idea of having him standing in front of a broken bridge. Now the story is he's been chased and harassed by a mob of goblins. He's been fighting them off while trying to escape. He's made it this far only to find out the bridge, his means of escape, is out. Now he turns to brace himself for the final assault.

With all that in mind, here is the start of the scene I'm building. I've put together cork to make up the bulk of the ground, though it will be most covered with putty, sand, and rocks in the end. I've started to build the bridge. I've placed the two posts along with some ropes and stakes holding them in place. I will add another set of ropes at the bottom and then a series of wood planks which will hang off the back of the base. Below I included an inspiration image to show more clearly what I hope to create. The base is rather compact, since I just want to focus on Brom and have the enemy unseen. As I said I just want to imply them... but there needs to be some details to indicate they are there. A simple way to do this is add some arrows to the scene. My though is to have one sticking out of Brom's wooden shoulder pad. Maybe there will be a broken one in his thigh, with some blood running down the leg. I think an arrow in one of the wood posts next to him would be fun too. Perhaps I'll add some in the ground, perhaps not. I'll see how those first couple look and then decide if it needs more.

Well, that's a lot of text and not much in the way of model to show for it. But I hope some of you found it informative. I expect I will continue to build the base and prep the figure while I finish of the White Speaker. Hopefully this one will be ready to start painting by the time I finish the Kingdom Death piece.