Flora - Flower Girl Work in Progress (Mildly NSFW)

 Well, it's been quite a while since I've posted anything, but I'm hoping I can get back into the habit of sharing updates here.

I picked up the 80mm Flora model from Golem Miniatures' kickstarter quite a while ago and I've been tempted to start her a couple of times over the years. I was looking for a somewhat straightforward project and decided to finally start on her. I say straightforward because she's got a small-ish number of sections to paint (skin, hair, skirt, sash, flower pot, and flowers) as opposed to sculpts covered in different objects and equipment to paint. And, at this point, I feel pretty comfortable working with skin, hair, and cloth so I didn't foresee any big hurdles I'd have to figure out on this piece. That being said, I still see it as a good piece to learn and practice on. Specifically I wanted to work on nuances with the skin and also work on capturing a more realistic light, working with primary light and cast shadows, ambient light in the cast shadows, and bounce light on various parts of the figure. I'd also gotten the feedback at NOVA last year that on my entries certain areas, like the faces, looked like I'd spent a lot of time on but other areas weren't done to the same standard. I still managed to get golds in Masters Large Scale Single and Bust, but my goal on all my pieces this past year has been to remember that comment and work to have all the parts of the figures be done to the same level of refinement.

Here's the progress I've made over the past 3 weeks or so. For the skin I've tried out some slight changes to my normal mixes. I started with a base of 3:2 Reaper Rosy Shadow and Bronzed Skin. For the shadows I used AK's Dark Rust and some French Greyish Blue. As I worked in mixes from the shadow up to the base, I did add some extra red at about halfway to capture that warm transition in skin as you move into shadow. For the highlights, I used Reapers Bronzed Highlight plus a little AK's Lemon Yellow (to portray a warm primary light), then started to add in some Ice Yellow before finally switching to adding Ivory for the final specular highlights. I then used some glazes of Mindwork's Magenta to add more warmth in the cheeks, chest, and hands.

For the ambient light in the shadows, I worked from the shadow (Dark Rust + a very little French Greyish Blue) up about halfway to the base (3:2 Rosy Shadow and Bronzed Skin). Then I started mixing in a ~1:1 mix of Bronzed Highlight and Grey Blue. The trick here was to avoid getting the skin to be too grey in the darker tones, so staying away from adding too much blue to the skin tones (clearest on the back of the figure). But when I got to the lightest colors, I pushed more of the blue allowing it to turn more grey. However, with the contrast of the warmer shadows and midtones, the desaturated highlights read as cold even though they are mostly grey.

Bounce lights were done with a mix of the base plus some of the shadow, then going into a mix of bronzed highlight and a little grey brown. I plan to go back over these with some glazes to help the bounce light regions reflect the color of the source of that bounce light (as it can vary from place to place on the figure).

As a small aside, I wanted to say again that I find the use of reference photos to be extremely helpful for painting light and shadow (especially cast shadows). Before I start any painting, I'll place the figure under a single light and move it around until I find a light direction that I think works well. I then take pictures of the figure from multiple angles so I can reference them as I paint the piece. Here's one example next to the painted piece. It's helpful to go back to these again as you paint and double check your light and shadow placement. As I spot differences, I'll continue to make adjustments to improve the lighting on the figure.

Halfling Part 1

 I took a brief break from my charity piece to start on a personal project. I picked up a bunch of tips and ideas for improving my work at NOVA, both in classes and from talking with the other artists and judges. So I was eager to start something new and start to play around. As I said, I got a lot of ideas from NOVA but I need to actually start experimenting with them on a figure to really learn how to work them into my own painting.

I backed the Brave Halfling kickstarter last year and have had a printed copy of the figure kicking around my work station for a while. I decided he'd be a good piece to start on. I want to continue working on my use of light and shadow, which is what I've focused on so far. I picked a light direction that I thought made some interesting cast shadows and have started sketching them on the cloak and pants. I'm also trying to be aware of bounce light and how that can show up in the shadows. It's subtle, but along his jawline on the shaded side of the face, I've tried to paint some pale green light reflecting off of his cloak. I might increase the intensity so it's more apparent or maybe I'll leave it as is. This is part of the experimentation phase as I try to see what works and what doesn't.

The other topic I want to explore on this piece is the use of textures. Those parts are still to come, but I felt this piece has some great opportunities for texture on the cloak, the rolled up sleeping bag on his back, the metal pots and pans on his backpack, and the various leather parts. I'll hopefully dive into those parts soon. For now, I need to get back to the charity project and wrap it up in the next couple weeks. But, once that is done, I'm excited to get back to this halfling and see how the next part turns out!

Gurkhan Part 5 and NOVA Open Recap

 My painting time has been a bit limited over the summer, but I did manage to finish updated my pirate orc vignette in time for NOVA's Capital Palette competition. Here's a look at the finished piece. The main orc is pretty much the same, I added some color to the knuckles and feet plus some stains on the pants, but that's about it. The rest, however, went through more extensive revisions. I repainted the face on the goblin and the highlights on the hat to give it some more pop. The base was pretty rushed so I at least had something to enter at KublaCon. I decided to add a little more to the scene, placing a case of run in the front and a knocked over bottle behind the orc. I went over the wood with a variety of glazes to give it a stained look with a lot more nuance and visual interest. Then I added some blood stains/streaks and a bit of bird poop on the back. I didn't want to go overboard, but I spoke with Krzysztof Kobalczyk at NOVA and apparently he wished I had put even more bird poop on the base.

Looking at the piece some more, I feel like I could have also added some weathering to the goblin. Perhaps some splotches and stains on his coat for example. I don't have plans to take it to any more shows, but if that changes maybe I'll go in and add a bit more detail to it.

I brought this piece with me to the NOVA Open and used Gurkan, the main orc figure, to teach a class on painting large-scale display figures. It was a 6 hour workshop, so we have time to tackle a couple different topics including painting skin, leather textures, and cloth (including stripes). I had a blast teaching the class and was really happy with all of the students progress. I also loved seeing one of the students, Karen M., finish her figure afterward and enter it into the Capital Palette painting competition. She did a fantastic job and ended up with a silver in the apprentice division!

I entered my piece into the Masterclass division and ended up winning Best in Category with it for diorama. Overall it was a great show. I had fun teaching and taking some classes too. There was a fantastic group of instructors covering a ton of subjects. This was my first time traveling to a show since before covid, so I had a great time catching up with old friends, finally meeting a bunch of online friends in person, and getting to know some new friends as well.

The painting competition had a lot of really impressive entries. There was a lot of impressive work from around the US as well as some international entries. The show is judged on the open system, so there are multiple gold, silver, and bronze medals awarded in each category. However, the standard for medals was the toughest I've seen in the US so far. For example, the piece I'd won Best of Show with at KublaCon ended up with a silver at NOVA. And looking at the other entries, there were clearly pieces that were a level above it and I completely agree with the judges decisions. I ended up with two silvers and two golds. The golds were for my most recent pieces (these pirates and the Neko Galaxy figure I finished), so it's nice to see that growth over this past year. And it's nice to see the additional work I did to improve the pirates was worth the effort.

I would definitely recommend NOVA's Capital Palette to anyone interested in competing. You'll see some amazing figures in person, which I've found to be a huge help in my own painting journey. Just be aware this is going to be a tough competition and force you to push yourself. The show also has three divisions: apprentice, journeyman, and masterclass. So even if you're not an experience competition painter, you can still find a place to enter your work and be judged at the appropriate level. Whichever level you're in, the judging is still tough, but that also means if you do win something you should feel proud of the accomplishment. I'm excited to go back next year and know I've got to come up with something even better if I want to do well.

2018 Year in Review

Well, it seems like a good time to look back at all my painting related work from the past year. This year included a move to a new city, which provided a bit of a disruption from my normal hobby work. Unfortunately my new hobby space is a bit more isolated, so I'm still trying to find the balance between work, family, and painting. Of course we'll be moving to a new place (same city though) in another 3 or so months... so perhaps that setup will end up working a bit better for me. :)

There's been quite a bit of painting though, because I've got some bigger projects in the works, it hasn't resulted in that many 'finished' pieces.  Only three pieces were fully completed this year: a 28mm White Speaker (commission project), a 54mm Knight of the Third Crusade, and a 54mm dwarf (Brom from Enigma miniatures).  The White Speaker, like this post, was a trip down memory lane.  Several years ago I painted the 54mm version of that figure, so it was an interesting project to see how, with more experience, closely I could replicate that work at half the size.

The knight was a really enjoyable project.  I'd had my eye on the kit for a while.  It's a pretty simple figure from Romeo Models, but there was something about it that just stood out to me.  There was plenty of room for interpretation and personalization with the color scheme and iconography.  The piece was also a great project to work on my metallics and my freehand.  It ended up being the subject for two articles in the Illustrated Historical Artist (one on freehand and the other on TMM) and won first place in 'Eavier Metal's 'Eadbanger competition (Master Single Figure category).

The final completed piece was Brom.  I'd wanted to do a relatively quick fantasy project, so I picked up this old 54mm Engima figure from a friend.  As usual, my 'quick' project turned into something much more involved... but it was a piece I definitely enjoyed working on.  The sculpt is pretty unusual.  The figure is wearing a hodge podge of cobbled together armor, much of it corroded.  That, along with the pose, pushed me to come up with a narrative for the figure long before I even started painting.  Although I wanted to keep this a single figure scene, I still worked to tell a story with the piece.  I actually have another article in the works describing that process, though it will likely end up posted online on the FigureMentors site as opposed to in a magazine.  So be sure to keep an eye out for it! ;)

In addition to my finished pieces, I've got a number of projects in various states of completion.  The largest of them is the 3 figure fantasy pirate diorama I've been painting for quite some time. Two of the figures, Barbarela Lord of Mussels and Redghar, were pieces I started in 2015 and 2016! I've had this idea of combining the dwarf with some other pieces, so it's been something that's evolved over time.  Between then and now, I ended up repainting most of the dwarf.  My skills had improved and the orc was noticeably better than the dwarf.  So he needed updating in order to work together.  Those two figures are essentially finished and the third, a monkey, is nearly complete as well.  The base is still under construction (though that's nearing completion), but painting the scene will still be a significant undertaking.  I'd like to take this with me to the Crystal Brush competition, so hopefully I can get it wrapped up in the next couple months!

Another big project was the 75mm Tiefling figure based on Critical Role's Mollymauk. This started out as the Child Thief (aka Peter Pan) from Terrible Kids Stuff. While a neat piece, it never inspired me as much as I wanted it to. But, when I decided to create a figure based on one of the Critical Role characters, it seemed like an ideal piece to convert. So I redid a lot of the detail on the outfit and added the horns and tailed needed to turn him into a tiefling.  It was my biggest conversion by a large margin, but only the beginning of the project.  The character is covered head to toe in design work, so there's been a ton of freehand that's gone into this project.  Still more to do, though he does appear to be nearing completion.  I've got a base already planned for him (thankfully not as complex as the pirate scene).  But it also needs to be built and painted.  I'd like to also get this piece done in time for Adepticon/Crystal Brush, so lots to do and not much time to waste!

In addition to all of those, I've worked on a 28mm figure of Vax (also a Critical Role character) released as a special edition.  It's almost finished.  Just a little work left on the wings and then a small display base to build and paint.

I also worked on a 54mm gladiator from Pegaso.  This was a kit that I've liked for quite some time, but was a bit intimidated by all the armor.  After painting the knight (shown above), I felt a lot more comfortable with my approach to TMM and decided to give the gladiator a go.  While the main figure is mostly finished, I felt he needed another figure to complete the scene.  I picked up a fallen gladiator from El Viejo Dragon, but so far have only base coated him.  Since there's no specific contest I have planned for this piece, it's taken a back seat to some other projects.  But I do hope to return and finish it up shortly after the Crystal Brush.

And finally I did some early work on a 75mm Napoleonic Trumpeteer. Pretty much just focused on the face, so he's in the very early stages.

Aside from the painting projects, I've joined up with a new painting group in San Jose (at the Game Kastle in Mountain View).  They're a great group of painters and have quite a few people who are focusing on display painting (and larger scale pieces) and pushing themselves to improve their abilities.  It's definitely been a highlight to get to interact and paint with them on a weekly basis.

Looking ahead to 2019, I've made plans to attend Adepticon after missing the last two years.  I'll be teaching two workshops on painting faces and skin plus a demonstration for freehand.  A little closer to home, I'll be repeating the faces and skin class at KublaCon in the bay area.  I've also got a weekend workshop at Game Kastle planned for July, though we are still working on the details.

All in all, it's been a productive and fun 2018.  And I'm definitely looking forward to what 2019 has to bring.  I should be able to finish off a number of big projects and I can't wait to get back to teaching some classes!  I hope all of your 2018s were just as memorable.  And I look forward to seeing what projects everyone else will be working on in the coming year.

What's Next

I just got back from NOVA Open and plan on writing a review of the show, my experience in the seminars, and the Capital Palette competition.  In the meantime, I thought I'd share a quick post on what's next for me...

With NOVA behind me, I'm thinking about the next big show on the horizon.  Okay, there are a lot of shows coming up, but due to family and work obligations (not to mention cost) I've got to pick and choose carefully.  The next big show on my schedule will be Crystal Brush coming up next March.  That gives me about 6 months to finish up some new pieces.  While plans may change, here's what I'm thinking I'd like to bring...

Redghar, the dwarf pirate, and one of the monkeys - These three will be combined into a pirate crew themed diorama.  Two of the three figures are almost done, so I'm starting to plan out the base/scene.  That won't be simple, but I think this is far enough along I should definitely be able to finish it in time.  The diorama category is super competitive, so if I can even make the cut I'll be happy.

Count Melenth - I'd like to bring him along for my entry into the bust category.  There aren't any easy categories at Crystal Brush anymore, but this might be might best shot to medal.  I still need to sculpt a hand for him, but I've brought out the clay and am starting to give it another try.  This guy is maybe halfway there.  But, if I can sculpt a hand I'm happy with, I should be able to finish him in time.

Large Scale Piece - I've been going back and forth on this, but I know I'd like to bring something for large scale as well.  I was almost decided on the Celt I'd started a while back, but just decided to scrap that plan (though I still intend on finishing the piece).  My main reasoning was the Celt looks good from certain angles, but the pose or perhaps just my painting looks just okay from others.  You can't control how the judges see the piece or how the photos are taken, so better to bring something I'm happy with from all angles.  I've been debating this a lot, but I think I may have my mind made up.  I want to paint Lozza from Latorre.  I preordered this piece a while back and it's supposed to go out in October.  It's a 75mm fantasy piece, but some of the early WIP images made me think of post-apocalyptic mad max style scenarios.  So I'd like to do some minor conversions to him and reimagine the piece in that other setting.  I've already got ideas for a story and scene for him, so I'm eager to get my hands on the piece and get going.  Obviously that may all change once I have the figure in my hands, but for now that's my working plan!

Orc Brave Completed

In the last post this piece was getting very close to being finished.  I'd say the last major detail was the orc's axe.  Given the style of the sculpt, I painted it as a stone axe rather than a metallic one.  The approach is like a subdued NMM.  I'm still hitting the edges and working on contrast, but not as extreme as a true NMM.  Another important part of the illusion is painting in cracks.  Now, a number of these were already sculpted into the axe head.  But other areas I just adding them in freehand.  It's simple enough, just paint a thin dark line and then right below it, paint a thin line of highlight.  That's all it takes to create a 3-D crack effect.

Aside from that, I took care of the remaining details on the orcs clothing, painted the ground, and added a bit of dried grass and dead leaves.  I'm picking a pretty arid environment, the tree is long dead and the water has all dried up, so the base is not going to be lush and green.  But just a few remnants of what used to be.

And that was all it took!  I'm calling this one officially finished and just in time for a couple competitions.  I'm entering him in the 'Eadbanger Competition over the 'Eavier Metal facebook page (deadline Aug 31).  I'll also be bringing him with me to NOVA Open next week to enter into their Capital Palette competition.  Hopefully he'll do well in those, but honestly I had a lot of fun painting this project so that's all that really matters.  Oh, and if you were one of the backers in the Ouroboros Tales kickstarter, keep an eye out for the painting journal describing in much more detail how this figure was done.  I've shared some of the process here, but the rest had to be saved for the journal since it's a kickstarter exclusive.

Orc Brave Part 4

Well, I haven't been too diligent posting updates on this project, have I?  There's been quite a bit of work since I last shared him here.  The previous post showed the wire frame for the tree.  Since then I'd sculpted putty over that to complete the tree and also added additional texture to the base with more putty and sand.  I've been painting the base and, though there is still work to be done on the ground, it's getting very close to being finished!

As for the orc, I painted a good deal of his clothing and the other bits hanging off him.  There are still a number of small detail stuff I've got to do (some of the dangling stuff on the bracelets, belt, and necklace, the finger nails, earrings, etc) and also the axe, but he's pretty close to being finished.  I'm hoping to bring him with me to NOVA Open at the end of the month and also to enter him in the 'Eavier Metal painting competition (on their facebook page), which also has an end of the month deadline.  So, I'm going to just focus on him for the next couple weeks.  After that... well, we'll see!