... But he's certainly not Rock and Roll

Heya, folks.  First off, let me say that I had hoped to get an update up yesterday, but Internet troubles got in my way.  Fear not, though - I have plenty to show for the delay - so let's get to it, shall we?

We'll start off with the lady herself, the cowgirl that I showed you in progress on Wednesday.  Everything came together quite well, I think, and she is ready to kick butt and take names!  But she's not the only one...

Here's the wizard that I was also working on at the same time.  Even though much of the palette's  the same between them, the final look is quite different!  It truly is amazing what color selection can do for you.

Next up we have a figure that is altogether different.  A I'm using him for a D&D 4th Ed game that I'm getting ready to join up with, and I have to say that Ragni Olafsson is looking ready and rearing to go!  Though I really should write up a backstory for him before game time rolls around...  Brought to you thanks to DGS Games Urgrathar Wolfkarl - an awesome fig form an awesome company!

And, last, but most certainly not least, we have a two-for-one special.  Those of you who have seen The Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising will surely recognize Male and Female Luster in these figs.  You'll recall that these aren't the first Dorkness Rising figures that I've painted up - that honor belongs to the pile of dead bards that I painted earlier - but they're always a blast to paint - and these are some of the most straightforward figures I've painted in quite a while, only taking a total of 14 distinct colors to finish out.

That's all from me for this weekend.  Tune in Tuesday, when I should have even more to show off - right now, I'm thinking Flynn the Bard or The Shadow (the Shadow?  The Shadow...) - but you never know until it gets here.  Until then, folks - paint on!

She may be more than a little bit country...

Hello again, loyal readers!  Another day passed, and it's time once more to see what I've done.  Today is a bit off the rails for me - rather than completely painting one figure, I've sorta started on two - mostly because I thought the two could do well with the same skin tone.  But first, just to give you an idea of how much work I put into each of these figs, here's a pic of the pile of paint bottles that I have and will use with the cowgirl:

Each of those little bins holds three bottles of paint.  The ones on the left are the ones I've already used, and the ones on the right are waiting to be used.  Yes, that's 21 distinct colors of paint that are going onto that one figure - not counting the white for her eyes, or whatever color I choose for her irises.  But you're not here to look at my paint collection are you (note to self - snap picture of paint collection).  You want to see the figures!

Well, we'll start with the Wizard, since his sculpt had a bit of a flaw in it.  Not a big one, but enough to look like he had a rather large, nasty gash in his arm.  So, what else would I paint it up as than a large, nasty, and rather bloody gash in his arm?

But I know that blood's not what draws you all here several times each week.  And here you're patience will pay off, as the figure I've put most of my work in tonight is right here:

This is not the first time I've painted up this figure.  That was early last year, in a big old gift to my gaming group where I painted up models for each of their characters.  It was certainly the most telling show of how disparate our characters tended to be!

But that's all I have for tonight.  I probably won't have anything new for a few days - but that just means when I do post next, I'll get all the more page views!  So, stay tuned to see when I update next, and until then - paint on!

I'd say don't make her angry, but I think she already is

Fair evening, readers mine!  It is time once again to see the progress I have made on my projects - and I am glad to say that, outside the basing, that Amiri is finished - and quite a lot differently than I had originally planned.  But that's part of what makes this hobby fun - finding an idea and running with it.

And there she is, in her hide and bone armor, with her bone weapon hafts and hide wrapped bone sword hilt.  And just for contrast, here's the lovely dark-tanned lady staring down the Banshee from Sunday's post - really does give you a feel how ephemeral the pure white primer with light-to-white color scheme looks in comparison to my usual methods.  This is one of the reasons it's good to know a variety of painting techniques - it helps you create a variety of effects, depending on what the figure calls for!

That's all for now, folks.  Tune in next time when I'll...  Well, I really don't know yet, but we'll both find out tomorrow!  Until then, folks - paint on!

A Truly Barbaric People

Greetings once more, readers.  It's amazing how much time general maintenance can take out of your day - but fear not!  I have another figure started to show off.  She's not quite done yet, but you can definitely see the start on her:

I've still a ways to go on her - bone for the sword hilt, wood for the javelins and hand axe, and leather for near everything else - but I can definitely see the finishing line for her.  Just not tonight.  Tomorrow, though?  Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings.  Until then, folks - paint on!

I'll tell ya, she's a real scream

Well, I didn't get nearly as much done this weekend as I would have liked.  However, what I did get done?  Definitely worth the wait.  She may not be lovely, in the traditional sense, but let's give a warm welcome to the Screaming Banshee from Warhammer Fantasy:

Ah, a truly ethereal lady - but she'll scream your head off if she gets a chance.  Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out to see what comes next - there's plenty in my collection still to do!  Until then, folks - paint on!

Shading without the water

Well, another day gone, and here I am to show off what I've gotten done.  I didn't get a figure painted like I wanted, but I did finish up the picture of Argos Magebane, as I said I would:

And there you have it.  I may have something for you all tomorrow, but for now, this is all.  Until next time, folks - paint on!

Does it count if it's digital?

Greetings, all.  Another day gone, and it's time to see what I've been up to.  As promised, I have something a bit different for you all - I got some line art from another player in my group for Argos Magebane, and I've spent my evening working on getting the first few steps done on him - in short, turning that line art into a solid reference sheet for him.  The colors are rather flat right now - but tomorrow, I'm going to quickly go in and add in the highlights and shadows on it.

The process is much the same as it is for painting a miniature - you need to know your colors, define your shadows, and build up to your highlights - but working on a computer can make things quite a lot easier, as you don't need to blend the colors beforehand, and you can zoom in as far as you want in order to get the details exactly right (which, of course, can also take quite a lot of time).

But, you want to see the pic, don't you?  Well here you go:

And that's all I have for today.  Tune in tomorrow for the finished product - and maybe another figure to ogle.  Until then, folks - paint on, even if it is on a digital canvas!

There has been an unforeseen delay in this broadcast

Sorry about the delay on this update, folks.  I meant to get this up on Sunday, but, well, the day just slipped me by, and this is the first chance I've had to get going on this journal.

I did get two figures finished up on Sunday - the Pathfinder Red that you've been seeing over the past couple of weeks, and a cthulian monstrosity - that, I'm told, will see play in the next month or so:

The Pathfinder Red Dragon, ready to breath flame down on the fools who cross him!  Roar!

And what madness summoned this beast from the depths where it lay?  Perhaps a future figure will answer that question - but that'll have to wait for my next go at a giant-sized figure.  For now, it is late and Sleep is sounding its siren call.  Fair thee well, readers - and I may just have something different to show off to you all tomorrow.  Until then, folks - paint on!

Big Wheels Keep on Turning

Greetings once more, readers.  It's time once more to see what I've accomplished today - and today, I've finished off the competition piece!  Well, nearly so.  I just need to apply the flocking to the base and seal it all together, but that is easy enough to do.  But you don't want to hear me talk about it, you want to see pictures, so here we are:

That is a fine looking model, don't you think?  Well, that's all I have for you all today.  I may not have anything for you all tomorrow or Friday due to gaming, but I will certainly pick things back up over the weekend - when I fully intend to make up for the time spent painting up this thing.

Until then, folks - paint on!

Building up the colors

Greetings once more, readers.  I have made more progress on the figure, and am closing in on getting this bit of Skaven machinery ready for the competition stand - but I've still a ways to go.  Soon, though...  Soon!

Until tomorrow, then, folks.  Paint on!

It's not the fall that kills you

Greetings once again, readers.  Another day gone, and it's time once more to see what I've gotten done.  Work continues on the competition piece - with a brief delay due to a short drop, snapping off the flag pole on top.  Upside, that gave me a good opportunity to paint up the flag pole without having to manipulate the model below it.  Down side, well, I had to glue the thing back on when finished - and with that tiny bit of contact area, it did not well want to stay put - which is why the picture is from a different location today:

 I admit, the lighting's not as good here, but it gives you the idea of the figure and the progress I'm making on it - which is quite a lot!  I still need to paint up the clothes on the Skaven, paint up and flock the base, and paint all the wires in red and black - but that's pretty much it!  Hopefully tomorrow will see the figure done - and you'll all get to see the finished result before I go up and turn it in - carefully, so as not to break it again, of course...

So, until tomorrow folks - paint on!

I would call it a rust bucket, but that would imply it can carry something

Good evening once more, readers.  After a hectic weekend (and no post yesterday), I am back with my accomplishments for the day.  While I am tired from two nights up too late playing in Attack Wing events, I have put paint to figure with the Skaven Doomwheel - the latest competition piece that I am working on.  There's a long ways to go yet, but I have a solid start on it.

We'll start off with an earlier picture of it - and why I referred to it as a Rust Bucket.  I started with a slapdash coat of Ryzia Rust from Games Workshop on the metal bits to give them a rusted look:

 And then started painting the metallic color over it to give it a well-worn and integrated look (which should get better as I get the other two coats on it):

It's an early start, and I have some bits that I haven't even decided on what I'm going to do with them yet (though I will most assuredly do something with them, never you fear!), but it is coming along nicely - and I have lots of time this week to make sure it's all done right.

Until tomorrow, folks, when I shall hopefully have the bulk of the metal bits done.  Until then?  Paint on!

They may be mice, but once they were men!

Greetings once more, readers!  Another game night passed, and time to look at some of the figures that have yet to see the light of day.  Today I have a smattering of the pieces from Mice and Mystics - a wonderfully whimsical game about a group transformed into mice, who must now survive.  I have yet to complete the full range of figures from even the base game - do you get the idea that I have a lot of figures to get through? - but I am quite pleased with the once I did do - and they let me try out a technique where I just free-hand painted the bases - which came in useful some time later when I did the same thing for a group of figures for a roleplaying game...

I have one more floating around, somewhere...  I'll have to dig her up so she can join the rest of her friends on this blog...

Well, I have an event tomorrow night, so probably no update then - but I should make up for it over the weekend with my competition piece.  Until then, folks - paint on!

A bit of Primer, a touch of Layer

Greetings once more, folks.  Time once again to see what I've been up to today.  I don't have a lot to show off in this update - the last progress on the Dragon for a bit, and the first progress on the next Competition piece.

Let's start of with the dragon:

Not near as much progress as I would have liked - but painting scales properly takes up a good chunk of time - but I'm not going to worry about that for now.  For I have a new batch of figures primed:

Including the next competition piece - the Skaven Doomwheel I showed you all yesterday:

If you're wondering why I've painted the crystal bits white, they're going to be small light sources on the vehicle, and I'm going to use a glaze to give them a greenish glow - and to tinge the area around them the same color.  If I pull it off, it should look pretty sweet.  If not...  Well, I've had worse results...

Until next time, folks - paint on!

They call him Gray

Greetings once again, readers around the world!  It is time, once more, to see what I've been up to in the painting world - and this time it's a commission piece for one of the other players in one of my groups.  Let me present to you, the Reaper Miniatures Wraith Harvester and player-chosen figure for Gray:

I think my client will be well pleased with the figure - once I get some grass on its base, of course.  But I need to wait for the ink to dry first, otherwise it gets... messy...

And on that note, I have the picture of the assembled competition piece for this month - the Skaven Doomwheel.  It'll be a challenge - especially with Dijete and Gray taking up the first week of painting - but I will have it finished for the competition - and it shall be awesome!

That's all from me today, folks.  Tune in tomorrow, when I'll hopefully have the competition piece primed and ready to start painting - and if not, well, I still have that dragon to finish up...

Until then, folks - paint on!

A day lost, a day gained

Greetings once more, readers!  A hectic day yesterday meant that nothing really got done - but a more serene day today means that things are now continuing apace.  I have a bit to cover today - from the results of last month's painting competition to a new stand to help spice up the pictures, to a new figure completed (though not what you think).

We'll start with the news:  If you remember this guy:

From the start of the month, he managed to take the victory in the painting competition, against a trio of Space Marines!  Hoo-rah!  This month is a vehicle or mount of some description - and you can be sure that I'll be taking pics as the project rolls along.

But for tonight, I did make some more progress on the dragon:

And what's that he's standing on?  Why, the new stand I mentioned earlier!  It's a piece of Games Workshop terrain (and, as such, does have an overabundance of skulls...) which should let me get a good variety of shots with it - and handle much larger figures as well!

But that's not all I've gotten done today.  I have the piece ready to go for this month's painting competition - but no pictures today, as I forgot to snap one...  But I did get another figure finished, one of the Games Workshop Assassins, and a figure that will see quite a lot of use for Dijete, a charact in a Forgotten Realms game I am taking part in (not mine, however):

That's all from me for today, folks.  Don't expect much from tomorrow's post, but Tuesday and Wednesday should see a bit from me - I have another small piece that I'll be working on finishing up very quickly for a friend, and I'll also be starting on the Skaven Doomwheel.  It should be... glowy.

Until next time, then, readers - paint on!