My first year at university is almost at a close, and I've had a busy couple of weeks going between the two places I now consider home... It's a strange feeling to have two lives in separate places; when I say 'home' I'm never quite sure which one I mean.
Anyway, some painting has been done and I'm working on a new commission; but first, some completed Trollkin Champions:
So the things I still had to finish off were their leather straps and boots, some details on their faces and weapons and the wooden kegs in which they carry their Dutch Courage. I also slapped some snow on the base, along with a bit of grass. The snow is from Woodland Scenics - great stuff, but it needs a couple of applications. The grass is from Army Painter - these range of grass tufts come in a variety of colours and are probably the best static grass on the market.
So the next commission on my painting desk are another batch of Necron vehicles - this time for a different client. This was how far I had progressed at the time of taking these pictures, which was a few days ago.
That's all for today! I'm just trying to power through these guys, but I want to make sure the client is happy with them. Happy painting!
So it's been a studious few weeks here as everyone has been busy with their exams. Revision didn't leave a lot of time for painting so the Trollbloods have been on the back-burner for a little while. I finished exams a week ago however, and have got back to it (in between partying and enjoying the beautiful weather).
So I've taken some pictures of my progress on my new, snazzy, phone, but the quality isn't fantastic. The colours aren't quite as vibrant as they are in real life, so please bear that in mind! As they stand their skin is pretty much done, although I am considering throwing a couple of washes over it - perhaps purple, or green - to make it look a bit more like living flesh. I tried my best to achieve a smooth blend from shade to highlight on these - it's difficult, but I need to keep practising two-brush blending.
I have also finished the tartans on all five Champions now - which took quite a bit of time; there really is no short-cut for tartan, it's just accuracy and precision. Overall, I'm quite happy with the results. I didn't want the tartan to be too garishly coloured. I tried my best to keep the colours subtle so that it does not draw the eye too much. I'm set on applying snow to their bases, which will hopefully contrast well with the darker shades of the models.
Looking at the models now, I'm wondering about perhaps lightening the skin a little more... They are meant to be Champions after all, who would have been around for a long time, which suggests that their skin needs to look a bit 'older'. It's likely that they will see another highlight. And perhaps I'll add some scratches and scars... We'll see!
That's all from me today. Expect an update around this time next week, when I'll be back in Heroes and Legends, working on some commissions. Until then, happy painting!
I have to be one of the slowest bloggers in history, but this is just something you're going to have to forgive me for - for the time being at least. Exams are coming up so a lot of my time is having to go into this crazy thing called 'studying'... Nevertheless, the fact that I have to revise means that procrastination is inevitable, and that procrastination has been put to some use!
So I'd been hearing good things about wet palettes for a while now. Since involving myself more in the miniature-painting community online I've found out more and more about the benefits that accompany painting from a wet palette. Previously I had always been quite happy with my old kitchen tile found somewhere in the deepest, darkest corners of our garage, but now that my eyes have been opened I don't think there's any reason I would go back.
Here's how:
1) Collect the necessary items. You'll need:
A plastic box of a good size. The one I used is not very deep and this is certainly a benefit.
Some thin, but large, absorbent sponges. These are the ones typically used for household cleaning. I found mine in Tesco for £1.20.
Baking paper. I have heard parchment is suitable too, but not as cheap or easily available. This 8 metre roll was only £1.25.
Scissors. They don't have to be bright blue, but it certainly helps.
2) Cut the sponge so that it fits neatly into the bottom of your plastic box. I'm not going to patronise you by telling you to be careful with scissors... I mean, you're only cutting a sponge. You'll need just one layer, so you certainly won't be using your whole £1.20's worth in one go. The sponge doesn't have to fit right up against the edges, but you want to try and fill most of the box.
3) Next, you need to soak the sponge so it contains the maximum amount of water it possibly can. I ran mine under a tap and let it sit in the sink for a little bit. Let most of the excess water drip out and place your sponge(s) in the bottom of your box.
4) Finally, use your scissors again (CAREFUL!!!!11!!one!!) to cut out a bit of baking paper that will fit nicely into the box. Place this on top of the sponge and just pat it down. It should stick to the sponge nicely and will look like it does in this picture. If a lot of water droplets start forming on the surface of your palette then there is too much water under the paper - just squeeze a little water out of your sponges and try again.
5) Apply paint as you would normally. You won't have to add too much water as the moisture will naturally dilute the paint you apply.
So that's it - simple! You only need to take five minutes or so to do this and the results are great. Paint stays wet for a long time, particularly if you seal it with a lid. I left one mixture on there for 24 hours, as a test, and I was still able to use it the next day! As a tip I would suggest not to spread your paint out too much - this will dry it out quicker - but to keep it in little pools on the palette. Give it a go people, it's a great addition to a painter's arsenal.
So the Trollbloods are seeing some paint every time I get sick of revision. Not a great deal has been done but I did spend a while faffing over how to do the tartan. I ended up going for a dark green shade, highlighted using Trollblood Highlight (P3) to give it a 'woolly' look. I figured wool usually isn't so vibrant and it would look strange to highlight it simply using brighter greens. For the base-coat I used Caliban Green - one of the new GW Base Paints - and I was happy with the results; it covered well and produced a strong colour.
Next I used Trollblood Highlight to carefully draw the horizontal white lines across the tartan; later, after painting the red, I went back and highlighted the edges with a thin layer of Skull White.
The red was painted with Sanguine Base (P3) and highlighted with Skorne Red (P3). Where the red lines crossed I carefully painted on squares of a different colour - for this I used Midlund Flesh (again - P3), which was highlighted by adding a bit of white. As you can see, I painted a horizontal red line every other white line, so that it doesn't look too 'busy'. I'm quite happy with the result, but you guys must decide for yourself! The pictures aren't great I'm afraid, I had to borrow a friend's camera because I stupidly left mine at home...
The other four Champions saw some work over the last few days as well. I finished the bronze/gold (I can never decide) on their weapons and gave their skin a base-coat. Since taking the pictures I've also shaded their skin and painted a base-coat on to the Dire Troll Mauler that will be my next project.
Well, that's it for today folks! I hope you find the tutorial useful and that you give the wet palette a go. If you have any comments, criticisms or suggestions I am always happy to read them, so please leave them below. Happy painting!
It's been a long time since I've updated you all on my progress, so it's definitely time for a new post. I had flue for the majority of last week so I wasn't able to get as much stuff done as I would have liked... It was real flu, I promise! Not hypochondriac-man-flu!
Anyway, time is of the essence with these Necron Barges as they need to be ready before I go back to University - they are apparently needed for a tournament called Mayhem which the guys from Heroes and Legends will be attending in full force. Because of this I have been trying to up my pace without losing any quality (very hard, I can tell you!) and I have spent the majority of today at my desk.
The result? One finished Annihilation Barge!
I wanted to make it look as similar as possible to the Barge that's already painted to enhance the feel of the uniformity that is such an integral element of the Necrons. Unfortunately this uniformity does make for some rather dull painting sessions.... But it's all good, I'm keeping in mind the end result, which should be pretty solid.
Slowly the fleet grows...
These Barges are taking me somewhat longer than I expected... There's actually rather a lot of surface area on these vessels, despite them looking quite small. The other issue is that it takes about three coats of Dheneb Stone to get the solid layer and the crisp finish that I want to achieve. These layers have to be thin or else the paint will go lumpy. It's a necessary, but time-consuming, process...
I've also started work on the second Annihilation Barge and it's ready to have its 'tattoos' painted on, before I start work on the Skull White highlights. This one is going to be a bit more of a pain because, unlike the Barge I just finished, the cannon's already been glued in place on this one - this is going to make it really hard for me to get at the areas underneath the cannon and on the underside of it.
Well, that's it for now! I've also spent a bit of time working on assembling a Dire Troll Mauler for Hordes. My 'greenstuffing' skills leave a fair amount to be desired but I'm quite happy with how he's turned out. More on him in the future I hope.
So! It's been a busy few days for me. I travelled home from Durham on Friday on a surprisingly smooth, and, even more surprisingly, on-time, train journey. There's been a lot of packing and unpacking, a lot of washing and clearing away but I'm more-or-less settled in now and happy to be home. Family occasions and visits have meant I haven't had a great deal of time to paint recently, but there are some things to show you...
To start with, there is some progress on the Trollkin Champions. First, they've all had their bases painted (don't worry, they'll look more interesting when the grass and snow is added). Secondly, their armour is now pretty much done. After I got a look I was happy with on my test model I applied the same techniques to the others and I'm quite happy with the dirty, rusty look I think I've achieved.
Now, I've also been working on the test model, who is a little way ahead of the rest. This guy has had the brass/gold bits of his weapons completed as well as his skin. I'm happy with the gold and this will be the next thing to be applied to the other four Champions. The skin was a little (read: a lot) harder because I was ambitious (read: stupid) enough to attempt some two-brush blending...
Yeah, it was harder than those videos made it look. It's a very difficult technique - a combination of getting the right paint consistency and then applying just the right amount of water to it in order to blend it into the layer underneath. I started with a solid layer of Trollblood Base, which I then darkened by mixing it with some Midnight Blue and painting this into the recesses. That's where things got a bit messy. In trying to use the wet brush to blend the shade into the mid-tone I ended up making it into something of a wash... Which was not my intention at all.
So I had a bit of cleaning up to do before I attempted to highlight the skin. This I did in three stages. The first layer was something like a 2:1 mix of Trollblood Base and Trollblood Highlight, the second was a 1:2 mix and the last layer, applied only to the very highest bits was pure Trollblood Highlight. Finally I painted on a very thinned-down glaze of Hormagaunt Purple Wash mixed with some Scab Red on to the knuckles, to suggest some bruising and natural colouration. I'm not too appalled by it, it is a first attempt after all, but I'd really appreciate hearing what you guys think of the skin.
I'm going to keep working at my test model in order to figure out my 'paint-recipes' for the Trollblood force. I'm still no wiser on to colours I'd like to use on their tartans... I'm think about just going for a green base with stripes in red and perhaps another colour at the moment. Has anyone got any suggestions? What would work and, more importantly, contrast well in this colour-scheme?
Finally, just another little thing to show you all here. This is the first model I have painted for a small Haqqislam skirmish group for the table-top war-game called Infinity. I have six more to paint before I have a little force that I can feasibly have some games with, so you'll hopefully see some progress on those in the future. I tried out a bit of non-metallic metal on this guy, just on the metal parts of the gun. It's not great but it's something I'd never tried before and something that I want to use my Infinity models to work on. I really like the desert-camo style and I chose these guys mainly for the painting-variety that they would offer me.
See you all soon and, as always, thanks for reading. As it's Mothers' Day, I'll leave you all with this:
Now that the Deathmarks are done I've got a little bit of time to work on one of my own hobby projects. Warmachine and Hordes have really been taking off amongst the hobbyists at Heroes and Legends and I've wanted to get involved for a long time. I've been told, and I have seen (I had a demo game with one of the Legends), that it's a fantastically tactical and fun game with some really nice models. The armies are all so full of character it was hard to choose one to start with. In the end, I settled with blue-skinned, Scottish-inspired rabble-rousers, the Trollbloods.
I was particularly inspired (read: amused) by that enemy of all things sober, Borka Kegslayer. As you can guess by his name, he likes a good drink almost as much as he likes a good brawl. I thought he'd be a really fun character to base an army around.
The first thing I knew I wanted in a Trollblood army were some Trollkin Champions. In game terms these guys are HARD.
The Champions in progress
I bought these boys a while ago and they've been glued together for ages - I just hadn't managed to get round to painting them yet. A quick base-coat of Chaos Black and these guys were ready to have some paint applied. I grabbed by trusty drybrush, whacked out some P3 Cold Steel and painted all the metal parts of their armour (of which there is A LOT). I want their armour to look really rusty and battle-worn, to which end I followed the layer of Cold Steel with a very watered-down wash of Bestial Brown. It still looked a little bit too bright to me, so I followed that with a wash of Badab Black mixed with Scorched Brown (very watered-down again), but only into the recesses. Finally I went over some of the raised areas again with a thin layer of Cold Steel.
I'm relatively happy with the result but I'm unsure of how it will look on the model as a whole when it is completed. Because of this I've decided to paint up this chap on the right as a sort of a test before I complete the others, just to make sure I know I'm on the right track.
Their skin will be painted in the manner typical of Trollbloods and I'll be attempting some two-brush blending on these guys, which I've never tried before. Using tutorial videos found here and here to help me along I'm just going to give it my best shot. As of yet I am undecided on how to paint their tartans. The plan is to get the rest of the model painted (skin, leathers, base and brass) to get an idea of what sort of colours would work well. At the moment I'm leaning towards a snowy base, perhaps with some foliage, but we'll see how it looks when I get to that stage. All in all I'm really rather excited to be painting models that are so different to anything I've done before.
In other news, I've bought myself a daylight-bulb, portable desk lamp from Ott-Lite and it should be arriving in the post sometime this week. I've read positive reviews, particularly here, and I think both my eyes and my painting would benefit from some Vitamin D.
That's all for today folks, stay tuned to see how I get on with the Trollbloods and my new gadget. Comments and criticisms are appreciated as always.
