Project 365: Day 80 - Spacewolf Terminator with Thunderhammer Finished

Apart for some touch-ups, I'm calling this dude done. A bit messy on some parts but should be enough for tabletop:

Golds getting washed out by the lighting here...

Dramatic shot

Coat detail. Did some washes in bands here to create some subtle fur patterns like what real animals would have

Closeup of the face. You can see the seams of the greenstuff work I did. I really need to get better with my sculpting skills

The 3 color priming technique I used here is interesting. I may find myself using it more in the future :)

I'm also debating on whether I should put snow on the base...

C&C much appreciated

Project 365: Day 48 - A Touch of Evil - Finished!

I'm finally getting these figures off my table. The shots kinda came out a bit funky as I'm using Roxane's digicam. I'll try to fix that sometime.

C&C much appreciated.

Edit:

Better pics here:

Lucy Hanbrook

Adrianna - my first attempt at painting dark skin

Valeria the Eternal - had to fight myself from painting her in a paler skin tone as the character has a more hispanic skintone

Captain Hawkins - I had to google some colonial officers uniform to get the color of the pants. I had a hunch it would be white from some of the movies I've seen but I wasnt sure.

The Scarlet Shadow

Inspector Cooke - a better picture this time. I think I'm getting addicted to OSL

Brother Marcus - I'm really happy with how the OSL came out for this one.

Eliza the Witch Hunter

Harlow Morgan the Inventor

Harlow - another angle. I really should study how green light affects objects as I just cant seem to get the shadows right

Project 365: Day 38 - Painting Miniatures - Second Chances

It's very rare that we get second chances.

Dialing down the drama a bit, I'm talking about getting a second chance to paint a figure you traded off.

I painted a set of figures for the A Touch Evil boardgame some time ago and I traded them off. I was experimenting with OSL at that time and I'm sad to say that my attempt with it was a bit heavy handed. So when Rolf,  the person who eventually got the figs asked me to paint the figures from the expansion set, he mentioned that he wasnt happy with the OSL effect I used. I jumped at the chance to repaint the fig for him. 

After three hours of painting, here are the results:

First attempt: Neon explosion!

Second attempt

So, what do you think?

Project 365: Day 1 - Painting Miniatures

Starting off Project 365 with one of my more recent hobbies.

I've been playing miniature wargames for about 2 years now and I have to say, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the hobby for me is painting the miniatures :)

Most of the hobbies I indulge in have a big artistic element to them. I like things that look "cool" to me. In comic books I usually look at the art first and the story second. While I appreciate a good story, I find myself going over my old comic books just to study and appreciate the art. In video games, I actually spend time "sightseeing" and taking in the visual elements, usually to my detriment as I usually get shot at or killed in the process of gawking at how the digital light hits the pixel leaves. Even when it comes to books, the authors I am fond of all have in common the ability to vividly paint a world and characters in my mind's eye.

It's no surprise then when I found about miniature or tabletop wargaming, assembling and painting your own models was a big draw for me. I enjoy the process as much, or even more than playing the games themselves at times.

Starting out wasn't easy. Aside from the costs involved, painting on canvas (which I was never good at) is entirely different than painting on a small pewter figurine. There was a lot of trial and error involved. Cramped hands and strained eyes were part of the process. But then I started learning, practical experience mixed with research and tips from other enthusiasts. Slowly I found myself gaining confidence and skill. Enough to actually fund my hobbies by painting for other folks :)

In 2011 I want to see how far I can push myself . I want to perfect blending and color theory. I want to master Object Source Lighting. I want to see if i can get good enough to compete locally, or who knows, maybe even internationally. A guy can dream right?

In this blog you'll see my projects, maybe some articles on how I do things. Mostly though the blog is going to serve as a way to keep myself motivated and get feedback for my work :)

Below are some figures from my Trollblood army, namely my warlock Madrak Ironhide, a DireTroll Mauler and a Fellcaller. All figures are from Privateer Press' Hordes line.

- as a side effect of painting minis and this blog, I realized that I need to learn how to take better pictures. I guess I'll be adding macro photography to my list of hobbies in the future :p