ROUND 9 The Nobility of Mongo vs “Ill met by moonlight”

[Captain Blood]

[Hammers]

Nipples!

[Helen]

Tough choice, but Dylan gets my vote.

Oh Peder, do behave 

Helen

[Bako]

Hammers strikes again!

They were both excellent (and apparently both have wings), however the Shakespeare reference struck a note. Good luck to both of you!

[Mancha]

That second entry's a little disturbing, but the skin blends are beautiful.

[Vanvlak]

Wow.
Oh wow.
Grand show, both, spectacular eyes and spectacular Shakespeare.

[Heldrak]

Nice move putting a representation of the changeling boy in there, Plynkes!

Amusingly, I directed a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream for my masters thesis, so it's rather like I'm being hoist by my own petard...!

[Plynkes]

Thought we could do with a little Kultur around the place for a change. 

Thanks, Heldrak. Another high-brow type, eh? Blood confided in me that he had played Oberon on more than one occasion himself (hope he don't mind me blurting that out). Hopefully I don't flatter myself in thinking we're quite well-matched, quality wise, and we both have big guys with wings! I love your flowers on the bases. How did you do them, if you don't mind me asking? I wanted to put some on mine as I thought it would fit the theme well, but firstly I ran out of time; and secondly I realised I had no idea how to go about such a thing. Good luck!

By the way, I accidentally voted for you as I meant to vote for myself but hit the wrong button. What an idiot!  But I don't mind, as your effort is well worth the vote.

I must say I really enjoyed doing this week's effort. It was a real departure from my normal kind of thing, and I haven't had so much fun painting in an absolute age. Perhaps I should dump historicals and take up this type of thing full time, eh?



A little disturbing, eh, Mancha? Really, in what way? 

[Sinewgrab]

Thought we could do with a little Kultur around the place for a change. 

Thanks, Heldrak. Another high-brow type, eh? Blood confided in me that he had played Oberon on more than one occasion himself (hope he don't mind me blurting that out). Hopefully I don't flatter myself in thinking we're quite well-matched, quality wise, and we both have big guys with wings! I love your flowers on the bases. How did you do them, if you don't mind me asking? I wanted to put some on mine as I thought it would fit the theme well, but firstly I ran out of time; and secondly I realised I had no idea how to go about such a thing. Good luck!

By the way, I accidentally voted for you as I meant to vote for myself but hit the wrong button. What an idiot!  But I don't mind, as your effort is well worth the vote.

I must say I really enjoyed doing this week's effort. It was a real departure from my normal kind of thing, and I haven't had so much fun painting in an absolute age. Perhaps I should dump historicals and take up this type of thing full time, eh?



A little disturbing, eh, Mancha? Really, in what way? 

Maybe he doesn't like boobies?

[Mad Doc Morris]

Maybe he doesn't like boobies?

The same doesn't apply to me. Thus an easy vote for the sexy elves.
Very nice skin tones, by the way. Right now these miniatures cavort here on my desk, and I'm trying to find a recipe how to paint them properly. Any advice on colour choice (esp. for the European flesh)?

[Plynkes]

Oberon, the nudie pixie men, the cherubs and the "European" fairy handmaiden are all done with GW Bronzed Flesh mixed with a little Vermin Brown. Then they're given a wash of GW Orgyn Flesh, and then Coat d'Arms Flesh is added to their original colours for the highlights. A little more Flesh is added to the mix for each highlight as they get lighter.

After doing the handmaiden I thought she looked a bit suntanned for a fairy type, so for Titania I changed my approach, using much less Vermin Brown and Bronzed Flesh and much more Coat d'Arms Flesh. As a little experiment I mixed a little GW Red wash into the mix as I went along, to make her a little more pink. The result was a much paler tone for the queen, who looks like she spends most of her time in the moonlight, unlike two of her train who appear to have been sunbathing nude on a nearby Greek island somewhere.

[Heldrak]

Thought we could do with a little Kultur around the place for a change. 

Thanks, Heldrak. Another high-brow type, eh? Blood confided in me that he had played Oberon on more than one occasion himself (hope he don't mind me blurting that out). Hopefully I don't flatter myself in thinking we're quite well-matched, quality wise, and we both have big guys with wings! I love your flowers on the bases. How did you do them, if you don't mind me asking? I wanted to put some on mine as I thought it would fit the theme well, but firstly I ran out of time; and secondly I realised I had no idea how to go about such a thing. Good luck!

I agree, this was an excellent match.

The purple flowers are the same ones I used in my Round 5 entry, "Riders of the Purple Sage". You can see the details on them in the Round 5 thread here:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=11195.msg128488#msg128488

Since I had to go through the costuming program as part of my directing degree, I do have a bit of a background in costume theory and that informed my entry. I decided that Purple would be the color for royalty of Ming's bloodline, and that a red cloak would also be indicative of a position in line for the throne. Note that as the Prince of Arboria, Barin's cloak is a more rustic red-brown than Ming & Aura's brighter red cloaks (in Alex Raymond's original continuity, Barin is the actual true heir to the throne of Mongo, and Ming is essentially a usurper). The Captain of Ming's Guard has Ming's colors reversed, and he's allowed to wear them as Ming presumably sees his Guards as extensions of his royal will. Since Prince Barin & Princess Aura wind up together in the end, I tried to tie them together visually by giving them the same turn-downs on their boots and a few other little touches. Vultan has no real relationship to the others color-wise (as the Prince of an independent realm with no claim to the throne) apart from his leathers and the floral theme on the base. I thought the flowers helped tie everyone together and that their purple color would be a little hint of everyone conniving for the throne
 

By the way, I accidentally voted for you as I meant to vote for myself but hit the wrong button. What an idiot!  But I don't mind, as your effort is well worth the vote.

It's looking like you've got me well and truly beat in the early returns, Plynkes so I can use every vote I can get! If I beat you by some miracle or we wind up drawing by a single vote, you can have your vote back

I love the layout of your entry, Plynkes but I would have dispensed with the Cherubim and other flying models at the top of the frame (they distract a bit from the essential confrontation between Oberon & Titania) and I would have moved the furry creature (presumably Puck) back into Oberon's orbit, since he falls pretty squarely on Oberon's side in the conflict.

Oops! I've been retired from the theatre for over a decade and there I go trying to direct again! Sorry...

[Mancha]

A little disturbing, eh, Mancha? Really, in what way? 

Pictures of naked adults with children always make me cringe a little.  And then there's the monkey with the demonic eyes... 

[Plynkes]

Oops! I've been retired from the theatre for over a decade and there I go trying to direct again! Sorry...

You're quite right of course, but I had painted all those little doodads and I was damned if I was going to leave them out! I had to squeeze them in somewhere. Puck (for it is he: I didn't have a suitable figure for a more traditional-looking Puck, so I went with the idea of him being a goblinish sort of fellow) wouldn't fit on the scenic temple base with all the others, and he looked odd with his base hanging over the edge. I wanted him at the front pulling rude faces at the girls' side and after tinkering with the composition for ages I gave up and just shoved him where there was room. 

I must have missed your explanation of the purple sage (though I do remember the entry itself). I'll have to check that out. Thanks.

Mancha: Oh right, I get you. Fair enough I suppose. Didn't even occur to me that someone would go down that road with it, but I can't stop people bringing their own baggage to the thing.

[Mancha]

Mancha: Oh right, I get you. Fair enough I suppose. Didn't even occur to me that someone would go down that road with it, but I can't stop people bringing their own baggage to the thing.

Ah, thanks for that.