Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Inso on 09 March 2013, 10:43:41 PM
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The Mondrians.
The Mondrians are an unusual race because they are completely secular and refuse to learn other people's language or customs. They communicate with each other using a series of clicks and whistles that don't seem to show any pattern or reason. There are some scientists who believe that they are a psychic race that only uses clicks and whistles to confuse people but this has not been proven.
One thing that can be said is that they are prolific traders who love to use items from anywhere they can find them. Their favourite trading partners are the Grymn because they are exactly the same size and build and that makes it perfect because they don't have to modify the traded equipment to fit.
When trading, the Mondrians do it face to face and simply point at what they want and then point at what they can offer. The traders usually arrive with their goods and will set them out on an elaborate and finely embroidered sheet so that they can be easily viewed. They have a small slate that is used to mark out quantities... usually a series of dots made with chalk. They usually bring a motley selection of items from all around the universe with few items that they have produced themselves. Generally speaking, they are excellent at getting what they want but will often trade over the odds for weapons... even going as far to insist that the over generous trade is received. it is the view of the scientists that this is linked to the value the Mondrians place on life and that they insist on paying over the top for anything that can take a life... but again, this cannot be proven.
The Mondrian face resembles a Grymn's but has three distinct differences. First of all, they don't have a visible nose. Instead there is a broad upper lip area that meets where a Grymn would have the bridge of their nose. Secondly, their skin is a vibrant red and finally, their eye colour is also different; being completely yellow with no visible pupil.
It is difficult to say why they do it but the Mondrians like to paint their war-machines and equipment in bold geometric patterns with bright, distinctive colours within strong boundaries of black. They also like to turn up on any battlefield at any time to fight alongside one of the combatants. Usually, this is tolerated but there are occasions where stealth is required and having a brightly coloured selection of troops and vehicles alongside you can prove difficult. When problems like this arise, the Mondrians won't leave but will follow behind at a safe distance until battle is joined and will then come to help. It is assumed that the small number of Mondrian troops that arrive are young and are trying to prove their mettle in battle but that cannot be taken as fact, as they won't attempt to explain. It can be noted that the Mondrians will normally fight on the weakest side so that adds further weight to the argument.
When in battle, the Mondrians use a selection of traded weapons and equipment but prefer to use Grymn made items. If you looked past the odd colours of their uniforms and equipment, you would almost think that they were Grymn , as long as their faces were concealed. Their combat doctrine is similar to many other races and they use tactics and strategies just the same but they have an edge over the Grymn and that is the speed of the troops. They are faster than Grymn and are able to leap twice their height into the air. They have extremely fast reflexes and are able to dodge attacks with little effort. On the flip side, they do not suffer pain well and if they are injured will drop to the floor and remain in a catatonic state until they are rescued; no matter how small their injury is. This bizarre behaviour has been seen on numerous occasions and it is believed that the Mondrians do this because they do it when they train. Enemies are familiar with this and rarely bother with fallen Mondrians because they know that once they are on the ground they will take no further part in the fighting so they can concentrate on fighting those that will. They also know that Mondrians cannot be interrogated so they are worth nothing as prisoners and tend to leave them where they are.
The first sighting:
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d161/Inso/Aliens/Mondrians/Mond2_zpsde5963d1.jpg)
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That is really something completely different :) It will be interesting to see what is next.
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The troops are getting similar attention :)
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For sure I didn't see this coming! ;D
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Brilliant!
When are we going to see the Picassans and the Twombleys ?
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There are always the Dalians :)...
Here's the first Mondrian trooper (the base still needs to be finished) with a human next to him for scale:
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d161/Inso/Aliens/Mondrians/Mond3_zps7ba686a0.jpg)
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Excellent! Do Klee next.
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Twombley seems to just like scribbling so I doubt he'll get a look in. Picasso is not one of my favourites because I find his lack of proportion disturbing. Klee would be easy - paint a grid and fill the squares with varying shades of the same colour... but I would prefer to just do Berlin pattern camo myself.
I have had Escher suggested but I am not sure I could keep my sanity for long enough to paint the scheme in question (interlocking lizards).
I quite like the idea of a Dali-esque army that is less down to the decoration and more designed towards the random nature of some of his designs (like the Elephant on spindly legs for instance) - I think there are opportunities for a rather interesting alien race.
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truely original idea to use Piet Mondrian as camouflage scheme
and good execution too!
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Some Impressionist camo might be interesting; like Van Gogh... :D
And then move on to all the other Dutch masters. The realists might not turn out to look too different from 'normal' miniature painting though... ;)
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Very cool mate.
You might like to play around with the idea behind the use of the three primary colours - each has a subjective 'weight' (yellow being the lightest) and Mondrian was attempting to achieve a harmonious balance between the colours and the composition. I say this not to sound like a pretentious Art History graduate (which I am!) but because you could use it to inform the camouflage, perhaps using the weighting of the colours to shift the eye from one part of the tank to another.
Anyway, really good idea :)
Andy
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Mondrian would never have used green either!
Pretentious Art graduate? I'm a pretentious art student! lol
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Mondrian would never have used green either!
Pretentious Art graduate? I'm a pretentious art student! lol
I know... he liked using primary colours... but this isn't JUST about the man and his art... it's also about creating an interesting little alien race ;)
... and I expect that they haven't heard of the artist :D
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I... I am in awe. This is definitely different! Nicely executed too, that tank is crisp, which isn't easy to do over an irregular surface.
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I... I am in awe. This is definitely different! Nicely executed too, that tank is crisp, which isn't easy to do over an irregular surface.
The key to the crisp lines was a glass of vintage port to chill me out :)
No masking was involved and the process was a case of black lines, coloured blocks, wash all over, tidy up the colours, edge highlight the colours and then finish up by re painting the black lines. I deliberately didn't hinghlight the black to add to the stark, bold appearance of the lines. I must admit that the black lines ended up a little thicker than they started out... but that just adds to the impact :)
It took a while though... my eyes :o
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A pair of traders with a bodyguard:
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d161/Inso/Aliens/Mondrians/Mond4_zps0c56b8b2.jpg)
I have decided that the trooper is wearing green because he has been punished and forced to work with traders for some undisclosed crime. The green colour went down rather badly... so I thought I'd use it as a punishment :)