Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: Andrew Rae on 24 July 2013, 11:44:30 AM
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Hello LAFers,
I wouldn't normally clog up these boards with renders - this is the Lead Adventure Forum after all - but I'm looking for feed back on a little dwarf I've just finished.
I'm rebooting the Statuesque Fantasy range with figures of a very different style compared to my sci-fi range. I want the freedom to play around with caricature and exaggeration and I also want figures that will match my fantasy collection from other manufacturers, so they need to look good alongside Kev Adams' 4ed goblins and the like. Basically I want to sculpt my ideal dungeon crawl warband and go adventuring!
Specific influence on this project are the Asterix books (studying the cartoons is really useful for reducing detail to what's useful), Brian Froud and John Bauer. All of which has lead to... a massive nose! lol Reaction to the nose has not been positive on Dakkadakka so I thought I'd see what opinions are here. Remember my intention is to create a caricature, not a 'realistic' dwarf.
Also, there's the tricky question of size. Currently he stands 21mm to the top of his helmet. He is pictured on a 20mm square base. I understand 21mm may be quite small by current dwarf standards! He's pretty much the same height as a plastic GW dwarf, with hands the same size at 3mm across the knuckles. His facial features are certainly more exaggerated though. I think he'd go quite nicely with the old Perry dwarf adventurers, though the only one I own is the elder with walking stick and a bad back. He's likely a bit slimmer than Marauder dwarfs; his head isn't as wide and his hands are smaller. I'm thinking I could increase the size a wee bit, which would have the benefit of bulking him out a bit too.
If you've got strong feelings on dwarf size, please let me know!
(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/Dwarf1s_zpscb88aed0.jpg)(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/dwarf2s_zps2d2fd3f4.jpg)
(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/dwarf4s_zps1750158c.jpg)(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/dwarf3s_zps1daf83e9.jpg)
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No particular feelings on size, but I must say that I like the render - big nose included!
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I don't really know about the size but It looks really nice.
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Looking very good for me.
Axe Arm might be a little big long
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I love it and would buy it as is, no changes. I look forward to seeing your take on other fantasy adventurer archetypes.
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If he's wielding (as opposed to simply carrying) that axe, his grip should be a bit further towards the butt of the haft. Where he's holding it now, he'll get crap for leverage and a wissy-weak swing. :)
I like the caricatured style. Very handsome.
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Love it. The nose makes it IMO. Would certainly pick up a range of these (and I've not bought a dwarf since the Perry's 80s ones).
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The nose might be slightly large but wouldnt put me off for long😃
I think if you compare with the Classic Imperial Dwarf range from citadel his nose wouldnt seem out of place....and those are the dwarfs against which all
Others are measured in my world.
I quite like him.
You might consider posting this render up over at Bugmans for their feedback.
What's next?
Cheers,
Blue
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I like him Andrew.Love your choices for inspiration to,especially Froud and Bauer. I hope there will be girls as well,your first,she was a little cracker!
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Thanks guys!
If he's wielding (as opposed to simply carrying) that axe, his grip should be a bit further towards the butt of the haft. Where he's holding it now, he'll get crap for leverage and a wissy-weak swing. :)
I like the caricatured style. Very handsome.
I knew someone would mention that! There's a bit in Valahalla Rising - Mads is holding his axe near the head, staring down his opponent. He lets it slip though his hand to the proper grip and promptly dispatches another baddie. The Rule of Cool wins here! :P Of course, if this dwarf were to do that, the axe head would clonk onto the ground, but that's beside the point!
I think if you compare with the Classic Imperial Dwarf range from citadel his nose wouldnt seem out of place....and those are the dwarfs against which all
Others are measured in my world.
I quite like him.
You might consider posting this render up over at Bugmans for their feedback.
What's next?
Thanks, Blue. I think I'll head over to Bugmans to see what they think. Can I ask you to measure the hand size on one of your Imperial Dwarfs? And maybe the width of their heads? I think you're right, they're the dwarfs he's most likely to match, depending on those measurements. Marauder dwarfs look a bit broader.
Next will be his adventuring companions - again, not rewriting the genre, just an elf, a wizard and a barbarian, done exactly how I want them. :)
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Cool, i did not read the text right away and my first thought was... "reminds me of Asterix somehow" so job well done :)
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I like it it! It reminds me of some of the illustrations out of the Holmes Basic D&D rulebook. I'd like to see more of this range!
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I love this guy a lot! He's a charmer, he is!
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If he's wielding (as opposed to simply carrying) that axe, his grip should be a bit further towards the butt of the haft. Where he's holding it now, he'll get crap for leverage and a wissy-weak swing. :)
Having fought with (poorly) and against (more successfully) folks armed with (reenactment) viking hand axes, I both agree and disagree with this statement.
It's true that from a grip like that he wouldn't get the full leverage of the swing, or the reach benefits of the length of the shaft, but he could fight effectively. The shorter length of haft tends to make the axe more maneuverable at closer quaters, and is particualry good for closing in and finsihing off spearmen. Infact, one of the best axemen I've fought one on one (out of 15-25) regualrly slides his hand along the haft until his fist is litterally touching the axe-head, and uses the whole thing as a type of knuckle-duster. By fainting and then stepping sindie your guard, he's got you pretty much at his mercy.
As a further aside, holding an axe half way up the haft is fairly standard if dual weilding (florentine style) as it gives more versatility to parrying...
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I think if you compare with the Classic Imperial Dwarf range from citadel his nose wouldnt seem out of place....
I also had to think of Citadel dwarfes seeing this. Very old school, which is good.
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I'm not a particular fan of the cartoonish models. But if I was, this dwarf would be perfect. Nicely done. And yes, even with the big nose.
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I'm with v_lazy_dragon on the position of the hand holding the axe. I too am a reenactor and regularly change hand position on the axe depending on how I want to use it. When not fighting I'll hold it near the head as its a beast of an axe (unlike a lot of light axes i see being used) and makes it easier/lighter to carry. It slips easily to fighting position when I need it to. And as Andrew says, it looks cool. As my axe is so heavy my usual hand position is about half way up the haft. I've seen people use the axe in the position the dwarfs holding his axe to hook shields with the bottom half of the haft (though a good bearded axe head does it better).
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Helm could do with a bit more bulk and i'm not a fan of in built shields.... but that's the worst I got, I like him. On scale though I only buy things that will fit in with my GW dwarves, simply because they are the largest range of plastic dwarves and I like converting things (I make rare exceptions but not often).
Overall, I think it's a great bit of work. :)
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I'd just echo some of the other comments, fatten up the helmet a bit and adjust arm length on the right. He already looks great- but that would make him PERFECT.
How about a Norse variant with some big horns on his helmet? (now i am just being greedy)
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I think he looks pretty good. Proportions are much better than a lot of dwarves which don't appear to have functional anatomy :)
My question is where the heck are you guys (miniature producers) getting 3D prints that are high enough quality to reproduce in resin or metal?!!!
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Hello LAFers,
I wouldn't normally clog up these boards with renders - this is the Lead Adventure Forum after all - but I'm looking for feed back on a little dwarf I've just finished.
I'm rebooting the Statuesque Fantasy range with figures of a very different style compared to my sci-fi range. I want the freedom to play around with caricature and exaggeration and I also want figures that will match my fantasy collection from other manufacturers, so they need to look good alongside Kev Adams' 4ed goblins and the like. Basically I want to sculpt my ideal dungeon crawl warband and go adventuring!
Specific influence on this project are the Asterix books (studying the cartoons is really useful for reducing detail to what's useful), Brian Froud and John Bauer. All of which has lead to... a massive nose! lol Reaction to the nose has not been positive on Dakkadakka so I thought I'd see what opinions are here. Remember my intention is to create a caricature, not a 'realistic' dwarf.
Also, there's the tricky question of size. Currently he stands 21mm to the top of his helmet. He is pictured on a 20mm square base. I understand 21mm may be quite small by current dwarf standards! He's pretty much the same height as a plastic GW dwarf, with hands the same size at 3mm across the knuckles. His facial features are certainly more exaggerated though. I think he'd go quite nicely with the old Perry dwarf adventurers, though the only one I own is the elder with walking stick and a bad back. He's likely a bit slimmer than Marauder dwarfs; his head isn't as wide and his hands are smaller. I'm thinking I could increase the size a wee bit, which would have the benefit of bulking him out a bit too.
If you've got strong feelings on dwarf size, please let me know!
(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/Dwarf1s_zpscb88aed0.jpg)(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/dwarf2s_zps2d2fd3f4.jpg)
(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/dwarf4s_zps1750158c.jpg)(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/dwarf3s_zps1daf83e9.jpg)
If I was starting over with dwarf figures (Too many Der Kriegspieler figures to do that) This would be in the top echelons of my buy list.
I like it a lot, even with the nose!
Gracias,
Glenn
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I'm not a particular fan of the cartoonish models. But if I was, this dwarf would be perfect. Nicely done. And yes, even with the big nose.
My sentiment exactly.
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I think the nose is what makes me like it the best, really! :D
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I'd buy him.
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Great character and great nose! Would buy him immediately and look forward to see his companions ...
What is Dakkadakka? Never heard of it ... :D
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I really like it. Once it is printed, I would imagine it will fit nicely into most dwarf ranges, whilst still having its own flavour. :)
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Thanks, folks. I'm glad he seems to have been well received, nose and all! I'll continue to make little tweaks as I work on his adventuring companions and will likely increase his size a wee bit so the 'bulk' matches some existing ranges. I received my first Citadel Dwarf from Ebay today - a lovely little figure and I think Lowri should look good next to them.
I think I'll probably make the shield a separate part, if only to avoid a mould line across it or any distortion due to the manufacturing process. An added bonus will be that I can make an set of upgrade weapons for him with a fancy axe and shield for when he's been through a few dungeons! :)
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The nose is MAGNIFICENT. Whatever else you modify, something that WONDROUS should be left alone.
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I'm with DeafNala on this.
Also some trim, or seams, or a bit of bulk, or anything on the helmet. Right now it reads as a bald head.
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Only thing i think is kinda week is the shield... it reminds me of the GW ones where the shield blurrs into the rest of the model. A bit of arm or something would be even better!
But overall i love him!
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The nose is, as Deafnala put it, Magnificent. Tamper not with perfection. For my taste the axe could come off the steroids, but that's about it (I'm not a fan of overcooked weapons). He's a fine fellow.
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I love it and would buy it as is, no changes. I look forward to seeing your take on other fantasy adventurer archetypes.
Same thing here. I really like this Dwarf! 8)
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Hi folks.
I've just finished work on the Elf for my warband. Again, like his comrade Lowri Lowrisson, I didn't want to reinvent the genre but to sculpt exactly what I wanted in an adventuring elf. He's currently nameless as I've yet to come up with an Elf name I like, but now that I've written it, I kind of like the sound of 'The Nameless Elf'...
(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/elf1s_zps18a84d55.jpg)(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/elf2s_zpsae4de8aa.jpg)
(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/elf3s_zpse0b4b9da.jpg)(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/elf4s_zps75522c3a.jpg)
I'll likely keep working on him when things catch my eye that need doing. There's more blurb about him on my BLOG (http://khorosho-productions.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/the-nameless-elf.html). I've also done a wee bit more work on Lowri Lowrisson, mainly to allow the shield to be a separate part. You can see the images on the Statuesque Miniatures Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151756698507384.1073741830.363519932383&type=3).
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Looks great to me...not your typically "pretty boy" elf....I like that.
Can you give us a link to your blog?
Cheers,
Blue
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Now I usually hate anything elfy; due in part to me always having to be the elf when playing HeroQuest as a kid, but this elf looks mean and like he can handle himself. Another brilliant interpretation of a classic.
@Blue: click the word BLOG (http://khorosho-productions.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/the-nameless-elf.html?m=1) ;)
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Now I usually hate anything elfy; due in part to me always having to be the elf when playing HeroQuest as a kid, but this elf looks mean and like he can handle himself. Another brilliant interpretation of a classic.
I played Warhammer Quest last week with my other half and the elf was the runt of the litter- totally useless! I was glad I'd decided to make a mean looking elf because when he's on the table he might not be so bloody wet!
@Blue: click the word BLOG (http://khorosho-productions.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/the-nameless-elf.html?m=1) ;)
Yup, sorry links don't show up so obviously here, should've put it in bold or something. :)
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The face is WONDERFUL...the Pointy Eared One evinces a tremendous amount of character/personality. VERY WELL DONE!
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I played Warhammer Quest last week with my other half and the elf was the runt of the litter- totally useless! I was glad I'd decided to make a mean looking elf because when he's on the table he might not be so bloody wet!
I'd happily use this elf in my Dungeon crawls. I guess if you're hanging around with a rock hard Dwarf and a savage Barbarian some of that will rub off on you. No more mister nice elf.
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This guy is awesome...
I could easily paint him as a TES dark elf, so I like him a considerable bit.
Love your cloth textures!
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That elf, I want. What scale will these be in?
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That elf, I want. What scale will these be in?
He's a tall elf, rather than a short D&D style elf and his proportions are done to compliment my fantasy figure collection, which are mostly older Citadel figures. He's fair bit taller than an early Jes Goodwin elf, but not as ridiculously tall as a modern GW elf. He's a happy medium I'd hope. As posed he's 28mm to the eyes.
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No more mister nice elf.
lol
This Elf definitely spent all his points on Strength rather than Comeliness. And I mean that in a good way.
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And then there were three: every adventuring band has to have a wizard, surely?!
(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/wizard1s_zps2257cb82.jpg)(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/wizard2s_zpsab091ae6.jpg)
(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/wizard5s_zps6d5220fc.jpg)(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/wizard4s_zpsc75a8ce0.jpg)
And here he is with the rest of the gang so far:
(http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss125/Khorosho-Productions/warband1s_zps7bb566cd.jpg)
I had a lot of fun working on this figure, which I hope shows through in the final piece. There's a bit more blurb on the Blog (http://khorosho-productions.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/and-then-there-were-three-wizard-joins.html) as usual.
Next up, BARBARIAN!
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Each of the Adventuring Rogues is BEAUTIFULLY detailed, but the outstanding feature of each is their WONDERFULLY expressive faces. VERY WELL DONE!
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Love the wizard too! a very characterful bunch....if I had any critique it would be that the wizards nose might be a tad large...he's not a dwarf after all!
still...that wouldn't stop me from picking him up for sure.
Cheers,
Blue
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Great group so far! What material will these be cast in eventually?
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Great group so far! What material will these be cast in eventually?
They'll be good, honest metal. :)
@Blue in VT: Noses grow with age don't they? He's very very old. ;)
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They'll be good, honest metal. :)
Oh that is the icing on the cake! Yay metal!
Blue
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Conks are all perfect and in keeping with the style of the brief.
Bringing Heroquest down off the top of the wardrobe and camping out for the Barbarian.
Top quality stuff. Remind me again of the 3D sculpting program you use?
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I like them all 8)
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Love the wizard! They look like a band of right grumpy old buggers!
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I love them all...keep them coming. I'll be populating a dungeon sometime in the next year, and might begin a slow collection of models...excellent stuff!
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Excellent group of figures, will buy them instantly; when will they be available?
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I like the way you sculpt. The lines are clean and there is a nice, elegant flow to the figures. The faces are expressive and full of character. IMHO the noses are perfect. I would definitely buy these. When do you anticipate being able to make them available?
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Thanks, folks. I'd like to get them on sale as soon as possible but I need to finish the Barbarian first and possibly some other bits and pieces. I need to do my sums but it looks like I might have to use Kickstarter to fund the production; I can afford to print the figures and would do so prior to any crowdfunding, but the cost of the production moulds and castings could be a bit of a stretch. Normally, I print a few figures at a time, have a master mould made of all of those then do production moulds over a couple of months to keep something of a regular release schedule and have some money in the bank. With this warband, I really need to release all the figures at the same time.
Which is a long way of saying, probably more than a couple of months, hopefully less than four! :)