Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: Peithetairos on October 07, 2020, 10:15:23 AM
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(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/header-in-a-forest-darkly.jpg)
I thought of starting a "collected works" thread, starting with two of my latest minis:
A full conversion of Nienna Elven Ranger (I resculpted the entire front of the mini and added a new head and weapons) and a contest entry Chaos Toad sorcerer. Didn't place, but I definitely pushed myself. I used Kimera colours with both, really pushing the saturation and tried my hand on cloth and skin textures.
The overarching theme is: In a forest darkly. My long going project including enchanted forest minis and terrain.
C&C welcome.
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20201003_003110.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20201003_003156.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20201003_003219.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20200817_235700.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20200925_001605.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20200925_002949.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20200925_002332.jpg?w=750)
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I really like the ranger, but that chaos toad is something else - excellent work!
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Those are quite nice, the brushwork on the toad especially. And the head swap on the ranger is a sliver of genius. Looks perfect to me.
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The sculpting on the ranger is excellent and the painting on the chaos toad is really beautiful and eye catching.
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Brilliant work on both!
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I really like the ranger, but that chaos toad is something else - excellent work!
Much obliged. I would say the toad is my best mini so far painting wise. The ranger, however, is my new favorite hero mini. So all in all very happy how both turned out.
Those are quite nice, the brushwork on the toad especially. And the head swap on the ranger is a sliver of genius. Looks perfect to me.
Thank you kindly. Statuesque heads are just great. The original pose made her look down, which I found not very dynamic.
The sculpting on the ranger is excellent and the painting on the chaos toad is really beautiful and eye catching.
Thank you. The boot straps drove me crazy. ;D
Brilliant work on both!
Thank you!
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Excellent job on both figures!
-Michael
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Excellent job on both figures!
-Michael
Thank you!
I continue with a pirate dwarf: Gruff Grimecleaver. Again a Reaper Miniature. He is one of the poor miniatures that had to dwell unfinished in a box. Gladly I found the motivation to finish his weapons and dirty shirt.
I thought of him as an adventuring party member and nobody said pirates can only appear in tropic environs.
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20201003_003454.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20201003_003551.jpg?w=750)
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Great sculpting and painting. Especially like the ranger.
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love the painting on the toad and dwarf especially.
great sculpting skill on the ranger.
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Outstanding.
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Great collection! look forward to seeing more.
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Wonderful! That toad blows me away.
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Great sculpting and painting. Especially like the ranger.
love the painting on the toad and dwarf especially.
great sculpting skill on the ranger.
Thank you both! The sculpting of the front section was challenging, but good practice.
Wonderful! That toad blows me away.
Thank you, definitely my best paint job so far.
Outstanding.
Much obliged!
Great collection! look forward to seeing more.
Thank you and here you go:
Another denizen: A vampire thrall conversion. Mantic Ghoul body and Warlord Orc head. The paint job is a bit older, so not as contrast rich as my newer stuff.
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20201003_092246.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20201003_092550.jpg?w=750)
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Sublime work. That header image is super professional.
May I ask what the black background you use for your photos is? Been looking for something similar, my current background is rather reflective and yours is perfect.
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I took all the pictures against a flat screen.
The idea is that you angle the light thus, that it is not reflected on the screen, so the mini needs to be about 2m away from the screen with the light coming from the left or right corner. Then you focus on the mini and set the exposure so that the mini looks natural, but the background just reads as black. Works with a cell phone, too, as long as you can manually adjust exposure. A tripod is useful, but not required. I took all the pictures hand-held. My light is a ring light.
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I wrote a short blog post about the painting process of the Chaos Toad. I used exclusively Kimera colours for this one, just to take them for a spin.
My overall goal was to really push the contrast. This can be done with lighter and darker areas, but also with warm and cold colours (as in the two skin tones) and via saturation.
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/img_20200925_001605.jpg)
The skintone is Pthalo green with some Cold Yellow mixed in and Red Oxide for the shadows (green and red can be used to make a chromatic black). The lighter skin sections are a Warm Yellow with Red Oxide for the darker areas.
Two other areas that I wanted to add some interest to, were the loin-cloth and the chaos projectile. The loin-cloth was painted using a Phtalo Blue Green Shade to work with the main skin tone, while contrasting with the warmer yellow skin. This time I darkened the blue mixing some Phtalo Green in it as well as some Carbon Black. Highlights were done with a bit of white mixed in. A subtle texture provided even more contrast to the surrounding sections.
The chaos projectile is going from a Carbon Black with a bit of Violet mixed in to Magenta and up to pure Titanium White.
More pictures and info on my blog:
https://wp.me/p49oPQ-Wu (https://wp.me/p49oPQ-Wu)
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Wow...love the palette...really vivid 8)
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great stuff.
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:-* The magical fire is most excellent
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Wow...love the palette...really vivid 8)
Thank you! I am glad it turned out so vibrant, as I struggled for a while with muddy colours. Kimera colours really help with this!
great stuff.
Much obliged!
:-* The magical fire is most excellent
Thank you! The secret was all in going from a really dark violet up to pure titanium white.
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As it fits the overall theme:
I did some mixed media background art for scenic shots and such. I first established a gradient with watercolours, then used soft pastels to paint the landscape. The idea was a sunset seen from a forest clearing.
I will also make some more daytime landscapes and maybe a nighttime one.
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Wow! Those pictures look amazing! :-*
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Awesome! Now I can be envy not only on your sculpting, but also on photography and painting skills...
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Excellent work on the conversions, the painting and the photo backdrop.
I missed these the first time round - so glad you have posted updates
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Thank you for the positive comments. Makes the project even more fun and keeps the motivation up.
I painted another backdrop, this time watercolors with a bit of graphite. It does not work as well as the pastels in my opinion, but I think I have to get more used to the medium and use prepainting with water more. The testshots worked out ok, however.
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Great stuff :)
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Very impressive. How do you get your tree foliage to look so natural, mine always looks like I've just thrown stuff at it covered in glue (which I have)?
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I use MiniNatur foliage nets with most decidious trees. They are a bit expensive, but look really good.
You should be able to make something similar with a net stocking and laser cut individual leaves.
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Great work again - I also really like the lizard/basilisk miniature. Where does it come from?
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A Reaper Bones Behir. Nice miniature, if hard to clean. If they release it in the new Bones Black or Bones USA it might be worth waiting. A few more pictures of the creature:
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Thanks for the reply. It is an effective method judging by your results.
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Awesome - thanks for letting me know
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Another Ranger, this time Elladan (also featured in the cover pic) by Reaper Miniatures.
I changed his weapons and arm position, as the Bones ones were a bit too bendy and thick.
He was pretty much a practice for leather textures, so not my current level. I still like him for this smirk.
How do you like the pastel backgrounds? I am experimenting with a variety of backgrounds at the moment to see how to improve my pics.
So far we had infinite black, painted backdrop and blue, purple and green pastel tones.
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/img_20210104_222825.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/img_20210104_222932.jpg?w=750)
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Well, the painted backdrops are excellent and look great with the figures. I think it is worth using the plain backgrounds as well for situations when you want the figure to be the unchallenged centre of attention (with the backgrounds they become part of a scene). I like the light green best with the Elladan figure.
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Well, the painted backdrops are excellent and look great with the figures. I think it is worth using the plain backgrounds as well for situations when you want the figure to be the unchallenged centre of attention (with the backgrounds they become part of a scene). I like the light green best with the Elladan figure.
Thank you, I guess I will use the backgrounds depending on context, as you suggest.
I made some new pictures of Elliwyn Heatherlark, that show some more detail. The head and weapon were added, the rest is original.
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/img_20201228_223443.jpg?w=750)
(https://daggerandbrush.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/img_20201228_224518-1.jpg?w=750)
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That is a wonderful piece of kit-bashing and painting. Well done! :-*
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Thank you! I made some new pictures of another denizen: a gnarly Lich.
This guy is a conversion of Reaper Leisynn Mercenary Mage.
Some more insight into the conversion process on my blog:
https://daggerandbrush.wordpress.com/2021/01/18/leather-face-leisynn-to-lich-conversion/ (https://daggerandbrush.wordpress.com/2021/01/18/leather-face-leisynn-to-lich-conversion/)
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Now, that is what I call a lich - eons of decrepitude. Excellent work on him/it. I also like the little details of the words and picture in the book being carried.
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Thank you kindly. He is indeed in need of a face-lift.
Another challenger appears. This time Reaper's Lem the Halfling Bard. He is based on a Pathfinder character.
Happy how the face came out and the brocade pattern.
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Lovely painting on all the figures especially love the pattern and colours on the cloak of the halfling.
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So much to love in your work, great job!
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My favorite part of the liche is your wonderful book details, the writing, the capital B, the illustration. Very cool stuff.
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Excellent painting. The dragon is a beauty :-*
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The picture with the painted background is awesome!
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Long time no update, but I finally have something new to add: A cave troll that dwells deep in the forest.
He was my entry to the Reaper Miniatures 18th quarterly contest. I worked hard to achieve a nice contrast, using texture, complimentary colours and value. Another focus was the cavern base and the water and splash effects. I am happy how he turned out, but comparing him to the winning trolls I also know that I need to push myself even more. I guess that is what it is all about.
(https://daggerandbrush.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cave-Troll-Side-Edited-scaled.jpg)
(https://daggerandbrush.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cave-Troll-Side-2-scaled.jpg)
(https://daggerandbrush.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Nienna-vs-Troll.jpg)
If you are interested in more pics and the painting process also check out my newest blog post.
https://daggerandbrush.de/bad-teeth-worse-attitude-beware-the-cave-troll/ (https://daggerandbrush.de/bad-teeth-worse-attitude-beware-the-cave-troll/)
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Holy crap that is WAY COOL.
How light is the stalactite section? I assume the thinner bit is wired and the bit touching the club is pinned?
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Fantastic brush work!
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Brilliant work! Great touch with the drool.
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Holy crap that is WAY COOL.
How light is the stalactite section? I assume the thinner bit is wired and the bit touching the club is pinned?
Thank you! Both stalactite sections are super light, as the core is XPS, only the outer layer and individual stalagtites are filler/milliput and yes, there is a central brass rod in the thinne rbit, the other one is just atatched using two-part epoxy, as it is a display model only. For gaming I would have pinned it.
Fantastic brush work!
Much obliged!
Brilliant work! Great touch with the drool.
Thank you. Yes, the drool was new to me, but I will use the technique again.
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I tried out a new format: Short video clip showcasing the Troll on a turntable with some sound effects and music.
Let me know how you like it.
https://daggerandbrush.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/troll_HD.mp4 (https://daggerandbrush.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/troll_HD.mp4)