DeepWars and ShadowSea (08-25 Coyotl Warriors)

[Timbor]

So, I decided to go ahead and get myself into DeepWars by Antimatter games: http://antimatter-games.com/

I downloaded the rulebook, and my local store is bringing in some starter sets.  I missed their kickstarter, but I really like the setting - nice mix of fantasy, steampunk and Cthulu-esque intrigue.  To boot, I am making a 'deep sea' gaming mat using the technique outlined here: http://tobispaintpot.blogspot.de/2012/10/a-new-horizon-tutorial-for-flexible.html

I got the mat painted up tonight, and will post some pictures when I get a chance.  Hopefully it turns out pretty nice.  As a teaser, I can share a picture of some of the test colours I painted up.  I want to try and make it look deep and dark, but also kinda eerie, as if lit by unnatural means:



The mat itself will have shades of deep blue, purple, and green.  Once it is dry, I will do some brown drybrushing to tone the colours down a bit, then some light drybrushing with an aqua-green.

Also, I should mention that Antimatter is launching a new edition of ShadowSea, which follows the same storyline but takes place on the surface rather than under the sea: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/524168246/shadowsea-battle-for-the-underlands
There are a couple weeks left yet, but they seem to be struggling with funding a bit.  Here's to hoping they make it!  

[Van-Helsing]

Can't wait to see where you go with this - I'm a big Anti Matter Games fan!

Yea, doing a KS this close to Christmas - especially when you consider how many successful KS/Indiegogo campaigns there have been already was kinda optimistic IMHO!

[obsidian3d]

I've looked at the Shadowsea original stuff and drooled over the kickstarter items too, but I don't think I can afford to support them. too close to winter holiday time...

[Timbor]

Hmm, I never considered about KS and Christmas.  Though you could support it and count it as a late Christmas present when it arrives    You know you wanna, they need the support!

Anyway, I have some photos of my gaming mat.  Here are things before the mess started:



For a mat, I used a canvas painting dropcloth from home depot.  This one was 4x12 and cut to make a 4x4 mat. It won't quite be 4' long at the end due to the shrinkage, but will be mostly 4x4. Nobody plays on the table edge anyway...

I wanted to do 3 base colours - some purple, deep blue, and green.  I got craft paint from Michaels, and bought a bag of playsand from Home Depot, along with their acrylic caulking that contains a bit of silicone.  I found the playsand was too fine, so in addition to the playsand, I  mixed in some small gravel donated from the side of the road at the end of my driveway.  Here are some pictures of the wet board:





And, here are some pictures today.  It is mostly dry, though some of the thicker parts are still soft/squishy:





What are those tiny coloured bits?  I bought some small craft shells from Michaels and scattered a few to make it more 'bottom of the ocean-ish'.  Currently, I would agree with your thoughts that the colours are a tad too bright and garish.  My plans from here are to drybrush brown over most of the mat, followed by a light, scattered drybrush of aqua green/blue.  I am also considering doing a wash of dark brown to add some shading, but I am unsure as to how well that will work.  Washes work well on sand bases, but this is more of a paste, so I think it might end up pooling and looking odd.  Any suggestions? 

[obsidian3d]

Looking really good so far. After my less than stellar experience with zuzzy I'll be making my own mats in the future. But I still have four 6x4' mats to paint before then...

[Van-Helsing]

I was planning on using Brightly Coloured Sands -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Artistic-Craft-Sand-1KG-Bags-12-Colours-/150693603657?pt=UK_Crafts_Children_s_Crafts_EH&var=450045374684&hash=item231609e949

Because I'm a cheat! LoL!

[Estarriol]

I'm slowly working on aquatic fantasy figures so I'm eager to see what comes out for this line Following your project with interest.

[Timbor]

I was planning on using Brightly Coloured Sands -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Artistic-Craft-Sand-1KG-Bags-12-Colours-/150693603657?pt=UK_Crafts_Children_s_Crafts_EH&var=450045374684&hash=item231609e949

Because I'm a cheat! LoL!

If you use sand like that, I am not sure of how good a result you will get.  It looks like it has a very fine, uniform texture which won't give your board much definition IMO.  Not to mention once you mix bright sand with white caulking, it will look very bright indeed!

I'm slowly working on aquatic fantasy figures so I'm eager to see what comes out for this line Following your project with interest.

Are you sculpting said aquatic figures?  Any pictures?

[Doomsdave]

Looking really good so far. After my less than stellar experience with zuzzy I'll be making my own mats in the future. But I still have four 6x4' mats to paint before then...

Do tell.  I have a Zuzzy mat that is still unpainted.  It's been daunting for me.  Any tips would be appreciated.

[obsidian3d]

The zuzzy mats look great, I was referring to the company's abysmal customer service. As to painting them, I just picked up a bunch of acrylics at michaels for half off in preparation to paint. 16 tubes (2oz) for $24.

Of course I'll post results when I have them painted up.

[Estarriol]

Timbor - I'm no sculptor. I'm trying to convert some merfolk at the moment, but not finding it too easy. There are a suprising number of minis out there to use though - Reaper do bits and pieces, Eastern Front Studios' Fathoms Deep stuff looks pretty, and there are a number of lizard type things out there. I'll stick some pics on tomorrow of what I've got painted, if you like.
I might use some christmas money to have some sculpted if I've any left lying around!

[antimatter]

One thing about DeepWars and ShadowSea is that they allow completely custom models to be built using a point system. So really, you can use whatever force you like and make your own stats, even design your own weapons and armor as those are built using points also, having different effects that can be mixed and matched.

[Timbor]

Well, I finally finished my gaming mat!  After the acrylic dried, I basically did a heavy drybrush of brown all over to make it look more 'earthy'.  Then, I did a light drybrush of aqua-blue in a few areas to represent the creepy, ether/magic glow that permeates the game atmosphere.  

Some photos:







The miniature in the last picture is my only painted miniature with any aquatic themes.  Its Fish-Head guy from the Mordheim Frenzied mob  

I should be getting a starter set from my local store in a couple weeks, and I am in for the DeepWars mini-KS campaign and am due to get more minis from that.  God I hope they get the funds to make that wrecked sub...  

Whatcha think?

[Timbor]

In anticipation of receiving my starter force for DeepWars from my local supplier, I decided this weekend to put together a piece of scenery.  I used blocks from Hirst Arts mold #65 - the ruined tower.  From there, I made just the base tower from the website instructions.  It turned out quite well, I should think.  However, this being a game based underwater, I decided it needed to have a bit more sealife included.  Work is not finished yet, but I managed to sculpt on some sponges, barnacles, and other encrusted sealife with some greenstuff.  I hope you like it, as I still need to sculpt more.



A closeup of the barnacles and sponges on the front arch:





Back view of the ruin:



Closeup of the sea life:







In addition to sculpting some more details, I also plan to add a thin layer of plaster over parts of the building to represent calcareous encrusting organisms, such as coralline algae and some small corals.  That will likely be done using some PVA glue and water, details of which I will post later.  I want it to have a vague semblance to something like this random internet picture of encrusting reef life:



Hope you like it!

[obsidian3d]

Looking great. The Hirst arts stuff is really awesome looking...I must resist the urge to purchase some for myself!