Feb 17, 2011

Kelian Durak by Rackham

This is my latest mini to date, finished this tuesday. I struggled to take pictures of it, as the original ones I took using a decent compact camera did not look good (as in not like the real thing). And it was this miniature and comments on a Czech WH40K board ThereIsOnlyWar (Link), that inspired me to take better pictures of my miniatures.

Couple days prior to painting this guy, I bought an airbrush, so this is my first miniature preshaded using an airbrush. Although originally, I was sceptical about getting one, it proved to be absolutely worth the money. It saved me loads of time on the cloak and it makes getting good transitions on bigger miniatures much, much easier. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is serious about painting miniatures for display.

The colour choices and composition of the piece are heavily influenced by a couple blogs I've been reading recently. Mainly MassiveVooDoo (Link) and Jeremie Bonamant Teboul's web (Link). Plus the colours are largely taken from a gorgeous version of the same miniature painted by Rusto (Link). Trying to replicate the legends, way of the lesser painter ;)




Wolfen Predator of Blood by Rackham

This miniature was major experiment for me. I always struggle with colour choices, often repainting certain areas multiple times, until I settle for a final tone. So I decided to paint this guy in a limited palette, using mainly blue for shadows, pale yellow for highlights and a bit of red brown for the straps. I wanted to make him look moonlit and in the end, I was very pleased with the result. It is not my smoothest paintjob, but the limited palette thing worked nicely and the vivid blood (done with Tamiya Clear red) really pops. Hope you like him.

Also, I forgot to mention. If you have any questions, suggestions on what to improve or comments in general, I'd love to hear. I appreciate constructive criticism a lot, even if I will not repaint the current model, I always like to hear what people like about it or what they think could be improved.



Airtis, Barbarian gnome by Enigma

Continuing a series of quick updates with pictures of older stuff. here comes Airtis. I painted this guy back in fall of 2010. For the tree, I used a dried root and I must say I like this method very much. It looks surprisingly good with a little effort. If you ever want to try, little tree roots are the best, stay away from ferns, grass and "soft" plants in general. The snow was done using bicarbonate of soda, A method I tested previously, but never had a chance to try on such scale. I think it came out ok. Also, if you look at the way my miniatures are shaded, you can see (hopefully), that I try to use zenithal highlights and strong contrast more and more. I hope it shows, because that is the single most important area I am working on for the past year.




Empire Warrior Priest

Another older miniature I took better pictures of (same batch as the Worg). This one was painted back in spring 2010. I wanted to try and perfect my metallics, being inspired by a great tutorial by Automaton (Posted here). I originally started the mini at a workshop on metallics I was giving at a local gaming club, but messed him up horribly. When I came home, I realized I should be at least able to paint decent metals, when I try to teach people that, and set to work on this guy again :)
I did not use as many colours, staying mainly with simple black and green, but it still proved a valuable lesson. The base is done with mainly balsa wood and painted with pigments.

Only one picture for this guy, because the base obscures much of the back. Not the best composition, but I learned :)

Wolfen Worg by Rackham

Yay, first post :) The blog will be mostly about my miniatures, showing of my finished work or occasionally even posting WIP pictures to document my progress on projects that take longer. I will also try to post tutorials when I remember to take pictures along the way. As you probably guessed by now, the blog will be picture heavy.

Enough talking, lets have a look at some pictures. This a Wolfen Worg by Rackham a towering 10cm piece. I painted this particular guy on my Erasmus stay in Sweden. Also, it's the first mini, where I tried to emulate the zenithal light. And my first  mini on a plinth, yay :)

If you care to vote: CoolMiniOrNot

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