Group Shots

Just a series of group shots today. First, wrapping up the ogre warband from last week:

Next, my February painting pledge. I'll be doing individual posts on these guys so you can see all the greeblies. (And the faffs.)

And some statue toppers for the pillars I built ages ago, made out of busted-ass plastic high elves that were originally the first miniatures I ever bought. Now memorialized as stone.

Group your responses together in pleasing arrangements below.

The Yawper

I thought I'd finish this little Ogre series with my favorite figure from the batch. He's full of motion and personality, with plenty of texture to provide interest, coarse enough to be easily painted but still with tons of dynamism.

I call him the Yawper in my head, because he looks like he's yawping. I managed his eyes particularly well, for me.

The Craw

I'm really curious as to who sculpted this one. It is a figure crammed with lovely texture and detail that I love, even though it was too fine to paint easily.

For instance, the belly and back are covered in a texture suggestive of fine hair. But I had no idea how to paint that, so I did it as skin and hoped my washes would articulate it well enough.

Painting difficulties aside, I love the personality of this figure. And its weight. It's a serious piece of metal. That base is a 2" washer.

The Wyrm-sage

Now here was an strange sculpt. Oddly lifeless, but in a compelling way.

The lethargy of the pose is echoed by the lazy wyrm, which I love, that's just draped over his shoulders. Like a fat cat. And what's that spiky stone do? No idea. A mysterious arcane parenthetical, bracketed in his paralyzed hands. If it were text, it would read like: (?)

The best sages are full of mystery...

The Ram

The sculpts from this warband seemed to be from a range of different manufacturers, so each had a palpably different style and different challenges.

This one might have been my least favourite, I think because the robe and axe and arms were all so...plain. Nothing on here seemed to tell a story the way some of the other figures seemed to do.

Of course, a good painter would have used their skills to create a story...maybe the actual reason I didn't like the figure much was because I was frustrated with my lack of inspiration. If I were to do it again, maybe I'd do some patterns on the robe, or some gnarly tattoos.

The Grunch

This week, I'm showcasing an ogre warband I painted up as a trade afor my fellow CSW member, Tim. 

Won't have too much to say as I'll be pretty busy through the weekend...enjoy the pictures, though, and let me know what you think...

...by broadcasting your ideas telepathically. Not by using the comments box. Avoid that, obviously.

Hund of the Morraine

(All Them Witches)

In the hither Northwest, where mountain hames perch 'midst the bluffs of the groaning vale, and the trails are marked by cairns of unknown heritage, there are some who insist that not all stones are as they seem.

These are regarded by their neighbors as—at best—eccentric. Ever are they moonlight-rambling up the trails and passes with leathern satchels of bizarre tools: tiny hammers, calipers, bits of colored chalk.

When happens a likely-looking boulder, these instruments they will use to tickle and to prod the belly of the stone. If one were to ask, for instance, 'Dear Rooblin, why is it that you so vex the stones?' He might reply: 'because this stone, THIS stone is just pretending.

'At it's heart is the wily soul of a primeval beast, forefathers of the hund, or the geit, or the ochse, that was deposited here when the world was but an icy thought in the mind of god...'

And here will they become pensive, perhaps winding and unwinding the handle of their tiny chisel in the tangles of their beard. 'I could show you...if I could but make the creature pay heed. Many is the time that I've seen a stone rouse into the form of a many-hornéd beast and slake itself at the lip of a black mountain tarn...' 

Ugly Giant

As part of an ancient trade, I agreed to paint the below giant for one of my fellow club members who likes my painting style enough to consistently give me things in exchange for paint jobs. I thought I'd share the pictures here.

It took me a long time to get to painting this particular figure because, frankly, it's a hideously ugly sculpt...to the point where, from a painter's viewpoint, it's intimidating. But it turns out the very ugliness of this figure has its own appeal—once the paint is actually on. Karl seemed quite pleased

I left the base blank because I know that Karl has a very distinctive basing style using concrete patch. I'll let him fix it up just how he likes.

As fun as it was to see how pleased Karl was with the work I did on this figure, I for one am glad to see the back of it.

...how about you?

Deskscape

Busy, busy couple of weeks. Barely enough time for a sip of coke or beer, let alone a bite of deodorant.

What is my life?

Still, getting a good deal done. Real posts to follow.