[Painting] At the risk of jinxing myself...

[Brandi]

... I have at least for now broken my painting block and may even have Tristessa finished in a couple days. Now if only I had a good permanent backdrop for photographing against (the black paper one I used to use was disposed of as just deadweight when we moved; further, its black color tended to play hob with the camera's color adjustments)...

And for the record: painting light colors (especially white) butted up against dark colors (especially black) is a PAIN IN THE ASS.

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

Do what I do, undercoat the mini black, then recoat the lighter areas white after using a small brush and paint the edges of the lighter areas with a small (very fine detail brush) before painting the rest of the lighter areas. You can also get away with using inks and washes to help clean thigs up as it sinks into the crevasses

Another useful tip is to really thin he paint down, then you don't have to paint so close to the edges, but keep it thick enough so ti doesn't run everywhere. Typically I use a thin layer of 3 parts paint to 2 parts water for this.

[Brandi]

Well, she's finished. There was some delays along the lines of parental visits and dislocated kneecaps.

The picture, snapped off, seems awfully crude but maybe it's just that you shouldn't take pictures of minis that close up unless you've got a shelf full of Golden Demon awards. There is also, as of yet, no good backdrop (I just shoved a cardboard box between the mini and the paint jars.)

Although it just looks like weird whitish specks in the photo, pearlescent medium actually has interesting effects on the paint. And if I think about this wretched photo too much I'm going to get depressed again.

http://webs.lanset.com/brandiweed/Raven ... stessa.jpg

Next up: a bunch of mummies and Azalin (who looks rather mummified himself)

[Joël of the FoS]

Cool Tristessa.

Do you use ink? I found this technique recently and it does amazing results.

Joël

[Brandi]

Do you use ink? I found this technique recently and it does amazing results.

I do-- in fact, there's violet ink used as wash shading in the dress, though the effect of the pearlescent medium on the highlight may obscure it.

(And while Gaz V has Tristessa dressed in black now, black clothes + black skin == damn boring mini unless it's of a big enough scale to do some subtle edge contrasts. 54mm for a start, I'd say.)

[Joël of the FoS]

Ah, indeed, it is not obvious.

If I may, I would put ink in her hairs (very diluted, so they stay mainly white), it would accentuate the texture of her hairs.

And possibly on the "vapors" holding her to the base, for the same reason.

I took a few photograph of my work yesterday, I will post these as soon as Socko is back working (he is now having an illicit love affair with a silk glove). One of them is the Glutton, that I have redone.

Joël

[Brandi]

My inks are relatively dark, but I did use diluted off-white paint (with a little soap to reduce surface tension) in the hair. That hair has a really weird texture with extremely deep creases in it that are hard to get paint into; I would probably have impolite words with Dennis Mize about it if I ever met him.

The mists are actually layered in three shades of grey mixed with pearlescent medium, plus a small amount of the pure (white) medium. Photographing that is going to be tricky, I figure, but I really do like the way it looks to the naked eye. (I think I will use a similar technique when I get to that one ghost in the Forlorn boxed set.)

[Joël of the FoS]

That hair has a really weird texture with extremely deep creases in it that are hard to get paint into; I would probably have impolite words with Dennis Mize about it if I ever met him.

I have the figure in hand now and indeed it doesn't look easy at all.

The mists are actually layered in three shades of grey mixed with pearlescent medium, plus a small amount of the pure (white) medium. Photographing that is going to be tricky, I figure, but I really do like the way it looks to the naked eye. (I think I will use a similar technique when I get to that one ghost in the Forlorn boxed set.)

OK, there is ink, because as you say, the photograph doesn't do justice to it, especially the mists. But I trust you, I know photographing minis can give deceiving results.

Just received my goblyns won on ebay. They look pretty nasty

Joël

[Joël of the FoS]

I also received the wolfwere sets of 4 minis (#11-114).

How the heck is the victim supposed to be positioned (and stand) with the wolfwere?

Joël

[Brandi]

How the heck is the victim supposed to be positioned (and stand) with the wolfwere?

The victim is, in fact, being held horizontally in the air by the wolfwere. If you look carefully you should see a small notch or depression in her back that fits with a corresponding protrusion on the wolfwere's paw.

You may find that you have to build up the base of the wolfwere for stability. I had to do so with the Man-Wolf (11-117) for reasons I'm not sure of. One of the ways my husband and I found was to sink a wire or pin into the edge of the base and then build up plumber's putty/Kneadatite green stuff around it; the pin helps with keeping the new glob stuck to the base edge.

As for the goblyns, I think the real problem's going to be painting the proper tartans on them. (I suppose those three could be from Feast of Goblyns and not Forfarian, but a challenge is a challenge...)