Evil Bob's Miniature Painting: Two Monks, a Rogue, a Mage and Pizza

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Two Monks, a Rogue, a Mage and Pizza - Reaper Figures

Let me not lie to you. This is mostly about pizza; the best darn pizza I've ever made. After a long hard day of painting two monks, a rogue, and a mage - I decided it was time for pizza and wine. So, on this particular Friday evening at Evil Bob's, Bob and I made a trek to Wal-Mart and the state-store.

These are the figures I was working on this afternoon...

One could criticize that these figures are painted plainly. I suppose they are. As mentioned a few posts ago, I wanted them to tell me a story.

This half-elf, well, he's a rogue. I could have gone with all black, or all brown; but I needed something to make him pop. All you need is one accent color; I chose green and his light khaki pants. He is woodsy yet roguish.

The monk and priest? Well, they're a monk and priest, what more do you want from them? They could plainer, really.

I didn't want them to become too dark, so I chose to juxtapose light colors with dark. These clothes say, "I'm poor and devout, but I know how to wear my robes and still kick ass."

Above, we have traditional monkish brown with a creamy off-white. "Why a blonde beard?" you may ask. Well, because it simply stands out from his brown robes.

Here with the priest, we have hues of a grey-green, a soft tan with white, and red hair. Yep. Nothing against red-heads; I've dyed my hair red many a times. I just took one look at his face and said, "He's gotta have red hair." Look at those chubby cheeks, they just scream for red or blonde hair. I just happened to choose red.

And let us not forget this little halfling. I could have gone for traditional bright halfling colors; picture The Hobbit. That would have suited a mage; but instead I opted for a muted robe and a brighter tunic. The muted color makes him appear humble while the brighter tones mean business.

I often think of the practicality of adventuring clothes. Yes, here I am again interjecting logic into fantasy. However, I enjoy a bit of realism now and again when I am painting. Sure, I could go all willy-nilly and choose a million colors but how practical would that be? The burnt sienna robes of this halfling go with a multitude of other items should he choose to change his clothes. I'll let you know when he decides to change his clothes; it means I'm in a rubber room with a pretty white jacket with lots of shiny buckles.

So on to pizza!

We had London broil last evening with roasted red potatoes on the grill. It was fabulous, as always. Unfortunately, there were leftovers. We are all plagued with leftovers every now and again. I've shown you how to paint, now I'll show you what to do with some leftovers. ;-)
This evening I thought pizza would be fantastic; especially on the grill. Bob was skeptical. He changed his mind quickly.

Here's what you need:

London Broil marinated in McCormicks Meat Marinade, Cooked and sliced thin (1 hr of marinading in fridge)

One reciepe of King Arthur Flour Pizza Dough

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/now-or-later-pizza-recipe

Raw - Green Peppers, Mushrooms and Garlic (sliced thinly)

Philidelphia Cream Cheese, Cooking Creme, Savory Garlic

http://www.kraftbrands.com/philly/products/Pages/all-philadelphia-products.aspx

Sargento Mozzarella and Provolone mix

Olive Oil

Directions:

Make the pizza dough according to directions and place in fridge.
Grease 2 sheets of approx. 14x14 parchment paper with olive oil when dough is ready.
Remove dough from fridge, divide on floured surface. Place one part on greased parchment and use knuckles to shape dough into a pizza round (or oval). Do the same to the other ball of dough.
Next, cut up vegetables and meat (if necessary) while waiting for dough to rise for 30 min.
Preheat Grill.
When grill is ready, hot but not flaming, oil top side of dough circle and flop onto grill surface. Peel off parchment paper. Oil what is now the top of the pizza dough. Close lid. When bottom is thoroughly browned and has nice markings...about 4-5 min. depending on how hot your grill is, flip over.
Begin topping. First spread on the Philly Cream cheese Savory Garlic, then the meat and veggies, then finally the cheese. Let cook for another 4-5 min with the lid down. If the bottom is browning/charring too quickly but the cheese and veggies are not yet soft and melty, move to the top rack.
When the dough is brown and perhaps even charred and the cheese is melted and the veggies are soft - you're done!