Grenadier Red Dragon

Soooo...nope, haven't finished posting about the GW Spider or even the final photos for the two versions of the Wendigo, but here I am posting about a red dragon and the paint job.

Sorry for my inconsistency, I've been busy.  For a while I was doing a long-term substitute position at a local school, then I had to get ready for the HMGS East, Cold Wars convention.  Bob and I were busting out butts to get ready for that con and now we're busting our butts to get orders done that should have been done prior to Cold Wars.  Aargh!  It's nice to be busy, don't get me wrong, but that leaves little time for other things, like blogging.

This Grenadier Red Dragon is part of a larger order of miscellaneous TSR AD&D miniatures.  Frankly, those minis are pretty cool and I'm excited to see if I can put a spiffy paint job on such, how to say it politely, roughly sculpted minis.  I'll make sure I post those TSR miniatures as a whole when I get them all finished.  Unfortunately I didn't have the time and luxury of taking photos as I was working through the steps, sorry.

My inspiration for this red dragon is from the AD&D cover art:

Body Scales

Here you can see how the Yellow Orange is most noticeable nearest the belly scales.  It is also on the hindquarters, shoulders and spine to give it a flame-like glow.

First, I base coated the dragon with Vallejo Red except for the belly scales and the wings.  I did the wings last because I knew I'd be bumping and handling them during the painting process and obviously the belly is done in an entirely different color.

Second, I dry brushed on a coat of Cel-Vinyl Red, making sure that some of the darker Vallejo Red was still showing beneath the round scales.

Next, I lightly dry brushed on Cel-Vinyl Vermillion.  I didn't want to cover up the Red entirely, but the Vermillion really makes things pop.  You'll notice that the difference between the Red and Vermillion is very subtle, if you feel like omitting the above Cel-Vinyl Red step, so be it.

Lastly, I dry brushed on, with a very gentle hand, Cel-Vinyl Yellow Orange.  Again, this is to make things glow and pop.  In most cases I only got close to the belly scales and a little on the higher points like the shoulders or top of the back scales.

Belly Scales

This part is easy because it uses only two colors.

When you dry brush, the Ochre 11 will only end up on the edges of the belly scales.

First, paint on Cel-Vinyl Ochre.

Second, dry brush on Cel-Vinyl Ochre 11.

Done.

Wings

I wanted the wings to be a little lighter than the body because I want them to appear translucent or thin and leathery like the membrane on flying lizards.  Since one can't (or at least I can't) make them appear truly translucent making them lighter is the best way I know how.  However, I kept the bone areas of the wings darker like the rest of the body.

First, paint the membranes of the wings with Cel-Vinyl Red.

Second, paint the bone areas with Vallejo Red.

Next, dry brush the bone areas with Cel-Vinyl Red.

Notice how the Yellow Orange is really only pronounced on the scalloped edges of the wings.

Then, dry brush the entire wing with Cel-Vinyl Vermillion.  Make sure on the membranes that you apply a heavier hand when dry brushing at the scalloped end of the wings (on both sides) to make it appear thinner.

Finally, dry brush, very lightly, the Cel-Vinyl Yellow Orange.  You can do this all over, even on the bone parts but make sure that you hit the scalloped ends of the membrane to emphasize the thinness. 

Claws

This is pretty much the way I do all claws or horns.  I have some other variations, most take more steps.  This is a quick one with pretty good results. I do this for teeth a lot of the time, too.

First, paint the claws and horns Reaper Stained Ivory.

Second, using a very small brush like a 10/0 or 18/0, apply strokes of Reaper Creamy Ivory that begin at the pointed end of the claw and end sharply at the base.

Then, apply white in the same manner as the Creamy Ivory only this time do so in a smaller fashion so that really only the tip of the claw is pure white. 

Finally, after it has dried, using a small brush apply GW Devlan Mud wash to the base of the horn/claw right near the flesh.

Eyes

They are simply GW Burnished Gold with a black pupil.  I also used a little GW Badab Black wash around the eye in the socket to make it stand out.  You could paint the eye and socket with black prior to applying the Gold, I do that frequently.

Tongue

First, paint the tongue with Reaper Antique Rose.
Then, paint only on the ridge points, Reaper Porcelain Rose.

And, well, that's it for the dragon!

Red Dragon Shrine

There is also that odd dragon shrine kinda thingy.  Bob has a Tiamat mini and it has the same shrine.  I never knew what to do with it but this time I decided to give it some color instead of leaving it strictly gray stone.  Looking at the sides of the shrine it has these odd cobra designs so I went with an Egyptian feel by painting them in instead of leaving them carvings.  Personally I think it adds some punch to an otherwise dull piece.  Additionally there are the incised letters/symbols on the front and back and the words Red Dragon on the base.  I suppose I could have used "green stuff" to fill in the words Red Dragon but Bob simply suggested that I fill the incised letters with gold.

First, paint the entire piece with Reaper Shadowed Stone.

Second, dry brush it with Reaper Stone Gray.

Third, dry brush lightly with Reaper Weathered Stone.

Fourth, using a small detail brush paint the cobra design with Vallejo Red and Cel-Vinyl Vermillion.  Also paint the 'tail' of the cobra on the base with Vallejo Red. 

Fifth, paint the belly of the cobra design with Cel-Vinyl Ochre.

Lastly, paint the teeth/fangs white and the eyes gold.



The Tail of the Cobra on the base:
To make belly scales on the tail of the cobra, use black to paint a long rectangle that starts at the base of the cobra belly design and curves into the base.  Using a detail brush paint smaller rectangles of ochre onto the rectangle of black.  Leave slivers of black between each ochre rectangles, this gives the impression of belly scales without too much effort.  The ochre rectangles were also highlighted by painting a dash of ochre 11 onto them.

Then, to mimic scales, make small dots of Vermillion near the belly scales, and dots of Cel-Vinyl Red further away.  You could add the Yellow-Orange nearest the belly scales but I thought that would be over-kill.

Well, that's all it takes for this piece and the shrine.  Enjoy!

Along Came a Spider Part 1 - GW Arachnarok Spider

If you are feeling intimidated by this spider, you should be.  Not because you have a fear of them, but simply because it is daunting to assemble and paint.  Never fear!  I'm here to give a few suggestions that might help squash your spider troubles. 

Bob assembled the spider and found that it took him over two hours because the schematics are rather poorly put together.  He suggests reading the full schematics first, then dry-fit assemble prior to actually trying to glue.
Another suggestion is this, perhaps painting it on the sprue is a better idea than fully assembling prior to painting.  That way all you would have to do is touch-up where you cut off the sprue and where the glue left a residue.  Right now I'm having difficulty in doing the detail work between the many legs and the scaffolding rig.  The pieces that jut out from the main body not only get into the way of the paintbrush but also mess with my depth perception and I have found my brush going astray on many occasions.

*Note: These directions seem out of order, they are grouped by the body part of the spider but follow the STEPS if you really choose to paint in the order that I did.  This order was done for ease of painting.

Main Body Colors for Carapace:

First let's start with the paints that I used...

Base-coat: of Model Color Red.  Let dry thoroughly, may take two coats.  Do not dilute with water unless your paint appears to be too thick.
Washes: Citadel Badab Black and Leviathan Purple.  Used over the base-coat to go into the crevices and darken chosen areas.
Highlights: Cel-Vinyl Red and then Orange Yellow.

Techniques/Process...
Step1 - After the initial base-coat I darkened the very top of the body, the face, and the portions of the collar above the head with the Badab black.  Before the black dried too much, I used the Leviathan Purple around the edges of the black and bled it into what was left of the red at the edges of the carapace.  You'll see that it nicely darkens the crevices as well as all the little bumps, horns, and spines on the carapace.  Let this dry thoroughly.
Step 3 - The tricky part.  See Step 3 image(s).  This takes a very steady hand and don't let the legs get in the way or you'll find you're making squiggly lines.  I suggest taking deep breaths and holding it as you make lines.  I'm considering becoming a pearl diver in the orient when I'm done painting. I typically brace my painting hand at the wrist with my opposite hand as I do the edging lines.
Use the Cel-Vinyl Red to make the first highlight.  Go over all edges, all bumps, and around the horns/spines.  Again, take note on the box art.  You'll notice that there are also triangular accent marks that come down off the edges of the carapace, see note under picture.  I used a 10/0 brush to do all these details.  You may need to thin your CV Red just a little to keep it flowing, the red tends to be/get sticky and you won't have smooth lines. 

Then, after the Red highlights have dried, use the Cel-Vinyl Orange Yellow to add extra dimension.  Lightly go over the red highlights.  Attempt to do so thinly.  If your lines appear intermittent, that's okay, it'll look a little more natural than a perfect accent highlight.

STEP 3.  Also, notice how the black and purple wash help to detail the carapace.  However, the wash isn't the ultimate fix.  Unfortunately, the model's details are too smooth to take a wash very effectively.  So, if you were hoping to base-coat this monster and simply wash it; you're in for a let-down.

STEP 3.  Highlight all the bumps and around the horns/spines in Red and then with Orange Yellow.

Triangular accent highlights.  TIP: Basically, when I could, I held the figure with the ass-end up and drug my paintbrush from the edge toward the center giving the greatest amount of pressure when I started and letting off when I finished the stroke in order to create the triangle effect.  Sometimes I works perfectly, sometimes it doesn't, don't be discouraged.

 TIP: I suggest doing doodles using the 10/0 brush with paint on sheets of paper.  Hold the brush up further on the handle and wave it like a wand using only the dexterity of your fingers to do the moving.  Or, think of it as a pen or pencil instead of a brush, write with it, do cursive and feel the flow of the brush.  Play around with creating wider/heavier strokes by putting weight on the brush and then letting off to create a thin tail.  Create a simple images of animals or shapes.  I liken this to Japanese Calligraphy using the subtle movements of the fingers and even wrist to glide the brush.  You may gain dexterity and brush control by doing this, even practice with a calligraphy kit seems to help.

Abdominal Colors:
Here are the only two colors...

Base-coat: Citadel Hormagaunt Purple
Highlight: Citadel Hormagaunt Purple + Reaper Creamy Ivory = a pale, creamy purple.
2nd Highlight: Reaper Creamy Ivory


Techniques/Process...
Step 2 - Paint the abdomen underneath.  I suggest looking at the box art to see where the abdomen ends and the carapace begins (If you care).  Use the Hormagaunt Purple from Citadel straight out of the jar and base-coat.  The foundation paints are rather thick, so if you find yours not speading well, dilute lightly with water or add a retarder like Liquitex Slow-Dri.
Step 4 - Highlight the abdomen.  Mix the Hormagaunt Purple with the Creamy Ivory until you get a pale, creamy purple color.  Apply this pseudo-Dallimore style over all the high bumpy parts and high ridges of the fleshy part of the spider's abdomen.  See image Step 4 below.
Step 5 - I have yet to do step 5 on this model; however, it will involve a final highlight with the Creamy Ivory over the raised bumps and high ridges of flesh. 

STEP 4

STEP 4

Eyes:

Colors used...

Base-coat: Black (any kind)
Highlight: Citadel Necron Abyss
2nd Highlight: GW Ultramarines Blue
3rd Highlight: Model Color Deep Sky Blue
4th Highlight: White (any kind)
*Note: after a spray varnish coat when the model is complete, a gloss varnish will be applied to the eyes.

Techniques/Process...
The eyes can be done at any point in the process, however I was feeling bogged down by the highlighting of the carapace and wanted to see progress so I painted the eyes. See Eye Image.

• First, paint the eyes black.
• On lower half of eye apply Necron Abyss.  It will be rounded on the top; follow the contour of the eye.
• Next, apply a comma-like swish to the bottom of the eye using Ultramarines Blue.
• Then, apply a tinier comma-like swish using the Deep Sky Blue on top of the Ultramarines Blue.
• Finally, apply a dot and curved dash of White at the top of the eye in the Black portion.

Eye: Notice the shapes that create the eye.

"Along Came a Spider Part 2" will be coming shortly.  If I don't explode my lungs first.

Be 100% careful about accidentally bending the back legs attached to the fallen log and with the scaffolding on the body.  Again, this is why I'm thinking it would have been advantageous to paint then assemble or perhaps do some assembly, paint, and fully assemble.  Hey, live and learn.
Love - Allison Chicka