Showing posts with label wizard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wizard. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

First Batch of Reapers Finished

Based and Ready to be Shipped to an Anxious Customer!
   You've  already seen most of these figures, if not all of them, prior to their basing.  I always feel that figures aren't complete until they have proper terrain to stand upon.  There is something about green that complements the figure.  I always say that it's a decorator's trick or a butcher's trick.  Decorator's trick: in order to join rooms of different colors you use plants in each of the rooms.  Butcher's trick: in order to make your meat appear redder and more appealing, add green paper backing or that weird green foliage to the butcher's case.  In addition, the base of the figure changes the mood of the figure.  For instance, below in the first picture, the female necromancer; imagine her on a sparse base with no foliage, just charred rocky debris.  It would seem desolate and foreboding; which would work equally as well as the sparse grass.  The sparse grass just doesn't seem as gloomy and I happen to enjoy how it makes the green in her staff and the green of the skeletons pop.
   So one word of advice, "If you are ever a titch dissatisfied with a paint job; wait until you base it and see how you feel."  The black of the stick or base you've been painting on is actually sucking the color out of the figure.  It's an optical illusion, like when they suggest wearing black to make you look thinner.  Dark colors make things look smaller but they also wash the color out of what they come in contact with.


I like how the blue on the marid has become so brilliant now that the green of the base is there to compliment.  And I know, she is a water genie, why isn't she on a water base?  Well, she could have been, but for continuity's sake she is on grass like all others.






I bet the first criticism here will be, "They're tavern people, they should have tavern bases!"  I agree, however, let's pretend that they are in a biergarten.  Always remember, if a person ever wants a particular base for a figure, all they have to do is mention it in their order and we'll do the best we can.  Otherwise, we err on the side of continuity.  It is no cop-out, just the uniformity of the figures in relation to other figures when in game play.




Basing for figures such as the center half-ogre can be difficult sometimes.  He comes on his wooden plank base, appropriate for a pirate but then what.  So, you can only use him in a tavern or a ship?  It may seem cheezy but we added the earth and turf to kind of camouflage the boards and make him more applicable to general adventuring.










I hate having to paint figures that I like.  They are like children; I give them a little bit of life and I don't want to let them go when the time comes.  I looked at Bob the other day and said with a pouty face, "Do I really have to send them?"  He of course said, "Yes" and laughed at me.  But, now you also know that I put a lot of love into what I do.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Gnomy Monday

 I was extremely excited to begin painting these Gnome Reaper figures.  I think they are simply adorable and so well sculpted; personality just oozes from these figures.
So, let us talk inspiration.  Of course I perused the D&D players handbook in the gnome section for what they typically look like and wear...that was good.  I didn't have to do that, I just chose to.  With that said, D&D reports that gnomes are brownish skinned with fair hair and blue eyes; they enjoy to wear earth colors and like adornments on their clothing and gems.  Yeah, I know, I sound like gnomes are real.  But, what if they are?  We wouldn't want to insult them.

Here are the three gnomes I worked on:
 Cassie

She has straw colored hair and very light blue-gray eyes.  Went with gold accents on neutral/natural colors.  Wanting her staff to stand out, I kept it black and made the gems a bold red.  My favorite part is the set of keys in her braid at the back. ;-)


Marius Burrowell
This gnome has character to spare!  His face is so full of gesture.  Because gnomes are so compact, I wanted to keep things very simple and keep the colors to a minimum.  I think the key in smaller proportioned figures is to pick a couple objects and make them stand out and keep the others rather subdued.

 Corim
I love the devilish brilliance in his eyes so I made them a bright blue in the same color as his sash.  The spiked shape of his collar prompted me to choose a earthy red for his shirt.  Again, keeping it simple I chose a grayed-orange yellow for his pants and dark brown for boots.  All the focal point should be in his eyes and magical feat.  I am considering adding a little sparkle to his flames...not sure yet.