The Wendigo Way - Crocodile Games Wendigos

I really needed a small break from Arachnarok; I've had hand cramps for two days from doing detail work.  I hate it when you get down to the last few details and you just have to give up for a while.  So, in the mean time, I started an order of Wendigo from Crocodile Games, actually two sets.

Normally the Wendigo are painted like Yeti, all white and icy blue.  I've done that before and this client so happened to buy those Wendigo a couple years back.  Now, he wants his Wendigo painted like Sasquatch for the savannah and woodlands.  Sounds cool, right?  Yep, I think so.  At least this provides a challenge.  I love painting something I've painted before and painting it very differently.  Yesterday I did the two captain figures, because they are the largest, in order to see if the color schemes I have in mind are going to work out.  There's nothing like base-coating twenty or so figures only to have your plan fall flat once you start to apply the other colors.

Here we go...I started out by base-coating one in Burnt Umber (left: Woodlands) and the other in Light Brown 10 (right: Savannah)  .

 

Next, I heavily brushed Wood Gray onto the Woodlands figure.

and heavily brushed Ocher onto the Savannah figure.  Yes, this is very subtle, I think I could actually omit this color altogether.

Then, I lightly brushed Grayed Orange Yellow onto the Woodlands figure and used Highlands Moss to accent his pony tails, the top of his head (partially down his back), around his hands, and his feet.  The fleshy part (the chest, hands, feet, face) are painted solidly with Wood Gray, highlighted with Grayed Orange Yellow, then the GOY is diluted with a bit of water (imagine a watercolor) and applied to the fleshy areas.  Finally, after the GOY watercolor is dried, dry brush on a highlight of Grayed Orange Yellow 11.

I wanted this Sasquatch to have a mossy tree appearance and yet still seem realistic.

and lightly brushed the Ochre 11 on the Savannah figure and added Creamy Ivory highlights/accents to the top of the head (partially down the back), the pony tails, and the beard.  Yes, for some reason I forgot to take a picture of this step.  I was really enjoying myself, and when I do that I tend to move quickly.  Taking the photos does kinda burden my momentum. 

No pictures of the Sasquatch, but here are the colors used.

 POOF!  And now, here we are done!  Yeah, whatever.  Don't we all wish it was that easy.  Like I said, momentum.  Sorry there are no photos of all the little steps.  I know, I suck; but here's where I'll talk about some choices I made when considering how to paint this figure two different ways.

The Woodland:  Like I said, I wanted him to appear as a mossy tree and yet still seem realistic.  However, I didn't want him to look like a bear or an ape.  I thought about what colors look best or seem to fit with the woodlands and I decided on copper for his ponytail closures.

The feather.  Why blue?  I think it was because I wanted one little thing to POP.  I guess that and I've got a lot of bluejays around the house here.

For the horns, I thought about deer, the way they fade from a dark brown to a creamy ivory.  The toenails too are like the horns, ivory with a touch of dark brown where it enters the toe or finger.

I like the way the copper works with the green and adds to the browns as well.

For nails and horns, paint on the Stained Ivory, detail on the Creamy Ivory and then wash near the base of the head or where the nail meets flesh with the Devlan Mud.

As for the weapon, I could have gone a couple different routes but I thought that plain grey stone was best, something neutral, nothing outlandish.  I was originally thinking about mossy agate or maybe even black onyx.

These colors were used for the stone hammer.  A coat of Stone Grey with a drybrush of Weathered Stone.

Minus the Burnt Umber, these three colors make up the primary shades for the Woodland Sasquatch.

This triad, actually the first and last, were used as a accent green.  Jungle Moss is the base and Pale Lichen is the highlight.

The Savannah:  This creature needed to appear as if it came from the plains of Africa.  Somewhere where the grass is a golden hue touched with lively greens.  For inspiration I looked to lions and herd animals but I wanted to make sure that it was not as brown as the Woodland.The accent green, I wanted fresher and more lively.  But where to put it?  I didn't want too much, so I only applied near the face and horns.

The red feathers?  Again, I think it was just for a POP factor.  That one thing that stands out.

Notice the horns, there is a type of gazelle that has horns that begin almost black and turn to an ivory, I thought a nice deep color would contrast nicely with the golden furn.  I chose the same concept for the nails.

These two colors were used for the green highlights above.  Olive Green was delicately painted on, then the Olive Drab was drybrushed lightly over top, just to catch the high points of the hair.

As for the weapon, I went with an onyx or obsidian.  Something about Africa or any plains makes me think about dark rocks.  Don't know why, I'm not saying it is geologically accurate.  

This is simply Black, with dark Gray (Gray 28), Gray 5 and white highlights painted onto the high points.

Finally, these are the colors used for the mouth and lips.  Paint on the Antique Rose and then use the Porcelain Rose as the detail to create tongue groove and lip creases.

If I had pictures of the original Wendigo that I painted years ago, the ones with the Yeti icy fur, I'd have gladly posted them as well in order to demonstrate how different things can look.  I always suggest playing with colors and using your imagination.  If you play with toy soldiers/miniatures, I hope you are already using your imagination.

Love - Allison Chicka