New Etsy Listing- Lesser Beholder

The beholder's been around since the inception of D&D, and is one of the most memorable and long-lived of the monsters which were created with the game. This particular sculpt (technically called a Spectator) is a brand new one, only, as I recall, available for the past week or so. It was packaged along with a pair of even smaller Beholder kin- which while I have yet to list these (and I may not), I'll go ahead and stick at the end of this post.

The color scheme may look a little familiar, as it's the same tones I used on my Doctor Who Zygons. I was concerned at first that it might look a little too lobster like on the caraprace, but it turned out looking really well.

I wanted the tongue and mouth to stand out, and so I painted these a pale, almost corpse-like white. The eyes were inspired by a handy array of concepts in an art book from the LotR films- I have a feeling I'll be referring back to that when I eventually paint this figure's larger cousin!

I tried to differentiate elements of the casing by painting the horns and eye stalks a more reddish tone- it does help to break up the monotony of the armor.

The base is very simple- I just painted the bottom of the clear plastic support a medium grey. I find I often prefer that to a more elaborate set-up, largely as it makes the model more easily transferable to different settings.

And the smaller version! I've grown pretty attached to it, as I really like the disgruntled expression on its face. It's only about the size of a standard human's head, and would work well for a familiar. I've got another of these, which will probably get painted a blue or purple.

As always, check out the Etsy listing here.

New Etsy Listing- Wraith

This miniature is a striking sculpt from Reaper Miniatures, transferred fairly recently to the Bones line. I prefer a much more realistic minimum to my sculpts than some of Reaper's miniatures, but this is a great, simple, classic wraith.

And, in this case, a simple sculpt deserved a simple paint job! It's just a plain black cloak, animated in the approximate shape of a floating humanoid. All the crevices and folds in the cloth were enjoyable to layer, and I'm pleased with the resulting tattered appearance.

If I had one qualm about the miniature, it'd be that my primer/black basecoat is a touch glossy compared to the grey middle and topcoats. This does give it something of an ethereal look in person, though, and is simply different than how I originally envisioned it.

Check out this miniature and other listings on my Etsy Shop!

New Etsy Listing- Female Wizard

I got a new Etsy listing up yesterday, the first in a long while. This particular miniature is from Wizards of the Coast's recent Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures line, and was packaged together with another I posted a couple years ago. I like the more realistic sculpts seen in the NMM line, in particular the females- they almost remind me of the simple style seen on early TSR miniatures.

I used the same colors on her dress as my recent Eowyn miniature. I've recently grown to like a heavy contrast between my base color and highlight. You can see this most clearly on the hair, which started as a dull dark brown.

This cloak is pretty much the opposite- with a soft, layered transition between colors. It's the first time I've used this color as a highlight on a large area, and I think it goes well alongside the sharper contrasts elsewhere on the figure.

I enjoyed painting the spell effect like a meteor of sorts- a burning red with a smoky purple tail. The book also got an intricate pattern of words and images, meant to evoke the spell sections in the actual D&D rulebook.

Take a look at my Etsy Page for more prepainted miniatures and custom order information!

Host of the Dead- Draugar

Draugar (or the singular form, Draugr) are undead from Norse legend, which form from the corpses of especially malevolent warriors. It was said that, as these warriors died, their will to live proved so strong that their soul could not leave their body, and reanimated it as a Draugr. They retained a semblance of their intelligence, and were tied more or less to the place of their burial, typically a large barrow. 

While many modern sources, from D&D bestiaries to MMORPGs have portrayed the Draugr, the original creature of legend was much less well defined- depending on the power of the soul animating the Draugr, it could have different powers and appearances. Some sources even differentiate between standard and aquatic Draugar.

The method of destruction also varied: while some were 'killed' by the same methods as a living man, others could only be destroyed by fire, or by spending the night in its barrow with its severed head on ones knee.

These particular miniatures are from Games Workshop's LotR line, sold as Army of the Dead. I prefer the sculpts as Draugar and thoroughly enjoyed making them look as nasty as possible, adding mold, leather rot, verdigris and rust to the clothes and gear.

This mostly entailed drybrushing in probably 8-10 different shades, along with some overall ink washes. The subtle differences in color  make a large difference in the effect, although it can be difficult to tell in pictures.

The sculpts and design are excellent, looking ancient in comparison with a medieval Norse aesthetic. The later medieval 'heater' shields are a slight anachronism, and when I paint more I'll probably replace them with circular shields, but I got these three used, and already assembled. 

Elric!

A while ago, I posted a picture of Michael Moorcock's book, The Silver Warriors. That was the first Moorcock I had read, but it was certainly not the last! Since then, I've read just about the whole of the original six book series starring Moorcock's greatest protagonist, Elric- this series has quickly become one of my favorites. Elric is an albino, the last Emperor of a decadent, elf-like race, the Melniboneans. I'll try not to give the story away, but, before long, Elric is in a self-imposed exile, and has gained a sentient soul-drinking runesword called Stormbringer, which urges Elric towards his final doom.

The books highlight the eternal struggle of two opposites- but, rather than the usual Good and Evil, this battle rages between the Lords of Law and Chaos- neither of these factions are good or evil, but balance between the two. In fact, it's suggested that the victory of either would result in the cessation of life. Elric reflects this conflict, constantly see-sawing between a fairly well-developed conscience (not as much a good conscience, as a lawful one) and the bloodthirsty and Chaotic urgings of his heritage and hellsword.

One of my favorite parts of 'swords and sorcery' style fantasy is the extremely memorable monsters and villains- Moorcock has an excellent imagination for these, and creates some of the most vivid adversaries I've heard of. Two of my favorites would be the Hill-King of Org from Bane of the Black Sword, and Voilodion Ghagnasdiak's Vanishing Tower, from the book of the same name.

All the book covers (save the last, by Michael Whelan) shown in this post are by Robert Gould. I really enjoy his art, and his depictions of Elric are spot-on.

On a final note, these books are a foundation of modern role-playing games, especially Dungeons and Dragons. I use them frequently when Dungeon Mastering (even going so far as to run entire stories), and I'd suggest anyone with an interest in these games to try these books out.

Stormcrow

I've recently had a chance to start a Pathfinder campaign! I've never actually played an RPG before, although I've read the rulebooks and admired the bestiaries for years, so I've enjoyed finally getting a chance to play. Most of my recent painting has been inspired by my character and the background I've built around him, so I'll talk a bit about him before I post my recent miniatures.

First up, about the miniature. He's a plastic GW Aragorn, from the Mines of Moria starter set. I got him used and badly primed, so my work on him was half paint job, half reclamation job. He turned out well, though.

As some will have guessed by this point, my character's a Ranger (half-elf, goes by the name of Auluin Stormcrow). At the start of the campaign, he suffers from amnesia, remembering nothing of his youth. He was discovered in the wrack of a squatter's town in a Elf wood by some evil druids. He's raised by these druids as a servant until they fall a little behind in debt payments to a ghoul tribe, and the ghouls decide to collect- in food. While the druids get slaughtered, Auluin manages to escape, and remembers something- he hates these things. Armed with this knowledge, he sets off to fight all such unnatural monstrosities, and perhaps, just perhaps, he'll remember more of his past when he kills enough....

It may be a very archetypal ranger, but it's fun to play!

Greatest and Chieftest of all Calamities

There's been something missing for a while in my miniature collection, something no self-respecting fantasy nut can do without- that greatest of all legendary beasts, the dragon!

Perhaps my first proper introduction to this king of the bestiaries was, of course, in The Hobbit. I had the advantage to first read it in a Michael Hague illustrated edition, and the image of his Smaug, sitting atop a mountain of treasure, inspired this dragon's color scheme. The miniature is a Reaper Bones model by Julie Guthrie, called Narthrax.

I may do something a little more interesting with the plain base, but, for now, he's perched atop some lonely mountain peak, making a snack of any burglars who pass by.

He's a big beast, almost too big for this photo set-up! This is definitely the largest, most involved miniature I've ever painted, and not just due to the size. Each scale had to be individually painted in four different reds, followed by an over all dry-brushing of metallic gold- and that's not even counting the wings or horns.

Unlike his inspiration, he lacks a diamond-studded waistcoat- or any gaps in his armor- on a shelf full of meddlesome heroes, survivability trumps style.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon,

The Dwarves they heard the tramp of doom...

Giant Scaly Attack Chicken!

The holiday season has, of course, been busy for me, but not so busy that I haven't had a chance to do some painting- even if all of the miniatures I have finished in the last few days are from the limbo of my to-be-completed pile.

First is a Nolzur's Marvelous Miniature, from a relatively new line by Wizards of the Coast. The line is sold pre-primed,which is a interesting concept, and is much more anatomically accurate than is usual for fantasy (especially female) miniatures. The color scheme I chose is much like my Una McDonnel miniature.

I am very happy with the wizard's book, which I modeled after some 14th-century tomes. Sharp eyed readers may notice a white Graveworm on the left-hand page. That is a representation of a custom sculpt of mine, which I need to get posted sometime.

This is an Etsy-listing for when I finally get my shop revived. Be expecting more like it in the future!

This is a  Reaper miniature, from Monte Cook's RPG setting Numenera. This particular model, I believe, is called an Ithsyn, but it looks more like a giant scaly attack chicken to me. I went for a slightly twisted, prehistoric look to the beastie, especially on the head, with its true double chin. As you can tell on the tongue, I have started using gloss varnish to add some effects to my miniatures. It can really make the eyes (or giant purple tongues) pop out at you.

This is actually a Christmas present for my girlfriend, who loves dinosaurs. When I got the miniature, it was bent at an angle (the one problem with Reaper's Bones line), as you can still see. I decided to keep it how it was, as it makes the whole miniature look more dynamic.

Speaking of scaly beasts...

Suffice it to say that Malakili is very happy.

A Change of Pace

It's been a while since I've gotten any non-LotR fantasy miniatures painted! As opposed to my LotR paint jobs, which demand accuracy to the books, my more RPG inspired miniatures give me the freedom to play around with colors and details, to have a little fun painting. This isn't to say I dislike my LotR miniatures, they are one of my favorite things to paint, but it is refreshing to change pace for a little while.

This particular miniature was a freebie with a Reaper Miniatures purchase I made last spring, sculpted for the occasion of Reaper's 25th anniversary. One issue I sometimes have with Reaper, and the larger gaming community, is that the poor miniatures are often overloaded with gear and supersized weapons- I'm glad that with this one they stuck to a more realistic minimum. She's definitely a Rogue, even holding a bag of loot, so I gave her very muted clothes, including a blackened dagger.

The cloak back is an excellent sculpt, it flows very nicely, adding some dynamics to a somewhat static pose. All the armor is supposed to be soft dyed leather- the last thing a Rogue wants is creaking metallic sounds when she's moving. I struggled for a while trying to find good grey tones, but I'm very happy with how they turned out- all slightly different, but not enough that it stands out too much.