Mixing Paint

Is miniature painting art, or is it just 3D coloring, like the adult coloring books that are so popular these days? I'm not really sure. It's pretty relaxing, so I find it an enjoyable way to spend time, but as an amateur I would say I'm more 3D coloring than "painting". Feel free to disagree. As a beginner I spend a lot of time looking at other people's work, and when I find something I like I try and copy it. This is why I'm pretty sure I just do 3D coloring. 

Occasionally, when I feel ready for a challenge, I forgo all my nice little pots of ridiculously named Games Workshop paints and I get out my box of Liquitex Acrylic Gouache, black, white, red, green, blue, and yellow. The upside is you know what the colors are, but this comes at the apparent cost of reproducibility, in that you can't match a color you already have by opening a pot. As we'll see, it doesn't really matter.  

With my massively oversized palette, and a terrible bottom color (denim) showing through I tried to actually mix paint today.  I figure that it's one of those things; unless you try you're unlikely to get better.

I chose one of my more disturbing Scibor miniatures for this, partly because it spoke to me, but mostly because it didn't really matter what color it ended up being. Seriously, nobody knows what color this is, so it can be whatever I decide. This is the exact opposite of, say, a giraffe, if you paint a giraffe the wrong color, like purple, everyone will probably assume you are either: a) an "artist", b) high, or c) a & b. No, it's actually none of the those answers, they'll just assume you're color blind and that you suck at painting. 

With my palette set up with the primary colors along with black and white, I set out on my journey.

In all I spent the better part of a morning painting this figure, and truth be told things worked out a lot better than I expected.  With lots of room on the palette I was able to mix different colors with ease and I was also able draw them out into series by adding progressive amounts of white, black, or other tones. 

The net result was that there was always lots of colors on the palette, and because the paint is cheaper than GW paints, (which are right up there with printer toner and cocaine), there was lots to work with. The other thing that happened was that the figure acquired a larger depth of tone than it normally would because you have a ALL THE COLOR right in front of your face. So not pots to open, no fiddling around, just painting. It was super pleasant, and I'm looking forward to trying again.

Keep having fun,

HMP

 

Dwarf Lord Morlik

Scibor's Dwarf Lord Morlik, or as we call him, Horlik, is done.

Scibor's Dwarf, Lord Morlik

This was the first figure where I really tried had to mix NMM and TMM in the same part of the figure.

Scibor Dwarf, WIP

Sometimes in order to move forward you have to look to the past. Here's what I mean. I painted my first Scibor Dwarf a while ago, and since I want them, (all the Dwarfs), to look like a group, it's important to examine the old while considering the new.

Scibor Dwarfs; past (left) and present (right)

I knew I was going to keep the metallic gold, and I knew that the cloak colors should be vibrant. I also knew that the armor should be deep blacks, and mottled up all the way to bright steel. One of the things I wanted to change was how the gold is offset from the "enamel". Here the enamel is a strong blue, which matches the tone of the cloak, I got this wrong the first time. The brown enamel doesn't show off the gold enough, in fact it just looks like gold.

Scibor Dwarfs

He's only shorter because he needs a base.

Mixed non/metallic metal on cloak

The furs look very similar.

I dont know how I got the furs to match so well; I didnt take notes the first time.

Fur recipe (current): Rhinox Hide, Mournfang Brown, Tallarn Sand (maybe Zandri Dust), White Scar (mixed with the final tan-sand). That's the list of required paint. Method: base with Rhinox, layer with Mournfang, drybrush the final highlights.


Cheers,
HMP

Scibor Monstrous Miniatures Showcase

The Fanatics are almost done, and I don't want to spoil the final reveal by doing a mid-week update on them. With that in mind I thought I'd showcase my collection of Scibor Miniatures. I really like the Scibor stuff, especially the more gnarly ones since they tend to be a bit more gritty than some of the other things out there. The other thing I like from Scibor are the Dwarfs, especially the ones listed as Dwarf Lord,  I've got 4 in a box waiting for prep work... without any further ado, here's the goods.

Scibor Display (cover off)

I really like the shaman dude. I also really like how the bases came out for the snail people, especially with the gross "snail trails" visible in the side and back shots. You can read about how I made the bases by clicking here, and here.

Sibor snails and company

Check out the slime!

Scibor gang, rear view.

As usual my photography could probably use a bit more effort, but I think the shots aren't too bad.

DMGWLFP