Progress Report 11/10/14 - Zoning Out.

Things! Big things! Changing up the job again. This time I will be making a bit more money but have a bit less time not working (at least for the next few months). Excited to be less stressed about income but not so excited about spending the next month and a half away from home for training! 

Expect updates to come few and far between in the next couple months. In the meantime here are some photos of Deadzone terrain I have been building up (along with modifying some existing terrain I had built for Necromunda). Still no idea when I will play the game proper but I figure having some nice looking terrain to play on can't make matters worse. 

Big 4x4 building/stronghold type terrain.

A "bridge" type building I made to connect other buildings.

Like this!

Start of some sort of space type building thing with platforms.

This unpainted terrain belongs to the Rebs!!

Perhaps we should call it TERRArain?

A big 4x4 rubble pile with some towers.

I've actually got a lot more done now. Pretty much all of the Deadzone starter box terrain is built and I am just adding some of the bits and details to them now. I built a lot of cubes figuring they would be the most flexible for stacking and other formations. I'll get them up soon once I have it all primed!

Also managed to snag this snazzy new paint rack out of the trash. Organization!!

Ohhh... fancy.

And I received some new brushes from the Ichiban Games & Gears kickstarter though I haven't used them yet. They look nice and I hope to paint up some minis with them soon! Until next time...

Progress Report 4/18/14 - Twice in one week?!

That's right... two posts in one week. Can you even handle the excitement?! Okay, part of the reason is I will be out of town and out of touch with my hobby for the next two weeks and I wanted to get these photos up before that. Also I remembered that posting photos and getting positive feedback is totally addictive and helps make me paint more minis which is something I want to do!! With that in mind here is the stuff I worked on here and there over the past couple days...

More progress on the Skullkrushas!

I like how the skull paint on the face turned out.

This guy is looking damn tough and stuff.

This is "Tiny" and that is his gun.

Started working on an Ogre conversion for a friend.

Progress Report 3/10/14 - Gobblin' Up The Sunlight.

Slowly... ever so slowly... we rise out of the frozen muck and mire which has bogged us down the past few months. A day of 30+ degree weather feels like a summer breeze. Sunlight and the creeping days give way to painting! Priming! Happiness! 

First up on the oil painting front - spent last week of class sealing the under painting of my Smoking Man painting and began work on a smaller painting while it was drying. Here's a quick rundown of that process, which I am using a different style of under painting for, and where I got to last week. 

Original reference photo.

My quick sketch of that photo on canvas.

Starting with an outline.

This under painting will be in three colors.

Working on the head first.

And here is where I ended up.

This style of under painting is called "dead color" and it uses just a few colors, black, and white for the shading. Afterwards You use glazes and lighter coats to bring the color out and make it more vibrant. Reminds me a bit of my current mini painting style actually. 

Speaking of painted minis I got a base coat and a dark wash on a few more Gangers for the Skullkrushas! The gang is coming together nicely now. 

"ARGH OUR HANDS!!!"

Also got the thumbs up from my Dwarf mini client on what might be the last RPG commission I do for awhile (I think I have painted everyone at this point). Behold the Dwarf Cleric and his +1 marker!

Working on washes next then I will bring out a lot of detail on this mini. Not sure who makes it but I like the look of this guy a lot! Looking forward to seeing him completed (then maybe I should finish my own gaming minis). 

There is a slight chance I may actually play some WHFB this week!? Stay tuned for that if it is of interest to you....

Progress Report 2/26/14 - Time is short and so is Feburary.

Ack! This month is just about history and aside from running Dog Bowl and playing a bit of games I haven't managed to do much on the painting and modeling front. 

First up a quick update on my oil painting. I missed two classes this month so I am a bit behind. This week I "finished" my underpainting and will be moving on to adding color next week. 

Adding detail to the hand.

Changed up the face shape a bit and added detail.

Spent a little bit of time working on the SKULLKRUSHAS for my Goliath Necromunda gang. Got two more Gangers done. They have names but I can't remember them at the moment!!

Working on a commission for a Dwarf character that I hope to have done in the next couple weeks. Spent some time converting and sculpting some bits for that but I don't want to show them quite yet. On to March!!

Progress Report 1/12/14 - Sloppy Pants.

Sunday. A new week. Last week was a bit of a mixed bag. Had fun being trapped indoors during the massive polar vortex storms that hit my area of Michigan with the woman. But on the negative side I missed my first oil painting class due to a weather cancellation and the sun room I paint it was so cold I couldn't stand to be in there! Then my back started acting up and it hurt to do anything...

Still! I managed to get just a bit of paint on the Goliath Necro gang on the table and I also sketched out my first oil painting as well.

They look slightly handless but menacing.

My sketch

My reference

Not that I am a huge X-Files fan, but I do like the Smoking Man, and I like this image for my first painting. It has some interesting lighting, colors, and I think painting the skin tones and wrinkles will provide my some great experience and hopefully new techniques.

Progress Report 8/23/13 - August Among Us.

Dear neglected blog,

It has been some time since my last entry. In the meantime I have painted a miniature for commission, finished my Orc Blood Bowl team, worked on terrain and a tabletop for my new gaming table setup, and spent time painting my entry in the Chaos Cup Legacy Team. Oh and I also went undefeated in the regular KUBBL season and hope to win the upcoming playoffs and final. 

Pictures! They speak a bunch of words or so I am told.

New 4' x 4' table with a quick-fix top. May do a fancier one in the future.

Texture and terrain on the boards. These are painted now.

A commission for this small Gnome Sorcerer.

First time painting pink and this much purple.

Orc blitzers! Rar!!

Dems da Black Orc boyz!

Lineorcs, Troll, and Thrower! No gobbo yet.

Chaos Cup Dark Elf Witch entry wip front.

Chaos Cup Dark Elf Witch entry wip back.

Still itching to paint more of my Necro gang and have had random hankerings to get my WHFB back out and freshened up. We'll see how the next few months treat me. Busy times!

Progress Report 7/14/13 - A mini a day keeps something away.

I wish I could paint a mini a day. I could come close maybe... if I spent less time reading, playing boardgames and roleplaying games with people, working, cooking, etc. I've been regularly painting for at least 15 minutes a day for the past few months and that has been grand. Now I just need to settle in for a few painting marathons and I will be well on my way to being done with this list:

• Finish painting Blood Bowl team I am taking to Chaos Cup 2013 (top secret shhhh)
• Paint a Witch Elf for the Chaos Cup 2013 Legacy Team (started - see below)
• Paint up more minis for Player Characters in the RPG campaigns I am in (again - see below)
• Keep painting the Goliath gangers for the SKULLKRUSHAS
• Finish painting the two other Blood Bowl teams I have started (Elf and Flings)
• Paint all the scenery I have built and build more
• Work on my gaming table

So much to do! So little time!! Oh well. Tis the life of a nerd hobby fanatic I suppose. On to the photographic evidence of my time (well?) spent!!

D&D 3.5 group shot with the in-laws. That's me on the right (Hinson the Halfling Rogue).

From another D&D 3.5 group - WIP basecoats and some highlights of Quarion the Elf Sorcerer.

Yet another D&D 3.5 figure - WIP basecoats on Jojak the (kinda) Paladin.

Sloppy basecoats for the Witch Elf I will be adding to the Chaos Cup 13 Legacy Team.

That's a lot of hair!!

Ganger Juve #2. I think this guy has a name but I can't recall it at the moment.

Pretty happy with how he turned out though I was going for a darker skin tone.

Two Juves down, a whole damn gang of Goliath to go!!

Oh yeah... a lot of those minis come from the huge amount of stuff that came in this little guy a few weeks back.

So many minis!!! First impressions... well there is some downsides to this Bones stuff. My figures had quite a few mold lines and a lot of bent out of shape bits. I guess that is the price you pay for a cheaper fig but cleaning them up and rebending bits has been a huge chore. Also, maybe you aren't supposed to prime these minis? They don't take to it well and the minis I have primed from this batch have a tacky/sticky feeling to them for a week or so before they cure. They also react a bit odd to paint when the primer is still in this state. Initial review... value 10/10, quality 7/10, quantity 10/10, variety 7/10, overall 8/10.

Well that's enough for now. Off to start my first adventure in a third (!!!) RPG campaign. This time it's Pathfinder (aka D&D 3.5+). Until next time... 

 ...PAINT HARD!!