NewLeaf's WIP - Brushmaster in Training

NewLeaf

NewLeaf

New member
Okay guys, so if you've read my intro you know I am new to this whole thing - I have done lots of research and reading but putting it into action is a whole other thing. I'm guessing this is one of the best ways to show you what I am doing and get some feedback so here goes.

PROJECT 1 - Spider Riders from Skull Pass
Theme - Jungle
Stage of Completion - Prep

So this morning when I was out walking my foster dog, I started thinking about what others had said about finding natural stuff to help with basing. I live in a small town and walk through the woods at some point most days. Today I found a few pieces I liked and brought them home. Do I need to do anything special before using them? Do you paint your natural stuff or just seal it? Seal it with what?

I have to go to work now but I will give you the plan I have when I get home tonight. Not sure what the twisty straw coloured stuff is - looks like packing from something - but I thought it would make nice Jungle vines. The flowers I have lots of in my yard and I thought they would make nice big tall plants if I could preserve them somehow. The moss I just liked but am not sure what if anything I can do with it - and then I am going to try [emphasize TRY] to do some minor sculpting.

I am not interested in playing with these so I guess I am thinking diorama. I see this really cool idea of the spiders crawling over huge leaves and fallen trees with some sort of water somewhere but we'll see.

Just thought I would get started - have to go but looking forward to working on this tonight!
IMG_20101102_125730.jpg


IMG_20101102_125340.jpg
 
T

Torn blue sky

New member
Wel at least you're thinking in broader terms than just slapping some paint on ;) Always a positive start. The flowers you could hang upside down to dry them, that should help preserve them. (I'm full of ultimately useless knowledge like that).

That aside, everything looks in order, looking forward to seeing what you come up with =)
 
Wyrmypops

Wyrmypops

New member
Ooh, liking that broken bit of wood. I've been looking about for sculpted logs for decorating bases, but been looking at places where one would pick up sculpted bases rather than nature. No joy. A bit of that kinda wood, with a thin layer of some greenstuff/putty given a load of grooves to emulate bark. Noice.

I'd rather buy them already done though. Being a lazy bugger an all.

There are some nifty purchases could help make exciting bases. Field grass, being long strips that can also serve as reeds. Grass clumps can give a fairly flat and expansive area a bit of *pop*. There are mini flowers too, though they're really just lumps of coloured flock at the ends of green stalks.
The regular stuff is easy and cheap enough to start with - painted sand as grass with the larger chunks picked out as ikkle stones - with static grass added for more of that *pop* factor.

Doing little bits around the static poses of the spiders sounds like a plan. Couldn't do too much, the spiders being static it'd take an inordinate amount of work to repose them for dramatic purposes. Though all those little basing bits, aside from looking groovy and complimentary are gonna make for a mental arsenal to bring to bear on a fancy leader model afterwards where you could really go to town.
 
NewLeaf

NewLeaf

New member
Thanks guys.

So a bit more detail here. I may be being ambitious here but I want to try creating a lush jungle looks with big plants [like elephant ears], bromeliads, and carnivorous plants. I have attached some of my reference pictures.

View attachment 4059View attachment 4060View attachment 4061View attachment 4062View attachment 4063View attachment 4064View attachment 4065View attachment 4066

Would I be best to sculpt the small stuff out of GS and the larger leaves out of ?? I have seen paper leaves but that doesn't really mesh well with the rest I think.

The spiders all being in the exact same pose bugs me but I don't know how to reposition them. They don't seem to have much give in bending so I may try cutting one - I was thinking the leader could be on a spider sortof rearing up? Or am I getting WAAAY ahead of myself? I guess you only learn by trying right? Maybe I can at least cut some legs off and reposition?

I really like these spider riders - bright colourful - I was thinking of painting the goblins in animal print and the spiders like poison dart frog colours - but without being garrish [hopefully].

I should hopefully get finished prepping tonight and primed and maybe work on a color block. I only have the foundation paints and a few washes - if I want brighter colors do I have to buy more paint or is there a way of making the foundation paints work for me? Maybe they're bright enough - we'll see.
 
Wyrmypops

Wyrmypops

New member
They're as a dull as a dull thing. Just for really solid basecoats, a good place to spring off from with the juicier paints.

Could *schuche* them up a bit with the washes maybe. Either mixed in, or highlight the foundation colour up on the mini before covering it in a thinned ink to tint/glaze all below it.
 
T

Torn blue sky

New member
Foundations are typically best for what they say on the tin. not to say you can't use them to paint with, however, long as you remember to keep them thin with water while using them. To brighten them just add whites, or yellow to green etc. Use the colour wheel to help with that. You're starting out so not to worry too much at the moment, you'll pick up more as you go =)
It's nice to see you so enthusiastic though! i wouldn't necessarily say you're getting ahead of yourself, I'd (personally) encourage you to try new things!
Far as the spiders poses go, you can cut the legs at the joints and reposition them in any way you deem suitable i'd imagine, just fill gaps with GS. Pretty simple and straight forward conversion, should be a good bit of practice!
If you have a vision of what you want, go for it I say! Use it to drive you, but don't get too disheartened if it appears "it's not working". There's always people here to hand out advice, just toss out any questions you have. GS is more of a "detail" medium really. For bigger shapes and sculpts i'd recommend using Muliput. Great stuff for the big work. Also gives a nice base for any details you want to throw on with GS later =)

As for the painting side, go nuts! It's your project! Long as you have fun with it and produce something you're happy with at the end, maybe learning a few things along the road, then I reckon the job's a good'un! =)
 
NewLeaf

NewLeaf

New member
Question:

Thanks for all the support - I can see this is going to be a great source of inspiration and answers. I wish I could contribute more to others threads - but I just don't know enough yet - and I figured just saying "yeah me too" was probably not a good idea. Just know that I am reading and I will certainly contribute more as time goes on.

I have been doing night shift for a few days and haven't done too much on the minis but I did grab these two things while I was out yesterday.

IMG_20101104_112047.jpg


So what's the deal with using acrylic paints that aren't made by a miniature company - I love the bright colors in this set and since they are acrylics as well - I thought I would give them a try.

Oh and I was going through the BFSP box set and found an extra partial set of riders - there is like 7 more goblins and spiders...YEAH! He must have bought extras at some point. And I have to say the dwarves look cool too. This is all very exciting stuff!
 
T

Torn blue sky

New member
The thing with paints is, they all have different properties. While they can be acrylic, they might be more watery, have more filler (which is like a powdery substance used to basically thicken or bulk it up), dry quicker/ less quickly...You get the general idea haha. While "game branded" paints are the tried and tested variety, that's not to say the underdog no name variety may not be up to scratch. Sometimes you might be surprised at the quality, sometimes you'll notice how dire they are.
That said, everyone has a fave, usually to do with the properties that certain brand has to suit their needs or style.
Basically it boils down to overall quality, essentially.
The main camps seem to be set around either Vallejo or Citadel paints. Vallejo takes longer to dry, i haven't used these personally, but I understand they're ideal for "wet blending". Citadel has a shorter dry time, both can provide excellent results. As far as i'm aware both those companies have pretty mirrored selections of paint, Vallejo has more colours to it's name however. Experimenting with paint and finding what suits you best is something we all fall into sooner or later. Bear in mind there is no "wrong choice" of paint. Guys that use citadel will argue with guys that use Vallejo, who will argue with guys that use Reaper about what's best until the cows come home and get nowhere.
It'll be interesting to see how you get on with the paint you picked up, at this stage I can't imagine it'd hurt to use them to get to grips with the rudiments of it all. I'm sure as you progress you'll find your own little niche =)
 
locutus

locutus

New member
in my experience the citadel and vallejo paints are the best paints for painting miniatures.
Also they have a long range of colours to choose from.(always beter to have more colour options)
Welcome to the painting community!!
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Torn blue sky said:
Vallejo takes longer to dry, Citadel has a shorter dry time, both can provide excellent results.
Click to expand...
While I agree both can give excellent results, as well as seriously NAFF ones, I seriously disagree with the comment about drying times.
Both paints dry roughly equal because of one thing;- Water evaporation is at a constant rate per degree of temperature (+/- Humidity)
{Hey I'm going back to grammar school physics here -40 years remember}

Besides which a lot of people use an El Cheapo Hairdrier to move things along. Mines an Argos £2.99 special, 'bout 4 years old now, so its been a good investment.
 
T

Torn blue sky

New member
Yar, never bought into the hairdryer thing personally. Might be worth a look in in the future to see if results are much different.
 
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