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G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/11 22:02:12


Post by: Gomez


I've been lurking for a while, but I want to use you all to help keep me motivated to finish a few projects. I haven't actually gamed in way, way too long, but I've been painting all along anyway - I guess I've always kept up on things "just in case". Now it looks like that might come in handy, as I'm considering finally connecting with a local gaming group. So, my plan is to finish a couple projects that have been percolating slowly so I can partake in the festivities.

First up is a Chaos Blood Bowl team.

I originally started converting these guys back about five years ago, but didn't know anyone who played BB anymore so I slacked on them (thank God I found FUMBBL.com so I could play online).



The guy on the left is an old Old School Nurgle champion, the big guy was part of the first line of Ogres GW ever produced (was going to be an Ogre, since re-based and will be a CW), the jester is from Mordheim, and the beastmen are from the original Chaos team set (some of my favorite GW sculpts ever, BTW) - the one on the far right is supposed to look like his face melted.

Next up: Minotaur, almost finished.

Comments, questions, and critique are all appreciated.


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/11 22:54:19


Post by: legoburner


They look great! What are you using for basing material? I cant tell from the picture. Consider yourself pushed to do more... new blood bowl pics are always wanted


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/11 23:35:54


Post by: Gomez


legoburner wrote:They look great! What are you using for basing material? I cant tell from the picture. Consider yourself pushed to do more... new blood bowl pics are always wanted


Just fine sand, painted green. I thought about using static grass, but decided to keep it retro instead.


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/12 05:33:08


Post by: Captain Jack


Beautifully done. I love seeing other peoples BB minis


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/12 06:11:54


Post by: crossbonesx11


Wow, look great. I like the use of classic models. An out of the box idea, but it would be interesting to see someone astro-turf their BB team.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/12 06:27:51


Post by: mousekiller


Great work on some classics mate. Any chance on some close up shots?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/12 07:25:44


Post by: Gomez


Thanks for the comments, everyone. Wanting to have something ready to post tonight has already gotten me motivated. Much thanks.

Now, an update: Minotaur 98% done (a few touch ups and a little base work still needed).











Plus, I started this guy...



mousekiller wrote:Great work on some classics mate. Any chance on some close up shots?


Sure thing...











Again, comments, questions, critique are awesome. Enjoy.


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/12 11:58:47


Post by: legoburner


That minotaur is fantastic, easily the best I've ever seen for a Chaos BB team. Thanks for sharing


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/12 12:35:00


Post by: Deff Dread red Edition


Really nice BB team.I like the retro bases and really like the overall look of the team. The minotaur is well done, I like the bloodshot look of his one eye. Keep up the good work!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/12 18:30:31


Post by: Death By Monkeys


Very nice! Just this weekend I was thinking about how cool a Nurgle team using WHFB models would look - and here you go proving my point. These guys are great. I particularly like the Old Skool Nurgle Champ - it's one of my favorite models anyway, and using him for BB is great.

BTW - what do you go by on fumbbl? You can usually find me there as Death_By_Monkeys (similar to here).


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/12 18:35:26


Post by: vinsal


That Minotaur's eye is extra creepy. Gross, in a very good way.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/12 19:00:36


Post by: xenite


Very cool stuff! These older models really take me back. They have a lot of character. Keep up the great work!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/10/15 23:09:07


Post by: Gomez


Update: last Chaos Warrior and some Beastmen...


I tried using a lot more washes on this guy's skin than I normally do - mostly purples, but one wash of a medium green also.


These are obviously just started. I used Kommando Khaki and Bronze Flesh mixed equally with just a touch of a medium brownish green.

Death By Monkeys - I'm Gomez35 over at FUMBBL. Bug me for a game if you ever see me over there.

Thanks for all the comments, everyone...


G




G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2009/11/02 04:24:47


Post by: Gomez


Long delay since my last update (for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to H1N1, school, work, and offspring).

You'll notice I changed the title of this thread, mainly because I keep getting sidetracked by things other than my Chaos team, which causes me to not post updates... So, I'll be posting all sorts of stuff I've been working on in here from this point forward.

So, that said, here we go...

Blood Bowl - Chaos Team:

Finished the last Chaos Warrior.




I've now deemed it official - I suck at photographing my miniatures. These pics make his skin seem so much flatter and less highlighted than in real life, and I realized I have no idea how to really fix it. Any suggestions?

Here's the team thus far...


I've also got these guys in various stages of work...








Flesh Tearers
I've been working on these guys off and on for years, but haven't made much overall progress. I'll work on them in spurts - I finished an assault squad in a single week around four years ago, finished the rhino in about a week two years ago - and then do absolutely nothing to them for ages. I know, a terrible completion rate, but with teaching, coaching, taking classes, and raising three kids, my painting time sometimes suffers.

Anyway, I'm adding these guys to this WIP blog because I'd like to get around 1500 points done by the end of Christmas break. We'll see how close I actually get...

Here's what I have finished...




First up in the WIP queue, this assault marine is close to being done. Just need to finish his hatchet-blade-thing and do some touch-ups. You'll notice the black is pretty rough - I hadn't painted it in a long while, and had to really work my way through it to figure it out again. This is the third version of the black highlights, and while I don't really much like it, it's passable and much, much better than the previous incarnations.




Again, my camera skills are pathetic - the red looks drab and washed out here compared to the three-dimensional figure. Maybe the solution is a new camera.

A few tactical marines...

(red is essentially finished on this guy)



And a landspeeder I've been tinkering with...






That's it for now - thanks for checking out my stuff. Comments, critique, and questions are all appreciated!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/15 08:41:35


Post by: Gomez


Whoa, didn't realize how long it'd been since I updated... I've had an excrutiatingly bad case of painting ADD, so maybe that explains why I haven't been paying attention. Regardless, I'm back with some new stuff - this post will be all the things that kept me from continuing on my Flesh Tearers and Chaos BB team.

First, I finished up these guys to go along with my Mordheim Possessed warband. They languished for quite some time, and I they're not my best work, but they're done and they complete the group pretty well.


Next up is are a few test minis...

Ever since GW rebooted their Ork line, I've been in love with the greenskin aesthetics - big, mean, choppy, etc. I haven't jumped into collecting/modelling them because I've been afraid of how many models it might take to field a decent force (too damn many - especially considering my tedious painting pace). So, I decided to piece together some scrap Ork bits (I suppose he'd count as a 'Ard Boy) and do a speed trial, to see if I could do Orks in a more reasonable amount of time.

If I ever get some Orks to work on, I don't think I'd go for this shade of yellow/tan, but I spent no more than two hours from start to finish on this guy, so they're still a possibility.

A white Space Marine - because I wanted to see if I could do a nice looking white. Not sure I'll get around to finishing him, but I'm reasonably happy with how the white turned out.


Also finally slapped some paint on a few Warmachine minis I've had for a while. Here's my alternate schemed Manhunter (WIP).


Finally, a building I started for Mordheim. Surprisingly quick build, once I got going.




Comments, questions, critique, etc. are all appreciated. Thanks for looking!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/15 18:35:59


Post by: The Good Green


You've got a lot of skill, G. Both your painting and modeling are wonderful. The conversions are a lot of fun too. Great blood bowl team!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/16 06:09:23


Post by: jabbakahut


Ha, those bases are so 90's. Looks good. That missile launcher on the speeder is something I've never seen.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/18 08:15:51


Post by: Gomez


jabbakahut wrote:Ha, those bases are so 90's. Looks good. That missile launcher on the speeder is something I've never seen.


Yeah, I wanted a retro look to the bases - I also tried to match their color as closely as possible to the actual Blood Bowl pitch. It's close, but not perfect.

And the missile launcher was just a sort of "throw-in" on the landspeeder. I've never liked the pitchfork/divining-rod/whatever that thing is that sticks out from there, so I hacked it off. I originally had a spear there, but I like the compact look of the missile launcher.

Got some updates too...

Beastman #3 - skin is mostly done (still needs some washes to get that extra sickly look).




Also put together some thunderhammer terminators for my Flesh Tearers. I didn't like the idea of blunt weapons for these guys, and I felt like the storm shields out of the box were too ornamental for the aesthetic I'm shooting for. This is the result...













G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/18 23:49:09


Post by: lowkey48


Very impressed with your work. I'm especially liking the Thunder Hammer conversions on your assault terminators. From the looks of it I'm guessing Ork chainswords? Am also curious as to what paints/colors you used for the deep red on your marines. Have tried getting that color consistency myself but can never seem to get the mix right.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/19 05:04:19


Post by: Gomez


lowkey48 wrote:Very impressed with your work. I'm especially liking the Thunder Hammer conversions on your assault terminators. From the looks of it I'm guessing Ork chainswords? Am also curious as to what paints/colors you used for the deep red on your marines. Have tried getting that color consistency myself but can never seem to get the mix right.


Thanks for the feedback, lowkey. You're right about the "hammers" - they're Ork chain choppas... The minute I decided the actual hammers weren't going to look right, I knew those things would be perfect replacements.

As for my red, I just posted about it elsewhere...

"When it comes to painting the red, I must admit that I'm a cheap son of a gun and just use Delta Ceramcoat paints (have ever since I started at age 12 - old habits die hard), so my colors aren't true Citadel colors. With that said, here goes...

* basecoat: black
* paint: barn red (similar to mechrite red, I think)
* wash: chocolate cherry (a dark brown-red)
* paint: mendocino cherry (similar to scab red, I think)
* wash: purple (super thin)
* wash: black ink (super-duper thin)
* highlight: cardinal red (similar to blood red)
* highlight: bright red (like blood red, but with a touch of orange to it)
* highlight: bright red + flesh (very, very thinned, just a tiny amount, and just the highest of highlights)

Each layer has FFF/water mix (approximately 1:3) added to thin it way down. This lets me build color gradually in thin layers and get some of that depth in there. I could probably find a faster way to do it, what with GW's new washes, but at this point I think I'll opt for uniformity instead.

That's it. Takes forever (hence, why I well under 1000 points of the army painted thus far), but I like how it looks."

Hope that helps!



G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/19 23:18:02


Post by: lowkey48


It most certainly does. Thank you for taking the time to explain your technique for the deep red. Have been wanting to paint some heresy age Thousand Sons and your red is exactly what I've been hoping to get instructions on. Thanks again and can't wait to see more of your progress. Is great stuff to be sure (and inspiring too! lol).


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/21 08:29:24


Post by: Gomez


UPDATES

OK, finished a sergeant with power sword for my Flesh Tearers...





I really like the dramatic pause in this guy's pose, and I think the red turned out especially nice (though I debated adding a touch more of a final edge highlight).

And I made more progress on my three-armed Blood Bowl beastman...





Got the skin and blisters done, the hair's finished, tongue's done... Still need to do his loincloth, the gold detailing, and horns/hooves. Probably not by tomorrow (need to finish a paper for my Research class) but likely Monday evening.

As always, comments, questions, critiques are appreciated.


G



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/27 08:33:57


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE

Finished the third Beastman for my Chaos team...



I messed around in Photoshop trying to combine some of the photos, and this is the result - a little more professional look, maybe. I really like the skin tone on this guy, too. I think it's the most realistic of all the players for this team. Next up is a big handed Beastman, and I want to try and replicate this tone as much as I can.

And because I can't focus on a project very well (Termies, I'm looking at you), I converted this guy to count as Dante for my Flesh Tearers...



I absolutely LOVE this Chaplain model, but I got to thinking and realized that there will likely be a new and improved Lemartes sculpt coming soon - I would hate for such a cool figure to be reduced to redundancy, so I added the old Dante's Inferno pistol and an old Chaos Lord's axe (jump-pack is under construction at the moment as I add an iron halo).

I'm undecided on how to paint the head. Like a skull? Red to match the rest of my army? Keep it gold? I'm also just messing around with how I want the gold to look, so this is really the very beginnings of it - highlighting will begin soon.

I'd love to get some feedback. Gracias!


G



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/02/27 13:52:09


Post by: Magos Explorator


The Dante conversion's good; with the weapons, gold and pose it should be easy for people to remember he's a Dante counts-as, but he's got his own thing going on too.

I'd keep the helmet gold, otherwise it might stick out a bit much--but red or bone would work well, too.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/03/06 23:47:16


Post by: lowkey48


I agree with how good that Chaplain model is. Used it as the basis for my counts as Shrike model. Couldn't stand the ballerina pose of the original Shrike model lol.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/03/07 00:25:23


Post by: Death Gear


Wow that's awesome Chaplin


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/03/21 07:31:42


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE

It's been slow going, but I got some more work done on my counts-as-Dante...



The gold is 99% finished (all I need to do a few touch-ups here and there), and I need to deepen and highlight the red a touch more, but those two areas are essentially done. I also obviously went for red lenses and green gems, but I debated going with green lenses and blue gems... What does anyone else think? Keep them as is, or go green-blue?

Other than that, comments, etc. are appreciated. Thanks for looking!



G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/11/30 05:18:36


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE

Whew, another looooooong break. This time I just haven't even picked up a brush in months (that's what having a job, family, and sundry other interests will do to me sometimes, unfortunately), which sort of defeats the purpose of a Painting and Modeling blog. That said, I've been on a little flurry, and trying some new things...

First off, counts-as-Dante is close to being finished. So close I don't want to do anymore WIP pics - I'll be able to show him off soon.

Second, some Warmachine/Hordes stuff that has been hogging my attention.

As soon as I saw some pics of Snapjaw and Wrongeye I knew I had to paint them. It didn't matter that I had never played Hordes, it didn't matter that I had no idea what group they were associated with... I just knew I had to do it. Seriously, Wrongeye is a humanoid crocodile with a bottle of booze and a top hat (and a little birdie on his shoulder). Are you kidding me? Fantastic! And the hulking menace of Snapjaw - the teeth and scales and croc-man pose are cool, but there's a promise of oncoming violence in thiis mini that I absolutely fell in love with. Anyway, I broke out the brushes over the Thanksgiving holiday and had a go at them.

Here's my progress so far...











With these two, I also tried doing a white undercoat and then washing/glazing to try to capture the cool color variations in crocodile skin. I'd never done something like that, so it was all just experimenting and playing around. Lots of different greens and browns and yellows went on these guys first, and then I started going back in and building some highlights. I still have to finish the underbellies with some more highlighting then a few washes to even the color, and I need to highlight their spines and add some more color variation among their scales. Probably about 50-60% finished with these two. Wrongeye's a little further, I suppose - you can see I've got the red inside his jacket almost 100% done, and one little patch on the back of his coat where I wanted to test some highlighting is totally done.

I've also started a Butcher in an alternate color scheme. What you see below is the building blocks of his white armor. The plan is to do him completely in black-white-gray tones, so the blood I add to the axe really screams.



Another great mini that I'm excited to paint. PP's stuff is totally hot/cold with me. So much is just stupid and ridiculous and over-done, but when they get it right I think they've got some of the best sculpts around.

I'd love to get some feedback (positive, negative, or otherwise). Thanks for looking!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/11/30 06:06:02


Post by: Bossasaurus


Are you having trouble with chipping on the PP minis when you dont spray undercoat them?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/11/30 06:17:00


Post by: Gomez


Bossasaurus wrote:Are you having trouble with chipping on the PP minis when you dont spray undercoat them?


I've painted metal miniatures for about 20 years and have never once used a spray primer (something about old dogs and new tricks applies, I think). Always just a decent undercoat of black, let it dry, then slap on paint. I like the results from this white + washing technique, but as you can see, there's lots of "wear-off" on the places where I hold or rest the mini on the desk while painting... When I do it again, I'll have to figure out a good white spray primer to prevent that.

When I paint more "traditionally" (i.e. undercoat black, then layer up the paint) I've never had issues with painting chipping or wearing away, so I think it's more due to the thinness of the paint than anything about the minis themselves.


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/11/30 06:34:45


Post by: Bossasaurus


I've also had the problem with PP plastics as well. Is there a soultion to stop the wear?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/11/30 12:53:28


Post by: fasterthanlight


Loving the BB team.

The croc skin is great too...

FTL


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/11/30 17:32:42


Post by: Death By Monkeys


Lovin' the skintones on the crocs - great looking stuff!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/11/30 18:20:08


Post by: Element206


Great looking paint jobs. I especially love the model in the middle!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/12/01 18:15:52


Post by: Gomez


Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I appreciate it immensely.

Bossasaurus wrote:I've also had the problem with PP plastics as well. Is there a soultion to stop the wear?


I've always used Krylon's matte finishing spray on my completed models. I recently started using it periodically during painting too, and that seems to help preserve the paint a little better (didn't have any while working on the gators, unfortunately, hence the wear).


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/12/01 19:49:32


Post by: Calibanite Lion


some really cool stuff in here, loving the bb team and flesh tearers. the terminators are really nice aswell. will def start checking back


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2010/12/02 05:47:33


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE

Small one - just to show the next stage in the Butcher's white. Went over the gray basecoat I had washed with a darker gray and brown with the original color. Will do a series of really light glazes next, then add white to the gray and build up from there. I want to try some weathering and chipped paint techniques I've never done before as well... Already crossing my fingers hoping I don't mess up the white!



Cheers!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2011/07/26 15:30:51


Post by: Gomez


Been another loooooong time between updates, but I'm back with another one...

This time I've got my "counts as Dante" finished (well, except for a chapter insignia on his shoulder).






Here you can see the Book of the Lost, the listing of every one of the Flesh Tearers who have ever succumbed to the Black Rage.



As always, let me know what you think. Comments and critique are appreciated!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2011/07/26 15:43:58


Post by: I-bounty-hunt-the-elderly


Looks sweet, nice idea for a base model. Looks much better than the old (2nd ed?) sculpt.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2011/08/02 08:43:05


Post by: Gomez


I-bounty-hunt-the-elderly wrote:Looks sweet, nice idea for a base model. Looks much better than the old (2nd ed?) sculpt.


Thanks, I-bounty-hunt-the-elderly. I think there are a few more WIP pics further back in this log if you want to see more.

Also... UPDATE:

First, threw a few layers of red on my TH/SS terminator sergeant. Still have a few more layers to go, but I like how he looks thus far.



Next, I got back to my Blood Bowl Beastmen a little bit. Went to work on the guy with the claw... Got the skin about 90% done, with a special focus on making the stump where the claw is ripping out look bloody and infected.





Still a lot to do on this guy.

Let me know what you think!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2013/02/06 07:40:40


Post by: Gomez


Holy crap, it's been another long while. Took several months-long breaks away from my painting table, unfortunately, but I've been back at it the past few days and figured I'd post a few new images.

First, I finished up Snapjaw (Wrong-eye is still WIP, sadly). This is the first mini I attacked from a white basecoat using primarily washes and glazes. I went with a saltwater croc look rather than a darker alligator hide. Let me know what you think...






Two WIP updates of miniatures in the previous post. Any progress is good, I suppose, but these guys have more or less languished (excepting a few swishes with a brush) for a year or so.




Finally, the few Strain Revenants I've finished from my Sedition Wars goodies. Tried to be fast with these guys (relatively speaking) and banged them out in threeish sessions - used lots of washes in assorted colors in there. Considering how much faster than my usual pace I worked, I'm extremely pleased with how they turned out.




As always, comments, critique and questions are all appreciated!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2013/02/16 05:17:39


Post by: Gomez


More Revenants done.





Undiffused light and oversaturation from my iPhone = loss of some subtlety in the colors, unfortunately. Need to find a decent camera before my next update.

Speaking of which, almost done with my first paint-test Samaritan, and should have two Stalkers done by the end of the weekend.

Please let me know what you think!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2013/02/16 10:42:55


Post by: TwoByFour


Lovely work in here, especially on the strain. Would you mind telling me what colours you've used for the skin? I'm trying to decide how to paint mine, and you've got a really nice effect on yours.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2013/02/16 17:22:28


Post by: Gomez


TwoByFour wrote:
Lovely work in here, especially on the strain. Would you mind telling me what colours you've used for the skin? I'm trying to decide how to paint mine, and you've got a really nice effect on yours.


First off, I'm cheap and use a mix of inexpensive paints, only some of which are GW. That said, here's how I did the skin on these guys...

1. Dheneb Stone + medium flesh color = base for skin

2. Add various washes. When I'm not using GW's washes (Baal Red, Devlan Mud, Thraka Green, and whatever the Violet one is, for example) I make my own using equal amounts Future Floor Finish, matte medium, and water mixed with whatever paint color I want. These should be quite thin and even. I try to layer these washes into targeted areas - you can see red, brown, purple on the blade arms, for instance, and some green on the "big arm" Revenants. I also added straight red ink into the open wounds and muscles to get a brighter red there.

3. Highlight two thin layers using the Dheneb + flesh + off-white. These are thin enough that I sort of "feather" them over the washed areas - shoulders and back and heads are areas where the most direct light would strike, so they get a decent highlight, but along the arms and legs I try to just pick out veins and other focus spots.

4. More washes. Hit a few more areas to soften some of the highlight.

5. Straight FFF on areas I wanted to seem like they are glistening - like the pustules and exposed muscle.

And the very last thing I did was wash Devlan mud and Badab black on the hands and feet to make them look rotting and extra dead. Totally optional, but I like the effect. After that, I did cables, pants, hair, etc.

All told, each set of guys was done in about three-ish sessions of a couple hours each - which for me is FAST, but I have always struggled with finding the best speed/quality ratio. You could definitely do your own version of this process more quickly and get several batches of Revenants done in an evening.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2013/04/02 19:53:09


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE: Stalker added. My painting time slowed waaaaaay down there for a few weeks, but got this one done and have several Quasimodos moving along the pipeline.





Went for more "natural" flesh tones (i.e. red and pink) rather than the green, brown, purple, and yellow of the revenants. Again, a fast miniature to paint - these guys have just the right amount and kind of detail to speed me up a little more than normal, which feels good.

As always, I appreciate any questions or feedback of any kind. Cheers!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2013/09/25 04:03:00


Post by: Gomez


Looooooong overdue update.

I think I managed to avoid even touching a brush for five months. I jumped right in again this past weekend and finished one mini and got three more to the brink of done.

Here's the finished Brimstone...







I tried some OSL for the first time - not totally convinced it's good enough, but I guess it works for a first try. Anyone have any tips for making glowing light look like it ought to?

And the whole family thus far...


Should have three Quasimodos posted sometime in the next few days - just need to finish their pants and bases and then I can show them off.

As always, feedback is appreciated!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2013/09/29 08:13:09


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Two Quasimodos down, with another attempt at OSL too. I like the end result (though like always my camera washes out some of the depths of the red) but I found these guys a lot more fiddly to paint.




I also re-painted the base for my Brimstone. Originally I was hurrying to finish it up (and had downed a couple beers) and had no idea how bad it was until I posted it here - it was terrible! This version is just a bit better...


And here's everyone together...


(Bonus: A nice little hint of the 70's wood paneling from my basement workroom.)

I'd love whatever feedback you've got - especially regarding my OSL attempts. Gracias!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2013/09/29 10:52:51


Post by: GiraffeX


I think they look really good and the OSL is very nicely done its not over the top, just about right I'd say. I love the blue lights on the floor.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2013/09/29 14:12:47


Post by: Gomez


Thanks for the feedback!

I was definitely trying to not do too much with the lighting (sometimes it can look like people get carried away with the effect) but I did want it to be noticeably intentional.

And I think the green might be technically better but I like the blue on the floor more - maybe because of how it interacts with the hazard striping...

Anyway, I've got a few more things in the pipeline: some more Stalkers, a Scythe Witch, and a few more Revenants that primed and ready for some paint. I slowed down on these event models so I'll be pushing myself to speed back up a bit.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/14 22:49:08


Post by: Gomez


After a months long lull where I didn't even so much as pick up a paintbrush, the imminent arrival of the rewards from my Arena Rex pledge (so much resin goodness, such a fun game) spurred me into action.

So, before everything arrived, I built an arena and terrain...


Then "sanded", primed, and got the first coat of paint of Zandri dust paint on it...


Then the sweet, sweet resin showed up and I got to work. Here's a quick shot of what my workbench looks like...


And here are some WIP shots. The mantraps need their silver highlighting, weathering, and touch-ups done...


And here's my take on Micon...

Things are basically roughed in at this point (though I've gone through a couple versions of his skin that I didn't like - brown flesh is ing hard to get to look good) but you get a good idea of the scheme I'm going with.

Finally, the one Arena Rex item I've actually finished...

Tokens (though, to be totally honest, I've got three more I still need to finish)! The idea for the paint-scheme is shamelessly stolen from a real artist (spiralingcadaver) - I just added a blast of some spray-on gloss enamel to make sure they can get tossed around in-game and not need to be touched-up everytime.

It's nice to have something get me as motivated as I currently am - the trick, as always, is figuring out how to keep myself motivated. I'm hopeful that the amazingness of all these sculpts will be enough...

Feedback, critique, questions are all appreciated. Cheers!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/15 01:57:17


Post by: spiralingcadaver


Wow, really nice looking board- where'd you get the columns? Also, the grid looked pretty cool- was that just marking positions, or is it visible after the sand's down?

Micon's skin looks slightly grey, but that could be the light. And I agree that it's really hard to get dark skin looking right.

Also, Leo is huge... regretting not getting that one now. (Well, actually, a lot of stuff- I'm really quickly running through my little set of dudes.)

Finally, where'd you get the traps? I was looking for something similar, wondering if there's something I wouldn't need to make from scratch.

(Also, thanks for the shout out )


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/15 02:49:47


Post by: Gomez


 spiralingcadaver wrote:
Wow, really nice looking board- where'd you get the columns? Also, the grid looked pretty cool- was that just marking positions, or is it visible after the sand's down?

Micon's skin looks slightly grey, but that could be the light. And I agree that it's really hard to get dark skin looking right.

Also, Leo is huge... regretting not getting that one now. (Well, actually, a lot of stuff- I'm really quickly running through my little set of dudes.)

Finally, where'd you get the traps? I was looking for something similar, wondering if there's something I wouldn't need to make from scratch.

(Also, thanks for the shout out )


I started a WIP thread over at the Arena Rex forums where I posted a little about how I got the arena started - there's quite a bit about the columns (Wilton 7" Grecian cake pillars) and the miscellaneous terrain (traps are from GW's Ogre accessories, for example).

Leo IS huge and was a bit of a pain to put together, but he looks like he'll be pretty awesome to paint - I'm really looking forward to having a go at him. Actually - scratch that... I'm excited about the IDEA of painting him but these minis are so nice I'm a bit paranoid about not doing a "good enough" job on them, which helps explain why I'm on the third rendition of Micon's skin and I'm still not sure it's going to end up how I want it. It's actually a lot warmer here than it was - I tried a lot of blue/purple washes last time and while those colors can give a great effect on 2D brown skin with colored pencil, in 3D with acrylic paint on a mini they end up making it waaaaaay too gray. I'll be trying more tan/red this time and you'll see the results here eventually.

And the grid... I was originally a little unsure how the measuring would work in this game - it seemed (and still does, TBH) a bit too fiddly and inexact (especially considering how even a tiny fraction of an inch can mean the difference when your best gladiator gets pushed toward instant death in a pit), so I toyed with the idea of doing a visible one-inch square grid layout for my arena and just house-ruling that movement was in squares rather than inches. It did help me get everything exactly symmetrical but I decided against it in the end.

Thanks for the feedback - I appreciate it!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/15 14:29:58


Post by: RiTides


Man, the table is awesome - it's the inspiration pic for our gaming group regarding arenas so far. Can't wait to see more done on it!

Micon looks great, too



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/15 22:40:07


Post by: OrlandotheTechnicoloured


That arena looks fantastic

(I shall have to have another look at cake columns, I'd considered them before but not found anything cost effective in the UK, but now I've got a name to look for)

All you with delivered minis make me wish mine would arrive (checking they're still sitting in Chicago waiting to get on a plane, sigh)


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/18 06:28:13


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE: Huzzah! My first finished AR miniature - Urbicus!








Really pleased with this shield. The blending between Tin Bitz and Vallejo's Brass looks quite a while, but I dig how it turned out.

And here he is again, sans painting lamps...

Mostly a little more true to life IMO, except the gold seems a little washed out.

So, despite me taking extra time to research some techniques to specifically address it, my ability to get metallics to look like I want is still lacking. I either can't paint or photograph them - the reflections I see up close under my painting lamps just sort of fade to blobs when I step back photograph them. I'm not sure whether to attribute that to my rudimentary photog skills or a problem with how I'm tackling metallic paints... Any one have suggestions for me?

And as always, feedback/questions/critique are all greatly appreciated!


G


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/18 22:37:09


Post by: RiTides


I really like the armor on the arm! Overall a very effective paintjob, well done


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/19 19:30:42


Post by: Gomez


 RiTides wrote:
I really like the armor on the arm! Overall a very effective paintjob, well done


Thanks.

I appreciate the feedback. I've since gotten started on Noxious and a bit more of Micon done... Probably not another update until this weekend. In the mean time, I'm off to research more ideas around painting interesting skin tones and metallics...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/20 09:25:04


Post by: Littletower


Skin and armour look great, good jobs, and the board is coming along wonderfully too


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/24 00:39:17


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

My arena is close enough to being done that I figured I'd post it...



Still need to finish up the sidewalls of the pits, hit that tiny little skull you see in the foreground pit with a little drybrushing, and touch up the rocks in the sand, but other than that I think she's about where I want her.

Plus finished close ups of the mantraps I showed earlier.

Went with blood (GW's Blood for the Blood God is pretty awesome BTW) on one to see how I like it - and I DO like it, but I'm still undecided if I want both to be blood-spattered...

The rest of the terrain may take a while. The pillars in particular are vexing me - not liking what my first attempts look like to be totally honest, so I'm at a little bit of a stand-still. Trying something new this week, so hopefully you see some more pieces soon - plus, almost done with Micon, so he'll be up in here shortly as well. Until then, cheers!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/24 22:36:27


Post by: GiraffeX


That arena is looking very nice indeed, I think haveing one mantrap with and without blood looks best, makes them different.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/11/28 17:32:40


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Micon is done. Took me a LOT more time than I expected him to, but overall I'm really pleased with how he turned out. I adjusted how I tackled the armor from last time, and third time's the charm with his skin - that was far and away the hardest part of the big lug.







And here he is with his homeboy Urbicus...


Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/12/29 03:55:56


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

It's been awhile since I finished anything on this project (end of semester in my classroom plus holiday season tends to do that), but I've finally finished the pillared covers for my arena's pits.

Here's the overview...


And here are some close-ups...






And naturally an action shot...


They hardly look painted in these shots, but getting the right color combos to drybrush onto these pillars was actually quite a challenge. I wanted something that looked like real stone/marble, something that wouldn't be distracting in the background, and something that would be relatively easy to finish. After some trial and error, this is what I ended up with and I'm reasonably happy with them.

Now I'm hoping to get Noxious done sometime this week and then start on Leo - I'll try to get some more WIP photos posted as I go.

As always, questions, critique, and general feedback are all appreciated!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/12/29 17:17:18


Post by: spiralingcadaver


I got Urbicus, too- can't tell, is Micon huge, or is it just that Urbicus seems too small for the game?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2014/12/29 18:35:34


Post by: Gomez


 spiralingcadaver wrote:
I got Urbicus, too- can't tell, is Micon huge, or is it just that Urbicus seems too small for the game?


Micon is pretty big compared to the 30mm miniatures, but pales in comparison to the other 40mm I've got - Gaius Pallidus is a head taller, for example, and Otho is an absolute giant compared to both of them. As for Urbicus, he's pretty much in-line with the other 30mm minis I've built, though his hunched stance makes him seem a bit smaller. IMO each sculptor's "35mm" scale is just slightly different from the next, so Oliver Nkweti's figures (Aemila and Sven) are a little thinner and smaller than Seb Archer's (Aquila, Gaius, Vargr) which are in turn just slightly off from Benoit Cauchies's (Frigge, Noxious, Tiet-Khebi). None of the miniatures is terribly out of scale (though Otho is really pushing it), but differences are definitely noticeable.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/02/18 05:45:00


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Noxius is done. This is the guy that made me jump in on Arena Rex in the first place - the art, the background, the sculpt, everything just worked so well.

His story is that he's a slave condemned to die as sport for the real gladiators in the arena, but somehow (through fate, luck, or savage desperation) stays alive and keeps on fighting.





A little bit of an art shot...


And Noxius, Micon, and Urbicus posing in front of my newest arena hazards.

I'm not sure exactly what they are supposed to be beyond pieces of PP's "Grind" game, but for my purposes they can be upright spiky pillars or horizontal rollers of doom. Wasn't sure how the verdigris would turn out but I'm pretty satisfied with it.

At various stages in the painting queue are Hermes, Marcus Furius, and Leo.

As always, feedback, questions, critique, etc. all appreciated. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/02/18 13:22:09


Post by: cincydooley


Awesome!!!!!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/02/18 14:07:51


Post by: RiTides


Ooh, I love the hazards! Noxius is cool, I didn't realize he was quite *that* naked, though


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/02/18 14:32:08


Post by: Gomez


 RiTides wrote:
Ooh, I love the hazards! Noxius is cool, I didn't realize he was quite *that* naked, though

Yeah, his "ARM 0" is pretty fairly represented...

Thanks for the feedback, guys - always nice to get a response in here!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/03/07 15:57:10


Post by: Easy E


The ArenaTex guys look really good.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/03/07 18:13:49


Post by: Warboss_Waaazag


Beautiful paint jobs. I really like the slave fighter. Historically speaking a lot of those guys got bought by training houses and eventually earned their freedom. Even a death sentence could be commuted if the fighter fought bravely against impossible odds.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/03/08 08:36:56


Post by: Gomez


Cheers, guys - thanks for the feedback! Every comment is useful IMO.

@Warboss_Waaazag: Pretty much everything I know about gladiators has been learned after buying into this KS - that's a cool tidbit, and fits really well with Noxius's background.

I've also got a couple WIP shots of Leo. His face is essentially done, barring a few more glazes around his muzzle. Used TONS of reference photos which is new for me in this medium - with my minis I have pretty much just winged it but with this guy I wanted to make sure he looked reasonably authentic. Everyone has an idea of a lion, but there are tons of little things I would've left out if I didn't research a bit...





Next up is his mane, then on to the rest of his body.

Also, a tiny sneak peek of what I've got done on Hermes as well...



First try on a leopard pelt. Generally happy with it so far (thought it'll obviously need some touching up around the white fur above the belt and around the fringe) and it's given me the confidence to try some snakeskin armor on Viatrix whenever I get around to her. Oh, and the white spots are intentional, even though they don't look it - they stand out here more than I wanted them to so they may not be long for this world.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/03/08 10:54:36


Post by: Fifty


I love your Flesh Tearers terminators. Arena Rex looks like a very cool game.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/03/08 11:18:31


Post by: GiraffeX


Leo is looking fantastic so far, very lion like indeed.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/04/04 05:17:39


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Leo - WIP




I know he doesn't look that different from the last WIP shot I posted, but I've got his mane done now. Tried to get a few different shades of brown in there to mimic the dark-to-light transition in older, more badass lions' manes and think it largely succeeded. Next is his pelt which is a huge hurdle for me... With the way I paint it'll take a while and I'm hesitant to start unless I know I can finish in one go, which means I keep putting it off. I've been planning to just take an evening and knock it out "next week" for about a month now.

Hermes - FINISHED
Finally have another model done! Huzzah!






This is one I wanted to get painted ASAP as he's my son's favorite fighter, but once I got started I realized I didn't like the sculpt as much as I thought I did originally. I guess more accurately, I didn't like painting the sculpt as much as I thought I would... In particular the arm wraps and armor plates with faces gave me fits, and I kept snapping off those little helmet plumes. Had fun with the leopard pelt, was really pleased with the red skirt, and I think the shield turned out just like I wanted.

And, like always, a little action shot...


Thanks for looking! Any feedback you've got would be greatly appreciated!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/04/07 21:37:48


Post by: Wehrkind


Fantastic man. Just really fantastic. The leopard pelt in back is wonderful.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/04/07 21:51:20


Post by: Calibanite Lion


Really nice, the lion looks like a great sculpt, where are they from?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/04/08 02:23:37


Post by: Gomez


@Wehrkind: Thanks - I really appreciate the response. I've never been much a free-hander, but after checking a few references it was actually pretty simple to do. Glad you like it!

@Calibanite Lion: Thanks for the feedback! All these gladiator figures are from Red Republic Games's first game, Arena Rex. It's a small-scale skirmish style game that's got amazing figures, simple and interesting rules, and tons of cool. Very excited about it. You can check it out here at their Kickstarter page.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/04/08 02:27:41


Post by: Warboss_Waaazag


The lion looks great. And the gladiators. So everything. It all looks great.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/04/08 03:57:24


Post by: Gomez


 Warboss_Waaazag wrote:
The lion looks great. And the gladiators. So everything. It all looks great.

Thanks!
(And feel free to say, "Except your camera skills." I know it's true.)


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/07/13 21:41:01


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

So, I recently got the package from RRG that almost every Arena Rex KS backer has been eagerly awaiting: Septimus and Nero. I'm currently in what I call a "hobby downcycle" (i.e. I'm generally prioritizing other things in my limited hobby time ahead of miniatures) so I haven't made anything like "real" progress in my Arena Rex paint/build quest, but I did get these two bad boys started so figured I'm throw out a WIP post.

First of all, the casts of these guys are super clean and went together very easily. I did have to do the hot-water trick with Nero's right rear leg to get it to match his hip correctly, and again with Septimus's legs to get a nice tight fit with Nero's back, but overall very little tinkering and clean up needed. That said, I'll have to use some GS to sill a few minor gaps, but it's totally in line with what I'd expect from any other fairly large model.

Now, anyone who's played AR knows that there are rules for dismounting riders from their rides, so I started out by breaking out the rare-earth magnets I bought months ago specifically for these guys.

Here...

you can see where I started with magnets in Nero's back, and here...

you can see where I lined up their partners in Septimus's thighs to allow me to remove him whenever he gets knocked off his big bad bull (or whenever I want to run Nero as an arena hazard, or as part of a cohort but sans rider). Pretty easy to do with the appropriate sized drill bit and super glue, though making sure everything lined up WAS a bit fiddly.

The magnetic hold is just right too - no worries about him falling off, but pretty easy to pluck him off as needed.

Here they are together...

which allows you to see what's driving me up a wall: the reins don't line up well at all. Now, for the sake of convenient rider removal I may have to just deal with a little bit of a bad fit, but I think I'm going to see if my GS skills are sufficient enough to build up the knots where the reins meet the horns to create little "seats" for the ends to hide a bit better. Not sure I'm up to it, but that's where I'd headed I think. I'm anal retentive about stuff like that and It'll be tough to swallow on such an otherwise amazing looking figure.

Anyway, twas my first time magnetizing anything and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was. Now I'm kicking myself for not magnetizing the horns as well, since the folks at RRG were kind enough to include an unwrapped set as an alternate.

As always, feedback, questions, critique, etc. are all appreciated. Cheers!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/07/14 04:04:01


Post by: RiTides


That's such a splendid model, and I love your idea of hiding the ends of the reins! I think it's worth trying you can always scrape off most of the greenstuff if you don't like how it's turning out.

The magnets under the rider look really well done too - that's a nifty idea!



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/07/15 16:30:02


Post by: Gomez


So, here's what I settled on for a solution to the reins/horns/connection problem...


I "pinned" the reins. They're way too small to actually drill holes in and pin conventionally, so I took one of my riffler files with a nicely defined edge and filed a groove into the back of each end of the reins. Into these I set and glued some wire (also filed to make it as close to flush as possible).


Then I used my pin vice to drill out the spaces where the reins connect to the horns so the pins can slip right in. Once I add some GS to make the pins blend into the reins I think it will look just like I need it to. Bonus: now Septimus is even more solidly connected to Nero.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/08/01 17:21:37


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Actual painting this time! Only terrain, but still - it counts.

I built these fences back when I was creating my arena and just recently got around to finishing them. They're just made from balsa wood, various plastic spear heads, and plenty of superglue.

Normally in Arena Rex, when a model gets pushed into a hazard they increase one fatigue level (in addition to whatever damage they were dealt). That should work for these, though I'm toying with the idea of adding another point of damage if the gladiator is pushed into them from the front, due to the spikes.






G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/08/09 01:52:39


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:


Another piece of terrain for my Arena Rex arena. Like all of the stuff I've done , it's pretty simple - these are taken right from GW's Brettonian Peasant Bowmen set. I doubled up the number of spikes just to give it a little more visual "presence", but other than that they're just mounted on a base and primed. I've got enough to make another one as well, but haven't started it yet.

And here's where I am with Marcus Furius...

He's a retiarius with the Ludus Magnus, and his story is that he's from a wealthy family but fell into being a bandit and rustler for sport, which eventually led him to become a gladiator. I've got his skin mostly done, but still need to work on his eyes and facial scars - getting the latter to look right has been challenging because they're right up by his eyes and not easy to separate the two. His net is essentially done as well - just need a few touch ups on the highlights and it's set.

Also finished a Beastman for my Chaos Blood Bowl team that's been sitting in my painting queue for more than a year.


A few close-ups...



(Sorry for the blurriness - using my son's camera, and the macro is a little wonky.)

And here are the three Beastmen I've finished all together. You can see how I've changed/improved in painting flesh - the leftmost guy was completed years ago, then the middle one, and the most recent on the right. I've gone from pretty much just using one of the GW flesh tones and as a base and then adding white for highlights to mixing my own color and using all sorts of washes and glazes.


As always, feedback is appreciated. Cheers!



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/08/09 10:46:29


Post by: GiraffeX


Marcus is looking really nice so far, well quite amazing really.

You can definitely see how you've improved with the beastmen over time, the skin tones on the latest are very nice.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/08/09 16:17:55


Post by: Gomez


 GiraffeX wrote:
Marcus is looking really nice so far, well quite amazing really.

You can definitely see how you've improved with the beastmen over time, the skin tones on the latest are very nice.


Thanks for the comments, GX. I appreciate the feedback.

I used to just paint by "going up" - I'd pick a basecoat, then add successive amounts of white for each highlight until I was satisfied. It looked all right, but made for pretty flat colors, sort of "cartoony" for lack of a better term. Now I start with my middle color and go both up and down, so to speak, as well as using lots of glazes and washes (GW's washes are really great). I think it's added to every aspect of my painting - but it's especially noticeable when painting skin. I think I've been getting better with that technique for a while, but I actually think I turned the corner when I was trying to speed paint my Sedition Wars Strain... If you go back a page here you can see the shift pretty clearly IMO.

Anyway, hoping to have more on Marcus tonight or tomorrow.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/08/09 19:28:22


Post by: GiraffeX


Thats interesting that you start from the middle colour, I always go from dark to light. I'm doing ok now with female skin as I paint it quite light, male skin I'm finding harder at the moment to get the right end result like you have done with Marcus.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/08/09 19:37:21


Post by: Gomez


i got a lot out of this tutorial but TBH the biggest thing was the sequences of Reaper skin tones. They have a mid, shadow, and highlight in a variety of color variations, and that helped me out a TON. Very much worth reading.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/08/09 19:39:41


Post by: GiraffeX


Thanks for that will have a read later, looks very interesting.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2015/09/01 17:03:53


Post by: Mymearan


Your Arena Rex stuff is amazing, beautiful skin tones!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/04/17 06:52:24


Post by: Gomez


It's been a while since I posted anything (because it's been a while since I painted or built anything), so I figured I'd toss out some WIP pictures to show some of the process I go through.

First, I totally restarted Marcus Furius.



I know he appears similar to how he looked last time, but the blending and shadows on his skin are much finer this time around. Also pretty happy with both the red of the skirt and the net in his hand. Next up will be worked on his leather straps and the padding on his arms.

Also got started on Iason.

He's pretty great in the arena - Intervene is such an awesome skill IMO. Made the totally amateur mistake of gluing his shield in place before painting, which will make things MUCH harder than they needed to be while painting his right arm and chest. His feathers are done, barring a little more red/brown shading to add some depth

And here's both versions of everybody's favorite bull-riding maniac...



Mostly basecoated, but the mane on his helmet is essentially done. May go back and add a little more white to the tips, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Finally, a piece of terrain I started...

Yes, that's a CD plus an orange juice lid plus a circle of plastruct. Eventually it will be a sort of dais - I've been looking for an appropriate 54mm model to paint as a statue to go on top, but may leave it empty and us it as a sort of king-of-the-hill objective.

As always, any feedback is appreciated - questions, critique, advice, etc . Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/04/17 18:25:43


Post by: cincydooley


Looking good, and love the idea for a the dais. I need to build an arena one of these days....


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/04/18 21:17:56


Post by: RiTides


Marcus Furius is looking just brilliant! And the finished / nearly finished manes on the others are excellent, too . Looking forward to seeing them finished!

Arena Rex absolutely killed it at AdeptiCon - have you gotten an opponent to use these beautiful models with? If you supply both sides I imagine that shouldn't be too hard


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/04/19 00:32:55


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

More Marcus...



(Man, do those close-ups highlight everything single little tiny blemish or what?)

Added a little blue and white striping to his headband - seemed boring to have it the same leather as all the straps he's got. I'm definitely stretching myself a bit with trying more freehand stuff with these AR minis. This was nothing big but I wouldn't have even considered it previously. Also did his shield - I like the aged look I managed, but I'm not sure about it overall. Too silvery?

@cincy: Go get building! Making my arena and thinking about different terrain pieces for it has maybe been the most fun part of this project. Fires my neurons in totally new ways, which I really like.

@Tides: I mostly play against my kids - my fifteen-year-old is migrating toward his Xbox more and more, but my first-grader is all kinds of fired up about AR. I've got a buddy who I board game with who I'm planning to rope into a game here soon, but I don't really have a presence at a FLGS. There are two good ones in town, I just haven't really made any connections at either. I'm also a little hesitant to try and demo a game at either place that the stores can't benefit from stocking. That said, I'm more or less the quintessential casual gamer content with the status quo of painting/building plus relaxed playing.

I also appreciate the feedback from both of you - thanks!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/04/22 04:42:20


Post by: AllDeadDave


Inspirational work.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/04/22 05:57:31


Post by: evildrcheese


Wow. Seriously impressive stuff.

EDC


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/04/22 13:20:44


Post by: Gomez


@AllDeadDave and EDC: Cheers - thanks for the positive vibes! Hopefully I'll have another update this weekend.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/06/03 06:57:20


Post by: Gomez


Not enough painting being done in Gomezland due to a drawn-out house remodel and various related tasks, but here is an update anyway!


Here is the new resin goodness that landed on my doorstep this week... Got everyone built and 90% prepped - just need to slap on some liquid GS (man, that stuff is great for gap-filling) and I should be able to prime these suckers.

My impressions:

1.) RRG seems to have changed the type of resin they're using. My first batch of minis were all a whiter, much more brittle material, but these new pieces are a darker gray and have a lot more give to them. I managed to snap Vargr's and GP's feet right at the ankle just from cutting them off the sprue, but I never even came close with this new stuff.

2.) Euryale is AMAZING: simple assembly, but incredible detail and loads of character. I was not sold on her when she was first announced during the Kickstarter campaign (I poo-pooed the turn to actual mythical creatures, rather than the implication of them [Septimus and Nero as a minotaur, for example]) but I came around eventually and now I'm glad I did. I'm excited to stretch myself a little as a painter and try some cool snakeskin pattern on her. All these minis make me want to keep pushing my limit of "best work", but she provides a fantastic canvas for it.


3.) Anum was the fiddliest of the bunch to assemble. I was ****ing dreading working with his chains, as I butchered Leo's while I built him, and needless to say, they were indeed a bitch. BUT I got them all in place and I think they'll hold (for awhile at least). Other than that, he's another model with a ton of character - I think I'll do a stylized skull face paint on him to make him even more fierce. The hyena's (he totally needs a name, BTW) lower jaw is a little weird - not sure if I'll try to add to it with a little Greenstuff (my GS skills are decidedly lackluster).


4.) Hagal! I have to admit - I LOVE his artwork and the idea of a straight-up viking in the arena, but I didn't like his sculpt at all when he was first shown off (everytime I looked at him I thought, "Lorax"). I only got him because he looks like he'll be awesome in actual gameplay and adds a real bruiser to the Z's. That said, I tweaked him a little to match his art a bit more closely: I shaved his receding hairline all the way off to go for the bald/beard/badass biker look and I used the hot water trick to twist his torso and bend his right arm a just a touch. I think it adds a little of the dynamism that his art captures and the sculpt lacks. I think if he matched that artwork a little better out of the box (baggie?) he'd be one of AR's best sculpts BTW - he's loaded with excellent detail and is a super crisp cast.


5.) Acerbus is a rock solid chunk of resin. Posing him in mid charge was a challenge - I drilled way up into his left front ankle with a bit big enough for my biggest gauge wire, then folded the leftover length and glued it up under his base rather than cut it off. After that, I used a veritable bucket of superglue (and a prop for his back legs) to keep him suspended like that. Fingers crossed that he stays that way. I ended up using the black rhino head, first because everyone else seems to be using the white one and second, it seems to convey a little more viciousness. IMO the white head looks a little like he's thinking, "Ho hum, another day goring bozos in the arena... sigh". Debating whether to add a spear head stabbing into his flank (and broken haft trailing on the sand) for just a touch more savagery.

Looking forward to getting some paint on these (and all my other long delayed AR) minis.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/06/04 18:48:16


Post by: Gomez


Tried to add a bit of a "story" to Acerbus by adding a spear head broken off in his shoulder, and the broken haft trampled in the dust underfoot.





(Nothing like primed close-ups to point out EVERY SINGLE mold line and flaw you left on your model, huh?)

Pretty simple addition to give him just a bit more individuality and character.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/06/06 00:44:21


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Marcus Furius - finished!





My goal is to double my finished AR model count this summer - here's the first one done. Pretty straightforward, though I do especially like the weathered oxidization on the shield.

As always, questions, critique, comments, etc. are all appreciated. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/06/06 21:04:24


Post by: Gomez


I realized I never posted a team photo like I usually do...


That's (L-R) Noxious, Micon, Marcus Furius, Hermes, and Urbicus. Pretty happy with how they look all together (now if I could just work a little more quickly and consistently...).

Also, here are the next guys in line...


Leo, Iason, and Acerbus. Leo has more or less been stagnant for months, but the others have both been worked on the past couple days. Acerbus in particular seems like he'll be pretty straightforward.



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/06/20 08:19:23


Post by: Gomez


Updated WIP pics...

Acerbus is coming along, but still has a ways to go. I'm doing a lot of up and down painting on him - build up highlights, wash/glaze over them, then add to them again. It ends up creating some cool effects IMO, but takes awhile (and it's easy for me to make things look a little too sloppy if I'm not careful).




I think Iason's skin is finished. I'm also trying for two tones of gold for him but not sure how I like it... I think the brighter gold of his shield and eye-plate (or whatever it's actually called) is done, but I can't decided if I think it works with the redder gold of the rest of his armor. Any opinions on whether silver armor would look better than the reddish gold?

And as always, critique, comments, questions, etc. are all appreciated. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/07/10 05:11:27


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

I purchased Operation: Icestorm when it originally came out and have played around with the minis and rules for awhile, but just recently started painting some of the minis. Here is my first WIP Infinity miniature...





Wanted to do something other than the standard red for the Nomads and settled on this orange-tinted yellow, which I think works pretty well. Might supplement with a little red/orange trim, or try to add some badges or unit markings... We'll see.

Also started some simple Infinity terrain (maybe to supplement my O:IS buildings). The people of Gomezland just upgraded phones across the board and the size and shape of the boxes they came in got me thinking... They are pretty much perfect to base this scenery around: one-piece, sturdy, and easy to add on to.


And after hitting my bits box here's what I came up with...






Feeling inspired, I also took some hairspray can lids and created these... generators? Battery stacks? Moisture vaporators? Not sure I really care, but I like how they turned out.


As always, any feedback is appreciate: questions, criticism, whatever... Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/07/10 05:29:07


Post by: bebopdrums2424


Really great stuff Gomez! I really enjoy your painting, those roman minis look just great. Nice skin tones, nice contrast! Don't get bummed out about comments, I've found that any time I don't paint gw stuff it seems that people in general are a little less interested. Also love the yellow nomads. I'm painting nomads too right now but just standard colors


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/07/10 07:32:45


Post by: Gomez


 bebopdrums2424 wrote:
Really great stuff Gomez! I really enjoy your painting, those roman minis look just great. Nice skin tones, nice contrast! Don't get bummed out about comments, I've found that any time I don't paint gw stuff it seems that people in general are a little less interested. Also love the yellow nomads. I'm painting nomads too right now but just standard colors


Cheers! Thanks for commenting. I've noticed and long come to peace with the fact that non-GW work gets a fraction of the comments of its counterpart around here... This log is as much a compilation of my work as it is anything else, which is just fine - if anyone else wants to tag along and give feedback, even better. Plus, I like to think my own work might give someone else an idea or make them think through their own painting/terrain building/etc. in a new way, which keeps me posting. And I've been following your Nomad work too - it's one of the things that prompted me to slap some paint on my own guys! Nice work - looking forward to seeing what you do next.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/07/26 21:10:58


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Acerbus is moving along...








Really tried to model his hide after real rhinos - the flesh-tone of his upper lip, the darker saddle on his back, the brown tones... All things I never would have included if I didn't do a bit of research. Pretty happy with things thus far, but still need to work on his tail, toenails, horns, eyes, and wounds.

As always, any questions, comments, critique, etc. would be appreciated. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/07/27 12:21:19


Post by: ckig


I picked up Acerbus last year but I haven't touched him yet, it's a pretty intimidating model to try get those realistic textures. You've done an excellent job though, inspiring work.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/07/27 15:00:24


Post by: Gomez


 ckig wrote:
I picked up Acerbus last year but I haven't touched him yet, it's a pretty intimidating model to try get those realistic textures. You've done an excellent job though, inspiring work.

TBH, those textures make him really straightforward to paint. I mean, I like the effect I've achieved thus far but I was definitely pretty slapdash in my approach - lots of washes helped those wrinkles and cuts and creases stand out rather than any careful brushwork.

Thanks for the response!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/08/22 06:10:46


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Acerbus is finally done.








Wounds, spear, and base finalized since the last WIP I posted.

And, as usual, an updated team photo.


Leo is next, I think. He's been about 25% done for months, so it's about time I finish him off.

Like always, any feedback is appreciated - questions, critique, comment, what-have-you. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/08/22 12:03:09


Post by: aku-chan


Wow! The skin on that Rhino is fantastic!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/08/22 19:46:47


Post by: Gomez


 aku-chan wrote:
Wow! The skin on that Rhino is fantastic!


Thanks a ton! I appreciate the feedback.

I feel like I've really stretched myself as a painter with these Arena Rex models, and he's an example of one way - I've really started using source material for the first time, and his skin tone is directly attributable to studying how actual rhinos look... rather than just painting based on the preconception that existed in my head. So, I ended up doing lots of glazing and layering, which I think helped create that realistic effect. The Leo WIP I posted a few pages back is another such example.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/08/22 20:18:50


Post by: GiraffeX


Wow the rhino is truly outstanding, really looking forward to Leo.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2016/09/13 23:59:04


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Lupa WIP

Just getting started with her, but I really like the base for her skintone. Her shirt, on the other hand, is too blue - I'm thinking I might try more of a grayish aqua next go round...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/01 21:58:13


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

First time picking up ye olde brush in months, and here's what I managed. Switching over from Ludus Magnus to Legio XIII's Gaius Pallidus:


Skin still very WIP, but it's something (which I haven't been able to say in way too long). You can also see where I managed to mangle his axe - it's since been pinned and fixed, but this IS a "warts-and-all" WIP log so you all get the "before" shot. As always, any feedback is appreciated. Cheers!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/03 23:14:42


Post by: Gomez


Another quick progress update...





G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/04 06:28:05


Post by: shasolenzabi


You have gotten busy! very nice work!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/04 13:36:01


Post by: Gomez


 shasolenzabi wrote:
You have gotten busy! very nice work!

Thanks! Not sure about busy but certainly busiER... Working on a new paler skin tone with this guy than my other AR gladiators, and trying to resist going too "red/pink". Hope it's working...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/04 17:05:18


Post by: shasolenzabi


They look like fleshy people, so I think you hit the mark!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/04 19:48:39


Post by: GiraffeX


The skin tone is looking very nice Gomez, good to see you back painting again


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/09 20:34:59


Post by: Gomez


 GiraffeX wrote:
The skin tone is looking very nice Gomez, good to see you back painting again

Muchas gracias!

Here's the latest...




Got started on the armor, but it's just base-coat plus a few washes at this point. Also did his hair with a greenish tint - not sure how it works with the rest of him, so would love feedback on it (I let a little of that green blend into the skin around his face, but seeing it here I don't like it and I'll be going back to fix it). The bulk of his skirt is basically done, but I'm pretty sure I'll be adding a bit of darker brown detail around the hem.

Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/10 14:40:49


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Put in a little more work last night...





Leather straps done, armor done (I think), skirt done...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/13 18:28:31


Post by: aku-chan


Looks fantastic so far.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2017/04/14 13:59:41


Post by: Gomez


 aku-chan wrote:
Looks fantastic so far.


Thanks!

UPDATE:

Here's a bit more...


I tried to remember how exactly I did the roots on Gaius himself while doing the roots under his foot, but obviously I missed a step or two as they look very different. I think other people must take copious notes about color combos and steps, but once I get rolling I always forget. Always.

Anyway, any feedback is appreciated. Cheers!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/03/26 00:37:22


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

First, after more than a year of procrastinating on him, I busted out with some work on Leo (obviously WIP)...

Still need to work on some reddish/brown accents along his flanks and back legs, and he'll need another couple rounds of highlights, but pretty happy with him after so long avoiding my brushes and paints. I avoided him for so long because the sheer amount of tan hide I needed to cover seemed intimidating, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I made it out to be in my head.

Also, Gaius had an accident...

It might not be immediately obvious, but I broke off the end of his head-branch and chipped up his hair - I was boxing up my AR stuff up to take on road trip so I could play with some old friends, and of course I dropped him while I was wrapping him in foam. ops: Total amateur move on my part... Need to use some GS and then retouch that part of him here soon.

As always, I love feedback - any comment, critique, question, etc. is welcome and appreciated. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/02 04:21:21


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE: Leo finished!






I went back in and toned down a few of the harshest light/dark transitions and, while subtle, I think it looks a ton better.

And, as always, the current gang...


Next up I have Gaius about 85% done (including the damage I need to repair) and I'm currently updating Snapjaw's (aka "Atrox") base... We'll see who gets done first.

Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/03 22:50:21


Post by: aku-chan


Fantastic looking lion!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/04 03:12:57


Post by: Gomez


 aku-chan wrote:
Fantastic looking lion!

Cheers - thanks for the kind words!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/05 03:53:25


Post by: Gomez


Atrox finished! (Yeah, it's cheating since I only "finished" him by rebasing him, but I'm still counting it.)




Pretty excited to try him out with Anum, Leo, and Acerbus...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/05 14:24:39


Post by: Boss Salvage


Arena Rex is making a croc man??

Though Snappy here certainly looks the business

- Salvage


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/05 15:20:37


Post by: Gomez


 Boss Salvage wrote:
Arena Rex is making a croc man??

Though Snappy here certainly looks the business

- Salvage


Sadly, nope - he's just repurposed to take the place of the original Atrox RRG recently showcased. Here's the actual Atrox......



And this was the artwork for him originally previewed...


I was beyond hyped for THIS tiger to be released, but instead we got an overweight, passive housecat with a face that's charitably described as "poorly done". I'm not a good enough sculptor to do my own version and there are no other 35-40mm tiger miniatures out there that can come close to the quality of the AR sculpts, so I came up with my own solution.




G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/06 05:32:10


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

(I'm rolling right now - hope I can keep this momentum for a while...)




Rebuilt his damaged head-branch, finished his root growths, and knocked out his axe head. Still need to do the skulls underfoot, the axe handle, and touch ups. Thinking about re-doing the red belt and straps as well - they look like they are a touch washed out and could use another highlight IMO...

As always, any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/06 13:32:57


Post by: Boss Salvage


 Gomez wrote:
Sadly, nope - he's just repurposed to take the place of the original Atrox RRG recently showcased. Here's the actual Atrox......
Ohhhhhhh you know, I half recognized his rules too, and wondered if most animals just happened to have Drag in this game. I fully support croc man over chubby housecat

Gaius repairs and progress looking good!

- Salvage


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/08 07:23:07


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Gaius Pallidus - done!



Plus a current team photo (I love these)...


And a look at who is next in line...

Otho, Iason, and Lupa.

Also, a couple shots of my most recent game...

Here, Micon has squared off against Atrox, with Noxius hurrying in to support his crocodilian buddy. This is the beginning of a showdown that lasted most of the match - Micon managed to push Atrox back into a hazard and get him to Exhausted, but then proceeded to roll HORRIBLY. Micon's damage tree is all pushes so does minimal damage anyway - his trick is getting to the bottom of the tree where he can use Atlas Throw and lift his opponent in the air and toss them into a pit. I had it all lined up but the dice gods didn't favor him.


Newly painted Leo showed off by pulling a counter-attack in the third round of combat that yielded him nine (NINE!) successes when Hermes moved in to attack, essentially dooming him the gladiator to be lion chow - it was just a matter of time before Leo whittled away his last 4-5 health (even with Urbicus supporting him as much as possible). Huge turning point in the game and it happened pretty much right away..


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/08 15:33:18


Post by: Theophony


Your painting skills are off the chart , superb work.

I’ve printed the rules, I may have to use substitute models for a long time as funds aren’t there for another game, but it looks really fun.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/09 00:48:08


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
Your painting skills are off the chart , superb work.

I’ve printed the rules, I may have to use substitute models for a long time as funds aren’t there for another game, but it looks really fun.


Thanks, Theo - I think I'm definitely still solidly ON the chart TBH, but I feel like I have really grown as I've painted these Arena Rex minis... They're such great sculpts and I want to do them justice so I've tried lots of new techniques and pushed to improve areas (like glazing and smoother transitions) that have largely paid off. I try to show as many WIP shots as I can so people can see all the steps I go through too. My style is still really loose (the closer you zoom, the more little sloppy spots you'll see), but I've definitely improved over the past couple years. And I'm still slow as . (Not sure there's a cure for that, sadly.)

Anyway, thanks for looking, and thanks for the kind words.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/13 20:04:35


Post by: Gomez


Quick update... Here's where I'm at with Otho:

My original plan was to paint the feathers like a peacock's, with a blue "eye" in a brown ring on each, but I kind of like the look of them like this. I could get some more blue/turquoise tones in them to sort of suggest the peacock without worrying about all that fine detail... What do you guys think?

Also, stripped Iason. I decided to reverse course and paint his armor silver like his actual original art, but that extra layer of paint just started to obscure too much detail so I broke out the Simple Green. Still a pain in the ass to get all the paint out of all the crevices, even after several rounds in the cleaner - had to use tiny wire brushes and pushpins to get at it all, and ended up snapping his spear in multiple places, but there is a (small) silver lining: the SG loosened the glue on his shield and it popped right off so now I'll be able to actually paint his arm and chest effectively.

Also got a bit done on Lupa but nothing too exciting. Maybe I'll be able to get in another update this weekend.

Cheers - thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/13 23:03:15


Post by: Theophony


I like the look of the feathers right now, strange and exotic and not something we have seen, but would be different in their world. Not sure it made sense, but that’s how I feel.

If you ever have problem with superglued models just put them in the freezer overnight, it will weaken the join, not sure how their resin would handle it, but I’ve never had problems with forgeworld resins.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/14 02:38:06


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
I like the look of the feathers right now, strange and exotic and not something we have seen, but would be different in their world. Not sure it made sense, but that’s how I feel.

If you ever have problem with superglued models just put them in the freezer overnight, it will weaken the join, not sure how their resin would handle it, but I’ve never had problems with forgeworld resins.


I totally get what you're thinking re: the feathers - I've tried to include little touches like that throughout these models... Hermes has the bluejay feathers on his helmet and the leopard pelt on his loincloth, for example. That's exactly what I'm going for with this guy.

Also, you can just pry apart the superglue joins after throwing models in the freezer? In all sincerity, that might be the single best piece of modelling advice I've ever received. You are awesome.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/04/14 05:14:36


Post by: Theophony


I remember someone telling it to me a long time ago, I’ve done it a couple times.

Other ideas in here https://privateerpressforums.com/archive/index.php/t-95693.html


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/07/28 02:57:34


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Things have been slow going in Gomezland... Every summer is sort of similar - I make a big list of house and yard projects that I need to work on while I have the time off, and my hobby time suffers. This year is no exception. I've got some excellent structural elements around my house to show off, but little in terms of miniatures. That said, I HAVE done a little bit of work on my AR stuff...


I repainted Otho's shield. I found a really great example of a 54mm gladiator with a turquoise shield and wanted to emulate it for Otho. This is just the first layer - I'll build up to a much lighter color eventually. You can also see one of the places where I scraped away a mold line. There were a couple on his shield also - not sure how I missed them originally, but I got them now.


Also got inspired and started in on Euryale. Her pillar is done (though I'll definitely have to touch it up later after working on her snake-body), but that's about it. I have been collecting references and decided to try and work with this one...




I decided to see if I could sort of sketch in some colors to match that reference. Not perfect, but I think some orange and flesh colored washes on her scales can bring out a little of the above vibrancy. I've always been intimidated by this model - the snake body just screams for some cool pattern that I've never been confident I can do justice to... After starting a bit, I think I need to just keep moving forward and it'll take care of itself.

As ever, your thoughts, critique, feedback, etc. are all welcome. Cheers!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/07/28 13:34:24


Post by: Theophony


The turquoise is really striking and therefore very suitable for a true showman.

I like your attempt with the snake skin. I agree that sepia and agrax washes will probably be needed to bring out that orange/brown color.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/07 02:03:33


Post by: Gomez


Sooooooo, these arrived today...


I had to take advantage of RRG's GenCon sale and grabbed Hroka and Caho-Ta (I already had Hroka on foot), Cato and Ladon, and the four Greeks I like. Wanted to add Ywain and Dextarius (all three models) but was already above the arbitrary $$$ limit I set for myself, so they'll have to wait a while yet. Pretty impressed that I ordered Thursday late and got them this afternoon. I'm not too far from Austin, TX, which is their homebase, but still - yay USPS!

Super excited to bust them open and get them built, BUT I am exercising a bit of discipline and only allowing myself a one-to-one exchange: I finish painting one of my already built models and then I can open one of the new packages. We will see exactly how long I can stick to this plan, but for now I'm good.

I often have a bit of painting ADD, so instead of focusing on Otho or Euryale like a good boy, I switched over to Lupa.


I've got to clean up her face a bit and maybe add a few higher highlights to her knee and forehead, but her skin is pretty close to done. I'm still struggling with brown skin - I find it ridiculously difficult to get a good highlight without those parts looking like a different skin color. I might try washing back down with some brown and black to see if I can even things out a bit.

I'll be doing her "wolf" like a coyote or jackal pelt, which is probably next, then it should be all downhill from there. Hoping I can get her wrapped up by the end of this week.

Any feedback, comments, questions, etc. are appreciated. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/07 18:21:21


Post by: Theophony


I love how you say you struggle with brown skin . The skin tones look amazing. The only thing I would suggest is I think you went one layer too many on the leg compared to the arm that is raised holding the weapon. It could just be the angle from the picture, but it looks like two different skins because of that. Now with a different angle shot it could be that the side of the arm we are seeing is the downward side to the lightsource, which should be more shaded than the leg which is catching the light more, similar to the way the face is catching the light. In which case maybe it’s the arm that needs just a tad more light to it especially with reflected light from the sand base.

Just my 2 cents (not even pure copper cents at that).


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/07 23:44:06


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
I love how you say you struggle with brown skin . The skin tones look amazing. The only thing I would suggest is I think you went one layer too many on the leg compared to the arm that is raised holding the weapon. It could just be the angle from the picture, but it looks like two different skins because of that. Now with a different angle shot it could be that the side of the arm we are seeing is the downward side to the lightsource, which should be more shaded than the leg which is catching the light more, similar to the way the face is catching the light. In which case maybe it’s the arm that needs just a tad more light to it especially with reflected light from the sand base.

Just my 2 cents (not even pure copper cents at that).


Thanks for the feedback, Theo. I appreciate the kind words and the advice. I guess it's hard to get an accurate sense of my own work sometimes because it's so often a little off from the concept I envisioned at the outset - while still looking all right. The proverbial "glass half-empty" deal.

Anyway, I went back in and knocked down the highlights on her right leg a bit and tidied up her forehead...



And then, because I can't eve just let things be, I changed the color of her... Shirt? Sports bra?


I like this effect a lot more than the teal. Plus now she echoes the red/yellow combo that I used for some of the fabric and tassels on Hermes and Micon.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/08 01:03:20


Post by: Theophony


I think you nailed the skin color now, tidied it all up just right. These new angles also help them blend better with the rest of the model.

I’m also glad you changed her sports bra , that teal just didn’t sit right with me as an ancient Roman gladiator. I mentally think colors are for the more wealthy and noble. The yellow fits my mental image much better. Less striking, but allows the focus to be more on the figure instead of her figure .


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/09 02:41:40


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
Just the pelt she is wearing. Tried to model it after a coyote's coloration - I think I at least mostly succeeded.




It's not shown in these pictures, but I also already started in on the all her leather - belts, straps, leg wraps, etc. I sort of accidentally stumbled on a recipe I like a lot while working on Otho: a warm midtone brown, washed with Reikland Fleshshade, then a mix of Druchii Purple and Agrax Earthshade, then repeat the original brown, highlighting by adding sequentially more off-white. As I go I also intermittently go back in with those washes, which creates a cool, organic layering. It turned out really cool previously, so I'm interested to see if I can match it here.

Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/13 01:29:50


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE: Lupa - finished!






As always, any feedback is appreciated. Cheers!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/13 18:04:57


Post by: aku-chan


She looks great!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/13 18:09:46


Post by: Theophony


Yep , you brought the skin all cohesive throughout and the change of her garment color really sells it. How does she look with the rest of the gang?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/13 20:13:22


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
Yep , you brought the skin all cohesive throughout and the change of her garment color really sells it. How does she look with the rest of the gang?


Thanks!


(You'll have to zoom in a bit to get a real sense IMO).

And next up...




Went with Antaeus as my next subject because he should be pretty simple - skin is probably what I do best and he's got a lot of it showing. His rules are also badass, so I'm excited to try him out fully painted.

Also started in on some tokens during some downtime between primer coats - I only have ten actually finished, which sort of limits how many models we can play with her side (yeah, I could use the unpainted ones but I'd hate myself). Here's hoping I can replicate the process pretty well - thankfully this is one of the few times I made notes about the colors! So far this is Iyanden Darksun plus a wash of Delta Ceramcoat Mocha Brown.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 aku-chan wrote:
She looks great!


Thanks for the positive vibe - I appreciate it.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/17 05:43:49


Post by: Gomez




A little sloppy, but I'm pretty happy with how close the colors came out like the originals. They've JUST been blasted with some gloss enamel here, hence the shine. Now I've got enough to go 8 v. 8...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/20 03:00:54


Post by: Gomez


Got started on Antaeus, but there's not much to show yet. While waiting for his paint to dry, moved along on Otho's shield:


You can see the steps I went through here (I skipped a few, but this gives a pretty good idea). Might go with a final lighter, almost white highlight along the top edge, but still undecided on that. Used some stippling to look like scales to sort of echo the fish theme he's got going on.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/21 09:33:04


Post by: insaniak


That looks fantastic!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/25 13:14:44


Post by: Wirecat


Looks very good - and You've got a very steady hand and patience for this. I am afraid to ask - will You make the damage marks more pronounced?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/26 06:25:10


Post by: Gomez


Thanks for the feedback, both of you.

WC: I'm not sure if I'll go back in and highlight more or not - I've been debating adding another layer of highlight at the very top edge of the shield, and if I do I'll probably hit the edges of the scratches as well.

I also think the contrast is sharper in person as well - I think my flourescent lights are washing out the blue just a bit in this picture.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/27 04:41:21


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Antaeus progress...

I painted his skin with Reaper's Olive Skin, then here washed it with a mix of Olive Skin and Bronzed Shadow.


I washed some Reikland Fleshshade and Baal Red around some key areas (knees, elbows, butt, face) then went back and highlighted with Olive skin.


More washes (Baal Red, Reikland Fleshshade, Agrax Earthshade) and highlights, this time with Olive Skin + Tanned Highlight. It's a little gray at this point, so I may need to switch over to Olive + Rosy Highlight to try and get a little more pink in. You can see that I'm not terribly concerned with being neat at this point - I just want to get some natural looking tones layered in first, then I'll focused on some tighter lines with later highlights.

As always, any feedback is awesome. Thanks for looking!



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/08/27 11:28:25


Post by: Theophony


The skin tones are fantastic as always G. I don’t see the grey you are referring too. I will have to see about picking up some of that olive skin paint when I start painting up some humans later.

These sculpts are fantastic. I’ve enjoyed all of them except that tiger, hitch is still really good. Can we get a backside view of him? Does he have any scars or wounds on him?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/09/06 04:29:48


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
The skin tones are fantastic as always G. I don’t see the grey you are referring too. I will have to see about picking up some of that olive skin paint when I start painting up some humans later.

These sculpts are fantastic. I’ve enjoyed all of them except that tiger, hitch is still really good. Can we get a backside view of him? Does he have any scars or wounds on him?


Thanks, Theo. I actually often struggle mightily with these skin tones, going over and over and over what I've already done trying to get it just like I see it in my mind's eye... It's nice that you like them so much because I pretty much always think about what I would do differently when I look at them.

Anyway, here's the latest:





Still need a few more layers of highlights and glazes to get it where I want it, but it's mostly on track. Also trying to plan how to add the suggestion of a hairy chest without smothering it in black... Not sure how that'll work out yet.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/09/08 04:56:47


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:




I think I'm almost done. Skin looks about like I want it after a few more layers of highlight, hairy chest is complete - still need to drybrush his hair and beard, paint his hand-wraps and headband, then knock out the sandy base, but I'm thinking I might be able to wrap him up tomorrow. Wish me luck!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/09/08 04:58:54


Post by: Theophony


The hairy chest came out great. Not Austin Powers hairy at all . You have really nailed this model and the skin tones.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/09/08 05:38:38


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
The hairy chest came out great. Not Austin Powers hairy at all . You have really nailed this model and the skin tones.

Cheers, amigo - I appreciate the kind words. I've been really conscious about trying all kinds of different skin tones with these AR models, based on the gladiatorial arenas being pretty multicultural places, and getting them to look A.) different from each other and B.) realistic has been a challenge. I think the standard anglo-centric "white" skin is really easy, but Middle Eastern (which I tried w/ this guy) and different shades of African skin has been a lot harder for me. I'm really happy that you think they've worked out.

(Also, that hairy chest wasn't easy - LOTS of Nuln Oil layers stippled on).


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/09/09 19:54:26


Post by: Wirecat


IMHO, I'd have stopped before that last stage. To my eyes it darkens him too much, especially since he is leaning forward. Still great, though, an amazing and inspiring road to follow.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/10/06 02:00:36


Post by: Gomez


Wirecat wrote:
IMHO, I'd have stopped before that last stage. To my eyes it darkens him too much, especially since he is leaning forward. Still great, though, an amazing and inspiring road to follow.


Thanks for the feedback. I've stated it before, but one of my goals for this AR project is that every model will include a technique or style that I've never used before. I've not met that 100%, but I'm really trying, and the chest hair was my new piece on this model. I just felt like he was a hairy MFer and I needed to reflect that, so I tried to paint him appropriately. I think it largely works in person TBH...

At any rate, here are the finished pics:












Otho is up next.

Any feedback/critique/questions are appreciated. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/10/06 03:16:21


Post by: Theophony


Nice work on the hair and the bloody hand looks excellent. You are a true craftsman, and a great salesman for this game.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/10/07 01:36:15


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
Nice work on the hair and the bloody hand looks excellent. You are a true craftsman, and a great salesman for this game.


Cheers, Theo. I felt like his handwrap should look like he actually needed it for something more than decoration.

And thanks for the kind words - I really do dig the game, and I think the fact that I've stuck with this project for so long is the best indicator of that. I know I'm sloooooow, but I'm definitely keeping at it!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/10/07 02:29:51


Post by: Theophony


 Gomez wrote:
 Theophony wrote:
Nice work on the hair and the bloody hand looks excellent. You are a true craftsman, and a great salesman for this game.


Cheers, Theo. I felt like his handwrap should look like he actually needed it for something more than decoration.

And thanks for the kind words - I really do dig the game, and I think the fact that I've stuck with this project for so long is the best indicator of that. I know I'm sloooooow, but I'm definitely keeping at it!


The only reason I just ordered a Bushido-the game faction over arena Rex is that I love the Asian theme more than gladiatorial. You and Gits have been wonderful showmen for each game respectfully, the fact that I was working on Asian terrain also pushed it into Bushido’s favor. Though I feel like I will eventually fall victim to the pit as well.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/12/27 04:54:18


Post by: Gomez






Working on Otho, but also started on Euryale. Working on shading/washing to crate layers of color...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2018/12/27 11:54:57


Post by: Theophony


Glad to see this one up next. Beautiful sculpt. I’m sure the color will be wonderful, but I started thinking he’s going to make her an albino wow.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/08 03:50:03


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
Not much, but here's a bit of progress on Otho...


and Euryale...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/08 06:24:28


Post by: Theophony


The scars on Otho look seriously painful , and his feathers are a beautiful color as well. The yellow on the tail is surprising. Not bad surprising in any way, just I usually think snake and think browns or greens, is this going to be close to the finished color? Or is it a base to now work glazes or washes on to bring it up to a different color?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/08 16:14:41


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
The scars on Otho look seriously painful , and his feathers are a beautiful color as well. The yellow on the tail is surprising. Not bad surprising in any way, just I usually think snake and think browns or greens, is this going to be close to the finished color? Or is it a base to now work glazes or washes on to bring it up to a different color?

Thanks for the feedback, Theo.

The yellow is just a base - I'm following a specific snakeskin pattern I found while looking for references: brown bordered by black and yellow. I figured I can layer black over anything and building the brown over the yellow will add some interesting depth to it. We'll see how it turns out...




Automatically Appended Next Post:




I like the colors on the first snake better, but I dig the stripes on the second...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/08 18:24:06


Post by: Theophony


I’m not a snake person by any means, but both of those look great. I do also enjoy the colors on the top one more though.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/09 18:04:53


Post by: DV8


Really digging the variety in the skin tones of your models! And I'm definitely stealing that idea for the tokens. I don't know what they're called or what they're used for, but presumably they're used in-game to mark stuff!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/11 03:34:36


Post by: Gomez


 DV8 wrote:
Really digging the variety in the skin tones of your models! And I'm definitely stealing that idea for the tokens. I don't know what they're called or what they're used for, but presumably they're used in-game to mark stuff!

Cheers, DV8 - definitely not at your level, but that's something I've been working on with these guys. I know you have done some bigger sized busts that hit some crazy realistic skin - got any tips/advice for me to consider as I try to improve?

UPDATE:
And decause I'm sort of foundering in some hobby aimlessness, I switched over to Nero for a bit... He's obviously supposed to be a big black bull (hence the name) but I wanted to also bring in some orange/brown on his haunches like some of bull-fighting animals have.


Fuegan Orange wash...


plus Castellan Yellow wash...


plus Reikland Fleshshade wash...


followed by mix of cheap charcoal and random brown. This is just the base - I'll add highlights and wash more brown and black in to blend the transition more, but I figured I'd record part of my method for anyone interested.








G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/11 04:54:19


Post by: Theophony


Really like where the skin tone is headed. Your fuegan orange looks nothing like mine.....


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/11 05:23:28


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
Really like where the skin tone is headed. Your fuegan orange looks nothing like mine.....

I think I must have diluted it then. TBH I often lose track of that sort of thing while working...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/14 02:31:59


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
Nero, next steps...


Nuln oil added...



Diluted black paint added. Looking a bit closer to what I'm shooting for. Next step is adding in some highlighting, then re-washing w/ black or Nuln Oil.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/14 05:05:17


Post by: Theophony


Nice transitions.

Lord knows I like my steak with racing stripes, just a little more “Well Done” .


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/18 03:47:28


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Here's the next step for Euryale: hair mostly done and snakeskin pattern started. You can see how I started out sketching the stripes with Reikland Fleshshade, then added in Agrax Earthshade before adding the black stripes.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how well it works and would love some feedback about it... Are the black stripes too thick? Too stark? Should I NOT try to follow the contours of the individual scales with them?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/18 04:00:23


Post by: Theophony


I think the black is too deep of a black to be honest. Maybe do a really dark brown and then Nuln oil on top of that. It just doesn’t have the depth of color you have put in the rest of the model so it sticks out.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/18 05:12:42


Post by: Gomez


Thanks, Theo - that's my gut instinct as well but having you state it more or less exactly like I thought it reinforces the need to make a change. I actually went that direction first, then added the paint on top because I worried it wasn't distinct enough... Ah well - back to the painting table!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/04/18 06:23:03


Post by: Theophony


You’ll do fine, nothing to worry about. It’s still leagues ahead of my work and it would do most people proud to have it I need there army.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/20 19:08:03


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:

Long overdue - I've been working nights on a second job this summer, which has absolutely wrecked my hobby time. I set aside a few hours the past couple days to assemble some models and swing the brush a bit.

More Nero...






A bit more highlighting plus lots more washes. Might try to create a bit more transition area between brown and black, but at this point I'm pretty happy. Still need to finish hooves, horns and nosering, then tackle the base. (If I'm lucki I might be able to knock it out this weekend still.)

Thanks for looking. Any and all feedback is appreciated!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/21 02:04:05


Post by: Theophony


That’s beautiful transitions on the muscles. I wouldn’t do any more to it out of fear of overdoing it.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/21 04:42:35


Post by: Gomez


Thanks, Theo - I took that advice and went ahead and finished this bad boy tonight....







And here he is facing off with Acerbus...


Plus the whole team together...


Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/21 16:02:43


Post by: Wirecat


Beautiful! Top view is my favorite... because it is less black. But black is sooo glossy!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/21 17:46:07


Post by: Gomez


Wirecat wrote:
Beautiful! Top view is my favorite... because it is less black. But black is sooo glossy!

Thanks for the feedback, WC - that's my favorite view too.

Pics taken on that particular shelf in my workroom are pretty close to the overhead fluorescent lights and since I don't have a proper lightbox set-up everything looks a little glossier there. You can see the difference in the top-down pic, which is taken with the model down on my painting desk.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/29 01:27:40


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE: Otho finished...






Thanks for looking - as always, any feedback is appreciated!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/29 01:34:12


Post by: Theophony


The feather colors are amazing, I think I’ve mentioned that before.

He sure has a bunch of scars . One would think he’d wear more armor after the first fight or two .


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/29 02:54:39


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
The feather colors are amazing, I think I’ve mentioned that before.

He sure has a bunch of scars . One would think he’d wear more armor after the first fight or two .


Ha ha - no kidding, though my understanding is that most gladiators tended to be a little on the "chunky" side so that their extra thick flesh could get cut up and bleed prodigiously without actually slowing them down too much to make for a better show in the arena. So those scars would have actually been considered a good thing for someone like Otho.

Thanks for the feedback, too - I do think you mentioned the feathers back when I posted a WIP, but I really worked hard to give them some subtle variations of color with blue, purple, and green washes so it's nice to hear that you think it's effective.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/30 17:36:28


Post by: aku-chan


Nice work, his skin is pretty horrifying in a good way!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/30 20:10:55


Post by: Gomez


 aku-chan wrote:
Nice work, his skin is pretty horrifying in a good way!

Cheers - it IS pretty gnarly, I agree. Definitely makes him stand out on the tabletop...

As an update, here are some shots of our latest Arena Rex game (first one 100% painted!):

Set-up: Lupa, Micon, Nero, and Otho on my end, and Atrox, Marcus Furius, Gaius Pallidus, Hermes, and Antaeus on Gomez Jr.'s side.


The action after a couple rounds of movement and feinting: Atrox has dragged Micon into the backfield, Lupa and Marcus are facing off doing almost nothing, while Otho and Nero have charged forward to engage Antaeus.


Here Antaeus has just used his Hip Toss ability to flip spots with Otho and put him on the very edge of the pit (bad planning on my part). The good news is, Nero pushed Antaeus the next round and then followed up so his base was overlapping both his and Otho's - which allowed me to place Otho on the other side of Nero (who can't be pushed, as he's a Titan, making him safer there) and keep him from insta-death.


Atrox is just about to score two Drags from his damage tree here, allowing him to move to the left side of the pit and pull Micon in. That was the first defeat of the match, and happened before Micon could do much of anything.


Here Nero has just gone Wild during a Clear Turn - and unfortunately he ended up attacking his own teammate Otho rather than the two enemies who were also valid targets (dang dice!). Thankfully he only did a couple damage and ended up moving the action a little further from the pit.


And this is the end-stage of the match: Nero puts Atrox out of his misery, Hermes dispatches Otho, leaving Nero vs. Hermes for the Last Men Standing rules. Nero had his whole second card to put into play still and Hermes's Aegis of Fame ability (which makes his opponent have to burn a Favor dice every turn just to attack him) goes out the window when he's LMS, so the end result was almost inevitable but it was still an enjoyable game (as always). I think the way the game is balanced to almost always end up with 1 vs. 1 LMS is fairly genius - we've never had more than a single fighter alive at the end of a match, and things tend to come down to the action being one attack away from a victory for one side or the other.

In other news, I also got some WIP shots from this AM:

Aemilia - not who I was planning on starting next, but I got the tiger pelt idea and wanted to give it a shot ASAP.


And Euryale - who I intended to start on, but after a couple false starts on her snakeskin pattern had paint too thick in a few places... So into the Simple Green she went. I'll soak her until tomorrow, then scrub and wash and re-primer her and start over.



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/30 20:46:51


Post by: Boss Salvage


Thanks for the batrep, makes me even more interested in finally getting my gladiators onto the tabletop. Looking like Q1 2020 at this point, around 7 years after kickstarting

Pelt is off to a great start!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/07/31 03:54:07


Post by: Gomez


 Boss Salvage wrote:
Thanks for the batrep, makes me even more interested in finally getting my gladiators onto the tabletop. Looking like Q1 2020 at this point, around 7 years after kickstarting

Pelt is off to a great start!


Better late than never IMO. It really is an entertaining game - I've never been bored or disinterested during a game - and the models are great.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/02 01:12:02


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
Here's where Euryale is now...


This is pretty much what I'm aiming for...


As always, thanks for looking - any feedback whatsoever is appreciated!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/04 17:37:37


Post by: Wirecat


Thank You for battle report - very entertaining and informative. And thank You for a shot of Euryale in that jar - crop off the top with the screw guides for the lid and it is a ready illustration for a creepy story about geeks who have their drinks on snakes, not on rocks! Thanks for brightening the day!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/04 23:11:01


Post by: Gomez


Wirecat wrote:
Thank You for battle report - very entertaining and informative. And thank You for a shot of Euryale in that jar - crop off the top with the screw guides for the lid and it is a ready illustration for a creepy story about geeks who have their drinks on snakes, not on rocks! Thanks for brightening the day!

Glad you liked the little battle review, and the idea of taking a drink from a glass of snake and green cleaner is just disgusting... thanks for the image.

Also a little bit of an update...




Browns next, I think (wraps and tunic/loincloth both) then on to metallics. Trying to decide if a I want to try some blue woad paint on her anywhere...

As always, thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/08 21:59:05


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
A bit more work on Aemilia. Went ahead and gave her a little woad warpaint and added a nod to her ludus, Legio XIII.




As always, any feedback is good feedback. Thanks for looking.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/12 20:27:41


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
Aemilia done! Had a Vallejo squeeze bottle w/ a bit of a jam that ended up spraying her legs and base with a nice coat of gold that I had to fix, but overall pretty straightforward. Definitely like her cloak the best, and I think the woad painting is quite effective at arm's reach (looks a tad untidy up close TBH).




And here she is with her buddy Gaius Pallidus...


As always, thanks for looking! Any feedback is appreciated!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/12 22:37:45


Post by: Theophony


Another knockout of a model. Woad paint looks good to me, and the animal pelt came out great. Nice cohesive colors for the warband with the spots of red....though that could be bad around the bull .

I also love the fact that this game takes place in one location, so all the basing is the same and has little extra needed on them. Between the bases and terrain it really helps immerse the battlefield.



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/12 23:05:27


Post by: Gomez


Thanks for the feedback, Theo. A lot of people have really strict color-coding for each ludus (warband, team, cohort, etc.) but I made the decision early to paint every model with a bit of red so when I mix and match them during games they still look cohesive. They still have their own style but there's at least one thread connecting everyone (I think Noxius is the only exception, but he's just a lowly slave so he doesn't really count ).

I was actually just laughing at myself about the basing today... The board, each of the terrain elements, and every single model all have ONE style of basing and I STILL forget the exact steps I took last time every single time. It's ridiculous - I'm just lucky that I sort of just splash paint around the bases so they don't need to be exactly the same.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/13 13:53:33


Post by: Boss Salvage


I've been quiet as you posted WIPs, but the end result looks great, woad is solid, pelt is ace and I really like the shield and worn numbers. +1 on cohesive bases - similarly all my kill teams are based the same, and I think my Infinity models too, now that I think about it.

Whereabouts in CO are you? My mom lives there and I'm typically there every or every other winter.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/13 18:06:41


Post by: Gomez


 Boss Salvage wrote:
I've been quiet as you posted WIPs, but the end result looks great, woad is solid, pelt is ace and I really like the shield and worn numbers. +1 on cohesive bases - similarly all my kill teams are based the same, and I think my Infinity models too, now that I think about it.

Whereabouts in CO are you? My mom lives there and I'm typically there every or every other winter.

Thanks for the feedback, Boss. I appreciate it. I'm up north in Fort Collins. Where is your mom's place?



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/13 20:53:21


Post by: Boss Salvage


She lives in Boulder, spouse and I typically lurk Denver but they're interested in seeing more of the West. Good chance we'll be out next Spring / Summer, coincidentally when my Arena Rex should be painted .......


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/14 04:42:03


Post by: Gomez


Game on!

Seriously - we're less than an hour from Denver and if you can make it work with whatever your schedule holds I'd love to throw down against someone other than my two boys... Pop back in here and remind me when you are in the state and we can definitely meet up for a beer and a game.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/14 05:31:42


Post by: Gallahad


The transition from brown to black on that bull is truly phenomenal. Thanks for sharing.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/14 12:32:50


Post by: Fifty


Wow, that is what gaming should look like!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/14 14:32:11


Post by: Boss Salvage


Cheers dude! I'll keep you posted


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2019/08/14 18:33:34


Post by: Gomez


Gallahad wrote:The transition from brown to black on that bull is truly phenomenal. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! That was actually surprisingly easy to accomplish - if you go back a page or so you can see that I started with yellow and orange, then really just started using washes to adjust the colors (I did highlight a little, but only a few sloppy splashes of color TBH): Reikland Fleshshade, Agrax Earthshade, and Druchii Violet mostly. I painted the black parts gray, highlighted a bit, then started washing with black, which I overlapped with the washes from the brown section. Super simple to do, so I'm glad you find it so effective!

Fifty wrote:Wow, that is what gaming should look like!

Cheers, amigo - I appreciate the sentiment!

Boss Salvage wrote:Cheers dude! I'll keep you posted



G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/02 20:15:03


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
First time swinging the old paint brush in months. Got a bee in my bonnet about finally painting the Op: Icestorm stuff that's been sitting on my shelf for a few years now so I re-WIPed my previously yellow WIP Nomad alguaciles.

Still quite a bit to do, but I'm digging the turquoise. Threw together an easy-to-remember recipe and just got started (which isn't really my forte).

As always, any feedback is good feedback! Thanks for looking.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/06 17:47:51


Post by: Wirecat


Praise to that bee (in Your bonnet)! As always with Your miniatures - very detailed work with skin tones, as little as these nomads are showing it. I'm sure they will get their weapons in equally high standard! And an armor recipe, apparently, is a success, both contrasting enough and bright enough. Cheers!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/07 15:24:12


Post by: Gomez


Cheers, Wirecat - appreciate the response.

Actually finished them up last night - nothing special, a little rushed and sloppy, but they're my first ever finished Infinity models, so that's cool...


Also used my trusty old-school Vamp model (who has some great textures to test colors on, as you can see) to test out a recipe for the skin tone I want to use on some of my Combined Army guys (Unidrons, Anathematics, etc.). I was shooting for "fleshy but clearly alien"...


Not sure what's next, but I've taken some baby steps on both Arena Rex and Infinity models, so we'll see what grabs my attention next.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/07 18:20:25


Post by: Theophony


That is a wonderful cool blue on the infinity crew.

The vamp/alien flesh is turning out nicely as well.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/07 23:21:41


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
That is a wonderful cool blue on the infinity crew.

The vamp/alien flesh is turning out nicely as well.


Cheers, Theo - thanks for the feedback. It's Army Painter's Toxic Mist with some Reaper Heather Blue paint as a wash, then highlighted/washed back and forth some more. I really like how it turned out - but looking at them now I think I need to work some purple glazes in to sharpen the contrast a bit. Maybe I'll just let them be and try that when I move on to the Mobile Brigada...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/08 11:02:48


Post by: IGtR=


Looks really striking for such a simple job. Would be interesting to see what a purple glaze or three does to the contrast, but I think they look cracking at the moment


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/08 20:00:33


Post by: Theophony


I really like them without the purple so far. It’s such a glowing white/blue.

Realized the alien flesh reminds me of Vorlon ships from Babylon 5 .


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/09 14:05:44


Post by: aku-chan


Nice job on the Infinity minis!
It's not a range I have any interest in myself, but I do enjoy seeing other people painting them.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/10 23:23:50


Post by: Gomez


@aku-chan: Thanks! I went back and forth about whether I was interested for a couple years, then decided, " it, I'll just grab a starter box," which then turned into me buying the Combined Army OCF box, the Anathematic, etc. It's a cooler game than I realized, and I've only been playing the Junior version.

@Theophony: Never watched Babylon 5, but I assume the Vorlon are cool.

@IGtR=: Thanks! (Still undecided about that purple, though).

UPDATE:
And, of course I moved onto the Combined Army models instead of sticking to the Pan-O guys from Op: Icestorm. So, here are some of the steps I've gone through for the Unidrons...

Using these paints (R to L)...


I got my first Unidron's skin started...


Then I washed with more thinned Nihilakh Oxide and Baal Red in some key spots and base-coated the armor with Reaper's Weathered Stone...


Finally, I washed the armor with super thinned Shadowed Stone and cheap-o Timberline Green...


Next, I'll go back with Weathered Stone + white to highlight the armor, then probably splash something interesting into the recesses (N. Oxide? Something brown or green? We shall see).

As also, any feedback is good feedback. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/12 00:00:08


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
More progress...


He looks a little washed out (the fluorescent lights in my work room do that with some colors unfortunately), but most of the way done, I'd say. I used a stippling technique to add back the original gray (Weathered Stone), then thinned straight white and did the same thing as a highlight. Glazed some darker gray, stippled some Nuln Oil into the recesses, then finished with another thinned white edge highlight. Next steps: need to highlight the plasma gun, hit up a couple lights on the armor, then figure out how to do the base.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/12 01:53:01


Post by: Theophony


That armor is looking neat. And a very vibrant yellow on the gun.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/12 21:08:37


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
First Combined Army unidron: done.




(I tried processing these a bit using my 100% amateur Photoshop skills to try and make the colors a little "truer" FYI).

Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/18 02:51:57


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
Accidentally started in on Anum. I actually got some base-coating done on the next couple Unidrons for Infinity, but then I picked up this guy and basecoated his skin, then used some leftover brown to start on the hyena fur, then started messing around with some orange... One thing led to another and here we are.


Obviously need to tidy up the hyena (this thing seriously needs a name) fur, need to do Anum's skin, need to replace the club that I ing broke... So, decent start but still a lot to do.

I'd love to hear you feedback. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/18 06:21:18


Post by: Theophony


I hate you and your “accidental” awesomeness. Might be alcohol and 1am talking, but still. It all looks amazing. Love his orange wrap.

As for names.....Bruce. Because the joker has two hyenas (can’t remember the names, ask Graven), and since there’s only one, might as well call him Bruce so ITV doesn’t get confusing.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/18 13:39:20


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


That's a gorgeous mini! Great job on both the cloth and the hyena, they look ace!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/18 20:11:10


Post by: Gomez


Theophony wrote:I hate you and your “accidental” awesomeness. Might be alcohol and 1am talking, but still. It all looks amazing. Love his orange wrap.

As for names.....Bruce. Because the joker has two hyenas (can’t remember the names, ask Graven), and since there’s only one, might as well call him Bruce so ITV doesn’t get confusing.

Ha ha - thanks, Theo. The accident was starting on him in the first place when I was "supposed" to be working on other stuff. And I think I'll go with Bruce. S/he looks like a Bruce to me.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:That's a gorgeous mini! Great job on both the cloth and the hyena, they look ace!

Cheers, Gwyn - thanks for the feedback. I wanted the cloth to suggest a kente pattern without having to actually paint it in this scale.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
UPDATE:

Anum finished.




As soon as Red Republic Games previewed this guy, I knew he'd be on my shelf - it just took a looooong time for me to get him finished. He's technically one of the Morituri (Egyptian death ludus) but he opens up the Bestiae ludus, too, which is Anum plus any number of Beasts you can field.

Now here's my version of a Bestiae cohort...


And the entire crew...


Thanks for looking - I'd love to hear your feedback.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/19 14:37:54


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


The chest, face, and gorget definitely rose to the level of the fur and cloth. Fantastic job!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/19 19:05:11


Post by: aku-chan


He's looking great, especially the hyena!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/19 20:23:50


Post by: Theophony


Love the facial chalk, really gives him a nice punisher vibe .

The monster group just looks fearsome, good thing he has that hyena to keep the others in check .


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/19 21:33:47


Post by: IGtR=


Latest bunch looking great, and whilst you may be having problems with colour correction, they regardless look fantastic!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/20 02:40:32


Post by: Gomez


Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:The chest, face, and gorget definitely rose to the level of the fur and cloth. Fantastic job!

Cheers! I appreciate the kind words.

aku-chan wrote:He's looking great, especially the hyena!

Thanks - as with all the animal models I've done for this game, I've really made realism a priority, so I consult tons of visual references for each of them. If I'd just started in painting him, I would have a perfectly fine model but sticking to the actual examples helped a ton.

Theophony wrote:Love the facial chalk, really gives him a nice punisher vibe .

The monster group just looks fearsome, good thing he has that hyena to keep the others in check .

Thanks, Theo. Though after sitting on it for a bit, I think I might go back and try the other bodypaint scheme I debated using... I dig how the face turned out but I'm not really happy with the torso. And I agree - I had to laugh at how the yippy little hyena was going to keep the rest of the giant badass beasts in line.

IGtR= wrote:Latest bunch looking great, and whilst you may be having problems with colour correction, they regardless look fantastic!

Thanks a ton! I appreciate it!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/26 19:37:05


Post by: Wirecat


Fantastic work on that hyena handler. I especially like the cloth that has a feeling of a cloth, very rough and rather firm, and how simple contrasting patterns accents it. Congratulations!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/27 00:36:13


Post by: monkeytroll


Anum is great, you nailed the look of painted skin. Cloth is really nice too, but my favourite part is the hyena, excellent work


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/04/28 03:00:30


Post by: Gomez


Wirecat wrote:Fantastic work on that hyena handler. I especially like the cloth that has a feeling of a cloth, very rough and rather firm, and how simple contrasting patterns accents it. Congratulations!

Thanks - the model itself has some texture built into the skirt, but that is definitely something I tried to accentuate. Glad you noticed!

monkeytroll wrote:Anum is great, you nailed the look of painted skin. Cloth is really nice too, but my favourite part is the hyena, excellent work

Cheers! I used a couple different hyena references to get it right. I think I would've missed how dark the front of the legs are in relation to the backs if I just tried to ad-lib it.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/28 00:47:40


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
Been a while since I swung the brush a bit, but free time over winter break inspired me to have a go at a few minis. So, I finished Euryale, the first Arena Rex gorgon model. I have to admit that I wasn't keen on her at first since I was mostly into the more realistic fighters, but I ended up snagging her awhile back and am super glad I did. The model is awesome, and her rules in-game aren't too shabby either.

First off, here's my inspiration for her snakeskin: a white-lipped python.

I've seen this model done with all sorts of traditional python/boa snakeskin patterns, like what you'd find on boots or handbags, but I wanted something different that would still pop. When I found this snake I knew it was the one, but I ended up taking two or three false-starts on it before getting it done pretty much exactly like I had hoped.











G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/28 19:05:19


Post by: Theophony


I think you nailed it . A great source for an alternative scheme, and I love the dark scales to help blend into the night.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/29 00:18:16


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
I think you nailed it . A great source for an alternative scheme, and I love the dark scales to help blend into the night.

Cheers, Theo! Thanks for commenting. It's been a loooooooong time since I felt motivated to paint at all (work, kids, other hobbies, etc. blah-blah-blah) and I was a little worried I'd bitten off more than I could chew with her early on. Once I settled on using a drybrush-wash-and-repeat system on the iridescence of the scales it ended up being the simplest part of the model.

UPDATE:
Here is the art for Crassus, the giant Arena Rex bear:

Looks sweet!

Buuuuuuut, here's the model:

WTF? Is it a bear-ape hybrid? I don't even really know what the sculptor was going for TBH...

So (with a little prompting) my kids got me the La Meridiana grizzly model for Christmas as a substitute. It's from their 54mm historical line so I was a little worried about how big it would be in relation to the other AR beasts, but here it is beside Leo:

Not bad at all, IMO.

So, I got started painting him up today...

I'm seeing how far along I can get only using washes - I know I'll need to do some more traditional brushwork and some drybrushing eventually, but I like the results thus far.

As always, any feedback is good feedback. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/29 05:34:37


Post by: Arakasi


Glad to have found this blog today - and thank you for continuing it. Very inspirational. I really loved the early Bloodbowl work, but stayed for the amazing Arena Rex work (which I knew nothing about before this).

Euryale looks lovely. As per Theophony, I think you nailed the snakeskin inspiration and it really pops against the white marble. That said, I feel there is almost too much white. I'd suggest a different colour for the underbelly - but what, I couldn't say . I think more transition from snake to skin would have been nicer too - it's almost enough on the back, but noticeably lacking on the front.

(Not) Crassus is coming along nicely - your mix of research and talent paying off once again. I look forward to seeing him completed.

On a side note - I take it Leo is pinned to his base? I don't think I've seen a model supported by a proportionally smaller footprint, and at the far edge of the model too!

Keep up the good work.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/29 13:44:18


Post by: aku-chan


Amazing job on those snake scales!
The bear is looking good too.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/29 16:27:26


Post by: Theophony


Poor Crassus the Cave Bear . No one loves him. I couldn't find it here in your thread, though I just did a quick look again, I guess it was on the forum for Arena Rex. I saw that they had mentioned that the type of Bear that Crassus is supposed to represent is a breed that was hunted to extinction and had several differences to modern bears. Either way he is fugly , and the model you chose to represent him is great. Any chance of a side by side of the two to get an idea of size difference if any?

Also, looking back at all your other painted models I re-noticed the black trim on the bases. I think that helps to bring in the snake lady's coloring too.

Also, Also, What is your painting formula for the sand? Is it just sand and PVA mix, primed and then painted with Zandri Dust? Or is there another 14-15 steps that I am missing?

I may have just downloaded a bunch of free Arena Rex .stl files to print the Playmobile walls, roman columns and other assorted items. I still have yet to order the models . Too many games and not enough opponents. Though their current sale and shipping deals are hard to pass up.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/29 22:12:26


Post by: Gomez


Arakasi wrote:Glad to have found this blog today - and thank you for continuing it. Very inspirational. I really loved the early Bloodbowl work, but stayed for the amazing Arena Rex work (which I knew nothing about before this).

Euryale looks lovely. As per Theophony, I think you nailed the snakeskin inspiration and it really pops against the white marble. That said, I feel there is almost too much white. I'd suggest a different colour for the underbelly - but what, I couldn't say . I think more transition from snake to skin would have been nicer too - it's almost enough on the back, but noticeably lacking on the front.

(Not) Crassus is coming along nicely - your mix of research and talent paying off once again. I look forward to seeing him completed.

On a side note - I take it Leo is pinned to his base? I don't think I've seen a model supported by a proportionally smaller footprint, and at the far edge of the model too!

Keep up the good work.

Wow - you went waaaaaay back in this thread! Thanks for commenting - you're the second person with the feedback around the white belly, but that really was an intentional choice. I wanted the black/white contrast from the start (though I did toy with some speckles where they intersect before painting over them).

I agree about Leo's infamous point of contact. He is most definitely pinned. I drilled into his leg further than I thought possible by angling so I went into his leg above the ankle, using thicker gauge wire than usual, and bending the excess wire up under the base rather than cutting most of it off. So far so good!

aku-chan wrote:Amazing job on those snake scales!
The bear is looking good too.

Cheers!

Theophony wrote:Poor Crassus the Cave Bear . No one loves him. I couldn't find it here in your thread, though I just did a quick look again, I guess it was on the forum for Arena Rex. I saw that they had mentioned that the type of Bear that Crassus is supposed to represent is a breed that was hunted to extinction and had several differences to modern bears. Either way he is fugly , and the model you chose to represent him is great. Any chance of a side by side of the two to get an idea of size difference if any?

Also, looking back at all your other painted models I re-noticed the black trim on the bases. I think that helps to bring in the snake lady's coloring too.

Also, Also, What is your painting formula for the sand? Is it just sand and PVA mix, primed and then painted with Zandri Dust? Or is there another 14-15 steps that I am missing?

I may have just downloaded a bunch of free Arena Rex .stl files to print the Playmobile walls, roman columns and other assorted items. I still have yet to order the models . Too many games and not enough opponents. Though their current sale and shipping deals are hard to pass up.

I think you're referencing someone in the Arena Rex News thread trying to justify the awfulness of the sculpt by claiming it was maybe supposed to be an Atlas bear - but that was just a type of brown bear that lived in the mountains of northern Africa and didn't really have any physical differences (like a grizzly is just a brown bear that lives in North America). And I don't actually own the Crassus model - no way I was going to reward RRG for commissioning and casting that. I try to support the company as much as possible, but that's a bridge too far.

For the sand bases, the first thing is that I use super fine sand. After that, it's Zandri Dust -> wash with extremely thin black -> wash with thin brown (sometimes Agrax Earthshade, sometimes just a random brown) -> [optional] splash around some of GW's yellow wash (whatever it's called) -> successive drybrushes of Zandri Dust + Delta's Antique White -> drybrush Antique White

That Playmobil arena is still out there on my wishlist... I saw it pop up not too long ago for <$50 and almost pulled the trigger, but the difficulty storing it due to its size made me pause. And I hear you about "too many games, not enough time" - I don't really game much at all anymore, just paint models for things I can play with my kids, which means few models and accessible to casual players. Arena Rex fits that to a tee if you ever decide to actually buy models. Simple rules, easy to learn, layers of complexity that level up as you do (and the models are great, obviously).


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/31 20:29:58


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
Crassus done!




Very fast paint job on this guy, but pretty happy with how he turned out. Used washes/glazes for about 90% of the work, with a little drybrushing on the fur and traditional brushwork for his snout and mouth. Nice model overall, but the claws on both sets of limbs were sort of a mess (two broken off completely, a few not very well cast). Ultimately a real pleasure to paint.

He's pretty cool as a game piece as well: he's technically a two-card beast, meaning once you "defeat" the first card you pull out the second and play that one, but he's got the skill Unruly in his second phase, which makes him a living hazard for the rest of the match (the second card doesn't count in terms of list-building). So if you take him in your cohort he could help you a ton in the first part of a game and then wreck your face in the second! He needs very careful decision-making to make the best use of him.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/31 20:37:02


Post by: ShadowsAndDust


Wow, you did an amazing job with the fur on that bear miniature. As for the original Crassus model, well, it looks pretty good except for the head. The eyes are WAY too high up on its face and the nose is just wrong.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2020/12/31 20:54:44


Post by: Ragsta


Now that is truly stupendous, as is the gorgeous work on the lady snake hybrid (forgive my generalising!). Very impressive stuff sir


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/01 00:08:17


Post by: Arakasi


Crassus looks good. It is interesting to watch the darkening of the colours across the four or five stages you photographed. Is there much work hidden between the photos?


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/01 02:31:25


Post by: Theophony


Wonderful work. I am really tempted to get a couple of the cohorts right now with their sale and free shipping over $75. Are three man teams good enough for starters? Do you usually play 3v3, or do you go bigger games? Just the thought of designing an arena is really tempting me right now.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/01 02:47:08


Post by: Gomez


ShadowsAndDust wrote:Wow, you did an amazing job with the fur on that bear miniature. As for the original Crassus model, well, it looks pretty good except for the head. The eyes are WAY too high up on its face and the nose is just wrong.

Cheers - thanks for the kind words!

Ragsta wrote:Now that is truly stupendous, as is the gorgeous work on the lady snake hybrid (forgive my generalising!). Very impressive stuff sir

Thank you!

Arakasi wrote:Crassus looks good. It is interesting to watch the darkening of the colours across the four or five stages you photographed. Is there much work hidden between the photos?

Not really - the idea I went with was lighter colors first, then darken them along the way. That sort of layers the colors in and allows for a little of that yellow/gold to come through even after I've added so much brown and black. Maybe I should do a video some day to show the process...

Theophony wrote:Wonderful work. I am really tempted to get a couple of the cohorts right now with their sale and free shipping over $75. Are three man teams good enough for starters? Do you usually play 3v3, or do you go bigger games? Just the thought of designing an arena is really tempting me right now.

Thanks, Theo. 3x3 is totally fine, though I find things open up a bit with 5x5. I was a Kickstarter backer, so I got a lot of random parts to start with, then added to them over time, so my thinking/process has been different than others'. I think a couple starter sets would be a great way to start.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/05 00:41:11


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
Monkeying around with some new Arena Rex terrain...

First, a duelling circle for the Duellum scenario:

It's a cool scenario, where two fighters face off in the center of the circle while the rest of their cohorts battle around them. There are a few special rules that sort of force you to focus on the duel as much as possible, which adds a little drama, and once one of the duellers gets pushed out of the circle they are fair game for everyone else. (It's supposed to be 5 inches across but mine is based on an old CD so it's more like 4.8 inches.)

Added a little blood trail to hint at a bit of a story too.

Next, some spikes and coals:


The spikes are pretty obvious, but the rock piles will be painted like burning coals - both will be Wounding Hazards in the arena (i.e. they cause damage when fighters are pushed into them). Might also experiment with some "burning condition" rules...

Anyway, feedback is always appreciated!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/05 20:48:21


Post by: IGtR=


I hear good things about Arena Rex, i.e. that it is super fun, and you are doing your best to make us all buy into it! Great looking models, and some fun wounding hazards (which sucker in those of us who love such bits and bobs). They should be paying you some sort of commission (even if you don't like their dreadful bear model)

Thanks for sharing


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/06 16:32:48


Post by: Gomez


 IGtR= wrote:
I hear good things about Arena Rex, i.e. that it is super fun, and you are doing your best to make us all buy into it! Great looking models, and some fun wounding hazards (which sucker in those of us who love such bits and bobs). They should be paying you some sort of commission (even if you don't like their dreadful bear model)

Thanks for sharing


No problem - thanks for the positive comments. I just do it all for the love of the game, though.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/10 01:24:07


Post by: Gomez


UPDATE:
A little more terrain for my arena...

Dueling circle:


Dais:

(Old CD, orange juice lid, sand, and miscellany)

Arena center options:


Hot coals:


Also got a handful of gladiators about 20-30% done, but didn't get pics yet. Next time!

And as always, any feedback is good feedback. Thanks for looking!


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/13 02:42:14


Post by: Theophony


I like the cracked earth effect in your circle, and the Tropicana lid is brilliant.such a well thought out table and accessories.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/15 03:06:46


Post by: Gomez


 Theophony wrote:
I like the cracked earth effect in your circle, and the Tropicana lid is brilliant.such a well thought out table and accessories.

Cheers, Theo. I wanted something to break up all the sand for the center of the circle so I'm glad it works for you.

And I was literally just thinking today about making a second more authentic round arena, and how to plan it so the terrain elements could be cross compatible. Might be a cool project to document...


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/15 09:04:46


Post by: Theophony


 Gomez wrote:
 Theophony wrote:
I like the cracked earth effect in your circle, and the Tropicana lid is brilliant.such a well thought out table and accessories.

Cheers, Theo. I wanted something to break up all the sand for the center of the circle so I'm glad it works for you.

And I was literally just thinking today about making a second more authentic round arena, and how to plan it so the terrain elements could be cross compatible. Might be a cool project to document...


It just might be subscribed to if your thread was not already . If you have a 3D printer they have files for a not-playmobile arena. It’s why I’m so tempted, but it would just take forever to print due to size.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/15 11:13:20


Post by: Tyranid Horde


That terrain for arena rex is really great, I particularly like the hot coals and the dais.


G's big thread o' WIP: Now featuring ARENA REX (plus some INFINITY) @ 2021/01/16 02:52:11


Post by: Gomez


Theophony wrote:
 Gomez wrote:
 Theophony wrote:
I like the cracked earth effect in your circle, and the Tropicana lid is brilliant.such a well thought out table and accessories.

Cheers, Theo. I wanted something to break up all the sand for the center of the circle so I'm glad it works for you.

And I was literally just thinking today about making a second more authentic round arena, and how to plan it so the terrain elements could be cross compatible. Might be a cool project to document...


It just might be subscribed to if your thread was not already . If you have a 3D printer they have files for a not-playmobile arena. It’s why I’m so tempted, but it would just take forever to print due to size.

The size of that thing is what has kept me from trying to track down a copy. I think I'll mimic the base of the arena I have for my next version: pink Dow styrofoam, MDF base, etc. I like the effect of the pits it allows me to have, but it's not SO big that I can't store it easily. As cool as it would be to have the walls and viewing boxes, I really have no idea where I would put it in my house when not in use. So, it's a non-starter unfortunately (despite how cool it is).

Tyranid Horde wrote:That terrain for arena rex is really great, I particularly like the hot coals and the dais.

Thanks - I don't play as much as I'd like, but I'm never at a loss for ideas. Glad you like them!

Also, here's the latest on the WIP painting front:

That's Septimus (on foot), Septimus (rider for Nero), Aquila, Archidamos, Theophania, and Hagal that I've been tinkering with (plus both version of Cato and Hroka plus their mounts just behind them). Still a long way to go on all of them, but hopefully posting them here will give me a push to get them all finished sooner rather than later.

As always, questions, comments, critique, etc. are all appreciated! Thanks for looking.