I pulled a few of you images to my desktop as inspiration and a guide for projects for me in the future (simple things you do so well such as the windows on flyers, holes in buildings, your bridge and of course your miniature painting).
Congratulations on brilliant work!
No problem! Glad they are an inspiration to you.
Ratius wrote:Truely description defying stuff.
Mind boggling, well done sounds trite.
From deep in the woods somewhere in Indiana, I have returned with a Hordes army for this year's Clash for a Cure.
Clash is a large independent Warmahordes tournament the weekend of September 18th in Killeen, Texas raising money for the American Cancer Society. This display and army will be a raffle prize, all proceeds going to the charity. To get directions and register:
The display is made from a working fountain, heavily reworked with clay and other materials to represent the magical and ancient forests the vengeful forces of Orboros dwell in. The original shape was heavily built up to represent terrain in miniature scale, as well as to change the water flow to allow for display of models.
Most importantly, go to the event and buy tickets! You could win this display as well be supporting a great cause.
My latest army commission - a Deadpool theme Elysian army with custom backdrop. "The Goon Army" of toadies and foot soldiers ready to do the dirty work when Deadpool is busy making tacos.
Much careful thought and time were put into research and creating the personality of the army and display. The process was a blast and an extra treat on top of what was already a great group of models and scheme.
Interested in a uniquely themed army? You are in the right place, so drop me line!
Another stunner of an army, well smashed out. Maybe the one downside is the lack of cameos by other DP standouts, but that may well not have been part of the order, so meh!
Another stunner of an army, well smashed out. Maybe the one downside is the lack of cameos by other DP standouts, but that may well not have been part of the order, so meh!
- Salvage
FeindusMaximus wrote:Love the slogans, well done Sir
Knightley wrote:So much personality in this army is awesome!
In the fresh brightness of the near future, someone is going to be playing Space Hulk! This is the fourth commission set I have done over the years, and always enjoy the challenge of matching them to the box art. The bases as usual are Dragonforge Tech Deck bases integrated in with the original bases using plastic stock. They always add a little more professional look than the stock bases.
Want a similar Space Hulk set, or have your heart set on a Blood Angel or 'Nid army? You are in the right place, so drop me a line. Until next time.
Wow what an impressive number of unique and well painted armies. I like all the colours. Good on you, hope you have many more years of such productivity and many customers.
I am particularly amused by the where's wally marine, and especially impressed by the radiant child titan.
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http://eepurl.com/7tJhv
I have returned from a long journey to the frozen north, and brought back for your viewing pleasure a massive Ogre army with an icy theme. The paint scheme for this army was very particular, and a fun challenge, based on the client's taste in older fantasy art and specific tastes in color. I have painted so many armies now that it is second nature, painting is it seems my natural resting state, so the added mental exercise of the original and unique armies that have been coming through are a lot of fun and add another layer of enjoyment to the process. I feel I nailed his original mental vision without a doubt, and that is as rewarding as actually finishing such a large army.
Great things are in store for the rest of the year and 2016. Up next is a project of 28 Imperial Knights in one go, and of course the new year and the wrap up of 2015, with a look back at this year's projects. Until then have a wonderful holiday season!
pax macharia wrote: Your work is both humbling and inspiring at once, thanks for your continued posts.
Thank you, that means a great deal. I don't get to post as often as I would like outside of updates, always working away, but glad people other than the client enjoy the work as well.
Four different schemes, five different clients, one massive update to kick off 2016. One of the biggest projects I have ever done and it feels good to get them posted! It would be a shame to post all 200 images and all groups at once and drown any one out, so here is an overview of the project and a few teaser images of the individual groups. Over the course of the next few weeks each group will be posted individually, which consist of:
Terryn 1 (5) - Traditional Terryn heraldry with a gifted Archon from the Mechanicum.
Terryn 2 (3) - Terryn with a twist in the heraldry.
Rebel Admech (14) - A dark version of traditional Admech
House Aeschylid - Unique purple and white house to accompany a future Sons of Medusa army.
House Yakuza - Koi, Samurai, and Sakura Knight. A fun and off the wall exercise in blending Imperial and Japanese inspiration.
Plenty for everyone, from the traditional Terryn to the wild Yakuza knights. All blended by hand over solid basecoat, giving a realistic, deep and smooth finish. Bases built out of clay for the most part. All resin pinned with 2mm brass rod, and long torso rods for transport. Quite a few conversions and lots of posing work as well.
Want in on group projects in the future? Sign up for the mailing list for specials and regular news:
http://eepurl.com/7tJhv
Thanks to all clients involved for being a part, and coming along for the ride. Sad it's over, but there's always more to paint. Back to work!
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godswildcard wrote: That army is amazing! It's good to see newly painted WHFB armies out there!
But I MUST know....where did you get that dragon???
The painting in and of itself is fantastic, and so consistent across the board.
But what impresses me far more is that you built all of those without absolutely losing it. I've built six and thats more than enough to never want to build another one, this is on a whole other level of hell.
Four different schemes, five different clients, one massive update to kick off 2016. One of the biggest projects I have ever done and it feels good to get them posted! It would be a shame to post all 200 images and all groups at once and drown any one out, so here is an overview of the project and a few teaser images of the individual groups. Over the course of the next few weeks each group will be posted individually, which consist of:
Terryn 1 (5) - Traditional Terryn heraldry with a gifted Archon from the Mechanicum.
Terryn 2 (3) - Terryn with a twist in the heraldry.
Rebel Admech (14) - A dark version of traditional Admech
House Aeschylid - Unique purple and white house to accompany a future Sons of Medusa army.
House Yakuza - Koi, Samurai, and Sakura Knight. A fun and off the wall exercise in blending Imperial and Japanese inspiration.
Stunning work to start the year off, what a fantastic spread. Difficult to pick a favorite crew, but the shear scale of the Rebel Admech maniple alone is extra impressive.
Ratius wrote:Yee Gods!
Is that freehand on several of the shoulder pads? 0_o
Yes. Everything is either straight freehand, or heavily repainted decals. I do not mind using decals when doing traditional icons, but the trick is to apply them after basecoating and repainting them.
Iechine wrote:The painting in and of itself is fantastic, and so consistent across the board.
But what impresses me far more is that you built all of those without absolutely losing it. I've built six and thats more than enough to never want to build another one, this is on a whole other level of hell.
I lost it a long time ago.
whalemusic360 wrote:Those are some nice knights. Did you fab the crown bits on the red Asian style knight, or is that form something?
No those are an aftermarket bit. Google shapeways knights, and you should find them.
GiraffeX wrote:Wow those nights are lovely, I'm a bit lost for words and the freehand oh the freehand is so good.
FeindusMaximus wrote:WTF, that is a lot of Knights.......
anticitizen013 wrote:That is an absurd amount of Knights. They look amazing! Great work!
Thank you!
Icelord wrote:Can you show a close up of how you did the cherry blossoms? Can you elaborate as to what you did to paint them?
beautiful work as always btw!
They're actually pretty simple, freehand a couple deep tones for the trunks and branches, then swishes of a few different colors for the petals, then highlight those.
Boss Salvage wrote:Stunning work to start the year off, what a fantastic spread. Difficult to pick a favorite crew, but the shear scale of the Rebel Admech maniple alone is extra impressive.
- Salvage
yokoyomama wrote:You are truly an inspiration to us all.
Thank you both, you are too kind!
Back to work, but I will be posting more updates with the closeups soon.
With the overview posted, time to go into each individual set of Knights. First is batch one of two House Terryn. These feature the upgrade kits, couple of Forge World Knights and Dragon Forge bases. Lots of freehand alongside a smooth shade of blue - all shading, blended highlighting and weathering hand painted over solid basecoats. The Acheron is a gifted Knight from the Mechanicum, blending the iconography of both together.
The most traditional and "standard" of the set, for the anti-heretical out there. Very proud of the reds and blues on these and the weathering within them. Very tedious but worth every hour.
That's a lot of Knights but still only 5 of 29! See you next time for more.
Time for the second batch of Knights from the set, and this one is the biggest - 14 Imperial Knights, just short of half. 5 GW Knights in mix of Paladin and Warden, and 9 Forge World Knights also with a mix of each type. These Knights will compliment a future army, and the client was after a dark rebel Admech army in black and red. Using a smoky black and deep red with brass, the final look is something straight out of a steampunk Victorian dystopia. Not quite chaos, but a rebel group of Admech on Mars. Emblems based on a cracked cog of the Mechanicum and a black sun.
All bases handmade and Knights pinned throughout. Each Knight individually posed with the addition of a ver conversions and dynamic poses with Death Korps models.
GMMStudios wrote: Time for the second batch of Knights from the set ...
The only post more epic than this post was the one with all the knights Stunning work as ever. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to splash this post across the Book of Faces
Haechi wrote:So... I'm that guy with the super annoying question haha..
On the very first page, very first showcase.. what is that dragon on the top left, dominating the scene? I need that dragon =D
No problem, that is Cang the Implacable by Cool Mini or Not.
Boss Salvage wrote:
GMMStudios wrote: Time for the second batch of Knights from the set ...
The only post more epic than this post was the one with all the knights Stunning work as ever. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to splash this post across the Book of Faces
Finishing a project and sending off great pictures is one of my favorite things, but another often unsung and unseen is the very next day getting knee deep in another one. As a commission painter, I am very lucky to have so many customers trust to just send whatever they like to be sorted into their own personal bins until project start. When the time comes, it's like Christmas - ripping open and oogling boxes and baggies. Taking my lists and checking them twice.
In keeping things professional there isn't much shown of the behind the scenes here. It's really just a couple a couple very optimized bedrooms and a garage, and so many armies in storage and in the queue they have taken over an old bathroom. So I wanted to take a moment away from all the fancy pictures to say thanks to all of my clients who trust in not just my painting ability, but myself as a person.
I think I will contact you for a project soon.. I used to not consider painting comissions at all since I love painting myself, but I love your style and I love your business model. I'm gonna build up a project and reach out to you =]
Matthew wrote:Bloody hell that is a fantastic sight.
It gets my blood flowing
Haechi wrote:I think I will contact you for a project soon.. I used to not consider painting comissions at all since I love painting myself, but I love your style and I love your business model. I'm gonna build up a project and reach out to you =]
Would be my pleasure, always taking new projects. Email me sometime and we can talk about it. DM works too but get to check email more often. Thanks for the kind words - always trying to be unique not just in paint but on the business side as well.
Time for part four of this recap of the 20 Knights project, and this one is the biggest. Individual photos of all 14 Rebel AdMech Knights, and plenty to flip through. Nine Forge World Knights, five Games Workshop, with lots of individuality and conversion. Each knight is pinned throughout in posing with 2mm brass rod atop hand-made bases Every part and panel hand painted.
Lots going on behind the scenes in the meantime - the Adepticon charity army and a huge Iron Hands preheresy army with a Greek theme. Will post as I finish, so stay tuned!
There are over 80 pictures here, so here are a select few, and if you wish to see more visit my Facebook or the Blog, rather than an explosion on clicking spoiler.
Can you please tell me how you make the bases of the Rebel Admech Knights? I love the concrete style.
That is clay I let *almost* dry and then bust up and crumble. Just about any kind will work but depending on where you are, you want a brand of air drying clay. For someone working at a computer desk the paper based clays (sorry, I can't recall the name here at the desk) would be most efficient and cleanest.
Can you please tell me how you make the bases of the Rebel Admech Knights? I love the concrete style.
That is clay I let *almost* dry and then bust up and crumble. Just about any kind will work but depending on where you are, you want a brand of air drying clay. For someone working at a computer desk the paper based clays (sorry, I can't recall the name here at the desk) would be most efficient and cleanest.
Work begins on the display for the Adepticon charity army raffle. A big thanks to Alex Landing at Ironheart Artisans for all the laser design and cutting. He is a mad genius of mdf! More updates as the convention draws closer.
whalemusic360 wrote: Does the display go with the army? Looks like that part alone will be worth getting tickets for.
No it does not. It is just for display and to help get awareness for the army. Its an excuse for me to make something big and help raise tickets is all. It will be the official display for Adepticon each year.
More so being a mascot display and it would be hard to get it to anyone who wins that lives outside of Chicago than anything else. That wont fit in anything less than a cargo van.
The 2016 Adepticon charity raffle army is ready to roll out to one lucky winner! Reminder to win the army, one needs to attend Adepticon and purchase raffle tickets. All proceeds this year are split between two great causes, Disabled American Veterans and W.D. Boyce Council of Illinois.
I am very happy with my decision this year to skip the personal display and focus all of my time and energy in the charity army. All the fun I usually have this time of year and a little extra goodness in being able to help a good cause. As I stated in the WIP posts, this will be my ninth year at Adepticon and it was an honor to make an Adepticon themed display for my favorite Con that will be a sort of mascot for this and future charity raffle armies.
Not only that but it allowed me to work more closely with Alex Landing of Ironheart Artisans. Usually go these things alone, so it was nice to have his input and work in what proved to be a very great team. The merging of laser design, modelling and painting and working that line of blending them together, making the best of both and better than the sum of each half's parts was a new and successful effort that was very rewarding. I see a lot in store in the future for the both of us working together, and this is certainly just the tip of the iceberg in big and over the top displays. Thank you Alex.
The painting of the army went very smooth, and in keeping with "Adepticon" it is Admech in red. A brighter red, weathering and character went a long way to make an army full of life. When time is put into the basics, bells and whistles aren't required and make for a classy and traditional army.
Thank you to everyone involved - Greg Sparks, Hank Edley, the rest of the Adepticon team, Chaos Mail Order, Alex Landing, and Games Workshop themselves for donating the Forge World items.
bubber wrote:These really suck. You should just put them in a box with my name & address on them & then I'll figure out a way of destroying (playing with) them.
In other words - truly amazing work. Whoever wins this is going to be well chuffed! ('chuffed' = English slang for happy).
Everything is just perfect.
Haha, well thank you very much!
And yes I learned "chuffed" from the english Fantasy crew. Never heard word around these parts
FeindusMaximus wrote:Fantastic Sir. Love the mix of 30k & 40k themes
Everything you make is pure win. I love the big displays...wish i could do something like that, but that will never happen, as i lack the funds, the space and the talent
Awesome, awesome! work
Take care and never stop making these works of art...(bows in awe )
Adepticon is a wrap and that means back to work! Up next a big Sons of Medusa army, and some pretty wild themed terrain for it's photography. Time to get my greeble on!
I like that framed picture of the mechanicus. It looks like a grimdark portrait of someones grandmother. Did you draw it? I cant explain why, but I find it every bit as clever and cool as the army.
40kFSU wrote: I like that framed picture of the mechanicus. It looks like a grimdark portrait of someones grandmother. Did you draw it? I cant explain why, but I find it every bit as clever and cool as the army.
No the lady that does Eagle Ordinary comic painted and donated that. I agree, it really sits well next to the army and has a good charm about it. Glad they sprung for that frame too, it's really perfect.
Check me out on the War Council Podcast, where we chat about the 29 Imperial Knights, huge army projects, Adepticon displays, and some often unspoken fine points about large army commission painting.
Hey folks! New army up! This time around the army is 107 images. So while I hate to inconvenience my Dakka buddies, that is a pain in the rear to copy paste that many urls! So check them out on the blog or FB:
Hmmmm. Needs more Dakka. Aside from that, beautifully painted as always. You have quite the eye for the kitbash as well. Always seem to get the right parts together for an original look.
Blue summer continues with some High Elves of Caledor. The customer wanted a balance of traditional Dragon Prince scheme mixed with a few Lord of the Rings influences such as Dol Amroth which you will see in the uses of darker gray and whites. The Sea Guard were, as a lover of all things nautical, a set of models I had wanted to paint for a long time and the sea green addition turned out to be a nice touch to set them apart that doesn't pull them out of the army.
Up next - a new photo backdrop I have been excited to start all summer, and more blue and grey Tau to go on top of them. Stay tuned as this will be the best one yet and lots of build images will be posted on Instagram and Twitter.
Start of a new display! This will be part of the next army update. If you'd like to follow along more closely, you can always find somewhat daily image updates on my Twitter and Instagram.
Reminder you can find each army I paint broken down into several articles with more in depth thoughts on Bell of Lost Souls! Can click on my name or tag to find past posts as well.
If you've been around for more than a minute, you know I have some big armies roll through here. This one is about to break a few records. This Ultramarine army will be so big, it's the first time a project has had "assembly" be it's own scheduled spot in the calendar. This army has more Drop Pods, Land Raiders, and Super Heavies each, than most armies have individual units!
To budget the army, the customer has put forward I do each subsection in scheduled groups a couple a year and been so kind as to allow me to hang onto them, for one insanely huge post at the very end. Looking forward to painting some Ultras, and some really great updates in the next couple years.
Next project is a Warlord Titan with some very special paint, so keep an eye out and see you then!
I am back with another one - this time Warlord and Reaver covered in freehand. As always for more picctures check out facebook or my blog. Lot's I could say on this one but it's already said there, Enjoy and thanks for checking them out!
Elbows wrote: I don't care for the overall effect, but the skill involved is laudable. Well done.
Yes "gratuitous" is the key word, and the customer is very fond of over the top and so am I personally but understand some people would prefer subtlety. And thanks!
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Sagentus wrote: Just Wow ... any chance of a few close ups of the reaver plates?
Theres a picture for every plate in the links. Thanks!
That's just mind blowingly awesome work. I looked through all the blog pictures and will probably take the time to do so again on many occasions just to make sure I get it all. So much amazing detail. It's completely over the top, but very fitting for so-called 'God Machines' of the Imperium.
sockwithaticket wrote: That's just mind blowingly awesome work. I looked through all the blog pictures and will probably take the time to do so again on many occasions just to make sure I get it all. So much amazing detail. It's completely over the top, but very fitting for so-called 'God Machines' of the Imperium.
How long did all that take?
Thank you! It took a little over a month, maybe month and a half. There will be some posting over on BoLS on the building of it as well at some point.
Elbows wrote: I don't care for the overall effect, but the skill involved is laudable. Well done.
Yes "gratuitous" is the key word, and the customer is very fond of over the top and so am I personally but understand some people would prefer subtlety. And thanks!
It's not subtlety that I prefer...I like over-the-top in some instances. I just prefer that it fit within the gaming universe for the game itself, if that makes sense. It seems as if the titans have been covered in comic-book art, which is a little odd to justify. "Yes, adept, we'd like a random Blood Angel space marine on the crotch plate..." etc. The choice of random codex/game art just kinda pulls me out of the illusion of seeing this as a huge war machine on the tabletop, ya know? This is all hugely personal opinion, but I'd love to have seen that skill applied to say simulated tiled/mosaic stuff of the Emperor, etc. I just feel the choice of plates is odd. That's all.
As long as the customer is happy, who cares, right?
I also think painting up some fake statues/monuments with the Imperial Guard along the plates could have been a very cool effect - similar to this:
As long as the customer is happy, who cares, right?
Right. It's specifically what he was after. We had a long discussion back and forth about what fits in the universe, and he said he would rather it be more "fun" than "fitting."
On a project this big and expensive no detail or preference is left to chance.
Ratius wrote:Yeah thats is pretty bonkers stuff right there!! How long did it take approx?
Thanks!
I don't really keep track. About six weeks roughly two in assembly and four in paint. But thats a guess as the assembly was a bit staggered because of slow drying times on epoxy and clay.
SickSix wrote:
cuss wrote: Jesus fe thing Christ! That is amazing.
You never cease to amaze me, sir.
From your exceptional airbrushing skills to this... magnificent... example of hand painted detail. You are a true artist, and I am humbled by your abilities.
MagickalMemories wrote:You never cease to amaze me, sir.
From your exceptional airbrushing skills to this... magnificent... example of hand painted detail. You are a true artist, and I am humbled by your abilities.
Eric
Hey Eric! Thanks as always. Good to hear from you and see you still around
TheLumberJack wrote:Wow that freehand work is absolutely incredible. Very well done my good sir
Ratius wrote:Yeah thats is pretty bonkers stuff right there!! How long did it take approx?
Thanks!
I don't really keep track. About six weeks roughly two in assembly and four in paint. But thats a guess as the assembly was a bit staggered because of slow drying times on epoxy and clay.
SickSix wrote:
cuss wrote: Jesus fe thing Christ! That is amazing.
Basically that.
Ha thank you!
The result is impressive in and of itself.
But that turnaround is frankly fething mental. I have no idea how you can produce those results in that timeframe, and I've been painting for well over 25 years, and professionally for a good chunk of that. Seriously, seriously impressive.
Ordinarily I look at your work and think it's fast but I can normally see kinda-sorta how you do it (lots of nice and very practiced airbrush work coupled with rapid finishing techniques). But that freehand is... yeah. It'd take me a couple of weeks to plan and sketch it, never mind complete the job in 6...
Ratius wrote:Yeah thats is pretty bonkers stuff right there!! How long did it take approx?
Thanks!
I don't really keep track. About six weeks roughly two in assembly and four in paint. But thats a guess as the assembly was a bit staggered because of slow drying times on epoxy and clay.
SickSix wrote:
cuss wrote: Jesus fe thing Christ! That is amazing.
Basically that.
Ha thank you!
The result is impressive in and of itself.
But that turnaround is frankly fething mental. I have no idea how you can produce those results in that timeframe, and I've been painting for well over 25 years, and professionally for a good chunk of that. Seriously, seriously impressive.
Ordinarily I look at your work and think it's fast but I can normally see kinda-sorta how you do it (lots of nice and very practiced airbrush work coupled with rapid finishing techniques). But that freehand is... yeah. It'd take me a couple of weeks to plan and sketch it, never mind complete the job in 6...
I'm stunned, mate. Just stunned.
Hey thanks Winter! That means a lot.
A lot of it is just so many hours under the brush, and it's hard to talk about without sounding full of myself, not articulate enough to explain it right, but you just don't make mistakes or really think about it. Which is 50% at least of the lack of speed your average painter has.
It's probably not much different than a car mechanic or something like that. You swap out parts so many times you can do it blindfolded and it's second nature.
It's sort of a catch-22 of being lucky to have so much work and the time to do it since it is work. Your average hobbyist has a full time job and the models they are working for come out of their own pocket. The only way to replicate it for an average person is to be independently wealthy and or sit and paint the same army over and over again.
It's interesting to think about, and something definitely can't take for granted.
As far as technical process there isn't that much airbrush anymore. There isn't any on that model. The best way to describe how I paint is James Wappell at the core level just on a larger scale. Airbrush doesn't really save that much time unless you are brand new or, and not to disparage, just part of it, a commission painter looking to front load hours/dollar.
Anyway, thanks a lot and thank you for stopping in.
Hello out there. I am back with another project - this time some White Scars!
This project originally started as a traditional Scars bike army. Over time the client asked about adding some flavor, and after discussing it back and forth came up with what is before you today. Something of a Space Wolf version of White Scars; bikers that are a bit feral and live on their bikes on some plateau planet. Mongols in space.
Throw in a palette throwback to Frazetta Conan paintings with orange and blue tones, a ton of conversion and bits and you have King Khan on his throne bike and some mean hunters on 41st century horseback.
Both very happy with what is a relatively common army turned into something very unique.
Have a dream army you have wanted to make reality? Get in touch.
As always for more images check your preferred site below:
Man that is sweet! Absolutely love the customization of the bikes, each one looks killer and they work together as a whole.
Only small quibbles would be the client shouldn't really have had any tanks given the sweet theme, and the red on the tanks stands out a bit... But I'm really in love with what you've done here
Hello everyone. I'm back with another - this time some Aleph for Infinity. A little break from 40k for a minute, with some quite nice sculpts and enjoyable to get some use out of the city again.
The client requested a scheme similar to Ghost in the Shell with it's white and black with military green over pale flesh tone, adding in a bit of red glow. Quite an appropriate range for it, and had fun making a few adjustments to the color placement to give it a little more GitS flavor.
Looking forward to some more Infinity projects in the future! Up next I am going back to the 40k universe for some Grey Knight Paladins. See you then,
It's that time again, another year of projects down and time to look back. Always a bit surreal to stop and remember what the schedule looked like on January 1st. Each one a little flicker of imagination, each one coming to life through the year. They grow up so fast, but wouldn't want it any other way.
To all of you reading this, thank you very much for being around. Your support and enjoyment of my work always means a great deal, and is one reward I get excited about through the late nights of a project.
To those who's projects are featured in this recap, a special thank you goes out for your trust and opportunity to make these ideas reality. You give me the mental fire to run the gauntlet every day, every week of the year. The opportunity to paint these sorts of projects, and as often as I do is only thanks to you.
Happy Holidays, happy new year, and thank you. See you in '17.
Fade from black to skyline shot of hive city at night. Storm rages behind neon urban sprawl. A thunder clap followed by purple lightning striking a tower. Camera pans down to street level. Group of Grey Knights led by our hero KALDOR DRAIGO walks down main drag. Loud sound of marching ceramite boots builds. Halts. Panning shot of Terminators. Acid rains peppers their armor, streaking in neon pink bolts before fading. A lighting flash illuminates.
Spoiler:
DRAIGO close up. Takes a drag from his Thurible 3000 Imperial Vaporizer. Exhales. Green smoke spells out "RAD."
DRAIGO: I love the smell of heresy in the morning... Librarian Kevin! What's the corruption reading for the area?
LIBRARIAN KEVIN approaches followed by a puttering ALPHIE model servitor. KEVIN rips off a sheet of parchment it spits out and reads the report from HQ.
KEVIN: Acey says ten percent.
DRAIGO sighs, after a pause: I'm too old for this $%!^ What do you make of this?
KEVIN holds the paper up and begins to fold.
KEVIN: Well, I can make a hat (folds) a broach (holds up) a pterodactyl...
A crash is heard from a nearby building. The Knights turn. Shot of ruined hospital. Sign falls over, revealing a previously hidden door. Two Guardsmen in shades and chomping gum fumble out. One talking into a comm set with a cut cable. The other, a chubby and despondent looking man follows behind but ignores the other.
WOODS into comm set, walking carelessly: First of all, bub, you never let on how much you like Xenos. "Oh, Tau, hi." Two, you always call the shots. "Kill me, and you'll regret it." Now three, wherever ya are, that's the place to...
SAM's jaw drops, tugs IG WOODS's sleeve, points at the Knights. Record scratch, freeze frame.
WOODS: ...Dropping off or picking up?
BROTHER DENNIS steps forward.
DENNIS: Welcome to the party, pal! We're on a mission from the God Emperor.
WOODS grabs SAM and spins around, huddling. Close up of WOODS, sweating profusely and speaking into the comm.
WOODS: I mean really, I'm not a heretic, I don't plan on being a heretic, so who gives a crap if they're Grey Knights? They could be fascist psykers for all I care, it still wouldn't change the fact that I don't have mutations. Not that I don't love fascism, it's the Imperium aft...
DRAIGO steps forward with a loud clank.
DRAIGO: You called?
The scene is interrupted by a loud explosion. Everyone turns to see a large streak of pink fire fly from a nearby building. A figure tumbles through the air and begins to fall towards the gathered men.
DEMON: YOU WILL PERISH IN FLAME! YOU AND ALL YOUR KIND!
The demon crashes between the Guardsmen and Knights. They all huddle around the figure, a voluptuous female demon of chaos. It shudders and wheezes.
APOTH JONES: Slaanesh, why'd it have to be Slaanesh??
The Guardsmen hide behind DRAIGO but crane for a closer look.
SAM: Is this heaven?!?
DRAIGO: No, it's heresy.
He motions towards another Knight.
DRAIGO: Sergeant, if I asked your honest opinion about something, would I get it?
GK: You can bet the house on it.
DRAIGO: Would you say these look like the breasts of a 43 year old woman?
GK: No. No, they don't Sir. They're quite impressive, bordering on spectacular.
WOODS into the comm, wide-eyed over his sunglasses: You know there's a shortage of perfect breasts in this sector. It would be a shame to...
DRAIGO lifting a massive boot: My name is Kaldor Draigo! You killed my Emperor prepare to die!
DRAIGO smashes the corpse and it pops like a rotten pumpkin, viscera covering the Guardsmen. They squeak in shock.
SAM: She slimed me!
WOODS: HQ! I'm with Sam! We got slimed!
DRAIGO knocks their heads together, cracking their Ray Bans.
BOTH: Radical...
DRAIGO: I eat purple demons for breakfast. And right now, I'm very hungry.
A Brother steps forward.
GK: Sir! Incoming!
A Valkyrie swoops in overhead, engines leaving a trail of hot blue light in the darkness. It begins to sit down near the group.
WOODS: Well boys, that's our ride. Looks like they got the call.
Everyone laughs heartily.
WOODS and SAM begin to run towards the bird. SAM stops and turns to DRAIGO. He yells over the growing storm.
SAM: Yo! Draigo! After all we've been through, if you think I'm gonna ride on the Imperium's lousiest turkey alone, you're crazy!
DRAIGO: I'll give you a little secret kid.
SAM: What?
DRAIGO: I'm crazy.
SAM smiles, salutes, and runs off to catch up with WOODS. Over the thunder and roaring engines, the Knights can hear them talking as they make their way.
WOODS: You know, you can be my wingman any time.
SAM: Bullcrap, I'm YOUR wingman.
WOODS: I wasn't talking to you.
The Grey Knights laugh. DRAIGO turns to address his men. He takes another drag from his vaporizer. Smoke spells out "Righteous."
DRAIGO: Well boys, it's that time.
KNIGHTS: What's that sir?
DRAIGO: It's time for killing...
DRAIGO drops the vaporizor, stomps it. Closeup of face.
DRAIGO: IMPERIUM STYLE!
Roll intro credits. Begin theme: FutureCop! Street Hawk
Another Infinity army, this time PanOceana. A bit different from the norm, rather than using a predominant color with secondaries such as with a Marine army, it has many complimentary colors balanced across each unit and tied together with their placement and primary shading colors. Somewhat similar both in color and concept to the Covenant in Halo - different units in both form and uniform.
Fun to be able to flex my color muscle a bit, as it required painting each small batch separately, but advancing them all at the same rate to ensure balance. A real pleasure and one I am glad rolled through.
Lot's of skirmish games around here lately by coincidence. That's going to continue for one more project, to the Wild West of the Malifaux universe. See you then.
Rezyn wrote: Love your work man, all of it is so stunning. Quick question, what bases are those from the Infinity force above? Callsign VAPOR. They look sweet!
Sorry I missed your question. I believe those are some special edition Infinity bases. That was a case where the client sent them in with the army. and I did not order them.
That was my guesstimation since they have Infinity parts on them, and I doubt another company would do that.
whalemusic360 wrote: Are you doing a big fancy schmancy adpeticon display this year?
No just the charity army. I will have a booth though and need something to fill it so I am bringing back at least 3 of the big ones for a little reunion tour.
Schedule was too packed this year to fit anything in. I have two more I definitely want to do at some point. Hopefully next year.
Hey out there. I am back with this year's Adepticon charity raffle army, and this time it is Saim Hann. If you will be at Adepticon next week, be sure to pick up some raffle tickets to try and win. For two good causes - Disabled American Veterans, and the W.D Boyce Boyscout Council. Last year the army raised into the five digits and hopefully we can do that again.
As for Adepticon itself, I hope to post something when I get there with more information, but for now I will be in booth 57 in the vendor hall all weekend, so by all means stop by and say hello! Plans for the booth are pretty fun, with a little reunion tour of a few of the big displays and a couple other things.
Until then, safe travels to all of you going, looking forward to another fun weekend.
That looks awesome, and if you'll be at a booth I'll finally get a chance to meet you (I'll be at the ModBitz booth all weekend). Looking forward to it!
RiTides wrote:That looks awesome, and if you'll be at a booth I'll finally get a chance to meet you (I'll be at the ModBitz booth all weekend). Looking forward to it!
For sure buddy! Looking forward to it. I will just be hanging out, listen for Super Nintendo and look for big displays haha
DarkTraveler777 wrote:Slick army! Definitely buying some raffle tickets at the con.
Also, I think we will be sharing a booth with you (I'll be along with the other Wreck Age guys) so looking forward to meeting in person!
Holy cow small world. That is exciting. Will be great to finally meet you after all these years.
Back home again in Indiana, and back to work! This year's Adepticon was, as always, better than the last. Sounds cliche, but trying new things and refining what I do, it is true.
Spoiler:
The booth was a big hit, and exactly what I had hoped for. Instead of playing or wandering around, having a set place people could come by and say hello and meet up. Got lots of "I have been coming for years and just now meeting you" so that was nice. Not really into the whole commercial look, so making it personal was fun. Couple of framed hardboard sheets painted like the walls, some random crap pulled from here and there in the house, and wrapped up in my clothes in the trunk made for a nice booth that was easy to set up. Plus had not had three displays there at once before, and people seemed to enjoy that. Still working on exactly what it will entail, but plan to come back bigger and more interesting with the booth next year.
My personal highlights:
- Getting carried by Greg Sparks in Contra 3
- Watching two grown men squeal upon seeing Smash TV and proceed to manhandle the thing to levels I hadn't seen before.
- Watching people stop in their tracks and smile seeing the displays. Then having a 30 minute conversation about whatever. That never gets old. Also small world sort of conversations.
- Getting to hang out with Alex of Ironheart Artisans. We rode up together, roomed together, and had our booths next to each other. He's one of those guys you wish you met sooner, and whether silly or serious the conversation was what I will miss the most from this year.
That about does it. Back to work, this year is going to be great! Lots of big armies on the way and warm weather coming means new backdrops as well. See you next time.
All set up and ready to open.
Let's see if she makes it the weekend...
\\
Just chilling with the crew.
A simple, but very large, offering.
Smash TV gets wrecked.
(Insert Closing Time reference)
Thanks for stopping by those I got to meet! Glad to finally meet RiTides and DarkTraveller. Was worth the trip just to put faces to their names.
I am back from the desert fortress of Gordrakk himself, and brought a whole bunch of other gitz! An Ironjawz army big enough to choke Mork.
It had been a minute since I've done yellow or the green boys, so a real treat. The new Orruk stuff is very well designed, lots of character and a pleasure to paint up. This summer is Fantasy throughout, mostly Age of Sigmar, and looking forward to getting into the other armies. Next will be Stormcast Eternals, digging into those as soon as I hit post. See you next time!
Hollow wrote: Fantastic army. I'm curious, how long do you reckon (Man hours) do you reckon a project like that takes you?
Thanks!
I don't really keep track of hours. I just paint when I can (darn life necessities and such at bay), some days that means a lot of hours some days it's little spurts,
But weeks are easy to see since I dont work on two things at once, and it was about 4 weeks ago since I sat down with it.
These new AoS models are great. You did a great job as always. I recall a couple pages back a picture of stacked boxes containing a giant Ultramarine army. Any progress on that? Looks like you will be painting more models in that one project than I have my entire life.
w0lfgang7 wrote:At this point it would take a 4 weeks to do one model, let alone an entire army. Great work!
Well I am doing it all day, and have been doing it for years. Don't beat yourself up!
Hollow wrote:1 month. wow. Do you batch paint the entire army? Or do you do it unit by unit?
It depends on what I am feeling and the army and the scheme. This one I did unit by unit. Some other I batch. It's very case by case.
40kFSU wrote:These new AoS models are great. You did a great job as always. I recall a couple pages back a picture of stacked boxes containing a giant Ultramarine army. Any progress on that? Looks like you will be painting more models in that one project than I have my entire life.
Thanks!
That's going to be a super slow burn. Some of it was previously assembled and needs some heavy rework in areas. The Thunderhawks need broken down in areas and rebuilt. I am hoping to have a assembled vehilcle group shot and then all 9 land raiders plus a lot of similar sized forge world tanks as the first batch later in the year.
Here comes a doozy. Stormcast Eternals, pretty much double fisting the whole book. 30-60 of each foot unit, 24 bird cav, 4 star drakes and the exclusives among others. June is going to be pretty wild!
Ready to rumble! I didn't shed any blood this go round either. Little bonus.
Assembly went well. For the most part taking a whole stack of a unit, assembling the first box to learn it, then assembly lining the other 20-50 on the bench, bit at a time and batching by sprue.
Mold lines are a dream on these kits. Very few and usually in the same place each time.
This isn't the biggest army I have done in terms of model count, but it might be on the base to base footprint. Sitting over seven feet long.
Will need to pull out all my tricks to make the backdrop work for this army, and get it all well in frame and composed. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I am off to paint. Guessing around 20 hours each step!
Obermutant wrote:Great Work as always, looking forward for more.
But one little thing freaks me out...the doll in the backround and that she rises her arms from one picture to the other....Poltergeist inc.?
Cheers
Haha it does have a mind of it's own.
Hollow wrote:Nice. Seems almost superfluous to be honest. Playing at that scale would be draining I would think.
Elbows wrote:Even if I loved painting, something like that would break me.
Personally I love it. I understand why most hobbyists enjoy doing single minis and squads as a break, and as relaxation, but I am the opposite. Nothing more relaxing or exciting than a good audiobook and a full day or a ton of models. Content is a good word for it. Have yet to find the top end where it gets too much but I am starting to think there isnt one!
DarkTraveler777 wrote:My fingers hurt just imagining assembling that many models in less than five days.
"You come.
I forge.
We talk.
You good friend.
I very happy."
- G.B.
It is finished! The big Stormcast army is a wrap, and here is the full gallery.
The army went well, lots of time spent, with some stories to tell at a later date. Overall very happy and the original scheme idea worked great with only minor tweaks. The customer wanted something similar in layout to the traditional scheme, but with a much darker feel. Antique and royal, but also brooding and ethereal. Ancient armor that has seen some stuff, but still on this side of "good." Personally love this sort of aesthetic so it was a whole lot of fun from start to finish.
Feels good to be done with what is my longest spanning project in terms of time involved. You never fully see it, despite all the time spent with them in my face, until pictures are taken. It is extremely rewarding. On the other hand, there is always a bit of postpartum, for lack of a less dramatic term, when an army is finished. I enjoy being in the thick of it and that is what allows me to do things like this alone. But that is life, and there is always another cool project waiting for me to get my mitts on it.
So until next time, thanks for following along with the making of it, and see you for the next one.
For more pictures, check the link in my signature! See ya,
thesilverback wrote:Great looking army and that is huge a huge army
.
Thank you!
Illumini wrote:Really cool wings on the stardrake, good play on the name
I am glad someone got it. I figured it a bit obscure but googleable and too fun to skip on. I love Dark Souls and that sort of feel was exactly what the customer was after.
I would add my sincerest compliments to all the other praise I've read on your blog- truly some amazing work. Everything shows skill, thought and preparation- the infantry, the vehicles, the venues, all startling in their originality and execution.
I started out gaming/painting Napoleonics, and the catch phrase amongst those guys was 'in mass lies perfection'- meaning, large numbers of figures, painted gaming quality, assume a greater degree of excellence because of the large numbers- the inability of the eye to take in all the detail. Over the years I've seen some painters who could do one- or at best a few- figures extremely well- museum quality stuff. And I've seen guys that could paint large numbers of figures _decently_ in a short amount of time.
I have seen very few painters who can handle the volume of figures you do over any comparable time span (weeks/months/the year) and every one of them something that I would have under its own special spotlight on its own special plinth in my display case.
Really admirable work, from assembly to paint to display.
I'm always awed by your work, Brandon. So fast. So pretty. So very, very jealous. One of these days I'll get over the pond and grill you on how you do what you do. :-)
Apologies. I switched browsers and Dakka was one site I missed, bookmark issue. Just remembered while also in front of the PC. A bit of catching up here!
Meer_Cat wrote: I would add my sincerest compliments to all the other praise I've read on your blog- truly some amazing work. Everything shows skill, thought and preparation- the infantry, the vehicles, the venues, all startling in their originality and execution.
I started out gaming/painting Napoleonics, and the catch phrase amongst those guys was 'in mass lies perfection'- meaning, large numbers of figures, painted gaming quality, assume a greater degree of excellence because of the large numbers- the inability of the eye to take in all the detail. Over the years I've seen some painters who could do one- or at best a few- figures extremely well- museum quality stuff. And I've seen guys that could paint large numbers of figures _decently_ in a short amount of time.
I have seen very few painters who can handle the volume of figures you do over any comparable time span (weeks/months/the year) and every one of them something that I would have under its own special spotlight on its own special plinth in my display case.
Really admirable work, from assembly to paint to display.
That might be the most thoughtful, kind and insightful compliment I have ever received. That means a great deal, thank you so much.
It's like anything in life, the mind wants to take shortcuts, or cut out what is less than necessary to the goal. That is human nature. Some people enjoy the very high quality painting, so the "shortcut" (to be honest, for lack of a less derogatory term as that isn't my intent. Note of direction, not judgement) is to just do one model at a time. Some people enjoy gaming and having huge forces, so the shortcut is the quality. Both together you have a tug of war between both values, which is what makes it hard. Plus for your average person doing 300 guys to their max ability is going to be doing it in free time, not every day as I do, so the reward is so strung out it is hard for it to overpower that long spell of labor. Even I get a little bit of that feeling, but because I am able to always be soothing that feeling with work, and the finish is relatively close for the size of the army, it isnt such a big deal.
When it comes to other things I have zero attention span, so sometimes I will try and empathize, "is this how most hobbyists see painting, especially large forces" and it makes 100% sense why it is an issue for most people. Besides reading and random things outside I have no real nameable hobbies, just interests. Not because I have no time for it but because I have no patience for it.
Anyway, not to be too inside baseball but it is interesting psychology.
winterdyne wrote: I'm always awed by your work, Brandon. So fast. So pretty. So very, very jealous. One of these days I'll get over the pond and grill you on how you do what you do. :-)
That would be my pleasure!
And thank you as always.
Ok time for an update I missed. As always, links for more pics! Will keep it short since the rest of my post is long-winded.
sockwithaticket wrote: Lustrian Ogres! From what I can see it all looks typically tip-top. Where might one see more pctures, including close ups?
Thank you.
You can click on whichever site you prefer in my signature to find the most recent army in the most recent posts there. Facebook and my blog are the best place to get the complete galleries. My main site as well but I tend to update that less often and in batch since I always forget/jump right into the next one. For anything before the most recent go to the blog and go back in the timeline that many projects.
I used to post them all here but it seemed more inconvenient for people.
Here comes another doozy. This time Age of Sigmar Khorne. Whole lot of everything:
90 Bloodletters
30 Flesh Hounds
75 Warriors
25 Mongers
25 Reapers
80 Reavers
38 Crushers, some of both types
4 Thirsters
Archaon on Dragon
Shrine
2-4 of all the other models in the Khorne range, only exception being singles of a couple named characters.
The Hellfort will be part of the backdrop, just felt like getting it on there. The backdrop will be another big monster, and thought up some ways to get maximum width out of that kit. But that is a story for another post.
Enjoy painting red, so this should be fun. While it may seem at first glance an army that is very cohesive and the same colors, all units/groups will be painted separately. While the scheme is the same the sculpts are all quite different, so it is easier with muscle memory in mind to divide and paint in like model sections.
Will see you in a couple weeks with some starts to the backdrop and my thoughts on that. See you then.
Thousandeyes wrote: Great work, always glad to see you with another commission and the results that come from it.
The Khorne army is just about finished, so that means it is time to start the backdrop to give it time to fully dry.
Learned a few things on the big Stormcast backdrop that are applying here. The things in common - it needs to be huge. This is 6'x4x3'. Another, it needs to stay relatively simple to fit everything on there. When dealing with photographing such a large army, have to balance cramming them in there with elevation and space. A large army even with slight gaps between units will suddenly become less impactful overall.
With that my thoughts went to ways to clever it up without taking any space. When I made the Stormcast backdrop, by necessity only, I had to cut away part of the interior wall to allow light in from behind to light the hallway up. That got me to thinking about using a red light to add a bit of glow.
I have always loved Oblivion and Khorne, especially the Helfort remind me of the Oblivion realm. Did not want just a flat black lava rock plane, and putting modelled lava in the floor would separate the army up. So I went with a shot at the glow effect, a red light hidden behind but casting from above the mouth, behind the eyes, and into each side of the cave.
Not really sure if it will even work, but in theory it should and I will wait until they are both done to see.
Next post, painting the thing. After which the army will be ready to stack up on it. See you then!
Time to celebrate another culmination of a great deal of hard work and good times painting away. While painting is what keeps me mellow and content, there is a huge rush to the last couple days of a project, and for this army especially so being one of the longest spanning in terms of weeks. Always a good feeling to sit down after a ton of hours in a project and see it on the computer screen.
Personally happy and glad to be able to paint red again, which I have not in some time. Pleased with how the backdrop came out as well. Originally I kept it a bit simple for space and time, and felt it could have been a lot wilder. However with the pictures taken it actually worked really well, and I underestimated the impact of a mess of Khorne models which balanced it out in heft. Proves sometimes simple is better and learned I should probably watch adding complexity for it's own sake, as simple can in this case be just what it needs.
Up next - Marines! More reinforcements for the Clan Lachesis army. That will likely take my next project post into 2018, so an early Happy Holidays to everyone if I don't have anything for you until then. Thank you as always.
Elbows wrote:More amazing work as always - not a fan of Khorne models generally, but as a whole the effort is fantastic that you put into this project. Well done!
Ratius wrote:Jaw dropping a usual. Happy Holidays GMM!
Christmas came a little early for me this year, in the form of these two boxes. Two of the biggest that have rolled through at that, the larger one standing almost six feet tall on end. Felt a bit bad for the UPS man who lugged it up to the porch at 8PM.
The best part - these contain the entire catalog, in some instances twice over, of Tabletop World. These will all be going underneath huge Game of Thrones armies late next year, each house getting a spot and a themed board and terrain to go home with them. I used Tabletop World in the skeleton throne Adepticon display and am excited to dig into the rest of the current line.
Thanks to all of my clients who allow me to play Santa as well as kid on Christmas morning every single day of the year. Nothing else is as rewarding and fun, and am grateful to be able to do it.
To all of you, happy holidays and safe modelling. To this crazy guy and his ilk - "Merry Christmas ya filthy animal!"
Never heard of them.
Looked them up after seeing this post.
Holy ...umm... MOLY! You've got a lot invested in that display!
Great stuff, though. I'm sure it'll turn out AWESOME!
perezba7 wrote:AMAZING WORK!!!! Just a delight to look at, really gives me inspiration!!
Thank you very much! I am always glad when people find it fun and enjoyable.
MagickalMemories wrote:Never heard of them.
Looked them up after seeing this post.
Holy ...umm... MOLY! You've got a lot invested in that display!
Great stuff, though. I'm sure it'll turn out AWESOME!
Eric
Yes they are pricey but far and away the best terrain in terms of sculpt. You just can't beat it.
I also really like Ziterdes for being foam, it is very carvable and can easily be transformed and worked into pieces. MBA is another good one for realistic and or historical terrain.
Hello friends. I am back. Only two things in life that do not cease, time and myself. So let's kick off a new year and a new project!
This time around it's a part two for the original Clan Lachesis army, a homebrew chapter of the client's. One part Preheresy reserves, another Primaris, and also a custom Legion of the Damned subsection I am really excited about. All custom, built up from bits and painted with a lava effect that was fun to work up.
Very happy with the black on this one. Black is a color that seems simple, but with practice and awareness of the amount of grey used, as well as shading as one would with any other color, can get a depth and gemlike quality.
Something like half of this year's armies are black as well, which I am looking forward to in order to further refine it army to army. Never really get tired of any color, and to be honest the opportunity of working on one color several armies in a row is a relatively rare and exciting opportunity. I am all about brutal efficiency while increasing quality, so instead of a color once a year it is a melting up of experience and results in a short span.
Anyway. Did the pictures a little different this time. Little more random. There are a few factors to army galleries that are always a struggle. The close and the gestalt. The balance of action and representing the model for the client. The OCD of wanting to show a linear progression as one would click through them. And the absolute worst is being equally excited about every model, so Johnny Marine in picture 47 I want in the front as well as the Dread in picture 12. An hour of shuffling. So lets see how this goes and let me know what you think.
Thanks for looking. Thanks to the client for the opportunity. Have a good day.
P.S. As usual, if you would like to see more images, just check whichever site you prefer in my signature. Thanks!
CREEEEEEEEED wrote:Do you do smaller commissions than whole armies?
I do not. Mostly due to schedule, but I also just enjoy the large projects more than smaller ones. The gestalt of a large batch of figures is an extra layer I would miss with small projects.
Hello friends. It's that time of the year yet again - Adepticon prep and packing. Only a week to go and ahead of schedule! Not bad. Doing the booth again with some upgrades. More pictures, more Victorian hoardings. Looking forward to seeing you all that are going again this year. Get liquor while it lasts or someone takes it away.
Will post again at the event. Until then, safe trip to the rest of you going!
Another post, that means another finished army commission! Back from Adepticon and spring in the air, feeling rejuvenated and that poured into this project. More black! I love painting black. Like painting anything really, but black is fun. Sort of like painting everything as a giant opal gem.
The request for this project was simply "black and yellow." Otherwise the client wanted to be completely surprised by the pictures. I have done everything at this point, from "by the box" to complete and utter surprise, and would say that the two and everything in between all are valid and fun for me. What usually matters end of the day is the person on the end getting what they are after, the foggy picture in their mind they can sort of see and that is just enough for it to be clear in my own. However sometimes there isn't one, or the guy just wants to have fun. I would never push a surprise army on someone, but sometimes it just "clicks." In terms of how they think and feel and our communication. When all the pieces fall together it is a pretty magical thing and unique experience compared to other lines projects follow.
It also allows for a lot of experimentation. Usually over and over in my head, on test models and swatches. Like a giant jigsaw puzzle of color. Choosing the right pieces, seeing if this one or that one fits, In the end it comes out very balanced, all the kinks worked out.
I have been playing a lot of Old School 93-94 format Magic lately, which includes The Dark in it's set pool. The Dark isn't the most valuable set, or start any mechanical or flavor legacies for down the line. When I was a kid though, it always was my favorite set, but back then I never knew why. It was just a feeling.
Now that I am older and revisiting these old sets (although this isn't the first time), having a better understanding I can see it for what it was. A lot of sets have themes, set tribes, story arcs. But The Dark was special because it was really just a big art experiment for Jesper Myfors, and his brain is what made it all so great.
Cards like Holy Light, Exorcist, and of course Witch Hunter are some great examples. It was evocative but also disturbingly abstract. Like a Tool video. Anyway, I give examples of white cards because within that set, white is especially the perfect balance of light and dark. Which was the whole point of the set, to show a little bit of darkness in each color, not just black. Looking at these cards and being inspired by that concept, it bled a little into this army. While the art style of course didn't, the idea of a little bit of dark in the light made sense for an army in this set of colors, so I ran with it.
So, we have a group of redemptive Stormcast. Brooding and dark but Chaotic Good. A little bit of chaos in the otherwise pure knights. In some modelling cases, literally.
Hope you enjoyed, and on to the next one! Which is Ulthwe. See you then, and thank you.
You've achieved an extremely satisfying tone in this army, and come to think of it all of your army-scale projects (so like all your projects?) share this tight control of tone, including when they knowingly deviate from it (the LOTD in the Iron Hands army, for example). Really delicious stuff, thanks as always for sharing.
Also, I wanted to call out the Everchosen conversion, in particular headswapping Dorghar:
I pretty much loathed Archaon 2.0 when he dropped during End Times, and while part of that was because of the bad taste that the End Times brought with it, a lot of it was due to the three gakky daemon heads on Dorghar, purportedly intended to echo the gods of Chaos, complete with a snub for Slaanesh. Over the years I've come to appreciate the details of the kit, and have always been thrilled to find a conversion of the Steed of the Apocalypse, as few and far between as they are. While I've seen the triple dragon stardrake before (in purple and silver IIRC), it really is one of the better ones, and you've done it one better by varying the dragon heads (and maybe adding collars?), on top a solid reworking of Not-Archaon. Plus the Lambent paintjob is aces
Which is a lot to say: Extra sweet job on the Everchosen conversion, from a Dorghar enthusiast I actually just picked up my own kit to convert into a proper huge bloodthirster, will see if I can't do this small club proud.
Boss Salvage wrote:You've achieved an extremely satisfying tone in this army, and come to think of it all of your army-scale projects (so like all your projects?) share this tight control of tone, including when they knowingly deviate from it (the LOTD in the Iron Hands army, for example). Really delicious stuff, thanks as always for sharing.
Also, I wanted to call out the Everchosen conversion, in particular headswapping Dorghar:
I pretty much loathed Archaon 2.0 when he dropped during End Times, and while part of that was because of the bad taste that the End Times brought with it, a lot of it was due to the three gakky daemon heads on Dorghar, purportedly intended to echo the gods of Chaos, complete with a snub for Slaanesh. Over the years I've come to appreciate the details of the kit, and have always been thrilled to find a conversion of the Steed of the Apocalypse, as few and far between as they are. While I've seen the triple dragon stardrake before (in purple and silver IIRC), it really is one of the better ones, and you've done it one better by varying the dragon heads (and maybe adding collars?), on top a solid reworking of Not-Archaon. Plus the Lambent paintjob is aces
Which is a lot to say: Extra sweet job on the Everchosen conversion, from a Dorghar enthusiast I actually just picked up my own kit to convert into a proper huge bloodthirster, will see if I can't do this small club proud.
- Salvage
Thank you very much for all the kind words. Really appreciate the comments on the tone. That is definitely something is always both fun and a high priority on my mind, and I tend to really sit and stew on that both before and within the many hours I spend on a project. It gives it that little extra vibe that makes it more than a pile of models.
So thank you, that makes me feel good when someone appreciates that aspect because when it does it's job right, it's hard to put the finger on. Sort of an unsung hero of many hours of work.
And thank you, glad you like the dragon. Agree with your comments about the original model. When the opportunity to suggest Archaon as a stand in for Drake came up I got a little giddy at the possibilities. One of the most fun big gribblies in a while.
GMMStudios wrote: Very excited to have the Hexfleet Virules army on it's way to get painted! Another week or so on the current project, then photos as well!
ME TOO!
I caught that yesterday on B&C, stoked to see you sink your teeth into the Hexfleet
GMMStudios wrote: Very excited to have the Hexfleet Virules army on it's way to get painted! Another week or so on the current project, then photos as well!
ME TOO!
I caught that yesterday on B&C, stoked to see you sink your teeth into the Hexfleet
- Salvage
Thanks! It is going to be a lot of fun for sure.
Stevefamine wrote:Show us that Nurgle army brandon!
As usual so I don't obliterate the page, if you would like more thoughts and pics on the project, be sure to check me out in any link below. Thanks a lot!
Been tuned out from your stuff for a while but god, it's fantastic. Just liked the fb page. Seeing those colossal supply drops as well is like something out of a dream!
Red Corsair wrote:Ever considered streaming or filming your painting? Bet you would get quite a few viewers.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh and obviously as usual, fething outstanding work!
Thanks!
No not really. I like the quiet solitude of painting and having people watching live and it being on my mind at all times does not sound fun at all. I also quite often just get up and go do something for a minute, or go out and mess on a backdrop. Could also never get in the zone/distraction. The interaction with cool people aside, which I would appreciate and enjoy, sounds horrible.
lipsdapips wrote:Been tuned out from your stuff for a while but god, it's fantastic. Just liked the fb page. Seeing those colossal supply drops as well is like something out of a dream!
Hello folks! Got another one ready to roll. Even unpainted it is very impressive, and wanted to share before I get to work.
This is a Nurgle 40k army, heavily converted by the client. Not only huge, but lots of love, care, and creativity in the conversions. He has been collecting and converting this army over the past 7 years, and recently finally put the finishing touches on, packed it up, and sent it off to me to get painted! He loves the army so much it has its own blog - Hexfleet Virules. There he posts updates, thoughts, and ideas over the course of building the army (and soon, playing with it). You can find a link here to his facebook version, but you can also find it on Bolter and Chainsword.
Really amazing stuff in the conversions, and urge everyone interested in Nurgle to check out the conversion WIP photos on his blog of the different units. What I would guess as pounds of green stuff and excellent skill working it.
Quite an honor to say the least to be able to paint such an army, and add the other half of creativity and love. Should make for some exciting work, great pictures, and of course will need to make a fancy new backdrop to celebrate, which progress will be posted as that goes down. Going to be quite the experience from start to finish, so I will keep this short and get to work! See you soon for updates and work in progress photos of the new backdrop for these guys!
I don't think I realized just how huge the Hivefleet was at this point Good luck, excited to see updates!
Also I feel a little bad for not commenting on the Ulthwe, despite checking the army out across multiple platforms at this point. Another really smashing army, I appreciate how you pushed what looks at first like a simple color scheme into a theme full of nuance. I think the fire dragons might be my favorite unit? Because they may have the strongest diversion from their standard colors and into the army's black and bone.
Boss Salvage wrote: I don't think I realized just how huge the Hivefleet was at this point Good luck, excited to see updates!
Also I feel a little bad for not commenting on the Ulthwe, despite checking the army out across multiple platforms at this point. Another really smashing army, I appreciate how you pushed what looks at first like a simple color scheme into a theme full of nuance. I think the fire dragons might be my favorite unit? Because they may have the strongest diversion from their standard colors and into the army's black and bone.
Anyway, excited for the Hivefleet!
- Salvage
Thank you! I always have fun with taking what is usually traditional and having fun and seeing what I can do while staying within the classic feel. Also same deal for units in Eldar and making them fit within the craftworld. Sometimes it is workable, sometimes it is not, but this is a case where it does, and benefits.
The giant Hexfleet Virules Nurgle army is pretty much a wrap! That means backdrop time. This is my biggest one yet, at seven feet wide and five feet deep. Needs to be quite large and also structurally stacking with "shelves" of space in order to get the army in there, and also give good images of every model. Each model being much more accessible than on a flat plane. Couple that with always wanting a really good and solid urban backdrop, and you have most of the inspiration for the work so far.
Still a very long way to go. This is simply the modelling basics. Paint as well as detail are each another third or so to go. There will be a lot of fun signage, silly references, and other interesting things to see and find. The most fun part yet lies ahead.
Will post paint updates with before and after as progress is made. The display is so large, in order to paint it each block of buildings is a separate sub section. Two clusters on each side, back buildings split up, and the base for a total of five. Once the buildings are painted, they will be attached and the concrete finished. This will also correct the uneven bits as they arent glued down flat in these photos.
whalemusic360 wrote: Does the display go with the army, or is it a new studio display?
This one is for photography only. The army is big, doesnt play well with all the existing ones, and this is a backdrop I have wanted for a long time. This will also be the first one so large that for smaller armies there are essentially a choice of setups in one backdrop.
PS If you remember the Deadpool army backdrop, and think Ghostbusters/TMNT flavor instead, youll know where this is going.
The Hexfleet Virules backdrop is finished! As far as photography backdrops, my most rewarding and fun to work on yet. Working on these projects, especially the bigger, longer ones, you really get to know the client. Lots of conversation about inspiration, tastes, and random other things too. Turns out this client and I have a lot in common on the topic of our childhoods, toys we loved, and their influence on what we do today and what we enjoy. If you've been around here for a minute you know one of my biggest fuels is nostalgia and just being a big kid when it comes to working on minis. I get to do in much more powerful and fun ways what I would have loved to have done and had as a kid. Similar to how when we get older we buy the Magic cards or build the Lego sets or ideas we always wanted to but couldn't, and I get to do it in the miniature way every day.
Anyway, turns out we both had a lot of the same interest in toys as kids, and how we would play with them making up whatever out of whatever in the house. The biggest being Ghostbusters and Ninja Turtles. With that in mind, and being fitting for the army in some ways as you will see, I went wild and had a lot of fun coming up with this backdrop.
For now, time to put some final touches on the army, and get some final photos taken. Going to be quite a massive army and gallery, and very excited! See you soon.
Hello out there! Today I have for you many photos of the finished Hexfleet Virules army. Quite a massive army at that. Possibly the biggest one to date in my many years of painting.
This army was lovingly converted by the owner over many years, and he keeps a blog of his modelling work under the name Hexfleet Virules, the name of the army itself. Popular army blog, and for good reason as you will see. Wonderful conversions with untold hours of work put into them. Once you see them, won't really need to explain how much a treat they were to paint and quite thankful for the opportunity to do so, sharing our collaborated efforts here today. Hard to really put into words my excitement when setting up this army for photography, for what has been about 8 years of modelling for him to finally come to completion in full and in one moment. My biggest motivation and what I get the most enjoyment and rush from is the aspect of giving people what they can see in their mind, in reality. Every army is a surge of adrenaline at the finish line but the stakes and scope of this one are just off the charts. The best feeling in the world.
Working on these large projects you can really get to know a guy. Of course there is the conversation about scheming and ideas for the army, but in the busy time it often wanders to whatever else. Getting to know Mr Virules it turns out we shared a very similar childhood. Single children (well, for formative time at least for me), I lived very rural, he moved very often. We both entertained ourselves and found enjoyment and fun in playing with action figures and whatever we could find. Some of my best memories are using a chair as a Ghostbusters firehouse, getting lost in imagination not just because that is what was there but because I loved it. That's what miniatures have always been for me. Adult toys and being a big kid. Except I get to make way cooler things than back then!
We had way too many "me too!" moments in our conversations, and considering that, our mutual love of Ghostbusters action figures, and the fitting large puffy monsters invading town, you have the inspired backdrop for this army. Lots of goofy 80s, 90s, New York and Ghostbusters references, if you can find them all. It seemed too fun and perfect.
That's all for this time. I will be back soon with some more, as the full gallery is massive, and hopefully Mr Virules will be up for writing a guest post on his modelling and thoughts behind making the army. See you then!
Hello out there. I'm posting, so you know what that means - another finished project! This time a Dark Eldar army with a desert theme.
For the army the client and I had a good long back and forth on specifics and taste. Starting with two different schemes and a writeup on each of what I thought optimal, and then taking one and running with it. Essentially the idea was Dark Eldar with a Desert theme, balancing those two to get a worn desert raider look with the color and contrast often found in Dark Eldar armies. A little bit of Tatooine flavor and the Star Wars "used future" aesthetic draped over a core contrasting and vibrant Dark Eldar color scheme, with colors chosen to fit a desert raiding party. A group that in background might never leave the planet, living on their skiffs, fighting in between other groups and pillaging shipwrecks and anyone who crash lands or attempts to colonize the planet.
A lot of fun both in execution and result. It was a treat working back and forth with the client tweaking ideas between the theme itself, color theory, and his own personal taste. In the end a result I am quite proud of, a good balance of color in variety, contrast and theme. I certainly love set palette armies, but it is a fun and different beast doing such a mixed color contingent, both in the challenge of balancing each unit and each one also feeling new as I go through the roster.
Hope you enjoy, and thanks for looking. Next up will be the charity army for the Adepticon Raffle! See you then.
Stunning work as ever, props on maintaining a consistent weight and feel across those different hues, thanks to the weathering and etc. So many details to soak up in these shots alone!
Had a blast at Adepticon this year. If any of you were there, and we never ran into each other, I am sorry. But maybe next year. A guy could spend just a few minutes with everyone he'd love to chat with and there still isnt time in a 4 day weekend.
Had a conversation recently with a friend about painting, both for others and for ourselves. What we find rewarding. Having not been a "casual" hobbyist in about a dozen years it's always healthy to stop and appreciate the situation. I certainly remember the days of doing the usual paint at night for the upcoming event, and fondly, and that conversation brought back those memories and how things have transitioned over the years naturally. I could empathize with him in his mention of having little time, and really only wanting to in order to relax. Over the years, and having done this for so long my personality has simply changed to one where I get more enjoyment out of painting for other people, and not so much myself. The relaxation still remains and luckily never fades even in long days of painting, but a new primary natural high and reward comes from essentially giving a gift of a dream army to someone who can generally imagine it, but doesn't have the time and/or skill to make it a reality themselves. I get the fun of giving gifts at Christmas multiple times a year and I enjoy that more than the reward of painting for myself these days. Spontaneous conversations such as those are nice to stop and smell the roses and appreciate my Santa complex that keeps me going and very fulfilled.
Within that, the moment of uploading pictures and sending them off is always fireworks. The only shame is that, while in terms of emotion it lasts especially in going back to old photos, digitally it is pretty fleeting. That said, hopefully you all don't mind a little revisit to the last project to keep it going a little. A few of my favorite pictures in many ways that I always assume get lost in the shuffle and giant drop of a gallery when a project finishes. So enjoy, let me know if you mind, or don't, and see you at the next one! Thanks for listening to me ramble if you got this far, and have a great day.
Hello out there! The Elysian airplane batch is all done, and for you today a gallery full of thick ladies to make a Mechanicum priest blush.
This project was pretty special to me because the scheme is similar to a Krieg army I did many, many years ago, and being able to revisit that in my modern style and quality was a real treat. A little extra rewarding in that regard. The client had the basic request of tan and run through heck and back, so together we came up with a color palette that is analogous but striking and an instant classic in it's simplicity.
The weathering is all done by hand and is a lot of fun. I really enjoy sitting and freehanding it all. On these large panel vehicles there is quite a large canvas to paint on openly and give character. Very relaxing and a different open challenge when compared to the other side of the spectrum, infantry.
Bases and flight stands, credit goes to Dragon Forge Design. I've used them for years and every time I get a big batch of these flight stands I really appreciate them all over again. Being able to vary the heights makes photography fun and are much more solid than the basic stand.
That's it for this round. Hope you enjoyed and thanks for looking. See you in the next one!
Simply amazing. I stumbled over here from a simple Google search of "Dorghar conversion" and landed on a goldmine I never knew existed just a few clicks on the go to menu away.
Thank you as always guys! It means a lot people enjoy the work I put into everything.
Binabik15 wrote: Simply amazing. I stumbled over here from a simple Google search of "Dorghar conversion" and landed on a goldmine I never knew existed just a few clicks on the go to menu away.
Thanks! I loved doing that guy, one of my favorite dragon conversions I have worked on. It's actually pretty intuitive once I got my hands on it. The rough forms of Archaon blend into a Stormcast fairly well with bits and putty. Same for the dragon.
(Hello out there! Recently BigRed over at Bell of Lost Souls asked me to do a couple of throwback articles to Titans I have done. Thought I would try and bring it over here too. Hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by!)
Today join me looking back at some of the larger models I have done. Today we look at the “Sistine Sisters”, a Warlord and Reaver titan like you’ve never seen before. The release of Titanicus and interest in that, both my own as a hobbyist and that of clients booking Titanicus projects and working with them on color schemes, has me looking back fondly at some of the larger scale Titans and Knights of the past.
I’m a pretty focused person when I work, and on one project at a time, so when I get a chance to stop and look back at older things it’s a nice, fresh rush of excitement and fond memories. Anyway, let’s get to the pictures!
These two Titans were commissioned a couple years back. The client had one main broad concept he was after – a set of Titans that was as much a monument and testament to the glory of the Imperium as much as walking war machines. It’s also really quite fitting of the personality of man in the 41st millennium as GW has written it – war is glory, war machines embody that, and everything is quite on the nose. So it certainly seemed quite perfect and fitting to us that the Imperium would make such things.
The process of sourcing all the images for the freehand was quite fun. I essentially let him loose to find his favorite images, at a factor of about four times what we would need to cover it. Reason being each image needed to be composed both within the composition of the whole Titan, and within the frame of each panel. Not every image would work in every panel shape.
To work this out, I did a mockup or map of each panel part, and then took all these images and arranged them in photoshop as they would lay out on the titan. So I had an overall view of this “map” and how the colors would flow across it, how each panel would look and interact with the others near it, and also tell how they would lay into the panel shapes.
After this, it was as “simple” as zooming in to each panel and looking at it as I painted. I love doing freehand, so these weeks of nothing but painting panels was a lot of fun.
The Titans are assembled with the strongest materials possible. Epoxy for any part that carries weight or is bigger than your thumb. Large nails, with the heads cut off with bolt cutters, were used as giant pins. Finally each connection was bored out and fitted with a range of 1/2 inch magnets (all the weapons) to full 1 inch magnets (waist). The inch magnets work out great. With a little muscle and torsion, the waist comes off, but more than strong enough I could pick the Warlord up by the waist and carry it around.
The base is cut from plywood, and then sculpted over using a lightweight but hard Smooth On putty. After this holes were counter sunk into the bottom and very large screws attached the legs. I used screws instead of epoxy and pins so it could be removed if needed. Large enough screws with pre drilled holes are about equal grip anyway.
The models on the base were painted to match his existing army and to both make the base more interesting and to blend it in with his army on the table. This is a Warlord after all, so the Macharius I had sitting around was the perfect equally over the top base decoration to go with them.
That’s it for this round! Hope you enjoyed the little blast from the past as much as I did. Back to mulling over Titanicus while getting some paint on the current project. See you in the next one!
Hello out there! I am making a post so that means back from the distant galaxy of the space elves with another finished army. This time, Ynarri!
The main request of this army was a parchment and cherry blossom theme, keeping the palette limited. Similar tones in shading across the colors gave it a nice subdued feel, but powerful at the same time. A very unique scheme and a slightly different challenge and process made it something very special and a lot of fun.
The same color theory was applied to the display, which is all hand sculpted. Decided to do something a little different this time and post the in progress shots later on, with my thoughts after the fact. So look forward to that coming up soon.
The display is dual purpose - the front section is designed to fit over an existing wheeled cart for smaller tournament games. The back half locks together with the front with latches and aligning pegs for really big or team games. I am excited to share the whole process of how it was built, but will save more for later.
I always say I enjoyed painting an army, certainly because it is true, and I love painting anything. However this one was a little extra in no small part to the client. Wonderful person, has been a treat to work with him, and a good sport putting up with my flurries of texts at weird hours. Plus because of the display I got to do an in-person hand off and got to meet the guy, which isn't common, and had a great time and awesome conversation. Anyway, you know who you are and thank you very much.
Lots more fun stuff coming up. Thanks for checking out the pics, and see you later with the display blogging.
Wow dude, another stunner and a half - I didn't notice the wraithlord stepping through the mega-webway when I caught this on Insta Really sweet color scheme carried across soooooo many models. The extreme pop of the Yncarne is perfect, but I gotta shout out to that Avatar, amazing paintjob in its own right.
Just noticing the swirling canopies, not to mention all the freehand everywhere
Wow dude, another stunner and a half - I didn't notice the wraithlord stepping through the mega-webway when I caught this on Insta Really sweet color scheme carried across soooooo many models. The extreme pop of the Yncarne is perfect, but I gotta shout out to that Avatar, amazing paintjob in its own right.
Just noticing the swirling canopies, not to mention all the freehand everywhere
Thank you very much! It was definitely one of those projects where every aspect was its own special treat to work on, and very rewarding to lay it all out and the end and look around myself.
As promised, back with the images and notes on the making of the last Eldar display. Will be back again for a second post on the painting separately.
Really enjoyed building this one, lots of clay work and new and unique style. Hope you enjoy the images as much as I did making it.
As usual, for sake of politeness and space I won't post all the images here, but you can find it all on my facebook, blog, or wait for the BoLS post.
A nightmare of necropotent naughties! A frightful flurry of flailing appendages!
New army, this time 15 pounds of bouncing baby Nurgle. This is one of those armies where it feels there is so much to say, and so much flavor it is better to let the pictures do the talking and give it themselves. The request was simple - slightly rusty black, with ochre and red accents, and a halloween feel but very serious and horrific.
The Land Raider was just a surprise and something I wanted to do for a while. Lots of steps of sculpting, just having fun blending flesh and armor, and replacing the treads with crawling tentacles. Fun to paint too.
That is it for now. Thanks for looking, hope you enjoy the pics, and see you next time!
What a crew of big, dark bastards! Love the custom land raider, strong 90s chaos vibe with all the big eyes and gloopy tentacles
One niggling thing: man, the stock head on that Nurgle DP is still pretty rough. Great paint on the horn, but that popeye and big warbly chin ... (cool on the sword swap tho! and back pipes looking very nice)
Sorry I just saw these replies guys! Been all over the place past couple months and painting in between.
Boss Salvage wrote:What a crew of big, dark bastards! Love the custom land raider, strong 90s chaos vibe with all the big eyes and gloopy tentacles
One niggling thing: man, the stock head on that Nurgle DP is still pretty rough. Great paint on the horn, but that popeye and big warbly chin ... (cool on the sword swap tho! and back pipes looking very nice)
Thank you!
I actually really like that head haha. I get the popeye thought though. I can also get if it's sort of overdone and overseen as well to some people. It is one of those things that just happens to not get old for me. The model is actually quite old, the quality of the sculpt is deceptive.
FeindusMaximus wrote:That is Disgustingly Excellent Dude!
Pancakey wrote:Always amazing!
Thanks guys!
TalonZahn wrote:I've followed you for years and love your work!
Sometimes I think of sending you a list of my Blood Angels, just to see what you think.
I'm hovering around 75k points (not wargear) somewhere in the area of 1200 Marines + Vehicles, super heavies, Knights, etc... lol.
Now that is really my style. Four digit model counts I don't care what the scheme is, going to be cool. Definitely feel free to email even if just to test the water.
Another army for you. Same army as last time, different scheme, different vibe. Where the last army was reds and ochres, with strong Autumn undertones, this one is all winter! Request was Glooming Lords with some personal touches - muted green trims, bright green lenses and smoke, purple cloth, and no gold. Also, snow bases with some spreading sickness and ooze as they walk and taint the ground around them. Otherwise free reign. With that I ran with just a tint of rust for Nurgle, and pushed the purples in the flesh for a somewhat cold palette. Like the last army I enjoy these sorts of projects where it isn't an "ice Death Guard" army exactly, but flexing color theory part of the brain to add a subtle flavor layer to the whole thing where possible.
With that in mind I took an old display I hadn't used in a while and gave it a winter makeover. Used to be tan and you might remember it from some Ironjaw Orruks. The fun thing about these is nothing needs to be permanent, so it was fun playing in loose snow just for photo effect, piling it on the dozers and such.
Quite a lot of fun overall in terms of process, and Death Guard are some great sculpts, so always a pleasure to paint.
Next up, a completely different scale! See you then.
Back again, this time with something pretty different, at least in scale - Adeptus Titanicus! In case anyone is unfamiliar with the size of these, the Knights in front are about a Terminator, and the middle ones, a Dreadnought. Tiny stuff, but a lot going on. I've painted all of these in their full scale and I have to say the detail is really remarkable. It's a testament to the effort put in to recreating the larger Titans that the process for painting these was overall the same, and felt the same, as the big guys.
The schemes are Legion Astraman and House Griffith. The client was really sold on, and loves Griffith, so that part was easy. The complicated part was finding something he enjoyed that was complimentary on several levels to that House. I went through every legion to see what existed, as well as coming up with a few of them myself either just based on pure color theory, or existing Legions that are nothing more than tidbits of lore. In the end he reviewed this package of ideas, and we went with Astraman. Which in hindsight was a great choice. It needed some modernization, but that transition went very smoothly.
Not pictured here but included is every possible weapon option, tons of terrain, and accessories. I really enjoy that and this project has a little bit extra sense of completion because of it. I am the type of person to collect every little accessory and doodad to go with whatever I am interested in at the moment, so it's a little extra cozy feeling and feels good to send out a complete package to the client.
Thanks for viewing, hope you enjoy, and see you next time!
You see so many AT18 Titans covered in nail art decals and airbrushing that it makes your freehand work on the check patterns, battle damage and weathering doubly impressive. The terrain here is next level stuff as well. I am sure your client will be delighted with their new army. Exceptional work.
Hello out there! Another army finished and ready to roll out.
This army is a Sylvaneth Age of Sigmar batch themed around the end of Autumn and the fade into winter time. This project began as a simple but specific premise and idea of the client. I work with all ranges of no idea what someone wants to very specific and fleshed out army ideas, and there is a lot of fun in the range in between too. For this army the client's base ideas were a simple range of colors they would love to see - icy look and icy blue accents, darker old wood, lighter new wood, and some red color thrown in for accent as well.
Sometimes within that range of structure in a client's vision, there is an army that is simply colors they love but maybe no specific theme. That is fine, and I actually enjoy those for the challenge of finding something that wraps around what they want but adds even more that they weren't expecting or knew was hiding within that. So thinking within that set of colors, what came to me was a bunch of Sylvaneth that are transitioning from fall to winter. This sets off a play on both the red and the icy blue, which otherwise might not work so well, or seem two colors simply applied to a tree model, which I am sure if you think of armies painted just with "I like these colors" but nothing beyond that looks like.
There were also some other pleasant surprises that just by nature of working on them came to me or appeared. They have a bit of an overcast feeling in the tone which I really love. Treefolk walking through the woods, leaves still hanging on, but the cold of winter and that first heavy snow wet with still slightly warm weather. The new season powering them from within.
In the end a straightforward but fun exercise and an example of why I really enjoy any range of ideas a client might come to me with, and lucky to be able to have that switch up from project to project.
That is all for this time. Next up is some Tzeentch themed Dwarves for AoS, which will be an awesome example of the far end of the spectrum - an army with a fully fleshed out idea from the go that just needs nothing from me but to do it. Unique and colorful, which is right up my alley. See you then!
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ListenToMeWarriors wrote: You see so many AT18 Titans covered in nail art decals and airbrushing that it makes your freehand work on the check patterns, battle damage and weathering doubly impressive. The terrain here is next level stuff as well. I am sure your client will be delighted with their new army. Exceptional work.
Thank you very much!That is one reason I enjoy checkers on them so much. Its very time intensive and you just cant really cheat at it and look good.
Boss Salvage wrote: Another beauty with some serious tone control I actually saw these shots on your IG but appreciate the project all the more for your commentary here.
I am back again from deep beneath the earth, bringing back some colorful balls of tainted stubbornness. This time it is Age of Sigmar Dwarves with a Tzeentch flavor. This army has some very personal and unique backstory the client has been working on for years, so let's kick it off with a small summary of that:
"The Kromidrakk Lodge dwells beneath the “Glass Sea” in the city of Fanokbulla on Chamon, the Realm of Metal. This lodge went to the Realm of Metal in search of ur-gold under the deep depths of the Glass Sea under false pretense. They have been hired by an agent of Tzeentch for thousands of years, The Changeling.
It is with Tzeentch's blessings that the Kromidrakk Lodge has been slightly mutated to have gills by the Changer of Ways. The Kromidrakk Lodge has no knowledge of the true identity of The Changeling. Crestis'Chk, the Lord of Change, personally oversees this endeavor. It is he who mutates the magmadroths into Vortex Beasts. It is he who further mutates the Lodge from within. They continue to serve Tzeentch unknowingly, all the while, believing in their cause."
Tzeentch tainted Dwarves. A very unique army that is also very colorful. This was right up my alley and a lot of fun to work on. Quite a lot to dig into and flex the color theory and composition muscles, going from a broad idea for an army with very fleshed out backstory, to an overall whole bringing the two together and making something that works both as a visual whole and with the story the client had created..
For a great project with a lot of feeling behind it, well written, fleshed out and personal backstory is half of the battle. The other is the paint that tells the story visually. Combine the two and you get a very sentimental and special thing that you can point out across the table and know what went into it. I put a lot of work into my projects and what most people see at first glance is that effort, but cannot give enough credit to the clients that have worked on and thought about their personal army for years, and allow me that foundation to work on top of. Thank you very much to a certain special someone for this one! Was all my pleasure.
Next up - Perry Samurai! Somehow in all these years of painting I have never done historicals or Perry. Very much looking forward to digging in. See you then!
That's just bonkers! In a good way. So much colour, it looks fantastic, especially as a whole force. And of course kudos to the client for such a unique idea.
DeadEyeDuk wrote: That's just bonkers! In a good way. So much colour, it looks fantastic, especially as a whole force. And of course kudos to the client for such a unique idea.
WOW dude, amazing army. Such colors, etc. - but biggest shoutout to the OG lord of change hanging in the back Now I'mma track down some more pics of those not-endless spells!
Boss Salvage wrote:WOW dude, amazing army. Such colors, etc. - but biggest shoutout to the OG lord of change hanging in the back Now I'mma track down some more pics of those not-endless spells!
Stunning work as ever. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to splash this post across the Book of Faces 
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and they work together as a whole.
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Really sweet color scheme carried across soooooo many models. The extreme pop of the Yncarne is perfect, but I gotta shout out to that Avatar, amazing paintjob in its own right.
