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The ghosts definitely look better with the new base paint jobs. Really nice!

I like the Angel of Death. The realistic palate really works. Death seems to me to be the most “blue-collar” of all the supernatural forces, and the plain scheme does that justice. No frills. No embellishment. I mean who does death need to impress? No one I tells ya!

And the dwarves look great. Again, the natural palate works great here and really seems to play to your strengths.

Great stuff all around!

Valete,

JohnS

I like those ghosts, the extra glow was worth it they look much better. Like Cygnuss said your use of colors is very realistic and not over done.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I forgot to mention that the Winged Reaper (which is the actual name of that model) is still WIP. I've pretty much finished it, but am agonizing over the shadows and basing.

Nice glow on the ghosts!

Thanks, aku-chan. I'm still very much a novice when it comes to lighting effects, but I like to think that I'm getting better. Speaking of which:


I posted this shot of the Death Reaper last week. The robe is painted in a solid coat of Vallejo shadow grey (I think, it's essentially Space Wolves grey with a different name). I took a couple of photos with some extreme lighting (sorry, I haven't uploaded those), and then did my best to mimic the shadows with blending and glazing:




The front view turned out the best, the sides not so much. Also, it looks better in real life than in the blown-up pixelated versions in my Dakka gallery. Overall, it was a good first step towards a more painterly style. Still have a ways to go, though.

I also finished this dwarf hero from Bad Squiddo:


She's on a 20mm base to plug a hole in the unit of Shieldbreakers I shared a while back. Aesthetically, she's quite different from the rest of the unit, but a little variation is never a bad thing. I have a couple more dwarf models in the works, but the muse has been quiet this past week, and progress is slow. I hope to have them ready to show after the weekend.

I like the Death Reaper. His(?) cloak keeps to a nice, plain, unadorned look that I really think works, but you did a great job of giving it enough shading to make it pop. In a restrained way.

I think it’s ready for its cameo opening up the Heavenly Hills Mall!

The female dwarf looks good. Again, your strengths with the natural, earthy, palette really shine here. Only thing missing his her beard.

I feel you on the muse. It’s been a while since I was able to get down into my painting dungeon for any length of time lately. Have to try to fix that, but the muse hasn’t been speaking to me...

Valete,

JohnS

 cygnnus wrote:


I feel you on the muse. It’s been a while since I was able to get down into my painting dungeon for any length of time lately. Have to try to fix that, but the muse hasn’t been speaking to me...

Valete,

JohnS

One thing that has helped me get past a lack of motivation has been the monthly Dakka painting challenge. I usually pick a model that is not part of whatever project I have ongoing. That little difference helps recharge my painting batteries.

Death Reaper and Dwarf Hero are looking very nice. I too need more practise on robes (as I discovered once again with my own entry...)

 Arakasi wrote:
Death Reaper and Dwarf Hero are looking very nice. I too need more practise on robes (as I discovered once again with my own entry...)

Yeah, painting cloth realistically is hard. I need a lot more practice.

Really like the bone work on the reaper, very evocative.

NIce work all around Josh. Really like the depth of red on the cloak of the dwarfette. The bone work came out great as well.

Nice work on the reaper, but I'm always partial to more painted dwarves and the hero looks great. The eyes came out very well.

inmygravenimage wrote:Really like the bone work on the reaper, very evocative.

Thanks. I think I could have taken the bone a little closer to white, but it stands out well against the grey.

Theophony wrote:NIce work all around Josh. Really like the depth of red on the cloak of the dwarfette. The bone work came out great as well.

Thanks. I'm pretty happy with that model all around.

Viterbi wrote:Nice work on the reaper, but I'm always partial to more painted dwarves and the hero looks great. The eyes came out very well.

You'll be happy with this post, then:


These are dwarf berzerkers from Stonehaven miniatures. Many months ago, I painted up a troop of ten mantic berserzers, which were nice models, but only come in two poses. I've been hunting for models from other makers to fill out the unit. The dude on the left with the clubs was painted entirely without washes, inks or glazes as something of a challenge for myself. I think he turned out pretty good. The female dwarf on the right is fully armored, which seems odd for a berzerker, but the unlikely weapon makes up for it, I think. Both models's feet are so far apart that I had to base them diagonally, which has them looking off to the side. I painted their eyes to be looking toward the front of their bases, but the gigantic browridge and/or bangs make them essentially invisible. Ah, well.

Over the weekend, my son and I assembled 10 Tribals for Ghost Archipelago, so I guess I'm working on those next. Also, for the November painting challenge, I'll be working on the Basilean Abbess and Abyssal Seductress, both from Mantic:

The resin Abyssals are really nice. Wasn't a huge fan of the earlier models - converted mine up for Dreadball lol. I probably still have some bits somewhere if you want, just drop me a pm.

Dwarves look great!

I kind of like the fully armored berserker dwarf. I like the idea that they seal the crazy inside the armor in preparation of the battle. Sort of transforming her into a walking bastion of carnage.

I really like the palette you are using on the dwarves, it is very well done. The skin tones and cloth are something I aspire to.

Some nice Dwarves there Josh.

Cheers,

CB

inmygravenimage wrote:The resin Abyssals are really nice. Wasn't a huge fan of the earlier models - converted mine up for Dreadball lol. I probably still have some bits somewhere if you want, just drop me a pm.

Thanks for the offer, but I have more than enough for Vanguard, and I'm not looking to start a whole KOW army of them. Also, I'm pretty sure shipping from the UK to Japan would be pricey.

Arakasi wrote:Dwarves look great!

Thanks!

Archer wrote:I kind of like the fully armored berserker dwarf. I like the idea that they seal the crazy inside the armor in preparation of the battle. Sort of transforming her into a walking bastion of carnage.

I hadn't considered that. Now I like the model a lot more.

Yorkright wrote: I really like the palette you are using on the dwarves, it is very well done. The skin tones and cloth are something I aspire to.

Somewhere along the line, I have become the master of browns. I should pull out some old harlequins or something to practice other colors.

Captain Brown wrote:Some nice Dwarves there Josh.

Cheers,

CB

Thanks!

Late to the party, but great work on those two dwarves, love the blond hair color, nicely done!

I wonder what you could do for Harlequins in a mostly brown scheme......

Viterbi wrote:Late to the party, but great work on those two dwarves, love the blond hair color, nicely done!

Thanks. For whatever reason, I'm getting pretty good at painting blond hair.

Archer wrote:I wonder what you could do for Harlequins in a mostly brown scheme......

And now I know what I'll be doing for the December Painting Challenge.

I'm still plugging away at the painting desk. Not as much as I'd like, but it's not like I'm getting in a lot of games these days. First up, my completed entry for the November Painting Challenge:





These are the Abyssal Seductress and Basilean Abbess, both from Mantic's Vanguard line. These are cast in resin (not my favorite material, BTW-- too flimsy and bendy for my tastes), and I'm 100% certain that they will break multiple times in multiple places. The Seductress' wings have both broken off and been repaired already because the contact points are so small. I really focussed on shading the white cloth, and am actually pretty happy with how it turned out. I tried NMM on the Abyssal, but it doesn't look very metallic to my eyes.

A couple of weeks ago, my son and I were "snooping" in my many boxes of unpainted models, looking for our (really my) next project. He decided that we would build and paint some tribal for Ghost Archipelago. We assembled two sprues worth, and I finished these five earlier this week:







I need to figure out a better lighting set up. These aren't my favorite FG/GA models, and I'm not entirely happy with how their faces turned out. I'll probably go back and add the masks sometime this weekend. I don't feel entirely comfortable using them as adversaries in GA, but I think they'd make an interesting warband for Ragnarok. Assuming, of course, that I ever get around to playing it.

I have a couple more Vanguard models in the pre-painting stage, and a Secret Santa project that I can't share until it's been received. After that, who knows? Maybe in January I'll put up a poll to decide my next big project.

Looking good. The gold nmm worked well, I like your white cloth and the frostgrave models came out nicely, even if they are as you note, possibly a bit problematic to use as mooks. Good to see what else you come up with

Love the Abyssal; all your hard work paid off. They're definitely my favourite KoW figs, great job though on the Basiliean cloth and skin for the FG stuff too.

Vejut wrote:Looking good. The gold nmm worked well, I like your white cloth and the frostgrave models came out nicely, even if they are as you note, possibly a bit problematic to use as mooks. Good to see what else you come up with

I'm still not convinced that I "get" NMM, but I agree that the cloth worked out well. I'll have to try the effect with other colors some time.

inmygravenimage wrote:Love the Abyssal; all your hard work paid off. They're definitely my favourite KoW figs, great job though on the Basiliean cloth and skin for the FG stuff too.

Thanks. As is usual for this type of model, I felt like a creep while painting her. Lots of boob and butt.

For whatever reason, I've been feeling rather uninspired with regards to hobby stuff. I've been trying to finish off some of the stuff that's been piling up around my painting area, but nothing I pull out really grabs me. That said, I have made a little progress:



This is the Basilean Dictator, from the same set as the Abbess I shared last update. I'm quite proud of the white cloak, but the metals are pretty rough. As always, it looks better in person.







Five more Tribals for Ghost Archipelago. I gave these guys masks to cover up the substandard work on their faces. When googling Tiki Masks, I saw a lot of colorful illustrations and knick-knacks, but the real thing tends toward unpainted carved wood, which is the direction I went with these guys. Here they are all together:


They still need some work on their bases.

Next up: some Harlequins for the Dakka Painting Challenge for December. I'm struggling with NMM on these guys, but I hope to have something to share within the week.

White cloak looks great - you have had more success shading white to grey than I!

 Arakasi wrote:
White cloak looks great - you have had more success shading white to grey than I!

Well, it did take a long, long time spread out over two painting sessions...

I am still loving your take on Basilieans, it's really got me thinking about Armada colours.

Those ghosts are really nice. Lovely glow.