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I'm painting again after a looong absence. The colour scheme was inspired by Australian Frilled-neck Lizards and Thorny Devils. Base was extended with an MDF circle, cork, stones, and green stuff. I used my airbrush to prime it all and lay down the base colours, then lots of hand-painting, washing and drybrushing.

Here's a quick vine/root monsters I painted to try and get myself back into the swing of things: I've taken a break from running Pathfinder, so a friend has started a Dark Heresy campaign. I'm playing an Assassin in the campaign, and bought a figure from the Infinity line that I felt fits into the 40k world well enough: And here's a Winter Fairy:

Eep, I've been away a long time! I've been busy working on my novel and developing my own tabletop RPG, so there hasn't been much painting done these past few months. I needed a Firepelt Cougar for my Pathfinder campaign, so I painted the Cat from Reaper's Animal Companions Set 2 based on colours from Paizo's concept art: I painted this guy so long ago, that I've forgotten exactly what colours I used, except I know there's Nightshade Purple used for the fur, and the flames were built up from dark red/orange to sun yellow. They may look like blurred/bleeding colour in the photos, but those really are distinct shades of red/orange.yellow. Then I did something incredibly stupid: I started painting a new figure, took a break, and finished it a few months later. The result is a horrible mess that I'm just going to upload without further comment: I'll post other (better) paintjobs over the next few days.

Yesterday, my Pathfinder players found this running towards them: The Scarecrow, a self-aware Flesh Golem composed of human, horse and dog meat. Colour scheme is based on Paizo's artwork. Skin: Olive Skin Shadow > Olive Skin > Yellowed Bone Shirt: Olive Shadow > Olive Drab > Worn Olive Hat: Uniform Brown > Green Ochre > Fade Khaki Trousers: Walnut Brown > Yellowed Bone Scythe Handle: Walnut Brown > Cloudy Grey Scythe Blade: Stormy Grey > Cloudy Grey > Misty Grey Viscera: Walnut Brown > Spattered Crimson > Gore Red I used a Black Wash to mark edges and to make the stitching pop, and Flesh Wash on parts of the skin to create a mottled impression with slightly pinker/redder patches. When mixing for skin and clothes, I routinely added a few drops of colour from a different material, to give everything a unified sense of age and grime. The base was constructed using cork and sand, with static grass and leaf flock added after painting.

Some last-minute Pathfinder preparation forced me to do a couple of speed-paints. Skinsaw Cultist: 1 Hour from base coat to highlights. Cloth & War Razor: Pure Black > Splattered Crimson > Marigold Yellow > Blond Hightlight Leather: Pure Black > Cloudy Grey + Splattered Crimson > Misty Grey I tried to give the impression of golden runes on the cloak, but was rushed so they really just look like blobby highlights. Flesh Golem: 2.5 hours. Skin: Amber Shadow > Fair Shadow > Fair Skin + Dirty Bone Pants: Walnut Brown > Tanned Leather > Dirty Bone Finished with two washes, one Pure Black the other Splattered Crimson, applied selectively.

<Bragging Mode> I submitted Ebonwrath to the Inspiration gallery, and now Reaper are using my paint-job in the online store. YAY!!! </Bragging Mode>

A few people over in the WIP forum suggested I try a darker backdrop for Ebonwrath, so here are some more pics:

Okay, FINE! You want a dark backdrop, here's a dark backdrop: Huh, that actually does look better. Good advice, thanks!

Thanks for the praise and advice, everyone, it has been greatly appreciated! I opted for a neutral grey backdrop based on feedback and have now posted the final photoshoot in my show off thread. Here's a preview:

Ebonwrath! My largest figure to date. After laying down the pure black base coat, I started by painting the underglow on the dragon, then after each layer was done I applied it to the base as a wash. After all the layers were done, I finished the base with a black drybrush. I then painted the toplight using shades of grey mixed with soft blue to contrast the warmer underglow. The eye is a sun yellow base, with a lava orange wash and a blond highlight dab in the centre. Underglow: Pure Black > Splattered Crimson > Lava Orange > Sun Yellow Toplight: Pure Black + Soft Blue > Cloudy Grey + Soft Blue > Misty Grey + Soft Blue > Pure White Eyes: Sun Yellow Base, Lava Orange wash, Blond Highlight The base: Details that show my brushwork: This guy was so hard to light and photograph, that I decided to build a DIY lightbox, using a cardboard box, white paint, plastic-coated freezer paper, bulldog clips, staples and a cloth backdrop. Here's what it looked like during a test shoot: The lightbox, combined with the fact that I have finally worked out how to import RAW photos from my camera to my old copy of Photoshop, should lead to better photos in the future. I made a WIP thread for this figure, if you're interested.

Okay, he's basically done now, so this is your last opportunity to say "Really, you're going with *that* look?" Close-up to show off his eye. It's Sun Yellow, with a Lava Orange wash, and a dab of Blond Highlight at the centre: These photos were taking using a new DIY lightbox that I bodged together today from a cardboard box, plastic-coated freezer paper, white paint, bulldog clips and staples: Obviously, I need a larger backdrop for a figure of this size, but I'd like your thoughts on whether the pure white background is the way to go, or whether a more neutral grey (or another colour entriely) would work better.

Top light is done: Pure Black > Cloudy Grey + Soft Blue > Misty Grey + Soft Blue > Pure White I drybrushed the darkest shades, but did the brighter ones by hand so I could highlight individual scales. It's easier to see what I've done from overhead: Next step: Fixes and final clean-up. Yup, it's a great little shop, though I wish they'd stock a better range of Reaper products.

Underglow is done: Pure Black > Splattered Crimson > Lava Orange > Sun Yellow I was planning on pushing the bright spots further than Sun Yellow, but I'm currently thinking that it works as it stands. As before - the lighting on the dragon was hand painted, then I applied the colour to the base as a wash. I was a little more precise and selective with the brighter washes though. I've also finished the base off with drybrushed black: Next step: the top light.

I've now layered the underglow up to orange: Pure Black > Splattered Crimson > Lava Orange It took another four layers to move from red to orange with thinned and mixed colours. I'm hand-painting the dragon now (no more dry-brushing), and then using the brightest shade as a wash on the base: The base will look much better when I re-blacken the rocks. Next step: From Laval Orange to Sun Yellow...

The first stage of the lava glow is done: Pure Black > Splattered Crimson I haven't bothered with colour-correction, so ignore how yellow/brown everything is :) Washes for the base, so the colour settles into the cracks, and regular brushwork for the dragon, so the cracks stay black. Next step is to continue building the red to orange and then to yellow using the same techniques. When these colours are done, I'll carefully drybrush the base back to black again. I'm doing the base and body simultaneously to save on paint, but yes, I'll have to be careful. Since the base is just washes until the final layer, I'm not too worried about it. Well Bunnings (Australian hardware franchise) stocks them in Bonsai supplies :P