Dragoneye

Thats easy... SNOW! also a fire in the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate (or mulled wine). Downhill skiing and hot buttered rum.There is the downside of it too... but lets not go there yet, Winter will be here soon enough.

Oh, I LOVE it. I thought my dearly departed cat Martini was a bruiser, but Tommy has him beat. We got Martini in Philadelphia, tiny little kitten with GREAT BIG PAWS. That night I made Martinis, put them on the table and went to get something. When I returned, the little punk was standing on the table drinking my Martini... hence the name. He grew into those paws, and he'd box you if you tried to pet him. Maybe I shoulda named him Rocky. I had vets politely ask me not to bring him back, I even sedated him once - it didn't work. He used to take D20s in the bathtub to knock them about, I found one broken in half one day. Marti would have been on the NPC side of things for certain, Perhaps a Giant with Fighter levels (not a barbarian, he was more the cold-calculated killer type). Sorry your Tommy was poisoned, that's awful. Marti died of Kidney disease and unfortunately it looks like that will take Ashes soon too. Cheers to the big loving bruiser pets, RIP.

Both my kitties are old men, of the grumpy and somewhat lecherous variety. Ashes "Underfoot" is a Bard, in his youth he may have sung well and crooned for every pretty thing. But as he's aged he now sings in a gravelly, well past it prime voice merely to find a nice warm spot to spend the night... and day. Jack "In the Box" is a Swashbuckler, although his lack of dexterity makes this interesting and comical to watch. The fact that he is an old man doesn't stop him and he will still swing from a chandelier to land, in a heap, facing the wrong way, with an "Oof!"... and and "ow..." somewhat in the general vicinity of his enemy. But, be warned, when he isn't showing off, he can snatch a bird on the wing.

It does seem a bit busy, especially in front. In your next update, could you do a closer image so we can see the detail better? The cloak is gorgeous! I can't wait to see the final piece.

Thank you! He actually has the slit for the pupil. The eye facing the camera was slightly deformed and not smooth and I guess the pupil is painted on the edge of the deformity so it isn't showing. My photo from the other side was blurry and I was lazy so didn't retake it. I will see if I can get a better picture tomorrow. The lighting kind of washed him out anyway. Pictures never do us justice.

Very nice work! You captured the croc coloring well and I like the somewhat surreal coloring. The eyes, claws and teeth need a bit more love. A slit for the pupil and some more shading or yellowing. AWESOME JOB!

Thanks! After the con and taking pics, I wish I had positioned the horse with the abdomen up more and the head twisted back and over (opisthotonus). It would have been a more realistic death position as well as better for pictures... and more disgusting :)

More images can be found here: https://dragoneyeminiatures.wordpress.com/2016/11/06/2016-11-6-oculus/ So, I bought this guy back when Magnificent Egos was still around (I think in their first year or so). I loved the notion of an Undead Beholder. I’m still not sure if it makes it more or less scary. I mean, wouldn’t it be less powerful? But, role playing aside, he’s a fun sculpt. He is also extremely heavy! I had him on a poor choice for a grip while I was painting in the last throws before Reapercon 13 and screwed up my wrist. Luckily My chiropractor and PT were able to patch me up so I could paint more. I entered Oculus in the Painter’s division even though only he or Pearl would be judged. The judges selected Pearl (see previous post) and Oculus was not judged. I could have entered him in the Open division, but decided painter’s was a more logical choice. The base sculpt has Oculus with intestines hanging from his mouth, and that’s it. Where these intestines came from is left to your imagination. This was unacceptable. I added a dead horse. Conveniently, I had a skeletal horse in my “why do I have these?†pile of figures to be used as bits. Of course, a skeleton doesn’t have intestines… so I added the flesh, partially flayed and gory, leaving exposed bone and a nice empty abdomen. Good enough story for me! Now onto the painting! The eye, Google gave me this amazing image of a red eye and I went with it, I learned a hell of a lot about painting eyes from this figure. And while I felt I did it justice, I learned more upon critique from Jess Rich (who, oddly, was the only one I asked for critiques from on this fig). “Eyes are like gemstones.†Oh! goddamnit! Dark on top and light on bottom. Well crap. I thought I learned a lot, but there you go, I’ll need to paint another beholder (the group is going to kill me!). I enjoyed painting the exposed brain, and as well as the exposed skull on the back of the head (?). I found another use for my favorite discontinued color Spring Green (as part of a mix) in highlighting the intestines (Really people, obnoxious colors need us to buy them). All the flesh though… ugh! This is an awesome figure, but it seemed that every time I analyzed an area of flesh closely, I’d find more damaged tissue, exposed muscle or bone, etc… This was a good thing of course, or I would have died of boredom painting brown, brown, brown…. purple. Oculus and Pearl represent my painting skills and flaws quite well. In retrospect they were the best choices to enter into the Reapercon Open. What I learned this year from critiques and classes will catapult my skills forward. Please feel free to critique Oculus (and Pearl), I welcome your input! If you would prefer to PM your comments you can do so on the Reaper forums.

Yup! From Magnificent Egos (available from Piazo). He was fun to paint... I'm still not sure if being undead makes him more or less scary. Definitely creepy.

Thanks! I hate basing. Aw, damn!... now I've said it. sigh. (if I hate something I have to do more of it until I like it) ...expect to see more bases from me... *pout* I'll do a write up on my Undead Beholder next week, when I can squeeze in some time (this is in seriously short supply). He wasn't judged so I'll be looking for good critiques. I also need to post a WIP! I started a new one today using techniques I picked up at the con, and I love it! Sheesh, I'm really thrilled about brown paint on plastic....lol

Oh, no, I'm grateful for the critiques! My intent was to share them and reinforce what I learned this year. I was joking about dipping her! Phew! If we joke like that we use purple, then it's clear to all. Like : I hate Bacon! Ah, I see... thanx

Oh, no, I'm grateful for the critiques! My intent was to share them and reinforce what I learned this year. I was joking about dipping her!

Images can be found here: https://dragoneyeminiatures.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/2016-10-30-pearl/ Pearl started out as a monochromatic painting challenge (on a purple theme) that I didn’t finish. I got the idea to do ‘Sin City’ style accents on her scales with Mint Green (Reaper M.S.P. #09263). My happy trees brain went ‘ooh!’, then ‘ooh, ooh!’ and the colors flowed and, not so monochromatic anymore. But man, I love Mint Green now! The seaweed is my addition, and I did everything you’re not supposed to do, ’cause I didn’t know better. It’s a length of wire with green stuff flattened around it and yup, it bubbled and was a pain. I kept at it until it did what I wanted. Mint Green was no good for highlighting. I instead used Spring Green (Reaper M.S.P. #09146 – discontinued color), another lovely color and was quite pleased with the harmony/discord between the two greens. As is my wont, I painted the face first and considered the base last, to my detriment. On the base are talus rocks tossed on and colored to match the figure with a hint of underwater lighting (there wasn’t enough space to pull that off effectively). Note to self: If I love to see obscure little details in bases…. so do others, add them! Part of an anchor, fish, an octopus… that’s fun and interesting; Colored rocks is boring. My light source is… just ok, I could do much better. I’ve figured out highlights, now I need to study shadows. Blending, sigh… I thought I had this, but alas, no. My blending is good in some areas, but not everywhere. Perhaps I felt rushed, but excuses aside, I need to work on my transitions more. I hate her and shall toss her in Pine Sol! No, she deserved her Silver and I love her. I thank the judges for their time and critiques. To sum up: Awesome colors. Quality of blending is inconsistent. Shadows are needed to define the light source and the base is boring.

Just for clarification; that did not happen at the 'con.It was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Yes, you should!! Welcome to the asylum. Thanks for the lifts, too! Edit---ooops, forgot what I learned: --I need to work on my shading/highlights a lot more --drybrushing has it's uses, but don't overdo it --I'm actually a little better at sculpting than I thought (based on a sculptor's comments on my Colossal Skeleton) You're welcome too!

Mint Green and Spring Green are 2 of my favorite highlight colors! I also went out and got a big bag of little wood disks to practice portaiture on. Now to get to it.

Well, the rides were still appreciated!! You're Welcome!

I learned: Not to bring stuff to do in the evening, 'cause I'm just going to go to the fire pit and drink Dilvish's rum. Rental cars are handy, but are pieces of crap and really expensive. This also reinforced that I really hate automatics. Sleeping is overrated, I'll have to catch up at home. I should take Monday off too so I don't miss the Auction. The light produced by my travel lamp is useless in the convention center. I should "Hang out" on the Reaper forums and I needed a new account with a better name. Jessica Rich is an awesome teacher and I can't wait to start adding more freehand and portraiture to my figs. I've learned that fluids, translucent fabric and NMM aren't as hard as I've been making them out to be and I just need to practice. My blending needs more work :( Sculpting little itty bitty faces is HARD... but I'll be practicing... 8 classes (9 sessions) is considered a lot by pretty much everyone (though I was fine with it). I think I'll only take 7 next time... but that's just so I can do some social painting. I need to spend more time on basing and display (borrrring) My husband's glasses and mine look the same ... but are VERY different! I now have cool leopard readers which should fix that confusion. I'll be back next year...and I'll be starting the contest pieces tomorrow.