Samedi

Alright, back at my painting desk! I spent the last days rearranging my room. Now I finally have a dedicated painting space! Also I set up some of my music instruments again. That was another hobby I've ignored for far too long. Feels great to have all my hobbies so accessible now! So that's at least one positive aspect of the lockdown. I'm almost finished with the squigs and I'm really begin to hate the orange one. Good thing he will be off my working shelf soon! I've decided not to push the standard with those two. Only some drybrushing of the base left and they're gone. Then I called the bonsai lumberjack to prune my copper trees. They will stand in the water, that means they are dead and have lost a lot of branches already. I test fitted the fairy and the trees on a smaller base. I like that version much better. I'm still very excited about this project. And still undecided how I'll do the spider web.

Absolutely stunning! And I wouldn't call using an airbrush "cheating" - it's just another tool in the toolbox.

Next mini off my shelf of shame: The little mummy from the warlord familiars pack III. Only when I painted the eyes of the scarabeus I realised that the sculpt is one eyed. And then I was too lazy to add the other one. Oh, well... Just a quick paint up, enjoy! C&c welcome!

One can really see the algae growing all over her. Very well done!

Very good work! And I like how you placed the magician on the mat.

Thanks @Lord of the Dish Pit, that was really helpful and inspiring! The tree bark looks great! ------------ Here's what I did today: I took out my green stuff to see if it is still good, it's been lying around for a few years. Sculpted some spider eggs for the fairy (don't know if I will find a space on the base, but it's good to have them, just in case) and a tombstone for samedi. The tombstone is the first "real" thing I tried with greenstuff. We all have to start somewhere. Then, inspired by the above post, I started with the trees for the fairy. That was a LOT of fun. I hope I will enjoy the modelling part as much. I test fitted the trees to the base. I probably have to reposition some branches to make room for the web. For the spiderweb there are three ideas I have right now: Using UHU glue Using the webs you use for halloween decoration Making the web myself out of fishing line (if I really feel adventurous) Next I did some experiments with the color challenge I declined. I have to revise that decision. The three colours result in a very workable palette. So, for the record: I hereby accept the colour challenge (if I'm also allowed to use weathering products and tint the water effect with inks and washes ). Here is the palette, wonderful soft colours! That also means I have to bring out the wet palette. Another first. As if I'm not in way over my head already... Finally I primed the Samedi. In black. Another first. I've always used white primer before. And I did some work on the squigs. I must say, that was a successful day for me. Now I'm off to another buying spree. I need some weathering products. And I try not to buy any more minis, I promise ! Group shot of my work today:

Nice work on the teeth!

Well, in my experience there are times to paint and then there are times to do something else. And at those times, for me it's often better not to paint, because I'll mess up and hate the experience. After all, it's just a hobby, not a job (at least for me, that is)... Great progress on the duck! It has come to life, and I wouldn't want to be in his way.

Just some quick prepping today. And a lot of research! First: Samedi the mini is back! Either I used the wrong super glue in the past or I became more patient, but he is back on his feet. He will skip the queue, so painter Samedi finally has a painted Samedi! Second: The fairy is cleaned and assembled. So tiny! I won't even attempt to paint her eyes, that's for sure. Concerning the challenges for her: I paint her up - mini challenge accepted. I found the reason for her being a victim. She does not look where she is flying, so she will head straight into a spider web. That means I have to build two small dead trees, and the spiderweb. I did a lot of youtube research today, so I have about an idea where to begin. However, if anyone has good tips for trees (I'm thinking about wire and green stuff so far) or spider webs, I would be happy. Mood challenge accepted. The base will be a murky pond, which means I will just flood everything in UV-resin. I'm very excited about that step! Basing challenge accepted. Then there is the weathering. Let's see what's there to weather. Probably not so much. BUT: There could be a lot of blood. I'll just include that in the weathering challenge (although I had it as a separate challenge). So, technique challenge accepted, sort of... Colour challenge: I'll politely decline that. There is so much going on, and I have an idea in my mind of where this is going. And for that I'll net a few more colours, sorry. Here they are: The fairy and Samedi, ready for priming, with the licence for queue-skipping. Together with the two squigs that gives me three very different projects to focus on. This should be good!

Thank you! His pose somewhat reminded me of a heron, with the intense stare and the lowered head. While I was painting him I thought about how he was hunting the fish in the water below him - or, at least, checking them out. I learned from the maya paintings I used for inspiration that the grown up serpents eat humans. But maybe the young ones start with fish.

My go-to-method is to soak the mini in ethanol for a few days, followed by scrubbing with a toothbrush, more alcohol (on the brush, not for me...) and a lot of curses. It works for the reaper figures made out of pewter that have just recently been painted. I have no experience with plastic minis, plastic bases or even different pewter alloys, so be very careful.

Not much progress, but I got to go to work today, if only for a few hours! With Ulthalokh and the winged serpent both in show off I now have finished two minis. So, according to the rules I set for myself, I get to choose another mini to add to my work-in-progress pile - if I want to. And I absolutely want to see something new on the shelf and take a break from the same old faces I've seen for years! So what to choose? I'll ask my radom challenge selector and roll for each category and see what I end up with. Maybe I won't commit to all the challenges though. Since this is going to be a lot of text I'll hide it in the spoiler below.

Finished! This is another one of my long term residents of my shelf of shame. Stripped, re-primed and re-painted after an unsuccessful first attempt. I tried for a somewhat mayan color scheme by googling pictures of mayan art and choosing the paint closest in colour that I had. Fun fact 1: The mayas produced a special blue-green pigment which they used in their paintings. This pigment is very resistent to weathering. It's known as maya blue. Fun fact 2: Mayas used the same word for green and blue, meaning different greens and blues were seen as shades of ONE colour, not as belonging to two different categories, like for example in the English language. I had a lot of fun with the water effects. But next time I have to cut back on the sea foam, it definitely looks better when applied sparingly. Enjoy, c&c welcome, as always!

Impressive!

That's armour worthy for a king!