MamaGeek

Awesome! Yes, the starfield was a good choice, and the OSL is very well-executed. What do you use for your bases?

Ewww! That will certainly make an impression on the gaming table! Nice work!

Cool, thanks! I probably won't be sculpting people anytime soon, but I'd like to try small diorama additions.

What kind of wire do you use for sculpting armatures? Do you solder them, or can you just cut and twist them together? Is there any other material that is used besides wire?

I found a box of Mighty Putty (As See on TV!) on sale at Michael's once, and bought it just because it was so cheap. I used it when I needed to do bases on my set of 24 LoTR goblins. It worked great for that, but it is not good for fine sculpting. I also used it as filler, again, because it was cheap. You get a lot in one box. It comes with latex gloves for handling, but I think that's just to cover the manufacturer in case someone has a reaction. It didn't seem any more toxic to me than any other epoxy putty I've used. It did stink, though, like the chemicals they put in your hair for a perm.

To photograph your sculpts, try this. And looking really good, there, Andy! Do you have any commissions for male figures? You've only ever sculpted females, monsters, and animals, so far, haven't you?

I think we're past the point if casting. Now that I finally have them, I'm starting to work on the base and think about colors. I don't want to mail them off again, and wait with fingers crossed hoping nothing happens to them in the mail, during casting, etc. I'll start a WIP thread soon. I made a few experimental palm leaves. I need to paint them to see how they turned out. If they're good, I'll probably write up the method in an article.

Anyone else think this tutorial should be pinned? This is hands down the best blending tutorial out there on the internet, in my opinion.

Is this it? I don't know if olliekickflip is Aaron Lovejoy, but people downthread are calling him Aaron, and it looks like a pretty fantastic blending tutorial. yes, that's it! It should really be pinned.

There's a general painting tip that made a huge difference to me when I learned it: the paint does not have to stay where you put it. When you brush the paint onto the miniature, if it pools, wipe off your brush, then use it to mop up the extra pooled paint. If you don't like how the paint looks, use your brush to move it somewhere else. While the paint is wet, you can even to some extent rub it off entirely. It's not like placing colored pixels on a digital canvas, where it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it other than hitting "Undo". Paint is flexible. There used to be a blending tutorial by Aaron Lovejoy here in these forums. I don't know what happened to them. Did they get moved to a Craft article? Did Aaron put them on his own website or something? Does anyone know? It was hands down the best blending tutorial I've ever read, and it made all the difference in the world to my painting.

I may be the exception here, but I use pretty thick paint for eyes, like almost straight from the bottle. I put a little puddle on my wet palette, with a drop of water next to it. I wet the brush in the water and dab a little paint on the tip of the brush. Sometimes I go back and forth with the brush between the water and paint, but it's still mostly paint, and only on the tip of the brush, not in the belly. - thick enough I can see the paint on the tip of the brush - thin enough that the paint is not a circular drop Then I use just the tip to dot on the paint in the appropriate places.

May I suggest that folks try to use the Reaper image upload feature wherever possible, instead of linking to an offsite storage? Those images don't always show up for everyone (like me!), but I know if I can get to the Reaper forums, I can view images uploaded to them. Also, offsite urls may change or go away, and older threads may lose their photos!

OK, I can see the pictures, now! He looks awesome! It is very well painted, but that's not what struck me. It is just so very unique. You don't see that very often in miniatures these days. The lightning patterning is a great idea, especially those creepy eyes. Of course the NMM is marvelous, but great big cheers to your creativity!

Very cool! The basework is perfect for the mini, and the colors and paintjob are spot-on. My only critique is that missed mold line down the left side of his head behind his ear. (Of course, I'm one to talk! My latest post - a harpy - has mold lines galore!)

I wish I could claim that was intentional! I think that's more a credit to the sculptor than to me. I just painted it like I saw it, and didn't do much thinking on this one, since it was just a gaming mini. So kudos to Miss Julie Guthrie!!

I wondered if anyone would notice that! You have to click the link to see them, of course. Thanks! And thank you, everyone, for your kind comments.

I can't see the pictures....

I painted this Reaper Bones harpy as a quick fun mini for gaming. Hence no fancy base, and very simple metals, etc. I didn't even carve off the mold lines (though I probably should have done at least that!) She's topless, so here's a link to more photos on my website.

Thanks, Andy! I rarely strip minis, anymore, either, and would only even consider it in case of a major foul-up, so let's just hope it doesn't come up! Thanks for the offer! I will most likely post WIPs as I go, so feedback would be appreciated. I used to have my photo-taking gear permanently set up on a desk, but I gave the desk to my son for his room, so I have to lug all my gear downstairs (2 trips) and set it all up on the kitchen table when I want to take pictures nowadays. So lately I haven't been doing WIPs, just finished miniature shots. I plan to make the effort for this one, though!

Painful lessons are certainly painful, but they're also the most instructive. Hang in there! I'm glad it worked out for you in the end!

Hey, Andy, I was going to ask you this in email, but I thought that others might be interested in the answer. How do I prep these figures for painting? Obviously they won't need filing or sanding. But you use petroleum jelly to sculpt with green stuff, right? Do I need to wash the figures with detergent? Is there anything else I should do or not do prep-wise? I have to admit I'm also nervous about handling and painting figures that are one-of-a-kind. Is stripping the paint in the event of a catastrophic error even possible? Of course I'm also very excited and happy to finally get to start working with them!

Beautiful chicken, Andy! It's perfect!

You've probably already started, but here is another link to an article on CMON: http://www.coolminiornot.com/articles/1487-painting-woodgrain-on-a-smooth-surface

Beautiful NMM! Truly convincing!

Really cool! Very inspiring! Thanks for sharing here on the Reaper forums!