Akiosama
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Posts posted by Akiosama
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I think the Dark Sword Miniatures one with Anne Foerster and Jen Haley is a great one. I would highly recommend it - it goes from basic to advanced, and even has a section on color theory - something I've not seen in any other video so far.
The Miniature Mentor ones aren't bad, as well. The style is a bit different - the main video presents a slightly more European style of painting, which is almost like painting with washes. Very thin, multiple layers - but the product looks very good.
So, I would check those out and see if either would suit you.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Fantastic work, especially on the eyes. They capture the style perfectly!
I, too, am waiting to pick up this game - I've heard at my LGS that they're out of stock and that next month (not sure if they meant April or May as I asked near the very beginning of the month) the next production run at Soda Pop will be ready for sale.
Patience.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Well, as far as their displays of gaming are concerned, Big Bang Theory has always taken a bit of creative liberties as to what they can and can't do. A good portion of their WoW-related shots have inconsistencies with the actual game, mostly in the area that they don't deal with "bound" items - items that cannot be traded to another character. In fact, there was a whole episode dedicated to Sheldon trying to get his stuff back from someone trying to sell it, when his account gets hacked.
And in a more recent episode - it could be pointed out that parties in Star Wars - The Old Republic max out at four, not the five they were running - the four guys and Howard's girlfriend.
But I think one of the more disturbing things about their display of gaming was in an early Season One episode when the guys are all online playing WoW, and the camera starts from one side of the room, and pans across, showing each of the guys on their laptops with a headset on. Nobody's saying anything, or doing anything particularly weird, but by about halfway through the pan, there's a laugh track.
I guess four guys sitting around a living room with their laptops and headsets on is funny. Seemed pretty normal to me.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Bold color scheme, Adrift. Much less subtle than the normal Everblight pale blue that this model would normally see for skintone.
The colors contrast well, and your painting is smooth, as always. Your use of yellow is great, especially next to the purple skintone.
Well done! A warbeast done in these colors would look fascinating.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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P.J. = Paintjob?
Very nice work on this model, btw. It is a very good representation of the colors of the breed, and the colors on the rest of the model, and the base, are well done.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Should still be available, though in resin from GW's Finecast line. It's a necessary model for the Black Templar army and I don't believe that's the older limited edition Emperor's Champion model.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Straight out of the bottle, iirc. That's one of its advantages over Liquitex.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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I think that if that was the requests, that perhaps a brown with a little more red in it might be in order? I think the brown, as is, is just a little too neutral, when compared to the red.
As Anne says in the video, "Warm colors draw the eye," and that skirt and the brilliant white do that. It's a bit of a tough palette, considering that most of the time one would want the face to be the focal point.
But don't mind me - I just enjoy debating in theory. It's far better than anything I've produced to date.
Good work, Adrift.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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The miniature itself looks pretty nice - I think the overall work is well done.
The things that stand out to me...
The color on her lips, for some reason looks a little light for the skin tone. (And I can't get out of my head, for some reason, that her face looks like Kim Fields' - Tootie from The Facts of Life)
I do think that the bulk of the figure is too neutral in color - a brown skintone with a brown jerkin. The red and white catch the eye a bit too quickly, and it draws the attention away from what should be the focal point, the face.
The only other thing that stands out to me, is that the colors are very vibrant, and therefore the model feels too 'clean' for an adventurer. I think that just might be me, though, but a little 'wear' on the boots and the white and red areas might tone down that vibrancy and help return the focus up to the face.
It's a great paint job. I think the red is well done, and the whites are fantastic. It's just feels a little off in composition, and I think it's the well done whites and reds up against such a dark and neutrally colored skintone.
Thanks for sharing that - I enjoy seeing your work Adrift.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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I'm out in Arcadia (near Pasadena), so it's still a drive. I have a decent gaming area out here (Games Empire Pasadena), that has about 3K+ sq ft. to play in, as my LGS.
I still don't paint or play worth a damn, though I like talking shop with people and seeing what they can do. I'm a bit too much of a perfectionist at this point, and I'm trying to get over it.
So a gathering of painters sounds pretty damn cool - historical or otherwise. I like looking at what people can do and trying to figure it all out.
(Oddly enough, I got into Reaper figs because they were really nicely done and cheap, and I still find myself not painting them 'cause I don't want to sacrifice miniatures to the painting gods. Hell, I've watched Jen and Anne's video probably 5 times all the way through, and am still wary of putting brush to figure.)
Thanks for the heads up - I hope I can make it out to one of those meetings, or meet some of the So Cal painters in person.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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What's SCAHMS? I think I have an idea, but I've not heard of it, even living in LA for 10+ years....
Thanks,
Akiosama
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Um... this box is for Clan War, that box is for Reaper, this one is for GW, and that one is for Privateer. It helps when nothing's painted.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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That is hilarious and very well painted. Nice work!
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Looking good, Derek. As usual, the skintones and blending are flawless.
Fantastic work.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Adrift,
I think the colors came out looking very brilliant on this model. While at first I was going to mention something about the blending on the cape and how I personally am working on trying to make my blends more subtle, I realized that I really like the way the painting of the cape came out. It looks, from the photos above, very suede in texture. The blues are also sharp and smooth, and the transitions for the colors come out more artistic and add to the overall appearance of the figure, despite not being as gradated as some of the other painters' works out there.
Well done.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Aesthetically, Sgt., I'd probably have to suggest some Protectorate of Menoth miniatures - The Harbinger or the Avatar, maybe? While I'm not yet sure if their playstyle suits me - I think I'm a Swan, really - their cream and sanguine color scheme is probably my favorite of all the Privateer paint schemes.
That being said, the new plastics for Hordes look good too - especially Circle. I wonder what I'm gonna do with 4 Argii when I get around to picking that box up. But you can never have too many Feral Warpwolves.
My 2 crowns,
Lieutenant-Adept Akio, 13th Infantry Battalion, 60th Regiment, 9th Division, Third Cygnaran Army, adjutant to Major Victoria Haley
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Looks good, Sgt. Crunch.
Good to see a Cygnarite in the making, too. Though I have to admit, I didn't realize how intense a blue that Cygnar Blue is until I saw your photo.
The unit looks good, though. Good luck on the battlefield.
My 2 crowns,
Lieutenant-Adept Akio, 13th Infantry Battalion, 60th Regiment, 9th Division, Third Cygnaran Army, adjutant to Major Victoria Haley
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Excellent work. Almost a shame it's a commission piece.
The skin tones and fur on the queen are good, but the tiger really does grab attention away from everything else. Well done.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Excellent work - it's for things like this that you want to hold onto those old miniatures, no matter how far you feel you've progressed.
I do want to point out that your choice of colors, especially for the clothing, has improved on the new miniature. The clothing on the original seemed too close to a flesh color and made it hard to tell what the figure was wearing. The black is a far better choice, and it shows in the final product.
And the base on the new figure is very well done and complements the character nicely.
This is the kind of before and after that should inspire new artists. Well done!
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Very nicely done, Adrift. An interesting color scheme for a miniature that's usually dark in nature. Definitely more paladin than dark knight.
I thought the blue was a very striking, and that it worked well with the yellow you chose.
The overall effect was well done, and the miniature looks great.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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4e was the true World of Warcraft RPG. It became more about 'builds', a term generally reserved for MMORPG characters, and it felt very much like a 'What button am I going to press this turn?' style of gameplay. I think I'm surprised that 4e lasted as long as it has, given that, unlike previous edition shifts in D&D, it didn't feel anything like the same system that it was supposed to be a new edition of. (It kind of makes me wonder what they mean by 'new edition', since 4e was pretty much a 'new game' rather than a revision to 3.x.)
As for IK, I do hope they support it better this time, though it has become clear that miniatures and Warmahordes is where the money's at for Privateer Press. It could be done well, but it could also be done poorly - and given that they are using their own game system for it, it will be interesting to see how it comes out in the end - especially since they seem to be indicating it's going to feel a lot like Warmahordes.
I would say that it's a good time to expand one's horizons on the gaming front though, especially if you're a creative type that doesn't need as much support for campaign settings. Hero Games still has their Hero System out there, Crafty Games has a pretty good system in the Spycraft 2.0/FantasyCraft line, and has just recently released a new system for Mistborn, based on Brandon Sanderson's book series. And Fantasy Flight has picked up Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and the 40K based games )Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch), AEG's still printing Legend of the Five Rings (4e), and Catalyst Games has brought back Shadowrun and Mechwarrior. Or Steve Jackson's GURPS?
Let's not forget that there are still some other candidates out there for gaming out there that still might have promise, too. D&D is not as end-all-be-all as it once was.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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The naturalistic base is a great touch to this mini. Excellent work!
A tad surprised you went with Circle Orboros' green for the armor if this is for a non-Hordes game. I'm imagining those armor plates in some sort of ice blue and silver. I think it could work.
A great job as is, though!
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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Thanks Gailbraithe.
I stand by my response as written.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
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I think one other thing that needs to be added to this discussion about "continuing to play the stuff that's already in print" is that the availability of product - the original stuff or new material - influences what the general player population plays. Yes, there are a lot of people who like older editions of D&D - in fact, I just heard the words "You're wrong for playing anything not 1e." Personally, I grew into the game on 2e, which still holds a lot of charm for me, but I do think that 3.x was a very good system, too.
The thing about 3.x that makes it even better as a system is the OGL. While I maligned the OGL when 3.5e was the current edition, because it seemed like everyone was writing 3.5e stuff and publishing it. There was so much out there to keep track of, and it made the DM's job that much harder, unless they were willing to take a stand on which splatbooks were valid - and this is even after limiting books by which campaign setting they came from, sometimes. (Curse you, Forgotten Realms.)
But now, it's really the OGL that's making it possible to have the RPG environment we have - at least when it comes to the decision regarding 3.5e v. 4e. Play what you want! Pathfinder, as well as many other publishers, big and small can still support 3.5e in their own ways. They can make games similar and market them to an audience that will be at least somewhat familiar with the mechanics (Spycraft or Fantasycraft, anyone?). They can still publish stuff for generic D&D 3.x. It's still very accessible, in ways that 1e and 2e aren't.
I think while people may have their own opinions about 4e, it's going to switch to 3.x v. 5e in the end. The lack of support of older editions, and the accessibility will be killers for 4e, despite there being quite a few products out there now. Once 5e gets going, even if it's not that great, I can't see 4e maintaining any sort of major presence once WotC stops making 4e product, especially given the lack of OGL for 4e.
I really wish WotC hadn't dropped the .pdf versions of their out-of-print 1e, 2e, and 3.x products on sites like Drivethrurpg.com. While it's not necessarily a lot of money for WotC, it did allow them to keep previous editions alive, and keep the D&D name going for people who enjoyed the game irregardless of which edition was current. My guess, however, is that the products were pulled in favor of supporting 4e, and that making it harder to get older editions would push newer players towards 4e, where the actual money was to be made.
And proof of support of previous editions killing the player base for those editions in this sort of product? Look at all the editions of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k out there. Despite being able to 'play with the materials already out there', and prevalent griping about how 'new editions ruin the game', I rarely see people play with a previous editions ruleset, even if they own most of the books for that edition. It seems that almost as soon as it is released, the player base, at least in my area, shifts to the new edition.
Granted, this may not hold as true for actual RPGs as opposed to the miniature stuff, but I haven't seen a 1e or 2e group in a while, and most of the 3e players are playing Pathfinder now. There are a few 4e games, though, and I thought that was good to see for the future of D&D as a franchise.
One other thing to consider, is that this can work in the other direction too. BattleTech, for example, was a pretty dead franchise once FASA was bought out by Microsoft and support for the non-video game version practically ceased, but now that Catalyst Games (formerly FanPro) is publishing for it again, it seems to be regaining some popularity on the gaming table.
Support for the game by the industry is important - it gives players a more common base to work from, and it's the players that drive this whole endeavor.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama
EDIT: Hmm... I didn't know about the new GSL - the OGL for 4e. Anyone know if it's being used much by writers out there?
Nerdlore
in Off-Topic Rampancy
Posted
Yeah, maybe it's not a laugh track, Wren, but it did make me roll my eyes a bit when the audience was laughing before any real jokes (imo) were to be had. Seeing people in front of laptops with headsets just seems flat out normal to me.
My 2 yen,
Akiosama