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Some miniatures create there own stories as I paint them. Ventar, the Cambion is either the leader of the "Ring of the Fire" or a member depending on if the rest of the group are mortal wizards, or more powerful demons and devils. The Bone staff is not for focusing necromantic power, just a keepsake he removed from the body of a former rival and enchanted himself. a tiefling would not be able to stand among the lava flows. I look forward to using him in the next campaign that gets to the right level. anyway it was painted for the fire theme - Janurary RCL. It started with the idea of the freehand - but I wasn't sure that was enough to fill the theme, and everyone needs to be comfortable making lava bases right? I have made them before, but I really liked this one.

Vatanis came in my Paint & Take Home Survival Kit, and I started him off as part of the craft paint challenge, but it just wasn't working. So he got set aside for a couple of months, until I saw Cicciopiu's magnificent rendition. I leaned on it heavily for inspiration https://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/92152-vatanis-maggotcrown-warlock-sku-44052/ He has so, so many details. I could put much more time into this, but I had reached a point where I had to stop.

Finished him rather quickly because he was a breeze to paint. No assembly required is always welcome. Only complaint I might have is these reaper models with already sculpted thick bases that I have to try and work around to base the figure myself. Steals away some of the creativity and fun.

Ok, I meant to do this a lot sooner, but I figured I could use this project to explain a bit about diorama composition. Reapercon is fast approaching! I know folks always try to figure out how to tell a story with miniatures as well as develop a composition that both makes sense to the story and is pleasing to the eye. I have a hard time explaining why some things work well and others don't. But, I can take a miniature I'm painting and explain why I chose to place elements as I did. I hope that might help or at least get the creative juices cooking! So, I'm taking: ...this guy, and I want him to tell a story. Why's he got his hand up? What he doing? He's looking at something, right? A summoning? hmmmn. Questions questions. Now I'm pretty sure Izzy said something about him holding a dripping heart in his hand, but I'm in the mood to tell a happier tale. Something sweet and romantic in a creepy necromancer sort of way. Because reasons. So I painted him up and decided I'd stick him in an eerie swamp. Actually, long before this I had a plan and I'll get to it. But when I first look at a mini, I want to find a way to accentuate the pose and make it do something exciting. Or interesting. Just as a color aside, I used the same colors in his skin as I did on the base. I want him to fit into his environment. For any piece, I want it to make sense. Using fewer colors helps, because then they don't fight each other as much. I'm using a simple complementary color scheme of red and green. It's an easy way to get contrast without working hard. Note that while my red is intense (ie bright, really red, looks pretty red, hey that's a red) my green is desaturated (dull, boring, stuck some other colors in it to make it look less green, more olive, not bright) I'll admit- his red isn't showing from this side, but here: See? Red. Then I found him a friend! A lady friend! There we go! He's going to summon her right out of the swampy water. Let's dance! Actually, the title will probably be "Dance with Me" but I'm willing to take suggestions! Now, I want to explain why I like these two together. First, I love the negative space they form in between their bodies. They create two intersecting areas at the hands and the skirt/knee section. The space between them is interesting. While it would be cooler if she was looking at him and pulling our eyes back into the center, at the very least, the negative space helps with that. Negative space is made up of the areas in between form. In painting or drawing it looks like this: I like the ones that trick the eye. A vase or candlestick? Or faces? You choose! But in art, use of negative space can be a powerful tool to create interest. I put the arrows in the show where I see my viewer's eye flowing along lines in the composition. See how the rock I made creates a line that points up and in? I sculpted it that way on purpose. His hand points out, her body forms a line that points down. It's a triangle in its most basic form. Also, their hands form parallel lines. Their forms create an x. X's are cool. The eye likes x's. So when I'm making something, be it basework or premade stuff, I want to put it together to help tell my story in a pleasing way. It's one of the reasons I make so many fancy bases. I can control exactly how things fit together. Then it makes the lines I want. But it isn't enough! Let's play with a tree! I took a black cherry sprout that invaded my garden and added a few branches. You can see the ones with a wire core versus the real ones. A lot of the time I make the tree from scratch, but I liked this sprig and since I killed it, I'm making use of it! Ok, yeah. Now we've got some swampy furniture to set the stage. See where the lines point? I adjusted the branches a bit to make them more pleasing later, but you get the idea. I'm thinking about how I want to create intersections and how I want to balance the figures in order to make it seem harmonious. To that end, there's way to much pointing to the right. I need something on the left, correct? Add in some roots and something to anchor the left side of the composition... Take a look at the roots and see what lines they mimic. I added a few branches to my left tree. I poured the water base and the water effect is still drying here. I wanted a swamp, right? and from the back. I picked this piece of wood because I liked the way it mimicked my roots and water. So, I'm still not sure that helps explain why things work or don't, but let me know if something doesn't make sense and I can scribble a few more arrows and use my words better!