Jabberwocky Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I managed to get this one in with some time to spare! He was originally going to be part of a local gamestore contest, but I thought the deadline date was a week later than it actually was... Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way--Midnight lurker for her critical eye, MamaGeek for her suggestions regarding monkey skintones and bananas, and Anne, Orki, and Shanerozzell for their ideas on basework and setting the scene. Here are a couple of detail shots as well: As always, hit me with the critiques, big or small. Please ask if you have any questions about the piece itself; recipes, techniques, whatever. Best of luck to all the contestants! Oh and the vote linky if you are into such things: http://www.coolminiornot.com/286677 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareson Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Brilliant colors and eye-catching details. All around great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaelynne Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 If you're up to it, I'd appreciate a little tut on what you did to create the decking, mast, flag and map. Lovin' the map. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferox Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Nice work all around! Can we get a closeup on the sauced skipper himself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabberwocky Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 @Gareson--Thank you! @Thaelynn--I don't have much in the way of WIP shots, but I can type a step by step tutorial. @Ferox--I'm working today (bleh...) but will get some close ups of the cap'n later tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Bedlam Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 You know, I've had that one sitting around for a couple years now. I think I may be inspired, now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captenglish Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 You know, I've had that one sitting around for a couple years now. I think I may be inspired, now... What he said. Nice job Jab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaGeek Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Jabberwocky, I love this! The whole scene is so well-constructed, and the little details really bring it to life. (The bananas look much better with spots on them!) The paint job is fantastic, and all I can say is, "Bravo! Bravo!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsya Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 This piece is really cute. I really like the bananas and the flag. What did you use to sculpt the water? Also I can't wait to see a close up of the pirate as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Bedlam Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 You know, I've had that one sitting around for a couple years now. I think I may be inspired, now... What he said. Nice job Jab Well, actually, what I meant was "I may be inspired to drink a bunch of rum and get all droopy." But now that you mention it, I think I may paint something, too.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabberwocky Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 @Dr. B, Cap't, and Marsya--glad you like him; thanks for the compliments @MamaGeek--thanks much. After seeing your entry, I went back over him again to try and reach the bar you've set pretty darn high... Here a couple of close up of the pirate himself: I took the liberty to make some minor modifications on him and add a couple of dreadlocks on the left as he reminded me of another Captain I'd seen at the movies...The bandana and rum bottle were blantantly nicked off an existing drunken pirate in the inspiration gallery . The scheme looked great an I wanted the bandana to match the clear, turquoise water I was imagining for the base. The leather coat I tried to make close to worn leather. I kept the highlight a bit dull and used some pointillism to try and give some texture to the coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferox Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Oh man, the texture on that coat is unbelievable. Saved for future reference. Thanks for the close-ups! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabberwocky Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 With regards to the basework, it is all scratch built aside from the helm, which is stock with the mini. The raft itself was constructed from small rectangular bits of balsa wood I picked up at a hobby store. The overlying planks were made from Starbuck's wooden stir sticks. The width of the stick is just perfect for planking at this scale. The edges were distressed with some pliers to try and make them broken and irregular. The mast and smaller flag pole were again bits of balsa wood cut to size. The larger one was again distressed with pliers to give it the broken off appearance. The flag was my first go 'round with using an empty toothpaste tube. I was quite pleased with it. I simply cleaned out the remains of the toothpaste, cut it to scale, and then grabbed the edges of the flag with pliers to make it look worn and tattered. It was primered and painted as usual. I then punctured the corners with a pin and dilated the holes slightly with a sculpting tool to fit the ropes, which were floral wire first twisted together and then thread through the holes and around the flag pole. The map was created similarly, but on a slightly smaller scale. The map was initially primered with white, then painted with RMS yellowed bone. I then took some diluted GW Gryphonne Sepia and went over the whole area. I really like the Sepia for worn parchment; it adds a nice "old" look to the yellowed bone. You can be a little sloppy here--I think that adds to the character of an old parchment. The islands were drawn in with RMS Brown Liner and then the land masses themselves colored with dilute VMS Smoke. It pretty rough work on the map, but I am rationalizing it by saying that it's a hand drawn map by the pirate. Hopefully with time I can get a steady hand and match the likes of Darkstar or DKS, but for now it'll do . The water was an interesting experiment. It came out pretty well, but was not as I intended. I primered the base with white primer then painted on VMC Dark Sea Blue. I then covered this with Woodland Scenics "Realistic Water". The directions were to apply it very thinly; perhaps 1/8" at most. My original plan was to do this repeatedly and get a deep(er) water base. I would lay down a layer of the Realistic Water. I'd let it dry then paint over that layer with a lighter shade of blue. In sequence, I did VMS Dark Sea Blue, RMS Clouded Sea, then VMC Blue Green, and finally VMC Light Turquoise. It was applied some what randomly to try and give the illusion of depth and light scatter from the moving water. If it got too uniform, I would go back again with the darker colors again. Honestly, I never got quite to the depth I wanted, but I ran out of patience, hehe. For the waves, I took Woodland Scenics "Water Effects" which is a thicker body gel that you could sculpt a bit. I applied this in an irregular fashion on the main water surrounding the raft and then painted those thin lines of gel with white. The waves crashing on the rock were also the water effects, but I took a toothpick and teased the gel upwards as it was drying to give the effect of waves splashing up. Again white was painted on the very tips, then glazed with the lighter blues. Finally, the whole area was covered with high gloss varnish to get those bright light reflections. Here is a top down and closer view of the water: I hope you don't mind the lengthy explanation of the various bits and I hope this helps! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaelynne Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 That was a great explanation, thanks for the detail! toothpaste tubes and twisted floral wire... that's awesome. I'm definitely finding inspiration to build a scene for some of my minis. :) Thanks so much for typing that out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TaleSpinner Posted September 6, 2011 Moderator Share Posted September 6, 2011 Absolutely stunning, Jab. Even the black is shaded perfectly. I love it. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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