My "Main" Halloween Contest 2012 Entry

[ThornDJL7]

This is the mini I chose to do when they first announced the Halloween contest. I picked him because I wanted to mess around with the bones some, I've never done a ghost/ethereal creature, and they show up periodically in my home campaign, maybe even frequently. The first shot is the stock photo. The second and third shot is where I gave him a light priming to see the mold lines better and based him. All mold lines should be gone at this point. I will say the mold lines on these guys are a pain IMO compared to the metal minis. I also don't how light they are. There's something satisfying about a heavy mini in your hand. Well, I've purchased a lot of them, so I'll be very in tune with what I like and don't like about them. :P

 

I would like lots of questions, lots of comments, and lots of what I could do to make it better. Thank you!

 

[Adrift]

I think it's funny that you and I differ to greatly on what we don't and do like about Bones. The light weight is a relief on my hands when I've been holding a mini for 12 hours of painting, and I personally really like the fact that I can sit on the couch and use an exacto knife to gently slice away a mold line. Every time I file a metal mini I consider how much airborne particulate tin is making it's way into my lungs.

 

I find it interesting that you chose to cover his base. Unlike most, he doesn't have a broccoli base, and has some neat little unearthed bones hanging out at the gravestone.

 

What palate do you plan to use for the etherealness?

[ThornDJL7]

I've not noticed my hand hurting yet, but I tend to paint in stints of 2-4 hours. I'm not allowed to sit on the couch and do my minis... In fact, I'm banished to the basement, because apparently my hobbies are like a virus in my home apparently...I'm quarentined. :P I'm honestly not concerned about the Airborne factor since I make sure to buy minis that aren't lead based, and tin/non-lead pewter isn't a major health risk.

 

The lumps I viewed as rocks. I am debating on finding some skeletal or zombie arms bits and have them punching through the earth.

 

I want to do like a bright lime green for the inner workings, but blue-ish black for the outer.

[Matbar]

If you want something that looks like clods of dirt, coffee grounds are awesome. I used those on my husband's Bloodbowl minis as a cheap base finisher that looked a little better than flat plastic, but didn't break the pocketbook for something that was going to bump around a board. In this case, I washed it in green so that the brown showed through in spots to make it look more like turf. I'm sure you'd want something slightly different. And really there's nothing wrong with what you did with the rocks, it just that your comment about punching through the earth made me think of the coffee trick.

[ThornDJL7]

Hmm...where can I find random arms of zombies/skeletons that are relatively cheap...

[ThornDJL7]

I got a chance to work on my mini more the other day. I reprimed him, and found EVEN more mold lines. The mold lines on this mini, if not all bones seem to be a royal pain to remove. Filing is absolutely pointless, and the cuttings from the hobby knife stick to the mini in all the worst places. Further, the priming I did rubs off easily when handled, making the fine detail disappear. Either priming is a bad idea, or you need to be more careful handling the mini than you would with a metal one.

 

I did the basing of the cloth with 09020: Midnight Blue, and the skin with 09012: Pale Green. I imagine his skin to be similar to slimers from Ghostbusters.

 

[Darkrelease]

I have not tried using the Bones line at all but have you tried using a fine grit sandpaper on the mold lines and then cleaning it up with a miliput wash before priming?

[Adrift]

I'd also never recommend handling an unsealed miniature.

 

Do you use a painter's wheel?

[ThornDJL7]

I have not tried using the Bones line at all but have you tried using a fine grit sandpaper on the mold lines and then cleaning it up with a miliput wash before priming?

I use 150 grit diamond coated files. I'm not sure what a milliput wash is.

 

I'd also never recommend handling an unsealed miniature.

 

Do you use a painter's wheel?

Yep, learned my lesson there. The metal minis don't have any noticeable wear onto my hands, but the primer doesn't seem to adhere as well to the bones as far as I can tell. I'm not rough or anything on the mini, it just rubs off way easier.

 

I'm not sure what a painter's wheel is.

[ThornDJL7]

I went through and shaded and highlighted the mini, or at least I had my first go at it. I used Reaper MSP 09019: Midnight Blue for the shading, and Reaper MSP 09021: Snow Shadow. I went through two gradual shades, and then 4 gradual highlights. I find it difficult to see exactly where I should shade, and not shade and where to put highlights on a mini that is predominantly highs and lows in seemingly random spots. It's almost enough to drive me back to washes and drybrushing. :P

 

[ObsidianCrane]

I'm not claiming my version is awesome but it might help you see the highlights and shadows;

http://www.reapermini.com/forum/index.php?/topic/45382-furiously-painted-miniatures/page__p__631771#entry631771

 

Also take a look at the Ghostly Embrace WIP over a few threads for ideas.

 

Finally a painter's wheel is a colour chart that depending on its quality lets you see things like complementary colours, shadows, contrasting colours and highlights. Most art supplies shops will have at least 1 option for them. The Dota2 file in my Halloween WIP goes through the ideas of a colour wheel as well as some other ideas about colour composition.

[ObsidianCrane]

Oh and I recommend not priming Bones.

 

Every problem I've heard with painting them comes from priming with something. A little bit of beading while you lay down the first coat is nothing compared to the problems I've seen/heard with undercoating.

[ThornDJL7]

Oh, so an artist's wheel = Color wheel in my head. Yes, I have one of those, but I only tend to use it if I have no clear direction on where I want to take something.

[ThornDJL7]

Aside from my schedule going nuts at the end of Halloween, and shortly after. I have put this mini on hiatus and potentially into my wall of shame...

 

I may slap a little more paint on it to have a serviceable ghost, but I am not having fun with this mini. He's just frustrating me, and that's not a fun way to paint. My brush will rise again probably tonight or tomorrow. 50+ hours of work every week sucks, on top of an aggressive gaming schedule.

[Panzer_Engel]

I'm not sure what a milliput wash is.

 

Milliput mixed into a 'slip' with water. Put a little mixed milliput on your pallete or a tile, then use a cocktail stick to transfer over water a drop at a time, and mix it in. When you think you've got it to the consistency you want, use the stick to drop it onto your miniature. If you think you've put too much on, just sponge off the excess with a tissue. Depending on how thick the mix is, damping the tissue may help.

 

It's self-leveling, and will creep along cracks. It will shrink on drying, and the more water you've got in the mix, the greater the shrinkage.

 

Last but not least, applying it to unpainted vinyl may have it, or other fillers, scaling off later. I'd really advise it be applied after any initial primer or 'telltale' coat. Unless anyone who's tried it on bones can tell us otherwise?