Here be dragons! 2013 paint challenge

[ObsidianCrane]

Well I guess now that the competition threads are up I best get cracking on the 2 dragons I already have on my workbench, with sime effort I might get them finished before my Bones arrive.

[ShadowRaven]

Question. I am planning on entering a single dragon, on a terrain piece. It really doesn't tell any sort of a story though. So would that still likely fall into the diorama category?

[KruleBear]

 

Dumb question For you gamers out there. I am prepping Gauth (slowly), and have a concept for the base. BUT, I am wondering what size base would Gauth be on for gaming purposes?

After all, I do dream I will game again someday. Lol :D

 

 

A while ago, I had similar thoughts. I put together this set of measurements based on the D&D ppm dragons. My theory is that, what with muscles and poses and whatnot, it's hard to measure a dragon from snout to tail, so why not measure a constant? That constant for me is the cranium; presumably the head of any dragon is similar in size (if not shape) to that of another dragon of the same age, regardless of species. So I took the D&Dppms available to me at the time and did this:

 

Small White Dragon: 6mm skull

Medium Blue dragon: 10mm skull

Large red dragon: 17mm skull

Colossal Red Dragon: 80mm skull

 

Looking at the small, medium, large dragons, we see a pattern of roughly 2/3 increase per size category, so we can extrapolate the other sizes:

 

Small: 6mm

Medium: 10mm

Large: 17mm

Huge: ~29mm

Gargantuan: ~47mm

Colossal: 80mm

 

With that, I can measure the skull (cranium only, not including any horns or spines or frills) of any dragon mini I have from snout to the back of the head and have a reasonable idea what size it will work as. I don't adhere strictly to this, and often err on the side of a smaller size, as I have several gaming bases of different sizes that smaller minis can borrow during a game.

 

As for Gauth, mine is still sealed in box, so I can't measure his skull for you, but I bet he's in the range of gargantuan.

This is a great concept. If I measure Gauth right he is roughly 31mm from tip of snout to back of head which puts him at huge. So what are the dimensions for a huge or gargantuan base? He is roughly 90 mm from foot to foot and 160 mm from nose to tail.

 

Warlord only shows giant as the larger base and 50mm just won't cut it.

[Inarah]

Question. I am planning on entering a single dragon, on a terrain piece. It really doesn't tell any sort of a story though. So would that still likely fall into the diorama category?

There are two different categories, one for diorama and one for single figure. The diorama has to have (at minimum) two figures so in this case, even with a large display/terrain base, it would count as Single Figure.

[MonkeySloth]

I need an simple measuring line for the two categories so I decided figure count was the way to go.

[Sanael]

 

 

Dumb question For you gamers out there. I am prepping Gauth (slowly), and have a concept for the base. BUT, I am wondering what size base would Gauth be on for gaming purposes?

After all, I do dream I will game again someday. Lol :D

 

 

A while ago, I had similar thoughts. I put together this set of measurements based on the D&D ppm dragons. My theory is that, what with muscles and poses and whatnot, it's hard to measure a dragon from snout to tail, so why not measure a constant? That constant for me is the cranium; presumably the head of any dragon is similar in size (if not shape) to that of another dragon of the same age, regardless of species. So I took the D&Dppms available to me at the time and did this:

 

Small White Dragon: 6mm skull

Medium Blue dragon: 10mm skull

Large red dragon: 17mm skull

Colossal Red Dragon: 80mm skull

 

Looking at the small, medium, large dragons, we see a pattern of roughly 2/3 increase per size category, so we can extrapolate the other sizes:

 

Small: 6mm

Medium: 10mm

Large: 17mm

Huge: ~29mm

Gargantuan: ~47mm

Colossal: 80mm

 

With that, I can measure the skull (cranium only, not including any horns or spines or frills) of any dragon mini I have from snout to the back of the head and have a reasonable idea what size it will work as. I don't adhere strictly to this, and often err on the side of a smaller size, as I have several gaming bases of different sizes that smaller minis can borrow during a game.

 

As for Gauth, mine is still sealed in box, so I can't measure his skull for you, but I bet he's in the range of gargantuan.

This is a great concept. If I measure Gauth right he is roughly 31mm from tip of snout to back of head which puts him at huge. So what are the dimensions for a huge or gargantuan base? He is roughly 90 mm from foot to foot and 160 mm from nose to tail.

 

Warlord only shows giant as the larger base and 50mm just won't cut it.

Huge is a 3x3" facing and gargantuan is 4x4". So either an apx. 75mm or 100mm base. But at that size, you can also use your judgement for basing. At huge or smaller, base size is pretty important, but once you start going into gargantuan territory, Rule of Cool starts being the more important thing.

[Generic Fighter]

Just posted a few smaller Dragons in the Show Off sub-forum that I , mostly, used as practice for this Challenge. Check them out, if you have the chance.

 

GF

[Chiere]

I'm in! I hope to do the Ral Partha Silver Dragon, (10-211) as a single, and when our Bones get in, two of those in a diorama. Not sure which two, gotta see which are easier to manipulate. This is the first time I've ever painted a dragon, and I'm excited about it! My husband checks his Kickstarter shipment at least 8 times a day, hoping stuff has been shipped out, =-) It's gonna be a while cuz he's a Vampire +13, but that doesn't stop him from checking,...

[OneBoot]

I just found this thread, and I'd love to join! I'll be painting up http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/previews/sku-down/77109'>77109 Fire Dragon as my submission. (I think one or two other painters mentioned they'd be using one of the There Be Dragons models, so I'm hoping he's big enough. If not, I shall gracefully bow out :) )

 

Quick question I didn't see addressed anywhere: Is basing required for consideration in the either contest?

 

I'm excited for this, I've never done a contest before, and I'm very new to painting. Adventure awaits!

 

Huzzah!

--OneBoot :D

Edited June 27, 2013 by OneBoot

[Maredudd]

I'm in! I hope to do the Ral Partha Silver Dragon, (10-211) as a single, and when our Bones get in, two of those in a diorama. Not sure which two, gotta see which are easier to manipulate.

Of course this means as soon as the new Bones go retail I'll have to buy duplicates of the dragons Chiere uses so I can paint them too. :-)

[Inarah]

I'm not going to require a base for the Challenge, though it would be nice. Some of the large dragons stand on 4 feet and don't come with a base.

 

You should ask in the Contest (with prizes) thread about those rules.

[MonkeySloth]

Only the diorama entrees require basing.

[Maredudd]

After tough deliberation and consultation with Inarah, I have decided to prepare an entry for the diorama competition. Now, to figure out not just how to plan and build a diorama, I also need to figure out how to paint minis! :-)

[MonkeySloth]

Feel free to start a WIP thread for the diorama if you want specific planning help, though you may want to post occasional updates in this thread, as there are many people who can give advice on all the stages.

[ultrasquid]

I'm still waiting on my Bones to show up (but UPS tracking says I only have to wait 2 more days). I have a nice Niddhogg by Ral Partha. It looks a lot like Kaladrax with the skin and flesh still on. Though I assembled it almost 15 years ago I never really got around to painting it properly. Here's as good a motivator as any!