Imbrian Arts: The King of Ghouls

[Adrift]

Here is my King of Ghouls.

 

My goal with the miniature was to create a skin tone that was indicative of an ancient and powerful undead horror. This ghoul has survived countless challenges from untold parties of adventurers. Primitive stitches hold together damage to his skin, whilst unnatural healing takes place underneath it's surface; hinted at by his menacing eyes.

 

"It's skin, is that thing alive or dead...?" 

- Alric the cleric (shortly before death)

 

The pair of ravens, his liaisons, his scouts, and his scavenging companions...one of whom carries the eyeball trophy of a recent challenger. Stoically one raven watches for challengers while the other celebrates the trophy.

 

I wanted the NMM on the scythe and his little bits of boot armor and belt to look well-aged while still hinting at their unbelievable worth and functional status. 

 

I opted to use static grass on the base in conjunction with painted earth and rocks that compliment his overall color scheme. The goal of the grass is to juxtapose this powerful undead by contrasting his long-lived undeath with the appearance of surroundings that are fresh and healthy. There's a beautiful piece of AD&D 2nd ed artwork, I think from the Monstrous Compendium with a unicorn(?) and a skull or something like that and I had that idea in the back of my head.
 

The colors I used include only Reaper MSP:

dark elf shadow, jungle moss, faded khaki, dusky skin, pure black, dark skin, woodstain, maggot white, driftwood, blood red, magenta, auburn shadow, blue-grey paint sample, misty grey, pure white, oiled leather, mahogany, sun yellow.

 

From the Imbrian Arts Kickstarter tag:

The King of Ghouls- Once a mighty warrior, now he roams the earth, thrice damned and undying, tormented by the echoes of his past life and mocked by his ravens "Gone! Gone!"

[Sirithiliel]

Ooooohhh very lovely ^.^

[robinh]

Nicely menacing.. I can see this putting fear into the hearts of many a PC.     You have definitly pulled off the skin tones for the ancient undead.

[Rextacy]

This is excellent. You've inspired me to paint this mini. Thank you for sharing.

[Grimreaper71]

Great job

[Chaoswolf]

That's a freakin' awesome mini!! Nice job!

[chaosscorpion]

Well done!, but my 3rd lvl Dwarf warrior would make quick work of him. : ]

[Mutilatedlips]

I really like this mini, very cool.

[Loim]

Great miniature, and fantastic execution.

[Darsc Zacal]

Very nice work. I like it.

Getting a vibe of a dark elf gone feral.

[Trodax]

Fantastic work Adrift; I absolutely love that you're going through these Imbrian pieces! I love the grey hair, and the eyes are perfect!

 

May I ask the the specific recipe you used for the skin tone? I have a Wight on my painting desk, and was just thinking of how to do the skin. Basecoat was Dark Elf Shadow?

[Adrift]

This is excellent. You've inspired me to paint this mini. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you! This is one of my favorite compliments to receive. 

 

Well done!, but my 3rd lvl Dwarf warrior would make quick work of him. : ]

Hah whatever! You'd have to put down the honeydo list and actually game/paint!!! 

 

P.S. you won't be getting any photos of the Bones v. Metal challenge texted to you. 

 

Very nice work. I like it.

Getting a vibe of a dark elf gone feral.

Oh that's an awesome idea that I'm totally stealing for my DND campaign!

 

Fantastic work Adrift; I absolutely love that you're going through these Imbrian pieces! I love the grey hair, and the eyes are perfect!

 

May I ask the the specific recipe you used for the skin tone? I have a Wight on my painting desk, and was just thinking of how to do the skin. Basecoat was Dark Elf Shadow?

The base coat I used on his skin, blade of the scythe and the base/rock were the same; 2 drops dark elf shadow, 2 drops jungle moss and 1 drop faded khaki. This mixture was thinned with 3-6 drops of water (I don't remember and generally judge for the consistency I'm looking for). I then painted 1-3 coats of the mixture on the miniature in the given areas depending on the depth of darkness to establish my light-dark contrast as a baseline.

 

I always darken shadows before highlighting which consisted of 2 drops nightshade purple, 2 jungle moss and 1/2 faded khaki. For highlighting I then started with 1 dark elf shadow, 1 dusky skintone, and 1 jungle moss. After I'd laid all those out I used glazes of my original mixture to blend it out. Subsequent to that baseline, I added elements of auburn shadow, magenta, blood red, dark elf shadow, maggot white and other shades were added into my glazes build up the layers in the areas and proportions that I liked; generally concentrated in specific areas and transitioned with glazing; differing areas of his skin received "concentrations" of colors in differing proportions to enhance the 'feel' of his disturbed undead flesh.

 

For instance, his left arm has more concentration of browns/reds/purple while his chest/torso have more of the green tint and the right arm has stronger hints of purple green and red in even concentrations. I just sort of glazed until I was happy.

 

The value of well-thinned glazes is that if you're patient and have the right 'thinness' you can use the preexisting highlights and shadows you've painted and just glaze your new shades/elements in where you want. (special tip  )

 

The hair was base-coated with a 1:1 ratio of dark elf shadow and dusky skin tone again with water dilution and multiple layers to establish my light-dark. I worked in elements of mahogany and auburn shadow to add some warmth and depth, and later did a glaze of dark elf shadow after I'd applied highlights to dull things down again and blend everywhere except for the very front hair and the apex of his head.

 

Unlike with the skull on the Blacksands Orc I painted, I made sure to tone down the golden elements of the belt, boot armor and scythe to age them and not have them focus too much attention from the King himself. 

 

So much to think about...

 

Hope that helps.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Adrift

[CashWiley]

Another great paint job, Adrift! Very inspiring.

 

I love the subtlety at work all over this guy, but I think the warm eyes really gives it the menace and eeriness.

[zoroaster100]

I'm so glad you are painting these Imbrian Arts minis, Adrift.  They are still sitting unpainted on my desk.  The assembly looks very intimidating, more so even than the painting, but your paint jobs will help inspire me to tackle at least some of them soon, hopefully.

[Adrift]

Another great paint job, Adrift! Very inspiring.

 

I love the subtlety at work all over this guy, but I think the warm eyes really gives it the menace and eeriness.

Thanks Cash! You were ringing in my ears when working the gold NMM....

 

I'm so glad you are painting these Imbrian Arts minis, Adrift.  They are still sitting unpainted on my desk.  The assembly looks very intimidating, more so even than the painting, but your paint jobs will help inspire me to tackle at least some of them soon, hopefully.

Get on it!!! The Asura thus far has proven to be the biggest assembly challenge and required the most effort. She's next with respect to the Imbrian Arts minis that I'm going to paint but there things in the queue ahead of her.