Lunch Sessions I: Finari 77077 and Basilisk 77371

[Sanael]

TL;DR: I have a lunch break. I'm going to paint during that break. Finari and the Basilisk are first up.

 

So, coming back from a hiatus, and I have several realizations:

1. My painting station in the new house is not yet set up and won't be fully ready-for-use for a while,

2. I have lots of house-projects to do with my spare time at home, and

3. Winter is coming, so the Pittsburgh weather will not be pleasant much longer.

 

This all points to one conclusion: I can stay indoors on my lunch break, eat quickly, and paint almost every day.

 

So, I'm going to try to paint at least 3 days a week, if not 4, for 30-45 minutes at a go. I'll take pictures at the end of each session and post them here. When I finish up a batch of minis, I'll figure out what will be next and start a new thread (hence this being "Lunch Sessions I"). At the start of each thread, I'll lay out the goals for each mini I'm painting and reiterate my desire for honest feedback based on those goals.

 

So, part one!

 

Finari has been mostly basecoated since approximately 2014. This particular copy of her had some really nasty mold grossness on the face, so I carved away a lot of the plastic tumor. For this reason, she's a bit awkward in the face and my goal is mostly to get her done. I'm painting her as an Emerald Claw/Blood of Vol officer for my Eberron games, so there will be some very simple freehand to signify that affiliation; she's also got rather a lot of black, so I'll take the opportunity to work on that, since it's an important color that I don't feel confident with.

 

The basilisk I want to paint purely for fun, but I want it to be a "tabletop display" piece. Smooth blends, etc. Nothing particularly advanced, technique-wise, but I want to show competency in the simple technique.

 

Both pieces are starters to really get back in the swing of painting, paving the way for some more advanced/detailed stuff further down the queue.

 

Day 0: this is where the minis were at the start of my session today. They're mostly basecoated already, with a little bit of highlighting on the basilisk's dorsal ridge and Finari's hair.

 

You can also see some of the Rathcore V3 miniatures holders we recently received from their Kickstarter. So far, I really like them. I have a couple of the larger painting handles as well, but decided not to use them for these minis. My only problem with these is there's no good way to use the holders for penny-based figs. That said, I think I'll be able to make my own corks for penny bases when the time comes.

 

Day 1:

Today I was able to paint for about 45 minutes. Part of that time was spent painting pennies black to finish out the bases of the kobolds and rats I put up in Show-Off the other day.

 

For these two, I brought up the highlights on the dorsal ridge and Finari's shoulders closer to linen white, sketched in the Vol blood-drop on her shield and based the red scales/ear-flaps on the basilisk. I also found several spots where Finari's original basecoat had worn away and touched those up.

 

 

For the basilisk, I'm trying to decide what the smaller side-and-belly scales should look like, as well as his spines and claws. I think I like the darker green for the smaller scales, but I'm not sure if I should go pale or dark for the claws. Any thoughts?

Edited September 25, 2017 by Sanael
dropped info

[Glitterwolf]

Great way to get back into painting!
They already look great!

 

As for the Basilisk Claws how about a dark red?

[Sanael]

Thanks, Glitterwolf! Dark red for the claws, same as the red stripe down the side, was one of my options I was considering. That paint should still be open on my wet palette, so I'll give it a go in todays session. Good to have a plana!

[chaosscorpion]

Considering the dark color on the top, I go with a lighter color.  Nature's ability to blend it.  Dark on top and light on the bottom, that way when the sun is beating down on it the dark appears lighter and the light falls into the shadow and brings both the top and the bottom in to the middle gradient, making it easier to hide in plain sight.

 

Good luck bud! and get busy on those house projects :P.

Edited September 26, 2017 by chaosscorpion

[Sanael]

hmm. that makes sense, Brad.I like the idea. but what color?

 

the color wheel gives me a violet to create a triad with the green and orangey red. I can give that a go, and if I need to I can just paint it over with a pale brown.

 

or, I can go with a yellow-orange belly and skew the red toward violet. I think I like that better. I'll give it a go, and the red-violet will go on the claws, too. Three hours to lunchtime!

[chaosscorpion]

Paler version of the red scales on the back?

 

 

[Sanael]

Day 02:

30 min

got a basecoat on the basilisk's belly. I decided I want to stick with only two color families, so I will skew the red toward orange and make the belly a lighter orange. Not much here other than a new basecoat on the belly and some dark green where I reclaaimed the basecoat on the leg scales. Finari didn't get much, just a little bit in her hair.

 

 

Day 02 Bonus:

45 min

Due to some bus schedule weirdness, I stayed late at the office and got some more painting in. Highlights on the green, bringing the legs up to the level of the dorsal ridge, glazed in the orange on the dark stripe, and started highlighting the belly. Most of the time was on the greens.

 

The leg scales aren't quite as light as the dorsal ridge, but I think I like that and will reclaim the darker green on the insides of the dorsal scales. The orange belly will need to shade down to the red, but I want the stripe to be the darkest part, if I can. I'll take some greyscale pictures tomorrow to really check on that.

 

Any thoughts?

 

[Sanael]

Day 03

30 minutes

 

Put some Blackened Brown on the broccoli bases just to help see what's what. Didn't do much on the basilisk at all after that; today was mostly Finari.

 

I found a few spots that  needed touching up on the green basecoat, then undercoated the sword in anticipation of the eventual metallics. Then some thin HD Military Grey and Misty Grey to highlight the black. Still needs another round, I think, probably of Ghost White.

 

 

I also took a greyscale image of the basilisk to look at values. It's a little better than I thought, but the deepest parts of the dorsal ridge still need to darken a bit.

 

And finally, I thought I'd take a picture of where I'm painting. This is my desk at the office with everything tucked away. At left is my tea station and kettle, then a brush easel, wet palette and blot rag, rinse cup (a Reaper P.O.D. from RCon 2015), the Rathcore minis holders and a folding OTTlite. Paints are in cases under the desk.

Also in frame: a teacup, a Playmobil pirate caravel, several of my geek-buttons-as-thumbtacks, and two of my POP! figures (Raphael and Wonder Woman; the other two, out of frame, are Arya Stark and a xenomorph. I still want a non-bobble-headed Spider-Man and the new Ms. Marvel).

[chaosscorpion]

Pokes head in cubicle.  Hmmm empty, must be out to Lunch! 

Edited September 29, 2017 by chaosscorpion

[chaosscorpion]

Pokes head in cubicle.  Hmm He's still at Lunch!...  

 

 

[Sanael]

haha! I have actually painted both yesterday and today, but my phone really doesnt like the new mobile interface, so I'm not posting until I get home. And last night, I didn't get home until well past my bedtime. I'll have several sessions to post late tonight or tomorrow!

[Sanael]

Day 04:

30 min

Reclaimed a bunch of shadow on the basilisk's scales. Took this greyscale photo and I'm happier with the definition happening here.

 

Not much on Finari on Day 04.

 

Day 05:

30 min + 45 min bonus session

Some last touches on the basilisk and Finari, just a few quick glazes and a few last highlights. Looking at the photos, I need to add a bit to the basilisk's claws; otherwise, I think they're pretty well finished: they'll look good on the table, which is what I really need for them. I'll take them home and flock them, then put them in show off.

 

And I had a little time after work waiting on a bus, so I also slapped paint on these beetle swarms and scorpions. They went from bare Bones to finished in about 45 minutes, so they aren't the prettiest minis, but they'll work well in a D&D encounter. I'm pretty happy with the beetles in particular: they were based in green liner, then heavily drybrushed in silver, which I then glazed with a red, blue and purple. It achieved a reasonable iridescent look without too much effort.

And, since Finari and the Basilisk are leaving the office, I need a new project. I feel like I've figured out how to swing a brush again after my hiatus, so I'm going to start a somewhat more detailed piece. I'll do more full intro once I start the next thread, but here's a teaser:

[chaosscorpion]

OSL?

 

 

 

[Sanael]

there's an off chance...

[chaosscorpion]

OSL

OSL