Bog Skeletons (44115)

[MoonglowMinis]

So this past February, I got around to painting up these Bog Skeletons.  I was in need of more swamp zombies for Rangers of Shadow Deep and had these guys laying around and figured it was the perfect excuse for painting them.  Though I am a big fan of bog-bodies, I decided to lean more into a swampy look.  I figured they could be a bit more colorful and I got a strong vision of a green-tone horde of skellies.  Plus bogs are notorious for preserving bodies and these guys missing quite a bit of their flesh, organs, and hair.

 

More Below the Spoiler:

Spoiler

These guys were a lot of fun to paint.  I had a strong vision of what I wanted them to look like, and I really pushed my skills, trying things I had never attempted before.  I used a lot of different greens in this project, mostly Moss Colors Triad, Undead Skin Tones, and i think Camo Green Triad (I'll have to double check later).  I tried keeping each green section a unique tone.  The swamp water got darker and warmer greens.  The rock and bones got cooler lighter greens, the cloth got a neutral-warm leaning green, and the moss was a rich warm yellow-green.  I feel like this kept everything looking monotone, without things blending into each other.

The biggest challenge I undertook with these guys was the NMM.  I have shied away from NMM for a long time.  But the vision I had for these guys called for control, and it's hard to control the reflections of TMM.  I also wanted a blend of shiny metal and rusted metal and figured it would look nicer in NMM.  I learned a lot with these guys.  Since most of the metal would be covered in rust, and since these were grungy swamp-crawling skeletons, it freed me up to be imperfect.  I focused more on where I thought light would fall, and details I wanted to highlight (literally).  Having the freedom to work loosely made the experience fun instead of stressful.  And I'm really happy with the result!  I'm glad I took a chance and tried something new.

 

I also played around with painting wood in non-brown colors.  I had seen the advice somewhere that painting wood grain is less about smooth highlights, and more about color variance.  I had started playing with that with more traditional brown-tones on other minis, but these guys have been un-living in a swamp.  So more green.  I used a bit of all my different greens on my palette to give some character to the wood.  I think it really worked out nicely.

I also tried something different with the bones.  These are the first skeletons I have painted up since moving away from reliance on washes.  They were base coated with an airbrush and zenithal, but i didn't go for the traditional black and white.  I think this is an important lesson when it comes to bas coating and zenithal, and a more recent project is suffering because I didn't really think it through.  If you're going to be painting something that is largely lighter in tone, then having pure black in the shadows is going to be too much.  Because the shadow tone on these guys was more of a medium-desaturated green, it feels like a dark shadow compared to the brighter whites.  I was worried about the bones not looking correct with all the green, but I'm really happy I stuck to my vision and kept them that way.  I think it really cements these guys in their swampy world.

Speaking of swampy worlds.  I was really pleased with how my basing turned out.  I am not a fan of using resin water effects on my minis.  Partly because I'm afraid of ruining them, and partly because I don't like making the way they often make the base look too chunky.  I'd rather paint the liquid.  I had discovered a cool technique for painting pools of blood on a past figure and tried that same technique here for dark swampy water.  I started with a bright yellow green and wet blended out to black - trying to imply that the water was deeper further out.  I then gloss coated the water after sealing to give it that wet shine.  It's simple, but I think it really works.  Especially for still water.

I had a lot of fun working on these guys.  They're very colorful despite being monochromatic and I think they're among some of my best work.  I tried out new techniques and pushed my skills.  In the end I have a group of evocative minis that really imply a setting beyond the limits of their bases.  I couldn't be prouder of these bone-boys.

 

I also recently shared some photos of some of my earlier attempts at painting skeletons.  It was really fun looking back at where I started - especially since these models are very similar to the Skeleton Guardians.  You can check out my old skeletons in the Show-Off post HERE.

[Inarah]

40 minutes ago, MoonglowMinis said:

 

So this past February, I got around to painting up these Bog Skeletons.  I was in need of more swamp zombies for Rangers of Shadow Deep and had these guys laying around and figured it was the perfect excuse for painting them.  Though I am a big fan of bog-bodies, I decided to lean more into a swampy look.  I figured they could be a bit more colorful and I got a strong vision of a green-tone horde of skellies.  Plus bogs are notorious for preserving bodies and these guys missing quite a bit of their flesh, organs, and hair.

 

 

 

Yeah, funny how the flesh and organs are gone but the clothing remains on a lot of skels.   These came out nice, I like the subtle variations in color, and how you did the rust effects and the bone.  Good basing, too. 

 

 

[MoonglowMinis]

14 minutes ago, Inarah said:

Yeah, funny how the flesh and organs are gone but the clothing remains on a lot of skels.   These came out nice, I like the subtle variations in color, and how you did the rust effects and the bone.  Good basing, too. 

 

Fantasy clothing fibers are notoriously resilient 😉 
Thanks for the compliments!  I am really proud of these guys.  Nice to know others enjoy them as well!

[Glitterwolf]

Awesome!

Love these Undead!

[Rigel]

Splendid work on the rusty axes and corroded swords and armor!

[Chaoswolf]

These guys look great!

[dks]

Excellent work.  Good mix of smooth layering, painted textures, and variation in the colors.

I appreciated reading about your process, such as how the inherent chaos of the corrosion freed you from the pressure to have clean or "perfect" results.

Keep on sharing,

Derek

[MoonglowMinis]

Thanks everyone!  I am still really proud of these guys.  It's nice seeing the positive feedback!