PAX

If you already didn't know, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is the reason why I got into miniature painting. Miniatures are what is used to represent player characters on the game map. Well, I have been playing for a few years and have taught it many times. This year I am going to be putting in a lot of volunteer hours at PAX helping teach people how to play D&D! I am really excited because it will be my first time attending PAX ever. I also can't wait to check out the new Minecraft Adventure Update which I heard was going to be playable there, but we'll see.

Maybe I'll see you there!

Red Dragon

Here is Red Dragon from the Pathfinder series of Reaper Miniatures. Yes, I know, I know. The name is Red Dragon. However, I wanted a blue dragon!

This miniature is much bigger than the others I've been painting. It's about 4 inches tall and even longer than that from wing tip to wing tip. Although it took a great deal of paint and layering, this was one of my favorite pieces to paint so far! The fact that dragons are by far my most favorite mythical creature could play a part in that...

This miniature came disassembled, so I painted the individual pieces before using epoxy to glue them together. First I painted the entire dragon body and the wings Sky Blue. I then used the water-fill technique to take care of the lowlights (all techniques mentioned can be found in my first blog, Khamsin). I used Ultramarine Blue. This was a really big time-saver, considering how big this miniature was! I had originally tried using the dry-brushing technique for the highlights on the scales. I wanted the scales to really pop out and look, well, scaley. This technique wasn't giving me the vibrant, light blue I wanted for the highlights, so I decided on accent-painting. This took a lot of time. I mixed Sky Blue and White 50/50. I dabbed the color on almost every scale and blended it in.













After I finished the main body on the dragon, I glued the pieces together. I noticed that one of the arms didn't quite fit onto the body as I had hoped. I fixed this by adding more epoxy to the open space between the arm and the body. I waited for it to dry, then painted over the epoxy using the same steps as I did when I first started painting. Even though the scales weren't actually molded out here, I was able to achieve the same 3-D look with my painting techniques. There, see. You can hardly tell that part is flat.

For the skull-like ruined statue that the dragon is standing on, I first painted it all Muddy Brown (the color for my lowlights). Then dry-brushed Tanned Leather over it. I finally added a third layer of Aged Bone as my highlights and dry-brushed that over it as well.

For the skin on the wings I used the same colors as above, only added a little yellow. I used wet blending to create the gradient from dark to light at the tips and the folds in the skin.

Jadeah

Here is Jadeah, Female Half Orc from the Dark Heaven Legends series of Reaper Miniatures. The way I went about painting her was a little different than usual. After priming I added a couple entire base coats of dark green. I then started blending the highlights and lowlights into the musculature of her body. This was a very fun mini to paint because I love shading and highlighting and it really made the muscles pop. Then, when I was done with that, I started adding the color to the armor and weapons. Since there was so much blending to be done for the muscles, I thought this was the easier way to go without having to worry about getting any green on the clothing and such because I would just be painting over all the mistakes.

As you can see I chose red for my primary color to incorporate into the clothing and accessories. Red is a complimentary color to green so I though it would look awesome. It also kind of reminds me of the colors of the Horde in World of Warcraft, therefore suiting an orc nicely.

On the back of the shield I added some nice realistic highlights to the huge red ruby gem. When light enters a semi-clear gem, the side the light enters has a very bright, concentrated area of light (the top right in this case). The light exits through the opposite side, but in a more diffused pattern, so the light is spread out and less bright (the bottom left).




For the leather armor I originally painted it a tan-brown color, but that blended in too well with the brass armor and looked awful. I eventually decided on a cool grey and matched the boots to simulate grey wolf fur.

Alastriel

Here I painted an Elf Sorceress from the Dark Heaven Legends series of Reaper Miniatures. I actually tried to make her look more like an Eladrin from Dungeons and Dragons 4e with the way I did the eyes and the almost silver-pale blonde hair. The most difficult part of painting this piece was the right thigh partially hidden under her dress. Also, painting the area where the cape and the wooden staff meet was difficult - I kept getting brown color on the cape and light tan on the staff, even while using my finest brush!

My overall goal for this piece was to incorporate a lot of color. Mages wield so many different powers and spells and they are such pretty colors. I wanted to show that creative color in her outfit. She could also be played as a Swordmage from 4e since she's got that magical sword in her left hand.

I added the pink highlights in her hair to simulate the light emanating from the gem on the staff. Details details! :)

Khamsin

Hey guys! So here is my first post. WOOHOO! Anyhoo, this guy is a Nefsokar Grunt from the Warlord series of Reaper Miniatures. Some parts come disassembled, but he came in all one piece.

First, I primed him with white primer. I then painted on 3 base coats of a tan color on the top and 3 coats of brown on the pants. Blues and reds were added to make the piece less drab and boring. Then I started the highlighting/shading process.

When highlighting/shading, there are 4 techniques:

1) Dry-brushing. This is when you dab your brush in paint and rub it off on a paper towel until only a little bit of paint is coming off. Then you lightly brush it over the area you want to effect. This will create a more blended look like the wet-blending technique.

2) Wet-blending. This is where you blend colors into one another on the character while the paint is still wet. I find this technique to be more effective on capes and larger areas.

3) Water-fill. This is when you mix a lot of water in with the paint (about 50%/50%), then brush it over the entire area where you want shadows. When you do it this way, the water does all the work! The watered down paint will fill into the creases of the clothing and such and leave the protruding areas lighter.

4) Accent-painting. This is when you paint all the higher areas of the piece with a small paint brush. This can be very time consuming, but is good for filling in highlights on clothing, like I did with this character. NOTE: I usually make a mixture of 80%/20% paint and water, respectively, for this method. The paint glides on smoother.

Don't forget all those little details that will make your character unique and memorable! If you want your character to look realistic, add details in jewelry, eyes, makeup, hair, clothing patterns, tattoos, etc. Your hard work will pay off in the end! "Oh my gosh! Look! She's even painted the pupils!" If this is the reaction you want, don't feel intimidated to put in the extra time.