Monday, January 26, 2015

Aviriel Tellerion, Female Elf: Figure 134 of 265

     This week I completed another figure from the Elves set; Aviriel Tellerion, Female Elf; as I embark on the second half of my Bones Kickstarter figures.  Two more elves to go after this one.  Then I will either work on the Dwarves, or take a break from Fantasy for a while and work on some of the Sci-Fi figures.
      I prepped this figure in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish- soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  I then glued the figure to a 1" black-primed fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and glued the washer to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's White Glue.   In thinking about how to paint this figure, I decided I would go for the traditional green-clothed  elf look.
     I began painting by giving her a wash with thinned black ink with a tiny pin-point drop of dish-soap added to help it flow into the crevices and help show the sculpting outlines. I then painted all her armor black, and then drybrushed it with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter"
     Next, I painted her pants Americana "Leaf Green", and her sleeves Americana "Olive Green".  I painted the shield and scabbard Americana "Forest Green", and the pair of hangings running down her back with Folk Heart "Hunter Green."
  I then painted her boots with Accent "Mustard Seed".  I decided to give her gloves, and painted them this color as well.  I painted the inside of her shield with GW "Vermin Brown", and the handle straps on it, as well as her belts, with DecoArt "Cinnamon Brown".  The face I painted with GW "Elf Flesh", and her hair with Crafters Edition "Spice Brown". I painted the trim on her back hangings with Apple Barrel "Yellow", I also used the "Yellow' to paint some runic symbols running down the hangings.
     At this step, I gave all the brown-ish parts (including her face) a wash with Winsor-Newton "Peat Brwon" Ink. I then worked on the metallics, painting her shield decoration, the wings on her breast plate, her scabbard trim, and the sword hilt with Ceramcoat "Bronze". I used the "Metallic Pewter" to paint the sword. 
      I now went back ,and added highlight  with Ceramcoat "14K Gold" to all the parts I had painted with the "Bronze".  I then used Folk Art "Silver Sterling" to add highlights to the armor and sword.
     I mixed a little of the "Olive Green" to the "Leaf Green' and added highlights to the pants and the shield edges. I used the base "Mustard Seed" to add highlights to the boots and gloves.  Next, I used Americana "Sable Brown" to add highlights to the hair, I then mixed a little Americana "Khaki Tan" into the "Sable Brown", and added a further level of hair highlights.   I then painted the eyes, first doing the sockets black, then adding whites and then black pupils.  I highlighted the face with the base "Elf Flesh", then added a little white to add an extra highlight to the bridge of the nose.  Lastly, I painted the white integral base with the "Cinnamon Brown". 
      I let the figure sit overnight, and the next morning I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  Later that afternoon I flocked the base.  The weather hasn't been good for spraying, so I wasn't able to apply the usual Testor's Dullcote before posting this entry; so you will notice a little extra sheen on the figure.
    I'm pleased with how the figure turned out.  I'm not a big fan of the sculpt, and I think the nice simple paint scheme did it justice.

Figure 134 of 265: Complete

Monday, January 19, 2015

Svetlana, Frost Giant Princess: Figure 133 of 265

     Hooray, and welcome to the half-way point painting celebration! :)  This week I completed figure 133, Svetlana the Frost Giant Princess from the Ice Giant King and Queen optional purchase set, which both puts me both at and over the half way mark in my 265 Bones figure painting journey.  It's all down hill from here!  I thought I'd try my hand at one of these larger figures as a way to mark this special occasion.
    I prepped this figure in the usual way; soaking both the parts (body and hand) in water with a bit of dish soap added, giving a gentle scrub with an old soft toothbrush, then rinsing and drying.  I then used Gorilla Super Glue gel to glue the hand holding the weapon to the arm socket; and when dry, glued the body to 2" black primed fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue. The washer was large enough that I didn't feel it was necessary to take my usual step of gluing the washer to a tongue depressor for ease of handling.
       I then spent some time Googling Eskimo costumes to get some inspiration for painting this figure.
   I began by painting her skin with GW "Vermin Brown".  I then painted her pants Folk Art "Poppy Seed", and then painted her top, waist furs, wrist wrappings, boot fur trim, and face mask with Americana "Dove Grey".
Next, I painted her fur cape with Americana "Mississippi Mud".  Then I painted all the bone looking splints she has on her outfit, the skulls she is holding, her tooth necklace, and the jaws on the back end of her weapon, with Americana "Buttermilk". Her lower boots I painted Ceramcoat "Maple Sugar Tan", and the sole of the raised left foot I painted Ceramcoat "Raw Sienna".
 I now painted the various belts and straps on her outfit, and the ones wrapped around the skulls with Folk Art "Medium Grey". Then I painted the bottom third of her mask with  Folk Art "Barnyard Red", and the top third Folk Art "Settlers Blue". This pattern was based on an Eskimo mask I had seen while Googling Eskimo costumes. I also used the "Settlers Blue" to paint some of the decorations on her outfit.
   I worked now on finishing her weapon. I painted the blade with Folk Art "Porcelain White", and the shaft with Americana "Sable Brown".  I finished up with painting all the strapping on the weapon with Ceramcoat "Walnut". I then used some Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter" to paint the rivets on the shaft, and the two bump-like protrusions on the mask by the mouth.
     After everything had had time to dry, I then gave the entire figure a wash with GW "Agrax Earthshade" wash.

    I now worked on the hair, first painting it black, and then drybrushing it with the "Settlers Blue". I then mixed in a little Anita's "Baby Blue" with the "Settlers Blue" to do some lighter highlights.  Next, I used the base "Mississippi Mud" to do drybrushed highlights to the cape.  I then mixed in some Americana "Khaki Tan" to the "Mississippi Mud" to do even lighter highlights. I mixed some white with the "Poppy Seed' and added some highlights to her pants.  For her skin, I added some Apple Barrel "Apple Flesh" to the "Vermin Brown" to paint on highlights.
      I now did highlighting on all the bones and teeth with some white mixed with the base "Buttermilk", and then a bit of just plain white. I also used the plain white to drybrush highlights on to all the white-ish fur clothing and trim.  I drybrushed the weapon's blade with the base "Porcelain White".  I added some highlights to the blue areas with the base "settlers Blue, and to the red part of the mask with the base "Barnyard Red."   Lastly, I added in the eye; first painting the mask's eye holes black, and then adding in smaller whites and then black pupils.
    I painted the washer and any unpainted parts of the figure's integral base all white. I let the figure sit overnight, and the next morning I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  Later that afternoon I flocked the base, using Woodland Scenics snow flocking, and added some dry grasses with a bit of unraveled twine and a bit of twig.  The next day I gave her a coat of Testor's "Dullcote" spray varnish.

  I'm really pleased with how she turned out.   I like how all the natural tones work together. I have included a picture of her below with the Elf wizard I completed last week to give a sense of her size.
Figure 133 of 265: Complete.  On to the second half!

Monday, January 12, 2015

Anirion, Wood Elf Wizard: Figure 132 of 265

First off, let me say "Happy New Year!" to all my readers.  Secondly, let me apologize for the two week delay in getting anything posted.  As I said on the 29th, I had a very busy holiday schedule, and then a stomach bug came along last weekend to squash any attempts to get something posted last Monday.  Anyhow, I've been back at the painting table now, and this week I finished up Anirion, the Wood Elf Wizard, from the Elves set.
     The completion of this figure puts me on the doorstep of the halfway mark, so be sure to tune in next week for my halfway mark celebration figure. :)
      I prepped this figure in the usual way; soaking in water with a bit of dish soap added, giving a gentle scrub with an old soft toothbrush, then rinsing and drying.  I then glued it to 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer to a tongue depressor with a couple small dabs of Elmer's white glue, for ease of handling during painting.
     I was still in the mind to do winter themed figures since the completion of my Snow Goblins in December, and I thought this Elf's cloak and robes would make him well suited for a winter paint scheme. So, I began by painting his outfit with Aleene's "Dark Grey". I then drybrushed over this with Duncan "Slate Grey"
I envisioned having his robes/cloak look like a snow storm in motion, so I took a very stiff brush dipped it in white paint, and then ran my thumb across is it to create a spatter pattern of white on the grey outfit.  The resulting spatter turned out a little rope-ier than I imagined, and some of the spatter dots came out a little more raised/thick than I had thought they would, but overall I was pleased with the outcome.
Next, I painted the edges of the cloak and sleeves with white.  I painted the staff with Folk Art "Barn Wood", and then the face and hands with GW "Elf Flesh".  Lastly, I painted the hair with Americana "Moon Yellow."
Next, I painted the fittings on the staff with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter", and the stone on top I painted with Americana "True Blue".  After the figure had some time to dry, I then gave a wash to the staff, hands, face and hair with slightly thinned Winsor-Newton "Peat Brown" Ink.
After this wash was dry, I went back and added highlights to the face and hands with the base "Elf Flesh".  I highlighted the hair with the base "Moon Yellow", and then did further highlights with Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon".  I added highlights to the stone on top the staff with white, and some white mixed with a little of the "True Blue."  Lastly, I added highlights to the metal bits with Folk Art "Silver Sterling".   My final step was to paint the base and washer with white.
      I let the figure sit overnight, and the next morning I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  Later that afternoon I flocked the base, using Woodland Scenics snow flocking, and added some dry grasses with a bit of unraveled twine.  The next day I gave him a coat of Testor's "Dullcote" spray varnish.

Over all, I'm very pleased with how the figure came out.  I think the cloak his the appropriate "swirling snow storm" look about it that I was hoping for.

Figure 132 of 265: Complete