Caryatid Columns: Bones II FIgures

   This week I painted up the Caryatid Columns from the Bones II, Expansion II, Caryatid Column set.  We will be doing the "Living Museum" Frostgrave scenario next campaign session,  so I thought I should have at least one statue to contribute. :)
     I prepped the figures in the usual way; soaking them in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish- soap added, then giving them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying them.  I then glued each figure to a black-primed 1" fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then glued the washers to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue each.

 I didn't want to just do them as regular grey stone, so I decided to paint them as green marble.  I began by painting them entirely Black.  When the Black was dry, I drybrushed them with Accent "Forest Green", followed by a drybrushing with Americana "Leaf Green".

  I then added thin striations, specks, and smudges with White and then Black.   Next, I painted their sword blades and their bases with Americana "Zinc".

          I painted the eyes of the "living" one with Crafter's Acrylic "Citrus Green", and gave the eyes White pupils.  I then drybrushed the bases with Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey", followed by Folk Art "Platinum Grey".   Next, I painted the sword hilts with Americana "Terra Cotta".  I then went back and painted the sword blades with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey", and did highlights with Folk Art Metallics "Silver Sterling".  Then I painted the sword hilts with Ceramcoat "Bronze", followed with highlights using Ceramcoat "14K Gold".
  After the figures had overnight to dry, I gave them a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" the next morning.

   I really like how these turned out.  I think the green marble look helps raise them above the ordinary.

"All Bones About It" Blog Hits 100K Views!

  I'm happy to announce that today this blog hit its 100,000 view!  I was lucky enough to check in this morning at 99,999 and was able to refresh once to see it roll over to the big 100K.

   This June will mark the 3-year anniversary of this blog; started after receiving my Bones I Kickstarter from Reaper Miniatures.   I had hoped this blog would help keep me on task in my goal of painting all 266 figures I had received; because I knew if I didn't set a goal, that most of the figures would probably still be languishing in the box they shipped in.   I'm proud of the fact that I have been able to stick with it these three years, and am happy so many folks have supported me along the way.

  Next Monday, I will be posting my 216th figure, which will put me just 50 figures away from reaching my goal.  Thank you all so much for supporting my efforts along the way, and be sure to stick around for the last stretch; it's all downhill from here!

Orc Snipers (Archers): Figures 212-215 of 266

  This weekend I finished up the four Orc Sniper figures from the Orcpoclypse add-on set.   Ive got two more sets of four to go to complete this set.
     I prepped these figures in the usual way,  washing them in some dish soap, lightly scrubbing them with a soft toothbrush,  and then letting them dry. I then did some conversions to them using Gorilla superglue gel. Looking at the row below; The first orc has his arm sliced at the shoulder and wrist, and repositioned back around to look like he is reaching for an arrow out of his quiver.  The second has had his arm sliced at the shoulder and repositioned down to look like he is reaching for his short sword.  The third and fourth orcs are unchanged.
       After the conversions were done, I glued the four onto black primed 1.25 inch fender washers using Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then glued them onto a tongue depressor, for ease of painting, using a couple drops of Elmer's white glue each.

     I began by painting them entirely Black; and then when the Black was dry, I drybrushed the chainmail areas with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  I then went back and used the Black to repaint the fur areas where the "Gunmetal Grey" paint had gotten on them.

I then drybrushed the fur garments and the fur boot tops: for the first archer's fur tunic and the third archer's boot tops I used Americana "Zinc", for the second archer's fur tunic and the fourth archer's boot tops I used Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey", for the third archer's fur tunic and the first archer's boot tops I used Americana "Mississippi Mud", and for the fourth archer's fur tunic and the second archer's boot tops I used Folk Art "Dark Brown".  Next, I painted their under-tunics: for the first archer I used Ceramcoat "Black Cherry", for the second I used Crafter's Acrylic "African Violet", for the third one I used Americana "Bittersweet Chloclate", and for the fourth I used Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue".

     I then did their skin with Aleene's "Deep Khaki".  Next, I did the belts and pouch on the first two, and the quiver and scabbard on the second two with Nicole's "Brown".  I then reversed this, doing the belts and pouch on the second two, and the quiver and scabbard on the first two with Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown".  I painted the padding on their wrist guards with Americana "Khaki Tan", and the straps, as well as the sword grips, with Americana "Asphaltum".  I then painted their bows with Crafter's Acrylic "Cinnamon Brown".

      Next, I painted the fletchings on their arrows with Americana "Neutral Grey", and all the stitching on their belts, scabbards, quivers, and pouches with the "Khaki Tan".  I painted their teeth with GW "Bubonic Brown".  I then used the metallic "Gunmetal Grey" to paint all the metal fittings on their bows and short swords.   Then, after the paint had a while to dry, I gave the figures all a complete wash with GW "Agrax Earthshade" wash using a wet brush.

     When the wash was dry, I painted their eyes, and then highlighted their teeth with Americana "Buttermilk". Next, I highlighted all their skin with a mix of the original "Deep Khaki" mixed with a little Aleene's "Dusty Khaki" . I also highlighted each of their tunics with the original colors I had used.  I highlighted their belts with Americana "Sable Brown", and hit the stitching again with the "Khaki Tan".  I then repainted their boots Black, and then added highlights with the "Neutral Grey".   Lastly, I painted their sculpted bases with Ceramcoat "Walnut".
     After everything had dried overnight, I gave the figures a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" and, when dry, flocked their bases.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed them with Testor's Dullcote".

     Though there's nothing extraordinary about them, I'm generally pleased with how they came out.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the whole group of orcs looks set out toghether, including the ones from the original 30 New Bones set, when I finally get this set complete.

Figures 212-215: Complete

Bones CAV SO: Ashigaru

   This week I completed my first unit from the Reaper Bones CAV Strike Operation Kickstarter, the Ashigaru missile launcher vehicles.
   I prepped the vehicles in the usual way for Bones; soaking them in a bowl of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then giving them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying them. I then glued the missile rack in place with superglue.  Next, I sprayed them with Army Painter "Necrotic Flesh" spray paint.  When they were dry, I glued them to a black-primed 3"x1.5" steel base (For use with LSNC: Sci-Fi rules), with Aleene's Tacky glue.

      I began by painting camouflage splotches all over the vehicles' surfaces using Nicole's "Brown". I the painted the wheels all Americana "Territorial Beige".

     Next, I added small dots to the camouflage splotches  with Americana "Khaki Tan".  After the paint had a while to dry I gave the all the vehicles an entire wash using Winsor-Newton "Peat Brown" ink using a wet brush.

     When the ink wash was dry I gave the vehicles an all-over drybrushing with Americana "Buttermilk".  I then painted the missile tips with Americana "Zinc", and the vehicle windows with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue".

    I then added small highlights to the tops of the missile tips using Crafer's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey", and highlights to the windows with Americana "Salem Blue", followed by small pinpoint White highlight dots in each window.  Lastly, I painted the tail lights with Crafter's Acrylic "Deep Red".
     After the vehicles had overnight to dry,  I gave them a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" early the next morning.   When the varnish was dry, I covered the bases with white glue and dunked them in a sand and gravel mixture.  When the sand was dry, I painted it with Americana "Raw Umber", and then when that was dry, I drybrushed it with Americana "Territortial Beige", followed by Folk Art "Butter Pecan", and lastly Americana "Bleached Sand".
  The next day I sprayed the missile launcher unit with Testor's Dullcote.

Three platoon stands and a company HQ stand.

    I'm happy with how these turned out, and am looking forward to tackling more of the CAV vehicles in the future!

Ingrid, Female Gnome: Figure 211 of 266

   Over the weekend I finished up Ingrid, Female Gnome from the Half-Sized Heroes set.  I'm not officially working on this set now; I just wanted to get another Thief figure painted up for Frostgrave, so I pulled this figure out and bumped it to the front of the line.  I didn't realize she was a Gnome when I painted her, so I did her up as a Halfling.
      I thought the object in her hand looked like it was supposed to be some sort of magic light source, like the Phial of Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings; so I had to have a nice debate with myself as to whether I was going to attempt serious Object Source Lighting (OSL) for the first time, or skip the pressure and just paint her as if she was simply holding a snowball, or a rock.   
     I prepped the 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 it.  I then glued the figure to a white-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figure to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

    I began by painting her chainmail black, and then drybrushing it with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey", followed with a lighter drybrushing with Folk Art Metallics "Silver Sterling".   I then painted her face with Americana "Shading Flesh".

     Next, I painted her studded leather jerkin with Ceramcoat "Raw Sienna", followed by painting her leggings with Folk Art "Cloudy Day", and her sleeves with Folk Art "Dapple Grey".  I painted her cape with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue"; followed by doing her hair with Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown", and her shoes with Nicole's "Brown".

     I then painted her belts and the sword grip with Crafter's Acrylic "Cinnamon Brown", and her gloves with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige".  Next, it was her sword, belt buckle, and all the studs on her jerkin,  with Americana "Neutral Grey".  I let the paint all dry for a while, then gave all the brown toned parts a wash GW "Agrax Earthshade" wash using a wet brush.  When this wash was dry, I have all the blue and green parts a wash with GW "Badab Black" wash using a wet brush.

     When the wash was dry, I highlighted her hair with Americana "Sable Brown". I then painted her eyes and lips, and then highlighted her face with the base "Shading Flesh".   Next, I highlighted her cape with Ceramcoat "Denim Blue", followed by painting her magic rock with Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue".

     I then highlighted her jerkin with Americana "Khaki Tan", and then highlighted her leggings and sleeves with their base colors; "Cloudy Day", and "Dapple Grey" respectively.  Next, I used the "Sable Brown" to highlight her shoes and gloves. I noticed the barrettes in her hair and painted them with the "Neutral Grey".   I then used Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey" to paint her sword, belt buckle, jerkin studs, and barrettes; then added highlights to these areas with Folk Art Metallics "Silver Sterling".
    The figure was done now, for all intents and purposes, so it was time for me to make the decision about the OSL.  I realized I needed to just do it, or I'd always be afraid of it; so I spent a minute studying how light from the rock she holds would hit her body.  I then took a small brush I use for drybrushing tight areas, and applied a heavy drybrush of the "Cool Blue" down the areas of her body the light would hit.   I then went back and added White highlights to the rock itself, and all the areas of her body I had just hit with the "Cool Blue".  I also added White reflective dots to her eyes, and some of the metallic parts.   Lastly, I used the White to paint her base.
     I then used some Aleene's Tacky glue to add some cut Bones sprue to the base to look like some ruins.  When dry, I painted it Black, and then drybrushed it with Americana "Zinc", followed with Crafter's Acrylic Storm Cloud Grey", and lastly Folk Art "Platinum Grey". When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" early the next morning.  That afternoon I flocked the white areas with Woodland Scenics "Snow" flock the next day I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.

      In the end I'm pleased.  It's a little heavy handed; but I wanted it to look like a very stark unnatural lighting, and I think it does.   I can also say there's lots of room for me to improve, but luckily its a skill I don't think I will have to call upon very often.

Here I tried some lighting effects; using just my phone's flashlight, shining from tabletop level.  I think it helps accentuate the painted OSL effect.

Figure 211 of 266: Complete

Quick SIze Comparison: Forstgrave Soldiers vs Reaper

   Over on the Reaper Forum there was question regarding how the size of Frostgrave-specific figures stacked up against Reaper figures.  So I took a quick photo to show:

L to R: Frostgrave plastic soldier, Reaper Bones figure, Frostgrave plastic soldier, Reaper Bones figure, Frostgrave metal Rangifer. 

As can be seen, the Frostgrave stuff is a little smaller.  Note, that not only have I glued the Frostgrave soldiers to a washer, like I did with the Reaper ones; but I also glued them to the 1" plastic bases that come with them to add a little more height.

Bones II; Mi-Sher (Female Fighter/Thug)

     I painted up Mi-Sher this week.  She is supposed to be wielding two swords, but I had borrowed her second sword a while back to use with my Chronomancer Apprentice, Sascha Dubois; and the figure had been sitting around my painting table off-handedly :) until I realized recently that with just one sword she would make a good Thug for Frostgrave. So, I found a suitable replacement hand from my bits box of hard plastic figure parts, and after prepping the figure, I super-glued the hand in place.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.
    I prepped the 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 it. I then glued the plastic hand in place.  Next, I glued the figure to a white-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figure to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

  I began by painting the hand White.  Next, I did her face with Americana "Shading Flesh".  Then I painted her pants with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate", and her tunic with Americana "Forest Green".

   Next, I painted her hood and the scarf-like pieces hanging off of it with Americana "Terra Cotta". Then I painted the corset-like part she's wearing with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and then the scarf she's wearing like a belt with Apple Barrel "Apple Blue Spruce". Next, I painted the little bits of hair visible under the hood with Folk Art "Dark Brown".

     I panted her footwear with Nicole's "Brown", her gloves with Americana "Raw Umber", and her wrist guards with Apple Barrel "Burnt Sienna". I painted the calf wraps with Aleene's "Dusty Khaki", and the scabbard on her back with Apple Barrel "Apple Black Green".

        After the paint had a while to dry, I gave the browns and the skin all a wash with GW "Agrax Earthshade" wash using a wet brush.  When the wash was dry, I then gave her tunic and the green belt/scarf a wash with Iron Wind Metals "Dark Green" ink using a wet brush.  When the ink was dry, I highlighted her hair with Americana "Sable Brown", and then painted her eyes and lips and then highlighted her face.

         Next, I highlighted the hood/scarf thing with a mix of "Terra Cotta" and Ceramcoat "Maple Sugar Tan". I then highlighted the pants with Crafter's Acrylic "Cinnamon Brown".  Her tunic was the next part I highlighted using a mix of Crafter's Acrylic "Holiday Green", and Crafter's Acrylic "Wild Green".  The belt/scarf, and the scabbard on her back,  I highlighted with a mix of the "Apple Blue Spruce" and some Folk Art "Gray Green". The corset-like piece I highlighted with Americana "Khaki Tan".

         I then highlighted her footwear and her gloves with the "Sable Brown". Next, I highlighted her wrist guards with a mix of the "Burnt Sienna" and the "Maple Sugar Tan". The wraps on her calves I highlighted with the base "Dusty Khaki".
   At this point I turned to the metallic parts.  I began by painting the sword, the fittings on the scabbard on her back,  and the various buttons on her footwear, and wristguards, with Americana "Neutral Grey".  I then painted the insects (scarabs?) on her footwear with the "Forest Green".  I went back and painted over all the parts I had painted the "Neutral Grey" with Folk Art Metallics  "Gunmetal Grey", and then did highlights with Folk Art Metallics "Silver Sterling".  I then painted over the bugs on her footwear with Folk Art "Metallic Emerald Green".
     I painted the base White, and when dry I glued on a 10mm figure I had prepared earlier to look like a small broken statue by cutting it roughly into two parts and then painting it.  First, Black, then drybrushed it with Americana "Neutral Grey", followed with Folk Art "Platinum Grey". When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" early the next morning.  Midday, I flocked the white areas with Woodland Scenics "Snow" flock and late that afternoon I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.

     I'm generally happy with how the figure came out.  The pose may be a little awkward without the second sword, but I like to think it looks like she is signaling to a compatriot as she runs along, or perhaps preparing to climb a ruin.

Terezinya, Bonepander Wizard: Figure 210 of 266

   The weekend I finished up Terezinya, Bonepander Wizard, the last of the Necromancer set that was left to paint.  The set now joins the list of completed sets over on the right.   Even though this figure is labeled as a wizard, I thought her lack of extensive armor, or anything particularly 'wizardy" looking, and that fact that she is carrying just one weapon, made her a good candidate to be a Thug in my Necromancer warband.
      I prepped the 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 it.  I then glued the figure to a white-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figure to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

     I began by painting her entire outfit with Black.  I then drybrushed it with a mix of the Black and Ceramcoat "Denim Blue".   I thought I would try a different skin color than my usual, so I painted her head and hands with Americana "Terra Cotta".

           Next, I painted her pants and the drape hanging from her right arm with Ceramcoat "Black Cherry".  Then I painted her hair with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige".   When the paint had had a while to dry, I gave her skin and hair a wash with Winsor-Newton "Peat Brown" Ink using a wet brush.

    When the ink wash was dry I worked on her hair, doing highlights first with Americana "Moon Yellow", and then spot highlights with with Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon.  Next, I painted her eyes, and then did her lips with a mix of the Black Cherry", Terra Cotta", and Crafter's Acrylic "Flesh".  I then mixed together some of the "Terra Cotta" and "Flesh", and did the highlight on her skin.  Following that, I used some Crafter's Acrylic "Deep Red" to highlight her pants and the drape hanging from her arm.

    I then used some of the "Denim Blue" to do some spot highlights on her outfit.  Next, it was time to work on the metallics.  First, I painted her sword fittings with Ceramcoat "Raw Sienna". Then, I used Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal" to paint her various buckles and the little test-tube type cylinders she has in her belt.  I then went back and painted the sword fittings with Ceramcoat "Bronze", and then went back and did highlights wth Ceramcoat "14K Gold".  Lastly, I added some corks to the cylinders on her belt using Americana "Khaki Tan".
      I painted the base White, and when dry I glued on a couple pieces of cork to look like stone rubble.   When the glue was dry, I painted the cork Black, then drybrushed the cork with Americana "Neutral Grey", followed with Folk Art "Platinum Grey". When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" early the next morning.  Midday, I flocked the white areas with Woodland Scenics "Snow" flock and late that afternoon I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.

     I'm generally pleased with how she turned out. I think the simple paint job I did turned out to be effective on this figure.

Figure 210 of 266: Complete

Bones II: Barden Barrelstrap and Thain Grimthorn, Dwarf Clerics

   This week I finished up two of the Bones II dwarf cleric figures: Barden Barrelstrap from the Dragons Don't Share set, and Thain Grimthorn from the Original Core set.   I paired them up as being ideal to fill the roles of a Thaumaturge wizard and his Apprentice for my Frostgrave collection.  And, since I wanted them to be dressed similarly, I figured I would paint them both at the same time.
     I had the idea that they would be followers of the twin gods of metal: Argent and Aur.  So, I decided to paint them in yellow and white as the symbolic colors of their gods.
     I prepped the figures in the usual way; soaking them in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish- soap added, then giving them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying them.  I then glued each figure to a white-primed 1" fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then glued the washers to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue each.

       I began by painting all the parts I planned to paint as armor with Black.  When the Black was dry, I drybrushed these areas with Amricana "Zinc", and the drybrushed them with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".

     Next, I painted their faces, and the hands of the left one, with GW "Dwarf Flesh". I then painted their clothing with either Accent "Golden Harvest", or Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey".  I then picked out the parts I wanted to eventually paint gold, and pre-painted them with Ceramcoat "Raw Sienna".

     Then I painted the beard of the left one with the "Zinc", and the beard of the right one with Accent "Real Umber".  I painted the staff of the first one and the hammer of the one on the right with Americana "Neutral Grey".   Next, I painted the belt and pouches on the left one and the gloves of the righthand one with Nicole's "Brown"

     After the paint had a little while to dry, I went back and applied a wash, using GW Agrax Earthshade" wash applied with a wet brush,  to their faces, hands, the parts I had painted "Brown, the parts I had painted "Raw Sienna", and the beard of the righthand dwarf.     When the wash was dry, I highlighted the beard on the left dwarf using first "Folk Art "RockGrey", and then Folk Art "Platinum Grey".   I then highlighted the right dwarf's beard using Apple Barrel "Burnt Sienna" .  Afterwards, I painted their eyes, and then highlighted their skin with the base "Dwarf Flesh".

   Next, I worked on highlighting their clothes.  The parts I had painted with the "Golden Harvest", I highlighted with Crafter's Acrylic "Bright Yellow" first, and then added finer highlights with Crafter's Acrylic "Daffodil Yellow".    The parts I had painted "Storm Cloud Grey" I highlighted by first mixing "Storm Cloud Grey" with White, and then just using plain White to do finer highlights.   I then highlighted the belt, pouches, and gloves with Americana "Sable Brown".

     I then moved to the metals.  I first painted all the parts I had originally painted with the "Raw Sienna", this time using Ceramcoat "Bronze".  I followed up by adding highlights with Ceramcoat 14K Gold".  I then painted the parts I had originally painted "Neutral Grey", this time using Folk Art Metallics "Silver Sterling".   After that I added highlights to the boots with a mix of Ceramcoat "Denim Blue" and Black.   Lastly, I painted the figures' bases White.
           When the base was dry I glued on a section of sprue cut to look like a stone block on the first dwarf's base, and some course sand on both bases.   When the glue was dry, I painted the block and sand Black, then drybrushed the sand with the "Neutral Grey", followed with Folk Art "Platinum Grey". When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" early the next morning.  Midday, I flocked the white areas with Woodland Scenics "Snow" flock and late that afternoon I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.

      I'm really pleased with how these two came out.   I think they make a good pair, even though they originally came in separate sets.  The yellow and white were a bit of a challenge but I think they came out looking okay.

Leisynn, Mercenary Mage: Figure 209 of 266

  I got back to the Necromancer set this past week, and painted the Leisynn, Mercenary Mage figure.   I was apprehensive going in to this "not-Tim the Enchanter" figure, as it just seemed so busy with all the horns, the ornate staff and book, and the huge shoulder pads and skull-decorated hangings coming off of them.   I was further discouraged when halfway though painting him I discovered he has a mold line running down his face!  I knew I had to do him, so the only way to finish a figure is to start with the first color, and just keep adding one more color after that.  And so I began...
      I prepped the 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 it.  I then glued the figure to a white-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figure to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

     I began by painting the figure entirely in Black.  I then drybrushed him with Apple Barrel "Rock Grey".  I then painted his skin with Folk Art "Milkshake"

 Next, I painted his beard with Americana "Zinc", and his staff with Crafter's Acrylic "Cinnamon Brown".   I painted the outer edges of his shoulder pads, the hangings that come off of them, and the cover of the book, all with Ceramcoat "Black Cherry".  Next, I painted the animal skulls with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige", and the book pages with Ceramcoat "Raw Sienna".

   I then painted his horns with Americana "Mississippi Mud"; and the textured portions of his shoulder pads, as well as the corners, and decorations on the book cover, with the "Raw Sienna". I also went back and painted the skulls on the hangings with the "Zinc".   Then, after everything had a while to dry, I gave all the non-Black parts a wash with GW "Agrax Earthshade" wash using a wet brush.  

        When the wash was dry, I began work on the highlights.  I started with the two animal skulls, painting them first with Crafter's Edition "Taupe", and then with Americana "Buttermilk" followed with detail highlights using Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White". I then did the two sets of horns; first using the base "Mississippi Mud", then mixing in a little Folk Art "Barn Wood", and lastly plain "Barn Wood".  Next, I did his beard and hair, with first Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey", and then detail highlights with Folk Art "Platinum Grey".  I moved to his face and hands next, first painting the eyes, then doing highlights with the base "Milkshake" followed by a little "Light Antique White" on the tip of his nose.

     I was going to make the pages of the book much lighter, but as I looked at them I decided I really like the heavily yellowed look they had.  So, I just gave the edges a little highlight hit with some Folk Art "Butter Pecan", and then painted the bookmark, and some of the big lettering on the pages with Crafter's Acrylic "Deep Red".  While I had the "Deep Red" out, I used it to highlight the edges of the shoulder pads and the attached hangings.  Next, I took some black and used it to write in tiny lines of text in the book.
  It was time to do the metallics now, so I used some Ceramcoat "Bronze"  to do his shoulder pads, and the markings and corners on the covers of the book. I also used it to do his belt buckle.  Next I used some Folk Art Metallics "Silver Sterling" to paint the skulls on his shoulder hanging.

I now worked on completing the staff.  I had wanted it to look like it was all carved from the same piece of wood, rather than the snake being separate, so I simply added highlights with Americana "Sable Brown".  I then painted in the snake's eyes using Crafter's Acrylic "Holiday Green", and then added tiny White highlight dots to them.   I wanted to try to make it look like a glow was emanating from the snake's mouth, so I first painted it with Crafter's Acrylic "Citrus Green", and then drybrushed the "Citrus Green" along the mouth's edges.  Next, while the "Citrus Green" was still wet,  I used White to paint the very center of the mouth, blending it in with the paint around it.  Lastly, I painted  some highlights on the tongue, teeth, and along the edges with Reaper MSP Bones "Dungeon Slime".  I finished up by painting the figure's base completely with White.
     When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  Then, the next morning I flocked the white areas with Woodland Scenics "Snow" flock.  Later that afternoon I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.

       I actually grew to like this figure as I went along; and I think he turned out looking much better than I had expected.  I'm now torn as to which figure to use as my Frostgrave Necromancer; this figure, or Malek, who I completed a couple weeks ago.