Oman Ruul, Wizard: Bones 4 Figure

      This past week I painted "Oman Ruul, Wizard" from the Bones 4 Greybeards set.  

      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 trimmed the figure's integral base a little, and glued the figure to a 1" plastic base with some superglue.  I then placed the figure in my painting grip.   

     I began by painting his face and hands with Reaper MSP "Rosy Skin".  I then painted his robes with Pathfinder MSP "Urgathea Red", and his cape with Reaper MSP HD "Indigo Blue". 

     Next, I painted his collar, hat, and sash with Anita's "Violet", and his shoes with Americana "Cranberry Wine".  After that, I painted his beard and hair with Americana "Zinc", and his bracelet and the skull emblem on the back of his collar with Americana "Antique Gold".

         I let everything dry for a while, and then I gave his face and arms a coat of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  When this was dry, I gave his entire outfit and beard a coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  When these washes were dry, I panted his eyes, and then did his teeth with Americana "Bleached Sand"  After that, I highlighted his skin with the base "Rosy skin", and some Reaper MSP "Rosy Highlight".

        I then highlighted his robes with the base "Urgathea Red", and then mixed in a little Reaper MSP 'Breast Cancer Awareness Pink" for further highlighting.  After that, I highlighted his cape with the base "Rich Indigo", and then mixed in a little Reaper MSP "Frosty Blue" for further highlighting.  I followed that by highlighting his collar, hat, and sash with the base "Violet", and then mixed in a little Apple Barrel "Apple Lavender" for further highlights.

     Next, I highlighted his shoes with the base "Cranberry Wine" with a little of the "Breast Cancer Awareness Pink" mixed in.  I then highlighted his beard and hair with the base Z'inc", and then mixed in a little Crafters Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey".  After that I painted his bracelet and the skull on his collar with Folk Art Metallics "Pure Gold", and highlighted it with some Ceramcoat "Wedding Gold".  

     I then worked on the orb, painting it with Citadel Contrast "Templar Black".  When that was dry, I repainted it with Folk Art "Color Shift" "Black Flash".  While it was still wt, I added in thin swirls of Deco Art Metallic "Festive Red".  Lastly, I painted the figure's base with the "Mississippi Mud".

      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish. I then used some white glue to glue some fine sand to the base.  When the sand was dry, I painted it with a coat of Americana "Charcoal Grey". When this was dry, I drybrushed the sand with the "Mississippi Mud", and then with some Apple Barrel "Rock Grey"; lastly I drybrushed it with a little Americana "Dove Grey".  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote".   When the "Dullcote" was dry, I went back and repainted the orb with a little Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.   

     I'm really happy with how this guy turned out.  I had originally planned to do the orb as a glowing light blue color, but I chickened out in the end not wanting to risk the paint job I had done.  So, I went with more of a loose LOTR Palantir look. 
      

Willow Greenivy, Witch: Bones 4 Figure

      This past week I painted "Willow Greenivy, Witch" from the Bones 4 Core Set.    My temptation with witches is to usually go for a traditional palette of  black, purple, maybe green, perhaps red; so I wanted to  go a little different with this figure and try something lighter in the "good witch" vein.

       I prepped the figure in the usual way, soaking its pieces 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 the hat and hand in the left sleeve, and the staff/wand and hand in the right; both with Gorilla Gel Super Glue.  Next I glued the figure to a  1" plastic base with the same glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

     I began by painting her face and hands with Reaper MSP "Tanned Skin".  I then painted her dress and hat with Americana "Fawn", and her tabard and hat band with Americana "Asphaltum".

      Next, I painted her hair with Americana "Forest Green", and then did her belt and scabbard with Crafter's Acrylic "Forest Green". After that, I painted her wand/staff with Folk Art "Barn Wood", and the pouch hanging at her side with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige".

     I let everything dry for a while, and then gave her face and hands a coat of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.   I let that dry, and then gave all her clothing, hair, and accessories a coat of  Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.   When that was dry, I painted her eyes, using a little of the Americana "Forest Green" as an eyeshadow, and then highlighted her face and hands using the base "Tanned Skin" as well as Reaper MSP "Tanned Highlight".  After that, I highlighted her hair with Americana "Festive Green", and then give it a light highlighting with some Folk Art Color Shift "Green Flash". 

     I then highlighted her dress with the base "Fawn" mixed with increasing amounts of Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  And after that I highlighted her tabard with the base "Asphaltum" mixed with increasing amounts of Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown". I also highlighted her wand/staff with "Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone".   

      Next, I highlighted her scabbard and belt with he base Crafter's Acrylic "Forest Green", and then painted the sword's grip with Folk Art "Hunters Green".  I went back and gave the grip a quick highlight with some Apple Barrel "Apple Christmas Green".  I then highlighted the pouch with a little Reaper MSP "Olive Skin Highlight", and then some Americana "Antique White".   

     I then tried the same Citadel Contrast Paint technique on the gemstone in her wand that I had used three weeks ago with great success on the Wizard Arakus Landarzad .  I painted the gem with Ceramcoat "White", and then let it dry.  When dry, I gave it a coat of Citadel Contrast "Creed Camo".  Unfortunately, on such a small and faceted stone, with the interspersed twigs holding it in place, it didn't quite work as well.  So, I went back and use a little of the "Festive Green" mixed with some Americana "Snow White" to add some highlighting.    

     After that I painted the sword hilt, buckle, and coin/tokens hanging from the belt, with Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze".  I then went back and highlighted them with Folk Art Metallic "Pure Gold".  Lastly, I painted the figure's base with the "Mississippi Mud".

     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish. I then used some white glue to glue some fine sand to the base.  When the sand was dry, I painted it with a coat of Americana "Charcoal Grey". When this was dry, I drybrushed the sand with the "Mississippi Mud", and then with some Apple Barrel "Rock Grey"; lastly I drybrushed it with a little Americana "Dove Grey".  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote".  When the "Dullcote" was dry, I went back and repainted the gem with a little Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.

     I'm really pleased with how she turned out.  I wish I had had time to do a little trim on her dress, and perhaps a design on her tabard,  but in the end I think the plain look doesn't look bad on the figure; perhaps the green hair has enough of a visual impact on its own that she doesn't need fancy clothes.  And yes, I did use some green, despite my mental attempt to steer away for colors you usually see on witches. But I kept being drawn to the color...maybe it's because it's in her name!

Arakus Landarzad, Wizard: Bones 4 Figure

     It took me two weeks, but I finally finished "Arakus Landarzad, Wizard" from the Bones 4 Grey Beards set in the Core box.   I wanted this guy to serve as a wizard for a Human army I'm building for an under-development set of Fantasy rules called "Wars of Orcs and Dwarves", based on the recently published "Wars of Ozz" ruleset. The army I'm building is generally yellow-themed in color scheme, so I wanted this guy to be yellow too. 

The first unit of Spearmen I created for my army.  These are Oathmark plastic figures.

   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 brown-primed 1.5" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then placed the figure in my painting grip.  

     Since the units for the army have a yellow, grey and black color scheme, I wanted to do something similar for the wizard.   I began by painting his face and hands with Reaper MSP "Tanned Skin".  I then painted his robes and hat with Americana "Primary Yellow", and his under-sleeves with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige"

     Next, I painted his cloak with Reaper MSP "Dark Elf Skin", and then his belt with Accent "Real Umber".  After that, I painted his pouch with Americana "Asphaltum",  his staff with Ceramcoat "Black, and his beard with Apple Barrel "Burnt Sienna". 

     I then let everything dry for a bit, and when I returned I gave his face, hands, and beard a coat of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  I followed with giving his under-sleeves, belt, and pouch a coat of "Agrax Earthshade" wash.  I had read somewhere about using purple as a shadow for yellows, and how good it looked; so I wanted to try that with this guy.  So, I mixed some of the base "Primary Yellow" with some Crafter's Acrylic "African Violet", and painted his the recessed shadow areas of his robes and hat.   

          Next, I painted the eyes and then highlighted the face and hands with the base "Tanned Skin", and Reaper MSP "Tanned Highlight".  I then worked on highlighting the robes using the base "Primary Yellow" mixed with varying degrees of Crafter's Acrylic Daffodil Yellow".  I ended up having to use a little of the "African Violet" as well to blend into the shadows properly. In retrospect,  I should have just done the whole robes this way to begin with.  I know some folks like to do the mid-tones, then paint the shadows then the highlights, and I even do it this way when I use the citadel washes; but doing it with straight blending was difficult, since in doing the highlights now, I ended up having to redo the mid-tones anyway in order to transition properly into the highlights.  Anyhow it was a good learning experience.  Afterwards, I worked on the cape, highlighting that with the base "Dark Elf Skin", mixed with a little "Reaper MSP "Dark Elf Highlight", and for the lightest highlights I mixed in some Americana "Dove Grey". 

     I then highlighted his under-sleeves with Reaper MSP "Ginger Cookie", and afterwards highlighted the belt using Folk Art "Teddy Bear Fur", and the pouch with Americana "Sable Brown".  I worked on the beard next, using Reaper MSP "Pumpkin Orange", and Reaper MSP "Hallowed Orange" for the highlights.  After that, I highlighted the staff with Americana "Zinc".

     Next, I wanted to try an experiment with the gem in his staff, and attempt to use Citadel Contrast paint to achieve a gem effect.  So, I painted the gem with Citadel Contrast "Iyanden Yellow", and then set the painting grip so it was inverted and balanced between two craft paint bottles, with the figure hanging upside down.  I hoped this would cause the contrast paint to pool at the top of the gem.  When the "Iyanden Yellow" dried, I had the darker top on the gem I wanted, but the I felt the bottom of the gem had not gotten light enough and was still a mid-tone yellow that I thought wasn't right.  So I mixed a little of the "Primary Yellow" with some Ceramcoat "White", and attempted to blend some highlights into the lower part of the gem.  When I was happy with the effect, I added some highlight light spots to the gem with the plain "White."

      I also decided the staff needed some more bling, so painted the gem fitting and rings with Folk Art "Pure Gold".    I realized at that point that I had forgotten the wizard's little frog familiar, so I painted him quickly with some Citadel Contrast "Militarum Green", and when dry, painted his underbelly with some of the "White".  I then added some tiny black eyes, and gave each a tiny white highlight dot. Lastly, I painted his base with Americana "Mississippi Mud".

      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote". When the "Dullcote" was dry, I went back and repainted the gem and frog with a little Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.

     In general I am quite pleased with how this fellow came out.  I like the purple shadows in the robes; I think that looks good.  And I think using the Contrast Paint for the gem turned out much better than I had even thought it would!  The highlights on the cloak aren't great, but I had given a lot to working on the robes when I did those, and just wanted to get the cloak done so I could move on to playing with the gem.  :)

D'Vandra Lukesia: Bones 4 Dreadmere Figure

      Starting to work again on the Dreadmere Expansion this past week, and painted the D'Vandra Lukesia figure.   I've seen this figure painted up two ways; one is as a necromancer type with pale skin and dark clothing, ready to go dig up some bones; and the other is as a druid-nature type in light colors with more normal skin coloration, ready to go plant some flowers.  After some deliberation, I decided to go with the second of the two.

        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 brown-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

     I began by painting her face and arms with Reaper MSP "Bronzed Skin".   I then painted her under skirt with Americana "Antique Gold", and followed with painting her dress with Americana "Avocado".  I then went back and painted her sash and bodice with the "Antique Gold".

     Next, I painted her hair with Accent "Golden Harvest", and then painted her shovel handle with Americana "Light Cinnamon".  After that, I painted her belts and straps with Accent "Forest Green", and then some of the stuff on her belts, as well as her wrist guards, with Citadel "Snakebite Leather". 

     I then painted the wraps on her shovel with Folk Art "Butter Pecan", and the flowers on the shovel with Folk Art "True Burgundy".   After that, I painted clasps and some of the belt accouterments that I eventually planned to make metallic gold, with Accent "Mustard Seed".   I followed that with painting the bone hanging from her belts with Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone", and the shovel blade with Americana "Zinc". 

     I then let the figure dry overnight, and the next day I applied a coat of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash to her face and arms.  I let that wash dry for a while, and then applied a coat of "Agrax Earthshade" wash to the rest of the figure.    When that wash was dry, I painted her eyes, and then highlighted her skin using the base "Bronzed Skin", and some Reaper MSP "Bronzed Highlight".

     Next, I highlighted her under skirt, the sashes, and the bodice with; the base "Antique Gold", then Crafter's Acrylic "Bright Yellow", and lastly, Crafter's Acrylic "Daffodil Yellow" for the lightest layer.  After that, I highlighted her dress with the base "Avocado",then some Americana "Olive Green", and the fasteners and lightest highlights with Raper MSP Bones "Dungeon Slime". 

     I then highlighted her hair using, Americana "Moon Yellow", Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon", and Americana "Snow White" for the lightest highlights.   After that, I highlighted her belts and straps with, first, Americana Forest Green", followed by Americana "Festive Green".   I followed by highlighting the canister hanging on her right side, as well as her wrist guards, using the base "Snakebite Leather", followed by some Reaper MSP "Bronzed Skin". 

     Next, I highlighted the bone hanging at her side using Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  I then worked on her shovel, highlighting the handle with Americana "Fawn", and the bindings with Americana "Bleached Sand".  After that, I highlighted the flowers with Crafter's Acrylic "Tutti Fruitti", and Apple Barrel "Apple Lt. Pink". 

     I then worked on the metal parts, repainting the containers I had painted with the "Mustard Seed", as well as the assorted buckles, using Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze".  I then added highlights with Folk Art "Pure Gold" and then Ceramcoat "Wedding Gold". After that, I worked on the shovel, painting it first with Ceramcoat "Silver", followed by a little Citadel "Mitrhil Silver" highlight.   Lastly, I painted his base with Americana "Mississippi Mud".

         I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote". 

     I'm really happy with this one.   Once I got painting her, I realized she was accessorized a little more like a necromancer than I has originally thought, with both a bone and what looks like a canopic jar on her belts; which I hadn't noticed at first.  Nevertheless, I still think she makes a good druid type nature wizard as well.

Goblin Shaman: Bones 4 Figure

  This  past week I took a break from working on Darkreach and painted the "Goblin Champion" from the Bones 4 Goblin Heroes set.  I had plans of painting all three of the Goblins for the Goblins Heroes set at the same time, so I had 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 had glued them to 1" brown-primed fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then had glued the washers onto a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's white glue.

      I already recently painted both the Goblin Bodyguard and Goblin Champion from this trio, and as I mentioned in those articles, I had began by painting all their exposed skin areas with Citadel Contrast "Snakebite Leather".  Then, as I was studying them, I had realized  they really weren't similar enough to paint as a group, and so I popped them off the tongue depressor.   I now had reattached the Shaman to a pill bottle with some blue tac.  After that, I started by painting his cape and hood with Ceramcoat "Black".  I then painted his boots with Americana "Aspahltum" and his loincloth with Pathfinder MSP "Urgathoa Red"

     Next, I painted the spider on the back of the cape with Pathfinder MSP  "Medusa Green". and then painted his staff with Reaper MSP HD "Rusty Red", and the skull and cross bone on the staff, as well as the bone necklace, with with Americana "Bleached Sand".   After that, I painted  the cord of his loin cloth, the cord of his necklace, and the binding on the staff, with Americana "Light Cinnamon".  I followed with painting the bag tucked into his belt with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue". 

     I painted the gem fittings on his hood and the skull with Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze"  Then I let the figure dry for a while, and then gave everything but the Goblin's skin a coat of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.  When the wash was dry, I filled in the skull's eye sockets and nose hole with some Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.   I then painted his eyes, and then painted his teeth with Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  While I had this color out, I also used it to highlight the skull and cross bone.   After that, since I felt his skin had come out rather splotchy from using the Contrast Paint on it, I tried blending it a bit with some Accent Golden Oxide.  I then used some Apple Barrel "Maple Sugar Tan" mixed with the "Golden Oxide" to highlight his skin.   

          Realizing I had forgotten the bracelet on his left wrist, I painted that with Americana "Forest Green".  I then highlighted his loin cloth with Reaper MSP Bones "Cinnamon Red", and the staff with Crafter's Acrylic "Pure Pumpkin".   After that, I highlighted the bad tucked in his loin cloth with Ceramcoat "Denim Blue", and his cape with Ceramcoat "Charcoal".   I then added further highlights to the cape with a mix of the "Charcoal" and some Apple Barrel "Rock Grey".   The bracelet had dried by then, so I gave it a coat of the "Agrax Earthshade" wash.

     Next, I highlighted the sider on the back of the cape using Americana "Reindeer Moss Green", and then added some eye dots.  I moved then to the bracelet and highlighted that with some Folk Art Color Shift "Emerald Flash", and then some Folk Art Color Shift "Green Flash".   After that, I painted the gems in the hood and skull with Reaper MSP Blood Red, the"Urgathoa Red", and some Americana Snow White".   I finished by highlighting the gem fittings with some Folk Art "Pure Gold".   Lastly, I painted his base with Americana "Mississippi Mud".

         I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote". When the "Dullcote" was dry, I went back and repainted the gems with a little Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.

   I'm generally happy with how this figure turned out.  That whole side on the left is kind of smooshed up, with the staff, hand, bone necklace, blue pouch, cape, and hood all pressed in next to each other, which made painting all that an extra challenge,  but for a tabletop figure I think it all looks okay.  

Dark Elf Wizard: Bones 4 Darkreach Figure

     This past week I painted the "Dark Elf Wizard" from the Bones 4 Darkreach Expansion.  This is the last of the Dark Elf figures I had left to do from this expansion.

      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 brown-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

(I forgot to take a photo before I started painting, so here is the one from the Reaper online store.)

     I began by painting the wizard's armor with Ceramcoat "Black".  When dry, I drybrushed the armor with Folk Art Color Shift "Black Flash".   When the "Black Flash" was dry,  I went over it again with a drybrush of  "Folk Art "Pure Gold".  After that I painted the face and hands with Reaper MSP "Dark Elf Skin".

     Next, I painted his under-robes with Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey", and then his over-robes and the outer layer of his cape with the "Black".  After that, I painted the triangular panels on the front of his robes with Reaper MSP "Coal Black", and then the lining of his cape with Americana "Festive Green"

     I then painted his staff with Accent "Midnight Blue", and his hair with Americana "Grey Sky".  I followed that with painting his scroll holder, the fittings on his staff, and the decorations on the front panel of his robes with Americana "Antique Gold", and then the skull in the staff with Americana "Bleached Sand".   I then painted a spiderweb pattern on his under-robes using the "Black", and then went over it with Apple Barrel "Apple Lavender" leaving black edges to form an outline.  I felt it looked too pink, so I went over it again with Anita's "Violet"to try and make it look more purple.

     I still wasn't happy, and felt it was just too light in color, and combined with the green looked more merry than sinister.  So, I changed direction and tried Reaper MSP "Fresh Blood" for the webbing.  That looked much better, but I felt the red gave him a bit of a Christmasy looked when combined with the green.  So I returned to the idea of purple again, this time trying my darkest purple, Crafter's Acrylic "African Violet".  The black outlining was lost with the dark purple, but I finally felt it was looking like I wanted it to.   To finish up the base painting, I went over all the parts I had painted with the "Antique Gold" using Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze".

     I let the figure dry for a while, and then gave the entire thing a coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash. Then, when the wash was dry, I painted the eyes, then highlighted the face, and hands, with the base "Dark Elf Skin", and some Reaper MSP "Dark Elf Highlight". 

         Next, I highlighted the under-robe with the "Grey Sky", and then went over the spiderweb pattern with some Folk Art Color Shift "Purple Flash".  After that, I highlighted the lining of the cape with Nicole's "Neon Green", and highlighted the over robes with Ceramcoat "Charcoal" and some Amricana "Zinc".

     I then highlighted the triangular panels on the front of the outfit, as well as the belt and pouches, using a mix of Ceramcoat "Denim Blue", Folk Art "Cloudy Day", and a little Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue".  Next, I moved around the outer part of the cape, and highlighted that with a mix of Apple Barrel "Apple Black Green", and the "Leaf Green". With the cape done, I highlighted the hair using Americana "Snow White".  

    After that, I highlighted the staff with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue", and then highlighted the skull with Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  I moved to the metal parts of the figure next, highlighting them with Folk Art "Pure Gold", and Ceramcoat "Wedding Gold".  

     I wrapped things up by painting the large ring hanging from his belt with Folk Art "Metallic Amethyst".  I then attempted a glowing effect on the skull's eyes using the "Neon Green" and the "Snow White".  Lastly, I painted the entire base with Americana "Mississippi Mud".

      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish. I then used some white glue to glue some fine sand to the base.  When the sand was dry, I painted it with a coat of Americana "Charcoal Grey". When this was dry, I drybrushed the sand with the "Mississippi Mud", and then with some Apple Barrel "Rock Grey"; lastly I drybrushed it with a little Americana "Dove Grey".

      Another overnight dry, and I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote".

          I'm pleased with how he turned out; and in the end, after a few false starts,  I'm happy with how the web pattern on his under-robe looks.  

     Here's a look at the whole group of Dark Elves from the Darkreach Expansion.