Wolfen #3 – a crossbow

How long did it take for a medieval weaponsmith to make a crossbow?

I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure it took less than it took me to paint this very tiny one…

Still, I wanted to share this because I tried and liked a set of browns for wood that blend quite well and easily together.

In case you are interested, these are from Lifecolor – Wood warm base, Wood light shade, Wood dark shade, and Portland stone.

Just for fun, here’s (the state of) my palette for the Wolfen so far. You can see it’s been a challenge!

Wolfen #2 – first warrior

I think I’ll count this as done. It will get some finishing touches and the base after after some of the other puppies will be painted.

If you get close, everything looks still a bit messy. But I have made some bold choices here and there and in the end I am satisfied with how it turned out. I used to be scared to paint these Rackham models and now I’m feeling more confident.

The skin (or really short fur) is painted and highlighted with greys, with just a little purples in the highlights. For the next wolfen, I’ll try to add some colour variation. From some angles the pads on the thighs look rough, but you liked them so much I didn’t change them.

The blonde hair is… questionable. I don’t remember how I came up with the idea, but probably from one of the reference pictures on the Confrontation cards. Then I chose to stick with it. After all, there can be blonde werewolves, right?

This last picture is blurry, but it’s there just so you have all the main angles, and it works in a small format. The sculpt clearly focuses on the front: there isn’t a lot here that draws attention.

One lonely wolf howling at Ylia. Next, I think I’ll go with one of the iconic crossbow sculpts…

Wolfen warrior #1 – in progress

On to some Rackham wolfen, which are very dear models to me and among those who really made me want to learn how to paint. Unfortunately I sold the first few wolfen I painted years ago, but now I got quite a few from the old range and I’m going to spend some time on them.

This is an old warrior, with the typical sword design and just a basic leg and head swap.

The nmm on the blade took time: I found it much easier to do a good effect on the two blades pointing downwards than on the large surface of the main blade.

The skin is still not done, but I have started to work some purple tones in the gray, to see if it’s true that it would make the model look more lifelike.

The metal on the two pads on his thighs is very blue and meant to be more reflective and bright. I still have to tone it down and add some shadows on the side, but what do you think so far? Does it look strange?

Clearly I should add more color variation in the skin, especially here in the back. And I have to find a nice pop shade of blond for the tail and hair.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to paint much during the holiday season. Best wishes to everybody and catch you in January!

Goblin knight #2 – (almost) done

I did not have much time for painting lately and I had somewhat lost interest in this miniature. In part I think it was because of the nmm armour. I’ve definitively learned never to try to do it with pure gradations of grey: it’s difficult, boring and at that point it would probably be better to use metallic paints.

I will keep the model on the painting table for a while longer and maybe touch it up from time to time.

I’m also trying to solve a problem with my wet palette getting moldy… It almost looks like mushrooms are about to sprout from it. Appropriate for cave goblins and such, but terrible for painting.

Even taking into consideration the fact that he’s a character, it will be hard to mix this knight together with the old plastic wolf models. The dynamism and the scale are just too different. I will have to get into newer gw or different ranges to complete the wolf riding section of the army.

On to another kind of oversized wolves next…

Goblin knight #1 – Sketching

It appears that this goblin was able to run ahead and get on my painting table before the others.

The rider is a lovely Rackham sculpt with some clear Froud-esque influences. I love the shape of the lance, the flowing lines of the helmet and the ace of spades decoration.

I love what seems to have been the standard design for the goblin’s armoured feet a little less, as it is rather a pain to do nmm on.

This guy was supposed to ride a giant rat, but he looked dynamic and “knightly” enough to mount a giant wolf instead – an arguably nobler mount, and also one that would make more sense for a regular goblin. I will be saving the rat for a night / cave goblin character.

He still has a rat on his helmet, though. Will it be scurrying off, I wonder, to rat out to its Skaven masters?

Now for the mount… I’m not used to painting fur, or animals. The last wolves I painted were the tiny rigid old plastic sculpts for the Goblin wolf riders, and the Fenrisian wolf I chose as a mount for this model comes packed with the new GW flair, calling for a whole new style. This is the picture I’m using as a reference – the GW model looks like the angry, famished, threatening, meth-addicted version of this lovely animal, but still…

The colours in the pictures below are just sketched in. I’ll probably add some black tips and work some more white in the recesses as I go about refining the sketch. Wish me luck, and if you have any tips or tutorials to share they’ll be very welcome! (Azazel, you know I’ll be scouting your blog for inspiration, right?)

Orc Warlord #3 – Ready to roll

I have finally completed the warlord.

As usual, one could go on smoothing and adding more detail and texture, but I’m satisfied with how the model looks at the moment. I think it’s a solid improvement over the orcs in the big unit I painted two years ago and that he will stand out enough, once he joins it, to be accepted as a leader.

The back looked more or less right already in the last work-in-progress pictures, so I have worked more on the front and smoothed the transitions on the axe a little.

Following your approval, I have painted the knight’s head as old but not quite rotting. I can see him throwing it to invite a horde of squids / gnashers to a game of fetch, and hopefully directing them towards the enemy in the process.

As the warlord walks away clunking in search of a suitable base (I can tell you it’s going to take a while), new green twisted heroes are squabbling to get into the limelight…