Fantastic product, I am very pleased. I picked out one of the large square plinths for Surt, because I have a few really cool ideas I want to put on there. Basically, I am really enjoying this basing for busts thing I do, trying to add a little story into the bases, nothing massive, just subtle. The issue with the last one was it was not subtle, it was overpowering.
So I had an idea, showing off a tiny section of Atlantis, the ruined city, and some aquatic vegetation, reflecting his ruined kingdom. I also want to do a name plate, as per previous models I've done like Kraken, but hang a little seaweed from them too, and add some of the algae.
I created a plasticard frame, secured it blutac (not a strong choice, but let me finish), and then started airbrushing some blue colours. Added a bit of quick brushwork, glued some bricks, and then added the vegatation, and algae. That was pretty much it. I then sealed it with Vallejo Gloss Gel, making sure I got into all the corners so I would have a 100% seal, so I would have no resin leakage. I also glued in old mate...
I am going to wait for this to dry overnight before I eventually add the resin, and then add the plaque after that. So it will take a few day for the finished product, but I am optimistic!
So back onto the Reapers base, I had a few issues with it, and I figured out what they were. Scale, and losing the points of contrast. At stages throughout the paint I was really excited for it, I felt like it was going to come out awesome, but when I finished it off yesterday, it looked a lot like my other bases. I had no contrast between the colours, but they certainly were all the same sort of tone. I needed to add some colour back in, the same hue, but a bit more contrast. So I redid some pigments and added a few more colours to areas.
The next issue was scale. I had these roots in the base, but because they were all nice, solid pieces, they looked large, and without any smaller ones to contrast, it lacked realism. So I glued in some smaller roots I had collected, and painted them with a mix of PVA, Matt Varnish and Strong Tone. Hopefully that will seal them off, and give them a bit of strength.
Now here the pigment fixer is still drying so the pigment has lost a tiny bit of vibrancy, but once it fully dries and I hit it with a matt varnish, I think it will be quite a good little base.
It feels like my first proper base, like I've taken a step forward in my painting. I really like it. I now need to paint a model that both suits this base, retains the same tones of colour, and yet has more contrast and stands out a lot! I should probably do things the other way around, paint the model first, then the base. LOL
Today marked the day where I finalised all my entries for Crystal Dragon. I realised today... it is only three weeks until I fly down to Canberra for the event (although that is Thursday, the day before, but its unlikely I will do much painting before submitting the models). I figured it would be a good idea to have all of my entries presubmitted, and then give myself a bit of a challenge to finish a few more projects as well.
Here is the list:
Skulk, Ratcatchers Guild
Papa Jambo
The Reaper of Egypt
Surt, King of Atlantis
Crimson Priest
Zoraida, Moon Priestess
Luz New York
Morticians Unit
Gnomes for Hire
The Enchanted Pool
So, keen eyed followers of the blog or my Twitter will know most of those entries. Zoraida is one that I want to do a small fix on. The waves on her base were my first experience with the Vallejo gel, and it is a very shithouse attempt. I feel like fixing that and maybe just a few little touchups will be a great improvement on the overall model.
I've challenged myself by putting down Luz, New York on the list, to finish in the next three weeks. She is still in a box of course, but that is not going to stop me! Bring it on motherfuckers, I am going to paint the shit out of her.
These are what I have left, left to right, Zoraida, basing stuff, Reaper, paint the Reaper, Luz New York, actually figure out a plan, and Surt, just resin pour and add the plaque.
Finally, to close out this blog post... today was a very satisfying day. I have been working hard, improving, painting lots, etc, and watching my overall scores on Putty and Paint start to get incrementally higher. It's not a surprise to most to say that Surt and the Enchanted Pool are probably my best painted works to date, aside from Jessica maybe, and it is reflected in the scores. Today I got this:
That is my first Gold medal on Putty and Paint, for the Enchanted Pool! While that may drop back below if I score a few lower votes, it has made me really happy to know that I can achieve this sort of result. And I will only get better from here!
Thanks for all the support, except for Knechty!
Cheers
Trent
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