Infinity Hacker WIP

Happy Miniature Monday! Yesterday was rainy-- the type of weather that makes it impossible to tell the time. A perfect day for painting! This weekend I realized that I've been unwittingly putting off painting my Infinity miniatures due to their small size and delicate assembly. So yesterday I decided to start my first Infinity miniature-- a Djanbazan Hacker.

First, I picked out a precast base for her and went with one of my desert wasteland options: 

After the preliminary dance of cleaning, assembling & priming, I made some significant progress. I wanted to paint her in more Earth-based/camouflage colors and give her clothing a sandblasted look to them. So far so good!

My biggest challenge here is to avoid obsessively blending my colors. I want her pants to look like well-worn twill-- a sturdy fabric that has faded over time. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm getting closer. Right now, they look too clean so I'll probably mute the highlights with some subtle glazes. I'll see how the rest of the miniature turns out before I go back & fuss over the pants. Here's a WIP picture after I painted the front of the pant fabric:

Contest Entry

I did it! I finally entered my very first online contest. Long story short, I became involved in the Reaper Miniatures forum after I attended their convention. I check back often to keep up with the community. A month or two ago, I saw a post about one of the forum members holding a casual, space-themed miniature painting contest. I decided to enter so I dug around in my miniature hoard and found this:

I instantly knew she'd be a great experiment for non-human skin tones. Since she has a lot of exposed skin (I mean a LOT), I wanted to practice painting the female figure. At first, I had a few initial painting challenges with her, but after I achieved the right mix of paints, I enjoyed the seemingly-endless task of layering, blending, and then blending some more. 

However, once I finally finished painting her, I didn't immediately enter her in the contest. I had some doubts:

  1. What if my miniature isn't good enough?
  2. What if her base is too boring? Should I have tried to do more with it?
  3. What if her... lack of pants is seen as offensive?
  4. I don't have nice camera and it's hard to take decent pictures.

I had to get over my self-defeating questions. Of course it could be better. But I don't have until eternity to paint this mini or come up with an epic base I sculpt from scratch. In fact, I'm sure I could paint this same miniature better only after a few months-- and that's a good thing! Otherwise, I'm not learning or growing as a painter. This miniature is a nice snapshot of where I am now in terms of painting skill & execution. I accept that about myself and will use this small contest as a learning experience. 

Whatever the outcome, I'm better for entering the contest. It will build my confidence as a painter and help keep me involved in a helpful and talented community! I took new pictures of the mini after I cleaned up the base and painted over a few chips. Whether I'm recognized in the contest or not, it doesn't matter-- I still had a lot of fun painting this miniature and it's great to be inspired by the other entries! 

Speed Paint Challenge · The Process

Happy Miniature Monday! As you may know, last week I invited a fellow miniature painter to join me in a Speed Paint Challenge. I cataloged each step of the process so I could share it here! First, my painting setup:

Clean brush & mounted mini? Check. Chilean wine? Check. Wet palette & water cup? Check. I'm ready to go! (Though I don't recommend placing your beverage of choice too so close to your paint water... for obvious reasons).

The Color Palette

Color Limit: 6 Earth Tones, 2 Neutrals [+1 Metallic if needed]. My choices from the Reaper paint line:

  • Neutrals: Linen White, Brown Liner
  • Greens: Pale Green, Viper Green, Pine Green
  • Browns: Muddy Brown, Golden Shadow, Golden Highlight

In retrospect, I could have chosen a wider color palette. However, I kept the green shades close together in order to make mixing easier and therefore streamline the layering process on the cloak. 

Time Limit: 4 hours

I chose to paint in 30 minute increments over the course of two nights. To make sure I didn't lose track of time, I'd set a timer on my phone. When the alarm went off, I would put my brush down & take a short break. In that time, I'd decide what to paint next & make sure I was still managing my time wisely-- a great habit I'm trying to create for myself.

Step-by-Step Front

 
 

Step-by-Step Back

 
 

The Results

The staff was a happy accident. Since Bones are made of plastic, sometimes they get warped and bent. It's an easy fix to soak them in hot water and reposition them while they cool. However, I figured I'd work with the bent staff as-is and paint it as if it were a living, magical vine. I'm also happy with how his eyes turned out-- I painted just enough detail where he has delineated green irises but no pupils. 

As I neared the end of the last timed segments, I focused on small highlights and minor details. With two minutes left, I realized I had entirely forgotten to paint his base-- whoops! I was only able to put a thin base coat down before the timer went off. Once it dried, I refrained from going back to paint another layer. I stayed true to the time limit. It was a good lesson to learn-- that's what makes it a fun challenge!