Dark Sword Box Party

They're here!!! The Stephanie Law Masterworks Dark Sword Kickstarter miniatures I ordered arrived yesterday. I wrote about this Kickstarter a few weeks ago, and I can't believe how time has flown-- Dark Sword really worked hard to ship these out during the busy holiday season!

Box Party

I opened the box and squealed like a crazed fangirl. Inside were glorious boxes of the Kickstarter miniatures along with my Thief of Hearts bundle & Marike Reimer DVD add-ons. Beautiful. I promptly popped the DVD into my Blu Ray player and hit "play" while I spread out & fussed over my new miniatures.  

Marike Reimer Introduction

Stephanie Law Kickstarter miniatures + Thief of Hearts Add-Ons

I'm really excited about the "Dark Sword Masterworks Miniature Painting with Marike Reimer" DVD made in 2012. Marike is touted as one of the most accomplished miniature painters in the industry and her work is absolutely stunning. She values smooth blending and has a sharp eye (and steady hand) for freehand detail. Just look at her "Guardian of the Sea" miniature:

Image from Dark Sword Miniatures - Guardian of the Sea sculpted by Jeff Grace & painted by Marike Reimer

It's truly amazing. Like stupid-good-hurts-my-eyes-how-is-this-possible amazing. I'm looking forward to learning more about her style and practicing similar freehand techniques. Practice makes perfect!

Chapter on Sheer Fabrics

I've already binge-watched Disc 1 (of 4) which contains:

  • Dark Sword Introduction
  • Marike Introduction
  • Tools, Paints & Brushes
  • Terminology & Paint Consistency
  • Basic Color Theory, Blocking and Base Coating
  • Blending & Layering - Shadows & Highlights
  • Female Skin Tones, Faces & Eyes
  • Sheer Fabrics 

So far, I'm loving it-- Marike has a calming voice and a fun sense of humor (I love the part about her sexy magnifying glasses). There is so much more content in the next few discs, including in-depth freehand sections on 3 different patterns on cloaks & capes. In fact, I needed to feed the cat. He jumped up on the table and pawed at me as if saying, "Stop staring at the moving light box and playing with these tiny boxes. I'm hungry now!". I obliged him, but I would have rather started Disc 2. If it were up to me, I would have ordered a pizza and painted late into the night. But alas, the pets and people needed feeding so painting will have to wait until tonight. In the meantime, I made some killer spicy chili, which was perfect with this cold front rolling through-- a perfect night for staying in & painting. Now for the hard part: I need to decide which of these many miniatures to start painting! 

More True Metallic Metals (Part 1)

This weekend, I did nothing. It was glorious. I slept in after not sleeping much the entire week preparing for my job interview. I cleaned, read a book, and did some painting. I activated Whispersync on my phone & Kindle for a book called "The Wretched of Muirwood" by Jeff Wheeler. Basically, Whispersync is a feature through Amazon that updates your synced devices to match exactly where you are in your book. Also, if you buy a digital copy of a book, you get a discount on the audio book version and vice-versa. It's great for when I want to read and when I want to paint & listen. While I'm not crazy about the narrator of this audiobook, I'm enjoying the plot so far (I'm on Chapter 13 after reading Chapter 1-8 on my Kindle and listening to the rest on my Audible phone app).

While I listened, I painted and practiced TMM (True Metallic Metal/Shaded Metallics). I'm using Privateer Press's P3 "Blighted Gold" and Reaper's "Green Shadow" to paint the metals on the Ursula Silverbraid mini from Reaper. I want to experiment with painting a brass-like metal using subtle washes of Green Shadow. I've seen some really interesting things done with shaded metallics and dark colored washes of blues, reds, greens, and purples. This particular metal will have a slightly tarnished look and will expand my experience beyond TMM silver. 

Base Coat of Blighted Gold

After a few thin layers of Green Shadow

Adding a few mid-highlights of Blighted Gold at the tip of the axe and edges of armor

I'm really pleased with the way that the metal is coming along. I plan on adding some extra-bright highlights in gold to accentuate the tips, edges, and rivets in the armor & weapon. I also plan on making the back panels of her cape (?) a leather color. It's primed in grey for now, but I fully intend on changing that soon! And frankly, I'm not sure if I'll keep the bright blue of her bodice. I thought it would add an interesting contrast to her hair, but we'll see how I can incorporate that bold color into the rest of her outfit. 

In other news, yesterday we played D&D! We did our annual Christmas-themed one-off campaign. We rolled 4th level characters-- this year, consistent with 5th edition. Cookies, egg nog, coffee & wine flowed freely as we battled an ice dragon hell-bent on destroying the town of Everwinter. We successfully acquired the Shrub of Snoggletog and saved the townsfolk. My gnome bard sang a few songs (only one or two of them good). We even invited our friend who had never played Dungeons & Dragons before. He was stellar & we had an absolute blast. We also recorded the whole thing! I'll need to go back through and edit out the parts where we broke for refills, pizza, etc. I'll be doing some traveling Monday & Tuesday, but if I get the time, I'll post the link this Thursday on the blog. Otherwise, I'll work on it this weekend and have it up next Monday :) 

*Update* I finished Ursula! You can find Part 2 here. 

Drak Attack

Last month, I posted my Drak Work in Progress pictures. I'm happy to report that he's finally done! I wanted to use a limited color palette on this little Bonesylvanian and keep the focus on his eyes while adding interest to his leathery wings. I'm really happy with how the purple-brown transition on the back of his wings turned out. 

Drak & Gus also took a trip as ambassadors of the miniature painting hobby. I brought them to my panel interview and was prepared for the inevitable question: "As you know, this job is focused on project management and tight deadlines. How do you feel about working in a less creative role?" which I was prepared to answer with, "While I'm no stranger to effective time management & productivity in my current role, I satisfy my creative needs outside my professional life with painting miniatures. These little guys are my zen hobby". Then I take them out and pass them around-- it usually gets people smiling and they respond with curiosity and surprise. 'Wow, these are so little! You paint these?!". I'm always happy to share my miniature painting hobby and Drak & Gus were my good luck charms.

Oh, and by the way, I GOT THE JOB!!!