Speed Paint Challenge #2

Happy Miniature Monday! These are some exciting times, my friends. What recently started as an every-other-week challenge to a fellow miniature painter seems to have gained momentum. I started using a #speedpaintchallenge hashtag on Twitter and with the help of a few retweets, now more miniature painters are joining in. Hooray for social media! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. Last week, it was decided that the Speed Paint Challenge would be Reaper Miniature Bones #77131. 

The Rules: 4-hour Limit. 7 Colors + Black & White.

My Paint Color Choices · Left to Right:

  1. Leadbelcher [Citadel]
  2. Blue Liner [Reaper]
  3. Muddy Brown [Reaper]
  4. Deep Red [Reaper]
  5. Blood Red [Reaper]
  6. Golden Highlight [Reaper]
  7. Golden Shadow [Reaper]
  8. (Black) Brown Liner [Reaper] 
  9. (White) Linen White [Reaper]

The Results

 
 

Work In Progress Photos

My Approach

I decided to break down the time limit to eight 30-minute increments. I keep notes on paint color and overall strategy throughout the process.

  1. Base Coats: Boots, Hair, Gloves, Belt
  2. Cleaning up sections with Exact-O (since I didn't have access to one earlier)
  3. Leather & Skin Base Coats
  4. Boots (my favorite part of this mini) 
  5. Face
  6. Weapons & Shirt
  7. Details base coats (belt, pouches, torso section), Highlight Leathers
  8. Details highlights, Hair Highlights, Base

So there you have it-- another Speed Paint Challenge completed! Once again, I gained some great experience in both speed and skill. I stand firm in my belief that a little pre-planning goes a long way when painting within time limits. I'm really happy with how she turned out given only 4 hours. In fact, I have the sudden urge to go out and buy a matching pair of those awesome boots!

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!

Speed Painting

On Saturday, it was rainy-- the perfect weather for painting! I decided to give something a try: Speed Painting. Now, most people would describe speed painting as painting under limited time constraints. I took it as a challenge to finish a miniature in an afternoon. I haven't completed a miniature in one sitting since The Blind Ninja in 2013. The idea of "Speed Painting" used to intimidate me so I decided to reverse-engineer the process to make it more accessible. It helped! 

I gave myself the challenge of finishing the miniature in three 30-minute intervals. I set a timer on my phone for 30 minutes and took a few minutes break in between to re-evaluate and plan what to paint next on the miniature. My strategy for the three intervals was this:

  1. Base Layer for Cape, Lining/Outlining of Middle Armor Sections
  2. Skin, Face, Eyes
  3. Weapon, Shield, Wash on Cape Layer

Last week, I wrote about helping my friend build a new D&D character. My friend wanted her Genasi mini to have "purple skin with hair like lightning" so I used this as an overall concept reference:

I chose a Reaper "Bones" dark elf miniature made from plastic (I find they're great for speed painting!) and decided to go with the cloud/sky theme for her Genasi character. The cape would resemble blue, shifting clouds and I'd highlight her hair & weapon in yellow to create her lightning effect. Here's the simple but versatile color scheme I chose (Not pictured: "Polished Bone" for armor detail highlights):

What I learned: I forgot to account for the time it would take to paint details on the middle section-- her chain mail armor & boots. I should have broken it down into four 30-minute intervals with a 15-minute final clean up at the end. I took pictures throughout and came up with this visual breakdown: 

1. Unpainted Miniature

2. Cape Basecoat

3. Block/Line Armor

4. Skin

5. Thunder "Hair" Blending

6. Thunder Weapon & Armor

7. Cape Wash & Highlights, Shield

8. Flat Color Base

While I didn't meet my original, ambitious goal of 1.5 hours, it only took me about 2 - 2.5 hours. While this miniature isn't painted in the highest quality possible, it wasn't a significant time investment-- perfect for tabletop gaming! Here's the final product: