Wobbly Wednesday

Last week I was totally irresponsible. After mourning two family members in the last two months, moving to a new city while paying for two places until new tenants move into our old place (and dealing with our soon-to-be-former landlord's rude realtor), our new house flooded Monday. I give up. Since I wasn't going anywhere and the squishy wood floors and the deafening industrial floor fans were driving me absolutely crazy, I drank too much wine and painted late into the evening. I may have taken some goofy miniature-painting selfies. Yeah, that happened.

I also couldn't make any decisions-- I had been making them all day at work and at home, so when I sat down to paint, I was mentally and creatively exhausted. I still forced myself to paint so I asked other people to make them for me: 

"What should I paint first?" [the little one]

"I think I'm going to paint her cloak red & purple. Does that sound good?" [sure]

"What color should her eyes be?"  [green]

"Should she have makeup? [yes] What kind?" [Bold red lips]

It may sound silly, but that idea was the key to unlocking a Paint-By-Numbers approach that didn't tax my brain. I was able to paint late into the night and not be emotionally-attached to my mini. Otherwise, I second-guess my decisions and become extremely frustrated if it didn't turn out the way I originally envisioned. 

Here's where I was just getting started on the miniature face...

...and where I ended up at the end. 

She's a little chunky in the face and her mouth is a bit sloppy but I have to say, she turned out better than expected (especially considering the amount of wine consumed during that paint session). It was fun, but not something I'll repeat any time soon-- that next day was rough! I've painted a bit more on her since then and cleaned up the corners of her mouth. I love painting leather and skin, so that's what's next before I tackle any metals. I'm going with a Little Red Riding Hood theme on this one and I'm looking forward to painting her more tonight. 

LOL check out the cat fur that's found its way onto to the sticky base

Mind The Gap

I played with green stuff tonight after returning home from visiting family over the weekend. While I wanted desperately to paint, I just didn't have the required focus or energy. I gathered up my Works In Progress and neglected Shelf of Shame miniatures that were mounted to painting pillars (old medicine tubes weighted with coins) and stared at them hoping I'd be struck by inspiration.

I wasn't. However, I did decide to stop avoiding my Kingdom Death pinup since I've yet to attach her head. I have never assembled a miniature that has so many separate parts which results in some tiny gaps. I'm told "Green Stuff" works well for filling these gaps so I decided I'd give it a shot and realized this: I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm not a sculptor, nor do I have the proper tools for the job. Despite this, I gave it my best effort with a sponge-like blending nib and an Exact-O knife. I mixed the two-part epoxy and rolled think strips to apply to the mini. I admit, I know gaps are supposed to be filled before priming the miniature. However this Kingdom Death mini is for fun and experimentation. Some of the best lessons are the ones learned through trial & error so I've told the perfectionist in me to sit down, shut up, and enjoy the ride!

Once I re-prime these sections with thin coats of brush-on primer, I doubt it'll look as sloppy-- that's my hope! I set her aside and will continue working on her tonight after work. Yes, it's Memorial Day and I'm working. I used up all my vacation days for family emergencies and memorial services with just enough left over for my annual miniature convention. I don't mind working today though-- it was important for me to be there for family over the last few months and I wouldn't have it any other way. Today, I'm giving thanks and remembrance to those who made sacrifices to earn us the freedom we enjoy today-- especially my grandfather. Love you & miss you, Lolo! 

Pupil Progress

Nailed it! I'm finally in a place where I'm proud of the eyes that I paint. While it's not a perfect science, I've dedicated a large amount of time to practicing how to paint eyes and I'm seeing the results of that hard work! I obsess over the eyes of a miniature, as I explained in my last blog post. Facial expressions set the tone, or mood, of the miniature and I prefer to paint them first. If I'm happy with the eyes, there's a good chance I'll enjoy painting the rest of the mini. However, the reverse is also true: if I'm unhappy with a miniature's eyes, it's impossible for me to enjoy painting the rest of it. 

Noreth Skyblade · Reaper Miniatures #02994

 I've had this particular Reaper miniature on my shelf of shame for over a year. I really like painting elves-- the prettier the better! However, this particular gentleman elf was primed over a year ago and when I started to paint him, I discovered one of my very-talented painter friends had also just painted the same mini. While his version of Noreth is absolutely stunning, I felt discouraged at the time. "There's no way my miniature will ever look that good!" I thought. "I'll just end up being disappointed in the end" so I put him aside in July 2014 and vowed to paint him one day. Last night, I decided I was ready. I patched up some chipped primer (in all honesty, I should have stripped him and started over but I appreciate a good challenge!) His long jacket will be royal blue and I'll be painting some NMM on his boot armor, shield, and sword. I still don't think I'm to the level of Cash's version, but it no longer discourages me-- it inspires me to paint to that advanced skill level. So i started on his jacket base coat and while I waited for it to try, I started on his eyes.

Eyes are a painfully long process and it's something that I put pressure on myself to get "just right". However, I watch a lot of anime, and I'm influenced by that particular stylized eye. I attempt to paint my miniatures with big, expressive eyes and I'd like to incorporate that into my consistent painting style. Here's what I started with last night (see below with paint line-up) and the Instagram photo below that is what I ended up with. It was hard to believe I hadn't picked up my brush since ReaperCon. Over the last week, I've been working on cleaning and assembling new minis, and only now have been able to apply the knowledge that I learned at the Con and apply it to what I'm painting at the time. Something must be working, since I'm now "seeing" things I was unable to identify before attending the Con. Now that I know what I want to see, I attempt to match my expectations to my current skill level-- I was shocked at what I was able to accomplish in a year! While my minis, even my guys, have heavy outlines around their eyes, I like it-- it's my preference, since I appreciate painting clean, high contrast when it comes to expressive faces. It takes considerably longer, but it's hard to argue with the results!

In addition to Noreth, I'm also working on Dannin Deepaxe, a Dwarven Reaper mini I've owned for a long time. She's been cleaned up and primed (despite the constant rainy weather we've been having!) She's a smaller sculpt than humans, so I thought her eyes would be more difficult to paint. However, Werner Klocke sculpts some big eyes for painters to enjoy and play around with. He really does a great job with this, and I'm able to push-the-envelope when it comes to painting interesting eyes! Next up for these miniatures-- hair! I haven't decided on color scheme, but I hope to be struck with inspiration tomorrow when I pick up my brush. Some days I have it, others I don't-- let's hope tomorrow's another "great painting day". Wish me luck!