Complete: Shinobi

I finished my second miniature of the year: Anima Tactic's "Shinobi". I haven't successfully painted white clothing before, and this miniature was my attempt at off-white clothing using light grey as a midtone basecoat, then highlighting with Reaper's "Leather White" and putting the darkest shadows in the folds (but not too dark). I also played with shading bright reds with desaturated colors-- in this case, mixing red with a dark green for the shadows in his scarf.

It's been awhile since I've painted anything in the TMM (True Metallic Metal) style, and I used P3 and Vallejo metallic paints for his upper arm guards, the kunai hanging from his belt, and his katana sword. However, I didn't exclusively use a few coats of the metallic paint. Instead, I applied the "shaded metallics" technique, blending parts of the reflected surfaces with increasingly darker glazes. This way, I controlled which parts shone brightly and which ones receded into a more matte surface. I'm still building upon the shaded metallics technique, and the time involved is somwhere in between basic TMM and NMM. While it takes a bit longer, I believe the results are an improvement upon the average metallic paint treatment. Some may even take it a step further and glaze surrounding colors into the metallic paints.

While I initially wanted to add some snow effects to his base, I decided against it. While his robes currently read as "white", if I put bright white snow effects at his feet, his robes will look grey by comparison. I've now decided he's complete!

In other news, just before I left for vacation, had a complete and utter meltdown about my hair. Long story kinda-short, I decided to add some dimensional color to my hair after 5 years of growing it out. I had a color consultation with my usual stylist and I made an appointment with her for my day off right before the vacation. What happened next was a perfect storm. The front desk messed up my appointment and had to fit me in with a brand new stylist. The woman with an appointment right before me arrived super-late and the stylist rushed through my coloring treatment to finish before the salon closed. I ended up with was, what I called, "acid-damage orange". I got home, looked in the mirror, and wept.

It's all documented on Twitter and luckily I can look back on it and smile, knowing it was solved. I called out of work the next morning (I made up the time later that afternoon), went back the next day and politely, yet firmly, explained the situation. The same stylist agreed remedy the situation for free, admitting she "went too light" and over-extended herself, trying to manage two clients at once. In any case, I now know that I'm very emotional about my hair (everyone perfectionist has some vanity) and I'm pleased with the results. Life can now go on.

Once that nightmare was over, I went on vacation, with perfect beach hair, and it was glorious. I haven't been on vacation in over three years and this totally made up for it. I read a 500+ page fantasy novel in record time as I lied on the beach, sipped on tropical cocktails, and soaked up the sun while a perfect breeze and the relaxing sound of waves rolled off the ocean. I want to go back! It was stupid-amazing. Coming back to reality is rough. Everyone's so uptight and rushing to get places. I just want to shout, "Slow down, everyone! It's not that important. Just enjoy life." I'm sure that will fade, just like my tan, but in the meantime, I'm riding the post-vacation high as long as I can.

On a convention-related note, I was hoping to make it to LVO, the Las Vegas Open. However, knowing I just took off an entire week from work and spent all my money on the vacation, I'm not sure it's in the cards for me this time. I regret this very much, especially since I have friends who I could stay with rather than staying at a hotel. In any case, I'll know for sure after I check flight prices and see which classes are still open. I couldn't commit to anything before I came back from vacation, and it's frankly not looking very good. I'll think more on it tonight as I unpack and get ready to paint some miniatures before I have to go back to work. I'm looking forward to some quality time with my 75mm steampunk miniature!

Vacay

Hello! I'm out of the country and will be back in the next few days to write a belated post. Check back in two days, please! I'm currently living up to my nickname as I relax on the beach. This is the first real vacation in 3 years and I'm making up for lost time. 

New Year, New Minis

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fun time ushering in the new year last week. I stayed home and at the stroke of midnight, we enacted several unique new year's eve celebrations we found on the internet. Who knows if these superstitious things are regionally accurate, but they sure were fun! Eating black eyed peas (U.S.), wearing red underwear and polka dot clothing (Philippines), jumping off chairs (Denmark), and eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight (Spain)-- you're supposed to put them on a skewer stick so we ate them on our light-up Star Wars chopsticks we received last Christmas. Our favorite wacky tradition is from my mother in law-- where you'll have good luck if the first person to walk through your door is a tall, good-looking man carrying a loaf of bread, a glass of wine, and cash in his pockets. Either it's a cultural tradition (she's Italian) or it's a family tradition they made up. Either way, I love it and we do it every year (except for last year and 2015 sucked so we learned our lesson! Then we danced outside until it got too cold so we moved the dance party indoors. I know, we're weirdos.

I've since made another ambitious yet reasonable list of things I want to accomplish this year. My obligatory personal resolutions for the new year generally range from the mundane ("I want to meal plan and cook more consistently") to the downright frustrating ("I want to get back in shape this year. No, really."). However, I have a few new resolutions focused on unique, creative solutions that will make me happy. One of these resolutions includes finishing more miniatures. I want to finish 20 miniatures this year-- speed painting, commissions, personal development in painting techniques, etc. That's roughly 2 miniatures per month, which is conservative compared to my original goal of 30 miniatures per year.

This year, I ended the year with more works in progress than actual finished miniatures. For most people, that usually means that progress is being made, however, mine's more of a stalled creativity and I-wiish-I-had-more-time situation. I still struggle with carving out time to paint during the weekday and the holidays have been particularly challenging in this regard. To start the new year off right, I sat down and cleaned my desk and miniature storage (not pictured). It's a daunting task, trust me. It hasn't been this clean in months!

I then worked on my "Secret Sophie" miniature that's due January 15, 2016. Basically, it's Reaper's version of the Secret Santa gift exchange. I'm incredibly glad they decided to make the deadline mid-January instead of during the holidays. I got to spend more time on it this way. My Secret Sophie likes to play animal-based characters, particularly silver foxes. When I googled "silver fox", the animal that I found didn't look how I had imagined. Silver foxes are mostly dark grey with black ears and legs. However, I considered the style of silver fox kitsune characters common in anime, so I decided to lean more toward the left image below.

 
 

I had some issues with the tip of the bow coming apart, and I'm glad I was able to resolve it-- at first glance, you would never know that I had to resculpt and attach a top section of the bow.

Other than that, I've acquired some new basing materials that were WAY bigger than expected and finishing up my Shinobi. He's SO close to being done-- you'll see final pictures of him too soon! Then it's off to finish Carla McCarthy (I know, I know) and I'll be all caught up. Now to get this miniature shipped off to my Secret Sophie-- I hope they like it!

I wish you all the best in 2016! May your year be full of peace, love, and creativity. May we have more finished miniatures than works in progress this year. Happy New Year!