Painting Minis - Modron Part I

Finally found some sliver of time to get back to painting.  The past bit has been either busy or oppressively hot.  With a break in the heat, I started the modron.  Since this is pic heavy, the post will continue after the jump break.

Miniatures Update

It's been a bit.  The last time minis appeared here, I was planning out how to paint some modrons.  I haven't started yet, but there's some motion.  My work week is shifted back a day, so Tuesday to Saturday.  During my workday on Saturday, I received emails that the paint I ordered for the monodrone was arriving and, later, had arrived.  During my first break, I checked the front door and found the package.

Painting Minis - The Marilith and the Elf

Continued with the Marilith to get a bit further.  First was to fix up the problems with the lower body by adding an extra coat as needed.  I also started to fix a mistake, though another coat may be needed there  Since this is about to get pic heavy, since it involves painting minis, the rest is after the break.

Painting Minis - Continuing the Shark

Last time, I finished the grave markets and started a shark.  Things got a little busy since then, but I managed to sit down to keep working on Ol' Toothy.

Half-painted shark.  Mini by Wizkids
Photo by author..

The goal in mind is to finish the dorsal side, get going with the ventral, and get a start on the mouth and eyes.  The dorsal just needs broad brushstrokes, with some care where shark and wave meet.  That's one colour of paint.  The ventral side will be lighter, and I have a second colour decided for that.  Mouth will be a third colour, teeth a fourth, and the eyes will be black and beady.  That's more or less the order I wanted to work in, too.  Large to small, difficult to reach to outside.

The dorsal is complete.  The eyes are the same colour as the rest of the upper half because it was easier.  I can paint with black on top, using coats if needed.  The underside got tricky.  Turns out, the colour of paint I used was a slightly different shade of the grey used for the plastic, so there are layers there that I wasn't expecting.  With the right light, I could see the difference between the unpainted mouth and teeth and the painted ventral side.  Not easy, but I saw it.

Smile for the camera!

The mouth may need a second coat.  I'm not worried about the red streaks on the teeth.  Even if they show through the paint I'll be using, that'll just add to the fearsomeness.  Just who has Sharkie eaten lately?

Painting Minis - Finishing the Gravestones

I finally got out to look for a green or ground-coloured paint and found a few to use to finish the gravestones started last week.  I left off with the gravestones painted but not the ground.

Where I left off last week.  (Photo by author.)

Remember that I used different colours of primers to see the effects.  What I wound up doing is use a completely different green that I had, Greenskin from The Army Painter, instead of what I bought.  The paint was part of a starter kit my nephew gave me for Christmas.  But the different primer colours meant the appearance changed with each gravestone.

Same paint, different effects.  Ta-daa!  (Photo by author.)

The gravestone on the left in the above photo was primed with white.  The green didn't go over it evenly, but that worked out.  Grass isn't uniformly one shade of green.  I'm happy with how the paint came out.  The middle one, with grey primer, also had similar results.  The right-most grave, painted over black primer, has a different outcome that I'm not so sure about.  However, for the first time I've painted minis in a while, this came out well.

Armed with satisfaction, I decided to try painting another mini, this time a shark from WizKids.  I went with the mini because the number of colours would be low, the mini isn't complicated, and is large enough to see without taking off my glasses for close up work.

Gravestones left in for scale.  Note the fin mini on the right.  (Photo by author.)

The shark is definitely something a group of adventurers would not want to deal with.

Head on view of the shark. (Photo by author.)

I'm thinking I need x paints, a main colour for the dorsal side, a light colour for the ventral side, a third for the teeth, another for the lips and gullet, and black for the eyes.  A sixth might be needed for the water effect.

I focused on the dorsal side to start.  Long brushstrokes, no unusual creases.  Nice and simple.  I also painted the dorsal fin poking out of the water.

After about a half hour or so.  (Photo by author.)

I had an idea for the water effect for the fin mini.  Instead of painting on top, I painted the underside.  I wanted the top to look like sea foam.

Painting the bottom of the base.  (Photo by author.)

I think I pulled it off.  (Photo by author.)

I need to finish the shark, so the face and the ventral side.  The fin mini turned out well, so I will try the same thing with the larger shark.

Painting Minis - A Return

It's been a while since I've tried painting minis.  I'm feeling up to trying again after the past few years, but I am not jumping into a difficult figure right away.  Since this will be photo heavy, I'm placing things below the break.