WolfDreamerNZ

Thanks for all the suggestions - I have taken them all onboard... Sorry for the absurdly long delay - it took ages to get this the way I wanted...Finally got the aurora sorted out on the cloaks - it about drove me crazy but I am quite pleased with it now....what do you think! Some shapes lend themselves a bit better to this than others...

Think Alaskan Wilderness - snow, ice, icicles, rugged terrain. There will be lots of clear resin, water effects, snow, etc. And to hopefully make them different from other winter themed armies, I am incorporating the aurora into it on the cloak backs and feature pieces. I want to keep the feel of the elves and all the detail in the models but make significant enough changes to warrant a closer look. All models will be converted in some way. This represents a big step for me as the most I have done prior to this is a weapon swap. Since I haven't finalized an army list yet - I am starting on the core troop selections I know I need. UNIT 1: GLADE GUARD There will be 2 units of 10. Looking at the glade guard bodies, I wanted to add a feeling of winter - instead of just painting them in a winter scheme. I looked at Eskimo style clothing and found what I feel is a good compromise. I have added a fur lined parka type hood, fur lined boots, fur lining under the arm greaves, fur collar, hid the torso connection by widening the belt, and fur lined the cloak. The cloak is only temporarily pinned in place to check the hood placement and I will be adding arrows to all the models with arms in this position which will pull the bow string tighter. I started a test scheme before trying any conversion to get a feel for the colours - using a heavy percentage of Foundation colours on this one. I kept the figures in muted tones, in comparison to the green/purple spring ones I tried before. I also used darker colours that would contrast well with the snowy bases. My goal is to attempt Best Painted Army at some of the NZ tournaments. Don't worry - as test models - this is simply a colour test and the final result will be better blended and more defined. Any and all C&C welcomed... (deleted old thread to start project log)

Thanks guys! DN: Do you want me to start a WIP army thread and if so how much detail do you want? Greenstuff stage, painting stage and basing stage? Step by steps on some of the more (what I consider) interesting aspects of the models? FF: I know, I know. Part of me feels bad that I have yet to paint a luverly Wyrd mini. Perhaps I shall have to ease the burden of guilt by taking a trip over to the store and purchasing my first one. :tongue2: As for surprising some people - bring it on. Let's just hope it is in a good way. LOL AW: Me too - though there is a level of planning involved - much of it will probably happen organically - through trial and error. V2 - Glad you like them as well. As for the aurora - still working on that one - I know I am going to do the cloak backs in them - but am thinking I need to pull them round to the front as well - possibly the uppermost tabardy bit? What do you guys think? I tried the whole elf in aurora colours - pretty but very pastel - so no go there...suggestions?

Started new project log - would some nice mod please delete this thread?

I can't add much - but I love the basing and the whole piece is beautiful....:inlove:

UPDATE: After having seen some of Mousekiller's awesome armies and discussing with other tourny players - I have decided to use this unit for a painting comp at a LGS and do my army figs on slightly bigger bases (25mm instead of 20mm) with more conversion work and basing to make them stand out on the table. So to that end I am doing my first display base for multiple figures...only a few figures are done and the rest are still very much WIPs. Pic of the whole base. Red rocks will become small waterfall feeding into stream with broken tree and a few elves with water bases. Levels will be grassy hills with forest behind them. Bases will be indented. Main group... Closer view 1 Shaping up?

I finished those four last night and assembled, based and primed the command unit and the next four archers. I'll post finished pics of these guys later today. I am hoping to have them finished by the end of the month to enter in a local painting comp. Have to pick up the pace a bit... LOL

Good job here. I agree about the paint thinning - especially visible in the first shot, but I like that they have character. Her hair could use a bit of highlight and generally smoother blending all over, but you are well on your way. I look forward to seeing more from you - and their bases done!

I'm not even a fan of most undead, but I am so diggin' these guys! Great job, and I am looking forward to the metals tut. How long have you been painting?

Amazing! Do you have a website with any tip/tricks for us?

I think the common denominators are, as you said, the smooth blending style but also the gritty realism look - while being smooth in painting the colours suggest a less cartoony take and a more subtle range of realistic colours - almost bordering on historical painting style (less so with VL's but not by much). FG and TB have achieved the non exaggerated highlights and shadows commonly seen in the historical side of things. As I said on Reaper - the snow is my main issue, but basing can be tough. I have about 3 types of snow flock - one is like large grain flock (far too big to be realistic), the second is GWs sparkly snow (also far too big to be in scale) and my newest is Woodland Scenics snow. Very fine and seems to be quite effective. It's hard to get snow right as too much liquid makes it look slushy, too little makes it look rocky...there is an art to basing in general but snow for sure. Take a look at this recent basing thread and see if you like the snow effects by Skullcrafts: http://wyrd-games.net/showthread.php?t=2954

Thanks FF - yep purple - needed to break from the green/brown schemes everybody else does and still try to look woodsy... Time spent - ummmm - do you really want to know? Probably 5 -6 hours a figure - but I think my next lot will be closer to 2-3 - now that I have worked out colours and how I am going to do my highlighting without spending 10+ hours per unit fig. Characters will still get the full treatment...

I have always painted character figs - but since moving towns to one where everyone plays Warhammer - I have started looking at some of the armies and have now taken on Wood Elves and Bretonnians. Never having painted quickly to begin with - this is a great chance for learning to paint units and work colour schemes out over more than one model. I think this is going to be fun. So here are my first 4 WE at about 85% completion. The one with the tree on his base is the furthest from being finished while the one with the blue facepaint is almost done. I would love to get some feedback on colour choice, quality for units, and any problems you think I might run into doing them this way (besides them taking ages to finish - he he) Thanks!

In terms of resizing Jubilee - all you do is export them at the size you want - so if you want it 500 across - go to Export (bottom right almost in the corner) then chose Resize to: (insert the size you want in the box). They will go into the Picasa Exports folder by default but you can stipulate where you want them to go as well....does that help?

Good article - I like Picasa - especially as a free image editing software. If anyone has any questions - I should be able to help....let me know....