Sholto's Witch Hunters Crew log

[Sholto]

I am starting up a Witch Hunters crew, to go along with my Gunslingers crew. I thought I would put up a pic of the model I am planning to use as Sonnia Criid. This is Isabella from Studio McVey, on a Wyrd Miniatures Flame Base and with Sonnia's sword. What do you think?

I used the flame demon from the Flame Base Accessories to make a version of her Totem (a little GS work needed to tie the flames in with the base), and here is the whole crew ready for priming:-

[Hatchethead]

Holy cow awesome! Criid is one of the few models in the Wyrd range I'm not a huge fan of. That's an amazing proxy, well done.

I'm jealous. I wish I could find an equally badass stand-in for that retard, Seamus. :shot:

[Lucidicide]

That is definitely a good looking model. It's nice that you added in the sword, wouldn't be the same otherwise.

I look forward to seeing the painted version.

[Sholto]

A couple of shots of the Witchling Stalker I completed today. I tried a couple of new things with this model; some NMM on his sword and some OSL on his eyes. Both were very minor effects, but I want to get the hang of them before I deploy them on a larger scale.

The NMM was interesting. Rather than mix up all the different colour blends, I tried using Matte Medium to create the blending. It worked pretty well, I think. I painted the sword GW Foundation Fenris Blue, and then mixed up some VGC White and Matte Medium about 4:1. Thin layers of this were applied to the sword, each time moving further down the blade. I am keen to see how this works on a full size sword.

The OSL was done in a similar fashion, with the base colour (VGC Blazing Orange) mixed with Matt Medium and then applied in decreasing circles around the eyes.

All C&C welcome

[dgraz]

I like it alot. The eyes seem spot on and I agree that I would like to see a larger sword - it looks decent but I think more of it would give me a better idea.

I love the gritty-ness of the cloak and how you darkened up the barrel of the pistol. My only criticism is on the gloves, the hi-lite there seems pretty stark compared with the rest of the model - mainly the wrinkles on the wrist/forearm.

[Melnibonean]

Very, very nice. Almost makes me want to go out and buy Sonnia Crids box (so to speak).

[Sholto]

@dgraz - good point on the gloves. I will darken the highlights a bit - thanks.

The pistol barrel is just some black pigment brushed on. The weathering on the cloak is also pigments - very easy to weather minis that way.

@melnibonean - the stalkers are my favourite models from the boxset. I am not a huge fan of either Sonnia or Samael, but the witchlings are very cool.

Sholto

[DangerousBeans]

Bloody Jawas.........

Really nice find for Criid, I too am not a fan of her model. Or her for that matter. Done gone all killing my lovely contructs...........

edit: @ Sozoa, "Tale of War" do a "Demon Barber" miniature which is basically Johnny Depp from Sweeney Todd but it'd make a nice Seamus proxy with a bit of work. I for one rather like the Seamus model.

Edited May 11, 2010 by DangerousBeans

[captaincarrot]

Nice work sir.

How did you tackle the white robes?

I struggle with white (and black) and it usually ends up looking like a primed unpainted model :-)

[Sholto]

The white robes were done like this:-

1. White primer.

2. Base layer of GW Deneb Stone and White, mixed 1:2. Thin this down with a drop of water and then apply a couple of coats to give a nice even colour.

3. Pick a shadow colour. I used VMC Grey Green, which is a sort of dark olive drab, but any pure grey or greyish colour would work, bearing in mind how you want the model to look (eg. I wanted a good contrast for the orange eyes, so green it was). Add a touch to the base layer colour (but keep some pure base layer colour for highlighting later). Then make your shadow mix translucent by adding some Matte Medium (about 4:1 Matt Medium/ paint mix). Apply this to the shadows - the translucency will make it naturally blend in with your base colour.

4. Add some more of your shadow colour to make it darker, and apply this to the deepest shadows and recesses.

5. Now make your highlight colour. Add more White to your base colour, then make it translucent with more Matt Medium (2:1 is good). Apply this to the model as a highlight.

6. Then add more white to your highlight and apply again, covering less of the highlights this time.

7. Final highlights are pure white (with Matt Medium added 2:1) applied sparingly to the very brightest highlights.

You could use water to thin the paints instead of using Matt Medium. The paint pigment will not spread as evenly if you thin with water, and will spread less evenly the more water you add, but a tiny dab of washing up liquid will help, as will plenty of stirring to raise the pigment from the bottom of your paint well.

Sholto

Edited May 11, 2010 by Sholto

[Sholto]

Sonnia's Totem

I don't have the Purifying Flame model, but when I picked up the Fire Base I got this imp and the flames with it. So why not turn them into Sonnia's totem?

There is a bit of Apoxy sculpt around the base of the flames to merge them with the sewer base. Hopefully it's not too obvious.

The main things that were new to me on this model were painting flames and trying some proper Object Source Lighting. The flames were fairly simple - I just mixed up lots of blends of colour from pale yellow to very dark red and worked my way up the flames from base to tip.

The OSL required a bit more thought. I painted the base first, without any thought for OSL and then, once I had finished it, went back in with orange, yellow orange and pale yellow glazes to try and create the OSL lighting effect. I think it looks not to shabby, but all C&C welcome

Sholto

[TimeLapse]

Looks kool to me! I may have to do something like this myself...

[dahli.llama]

The only thing I don't like on the elemental is the white at the base of the flames. It just doesn't look right to me, and I think a little more color down there would be good. Otherwise they look splendid, and I definitely need to try that matte medium method.

[dgraz]

The only thing I don't like on the elemental is the white at the base of the flames. It just doesn't look right to me, and I think a little more color down there would be good. Otherwise they look splendid.

I agree with this statement. Also, I think with fire, only the thickest part of the fire will be hottest / lightest colored. Each little flicker of flame will be cooler at the tip. So instead of blending the colors just from light to dark over the entire thing, try blending the colors from light to dark on each lick of flame. Just my opinion.

[Sholto]

Good points - thanks. The more I look at it, the more it looks like a pair of flaming blancmanges. I will get rid of the excess white at the base.

I tried to blend each individual flame, but will make it more pronounced.

Cheers

Sholto

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

I'm pleased to see someone else doing that same conversion for the totem! I made my flames a bit more extensive on the base, but I haven't finished painting mine yet... you inspire me to get these guys done next - they're so close now!

Can't wait to see your "Sonnia" all painted!

~J~

[Melnibonean]

@melnibonean - the stalkers are my favourite models from the boxset. I am not a huge fan of either Sonnia or Samael, but the witchlings are very cool.

Sholto

It's funny what we, as individuals like. I'm about to paint the Pandora crew and I really like the Sorrows. They're my favorite models in the whole set. They're nothing really outstanding but to me they just cry out for the best paint job I can give them.

[Couchmonster]

The Witchling Stalkers are some of my favorite minis in the range & yours is absolute brilliance. The colours are top notch they really work on the mini.

As for the purifying flame I've really got to tip my hat to you on that one. I've seen many try to pull off the realistic flame colouring but it never looks quite right. You've really managed to get the colour transitions working & the result is stunning.

Edited May 14, 2010 by Couchmonster

[Sholto]

@Snuggler - I would like to see that!

@Melnibonean - that's the thing about any mini range, I suppose. Different models appeal to different people. It's why I feel the need to be careful saying I don't like this or that model, since people can be a little touchy about it if I diss their favourite model in the range.

@Couchmonster - thanks a lot. I took inspiration from another Witchling Stalker I saw posted on here, but I cannot remember the name of the guy who painted it. If I can find it I will put up a link.

The colour transitions just came down to mixing up lots of paint in advance. Let's see - white/ yellow, yellow, orange/ yellow, orange, orange/ blood red, blood red, gore red, gore red/ black, gore red/ more black, and finally black with a touch of gore red. Once you have the colours mixed up, the rest I found almost did itself, but thanks for the comment

I am wondering what a glaze of Tamiya Clear Orange will do for the flames - it is an amazing paint, and I use it on metals all the time to get a greasy look.

Sholto

[Couchmonster]

I am wondering what a glaze of Tamiya Clear Orange will do for the flames - it is an amazing paint, and I use it on metals all the time to get a greasy look.

I'd say give it a go, on a test model at least. The Tamiya clear colours are amazing I've made extensive use of the red & green over the years.

[Sholto]

Red (with some black ink) makes for excellent, viscous blood. I have never used green, though.