Dynamite!

Here are a few images of the completed Lady Dynamite from Magic Reality Miniatures.  I may still put on some weathering powders and other effects, but I thought I would wait until it got a bit warmer for spraying fixative.

I really liked the extra elements that came with the figure, like the sticks of dynamite and the boxes of gunpowder!

I followed the concept art color scheme, just to check them out side by side.  It was a lot of fun to paint, and the gears on the 'base' made it very easy to create this vignette around it.

The face had a lot of fine details, so I was able to get a neat expression on her face.

These views also give you a better sense of how the gear on her base looks with the larger base that I made.  Seeing these makes  me very glad that I made sure to put that slate blue color on the iron!  It does help make her pop with all of the warm colors in her clothes. 

The rust helps to keep the two surfaces tied together, however. 

Be sure to check out the Magic Reality Miniatures website:

http://www.magicreality.com/

Almost There!

If you are not too afraid to watch, the variation on the Shaded Basecoat technique continues.

What I am doing here is very similar to what I used to do with my watercolors... that is, taking some salt or some other substance and putting that on the paper with the wet paint.

Those would interact in very interesting (but unpredictable) ways, and created some very interesting effects along the way.  I would build from these random effects, letting that chance array of colors decide the direction for me.

As for this figure... there was a lot more than just the miniature itself.  I was trying to make a little vignette here with the iron base, gears, etc.

Since so many of the colors on the figure would be warm browns, tans and siennas, I put a cooler seafoam green color in the mix for the base.  Later on, this would really show off the rust effects!

I am mixing that seafoam green with some of the glaze colors, such as umber and black.

I tried to keep up with the main base and the gears on the figure, so that they would maintain the same kind of spotlight effect.

They are just about ready for some rust and weathering!

More definition was also being placed on the figure, developing the middle tones and lighter areas.  The important thing is to continue working on all sections at once, and not letting yourself get locked into one tiny area!

Now for some rust!  It was a simple mix of a rust colored paint and the sepia wash to keep it from getting too opaque.  Once again, more random things would happen when this was applied.

I focused on the recesses, as the oxidation tends to occur there.

To darken the rust in some places, and even get an oil stain look, I added a bit of Reaper Blue Liner paint... a very high intensity dark paint.

Rust is also added to the gears on the figure...

Getting there!  I continued to work on the figure, defining details on the face, working out what sort of colors I wanted on the crates, and more.  The crates needed to have a little variety in their color tones as well.

In nearly every layer that I have been painting on this figure, I have been mixing in some of the wash colors with my regular paints.

Since I was working "globally", I could always see when something was getting too light, or not light enough, right away.  That's the big advantage of not working on only one tiny part to the exclusion of the rest of the mini.

The images got a little burned out here, but in this stage I was going back in with very dark glazes to define some areas better or make the highlights seem brighter.

Just about done!  I may still add some weathering powders or do some kind of oil slick/grease effects, but I want to take pictures of how it looks first, so that I can get a comparison of the two!

Stay tuned!

Another approach

I thought I might show you a few images of the painting process of the Magic Reality Miniatures Lady Dynamite.

In the previous series of Shaded Basecoat posts, you watched me go from middle tones to light, followed by glazing to shade and tint those lighter colors.

I will use these glazes alone to take the colors from the somewhat flat grayish white to darker tones. 

I also want to show you the use of the Secret Weapon washes that I call opaque such as the Concrete.

When a wash color such as Concrete is mixed with other washes, or even regular paint, it will lighten the color!  I know that most of you see glazing as something that only darkens a color.

Once I discovered this concept, it opened up a whole series of new techniques and options!

When I mix the concrete with some of the very intense Vallejo washes, some very interesting chemical interactions take place.  The colors sometimes push each other away, not mixing completely.  This is very useful when you want to get random color effects on something like weathered metal.

I added more dark colors to the base, this time mixing in some regular purple grey paint with the glazes.

The same kind of technique would be used on the figure itself.

Just as with the base, I mixed some of the glaze colors together, keeping that concept art color scheme in mind.

I can see the horrified looks on your faces right now!  This is something that is always entertaining in my live classes.  Keep in mind that all I am trying to do here is drop down some darker tones, and get a little variety in those darks.

The Concrete was was also mixed in with the different glazes at this time.

Before you all run away from the screen in horror, I wanted to show you an image from barely 20 minutes after the previous images were taken.

As we like to say, you have to accept that the figure is going to look pretty nasty at first, and seemingly out of control.

Since I am going back to my 2D art roots, I don't feel like any control is lost! :-)  Stay tuned for more...

Gearing Up

Some of you might have seen the Sophie and Lady Dynamite images that I posted recently from Magic Reality Miniatures.

The figures are in, and they have been assembled and based!  Some extra gears, a few other odds and ends, and it's all set for painting.

She is only the beginning of a continuous stream of new releases that Magic Reality has planned.

This is Lady Dynamite, and she's ready to rock the town with some serious explosive firepower!  Hot stuff indeed.

There will be lots of grease and grime on the gears, which I am hoping will be a fun contrast to the character of Lady Dynamite.

I will try to take some WIP images as I paint her, so you can get another peek into the process!

Here is a link to the Magic Reality website:

http://www.magicreality.com/

They say it's Magic

Is it Magic, or Reality?

It's some more new miniatures from Magic Reality.

Meet Sophie!  Ready to steal your heart in any era. :-)

I enjoyed this concept art sketch, so I will be trying to replicate this as faithfully as possible.

I thought I might show you some other figures from Magic Reality, which are also available on their website:

http://www.magicreality.com/

This image will give you a sense of the scale on some of the figures.

I think this will also be fun to paint!  A steampunk zombie hunter! 

A Dynamite Lady

As you all know, my obsession for nearly two years has been finding all the new manufacturers who are creating so many spectacular figures for us lucky painters!

That list continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and soon Magic Reality Miniatures will be in person on this painting table as well.  I have some preview images for you here, starting with one Dynamite Lady!!

There are going to be a lot of fun details to render on this 32mm figure.  Better yet, I don't even have to sculpt my own gears for her to stand on!  It really completes the composition.

This is the official website:

http://www.magicreality.com/

I think the face and filligre will be the two essential elements of this piece as I paint it.

I'm going to have to try to get some grease/oil effects in the mechanisms here.  Perhaps mixing Secret Weapon water effects with sewer water will give it that dirty amber shade, with a touch of glossiness and suspended particles.

Each of these concept art pieces has some fun color ideas, but I think I like the challenge of the browns and tans of the image on the left.

So, when the figures arrive from across the sea, I will show you the Unboxing as well.

Magic Reality Miniatures plan to maintain a regular release schedule, with new figures appearing for us very frequently.  Sounds great to me!!!!

Here's a link to the facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/magicrealityminiatures/