Burrows and Badgers Draws In 144Artist

Despite it being Summer break I am way behind in my hobby posting, well, behind in my hobby in general.  This lovely, lethal, lady cat has sat on my table, mostly finished, for a year now.  I don’t know why but she just kept getting dropped in priority.  I’m happy to say she benefitted from another of my “Finish The Close Ones” sweeps and I am really happy with how she came out.

I realized I had an undead miniature to paint or Mist Ghast as they are called in this game.  There are more coming from the latest Kickstart campaign so I figured it was a good time to get this guy done.  Now my necromancers have someone to summon.

I’ve got a lively looking orange tabby looking for a duel or two.  He’s quite dapper with the bright feather tucked jauntily into his hatband and the billowing cloak.  Almost enough to make one overlook a few errors.  Oops.  Ah well, as I’ve heard others say, Finished is my favorite color and I can always fix and reshoot.

The final stages of Object Source Lighting (OSL), or “make the fireball look like it’s glowing” as a friend of mine would say, are done.  I’m still not 100% pleased with all of it but I think the majority came out well so I am calling him finished.  As I mentioned in the previous post I really liked all the opportunity for small details this sculpt offered.  Lines and freehand can be intimidating until you realize, just like writing, it’s really just lines and dots.  Stripes on the end of a sleeve or cloak are an easy place to start practicing as you are just following parallel to the sculpted edge and mess ups are easily cleaned and/or weathered over, as the case may be.

I keep meaning to put together a tutorial…

I just love this Otter Mage miniature with a photo-like captured moment of motion as he summons a spell.  It said, “Fireball” to me so I’m going with that.  A great sculpt with lots of great surfaces just screaming for lines and dots plus the spell makes Object Source Lighting a must.  I have to confess that this technique is not one of my strengths but that just means I have to practice more.  It isn’t finished yet but I’ve begun with multiple layers of Lamenters Yellow glaze as color filter.  It is starting to read in places, the blue cloak especially.  Being almost complimentary to the yellow that isn’t a surprise.

While California may not be in official Lockdown right now I am practicing continued isolation.  Okay, not practicing so much as mastering at this point.  I will admit that teaching at a distance is far more exhausting than in person and it has taken energy from my hobby.  This week, being Thanksgiving holiday in the US, I got a brief respite and inspired by the depth and variety of the Lockdown Leisure League I got to work on some of the half finished minis on my table.

This little fellow is one charming reptile though I’m not sure how he writes on all those seals let alone carries that big staff.  Being a Rowen Aitchison fan I had to make this a Black Adder.  Seemed a cunning plan though I’m not sure how well the black on grey patterning worked out.

It bears repeating that I think Oathsworn make some of the nicest resin models I’ve ever worked with.  The mold lines are minimal and usually easy to deal with, details are crisp and well delineated, and I think I can count the total number of air bubbles I’ve had to contend with on one hand.  Add in the amazing work the Lovejoys do sculpting these little beings with such character and you have a fun miniature to paint.  The Beaver Mercenary was especially so.  I seem to have a soft spot in my painter’s heart for the big minis as I have painted a number of them. I still have a raptor waiting as well.  The bad news is that I am running out of unpainted B&B minis but the good news is Oathsworn have announced an upcoming Kickstart campaign that will probably crash right through my will power.

Now, if I could just play the game to see if I like it as much as the minis…

Been a while since I finished a Burrows and Badgers mini and this guy sat on my desk, waiting for final details, for months.  In the end I changed a couple of my original color ideas and pushed through to get him table ready.  Like so many of these minis, the movement and character are wonderful. He really looks pissed off.  I have the feeling I am heading toward a squirrel gang vs a dog gang as there are a few more tree hoppers in the catalog I haven’t ordered yet and everyone knows how much these two groups hate each other.