Hordes: Legion of Everblight (1)

I've heard it said that Warma-hordes is where 40k players go when they grow up. I've been aware of the other mainstream choice for wargamers for quite some time, but never made the leap. I had painted a starter box of Troll Bloods a few years ago, which was fun. They ended up being ebayed off to the far corners of the earth, and it wasn't until I was contacted by a local player that I had occasion to go back and see what had transpired in the meantime. 

Wow.

The first figure I painted was Saeryn. It was refreshing to see a female that wasn't hyper-sexualized by the sculptor. She had a good balance between a feminine presence without giving up too much bulk thanks to her armored half. Speaking of armor, the intricacies of the detailing were mind boggling. It took several layers of washing and highlighting to get it just right. Saeryn was a treat, but she was nothing compared to the second warcaster...

Lylyth just blew me away. After painting hundred of static space marines waving chainswords over their heads and screaming at the top of their lungs, this model was a real eye opener. The sculpt conveyed a true sense of grace and movement. You could write volumes about her face, and she only has half of it showing. Such cold, calculated indifference is unique and intriguing; a blend of substance and subtlety. 

I painted the models in a different color scheme according to how the owner wanted, conveying a sense of extreme cold. He wanted the warcasters to have light green skin to reflect their semi-draconic nature, while the heavier warbeasts would be much darker...

Puns aside, the Carnivean was a beast to paint; I was not used to dealing with such a sophisticated position. Painting a Carnifex was a good warm-up for the Legion of Everblight, but that's all it was. 

For me this model sums up the main different between GW and Privateer. When you paint a GW model, you're working with a generally open stance, upward-facing angles, lots of plastics with lots of options; it's all very user-friendly and inviting. They give you lots of generic options and invite you to fill in the blanks with your own details. You become immediately invested in the product itself because of its personal aspect. 

Privateer Press stands in bold contrast, offering two options: their way or the highway. The sculptors of the Carnivean decided that this hunched, predatory position was best suited for this creature of war, and you know what? They were right. It didn't matter to them that the thing weighed a pound when fully assembled and the pose made it virtually impossible to paint some angles. Nothing was sacrificed in the name of the final product. 

In Warmachine/Hordes, every character has a name, and a story that has been predetermined by the creators at Privateer. They aren't so much inviting your input on the game so much as they are inviting you along for the ride. They're incredibly good at what they do, some might argue the best, and they know it. You're signing up for a very different experience when you invest in this system, and even though I had to spend extra time to conform to Privateer's standards, it was worth it. 

Is this game/hobby right for everyone? Definitely not. You have to be willing to give up some of the control that you've gotten used to with GW in order to make the leap. You won't be getting that custom force of plastic marines whose personal backstory you've written in google docs during work hours (you know you did). As I said before, this is a ride where you are the passenger, but man what a ride.

I have to say I'm intrigued to continue working with this force as it builds to 35 points. I have some Nyss troops lined up for the next slot in a few weeks. But that will come later, it's time to shift again with something (yet again) completely different!

Citadel Paints: Must-Read

I just got back from the local gaming store on a paint-buying spree. I got a few pots of some paints I'd been meaning to pick up for some time now. But my friend just picked up 9 pots of Thraka Green Wash. Crazy huh? I know. Thing is, it's not really crazy, because that was probably the last time he would be able to buy a color critical to painting the skin of his 300+ orkz.

By now I'm guessing you've heard, but in case you haven't seen in the last 48 hours:

Games Workshop has announced they are completely rebooting their paint range.

I'm not going to comment on the situation in terms of it's validity as a business strategy or it's relation to GW's customer service policies, but I wanted to pass the word along as soon as possible. If there is a color out there that you have been meaning to get or need to stock up on, you really need to do it in the next week or so before things start getting scarce. I'm personally in the middle of several projects that I wouldn't want to be caught without my colors.

Now, GW has put out a handy color conversion chart, but they have been very specific that these are just approximations, and the new paints will not be perfect copies.

We'll see what this new range does to the hobby as things evolve. But for now, get out there and get those colors you know you're going to need before you have to start forking over $10 for a pot on eBay.

Beastmen Beastlord with Great Weapon

This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

I've wanted to paint this model for quite some time. It was the pose that sold it for me. There's only two types of personalities that would lend themselves to doing something like this: total inexperience, or total confidence bought on by a lifetime of battle. As this guy is quite literally the boss, I say it's the latter. I went so far as to purchase this model, but just never got around to actually painting it. Time to fix that.

Micro-Lesson: Photography 

You could write a whole book on small-scale photography (in fact, several people have.) Today, we're just covering the basics that you should consider when you're getting your mini ready for it's internet debut. We spend many long hours working on our models, making sure every little detail is perfect; we owe it to ourselves to take the five minutes to make sure the photo reflects such careful attention to detail.

1. Give it a proper background
The shot below is fine for a Work-In-Progress (WIP) shot but not a finished one. All the junk laying around is distracting, not to mention unsightly. Clean things up with a simple piece of cloth. You don't need anything fancy, just a plane of neutral color to photograph your mini against. If you live near a store that sells fabric, you'll find you can buy "scraps" for cheap. You might even find some cool textures that you like the look of. This will not only clean up the photo, but reflect light evenly over the model. Speaking of light...

2. Light it
If you take nothing else away from this article, let it be this: you owe it to yourself to have good light when you work. What we're doing to our eyes working on this scale is downright criminal. The level of detail that is being cast in these models is impressive, but if you want to have half a chance of seeing and working with it, good light is essential.

That being said, brighter is not always better. 

At some point, the quality of the light becomes more important than the amount. Having multiple light sources that use the same type of bulb and manufacturer can really help when it comes to fighting eye-strain.

For my setup, I use a pair of full-spectrum lamps, one to either side of my work. I keep them at different heights so I get the most light coverage no matter how I'm holding the model. It ensures that I can work for long periods of time comfortably, and that I don't miss details on my work. Additionally, there's a bonus to having high-quality lights to paint with...

You now also have high-quality lights to photograph with.

Full-spectrum lights eliminate the blue or orange tints you see in a lot of mini photos like the one above. They let the camera do its job with the least amount of built-in compensation. The less information the camera has to make up as it goes along, the better. That being said...

3. Use a decent camera
The camera I had been photographing with up until last week was originally purchased in 2002. I was able to get away with it due to the aforementioned background and lighting. More importantly, though, was the lens of my old camera. Megapixel count will not magically create quality, the only way you're going to get a good picture is with a good lens.

In the photo below, the 2002 camera does a good job with the image, but at full resolution you can see the details start to get a little fuzzy. Still, this is by all accounts a good picture that most people would be happy to have. Let's fast forward 10 years of technology.

You can see below just how much detail the new camera is capable of capturing. For your reference, this is a Nikon Coolpix S5100; which cost me $100 new. We're all on a budget, and it's good to see you don't have to drop $20k on a pro-sumer SLR with a specialized macro-lens. An hour of research will last you through years of photographing without breaking the bank.

There's one thing I didn't mention here, and that's photoshop. I don't think it's fair to expect that a recreational painter should have access to high-end graphics software and know how to adjust levels, white balance, and so forth. I haven't done anything to any of these pictures in photoshop aside from cropping and resizing, which you can get from much more modest (read: free) graphics programs. If it's well lit with a clean background, you won't need anything else.

So another model is done and tucked away. Next week we take a break from the challenge for something completely different...

Necromancer

This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

This model came to me from a good friend who had purchased a Warhammer Fantasy Battles started box back in the day when it was Empire vs. Orcs. He had purchased some supplemental figures for his empire army, just because he liked the way they looked. This model made it's way to me brand new and unprimed, and was promptly tucked at the back of the bits box. No more hiding sir Necromancer, into the light with ye!

Have a look at this guy and start to build an image in your mind of how you would paint him.

If the image is anything like mine was, it's probably pretty close to the one we've been collectively spoon-fed our entire lives. Dark clothing, withered skin, musty atmosphere. A soulless old man, completely desaturated of color and life. 

It's exactly how I was going to paint him until I remembered the entire point of this exercise, to challenge myself creatively and see where I could take the sculpt.

Make it Your Own

I read a lot of tutorials and articles on the internet dealing with creativity and visual art. Though each one might be slightly different in terms of it's presentation, they all boil down to the same two or three elements over and over. One of those elements is the concept of originality. 

As hobbyists, we're always striving to be original in everything we do, to help ourselves stand out from the crowd and command the respect of our peers. Sometimes an artist simply tries to be original by doing it the best, other times they seek the road less travelled. 

In this case the road less travelled was throwing a hard 180 in terms of color selection and dynamic lighting. Rather than draw from the hundreds of repetitious horror images I grew up with, I opted to go for the American southland, deep in the heart of Cajun territory, Mardi-Gras style. 

A Shadowman. 

And why not the Shadowman? Just because Walt Disney put out a movie with similar color styles doesn't mean it's off the tables. The Princess Frog was a well received movie, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say most Warhammer players who weren't parents and didn't have an active interest in animation never saw it. 

Remember, it doesn't have to be new; nothing is. It only has to be new to the person who is seeing it.

This is why retro works. Any given image will only survive for so long in the collective consciousness of society before it fades into obscurity. If you want to be original, you don't have to sit and stare at a blank wall until your inspiration magically comes to you (trust me, I've tried.) All you need to do is a basic analysis of what people are seeing on a regular basis. Whatever it is only represents a small portion of what is out there, and all you need to do as a creative person is to tap into those dusty tomes of lore to draw your inspiration. 

Micro-Lesson: Saturated Light

I covered source lighting in a previous post, but I wanted to go over some of the rules that change when you go from realism to saturation. 

1. Work Backwards
   When you paint light sources over a dark model, you're looking to hit the highlights very gently and just on the edges of the surface. You're usually working by painting the model dimly first and then highlighting it. When going to areas of concentrated color, the key is to start with the lights instead of the backdrop. The first pass of colors had this model oozing green, yellow, and red. The blue was added afterwards to create the gradients as the source faded.
2. Let Multiple Lights Mix
   Even though these are three strong light sources, they are going to have some areas of overlap where one does not dominate. This step is best done after the initial shading work. For example, I was able to blend a little extra green into the contact area with yellow, as I was cleaning up the blue. You don't have to go overboard with this, as you're looking to really push those colors, but a little mixing and overlapping goes a long way. 
3. Have Fun With It
   Sometimes there's just nothing else to do but throw up your hands and yell like you're on a roller coaster. I don't condone this during the actual act of painting, in public or at home. That being said, sometimes we hobbyists get a little too concerned with finding the perfect color, the perfect freehand and so on. Never forget they're toy soldiers, and you'll feel free to let your imagination run wild.

Just writing this post has given me a couple new ideas on where to take painting, and I'm excited to try them out on some upcoming models. Here's to creativity and originality!

Bretonnia Model Range Reboot

I was getting ready to build a new army in late 2010 after finishing the Warriors of Chaos. Knowing how much is required to build an entire army, I examined the possibilities exhaustively. I poured over multiple editions of several army books, looked at source material, considering every angle as I weighed my options. I'm embarrassed to admit there were spreadsheets involved. Plural.

In the end I had narrowed down the list from every fantasy and 40k army to only three. I chose the Space Marines, but the remaining two remained strong contenders until the very end. Bretonnia was one of those silver medalists, and could easily have become the army I did in 2011. However, I knew that there was a fatal flaw in the range that would fight me tooth and nail as I constructed the force. The other two armies didn't have this problem, and so the Knights of the Grail fell by the wayside.

The problem that held back my decision?

The models.

While the Bretonnian army range isn't quite the mess that the Dark Eldar were, they're still in pretty bad shape. Most models are outdated, many barely supported, and there's still way too much metal. They do have the benefit of an all-plastic core; ironically enough the peasants have the best looking models relative to the rest of the range. But Bretonnia isn't about low-born, it's about knights in shining armor. If GW is going to bring this army up to par for an update in 2012 and beyond, they basically need to reboot the heart and soul of this army. And let's not forget the most important argument for new Bretonnians; the massive sales that would come from every single space marine player who wants a piece of the action. Good knights make for good marines, and nothing lines the pockets of corporate like new marine kitbashing options!

Here's what I see on the road to a successful return for the champions of the grail.

Boxes to Keep

• Men-At-Arms
• Peasant Bowmen
• Pegasus Knight

While all of these boxes could use a little freshening up, there are other selections that really need the attention more. GW could easily keep these boxes exactly as they are without the army suffering.

Repackage the Knights

The curent knights errant/knights of the realm box is a fine example of GW's ability to release a box that fits more than one function. We've seen this more recently in several other boxes, including the beautiful hexwraith/black knight combo box. I see this function playing a key role in the reboot.

Knight Errant

Knights Errant / Questing Knights

This box would contain a more back-basics approach to knighthood. Less ornamentation and lots of weapon options are the keys here. Questing and Errant Knights have a lot in common, it's their motivations that set them apart. Where the Errant Knight is inexperienced, the Questing Knight has given up the trappings of nobility to attain a higher goal.


Errants are crazed and headstrong, something which could be conveyed by gaudy imagery, wild faces, and primitive decoration. Questing knights by contrast have anointed armor, great weapons, ornaments to mark them being on a holy mission. It's just like the difference between Blood Claws and Grey Hunters from the Space Wolves; one is all attitude, the other stoic determination.

Knight of the Realm

Knights of the Realm / Grail Knights

Speaking of the Space Wolves, GW needs to take a page from their own playbook with this new kit. The Wolf Pack box was overflowing with options, and if GW is going to issue a box that is literally required in every Bretonnian army, it needs that level of variety.

As for the Grail Knights, the designers have quite the task on their hands. I believe this is where a multi-purpose box of this nature would really shine. Giving the hobbyist the ability to dress the knight to the appropriate level would not only result in a metric ton of customized knights, but the usefulness would stretch deep into the range as a whole. Perhaps a Knight Errant unit champion needs an ornamented shield, or a Pegasus knight could use a more intricate lance; this is where you would find those solutions.

And as long as we're completely revamping the knights, I would personally like it if GW moved away from the hood-ornament helmet approach. All of these knights have helmets that intrinsically linked to a spirit-animal, go full tilt and make some amazing designs that really speak to the source of the inspiration, rather than a bolted-on afterthought.

No more hood-ornament helms GW; you're better than that.

Field artillery box

This is an opportunity not only for Bretonnia, but Warhammer Fantasy in general. There's always talk of castles and siege warfare, but up to now there has been little-to-no model support for said weaponry. GW could do something really cool by bringing transforming the Trebuchet into an expandable plastic kit. By offering a modular timber-based frame and a number of interchangeable options,  they could not cover not only the trebuchet, but ballista, catapult, and battering ram with one box. A box like that would have massive appeal to the Warhammer audience, not just Bretonnian players.

Questing Knight

Mounted Yeomen

Bretonnia is the undisputed master of cavalry, no doubt about it. But when is it too much? If you count Pegasus Knights, there are already five mounted units of Bretonnians; do we really need six? It would be nice to see these guys bought up to speed in a box similar to the Chaos Mounted Marauders, but only that. The focus of Warhammer has always been that having a horse/cold one/whatever is a mark of status, not necessarily so with these guys. They definitely have their place, but if GW only has so much resources to commit to a reboot, I wouldn't want these guys taking away from the real focus of the army.

Grail Reliquae Bearers

I see these guys very much like the empire flagellants, only a bid more morbid. At the very least it would be nice to see this bought into finecast, but really, there are more important models to consider...

Grail Knight

Bretonnian Hero/Lord

With the King, Green Knight, and the Fey Enchantress all in finecast, GW is at a bit of a crossroads with the people in charge of the proceedings. Looking at what has been done with the empire hqs, it would be great to see a combined plastic box for Damsels on foot and horseback.

More importantly, in an army as rich in heraldry as Bretonnia, an instant best seller would be a plastic lord box like we've seen from the Empire, High Elves, and Orcs. Then we could finally get our hands on a proper plastic Bretonnian BSB.

Conclusion
Options, options, options. When you're mustering a war-host of this caliber, you want them to look their best. Armies are a huge commitment of time and money; it's GW's job to make sure it's worth it for us to invest. With intelligent box redesign, modular kits, and plenty of plastic, Games Workshop can make 2012/2013 a year to remember for the champions of the Grail. 

Pegasus Knight

This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

I've always had a fascination with knights. If you look at the six armies I've painted, only one of them hasn't been knights or space knights. I never had the conviction to paint en entire Bretonnian army (more on that next week), but that didn't stop my picking up a model from time to time. This Pegasus Knight stood patiently by for many months as I worked on other projects, and now it was time he receive his dues.

The first order of business was to ensure that the knight was properly pimped out. I did some research into what other people have done with this model in the past, and one of the recurring themes was a more impressive lance. This only makes sense, a Bretonnian Pegasus Knight is pretty much the pinnacle of ostentatiousness. The only thing more showy that a armor clad knight on a flying horse is one with a bigger flag!

I scrounged through my fantasy bits and came up with just the pieces I needed: a unit banner from an old Empire state trooper and the lance from a High Elf prince. The flag was second-hand and in pretty rough shape. Thankfully it had been soaking in simple green for the better part of two years. The layers and layers of paint had finally come free, leaving me to concentrate on the liberal glue that had been used to secure it to the pole.

Something good to note here: it pays to have bits for the game system you're working on. Not only do the pieces fit stylistically with each other, but it eliminates a lot of problems in terms of fitting. Despite the fact that I was pulling from 3 separate army ranges, the fact that they were all GW meant that all the pole diameters and join locations were already consistent.

After everything was cleaned up, I drilled all three pieces for pins. This was a time consuming and delicate process, but there was no way I would realistically rely on super glue of any caliber to hold a join that fragile. Once everything was pinned, glued, and primed, it looked like it had been cast that way.

Micro-Lesson: Freehanding
Freehanding is an all or nothing gamble that will either make your model look like gold or garbage. My suggestion is to start simple with some script that no one expects to be able to read. It will give you a good foundation and let you experiment. A great trick is to prime some left-over frames from your plastic sprues and use the long flat surfaces to get some experience. But when it comes down to the real deal, I'd like to propose a new way of thinking about how you paint those impossibly small details.

Picture your mind as the world's most impressive juggler. Every single thing you do all day every day is like a bowling pin being thrown to this guy/gal. The more you're doing at once, the more pins your brain has to juggle. Everything from breathing to walking to thinking about stuff to talking to chewing gum; it's all stuff your brain has to handle.

It gets worse.

Not only does any activity add pins, you end up having to add extra pins for a skill. Watch a competition of any sort, the competitors are most likely in a quiet, secluded space with little or no intereference from the outside world. Watch the face of a gymnast during the olympics; that is the face of someone who has committed every single pin they can to whatever act they are performing. So what does this have to do with freehanding toy soldiers?

Everything.

First off, you need a plan. Sketch your image out a couple times to make sure you're happy with it and get some practice in. Make sure your space is at whatever volume level you can best ignore (SimplyNoise with a pair of headphones is perfect for this). Do everything you can to make sure that you won't be interrupted, during whatever time of day you usually do your best thinking or when your the most relaxed.

Now lets talk physical. Just like sudden noises and sights will distract you, so too will having to control your body. Even the act of sitting requires core activation and some amount of motor control. With this in mind, I've begun laying down on the floor, completely removing my core and legs from the equation. I only had to move my lower arms while my mind stayed focus, allowing me to execute complex freehand designs with relative ease.

This has been one of my favorite models to paint in the challenge so far. I was so happy with this model that I couldn't possibly let it go to waste just sitting on my shelf. Thankfully, I knew someone who could make good use of it...

The Archives: Baal Predator

I painted this Blood Angel Baal in 2010 for a competition on BoLS. I didn't win but I had a blast working on it.