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This is a model I painted for the Seventh Visions in Color event. It was sculpted specifically for the event by Sandra Garrity and cast by Reaper. The figure will never be released for general sale in this form.

I had always missed out on previous VIC events due to bad timing, and I was determined to make a showing in this one. As it was, I was still five days late in submitting this figure to the event. At least I got it done in time for the Kubla-Con painting contest, which was nice because it gave me something to enter in the fantasy category (a genre I don't paint very often).

The figure that you see here has been removed from its original cast base and given an entirely new custom sculpted base. The paints are almost entirely Vallejo brand paints, and every figure I paint with them makes me love Vallejo more.

I am very happy with how the light beige and purple colors came out. The flesh is ok, but could have used a little more definition. I made the eye brows entirely too large and prominent, and I really wish I had shaded the bridge of the nose some.

The things I am not happy with include the trim on the boots. I was trying for a NMM gold effect, but have not done a NMM gold before, and totally failed here. It doesn't look bad, but doesn't look at all like what I was trying for, and does not contrast enough with the beige. Also, while the crystals look ok, I had wanted to do something more elaborate with them, but ran out of time. But to finish on a positive note, I am extremely please with the blue runes on the back of the cloak. They have a glow to them that came out very well and works nicely with the purple (some say surprisingly so). The effect is even better than any of the photos show.

In the end, I am actually very happy with this figure, even though there is still plenty of room for improvement, and there is a lot I wanted to do, but did not have time for. But next time...


If you want to see the entire Visions in Color event gallery, please visit the ViC host-site at: http://miniature-painting.net/

You can also see some larger photos with these links:
Image #1
Image #2
Image #3

Year painted: 2002

Winner:

  • 3rd PLACE FANTASY SINGLE MINIATURE - 2002 KUBLA-CON
Here, you can see the figure as I recieved it. Both arms were seperate pieces, and the base was cast on. The base was also too small to properly support the figure, so I knew immediately that I would have to rebase it. The figure is actually big even for the "Heroic" scale normally used by Reaper, running at somewhere around 32-35mm scale.
I have now removed the base from the figure. I mostly clipped the bulk of it away, and then filed the remaining area beneath the feet with a course file. For strength, I have also drilled holes into the arms and the body where the arms attach and inserted brass pins. These pins will add a lot to the structural integrety to the finished figure. For the new base, I wanted enough space to be scenic, but still be managable enough to make the figure a gaming piece if desired, so I went with a GW 40mm Round Base.
I would have normally used Green Stuff for the base, but I bought some Blue-White putty to compare the working properties of the two, so I decided to use that here instead. You can see the whole I have drilled in the base of the figure for later moutning, and the brass rod in the base that the figure will be mounted on. In the background, you can see bits of Brown/Aluminum putty that have stuck to lengths of brass wire. I then stuck the bits of wire into the foam to let the pieces harden.
Now that the base has hardened, I mounted the figure to the base. I then added some more Green Stuff to the rock base to fill in the gaps between the figure and the base. The bits of Brown Stuff (Brown/Aluminum) that I mentioned above, I have now filed down into pointed crystaline shapes. If I was to do this again, I would have used a 50/50 Green Stuff / Milliput blend, but live and learn, eh? These crystal shapes were then inserted into the rock base. The mushroom shapes were created by making a half-ball shape out of green stuff and then mounting the half-ball on a short thick brass wire after it was hardened.
Here you can see the figure being painted. I have finished the purple and the flesh. The future beige areas have been base-coated in dark yellow-brown color.
And here the beige has been painted. At this point, the major colors are all done, and I can start on doing all of the detail bits and the base.