In A Forest Darkly – One and a Half Heroes

At long last I decided to upgrade my camera equipment from a Smartphone to a proper mirrorless setup. I really liked my old Canon Powershot until it finally gave up. After a proper send off and a few years without a dedicated camera, I first looked again at Canon. Long story short, after many days and reading copious amounts of reviews, I went for Fujifilm instead. The X-T3 is a beast. Uncropped 4k video recording (yes, I hope there will be video tutorials in the future) and a really nice and versatile kit objective make this a nice allrounder. In the future more lenses can add even more versatility.

I still lack a proper tripod and lighting setup, but I wanted to take some scenic test shots of Nienna and Lem.

Camera settings: ISO 160, F-10, 0.63s exposure.

Light: Late afternoon daylight close to a window (white card to bounce light back).

Background: Hand-drawn pastel background.

To mix it up a tad I will post scenic shots of old and new minis between longer articles. The demands of work, toddlers and life in general limit my hobby time, but a few cool shots here and there I can always squeeze in. Enjoy and feel free to comment below if you have praise, suggestions or constructive criticism in terms of scene arrangement, settings etc.

A ghost in the attic – Experimenting with object source lighting

I always shied away from Object Source Lighting effects (or short OSL). The idea is that you paint a light source and the light it casts on surfaces. As you can imagine, it ain’t easy to do that on a miniature. I decided to give it finally a try. Did I succeed? You will be the judge.

A bard’s Tale – Lem the Halfling

This week we look at an Iconic character in the Pathfinder campaign setting: Lem, the Halfling bard. His childhood was cruel, as he was born an indentured servant and only through cunning and luck was he able to flee and forge his own path in the world. An interesting backstory, to a nicely sculpted miniature. The focus this week is on painting faces and brocade patterns. So come along and listen to some sweet flute tunes.

Leather face – Leisynn to Lich Conversion

This weeks showcase features leathery skin, the pungent smell of decay and everlasting hatred. My, what a menu! We take the fairly funky Reaper sculpt Leisynn Mercenary Mage and convert it to an ancient Lich. I will also focus on how to paint illuminated book pages. So keep your smelling salts at the ready and descent into the lair of the Lich.

Snip! Snap! Dragon! – The dreaded Behir

This week we won’t talk about flaming raisins or dangerous games for children, instead we focus on Reaper’s version of an old D&D favourite: the dreaded Behir.

For such a creature a scenic base is a must, so we will also look at making naturalistic beech trees and a lake shore. Grab a raisin – if you dare – and we shall start.

Don’t call me knife ear – Elladan Elf Ranger

Another Monday, another showcase. As promised this week a good friend and long time companion of Elliwyn enters the stage: Elladan Elf Ranger by Reaper Miniatures. This week’s focus are worn leather effects.

Bravery comes in all sizes – Elliwyn Heatherlark

Another week, another showcase. This time Elliwyn Heatherlark, a female gnomish fighter by Reaper Miniatures, but with a twist: She got some serious problems with human-headed snakes. So read on to learn how a Zombie turns into a Nure-onna.

Fiery Balls – Chaos Toad Sorcerer

You just want to go for a walk in the swamps, and guess what? It suddenly rains fiery balls! Joke’s on you, foolish adventurer! This is Bufo territory. You knew there was something odd about the little shrunken heads hanging in the trees. Well, lesson learned and that new look sans eyebrows and hair really suits you!

This weeks showcase features Reaper Miniatures Chaos Toad Sorcerer cast in Bones Black material! Oh my! But fear not, that stuff is actually really good. I also painted this chap using exclusively my new set of Kimera colours. So you get a miniature, material and paint review in one! Oh, naturally I will also tell you all about the paint job and that sickly green swamp base he is standing on.

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They hunger – Vampire Thrall

This week’s showcase features a slightly converted Mantic Ghoul. A head-swap made him into a vampire thrall. He also looks a bit like edgy Yoda in his teenage years, but that is incidental. So buckle up and I give you some pointers regarding the conversion, paintjob and basing.

Cleave him to the brisket! – Gruff Grimecleaver

Avast ye you lily-livered landlubbers! This week’s showcase features Gruff Grimecleaver sculpted by Jason Wiebe. Pirate dwarves are few and far between, but this one was definitely fun to paint. I will elaborate a bit on the base, as I carved the ship planks texture right into a plastic base. After all I am no son of a biscuit eater! Naturally paints used will be covered, too, and a simple technique to depict smoke plumes. Savvy? – Then all hands hoay!