Black Knight Chess Piece 2

Just finished the second Knight for the Black team. I think the gold on this model turned out more realistic than the previous night. I allowed more of the orange to show and I used brown with less red in it for the darkest shadows. Black is left in the deepest shadows and white glints are added to wherever I think they would be appropriated.
The GW Foundation paint experiment I mentioned from last post was useful. Blending with "bubonic brown" (normal acrylic), instead of "Iyandan Yellow" (foundation line) did create a nicer fade. Therefore, I will be avoiding foundation paints for all layered blends unless I see strong evidence to prove that it is superior.
Next up is the White Pawns--which happen to be human knights on foot. I plan to paint several at a time, so it's unlikely they've been done by next weekend.

Black Knight Chess Piece 1

Just finished the first of two skeleton centaurs to represent the Knights on the Black team of the chess board. I love this model but I'm disappointed with my paint job even though I can't pinpoint a specific reason. I think the bones turned out well. The NMM on the armor is OK. It may be the gold NMM that I don't like...but I'm not sure if I don't like the color of it, or it just doesn't fit well on this model (especially on the helmet).
Even though the bones turned out well, I'm concerned about using GW foundation paints for blending. They have this strange phenomenon of drying more opaque then they were applied. Although this is great for creating a base coat, it seems to ruin a well layered blend. On the next model, I will try using the GW "Tau Sept Ocre" as the base but do all the highlighting with regular (non-Foundation) paints to test for differences.

High Elf Spearman With Shield

Got the shield done, figured I would post it. Sorry the pics aren't has good Kelly has the good camera tonight.

High Elf Spearman Prototype

Well I finally got around to painting my first High Elf. I have decided to go with a red based scheme for this army. The following pictures are my test subject for this color scheme. This guy will eventually have shield when completed but it was easier to paint the body without it. Let me know what you think.

Bishop Chess Piece 2

I just finished the second Confrontation mini to represent one of my "white" Bishop chess pieces. Due to the dull reds and whites from last week's Bishop model, I put a bit more attention into these colors. For the white, I spent several additional layers blending up from light brown to white and let the white fall on more of the surface than just the highest raised portions. The highlight for the last bishop model used the GW foundation with varying degrees of bleach bone mixed in and it ended up looking faded. This model used reds with increasing amounts of orange mixed in on the highlights. It creates a much bolder look that I like. Unfortunately, this model sticks out a bit when compared to his earlier-painted team mates.

Bishop Chess Piece

On the heels of 'Ard Boyz and the Necro, I have decided to take a bit of time off from playing and just focus on painting. To that end, I've returned to my Confrontation Chess Set project. Beginning nearly 9 years ago, I had decided to paint a chess set using various minatures from the Confrontation minatures line. The "white" side would be composeded of on-foot knights for pawns, mounted knights for knights, wizards for bishops, and minotaurs for castles. The "black" side would use sketons for pawns, skeleton centaurs for knights, winged wraiths for bishops, and werewolves for castles. The pic below is my most recent addition and the first bishop model. This model was a refreshing change from the scifi models I have been painting for the past two year as there were no armor plates and not a single 'hardline' to be made. I also welcomed the chance to practice my OSL skills again using the candle on the top of the stack of books. I think it turned out pretty good with a couple of areas for improvement. The red looks a bit dull to me and the off-white sash is not white enough. Bishop number two is on the paiting stick now and I'll try to correct the oversights with this one.

Necro 2009 Photos

Link to the Necro Photos.