This week, I decided I wanted a small break from my ongoing projects to work on something completely different- different color palette, different basing style, different subject matter entirely. In the past, this has usually meant turning to something evil- my normal slant is towards the good guys, so every once in a while, I break out of these types of ruts by painting up something for the good guys to fight against. In keeping with my recent Jes Goodwin museum curating, I turned to the leadpile and pulled out a pile of delicious old Skaven models.
I wanted to do a little experimenting with desaturating the colors on the robes, so thanks to a suggestion from Asslessman (Cheers, JB!), I mixed varying shades of grey into the primary colors for highlighting. I think it worked better with the green and yellow than it did the blue and red, but I am certainly excited to learn a new color idea. I really like the effect it has on fabric surfaces- quite realistic.
The bases are random hunks of cork, covered with grit and baking soda, and then painted & drybrushed. I finished them with static grass added along with subtle washes of blue and purple ink. All credit for this basing style goes to Delaney King (Cheers, D!). Not the last time you'll read those words in these pages. Since these rats are destined to be participants in Delaney's Skulldred game, I'm hoping she doesn't mind my shameless imitation too much.
I remember reading the original Skaven army book the first year I started in the hobby and being very inspired by Andy Chambers' description of their personality- always scheming and backstabbing one another. I don't know if it got phased out of their fluff over the years, but Chambers' original Skaven even had a mechanism in place for underlings killing off the leaders of the race and then assuming their position, inevitably to be re-deposed themselves. Their reliance on drug-induced sorcery mixed with steampunk-ish technology always hearkened back to one of my favorite 80's animated films, The Secret of NIMH.
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| Mrs. Frisby almost gets skewered by a pre-Goodwin Stormvermin |
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| If Nicodemus wasn't inspiration for the Grey Seers, I'll eat a wheel o' brie. |
Hope you are well, wherever you might be.
The bases look great. King's Miniatures is a great source of inspiration. I've lifted an idea or two from there myself.
ReplyDeleteKing's Minis is almost solely responsible for re-framing my entire view of the hobby. Before I drooled over Delaney's retrotastic miniatures for the first time, I was hopelessly trapped in an addiction to GW plasticrack minis. Coincidentally, it was one of her early Skaven models that made me think for the first time "you know, I could get a few of those for not very much money. . . just to see." Inspiring to say the least.
DeleteSplendid models and there are models to get inspiration form than Delaney King's !
ReplyDeleteThe desaturation works quite well I think, did you start from a desaturated base colour too or did you just add grey to highlights? While the yellow and green do have a nice fabric texture, I love the vibrtaion in the red and blue which must look excellent at tabletop distance.
Great stuff as always.
Now that you mention it, JB, I did de-saturate the base color on the green and yellow, but not the red, purple, or blue. . . that would explain the different results. Goodness, how I wish I could take a legitimate course in color theory. There is so much to learn! Thanks again for the tips- you rule.
DeleteLove me some olde Skaven-types. In a few months I intend to start collecting in earnest a small force for skirmishing/crawling. As usual, very tidy work indeed and those King-inspired bases really add something to the presentation too.
ReplyDeleteThanks much, Gaz. I'd love to see your take on the ratmen. Delaney's basing technique is another one of those things that is such an easy tough to do, but brings a lot to the finished miniature. I am fighting hard not to launch into a full-fledged skaven force right now because of these minis.
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