What's on My Desk: Big Bang & Twilight Journals

For all of those who have been following KantCon 2013 on Kickstarter, I'm excited to say that it's a go, and that they met their primary goal!  If you're considering contributing, there's still 28 hours left, so you still have an opportunity to contribute to their stretch goals (cool stuff like cook books, dice, mugs, and other gamer gear) and grab some of the perks they're offering.  The success of their Kickstarter is awesome for local hobby and gaming in the Kansas City area, and is really exciting for me.  First, because the model I sculpted for the convention is going into production and second, the Midwest Monster Lab is also going to have booth space at the convention (right next to the Sentinels of the Multiverse guys, which is ridiculously cool) where I'll be showing off some of the models I've posted on the blog over the past year.  I'll also be taking painting, conversion, and modeling commissions at the convention, so if you'd like to drop by and talk about bringing a hobby dream to life, I'd be excited to meet you!  I'm also going to be joined by Jessie Alexander from Sweet Olive Books as we debut our joint venture we're calling "Sweet Monster" painted journals.  

We've got a ton of designs planned for the convention, from popular TV shows like The Big Bang Theory to movies like The Hunger Games and themes like fantasy and classic video game characters there's bound to be something for every gamer girl and nerdy chick.  This week I'm showing off the first three I've finished: one for The Big Theory tv show and two for the Twilight saga.

Let's take a look!

This is one of our Big Bang designs, the show's iconic symbol on a star-field.  It's a fun and simple design that I think is really cool.  Depending on personal color preference, the center neutron, electrons and their orbits can all be customized to colors the buyer desires. 

This is one of my favorites, the cover to the New Moon book, subtle and elegant.  

For those who want to proclaim their love for Edward, Bella, and the whole vampire crew, there's this design.

Jessie and I hand picked the paper for each journal to match its theme, but attendees to the convention will also have the option of building their own journal from our paper palette and any of their favorite fantasy/gamer/sci-fi themes.  

Thanks for stopping by and checking out what's on my desk, if you're at KantCon 2013 be sure to stop by the Monster Lab/Sweet Olive booth!  See you there!

KantCon 2013 Sculpt: Help! the Gnome

Wow, it seems like not too long ago I was writing about the Knight of Vidnuar and the Grular Bludgeoneer I painted, but two weeks have already passed since then.  In that post I talked about how I had to wait five months before I could show off the pics since they were unreleased models by DGS Games.  There's a creepy amount of symmetry between that comment and this post (I'm showing off a sculpt done months ago and just completed a commission that won't debut here until it's released).  Actually, I think that means I've finally made it to the higher leagues of contract painting/sculpting, that done on a release schedule.  And in all honesty, it feels good.

Like I said, this week I'm showing off a sculpt done last December for KantCon 2013.  The commission was for Help! (quite an unorthodox name, I know) the gnome.  He's the guy who assists on raids and dungeon crawls and brings anything you need from his Trusty Trunk or bag-of-holding at the call of, "help!"

Let's take a look at the finished sculpt.  

Help!'s an expressive guy and I love the comical grin he has on his face (maniacal even, if you consider he's holding an explosive).  You may be wondering how Help! came to be...

Once upon a time he was a wire frame, paper-clip in this case. A bit of soldering held him together and readied him for his green stuff body.

I work in the "body part steps" fashion, making body part groups and then then moving on.  I start with the lowest (closest details to the frame) details and then build on top of that.

This was a satisfying landmark in Help!'s creation, one that told me I was on the right track in terms of capturing his character and that his primary body proportions were correct.  I was starting to breathe a little easier.

Help! comes with some cool gear, among which are his 50 inch rope, Bomb! bomb, and bag of holding (satchel).

To make his trunk I cut pieces from a plasticard sheet and fashioned them together in a box shape.  The lid was made by scoring the sheet on one side and then bending it into a curved shape.  The whole thing was filled with green stuff for added stability.

I was most nervous for this step, forming his head and features.  He's at what my fianceé (I proposed this last weekend!) and I called the "old man" stage.

The addition of his hair started to bring him into the "gnome" phase.  I was still sweating it a bit here, unsure if his features would truly turn out the way I wanted them to.

And viola!  His teeth and beard really brought the whole thing home, at this point I sat back and breathed a sigh of relief.  With the deadline looming, I finally felt like he was on his way to being a successful sculpt.

That's it!  There were a few minor modifications (if you could call completely resculpting his left hand minor...) to be made, but at this point he's pretty much done.  I added a few rocks to his basing, put hinges on his trunk, and fleshed out the knuckles on his right hand before splitting his basing in two, separating him from his trunk.

Attendees to the convention and contributors to the KantCon kickstarter will all have a chance to get their very own Help! miniature!  This is the first model I've sculpted for large scale production, and I have to say it's really exciting.  

Those who get their Help! model will have the option to put him and his gear on the same base, or split the two pieces up between two bases (think objective marker) for added gaming opportunities.  I'm pumped to paint my own!

That's it for this week, thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest project here at the Monster Lab!

Remember to drop by KantCon's kickstarter page and contribute to their stretch goals (they've got awesome stuff planned, from cook books to special guests) and congrats to the guys for meeting their primary goal!

As always, happy hobbying and good gaming!

Showcase: Questing Knight of Vidnuar & Grular Bludgeoneer

This week my desk is covered with projects that can't be debuted here until their public release.  I do, however, have some pics of two models I've been itching to show off on the blog.  These are two guys I painted late last year and are being released this month!  I gave you guys a sneak peek at them in that October post (admittedly it was a tiny viewing), but here they are in all their painted glory!

This is the Questing Knight of Vidnuar (lion/leadership aspect) for the Haradel freeband.  He hails from Harcourt County whose colors are light blue and gold.  For this paint I wanted to try my hand at a non-metallic metal on his armor.  It was a good learning experience and I feel I'm starting to get a better grasp at it.

The QKoV's pose is great.  You don't often imagine knights like him stalking around the battlefield, but for him it works, it invokes the imagery of a lion hunting in the tall grass.

The QKoV model has a ton of great details and excellent lines.  It was a true joy to paint.

This is the new alternate sculpt for the Grular Bludgeoneer.  I'm a huge fan of this model.  The bludgeoneer has an awesome sense of motion and his expression is fantastic, you get the feel he's in the heat of the battle and about to lay the smack down!

These models were painted for my good friend and long-time customer Jon C, who helps head things up over at DGS.  I started my career with them by painting Jon's personal models, but now they've officially signed me on as DGS's studio painter!  From here on out I'll be painting the Freeblades masters as they're produced and those models will be used in their publications, packaging, and rule books!  This is a great opportunity and a true honor for me.  I'd like to thank Richard L., Jon, and all the other guys over at DGS for bringing me aboard and allowing me to be a part of such an awesome company.

I'm looking forward to showing off more new Freeblades models as they're released.

Come back next time to see what's being brought to life here at the Monster Lab!

Tiger Eye Journal & Cedar Cove Big Cat Sanctuary

Hi guys, I'm coming to you this week from Snow City, USA (aka Kansas) where we got about a foot of snow in 24 hours.  For everyone in the north that's probably no big deal, but down here we haven't had snowfall like that in years!  It is perfect hobby weather (granted you haven't lost power from down lines) and I'd like to show off another journal painting project I've been working on.

Like the journal I painted for my girlfriend's little sister in January, this is another book handcrafted by Jessie Alexander at Sweet Olive Books.  The journals are of exceptional quality and incredibly elegant, the perfect canvas to a bit of free hand painting!

My girlfriend, Harley, volunteers out at the Cedar Cove Big Cat Sanctuary in Louisburg, KS and has the opportunity to get up close to some truly beautiful animals.  One of her favorites is the tiger Mohan.  Since each tiger has unique facial markings she asked me to paint his on her journal.

It's a very different experience painting onto a flat surface instead of a model, but I like it!  To take the design a step further, I'd like add white tones and more shading.  The idea of its markings in isolation is a cool one, but I think it could use a little more context.

This was a fun experiment and Harley loves her painted journal.  I'm looking forward to doing more!

Mohan

Here's the real Mohan at home in his enclosure at Cedar Cove.

Cedar Cove is located in Louisburg, Kansas, south of Kansas City on Highway 68 and is a great destination for an afternoon with the family, kids, or anyone else who loves giant meat eating carnivores.

Tonka

There's more than Siberian Tigers out at the park, the lions Tonka (pictured above and below) and Shanta call the shelter home too.  Unlike most zoos where the animals are kept behind bullet proof glass, Cedar Cove lets you get a closer look at the lions, at times only a few feet away behind chain-link and hotwire.

(L to R) Shanta &Tonka

Kimar

Kimar is one of the park's three white Bengals and the biggest tiger on the premises.  He loves practicing his hunting skills and will stalk you if you turn your back to him.  Thank goodness for iron bars and steel fencing.

(L to R) Mohan & Rajah

Here's Mohan (left) and his brother Rajah (right) who share a similar facial marking, note the slight differences.  These two have been together since birth and are the only two tigers in the park that enjoy the company of another big cat.  Unlike any of the other tigers, they're the only two who have access to each other's enclosure.  (Their mom doesn't like that they're still nearby and roars at them from time to time to get out of the "house" and leave)

Voodoo

The cats get special treats on holidays like Halloween and Easter, usually taking the form of pumpkins or other large gourds.  Filled with meat and slathered with juices, the cats roll their treats around and have a blast trying to get at the delicious filling (kind of like Zelda and a peanut butter filled Kong toy).

(L to R) Kiowa & Lakota

There are two non-feline residents at the sanctuary (not counting the two diurnal coatis they have as well) the brother-sister duo Lakota and Kiowa.  Interestingly enough, much like Shanta and Tonka the female and male lions, Kiowa is dominant over her brother Lakota.  Kiowa (grey) is seen here with Lakota (white).

Lakota

The wolves are Harley's absolute favorites at the park, partly because she can go into their enclosure without fear of being eaten, and because they're sweet canines.  Much like a dog the wolves will roll over so you can scratch their bellies.  However, the wolves will challenge your dominance, and when that happens you have to assert your authority or things can get ugly.

Harley & Lakota

Obviously Harley has bonded well with the wolves!

  

For more pictures of the animals check out Cedar Cove's facebook page and be sure to pay them a visit if you're in town!

Thanks for stopping in this week, come back next week to see what I'm working on at the Monster Lab!

Showcase: Driago and Grey Knight Terminators

The Grey Knights are unleashed!  This was a commission done at the level 2 (showcase) quality level of painting.  Of the three levels I offer, level 1 = table top quality and level 3 = competition quality, this one gives the customer the best bang for their buck.  Each Grey Knight terminator got a custom urban rubble base that was made from the cities of death boxed set and their armor/weapons were painted with the highest attention to detail.

Let's take a look at the finished product!

Each falchion was painted with an edge glow on its blade and a runner of electricity on each side.  A light glow effect was also painted on the sword quillions to further the look that the blade is glowing.  Since one of this termi's falchions is so close to his helmet a light glow effect was painted there as well.

The main color palette was blue/silver armor, burnished copper and gold accents, and burgundy red contrasting points.

In true Grey Knight fashion, each termi was given a name and had it on their right shoulder pad.  Though it is partially covered by the purity seals, this guy's name is Leonatus.

Lord Driago is a badass, as is evident from the fiction he was given in Codex Grey Knights (how couldn't he be when he can stomp around the immaterium setting afire Nurgle's garden, shattering the impossible city, and slaying demons like he was taking his tea?).  Still, I wanted him to gel with the aesthetics of the squad by keeping the same color palette, but still wanted him to differentiate on the table top.  I mentioned last week that I'd do this by giving him a different colored blade.  It's a simple thing, but I think it works, and since it is a long sword and not a falchion it makes sense it would be a different color.

Driago's tiled base really stands out here, where you can get a good look at the alternating red and black check pattern.

I wanted to use a wide variety of urban themed rubble pieces across the squad.  Driago's base was definitely the "pipe" base as it has five different pipes peeking out around the side.

Like the falchions, Driago's force sword has an energy current running up the blade.

Basing with an urban theme gave me an opportunity to try different techniques I don't use often when painting my own Eldar and demons, specifically rust effects.  I made a simple rust pattern by stippling on Mournfang Brown (it already has a red tint) and a lighter stipple of Khorne Red.  I lightly hit the edges around the rust with Administratum Grey to give a slight impression that the rust had eating into the metal and wasn't simply sitting on top.

For more on weathering, I'd highly recommend checking out Cameron's blog Rust and the City, he does fantastic work there and has many great tutorials.  His blog is definitely one I enjoy going back to and checking in on each week.

Besides cities of death pieces, the basing is made from a mishmash of odds and ends I pulled out of my basing box.  In this pic we can see a plaster cast arch and a plastic bit off of the Imperial Guard chimera sprue.  Medium and small Woodlands Scenic ballast finished off the base.

Of course the squad's justicar received the coolest of the accessory bitz from the termi sprue, included are his sword and book banner and extra optics helmet.  I think the helmet I used for this model was meant for a member of the squad who would carry a heavy weapon, but it works just as well to denote the veteran status of the justicar and the probably eye/head injury he suffered in his long years of service.

I wanted each base to look realistic in little ways and one of those efforts was to pin brass pinning rods in as "rebar."  Often, exposed rebar has pieces of concrete and stone still attached to it, so I was sure to glue a few bits of rock and ballast to the exposed portions on this base.

That same idea used on the justicar's base was taken to the next level with the standard bearer, where the rebar is still struggling to hold the fractured pieces of his base together.  Each of the three tiled sections are pinned into the main vent section by a brass rod.

The banner was done in the same silvers, golds, and brass tones I used for the armor in order to save time, but I think they ended up looking great anyway.  The grey knight on the banner was washed in blue to mirror their armor whereas the ribbon above him was washed in black to be a more neutral silver.  Agrax Earthshade washed all the brass and gold portions.  You might have noticed that the GK is slaying a golden demon, a little tongue-in-cheek from the artist.

This is by far my favorite of the Grey Knight terminators, I absolutely love his pose, it's incredibly light for an eight-foot-tall super human in tactical dreadnought armor!  I had a lot of fun with his basing as well, adding rust to the I-beam he's perched on and modeling the splintered remnants of a collapsed building around him. His basing is the best of the group in my opinion and really captures the jagged nature of a building's collapse.

All the writing done on banners and purity seals was done with a 2:1 mix of Abbadon Black and Khorne Red.  The slight hint on red for the lettering gives it an appropriate color variation for small text that has aged a bit on antiqued parchment.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my work, come back next time to see what else I'm working on here at the Monster Lab!