Vestal almost done

Finished her swords today and put some basing on. I might go back and smooth out some of the highlights, but for the most part she's done.

Finished...something...

I worked on the vestal today; she's below the greens.

Starting out with my sculpting practice dummy, who I did finish today. Sadly, I'm not real happy with how the sack turned out. So, I put together another armature and will try another one.

Got the vestal's armor done, gave her eyebrows, and put a base coat on the swords. She'll be done in just  few more sessions.

And, next we have Maria, and then Astrid. I'm thinking I'd like something to work on that I'll be able to buzz through quickly, to try to get some momentum going. I like modern minis for quick jobs because they tend not to have much in the way of fiddly bits. No armor, no swords, no belt full of random stuff. There are exceptions, of course, but both these ladies are pretty minimal. The bit of green stuff on Maria's boot is where I had to do a bit of repair after drilling a hold for the pins. The drill slipped off center a bit, and the pin ended up sitting exposed. Similar problem on Astrid's right boot, the drill just started to come up through. I've put some clear sealer on there to even out the surface.

I may only finish one of these ladies now, because I really, really need to get to work on my game figures (game date is April 4) and whatever I'm going to take for judging at ReaperCon (end of April). But to have any chance of finishing those things on time, I have to get some momentum going.

Armor Highlight 1

It took a while, but I put the first round of highlights on the vestal's armor.I think a lot of the time was spent futzing with where exactly the highlights should go, especially since for her lots of it is in shadow. Just realized I forgot to so her eyebrows while I was doing the hair, too. Have to put those on next time. Also got a blob of green on her right cheek that I'm going to have to try to clean up.

Quick update

I had good intentions for what I was going to get done today...but then I got distracted doing some straightening up in my work space. Yes, it does still look like kind of a mess, but it's way better than it was. I had a collection of random cardboard boxes and plastic containers laying around, and now at least things are stacked a little more neatly, and I won't have to do as much digging for basing supplies. They've all been moved into that white stack of plastic cases.

I did get a little done on the vestal, just finishing the base coat on her armor and lining it a bit.

Odds and Ends

So, trying to get some of the vast line of  'in progress' stuff I have finished. (Which means yes, more naked vestal pictures at the end).

So for starters, I put the bottom stick on the practice dummy I've been sculpting. So far, so good. Well, the top bit is thicker than the bottom bit, which isn't so good. But maybe I can hide that later.

Since I had plenty of green stuff left, I used it to fill some gaps in this guy, who I might use in my upcoming game. He looks scary, right?

Finished up the hair on the female marine. Not spectacular, but good enough for this.

And, the vestal. I finished her hair and put a first coat on her armor. The armor needs a couple more layers to make a smooth, solid base, which is why it looks a little funny. The hair, I shaded with purple, and took the highlights up to yellow. It looks more stark in the pictures than it does in person. It's a little over the top even in person, but then, so is she, and I'm liking the look for her. Hmm...looks like I need to clean up the lining a bit in a couple spots, too.

Hair and Pants

Today was Paint Day, so everybody got packed up for a road trip. Didn't get a ton done, but some. I worked on the vestal today, so there will be naked figure pictures below.

First, hair on the female marine. It's not done; I spent a while fussing with it, then decided I wanted to use some stuff I hadn't brought with me to finish it off. I'm going to put on a dark glaze to pick out some strands and put in some shadows, smooth the highlight transitions (that's the part that takes a lot of fussing, and that I spent a lot of time on today and ended up redoing), and put a last bright highlight on.

As you can see, I also did her pants. All the marines' pants, actually. I was debating what color to use, then went back and looked at some N7 armor pictures, and they use black for the joins between the armor plates. So, black it is.

And, the vestal. I did a base coat and shadows of her hair. For the shadows, I mixed purple into the base color for the hair.

Hair and face

Worked on the vestal today, so there's naked figure pictures below.

Base coated the hair on the one marine that has it.

And, did highlights on the vestal's skin and did the detailing on her face. She definitely looks better at a bit of a distance than she does in close-ups.

Marines

I've spent the last couple days getting my new laptop set up (hint: avoid Windows 8 if you can), but I did get in a little painting last night. Shaded the marines' faces with a little flesh wash, then drybrushed on some highlights, then did their eyes. Kinda funny-looking now. Hopefully once they get some more color it'll be better.

Variety

Alright, after a while away...I really need to get back to it. I have some things I need to get done by a deadline.

There are blood vestal pictures at the bottom of this post.

First...Marines. These are from Reaper Bones I, and they're going to be PCs in a Savage Worlds game I'll be running the first weekend in April. They're going to be quick jobs, table top quality only. So far, I have learned that it's time to retire my old Ral Partha flesh paint. I've had it since I started painting, and it's been a great color for low effort caucasian skin. This stuff  followed by a GW flesh wash, and you're good to go. Sadly, the paint has now gotten gritty, so it won't make a smooth base coat anymore.

I've also started a piece I'm doing for a friend. This is Stillwater, Zombie Survivor. I'm using the RMS Bronzed Skin Triad as a starting point for his skin.

And lastly, I went back and re-lined the blood vestal with a darker color. One of the comments I've been getting on the vestals is that they need darker lining between the skin and the armor. So, here's an attempt along those lines. I think I missed the area on the back of her left leg, though, so I'll have to go back to that. Also need to do a fair bit of clean up.