Wood Elf - Leggings, Bracers, Tunic

 I got in a little work on the elf today. Finished her leggings and bracers, and got a base coat on her tunic. I'm using some different browns than I usually use, just for grins.

Wood Elf - Hair, Antlers, Pants, Bracers

 I continued on the wood elf today. I might end up just working through on her until she's done. 

Anyway, I shaded and highlighted her hair, painted her antlers, and then started base coating her pants. Once I started that, I decided to do her bracers the same color.

Wood Elf, Jack - Skin

I got started on base coats on Jack and the elf today. I had put some thought into what Jack's color scheme would be like, and then decided to use the same skin and hair colors on the elf just so I wouldn't have to get out different paints. Then, after base coating the skin on both, I ended up finishing the skin and face on the elf, and starting the hair. It did help verify that those two colors would work together, but mostly I just felt like continuing on the elf.

Oh yeah, I also put an undercoat on the basing. This was to help make sure all the cracks and crevasses are painted in dark. I'll go back over it with gray.

Looks like she's also one of those that doesn't want to photograph well. Boo!

I got a base coat on Jack's skin - same base as on the elf. That was it for him, though.

Priming

Today I got both Jack and the elf primed, and Jack attached to his flat base. They don't look terribly different, but next time they should be ready for paint.

I used the airbrush to prime both of these. I learned something priming the elf: If you're going to airbrush prime with this kind of base, prime the base and figure separately. The natural materials on the base suck up primer, and it seems like you need to be generous with it. That is not the case for the figure. As a result, her legs and boots have a heavier coat of primer than they need. I don't think I lost any detail, but it's not the best. Also, I got rough spots on the plastic base  where I was holding it while priming that I'll probably want to clean up.

Jack was primed pretty smoothly, I think. I haven't noticed any problems yet, anyway. Then I glued him on to the base.

Now I'm just wondering why so many figures have their heads tilted down. :p

Wood Elf: Base

 I was still doing prep work on those two next projects today. I went over rough spots with some gloss sealer to smooth things out; I'm hopeful that it will be enough to smooth the 3D printer lines on the elf. I also did prep work on the bases. I sealed the flat base for the bust after inking it black yesterday. I also built up the woodsy base for the elf. Here's how that looks:

Tomorrow I'll prime them all and hopefully glue the bust to its platform. Then, they'll be ready for paint Wednesday.

Next Projects

 I just wrapped up a commission piece, so now I'm back to my own projects. Here's what I'm starting next.

This is Mike the Jack from Kimera Models. I'm going to call him Jack, as he looks more like a Jack than a Mike to me. The hole in his teeth is on purpose; he has a cigarette that goes there. He's also got some feathers for his hat that will get painted separately and then attached. It's a lovely cast. Very little cleanup and patching required. 

He's got a built in plinth, but it's a wee narrow thing. I'm going to attach him to a wider but thin base to help make sure he stays standing up.

Here's another one:

This figure is from the Atlantis Minitatures kickstarted which is fulfilling now. I just got mine, so I picked one to paint up and see how it goes. I have concerns as it looks like they didn't clean up the strata lines from the 3D print master before they cast it. This particular one shows the lines pretty obviously, so I want to see how it goes. 

Next will be to prime both of them and get their bases sorted. I already talked about what I'm doing with Jack; the elf will need a suitably woodsy base.

2!

 I finished up the tower today, getting it all painted. Here's the result.

It's flawed, for sure. I might make another to see if I can improve some of the problem areas. But in the meantime, I'm pretty happy with it.