Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Kingdom Death: Monster Bases

The time has finally come. People are actually getting their Kingdom Death: Monster base games. Yes, it has been an extremely delayed kickstarter, but in the end, it has delivered a game that is really fantastic.

 And the miniatures are wonderful. I didn't actually get in on the Kickstarter (I've played the game with a friend of mine, and now I'm staring at that $400 retail price tag and doing the math).

 However, I did get a commission to create bases for the monsters that more closely match the plane of faces (like the scenic bases created for the survivors).

 These are to be painted by my client, so what you see here is just the sculpture- made from a mixture of Apoxie sculpt and green stuff:

 


- One of the few details my client asked for specifically was to have a face spewing blood out of its mouth for the Butcher.

 
And some places for lava.

 


Monday, October 26, 2015

Fantasy Videogame Cake Topper

Here's a topper that I was able to create a little while ago. The characters are very similar to ones I've done before, but I really liked creating these elves in a back to back-ready for combat pose.

 Here they are:

  Videogame Cake Topper

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Arena Rex Aquila

The field for terrific miniatures has been opening up quite a bit. More than ever, I feel spoiled for choice when I want to paint something fantastic. This is due in part to things like Kickstarter, and in part due to some of the industry's best sculptors and artists getting to really go wild.

 One of the newer lines of fabulous miniatures comes from Red Republic Games in the form of Arena Rex. They figure that with a small enough scale game, you can make some of those terrific minis cast in fine resin that are normally reserved only for collectors.

 And the quality of their sculpting is phenomenal. Sebastian Archer really nailed this sculpt, and the resin cast kept the detail like fine resin does.

 So here he is- painted for a client who wanted him looking terrific for the arena:

  Aquila arena rex

Aquila Arena Rex shield view

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Zombie Survivor Wedding Cake Toppers

Here are a few sets of brides and grooms who have been battling the zombie horde. I love how each of their personalities gets to come out in the toppers.

 



 

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Siege of the Citadel is Coming Back

The first miniatures game I ever got into was Space Crusade- a joint venture of Games Workshop and Milton Bradley that worked as a sort of gateway into the world of miniatures gaming.

 The early '90s were a flourishing time for these kinds of miniatures board games, with things like Heroquest, Dragonstrike and Siege of the Citadel acting as gateways into Warhammer, Dungeons and Dragons and Mutant Chronicles.

 For a while, it seemed like the era of the miniatures board game had passed. Then Kickstarter, and other ventures by CMON have brought it into a new heyday. We've got loads of fantastic miniatures board games coming out all the time, and even a double resurrection of Space Hulk.

 Well, the Mutant Chronicles miniatures board game -Siege of the Citadel- is coming back. The game featured an attack on the mutant stronghold by heroes from all of the Mutant Chronicles factions. Like Space Crusade, they're trying to complete their missions while sagotaging one another. This time around the minis will be made by Prodo, and the rules will be updated by a team including Eric Lang (I feel sometimes like he designs every game nowdays).

 The game is slated for a release in October 2016- and we haven't seen any official photos of the new minis or new concepts yet. So, here are a couple of Prodos' interpretations of the heroes that used to be part of the old Siege of the Citadel game:

 

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Geek Cake Topper with Indian Sherwani

I'm always happy when I get to do something for a cake topper that I hadn't thought of before. My clients tend to come up with some of the best ideas.

 In this case, I got to sculpt a groom who was getting married in a terrific Sherwani. He chose for his weapon a traditional sword, while his bride had an elegant weapon from a more civilized era.

 

Thursday, October 8, 2015

It is I, Be Not Afraid

This is my very first foray into religious artwork- so long as we aren't counting Paladins, Clerics, Menite scrutators, avenging angels of destruction, daemons... well, you know- miniatures stuff.


This is a statue by Angela Johnson- it is a replica of a larger than life bronze that she made for the Light of the World Garden at Thanksgiving Point. Overall, I was really taken by the expression she got on him, and I really wanted to make that work in the painting. It isn't all the time that we see a Jesus be so expressive, but I was surprised a little with exactly how much I could change it, even when it was as much a part of the sculpt as it was here.

 Anyway, here he is:

 



Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Cake Toppers with Fandom Weaponry

I started out the cake toppers with clients who clearly wanted Zombie Cake Toppers. They'd all choose their own weapons or props to do battle against the undead.

 A little while later, some of my clients wanted to start using weapons from their favorite books, movies, games, comics or anything else they love.

 Here are a couple of those couples.