SKAVEN PLAGUE LORD

utilising the same method as previous for painting up this guy i decided to give the same methods a whirl on a model that has been sitting in my pile for a while.

when i tend to buy all my paint via mail order i normally chuck a random miniature in there for good measure...of course I've been painting up Skaven for a while now. so seems perfect I drop a character into the mix. not much to add to this but i wanted to try the whole thin washes approach again. going for a grimy approach to this character as it clearly fits the theme. and also helping to me grow with this painting style.

this model itself must be a cast off from the finecast days because the detailing on it is just crazy, making it very paintable indeed. however I'm trialling new techniques. so fully expect a little hit and miss.

first up the obligatory cinematic shot!

now these finecast models are so detailed it actually makes them hard to paint in a certain sense. there are little details i just couldn't see with the human eye and it wasn't until i actually took these pictures that the cracks started to show. but again. trial and error right?

also another thing i've come to realise...i am due a new camera. this one has served me well over the last few years but I'm starting to notice the odd pixel is damaged here or there and the photos dont seem to come out as crisp as they used to...so perfect excuse for me to start looking for a new one.

so this new way of painting. seems to be quick...much quicker. i still need to work on my accuracy on this front as i can see some of the very deep recesses haven't had much paint hit them. but this model took me about 3 hours to paint..and its a character model that I've also applied a lot of freehand to. so hoping to put this into practice soon enough to help me get around me unit painting woes!

anyways hope you like the new cinematic photo too as i did a little more on that one as opposed to normal.
oh and a nice shiny new banner too! :)
peace

A try at dungeon tiles

whilst i dont really show off much interms of digital work on this blog. i have actually have a lot of experience under my belt as a texture artist and 3d modeller. its not something i tend to apply too much to this hobby of mine.
graphics these days is something i much prefer to do as a passion. and a way of flexing those creative juices. ive done a few things over at advanced heroquest reforged. the odd overlay and the templates and spellbooks. but never really for much direct creative purposes.

ive never actually delved into making dungeon tiles before so thought i would have a little go at creating a modular tiling photoshop document that i could essentially use to craft quick and easy dungeon tiles that still at least have some cosmetic clout to back them up.

so first of all i realised if i wanted to go the modular route i would need to produce something generic enough that would then be able to  be reused over and over with minimal effort but still be able have a varied look.

so i dug out my heroquest board first and copied a variance of the floor tiles.

these are all made in neutral grey so that a colour overlay can be added to the tile in order to then colour them any colour you want.
once i had enough variationi then created a layer that would enable me to draw cracks anywhere over the tiles and still get a pretty decent look to it.(see the top left tile)finally i applied some huge rocky mountainous images over the entire template with the layers set to 'overlay'. this would then allow each tile to have a varied look to them no matter how they were placed.and i could change these textures to ultimately create infinite rocky texturing to my tiles

so once i had my basis i thought "lets put this to the test" and make some high res copies of older tiles.
first up i decided to grab a AHQ tile. pretty bog standard in look. and apply this template in a hope to succesfully re-create (as well as adding a few more details just to spice them up a little)
so here the original

and heres the reboot (god i hate that term)

turned out pretty good i think for a first attempt. ok its not perfect. but i used this simple reconstruction to help refine my template. adding a border if i wash to create AHQ tiles. as well as a spotlight overlay to create that 'middle of the room' glow. this only uses 2 square variations. all flipped or rotated. the rocky overlays doing the rest of the work to make it all look different and nice and varied. the cracks layer works pretty decent as well. i decided to give it a very slight skaven theme on the middle tile as well as adding a straw next of sorts. this entire tile took me about 20 minutes in total to create..so not bad

so next up i thought..lets try something a little more specific. so i nabbed a warhammer quest tile and once more put my template to the test

so heres the one i chose.

and my second recreation.

again this one turned out pretty good. once more refining my template a little. i got bored doing the skeleton and couldnt be bothered drawing him. after all this was more of an experiment than an actual production. again this only uses 2 squares. each flipped and rotated. and once more those mountain overlays doing pretty nifty work in giving a varied look.

so there we have it. a pretty successful experiment.
with me now having my hands on warhammer quest silver tower. that might give me further impetus to go into full creative mode. who knows. but at least ive got a tool now to create any dungeon i so wish. with relative ease.

SKAVEN PLAGUE MONKS

a couple of months back i managed to nab a few sprues of various skaven stuff for only a couple of quid. one of those sprues consisted of 5 plague monks and some giant rats
well i actually managed to do 6 plague monks because one of them is actually a pack master thingy.
that came on a sprue of 3 pack masters and some giant rats. so of course between the 2 sprues i was able to add to my skaven bestiary 3 times over. consisting of about 12 giant rats
6 plague monks and 2 pack masters. so not bad for a couple of quid.
now ive got a very minor gripe with the GW plague monks in that they all look like an old gypsy woman.

so i tried to minimalize this a little by sculpting the hoods to make them look like they were part of the robes and in turn make the heads look a little less 'stuck on'.
Anyways. im quite happy how these turned out really

now my skaven pack seems to be growing a little more. i think its about time i started adding a few characters into the fray.

i still have the rest of the island of blood skaven to paint up. as well as a few other characters ive purchased and not yet had chance to get painted up yet. im also considering trying my hand at a little converting. ive got so many skaven floating around im sure i can stretch them out even more. the poses of the clanrats are kind of hard to do much with. but im sure ill be able to cook something up.

till next time :)

DUNGEON DOORS ALL COMPLETED!!

yup! ive finally managed to finish another project. go me!

all 22 doors now finished and ready to be used in the dungeon
long slog here. most definately. but i hope it was a worthwhile venture all the same.

It doesnt really look like a great deal when i lay them all out like that. but this has been an ongoing project that ive been doing between other projects in a hope to prevent that monotonous feel when doing the same/similar things over and over, very much like unit painting.

now i could of just given these dip and been completed in a day. but i dont really do things in halves all that much. ok ive done some quick jobs on some of my projects. but generally its not a view point i favour. this is probably why i dont have many blogposts. but i think overall. this is a hobby. so we all need to enjoy it right? why should it feel like a chore. its a chance to be creative. and thats exactly what iver done here. so here they all are...

8 closed doors first up

you will notice i also experimented a little, wood is not something ive ever been comfortable painting. i guess its the organic look to it. but nonetheless i tried out a few different techniques with the wood. from simple washes to dry brushing as well as painting the wood grain individually.

 this is a new from the final batch. as you can see ive gone for a little bit of light sourcing from the torch. which i might add is something i dont have much experience with. but was really happy how this one turned out. i wanted to keep it subtle and i think i succeeded, however i think the light should of been shining a little further across the doors

 another new one here. simple insignia above the door and a rat running away with a turnip!

 another new one. simple skaven themed door here with a skaven skull i think and some warpstone

 ogre themed one here this time.

another new one. simple door with a few toadstool and a rather poisonous looking spider lurking above the door.

 sort of crypt/undead themed one here usong a shield from a skeleton warriors sprue. some random skulls, and finally i pressed a small mould from a skull to create the skull carvings on the wall and sculpted a little scarab.

 this was one from an earlier batch with sculpted ivy and spider

basic door as part of my early colour tests

12 Open Doors

ill hold my hands up in that i was starting to run low on ideas/ and bits through this project. so really started to scrape the barrel in trying to make them look unique.

 this was definately one of those barrel scrapers. but still its a skaven themed door so not all is bad.

 a chaos/beastman themed one here.

 standard open door from my earlier colour tests

 this one is probably my favourite out of all of them, in fact it was also the very first door i started working on. so i guess udeas were fresh at that point

 another simple one from my final batch.

 dwarf tomb. you may notice on a lot of these doors that they have dwarven runes. of which all of them were taken direct from the WFB dwarf army book.

 orcish doorway, this was my first real go at light sourcing. and whilst for the best part it doesnt look too bad. i do feel i went a little too yellow  around the flames.

 over grown doorway. i wanted to try and get something that looked really overgrown. sculpting some mushrooms and vines did a pretty decent job of that.

my second attempt at light sourcing. you will notice it is much more subtle that the orcish one above. experiment experiment! first was too yellow. and i feel this one was way too light on the glow from the flames. you will notice on the very first image for the closed doors where i finally managed to find that 'inbetween'

 chaos door thingy. ok lets just imagine youve got 22 door and you have some madcap idea to make them all unique and you have a nice sized box of bits...you throw everything you can at them right? thats simply the case here. its got a skull...because you have to have skulls. some weird star on a chain and a standard top from something. i can only assume is chaos?

 i kind of like this one purely for its subtlety. it has 4 features from the base doors. a hanging skull. dwarf rune, spider and some toadstools. but i think it really works nicely.

and the final open door. which was also from the last batch. was a simple 'glue this here' jobby using a dwarf standard top and a skull. simple and not too bad.

2 Portcullis'

i chose to do nothing with these as i didnt want them too removed from their function. for the best part a portcullis in a dungeon is more of a trap or onstacle than a door. so i painted these early on just to get them out of the way.

so there you have it. all 22 brand new double doors. fresh and converted from zealot miniatures.

i was really happy with these right from the get go. and needed very little attention to get them paint worthy. i had already planned before getting my hands on these that i would be converting them. so that is takes nothing from the base builds. these really are a great addition to any dungeon as they are. and hopefully with my own little addons they make for even better decor to the dungeon

ADVANCED HEROQUEST REFORGED

whilst this blog originally featured mainly heroquest and descent content. you will of noticed more frequently my posts are featured around my advanced heroquest. whilst my general love for dungeon crawlers is my main focus for this hobby. My true affection goes out to Advanced heroquest.

a very much under looked game in my opinion. a true sandbox of a game that gave you scope to go adventuring to your hearts content.

whilst the game was not perfect. i still feel this game captures the true essence of what a dungeon crawler should be all about. Adventure! Fighting! Looting. Delving deep down into murky old dungeons, hazards and traps awaiting behind every door.

Advanced heroquest had it all. and still does to the very small community that lurk just of the beaten path.

for anyone that hasn't played before, and likes a good crawler. then i cant recommend it enough.

once you get hooked you want more.

Ever wondered what rules i play for advanced heroquest?

go see Slevs blog to find out more

Advanced Heroquest Reforged

this features a revamping of many of the games features whilst keeping the overall rules exactly the same. fighting, exploring its all done the same. only better!

I've been helping out a little bit creating up to date maps and whatever graphics we can throw in to give things a nice fresh feel

you will notice the stats are more focused around WFB stats, which also comes along with a conversion chart so that you can create your own. along with MASSIVE bestiary's for the various Old World races. 

the character sheets have had a huge overhaul so that players can get a much longer life span out of their characters. giving that feel of connection as your heroes grow, learn new skill and abilities, gaining experience as they grow into becoming legendary dungeoneers.

a brand new point system for character creation allows you to create a huge array of different character styles, the added bonuses from abilities and weapon allowances allowing the heroes to have a much wider scope that sets them apart from the monsters of the dungeon

The maps have been revised to now feature double doors, as well as gaining a fresher clearer appearance.

cool brand new designed double sided spell books that cover all of the colleges of magic as well as dark magic.

Additionally you may choose to take a religious path for your hero with prayer books becoming the religious version of a spell book. (all spells and prayer books come in printer friendly and ink buster versions)

i really cant cover all of the source material in one post. so go check it out!

most of all. give it a try. there is a lot of material to download. but its worth it if you really want the best dungeon crawl you can find

go add the blog/follow or whatever to show your support. feedback is highly recommended to help Slev refine and create this fantastic addon.

http://ahqreforged.blogspot.co.uk/