Darksword's Harbinger

 Darksword's Harbinger is a really beautiful mini.  I don't paint many stand alone figures, which is something my friend Tanya B thought I should correct... and I agree!

...but... I couldn't resist working Harbinger into the background fluff for mt TGG armies! DoH!

 Here she appears to be crying... some bloodstained tear tracks down her face.

 I opted to steer away from the very smooth highlight transitions because the figure just seems to be made of drama... sharp shadows and highlights make for easy drama.  I ended up shading the shadows which was a fun experiment.

I used GW Asurman Blue as the initial shade and then Secret Weapon Blue as a highlight shade.

The base robes were an old Rackham Glacial Blue (thanks Pat!) that got highlighted with Vallejo Foundation White and Vallejo Pure White.

 This is the plot board for the freehand designs.  I was trying to come up with a simple symbol I could use in the fluff for the "Cult of the Harbinger" which worked out pretty well in the topmost circled rune.

Then a border design and some experiments for spacing and some modified lettering.  My first take was a little crowded looking so I went with (circled) a wider spacing.

I've got a long way to go to get really strong, regular and subtle designs but I feel like I got a good start on it.  I'm already able to repeat the simple designs in fairly uniform size but the strength and depth of the lining needs work.  I'll be able to compare future projects to this and see how its going.

  ...sigh... feathers!  I am going to need to do more feathers... as I seem to not quite have it yet.

I wanted to give the impression that Harbinger's appearance was accompanied by a spurt of growing, living, things.. so the a profusion of  flowers got added to what was an otherwise barren landscape on the base.   I originally intended to work outward with dead grass and weeds but it turned out to be a bit too much and blurred the transition zone.

 Here are some of the WiPs as I was figuring out actual placements for the designs.

Messing around with feathers....

Thanks Tanya!  This is going to launch me down a different path for a bit.

... now to find something challenging for her! Muahahahaha!

Malice RPG: Tombs of the Dark Sun - Starter Set

 So... technically this is really a WiP.  For two reasons actually.  First... the very cool

Tombs of the Dark Sun - Starter Set

 is not yet complete.  I finished the floors and several of the wall sections are well along the way.... actually I thought I'd finished them until I saw how cool the candles could look with some OSL... sigh... SO those will have to get retrofitted! 










I wanted to set up these tomb like areas to support some scenes with the Iron Empire as I'm spinning them as a hidden remnant of the Necrontyr.  So... Tombs.. Mortuary Cults... some pseudo-Egytptian flavors... etc...


 
 Since the Iron Empire is being worked up in Purple and Cream I was thinking about staying with cool colors. In retrospect using some warm OSL for the candle alcoves will look awesome... er soo... yeah better get on that! I wanted a sandstone and turquoise kinda feel so I started with a Blue base coat and worked up some sand colors from there... Vallejo Tan Earth, Vallejo Sand, Secret Weapon Dark Sepia Wash, top up with Vallejo Sand.

 













 



The rest of the set is doors that work, some water features, and a tomb.  I'll most likely use this set for Heroquest or a Fantasy RPG but it'll always be an Iron Empire Crypt in my mind!



 
  

 That brings us to the early stages of Harbinger.  I did a reboot on my basing scheme as I suddenly got this hair-brained idea to work her into the Battlezone scenarios as an omen/special effect that can appear on battles in the zone.  I'd originally gone with a more elaborate base with a ruined arched window... that sort of thing... but it was looking to busy and distracted from Harbinger itself.

Currently she's planned to be a ginger at the orange end of the spectrum with cool colors in the robes and the long-feathers with the warm spot of her hair and some strong dark accent in the short feathers.

I've been scratching my head about some free hand in the robes but haven't settled on anything just yet... I better do it son though because its time!  The subsurface, cool color, shading  being held up while I dither!