Before heading off to England I made a start on Frodo. Not too bad a sculpt at all considering the age - just a few little issues with Frodo's face - probably made worse by my painting ;) I'm pretty happy with the pony though...

Before and After

I had a 'Before and After' section on my old site which seemed popular at the time and it was definitely something I enjoyed so I've resurrected it... The first miniature this time around is Frodo, a miniature from Citadel's Lord of the Rings range from around 1985.

I felt the base looked rather bare and lacking in contrast after looking at the pics so I put a little more into it. I added some more grass, darkened the shadows and also played around with some pigments for the first time.

Sort of done...

Here's a finished miniature complete with base - wonders never cease...

This is a great little sculpt by Tre Manor - fantastic musculature for such a tiny miniature and nice movement too...

I was confident that this was finished but after seeing this pic I'm not too sure - I might put a little more work into the base - it seems a tad bare - maybe a bit more grass or something, we'll see...

I was relatively happy with how Yarry was looking but my girlfriend wasn't so sure... She quite liked the majority of it but the face bothered her - the eyes look funny she kept saying. Sure, he didn't turn out quite how I'd envisioned but I was satisfied and had decided to move on... That is until the girlfriend reiterated her earlier point... Another couple of hours later and here's the result...

Still not sold on the face dear or can I move on?

I know - no posts in 3 months and then 2 in a day...

I've admired Sebastian Archer's painting for years so it wasn't too much of a surprise when he ended up being a pretty decent sculptor too. This goblin is from his own line of miniatures - Guild of Harmony Miniatures... This guy's pretty much done now (apart from the base ofcourse) although I'm still debating whether or not to include the shield...

On closer inspection - I might try for a little more contrast on the face - it seems a little flat. It is a pretty small sculpt though so I won't knock myself out...

Still no base but he is pretty much finished with that one small exception... That said, now that I have big photos of Yarry to look at I'll more than likely find plenty of things to fix up before that bloody base gets done...

Almost done...

Work conspired to keep me away from the brushes recently but I finally got some time to myself over the weekend and managed to get a reasonable amount done.

I initially wasn't sure if this figure was a great choice after such a long break from painting but in retrospect I think it was the best possible choice. It's such an amazing sculpt and very pleasant to paint - the perfect choice for someone getting back into the swing of things...

Just the metallics, a bit of polishing and then, of course the base to do now. Not sure yet what I'll come up with but I guess there's no rush - 6 weeks of convalescent leave coming up due to an ankle reconstruction so plenty of painting time coming up...

Still at it...

Still mucking about - getting reacquainted with my paints and just painting in general...

Not sure about the colour choices now that I see them in a photo but hopefully it'll fall into place.

I had the good fortune of finishing work at lunch today so I decided to faff about for an hour or so with the hope of getting the face a bit more right (or is that less wrong)...

Thanks to Lotina for the comment - the face is a little less pale IRL but certainly benefited from some additional shading to the temple region. The eyes still aren't quite right - the whites are slightly too white but I might move on now and revisit the face later if it's still bothering me...

Oh yeah - bigger pics this time around as well. Bigger but not too big - not quite ready for that level of scrutiny yet... ;)

Slowly but surely...

I have to quit looking at other versions of this figure until I'm done, it's really not helping... I look at them and I know how I want this to look but it's not quite happening.

I guess the problem with this figure is that painting it technically well isn't enough, if you can't get a definite expression happening you've failed. That's what I'm battling with at the moment. I think I've almost got impassive down - not really what I'm after...

Far from perfect but very satisfying...

I wasn't entirely certain that I'd enjoy painting again after such a long break but thankfully my concerns were unfounded.

I'd like to expand on how I feel about this but it's been a long day and my brain's not cooperating - maybe tomorrow evening...

A Bad Choice?

Yarry by Enigma Miniatures

Always loved this sculpt and bought it soon after it was released but due to the amount of fantastic versions already out there I always put off painting it. Probably the main culprit is Gloom's effort - one of my absolute favourites.

Anyhow - maybe not the best choice as first miniature after a 14 month break but I'll give it a crack.

LOTD - I'm Back

After a lengthy hiatus I'm finally in a position where I can consider picking up a brush again. I must say - I'm a little anxious to see what 14 months off has done to my painting, hopefully I can still keep my paint in the lines...