I came across these Otherworld giant weasels while doing some tidying-up around the paint cave (a rare occurrence, but that's a story for another day). They were painted some years ago and, if I recall, only ever appeared on OW's currently deactivated forum.
Concurrently, I find myself learning to use a new computer (replacing one with an operating system from the last century... also a story for another day). Before shipping my old machine off to the Museum of Antiquities, I unearthed the references used when painting these three. As actual weasels are rather boring (visually that is... they're the life of the party in most other respects) African civets filled in admirably.
Nothing beats good reference photos.
As the time seemed right, I grabbed my camera and took some pictures.
Happy Star Wars Day to one and all. May the fourth be with you.
While today's subject might feel at home on the forest-moon of Endor hunting ewoks (annoying little creatures), it boasts a different pedigree altogether. Classic D&D monsters don't get more classic than the owlbear; a Gary Gygax creation that goes back to the game's begining. Many miniature representations of the beast have been produced over the decades. Otherworld Miniatures' version, sculpted by Paul Muller, stands head and shoulders above the rest.
There's never an owlbear around when you need one.
MM illustration & Muller interpretation
In the past, painting fur has given me more trouble than it probably should. Here I first treated the furry bits as though they were smooth by glazing on some pronounced shadows and highlights. Only then did I highlight the individual hairs. I'm pleased with how it turned out.
Glazing and pin washes laid the foundation for the feathers. Lots (and lots) of very small unblended highlights provided the rest.
The classic owlbear mullet
Reaper's olive skin triad was used on the beak and claws. The tongue and eyes (which I must confess are rather beady and unowlish) wound up as the only splashes of bright color.
Zoological mix-and-match... the reason wizards should never be left unsupervised
Back when this guy was being sculpted, I advocated on the Otherworld forums that he be tailless. Monster Manual illustration notwithstanding, why should a cross between a bear and an owl have a kangaroo's tail? I was wrong. It fits perfectly. Only goes to show the perils of logic when applied to monster design. To atone for my error, I drew attention to the tail by painting its tip white.
And now... more pictures:
At this point you should be convinced that the owlbear is quintessentially awesome. Just in case my powers of persuasion have fallen short, I now present the inestimable Dungeon Bastard. Take it away, Bastard...
The Fiend Folio Project rolls on with the completion of two Fenris gorilla bears.
Painting their faces was thoroughly enjoyable but concerns over whether their fur looked too bland caused some agita for me. Ultimately I convinced myself that the fur looked fine and moved on.
A verdant forest/jungle look was the goal so everything but the kitchen sink (including some scavenged aquarium plant bits) went onto the bases. The purple flower is from a model railroad store.
Elsewhere, Center Stage miniatures revealed the first of two Dire Corby greens as part of their Tome of Horrors Kickstarter. Sculptor Drew Williams did an outstanding job. As a project backer I'm in line for this and other forgotten FF classics. (Sadly, the flumph is still under wraps.)
Because my lead-pile isn't nearly vast enough (yeah, right), I picked up a couple items with Fiend Folio potential. Chief among these is a Wyrd jackalope with "al'miraj" written all over it. I ask you, what miniature collection could be called complete without at least one killer-unicorn-bunny?
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill
I have crashed and burned in my efforts to finish the three minis intended for Otherworld's September painting challenge on time. Not the first time something like this has happened, nor will it be the last.
I'm not going to hang my head over it though. The minis are looking good and I'm enjoying myself. I call that success.
The two gorilla-bears are just about done while the owl-bear needs a fair amount of work:
Painting fur gives me trouble and I spent way too much time on it in this case. Painting faces seems to be something I'm pretty good at and I spent way too much time on it as I was having way too much fun. (Not to mention the hope that well executed faces might divert attention from large expanses of unremarkable fur.)
Without really meaning to, I drifted into jack-o-bear territory as the flesh-tones used come across as a bit orange. I steadfastly refused to complete the effect with glowing eyes and instead used actual gorilla eyes as my inspiration.
The Fiend Folio Project stands to gain two new members; a pair of gorilla bears to be precise. The manufacturer (Fenris Games) calls them pumpkin-head-bears . In other words, they're meant as Rune Quest jack-o-bear analogs. The miniatures blend ape and bear features and if I avoid painting their heads like jack-o-lanterns they should meet my needs quite nicely.
I'm trying to finish these two and an Otherworld owlbear before month's end so I'll keep this brief and to the point.
The shadow demon is complete and The FF Project has gained another member:
(L to R) Blindheim, Shadow Demon, Forlarren
The mini allows a nice contrast between the very simple scheme on the actual demon and the abundance of color on the base. The colors used on the demon were Reaper Military Blue, P3 Frostbite, and GW Chaos Black.
The three-part WIP photo below shows the base in various stages of completion: A) black wash and grey/white drybrushing over grey primer, B) the basic colors glazed on followed by some selectively applied washes, and C) highlights and some stronger shadows where needed.
Revisiting the construction of the base for a moment, the Reaper treasure mound was too large for the base until I reduced its size with my trusty motor tool. I had a pretty good idea of where the demon should be mounted and tried to work things out so that point wound up at the base's center. This required the removal of everything behind the chest. The resultant void was filled in with green stuff.
The coin-pile was extended to the front edge of the base with some stretched plastic sprue cut into disks and embedded in more green stuff.
