The Man in the Lime-Checkered Hat

Where did that goldurnded mule get off to?

The last day of the month means it's time for the latest episode of the Helping Hand Challenge. July's subject is the mule handler. The mule seems to have wandered off but with a little luck he'll turn up in time for next month's installment.

The excellent work of the other participants can be seen at Duke of the Blood Keep and Deviant Designs Deeds.

With stitching...

and without

The conical (comical?) hat featured on this mini seemed a good place to play around with some freehand painting. I first removed the prominent stitching detail to provide a clear area to work on.  It took two attempts but I wound up with a pattern that mirrors the shield borne by the camera-shy mule.

Having settled on a gaudy hat that reflects his employer's coat of arms, it seemed appropriate to keep everything else subdued and grubby.

Coasters put to good use.

Tall base = long pin.

The bases mark my first attempt at using cork. A very useful material it seems. Also my first use of gesso (black in this case) which did an admirable job of preparing the cork to receive acrylic paint.

It's late, I'm tired, and I'm quickly running out of July. So, without further ado... some pictures:

Summertime and the Livin's not Easy

The end of June can only mean two things... Summer has arrived in these parts and it's time for the first entry in the Helping Hand Challenge. (Be sure to check out the other participants at Duke of the Blood Keep and Deviant Designs Deeds.)

With his bronzed complexion, beach-blonde hair, and sun-worshiper tattoo, Otherworld's porter appears ready for a day down the shore. One can only speculate the chest he carries contains either beer or self-tanning products.

Appearances can be deceiving. This guy's more likely to spend his day hauling others' loot from the depths of the earth. Such is the lot of a hireling.

Leather, wood, & brass painted first

 
Typically I paint skin, then clothing, then everything else. Here the presence of the chest and bracer right up against the face called for a different approach. I poked into the least accessible areas with black, painted the chest and bracer fully, and only then moved on to the skin. Had I followed my usual progression I'd likely still be doing touch-ups and cursing profusely.

The colors used for the principle skintone are pictured above. Reaper's Bloodless Skin was worked into the highlights. Previous attempts to paint undead with a mix of "zombie" and "normal" skintones taught me that sometimes a little green can actually make a mini look more alive.

Some additional glazing provided the five o'clock shadow and the reddish tones on the cheeks and nose.

The tattoo was painted with a mix of purple and Reaper's Bronzed Skin. I kept it simple... in general, my freehand technique needs some work and I didn't want to push my luck.

Colors used on the padded armor

As the HH Challenge moves forward I hope to experiment with techniques that I have previously shied away from (freehand, object source lighting, and NMM to name three). On this mini I tried my hand a some NMM in particular. Hopefully the hardware on the chest looks like brass, the buckles on the armor and belt look like copper, and the axehead looks like steel.

Enough chatter. It's time for some pictures.

PTS IV: Very Hush Hush

The Helping Hand Challenge has commenced with the first of twelve minis under the brush. Regrettably, I was unable to sneak a WIP image past the censors. Confounded censors... some rubbish about national security and saving pictures for the big reveal at the end of the month. 

Who am I to argue? 

Sticky Pseudo-Mummy

The Fiend Folio Project has gained another member. This time out it's an adherer... the oft disparaged sticky mummy.

Your mother was a lint roller and your father resembled Boris Karloff.

Basically this guy's gig consists of hanging out looking just like a mummy until encountered, after which it becomes evident that A) he's not a mummy, B) he's not even undead, and C) everything (and I do mean everything) sticks to him as if he were covered in super-strength flypaper. (For more on the adherer's checkered past and uncertain present, check out Bogleech* and the recent offering from Patch at The Daily Bestiary.)
 * The source of this post's title, in fact.

I've come close to doing this conversion before. What could be easier than slapping a sword onto a mummy's chest, after all. The deal-breaker was my fear that the result would look like a mummy with a sword slapped on its chest.

That changed with the recent release of FGCW16 - Undead by Fenris Games. Clearly this is a mummy of sorts, but with numerous atypical features (elongated tongue, tentacles, grotesquely enlarged left arm). Just the thing for a monster that looks like a mummy but isn't.

The actual conversion was easy enough. I filed a groove into the left shoulder, nestled a sword from my spare parts box among the various sores and writhing tendrils, and used green stuff to extend one of the wrappings over the blade. Hopefully that last part conveys the sense that the wrappings are themselves animate and actively involved in the adhesion process. If nothing else, it makes the sword look like a proper part of the mini as opposed to a clumsy "bolt-on" by yours truly.

The FF entry mentions the adherer's affinity for spiders so the base topper by Otherworld seemed fitting.

Painting followed the mode of some of my recent greyed-out undead, only this time with a green fleshtone as opposed to blue or purple. The tips of the tentacles wound up bright pink as I really wanted them to stand out. The sword is my attempt at NMM bronze following the advice found at Sprocket's Small World.

I've Googled "Adherer Miniature" to no avail so this may well be an internet first. You're welcome, internet. While I sit here feeling extremely pleased with myself, do enjoy the following:

The Helping Hand Challenge

I am set to participate in The Helping Hand Challenge, created by Chris over at Duke of the Blood Keep (a top drawer blog if ever there was one). In short this entails painting all 12 minis from Otherworld Miniatures' DAB4 - Henchmen & Hirelings. The full skinny courtesy of The Duke is as follows:

1. You must own the DAB4 Boxset
2. You must own a blog
3. You must paint one miniature a month in the order shown below
4. You must post your results on the last day of each month
5. You must include a link to each other participating blog

That’s it.

This is the order:

June Porter
July Mule Handler
August Mule
September Linkboy
October Scribe
November Pack Bearer
December Squire
January Lantern Bearer
February Dwarf Merc
March Crossbow Merc
April Spearman Merc
May Sergeant

(it’s also the order the minis appear on the card sleeve on the set) 

Mini-prepping has commenced, and the first is primed and ready for paint. I'll be making my own bases. In keeping with the product line's Dungeon Adventurers moniker, I intend to maintain a subterranean theme.

This all occurs as I try to get The Fiend Folio Project rolling again. Hopefully I can make headway here too.

Adherer and Porter... FF meets DAB4

Curious wire-like structures on chest (since removed)

 

Anyone else wishing to participate can leave a comment below or at Duke of the Blood Keep.