Wednesday 14 November 2018

Crystal Spiders - Katsina miniatures


Hey everyone ! Today, I'm quite chuffed to be able to show you some of Katsina's models to come for their next Kickstarter !
These are crystal spiders and only two of many more ! They were sculpted by the hands of Dorota who already sculpted this magnificent fat frog and I'm eager to get the others !




I've opted for what I hope to be quite a realistic paint scheme but which suggests an alien origin of some sort. The crystals on top of them really help with giving them this weird look.
The sculpts are absolutely flawless and were a real pleasure to paint and in a very short time. It's those kind of rewarding models that get you back some mojo for the rest which was perfect !


I'm pretty sure I'll be happy to have big spiders in my sci-fi games on top of the fantasy ones (Necromunda heh ?)


I'm also taking the opportunity here to show you some scatter terrain I did with my daughter some time ago and didn't take the time to blog !


I've just used fruits I grabbed on the ground in the park nearby because they looked like alien flora ! (Wish I could find the name).


The worst part of the process was probably cutting and sanding the edges of all the bases from 3mm medium. The rest was pretty straightforward with sand, drybrushes and a bit of pigments :


I then added the fruits and decided to follow Shoeba9' suggestion to drybrush them which really helped make the plants stand from the ground.


The result is pretty close to what I wanted to make the desert parts of my tables less dull so I'm really pleased with these :



With Katsina's KS coming in a few days, I'll get on the rest of the masters they were kind to send me !
Enjoy !

33 comments:

  1. Those seed pods are in Australia too JB, very common too. I have no idea what they're called either though.

    I love the effect on the eyeballs of those spiders. At tabletop level they'll look very realistic. Overall the spiders paint scheme looks great mate...oops, sorry, I meant mec.

    Hi five!

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    1. I'm a bit gutted about the eyes actually, I shouldn't have glossed them after painting the reflections, it's stupid...
      But thanks mec. ;)

      Delete
  2. In the US, those are from the American Sweet Gum tree.

    Also, they, and the spiders, look great!

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  3. Super-cute! They're a lot of fun, but also a lot of menace. I think the eyes look fab, as does the lovely lilac-grey colour scheme.

    Those alien plants are fantastic. I need to start looking for exotic seed pods!

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    1. Thanks, I was looking for a balance between realistic and alien and this is all I could come up with !

      Delete
  4. The plants are inspired.... spiders .. can't say anything nice about spiders ... not your spiders, any spiders ... hate spiders.

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  5. I like how you painted the spiders, especially their eyes. That terrain is great! I'm pretty sure we don't have those types of trees locally in Phoenix, but I recall something similar all over the street down the block from my in-laws in Stockton. I may have to grab a baggy full when we visit for Thanksgiving.

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    Replies
    1. Sweet gum tree fruits, pretty handy to make cactus type of flora.
      Thanks mec !

      Delete
  6. Liquid Amber or Sweetgum, super common locally since they are one of the few trees that change color in the mild climate here.

    Your spiders are great too! Hopefully someone brought a flamer...

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    Replies
    1. Looks like the sweet gum indeed !
      Why a flamer ? Aren't they adorable ? ^^

      Delete
  7. Eeeeeek! (I couldn't find a better way to state that they look magnificent!)

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  8. The spiders and the terrain look fantastic! That's all very inspiring. Cheers, Karl

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    1. Cheers Karl !
      The terrain was pretty easy (hardest part was to cut the bases) and the spiders were a delight to play with !

      Delete
  9. Sweet gums as terrain that's such a brilliant idea! You've done an amazing job on the spiders...I think they eyes turned out fantastic. Can't wait to get some of these to inhabit the Spider Wood. ;)

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    1. They look OK but I think the gloss and painted reflections clash with one another, I won't do that again I think.
      Cheers mec !

      Delete
  10. Great work on those Sweetgum pods - I'll have ot keep an eye out for them around here. Beautiful work on those spiders as others have said - the eyes are amazingly well done. Kudos!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks ! I keep looking for other sorts of natural products like that now !

      Delete
  11. Trop mignonnes les araignées 😄 Les terrains sont classes, ils ont un bel effet naturel... et pour cause, ils le sont! Bravo aux artistes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merci, j'essaie d'agrémenter mes tables de décoration petit petit pour rendre le décor plus immersif. ^^

      Delete
  12. Brill idea, beautifully executed. The drybrushing really helped bring 'em to life, and the basing helps sell the scale.

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    1. I wasn't sure about it at first but when I did it I knew it would have been a mistake not to. Thanks !

      Delete
  13. Super cute and so well done! Great work especially on the eyes! And hopefully those dried fruits won't rot or perish somehow, because they are awesome too :)

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    1. Thanks ! I picked those in autumn last year and they haven't moved much if at all since, even if they did, they didn't cost me much. ^^

      Delete
  14. Those spiders are indeed great sculpts and you did a fantastic job on them too.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. They are great sculpts and I had a lot of fun with them !

      Delete
  15. Those seed pods are the bane of pedestrians' ankles! Bloody things are all over the place here in downtown and I've seen more than a few poor sods turn their ankles after stepping on them. Make for some lovely alien foliage though!

    Spiders are dead cute and I love the colour scheme. The eyes look fine as is, gloss just makes them that much more "Crystal-y".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's fun because I find the gloss to be over the top and would probably not do it again ! ^^'
      We don't get many of those trees outside fancy parks here but we do have plenty of similarly annoying fruits and seeds... Only those make real nice scenery though.

      Delete

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