Wednesday 25 May 2016

The Stillman is here !


Yeah, I know, it's only after 9 months that I manage to do what I was meant to do and finish my entry for the Give-away I organised to celebrate my 200th follower...

Since this was 9 months ago, I'm just going to sum things up a little. Each contestant had to choose a model from a list of neglected models of mine and add 2 "flavours" to it.

Airbornegrove won and he had (with little suprise really) selected a battlemasters Knight :


And added the Nigel Stillman and Frank Frazetta flavours to it.

As far as Nigel Stillman is concerned, the easiest way I found was to give a head looking like Nigel's to the knight :


I honestly just gave a slim head I had (6th ed wardancer I think) and modelled some hair to fit and there I was done.

Yes the angle is voluntary to give more dynamism ;)
The frazetta flavour was a little more tricky really. Tell any sane person "Frazetta knight", this is the picture that should come to mind :


For me the signature is those colours you find in skintones and other places that give depth, look at the red on the horse's skin, the blue on the axe and all that... There's even blue in the shield.
I tried to apply that to the horse and its caparison as well as I could.


To capture the Frazetta vibe, I've painted the horse in deep marine blue and the caparison in black. I've then highlighted them normally with tones of grey and then started glazing them heavily with inks. The pictures show something smooth and subtle but it's far more striking and messy in real. 

 I've tried to keep a nervous style in the process to somehow echo Thomas'. I realise I wouldn't be able to paint model like he does because it requires to know where to place colours correctly and it would result in something looking like shit.
Colin from the Leadpile has that talent too and manages to achieve very nervous paintjobs with striking contrasts because these guys have what I call "painting intelligence". A quick line or dot well placed will often achieve more than a blending noone will ever notice. I'd like to be able to achieve that so that's a bit what I tried here hence the rather different look (though on this one, photos won't reveal a thing).


Working like this felt strange and I clearly have to learn about that but I did enjoy the process, I just hope Thomas won't mind me trying new stuff and getting out of the comfort zone on his model.I also hoe the model is somehow compatible with his models and if it isn't , he already has my blesisng to alter it as he sees fit !


For next timeI should have some more civilians for 40k or something totally different, who knows really ?

24 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I have to admit I went a bit OTT on the weathering compared to the original. Oh and also got the tail wrong... Nevermind, I hope it gives the general idea !

      Thanks mec !

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  2. Assless one you have gone above and beyond! Amazing work my friend. I will treasure it once it gets here. ;)

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    1. I'm torn between seing him alongside Black Vasken and seeing th e2 duel to the death ! (maybe they can do both one after the other)

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    2. I'm thinking of making him a squadron commander for the Heartbreakers. We will see though. ;)

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  3. I think I got distracted by the marvellous shield, as I didn't notice the horseflesh techniques originally. But that horsey skin looks great - shiny and glowing with unexpected colours. You nailed it in my opinion!

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    1. Cheers, the varnishing has removed some of the punch but brought a bit of smoothing so all's not lost in the process. I'll have to be careful with inks from now on. As long as it matches the original idea, I'm content.

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    2. Whatever he's doing, I'll just be happy to see him on your table !

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  4. Oh man, that is really effing cool... I love the use of colour on the horse, and that shield is perfection. Spot on mate!

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    1. I wish the colours were still as punchy as they were on the horse but that's the way it is, maybe I'll glaze it back a bit before sending it overseas.
      Thanks mate !

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  5. So cool! I didn't see this coming, it's great!

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    1. Well this one was to be expected, it's just VERY late !

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  6. Death Dealer is such an amazing piece to base this paint job off of. Bravo mate, you've done really well.

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    1. It is really, Frazetta and his followers like Bisley really have carved our imagination into something spectacular.
      Cheers !

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  7. That shield....can't get over how amazing that is, JB. I can't think of a better painted shield than that one to be honest mate.

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    1. Honestly, it's just simple techniques :
      - Base coat of stone grey from PA
      - freehand of the eagle in thinned black
      - edge highlight with stone grey + white
      - big overall wash of Agrax Erthshade
      - splashes of more agraxk earthshade by blowing through a loaded brush (repeat until you're happy)
      - Stamp dark brown then boltgun metal with blister foam until you're happy
      - add cuts by tracing lines of base colour + white and adding a thin line of black on the upper edge of the previous line

      All in all it took under 10 minutes to do tha tshield really, I could make it fancier by highlighting the freehand and the white base colour but for a gaming piece I think these steps are just enough.

      Thanks a lot mate.

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    2. I do love a nice detailed tutorial. Definitely one to bookmark. 10 minutes?! Really?

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  8. I love the muted yet vibrant dark colours on this one. And as others have said, that shield is amazing. Good work!

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    1. Cheers, quite something else than my usual style but it was fun nonetheless. I've written the shield recipe just above in case you want to have a try, it's really simple.

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  9. The shield is awesome : the freehand and weatherind do perfectly suit the grim rider and his crwo-colored horse. Nicely done. The base may just have received more contrast...

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    1. Agreed on all points, th ebase does lack a little something but I wanted to keep it blend so it could fit with Thomas'stuff. The model got to a point where I either had to make it in one go or it would have waited a few more months. ^^'

      Thanks mec !

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  10. Beautiful work! You've certainly captured a gritty, dark feel. I also love the slight-receding hairline. I certainly identify with the slightly-receding hairline.

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    1. Thanks a lot ! My baldness will surely come from the back but I do sympathise... :/

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