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Mad 'At

Dumb enough to work
Staff member
True Blood
Apr 2, 2011
2,378
Grödinge
Hi all

Me and my friends here in Sweden are starting up a painting campaign, sort of like GW's "A tale of 4 gamers". The idea is that we shall all start a new army and progressively building it up over a period of time. We start by making a 500pts army, and then adding 200pts to it every month. In the end of each month we will play some games with the army before continuing. And repeating the process until we hit 2500pts.

My army will be VC, I started this army about a year ago and manage to paint up a corpse cart and a bunch of zombies but then got stuck. This seemed like a nice way to re-start it. I decided to join this forum mostly to post my progress of this army and hopefully get inspired by doing so.

So here it goes, the first game will be held in the beginning of May. My army will consist of a Vampire, 23 skeletons, 21 zombies and a corpse cart. Most of the zombies are done and so is the corpse cart.

Here they are:
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_IMG_4625.jpg
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_IMG_4628.jpg
I didn't really had a theme for the army then so I painted it quite randomly with no consistent colour. Fortunately it was just zombies, who I feel wouldn't share the theme of the rest of the army since they are just scattered left overs from other armies. :tongue:

The skeletons and vampire are currently being assembled
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_IMG_4632.jpg

I plan to do all my 50 skeletons in on bunch so that they will all look the same.

For painting I'm aiming for a somewhat blueish colour on the bone, very rusty blades, corroded bronze armour, blue (or red, not decided yet) shields and cloth and the absolute details (like Gems) in bright green.

I've only got one problem though, I need a name for my vampire countess. The figure is from avatars of war and will be used as a von Carstein vampire. I'm thinking of something that begins with an "L" but am having some trouble since I'm used to name Orc characters. Help would be very appreciated.

Fell free to comment and/or criticise.
 
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Lynks

Lord of RAW
True Blood
Dec 29, 2010
2,215
Sydney
RE: Raising an Army

Well, my vampire is Lysandra. (paying some homeage to one of my favourite video games of all time :P)
 

Mad 'At

Dumb enough to work
Staff member
True Blood
Apr 2, 2011
2,378
Grödinge
RE: The Undead Horde of Countess Ludmila von Carstein

Wow, so many names :O
Thanks for the quick (and many) answers, you've all been very helpful

It's hard to pick, think I'll go with Ludmila (changed the name of the thread to include that) which means "beloved of the people". But I might instead go for Lachandra, meaning something with moon, or Lillith, meaning "Belonging to the Night" (hum, seam almost to perfect). So Extra thanks to Sokar and Sanai then xD

The skeletons should all be glued and primed by next week. I'll try to post some more pictures then.
 

Cuzzy

Varghulf
Jan 7, 2011
779
the Netherlands
The zombies already look nice. I´m looking forward to the rest of the army, considering the level of painting you did on your orc and goblins.
 

Mad 'At

Dumb enough to work
Staff member
True Blood
Apr 2, 2011
2,378
Grödinge
Hi again

I've finally got an update for you. The skeletons have been glued and primed. All their bone has been given the first two coats of paint, the last two highlight will be painted on individually as I work my way through the unit.

So here are some pictures of the two units:
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_bf9cb7ae66f2d78e872b0ca07e06f323.jpg
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_303e64f06595fec0115466bcc063a256.jpg

And one shot from the back:
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_c74403a237dcfcccd3794a3f2b29d018.jpg

And a close up showing one of the champions and one of the standard bearers.
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_f9e7e0eb3e3a4c823449cd0072f524f3.jpg

I also managed to complete four of them:
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_95c17032ca34ba4b06e205d73e914ed8.jpg

Sorry about the crappy picture, I took them myself, the ones earlier in the thread were taken by my brother, he's a much better photographer.

As always feel free to comment and criticize.
 
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Mad 'At

Dumb enough to work
Staff member
True Blood
Apr 2, 2011
2,378
Grödinge
Started to paint Ludmila herself, but after painting the first colours I realized that I had never painted such a cold and sinister model before. My plan for it was just cold and sinister so I planed on using lots of blue shades, for the skin, the steel, the cloth and even the red armour. But now I'm uncertain of my colour choices.

Here is what she looks like so far:
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_aae7c9b803bb32e27029abebea7b3f20.jpg
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_cc80f3d728eadbc37be55357a16143b3.jpg

These are just the base colours, the finished skin would be much paler and everything would get shades and highlights, but you get the picture.

Tell me what you think.
Should I change any of the colours? Paint her corset different from her dress? Should I add any gold or other warm colours? Should I paint the inside of her dress the same colour as the outside? Will she look far to boring with so few colours?
Please advice, I really need help on this one.
 

YoungOlo

Zombie
Jul 24, 2009
36
Colours are OK, apart from the red areas. if you are going for a sinister, cold look, drop the reds completely as they create unnecessary contrast. I'd replace the red with either black or white where possible and with metal colour on the armour plates. If you like the idea of contrast, however, try to stick to cold colours and replace the red with some blueish purple. Hope that helps a bit.
 

Mad 'At

Dumb enough to work
Staff member
True Blood
Apr 2, 2011
2,378
Grödinge
Is it the patinated (or maybe "corroded" is a better word) bronze that you are referring to about the ghostly feel Cuzzy?

Alright I wasn't prepared for that. My biggest concern was that she would have to few different colour and therefore look boring. I appreciate the advice but if I drop the red then she will have nothing. Though I was heading for a could red, with blue/purple-ish shade and highlighted with red gore mixed with small amounts of skull white, instead of blazing orange and vomit brown, which I usually use.

But I have to say that you post actually helped me, I feel that maybe she has enough colour as it is now. Since you commented that she should instead have less xD
Hope that made at least some sense.

Yes it is Sanai, but don't tell anyone...
 

Mad 'At

Dumb enough to work
Staff member
True Blood
Apr 2, 2011
2,378
Grödinge
Another small update. Finished one more skeleton and three reinforcement skeletons.
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_c75dda2cfc161f01b7bf39af64604f6e.jpg
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_ea21aa9073fcc60f3055ff61d8dbe964.jpg

And I couldn't resist on painting Ludmila some more, even though I probably should have waited for more advise.
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_7472140dd24e4336433a84e4cc0a7f1d.jpg
ai1222.photobucket.com_albums_dd482_Albin_Moller_Small_20Size_5dd04edadca45fa9c417f75a36db3cde.jpg

She's a blast to paint but I'm still not sure about the colours.

And dose the skin look ok, or did I overdo the blue look?
 

Count Lasombra

Vampire Count
True Blood
Jul 10, 2010
1,698
Memphis
Nah,her skin looks great.You really rallied well with that model...she was looking kinda off at first.I think you need to make her stomach match the blue on the rest of her dress.
 

dictator

Vampire Count
True Blood
Feb 22, 2008
1,078
I would love to see some better pics of the model too. She looks like she's better than mere fuzzy pictures!
 

untitled_musketeer

Vampire Count
True Blood
Aug 9, 2010
1,426
Huddersfield
Ludmilla looks great. You were right to stick with the red. You've done a really great job.

My only suggestions (and these might not be necessary due to the quality of the pic) would be to add a little Azuremen Blue wash to the metalwork, Leviathan Purple to the recesses on her dress next to the red bits, and also Leviathan Purple around the eyes/nose.

The blue will tie the metal into the mini just that little bit more, as it would probably reflect the colour of her clothes a little.
The purple wash in the folds of her dress would really complment that red and tie the two coours together without making it too warm, by the same token, perhaps a little Azurmen Blue in the recesses of the red. I know it probably sounds a bit weird but it could really bring a lot of depth to your already great job. With the face the purple will compliment the cold feel and just make the face seem a little more 'alive'. I use that term losely as she's undead. It doesn't have to be much and it can be kept quite tight, it'd help pick out those eyes too.

Also I've just had another look at the picture, and again, it might be photo quality that makes me think this but perhaps the hair needs a little more definition.

Hope I haven't sounded too picky. Whatever you do, don't change the colours, cause they look amazing!

Cheers,

u_m
 

Cuzzy

Varghulf
Jan 7, 2011
779
the Netherlands
That countess looks amazing. I love the collours you used, and with the tips U_T gave you they might look even better.

And to answer your quesstion, yes I did mean the corroded metal (together with the blue clothing) gives the skeletons an etheral look. I Love that effect and would love to make my skeletons look more like ghosts, but I have yet to decide how to paint my vc (first I need to finish those beastmen :lol: ).

Cheers
 

Nikos

Vampire Count
True Blood
Feb 26, 2010
1,129
Plymouth
Great looking start to what i'm sure will be a great army. Its nice that your carrying the little touches of character shown with your goblin force through to this one. The zombie with struggling with the boulder is great. Looking forward to seeing your countess finished :thumbsup:
 

Mad 'At

Dumb enough to work
Staff member
True Blood
Apr 2, 2011
2,378
Grödinge
Thanks for the compliments.

First of all, I'm sorry about the fuzzy pictures, will ask my dad to take some new with his über makro objective of mega deff, and post them as soon as I can (could take a while though since my computer is acting up).

Nah,her skin looks great.You really rallied well with that model...she was looking kinda off at first.I think you need to make her stomach match the blue on the rest of her dress.
She actually wears a corset over her stomach, that's why I painted it black (or more like grey), but should I paint it in the same colour as the dress anyway, just for the look of it?

My only suggestions (and these might not be necessary due to the quality of the pic) would be to add a little Azuremen Blue wash to the metalwork, Leviathan Purple to the recesses on her dress next to the red bits, and also Leviathan Purple around the eyes/nose.
It's probably the low quality of the pictures that dose it. The metal has been washed with Azuremen Blue (twice). And I washed some around her eyes to, with Azuremen Blue mixed with Red Gore, since I don't own a pot of Leviathan Purple, I still a bit newbie when it comes to washes.
Though I'll try out the idea about the Purple wash to her dress, it sounds good, thanks.

perhaps a little Azurmen Blue in the recesses of the red. I know it probably sounds a bit weird but it could really bring a lot of depth to your already great job.
I did this to, but might do it again. Maybe I'll add some Regal blue to it, think that's what 'Eavy Metal used in WD about shading red.

Also I've just had another look at the picture, and again, it might be photo quality that makes me think this but perhaps the hair needs a little more definition.
I haven't even started with her hair yet, so don't you worry. :D
But I should go with black right?

And no, your not to picky, it's helpful, and I asked for it.

I Love that effect and would love to make my skeletons look more like ghosts, but I have yet to decide how to paint my vc (first I need to finish those beastmen lol ).
Sounds nice, best of luck with the beastmens.

Great looking start to what i'm sure will be a great army. Its nice that your carrying the little touches of character shown with your goblin force through to this one. The zombie with struggling with the boulder is great. Looking forward to seeing your countess finished
Thanks, though I promised myself to finish some more skeletons before I finish Ludmila, so it might take a while.
 

Christophe von Carstein

Vampire Count
True Blood
Aug 30, 2008
1,015
Newcastle upon Tyne
Its first time ive noticed anyone own the vampire model from avatars of war and I have to say i like it and its painted well might just have to invest in one especially as the scale of her to skeletons didnt seem to great in face she could well have been a gw model had i not known
 

count kill alot

Vargheist
May 16, 2010
610
Looking very good, love the rust effect you’ve pulled of also like the extra detail you did on the bell, your vamp though the pic is slightly fuzzy still looks scrumptious :konrad:
 

Mad 'At

Dumb enough to work
Staff member
True Blood
Apr 2, 2011
2,378
Grödinge
Thanks

I can really recommend the model, it is fun to paint and has very fine details. Though she is very tall, but since vampires often are described as tall it's ok.

I'm very sorry about the pictures, hopefully I'll have some new, better ones, up later today.
 

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