They're Shambling!

[MarquisdeSubir]

Oh hey. So this is my first warhammer army. Even though I've painted random miniatures off and on again the past two years (a box about every 6 months or so.) I'm going to be collecting my stuff relatively slowly, but I'll update this as I finish up various critters.

So the first unit to shamble slowly out of the mists is....


..a unit of zombies!

... and that's a wrap!

Planning on getting an Empire Wizard boxed set for two necromancers and a couple crypt horrors next. Ultimately... I want to make an Empire-Zombie themed army... my skeletons will be zombie/skeletal state troops, the Grave Guard will be zombie greatswordsmen. There might even be a vampire on an undead griffin at some point.

The bases have no grass on purpose... I'm not really sure about the dark slate colored ground, so if anyone has a recommendation I'd be happy to hear it.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome, of course. Zombies are pretty forgiving as far as blotchiness and shakiness goes, fortunately.

 

[Archean]

Nice work, always a fan of zombies! can I ask how you achieved the gore effects?

 

[Mannerheim27]

Great job on these guys so far. Great work on the gore effects as well. This unit is full of character.

Keep up the great work,

Jake

 

[MarquisdeSubir]

Nice work, always a fan of zombies! can I ask how you achieved the gore effects?

Thanks! There's not a lot of gore compared to a lot of zombie units out there but that'll be fixed in the future..

The skin is elf flesh --> watered down Mechrite red wash --> watered down purple ink wash in recesses --> elf flesh highlights

The gore is painted on top of that, and it's just mechrite red w/ some orange on top to highlight, slathered with gloss varnish. Brutal, but somewhat effective.

 

[The Keeper]

Great job! they look like they have just shambled off the set of "The Walking Dead"

 

[Kaptain Von]

Well, that looks a fat sight better than my first army!

What I think I like about these is the slight dustiness of them - they look mummified to me, and that's an unusual touch with zombies. Good show.

 

[MarquisdeSubir]

(Just bought an Empire wizard boxed kit to build my two necromancers, the brothers Gunter and Scutter van Unterling. Here's Gunter now...)

To be honest I think the glow from the candles is probably the best part... I don't know how everyone else paints their minis, but I just wasn't able to reach the face and the beard with the brush that easily (do you paint them disassembled first?) Also not sure about the gloss coat for the blood now... it makes them more visually interesting... but it's a little weird. And of course Gunter now has what I am coining "Brush Gout" with bloaty fingers due to too many layers of paint. Oh well. Crispness will come with practice, I hope.

 

[The Keeper]

I personally always dry fit my minis first to see which areas i can reach while glued together and which parts i need to paint separate. To help avoid the bloating layers, water down the paints first 2 or 3 thin coats is always better than one thick coat. But looking good love the glowing writing on the book and the candle glow. cant wait to see more.


- Mikey

 

[MarquisdeSubir]

I personally always dry fit my minis first to see which areas i can reach while glued together and which parts i need to paint separate. To help avoid the bloating layers, water down the paints first 2 or 3 thin coats is always better than one thick coat. But looking good love the glowing writing on the book and the candle glow. cant wait to see more.


- Mikey

Thanks for the advice. I'll put my next kit together a with a little bit more foresight... hopefully avoid some of the frustration.

It'll be a while before the next regiment is bought/finished, but here's the other necromancer (Scutter van Unterling) along with some photos of them both together...

 

[sokthana]

Good job so far, and i love the lighting effect on the first necromancer.

 

[Brahm Tazoul]

I really like the zombies. I think that they just POP off of the base, thanks to the superb contrast that you've worked there. Well done!

Brahm

 

[Kaptain Von]

I wouldn't necessarily say crispness is something to strive for, just because it's how most everyone chooses to paint. There's a run of excellent entries on more inspired painting styles starting here, and another here.

I say this because while you see flaws in your work, I see something I would like to imitate - you have a kind of natural Blanchitsu* and I'd hate to see that disappear into a more generic style just because you've gotten the impression that's the Right Way To Do It.



* - ignore people who say John Blanche can't paint: people who say 'X can't paint' either don't understand art and mean 'X paints in a way I don't like', or they do understand art a bit and mean 'X paints without worrying about Y thing which is a popular goal for painters' but can't be bothered to say that because dismissal is easier than pluralism.

 

[MarquisdeSubir]

I wouldn't necessarily say crispness is something to strive for, just because it's how most everyone chooses to paint. There's a run of excellent entries on more inspired painting styles starting here, and another here.

I say this because while you see flaws in your work, I see something I would like to imitate - you have a kind of natural Blanchitsu* and I'd hate to see that disappear into a more generic style just because you've gotten the impression that's the Right Way To Do It.



* - ignore people who say John Blanche can't paint: people who say 'X can't paint' either don't understand art and mean 'X paints in a way I don't like', or they do understand art a bit and mean 'X paints without worrying about Y thing which is a popular goal for painters' but can't be bothered to say that because dismissal is easier than pluralism.

Wow... that's very informative stuff. Whenever I thought about minis before it was always in terms of "What would make the slickest, most aesthetically appealing layout in terms of tabletop gaming... within the boundaries of my skill level" and not in terms of miniatures as an art form. Although I still want to reach the level where I'm at least capable of emulating that style, it's a very valid point and one I'll take to heart.

 

[Kaptain Von]

Wow... that's very informative stuff. Whenever I thought about minis before it was always in terms of "What would make the slickest, most aesthetically appealing layout in terms of tabletop gaming... within the boundaries of my skill level" and not in terms of miniatures as an art form. Although I still want to reach the level where I'm at least capable of emulating that style, it's a very valid point and one I'll take to heart.

And a very fine way that is of thinking about it too. It's the automatic equation of 'slick and appealing' with 'crisp and cartoony' that's the problem. I think your stuff has an appeal of its own that the popular style of the time doesn't. Technical improvement is fine, just... be wary of the agendas in advice. Some advice is geared toward producing a particular kind of result, and it's very easy to forget how to paint in other ways (I know I have!).

 

[The Keeper]

WOW!! the second Necromancer is wicked!

And I agree with Von, keeping true to your own personal painting Style is essential! Trying to emulate others is a waste of time and if the desired results aren't achieved may lead to the painter becoming disheartened. Listen to advice and only take away from it what you can/ want use for your style.

One of the things i miss most about WD is the "Blanchitsu" articles, they were both inspiring and mold breaking. Sure he may show up every now and then but its not enough, further more the fact that he only got one page at the back of the old GW painting book is criminal, the guys a master without his work half the VC range wouldnt even exist.

Anyways before i get stuck ranting about there not being enough alternative painting styles.... I love what u are doing, cant wait to see more and remember the only person who needs to be happy with your painting style is YOU. Keep the great work coming!

- Mikey

P.S. With all the years painting under my belt i can truthfully say that i would not be able to recreate the style u have its unique and will hopefully inspire more peeps to be brave enough to break the mold.

 

[MarquisdeSubir]

Oh hey, I couldn't stay away from GW...

So here are some slightly converted Longswordsmen retrofitted with zombie heads to act as Grave Gaurd w/ GW. I'm toying with the idea of a sort of fluff army based partly around these two necromancers being former Imperial wizards... who turned out to be secretly in league with a vampire high up in the aristocracy (although no one knows this yet) and who poison their own regiment and raise the dead to do their bidding. Recently dead just seems more... insidious than skeletons. So here they are, along with Scutter, who is filling in the unit I took out to convert into a Wight King/SB for fun (not on a list or anything).

The color and value are a little off (a little yellow, and it made the black more purple)... but not by much. These guys are intentionally dark. I was sort of trying to make most of the model dark (the purples and tarnished coppers) so that the flesh and glowing swords would really pop. Maybe removing the metallic highlight would help? (advice is welcome...) I think it ended up being more of a mix of muddy colors.

The starts of the regiment:

The champion:

Some close-ups:

We'll see about these guys.

 

[Rav3nKing]

Absolutely loving the Greatsword/Zombie conversions! They look very much like they've been through hell (and back!)

 

[Santawraith]

I wanted to let you know that we have a zombie challenge in the dying to help forum for march. come join us.

I am really liking your grave guard I too personally love dark models.

 

[Mannerheim27]

Excellent zombies. I really like the amount of converting that went into these guys. Great job!!

All the best,

Jake

 

[Blackbard]

MarquisdeSubir...these are some fantastic models! At first I wasn't sure what to think, but the more I looked the more they grew on me...and then I saw that banner!!! AWESOME!! I love it! I am going to try making my own to the best of my ability! Thank you for the inspiration!!!
Bard

 

[MarquisdeSubir]

Yeah I'm not really sure what to think either most of the time... but I figure I'll post them anyways, might as well right?

Speaking of which, here's the first three Dire Wolves I painted.

I was trying to go for less of a zombie-wolf look and more of a heck-hound approach.

Working in that purple->red->bright flesh tone gradient that I also use on magical weapons and the banner (which has been slightly revised to be less eye-popping)... (and now that I think about it, it's actually a much brighter version of the same gradient I make using washes for flesh... huh.)

And finally, a little bit of photoshop on the first image to brighten up your day.

 

[Mannerheim27]

Oooooh, those are very strange, but in a good way. I like the contrast on them. Many people tend to paint them quite muted. Excellent job on yours. You could try running some light washes of Bahl Red from the tips and down to the body to make it flow really nicely. Fantastic work.

All the best,

Jake

 

[headhunter]

Hey this is great stuff..

On your piant style...you are a lot like me, where u see the models as a canvass, rather than something to be processed through a series of techniques.

The bases i think would look good with perhaps a light snow/tundra feel to them, as this would cuntrast well with the extreme gore and highlights your using.

the brave and strong use of Blue is also nice.

i agree with what has been said about the dire wolves. A slight wash to knock back the hightlighst would be a good idea.
And if the some of the others had zombie parts inthier mouths? - you could then carry that excellent gore work across to the unit.

-ill be tuned to this channel...

-D

 

[The Keeper]

Still loving what i see, the longsword GG unit is wicked and yet more proof that pretty much every warhammer kit can be converted into filling a VC unit role.

Keep at it cant wait to see more

- Mikey

 

[Santawraith]

I'm not a fan of the direwolf models, but I do admire your unique choice of colors. I agree with red, the bright colors rather than the typical muted colors is refreshing.

As for your photoshopped image... Its our new wallpapaer.