Dwarf Dragon Slayer (5)

Underworld ‘Pearl’s Girl’ 

I’ve finished the base – and thought it might be of use to demonstrate the method for making the foam effect.

 

These are the materials I used – still water effect, crushed glass, and snow flock:

Crushed glass is quite dangerous, so it’s important to wear protective gloves, goggles, and a dust mask. However, it’s made easier to handle if you use a laboratory spatula.

I didn’t devise a precise formula for the quantities, but made a small pool of water effect on a sheet of aluminium foil, added about half a spatula of crushed glass, and then a heaped spatula of snow flock; mixing them together with a cocktail stick:

I then used the cocktail stick to dab this onto the water area.

I experimented with the ratios, and tried to make the foam whiter by adding more snow flock to the mixture – which doesn’t work. Instead, I found that the more layers you add, the more opaque and white it will eventually look. It’s best to wait for one layer to dry properly before adding another:

Once you’re happy with the foam effect, brush several layers of pure still water effect over it, to finish it off.

 

Worth a look:

A Space Hulk Librarian (Minisocles)

Dark Eldar Grotesques (EldarAddict)

Plague tank conversion (RecalcitrantDaze)

Wraith conversion (RobHawkins)

How to make a desert-themed base (EurekaMiniatures)

How to paint a map (Timeline)

How to make fun of Donald Trump (PeterSerafinowicz)

Dwarf Dragon Slayer (4)

love battery – fuzz factory

I’ve completed the base. It needed about half a dozen coats of water effect gel, and it takes at least 24 hours for each one to cure fully, before you can apply the subsequent layer – so it’s fairly time-consuming. I’m slightly ambivalent about the results, but it’s always worth trying something new.

These were the main colours used – I think I used a wash of dark grey to shade the waves; but forgot to include it here:

The glaze medium was helpful, though not strictly vital, because the waves were made from greenstuff; and with them being smooth and undulating, glazing them using watered-down paint didn’t work, as it tended to run off the peaks and gather in the deeper areas.

 

Brief step-by-step

Basecoat with turquoise:

Shade with dark grey; and then highlight with turquoise + Ushabti bone. Increase the amount of Ushabti bone over subsequent layers; before applying a final highlight of pure Ushabti bone. Finish by glazing the waves with turquoise:

Once it’s been coated with several layers of water effect gel:

The foam was made using a mix of liquid water effect, crushed glass, and snow flock – once this had dried, I gave the whole area two coats of liquid water effect:

In between waiting for the various layers to dry, I decided to revisit the Dire Wolves diorama from last December, and paint a backdrop for it. I came up with two different versions – neither of which I like, really:

 

Back to the drawing board. It still seems like it’s missing an element in the background, somehow; but I’m not really sure what would solve this.

Dwarf Dragon Slayer (2)

Adorable ‘I’ll be your saint’ 

The last mock-up before beginning to paint this:

I quite enjoyed sculpting the barnacles – but we’ll have to see how the water effect turns out, as it’s not something I’ve ever really attempted before:

It’s a fairly banal point, but I barely used the colour blue in the last few models I’ve painted, and tended to make green the predominant colour; so I’m going to see if I can switch that around.

 

Worth a look:

A quick way of painting textured power-armour (MiniaTextures)

How to create an underground scenic base (LegionOfTheCow)

Step-by-step showcase on painting non-metallic gold (BellOfLostSouls)

Interesting exercise in painting skin-tones (SproketsSmallWorld)

Mushrooms! (Serpentarium)