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| Feathers and bat wings? Well, she's a fantasy monster. Forget about biological plausibility, I guess. |
One goal I set out for the Reaper Bones Harpy was to experiment with some of the washes I've purchased over the last couple of years. My older stock of washes are either used up or are drying up in their containers. Trying out the newer stuff lets me cycle it in and get used to how it works.
Washer Base
I borrowed a trick from Chris Palmer's All Bones About It and glued the figure to a one inch steel washer. Reaper Bones miniatures are light enough that they tend to fall over easily with the extra weight on the bottom. I spray primed the washer before gluing it to the figure.
Primer/Base Color Coat
FolkArt Tile and Glass Medium mixed with Formula P3 Menoth White Base. A post on Reaper Miniature's forums recommends preparing Bones miniatures with FolkArt Tile and Glass Medium. Formula P3 Menoth White Base works well as an undercoat for lighter colors like white and flesh tones. I tried laying on washes directly over this coat, but the results were so disappointing that I abandoned that approach. Fortunately, mistakes like that can simply be painted over.
Flesh Tones
A coat of Reaper #09047 Fair Skin went over the previous layers. I tried a layer of Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash to bring out the details, but I didn't like how it turned out. It might work better applied over a white coat.
I next applied a layer of Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone Quickshade. This is the wash sold in dropper bottles, not the dip sold in cans. Many of the washes I've used work by darkening the overall color of the surface and bring out details by flowing into recesses. Army Painter Warpaints Quickshade doesn't coat the way that I'm used to - it flows off raised areas more easily. The result is less of a change to the overall color of the surface it is applied to and more pooling in the recesses. I'm pleased with how it worked on this figure, but I may try diluting it next time to reduce the contrast between the raised and recessed areas.
As a final touch, I used a Silver Metallic Sharpie over certain bits to represent the minimal armor worn in those areas in the fantasy genre.
Feathers
I'm not sure why this figure is sculpted with bat wings and feathers, but harpies are fantasy creatures and I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. The base color is Reaper #09017 True Blue. I lightly brushed on Reaper #09288 LED Blue over the True Blue, being careful to allow the True Blue to show through in the recesses. This gives the feathers some depth under the brighter color.
Legs and Wings
I used Reaper #09088 Stormy Grey as a base color and a lighter grey for highlighting. A layer of Army Painter Warpaints Dark Tone Quickshade brought out the details. I considered yellow, orange, or tan as more realistic for bird legs, but I felt that the brighter colors might stand out too much from the rest of the figure.
Hair
Reaper #09070 Mahogany Brown is a good color for reddish-brown hair. I applied Army Painter Warpaints Strong Tone Quickshade over it. I considered making the hair the same color as the feathers, but I wanted more variation for the top of the figure.
Cloth
I wanted a relatively bright color to make this detail stand out. Reaper #09004 Fire Red tuned out to be just a little too bright. A layer of Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone Quickshade brought down the color just enough.
Basing
Some glue and sand provides texture and a couple of earth tones simulate dry soil.
Closing Notes
I noticed an odd smell when I was using the Army Painter Warpaints Quickshades. It's not an issue that is unique to Army Painter products - some other washes produce a similar odor. Maybe it has something to do with the specific pigments or medium used?
The paint job on this figure turned out darker than I expected, but I'm happy with it. The harpy is a monster - something that will only be on the tabletop as long as the players permit it to be there. Heroes, boss monsters, and other significant figures need to "pop" on the table, but monsters can be subdued in appearance.
Washer Base
I borrowed a trick from Chris Palmer's All Bones About It and glued the figure to a one inch steel washer. Reaper Bones miniatures are light enough that they tend to fall over easily with the extra weight on the bottom. I spray primed the washer before gluing it to the figure.
Primer/Base Color Coat
FolkArt Tile and Glass Medium mixed with Formula P3 Menoth White Base. A post on Reaper Miniature's forums recommends preparing Bones miniatures with FolkArt Tile and Glass Medium. Formula P3 Menoth White Base works well as an undercoat for lighter colors like white and flesh tones. I tried laying on washes directly over this coat, but the results were so disappointing that I abandoned that approach. Fortunately, mistakes like that can simply be painted over.
Flesh Tones
A coat of Reaper #09047 Fair Skin went over the previous layers. I tried a layer of Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash to bring out the details, but I didn't like how it turned out. It might work better applied over a white coat.
I next applied a layer of Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone Quickshade. This is the wash sold in dropper bottles, not the dip sold in cans. Many of the washes I've used work by darkening the overall color of the surface and bring out details by flowing into recesses. Army Painter Warpaints Quickshade doesn't coat the way that I'm used to - it flows off raised areas more easily. The result is less of a change to the overall color of the surface it is applied to and more pooling in the recesses. I'm pleased with how it worked on this figure, but I may try diluting it next time to reduce the contrast between the raised and recessed areas.
As a final touch, I used a Silver Metallic Sharpie over certain bits to represent the minimal armor worn in those areas in the fantasy genre.
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| I like how the sculptor captured the figure in the middle of a banking turn. |
Feathers
I'm not sure why this figure is sculpted with bat wings and feathers, but harpies are fantasy creatures and I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. The base color is Reaper #09017 True Blue. I lightly brushed on Reaper #09288 LED Blue over the True Blue, being careful to allow the True Blue to show through in the recesses. This gives the feathers some depth under the brighter color.
Legs and Wings
I used Reaper #09088 Stormy Grey as a base color and a lighter grey for highlighting. A layer of Army Painter Warpaints Dark Tone Quickshade brought out the details. I considered yellow, orange, or tan as more realistic for bird legs, but I felt that the brighter colors might stand out too much from the rest of the figure.
Hair
Reaper #09070 Mahogany Brown is a good color for reddish-brown hair. I applied Army Painter Warpaints Strong Tone Quickshade over it. I considered making the hair the same color as the feathers, but I wanted more variation for the top of the figure.
Cloth
I wanted a relatively bright color to make this detail stand out. Reaper #09004 Fire Red tuned out to be just a little too bright. A layer of Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone Quickshade brought down the color just enough.
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| There's always that one mold line that only shows up after painting and photographing. |
Basing
Some glue and sand provides texture and a couple of earth tones simulate dry soil.
Closing Notes
I noticed an odd smell when I was using the Army Painter Warpaints Quickshades. It's not an issue that is unique to Army Painter products - some other washes produce a similar odor. Maybe it has something to do with the specific pigments or medium used?
The paint job on this figure turned out darker than I expected, but I'm happy with it. The harpy is a monster - something that will only be on the tabletop as long as the players permit it to be there. Heroes, boss monsters, and other significant figures need to "pop" on the table, but monsters can be subdued in appearance.
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