A quick miniature painting project is the best way for me to get back into crafting tabletop gaming stuff after a break. Using a Bones fantasy monster miniature is ideal. Bones miniatures tend to be inexpensive and getting paint on one knocks down the pile I still have from the Kickstarter. Since I'm coming back after a break, I'm more likely to make mistakes. I'd rather do that on a model that will only be on the table long enough for the player characters to remove it violently. Unfortunately, I ran into more problems than I could have anticipated and a "quick" project turned into a "longer than I thought it would take" project.
Planning and Preparation
Most of the Medusa miniatures I've seen online are a shade of green. I decided to be different and go for a brown color scheme.
I posted my usual approach to preparing a white plastic Bones miniature elsewhere on this blog. Short version: I clean the miniature thoroughly with warm soap and water. Then I glue it on a one inch steel fender washer. Finally, I hit it with a mix of FolkArt Glass & Tile Medium and either brown or black paint. This acts as a primer coat. For this project, I went with brown.
First Paint Pass
This was supposed to be the only paint pass, but things didn't go as planned.
Tail and Hair
FolkArt 231 Real Brown
FolkArt 479 Pure Black
The first coat was a mix of Real Brown with some Pure Black to darken it a shade or three. Real Brown was used over that as a highlight. This really brought out the scales on the tail and torso.
Skin
Reaper 09221 Olive Skin
Reaper 09041 Tanned Skin
Base coated with Olive Skin with Tanned Skin used over it as a highlight.
Bow and Quiver
Reaper 09041 Tanned Skin
The Tanned Skin color works as wood and worn leather as long as a wash is used over it.
Bracelets and Other Metallics
Citadel Colour Tin Bitz
Citadel Colour Shining Gold
I used this over the bracelets and pretended that the bare breasts were really sculpted bronze plates worn over the breasts. The dark brown metallic base color is a little too dark, but the brighter metallic brushed on as a highlight makes it look like its catching more light in some areas.
Wash Coat
FolkArt 231 Real Brown diluted with water
There were a few spots that needed some help after I was done painting. A wash sometimes works as a quick fix, but wasn't enough in this case.
The Problem
The issue I kept running into was the paint running off the raised areas and exposing the bare plastic underneath. Early production Bones miniatures used a white material that sometimes repels water and water-based paints when painted right out of the package. (More recent Bones miniatures use a grey plastic and may not have this issue.) A good cleaning and a coat of FolkArt Glass & Tile Medium usually solves the problem, but didn't seem to be as effective on this project. Looking back, using craft paints instead of higher density artist or miniature paints may have contributed to the difficulties I was having.
Second Paint Pass
My new plan was to hide all the mistakes and patchy spots of the first pass with another coat of wash. Then I could brush on highlights over the wash coat and nobody would know unless they read this blog post.
Wash Coat
FolkArt 231 Real Brown
FolkArt 479 Pure Black
Liquitex Matte Medium
Water
This is a much darker wash than the one I used at the end of the first pass. It also holds together better due to the Matte Medium keeping the pigments in suspension.
Tail & Hair Highlights
FolkArt 231 Real Brown
Skin Highlights
Reaper 09221 Olive Skin
Metallic Highlights
Citadel Colour Shining Gold
The wash caused the previously applied colors to blend together. Here I tried to make the raised areas stand out again.
Basing
Mix of sand, FolkArt 231 Real Brown, PVA glue, and water
FolkArt 420 Linen
My usual approach to texturing and coloring the base of miniature is covered in more detail elsewhere on this blog. Once the mix was dry, I brushed on the Linen to bring out the rough texture.
Final Paint Pass
The second pass fixed most of the areas where the paint ran off during the first pass. There were still a couple of raised areas were much of the paint flowed off, leaving them significantly brighter. Worse, the details on the miniature were getting lost. Using Real Brown as a highlight over a mix of Real Brown and Pure Black works under a bright lamp, but is too subtle a difference to notice in other lighting conditions. I needed one more pass to highlight the details further and cover up the last remaining spots.
Highlighting Layer
FolkArt 420 Linen
FolkArt 231 Real Brown
Straight Linen would be too bright on its own, so I added a touch of Real Brown to darken it slightly. I used this mix over all the non-metallic areas to bring out the raised details and highlight certain areas. It also served to cover up the remaining spots.
Wash Coat
FolkArt 231 Real Brown
Liquitex Matte Medium
Water
Even darkened down with a little Real Brown, the highlight mix was still a little too bright when I was finished with it. I brushed on Real Brown diluted with water and Matte Medium to blend the layers together.
Wrapping Up
I tend to be more prone to making mistakes after a break. This makes "warming up" with something like a Bones miniature worthwhile for me. The process of engaging with a project can come back to me while working on something that only has to be good enough.
As for the Medusa, this miniature will do fine when it goes on the tabletop. All it has to do is menace the player characters until it runs out of hit points.
Wrapping Up
I tend to be more prone to making mistakes after a break. This makes "warming up" with something like a Bones miniature worthwhile for me. The process of engaging with a project can come back to me while working on something that only has to be good enough.
As for the Medusa, this miniature will do fine when it goes on the tabletop. All it has to do is menace the player characters until it runs out of hit points.
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