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Personalizing a Fantasy Vignette

This little vignette, called Purity, will be marketed by Time Machine Miniatures. It will be the final part of a three vignette series. The other two are called Sacrifice and Passion. I was asked to paint the box art and was given a pre-production version to paint. This is truly a painters vignette: each figure is cast in only one piece as is the base. Clean-up of mold seams and imperfections takes only a few minutes and you are ready to paint. One of the joys of fantasy figures is that there are really no rules on how they are painted they can truly be blank canvases, and this set is a case in point. For the Sacrifice vignette, I used a palette containing a large amount of purples and white with an overall dark presentation. For Passion, the primary colors were red and white with a brighter, warm effect. Here, I decided to use a pure, predominately white and green palette putting the figures in a virgin forest type setting. My one minor complaint about this kit is the size of the base. The bases for the other two vignettes are identically sized round pieces that create well composed, compact

vignettes. The Purity base is oval and is larger than necessary large enough in fact for another figure. While fine as is if the figures are separated a bit more to maintain balance, I would prefer it be the same size and shape as the others. I chose to make new groundwork so it would match the others. I also wanted to add more vegetation to the shoreline. When painting a figure for box art, I believe the artist should paint the figure stock, as is. Therefore, I painted and photographed the figures with the stock base. Then the new groundwork was created. As the painting methods were the same for both, I will detail only my groundwork in this article. After rooting through my box of bases, I selected an S&T round base that had the diameter I wanted. While I built up the bank with epoxy putty, I used the surface of the base as the water. This avoids a situation where the water seems to stand unnaturally above the base. The following step-by-step process was used to create the new groundwork.

The vignette on the stock base. Some additional vegetation on the shoreline was the only alteration.

3. More epoxy putty was mixed and placed in position to form the rocky bank. Once in place, it was textured by a rock pressed into the soft putty (below).

1. The composition was transferred to the new base. The additional rocks in the water (placed to fill a bit of dead space at the front of the composition) were sliced off an unused Time Machine base from one of the Teutoburger Wald kits.

2. The base was prepared. Painters Tape was wrapped around it to protect the finish while work was being done. Holes that I had previously drilled in the base (I had started to use it for another kit a few years back) were filled with Magic Sculpt epoxy putty and smoothed. New holes were drilled for the mounting pins of the figures (marked here with pins). Other holes were drilled to provided a firm grip for the epoxy putty that would form the bank.

4. The rock face and all the various rocks were then painted. Rocks were painted individually rather than as a single mass. For variety, they were painted in several different colors of grey-green and brown-green. Each rock was given a base coat, then dry-brushed in successively lighter colors. Next, each rock was given a thin wash of a very dark version of the base color. Finally, cracks and the joints between rocks were given a thin wash of black, and highest highlights and edges were added using glazes of light greens and tans

of green paints (I used Delta Ceramcoat Poetry Green, Timberline Green, and Wedgewood Green).

5. Mosses were added next. For moss, I use Woodland Scenics Snow as it has about the right texture for 54mm moss. In areas where the moss will be applied, a thinned layer of white glue is painted on the groundwork and the snow sprinkled on. Once dry, the excess is blown off (below). The moss is then painted with a thin wash of color. It is then lightly dry-brushed with a lighter color to bring out the texture.

7. The first step in making the water was accomplished prior to the figures being attached. The surface of the base was painted to represent a rippled water pattern.

6. Additional mosses were made by gluing on small clumps of model railroad foliage (shredded foam) as seen above. Additional plants dried plants from a floral shop were also glued into place (above and below). Finally, lichens can be created with tiny dots and dabs

It looks a bit stark and unrealistic at this stage, but will largely be hidden by final layers of water. But it leave an impression of ripples in the water. Note also the lighter color painted around figures, rocks, and shoreline. This will help give the impression that these items continue under the water.

Bathing Girl: In keeping with similar figures in the other two vignettes, I used a very pale flesh color. The base was Medium Flesh. The first several highlights were created by adding more and more Antique White to the base color. The highest highlight was Antique White. The first shade was created by adding Dark Flesh to the base color. The second shade was Dark Flesh. The third shade was created by adding Dusty Purple. Deepest shadows were created by adding a touch of Black. Her hair was base coated in the deep shadow flesh color. Color was gradually built up using first Sandstone (AB,) then Antique White, and finally White. Her lips were painted in a mix of Medium Flesh and Burgundy Rose. A highlight was created by mixing in Pink.

Remaining water painting tasks were completed after the figures were attached. Gloss Medium tinted with a tiny bit of English Ivy Green (AB) was applied. Finally, several coats of Clear Gloss were then applied. The lines painted in the previous steps are just visible.

The figures were painted in my normal fashion. I use acrylics (mostly craft paints such as Delta Ceramcoat, Folk Art, and Apple Barrel) almost exclusively. After a base coat is painted, highlights and then shadows are applied using semitransparent glazes of progressively lighter and darker colors respectively. A trick that can help achieve very smooth and gradual transitions between colors especially on smooth female flesh is to use what I call a blending wash. After all highlights and shadows are painted, I apply a very very thin wash (more tinted water than thinned paint) of the base color. This wash slightly blurs the transitions between color values and helps blend all the colors together. The color mixes used to achieve the flesh effects on the girls were as follows: (Unless listed otherwise, color as Delta Ceramcoat. AB indicated Apple Barrel and FA stands for Folk Art).
Girl on the Rocks: With fantasy figures, feel free to experiment the worst that can happen is that will have to strip the piece and start over. On all the other figures in the Time Machine fantasy line, flesh tones are some variation of natural. With this girl, I decided to go with a greenish skin tone. This not only blends her with her environment, but it fits with the casting her largish pointed ears clearly indicating she is not human (or at least not completely so). Her flesh base color is Dark Flesh and English Ivy Green (AB) mixed in a 3/1 ratio. Highlights were created by adding progressively more and more Medium Flesh and Lemon Grass to the base color. Shades were created by adding first English Ivy Green (AB), next Dark Forest Green, and finally a bit of Black. The result is a pleasing olive color green, but not too green. Her hair was given a base color of the darkest flesh shadow color and then highlighted with first Vineyard Green (AB) and then with Vineyard Green (AB) with a bit of Lemon Grass mixed in. Her eyes and fingernails are also green.

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