Adapting House Baratheon heraldry for miniature form

Chosen as the next miniature in my Game of Thrones project purely for its colour scheme, Renly Baratheon has two main heraldry designs that can be painted freehand on the Bretonnian Knight conversion. One is a stag head while the other has a stag rearing up on its hindquarters. With some simple changes, both can be adapted to become freehand paintings on a miniature, more so for the latter design below as it contains a complicated drawing of the antlers.

House Baratheon heraldry [Renly version]

As with my previous two heraldry freehand paintings, the process began with  some large not-to-scale drawings to get a feel of what could or couldn't work. At the top of my to-do list was to find a simple way to depict the crown as well as antlers on the stag. Due to the scale of the Bretonnian knight, I settled for the simplest form I could the results of which you can see in the first two pictures below. The practice paintings are very rough in form and gives me an idea of what I need to do later in order to make the two stag designs stand out - at least in theory as I am still not sure if I can pull it off.

Early not-to-scale drawings to decide what could be done

More precise-to-scale drawings and rough paintings on a 12-mm by 15-mm shield

In preparation for the feehand painting of House Baratheon heraldry a la Renly's version, I painted the cloth on the warhorse in a slightly dark green look. As this was my first serious try at blending green acrylic colours (the ork skins I did previously were pathetic so they don't count), it resulted in a less than stellar result. What surprised me most was how chalky some of the greens were, an issue I was not expecting for the shades of green I was working with - from Orkhide Shade to Dark Angels Green to Snot Green to Scorpion Green and mixed colours in-between.

Mixing some different shades of green on the wet palette

House Baratheon [Renly version] warhorse sans heraldy (left side view)

House Baratheon [Renly version] warhorse sans heraldy (right side view)

So the next step will be the painting of Renly's heraldry, my toughest freehand challenge yet.

 

Katniss Everdeen, an inspiration to start sculpting

Where do I even begin? There are many moments in both Hunger Games movies so far that made me pause and think ... 'hey that would make an awesome miniature model kit'. And most of these moments involve the character portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence i.e. Katniss Everdeen. Well she may yet be the straw that broke the camel's back and the character that gets me to learn about sculpting.   

Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence portrays Katniss to perfection with that 'spaced-out I don't care anymore' look on her face. Perhaps  two other actors could, in my humble opinion, have successfully pulled off playing Katniss namely Ellen Page (who is Kitty Pride in Days of Future Past, the new X-Men movie) and Hailee Steinfeld (who portrayed Petra in Ender's Game). But that being said, Jennifer Lawrence nails the character and is how I have imagined her from the books.

Jennifer Lawrence was the perfect Katniss

Ellen Page (left) and Hailee Steinfeld (right)

So what are the moments that I feel would make awesome miniatures for painting? For a start,there is that chariot scene in the first movie where Katniss is dressed in a Cat Woman-like outfit that is set ablaze with flames. That pose would make a very cool bust sculpture. 

Costume and special effects in the chariot scene from the first book/movie

Another scene has Katniss dressed in Tomb Raider-like garb. It looks simple, which makes it a prime candidate for a novice sculpture, yet would still be a wonderful piece to have in your collection. There is an action figure by NECA which depicts her in the pose below but it comes fully painted, which might be of use to re-modellers but not really that appealing to painters. 

A Tomb Raider look for Katniss Everdeen

My favourite moment of both movies so far and the one scene in which I would most love to sculpt is the one that has Katniss spinning around in a gorgeous red dress that bursts into flames at the lower fringes. Forgive me for the overly generous use of adjectives but that costume was simply stunning, magnificent and elegant in its simplicity, made even better by the simple hairdo and makeup that Jeniffer Lawrence had on in that scene. It reminded me of a flamenco dancer in full flight.

From District 12, the girl on fire

Catching Fire, the latest Hunger Games movie, also has some memorable moments of its own that would make cool miniatures, if someone would only sculpt them. This time around, the second chariot scene had lost its 'surprise' factor but still looks impressive enough to be a bust sculpture.

Katniss in another chariot scene in Catching Fire

Similarly uncomplicated in style is the attire worn by participants to the Quarter Quell, a special edition of the Hunger Games that is held every 25 years. A good pose is one I found on the cover of Empire magazine which has Katniss holding a bow and carrying some arrows on her back.

Attire worn by participants of the 75th Hunger Games

Perhaps the most detailed and thus difficult miniature to sculpt would be the one where Katniss is wearing a wedding dress that transforms into a mockingjay outfit. While it is something to aspire to if one has some experience sculpting, this is surely beyond the ability of a novice sculptor.

Wedding dress that transforms into a mockingjay costume

So the above moments has certainly sparked my interest in sculpting (pun unintended) but I know as much about sculpting as I did miniature painting about 2-3 years ago which is close to nothing. Of what little I know sees me leaning towards learning how to sculpt with polymer clay. This is a new journey that I am looking forward to and hopefully one that will be just as rewarding as miniature painting has been for me so far. A lot of work lies ahead so it's going to be baby steps all the way.

Hunger Games the books, a short review

Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

In case you have been living under a rock for the past five years, Hungers Games is a science fiction trilogy written about a dystopian nation called Panem. Katniss Everdeen, the main character lives in one of the 12 districts under the political control of The Capitol, the seat of a totalitarian government. Every year, two children (one boy and one girl) are requested as tribute from each of the 12 districts. These children are then sent to compete in The Hunger Games in which there is only one winner.    

If you have already seen the movies, would you want to read the books? The answer to that is an emphatic yes! As Suzanne Collins has written the books from a first-person narrative or point of view, there are a lot of thoughts by the main character Katniss which does not translate well into the big screen. Additionally, the books also give deeper insights into the characters although I suspect some of such narrative may be used as material for the final two movies of the Hunger Games series. Another book in a similar vein theme-wise would be Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, which also deals with young children left in a kill-or-be-killed environment that sees them descent into savagery.

Setting aside the deeper meaning that critics have tried to glean from the books, this trilogy should be enjoyed simply as being a good story told well. Characters in the Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay books are well developed, especially that of Katniss Everdeen as the books are written in her voice. And wonderful characters always make good miniatures to paint ... and sculpt.

Knight Models Iron Man [WIP - Red Armour]

Akin to jumping into the deep-end of the pool, trying out the non-metallic metal (NMM) painting technique for the first time was made much more challenging by the many reflective angles provided by Iron Man's suit of armour. Without a doubt, this has been my toughest challenge yet in miniature painting and I was initially overwhelmed by the task I faced in painting Iron Man using NMM. To make things more manageable, I decided to break each task up into small digestible pieces and tackle them one at a time. I have a ways to go before I master NMM but at least I have made a start.

NMM light sources for Knight Models Iron Man

Firstly, I decided on where my light sources were going to be (see above). In this case, I imagined light coming from three different sources spaced roughly 120 degrees from each other. Secondly, I tried to paint NMM layers on Iron Man's suit of armour by treating each small section as separate geometric shapes and paint them based on how I think light would reflect off a metal surface. Things were made easier by the use of a wet palette which helped in blending paints, a key component of the NMM painting technique. It also allowed me to work for longer stretches during a single painting session as the wet palette prevents the paint from drying up to too fast. 

Using a wet palette for NMM helped ease blending of colours

Work on the red armour is by no means finished as I will most likely have to rev-visit it once I completed NMM layers on the gold sections or Iron Man's suit of armour. This is to ensure that light reflections of the gold armour is consistent with how light plays off the red sections of the armour. Nonetheless, I guess the bulk of the NMM work on the red armour is done.

Knight Models Iron Man (WIP Red Armour) - facing Light Source 1

Pure Skull White was used for the brightest highlights to make it look like metal

Back of red armour most likely still needs further touch ups for the NMM to work convincingly

In the case of Knight Models Iron Man, a lack of patience is one factor that can derail my efforts at painting a presentable NMM effect. The many individual armour panels on Iron Man means light reflects slightly differently from each one. A tendency on my part to paint too fast can mean overlooking small details that will cause the NMM effect to look wrong to the human eye.    

Knight Models Iron Man (WIP Red Armour) - facing Light Source 2

Knight Models Iron Man (WIP Red Armour) - facing Light Source 3

Still at basecoat stage - the arc reactor, hand repulsors, gold armour and base

Knight Models Iron Man (WIP Red Armour)

Hopefully when I have finished painting NMM on the gold sections, the overall metallic look of Iron Man will be more convincing. Additionally, object source lighting effects of the Arc Reactor on Iron Man's chest and repulsor weapon's on his hands will enhance the NMM effect, assuming I can pull it off. Well that's it for my progress on the Knight Models Iron Man miniature. Many hours of work lie ahead and I will need every ounce of my willpower to not rush things as per my usual (bad) habit. 

Picking a Baratheon king to paint

Next up on my Game of Thrones miniature painting project is House Baratheon. But which brother do I choose? Right off the bat, I have ruled out Robert for now as his colour scheme is too similar to my recent Ser Gregor Clegane piece. So that leaves Renly and Stannis, both of which I plan to work on. To kick-off work on House Baratheon, I will paint Renly Baratheon whose yellow-on-green colours is the most different from what I have done so far i.e. House Lannister and House Clegane.   

Robert, Renly and Stannis Baratheon (from left to right)

A beautiful piece of fan art by 'saracennegative' on devianART pretty much sums up the different colour schemes involved for separate branches of House Baratheon as led by the three siblings.

Colours of House Baratheon for Robert, Renly and Stannis (from left to right) by saracennegative

For this miniature, I did a very minor re-sculpting of the Bretonnian Knight by cutting out the sword hilt so that it looks like only the scabbard is attached to the knight's left leg. This was done because the knight (or in this case, a temporary king in the form Renly) was already holding up a sword. It would have looked odd and unrealistic to still have a sword in the scabbard. So the hilt had to go.

Renly Baratheon - all primed in white and ready for the initial basecoats

Minor miniature re-sculpting to remove sword hilt and show just the scabbard

So far, I have only managed a few thin layers of the basecoat colours. I have kept the initial layers thin because I plan to do some washes on the warhorse before building up the basecoat colours again going on to mid-tones and highlights. The bright greens here won't be too far off from a Space Marine Salamander colour scheme. Meanwhile, the bluish band on the warhorse is based on a photo of Renly (see below) although I haven't quite got the correct hue yet which is teal so I need to add more green and/or turquoise to the bluish mix I painted ... that's what I think will work anyway.

Renly Baratheon's warhorse - early stages with a few thin layers of basecoat

Teal-colour of Renly's gloves will be incorprated into the warhorse

If you recall, I still have another version of Ser Gregor to do, a Nocturna Models miniature painted in Clegane colours. That one is still progressing slowly as I intend to spent a much longer time blending colour transitions so no worthwhile photos yet. Work should progress faster with Renly ... I hope.  

My first Kolinsky paint brush

Thanks to the missus who bought me this as a gift during her work assignment in Singapore, I am now the proud owner of a Kolinsky Sable-hair paint brush or more specifically the Raphael Kolinsky Red Sable Fine Pointed Round Series 8404. Up until now, all my paint brushes have been of the cheap nylon variety which have served me well and will continue doing so for many more projects to come. However, by having the 6/0 Kolinsky brush I hope to finally paint better eyes on the miniatures. The sharp point that such brushes are famed for should be of great help in this regard.

Raphael Kolinsky Red Sable Fine Pointed Round Series 8404

Ever since I started out in this hobby, the workhorses in my painting table have been the cheap Artpac nylon brushes sized 0, 2/0 and 3/0. Although I would love to have an array of Kolinsky Sable-hair as well as airbrushes at my disposal, the sad reality is that only nylon brushes are within my budget. It was awfully nice of the missus to get me the Kolinsky brush considering it cost a whopping US$10 or thereabouts. I am super stoked but would most likely use it very sparingly to make it last longer.

Current workhorses of my painting table

Well it seems truly silly of me to get so excited over a brush but I can't help it. It's a Kolinsky. No more blaming the brush for the horribly painted eyes on my miniatures then. Heh heh ... sigh.

Marvel project begins with an introvert and an extrovert

To add to the considerable pipeline of miniature painting projects on my workstation, I will be starting yet another long-term project in the form of superheros and villains from the Marvel Universe. This new endeavour will take centre stage along with my current Game of Thrones project which I am enjoying immensely due to the myriad of colour schemes and freehand heraldry designs involved. Other stuff in my to-do list are some stand-alone character pieces, possibly board game minis as well as my badly ignored W40K armies. Phew, talk about having your cake and eating it too.

Iron Man and The Hulk

My journey into the Marvel Universe, in particular assembling and painting the Avengers, begins with a contrast of two characters namely an extrovert in playboy Tony Stark aka Iron Man versus an introvert in the mild mannered and soft spoken Bruce Banner aka The Hulk. With the Iron Man movies into their third iteration, it is widely accepted among Marvel fans on how well Downey carries the Stark character. On the other hand, Mark Ruffalo is the third actor to play the movie version of Bruce Banner. And in my honest opinion. Ruffalo is by far the best Banner yet.   

Mark Ruffalo (left) as Bruce Banner and Robert Downey Jr (right) as Tony Stark

So where do I stand in terms of progress in assembling the Avengers? Using miniatures from Knight Models for both The Hulk and Iron Man, the former has yet to be assembled. The Hulk from the Knight Models Marvel Universe range comes with a few assemble options which includes three heads as well as two left and right hands each. It allows for three versions of Hulk - Red Hulk, Grey Hulk and Green Hulk. In line with the movie versions, I am planning to paint a green Hulk.

Knight Models The Hulk - a 1:22 scale resin model kit

At first glance, both Iron Man and Hulk seem like easy projects but the actual size of both miniatures - The Hulk stands at 90 mm from the base to the top of  his head while Iron Man comes in at 75 mm - as well as an intention on my part to paint both Iron Man's armour and Hulk's skin in extreme detail and hopefully with depth means it will be harder than it looks.

Knight Models Iron Man primed with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer

As for Iron Man, I have managed to get a few initial layers of basecoat on the miniature after priming him with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer. My current painting style is fairly fluid with repeated shifts between basecoats, shadows and highlights so even now the basecoat layers are incomplete. My starting point tends to be the mid-tones which will be blended accordingly with the shadows and highlights. Meanwhile, Iron Man will also see me try to paint Non-Metallic Metal for the first time.

Iron Man - Very early work-in-progress with initial basecoats done (front view)

Iron Man - Very early work-in-progress with initial basecoats done (back view)

Constantly shifting from one colour scheme to the next (as well as challenging myself with different miniature types) helps to stave off the monotony that sometimes plagues me in this hobby. Keeping things fresh also helps me to improve my painting skills ... one miniature at a time.

House Clegane Knight & Warhorse [Completed]

Completing the second knight in my Game of Thrones was a very enjoyable experience. I not only got to practice painting freehand heraldry designs, but also managed to experiment further with getting smoother blends and transitions for the colour yellow. It helped that I have started using a wet palette to paint miniatures. This made the blending of colours so much easier.  

House Clegane knight on a warhorse aka Ser Gregor

Side view (left) of the House Clegane Knight

Banner tied to the lance was intentionally left free of any heraldry designs

Although the bluish grey headband and horse reins which accompanied the predominantly yellow colour scheme are not officially present in House Clegane colours, I added them in because I felt that they made the yellow stand out more (in a complementary colours kind of way). The overall colour scheme for my version of Ser Gregor Clegane is largely inspired by X-Men of the Marvel universe.

Lance was set an a 45 degree angle to add some dynamism to the miniature

Side view (right) of the House Clegane Knight

Boar with a knife in its back was coincidentally rather symbolic of the king's passing

Front and back view of the House Clegane Knight (or Ser Gregor)

House Clegane heraldry revisited
Differing slightly from my freehand heraldry paintings on the warhorse, the House Clegane symbol on the shield was based on a particular scene from the Game of Thrones TV series. This necessitated a more detailed painting of the heraldry in two colours - black and grey - with the latter used to finely paint the eye, eyebrow and muscle definitions of the hound.   

House Clegane heraldry on the shield

Four step process on painting the House Clegane shield heraldry

As shown in the photo montage above, the House Clegane shield heraldry was painted in a simple four-step process detailed below:
1) Rough sketch using a pencil
2) Area blocked out using grey paint
3) Area filled in using black paint
4) Eye, eyebrow and muscle definition done using grey paint

360 view of the House Clegane Knight
For a 360 degree view of the House Clegane Knight, please check out the YouTube video (see below) of the miniature. For other videos, check out my YouTube channel FourEyedMonster Miniatures.

Thanks for checking out the latest work on my Game of Thrones miniature painting project. More miniatures are in the works for this project, including a bigger version of Ser Gregor, so stay tuned!