The irony of this entire post is that it is the condensed content of six that have been langushing in writer’s block hell for over two years now. For the life of me I couldn’t think of an engaging way to go through all of the process that went into each of them. So instead I’m going to take the tack I’ve been using lately of minimal commentary and just a lot of nice pictures. Where I have them I’ll also note down any paint choices for the model.

All of these models were for a DnD 5e game that my baby brother was running and has since wrapped up. Each player picked their mini and provided me some basic instructions on how they wanted it to look before I took over the painting.

The Tank

To start off we have the tank of the party, a female orc barbarian. The player picked out Jadeah from Reaper and only gave “black hair and warm colors” for painting direction which gave me a lot of room to decide where I wanted to take things. I ended up working with some color palettes I usually would avoid, but I think the end result was pretty good.

  • Armor
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
    • Honed Steel (Reaper 09053)
  • Axe
    • Polished Silver (Reaper 09054)
    • Honed Steel (Reaper 09053)
  • Bag & Straps
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Harvest Brown (Reaper 09200)
  • Belt
    • New Gold (Reaper 09051)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
  • Chainmail
    • Honed Steel (Reaper 09053)
    • Polished Silver (Reaper 09054)
    • Pure Black (Reaper 09037)
  • Dagger
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
  • Fur
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Fur Brown (Warpaints WP1122)
  • Ground
    • Black Wash (Vallejo 73.201)
    • Shadowed Stone (Reaper 09085)
  • Hair
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Walnut Brown (Reaper 09136)
  • Shield
    • New Gold (Reaper 09051)
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
    • Polished Silver (Reaper 09054)
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Oak Brown (Warpaints WP1124)
    • Lava Orange (Warpaints WP1106)
    • Honed Steel (Reaper 09053)
  • Skin
    • Goblin Green (Warpaints WP1109)
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Greenskin (Warpaints WP1111)
  • Teeth
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Pure White (Reaper 09039)
    • Creamy Ivory (Reaper 09144)

The Grey Cleric

The grey cleric has the most pictures of this set because I spent most of my time here trying to make sure I got everything perfect. The Reaper model is fantastic, I had to pick one up after painting this one, but the player wanted a dark grey color scheme with only a few red accents. One of the details I am most proud of is the book she is holding replicates the column motif on it’s cover in gold. Some of my earliest freehand work, but it didn’t entirely turn out as I had hoped due to differences in line width. The scarf was also almost a disaster after a too heavy wash of black followed by a far too heavy drybrush. I managed to rescue it with several washes of very thin red to blend the two levels together.

  • Bags
    • Harvest Brown (Reaper 09200)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
  • Book
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
    • Linen White (Reaper 09061)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
  • Cufflinks and Buckles
    • New Gold (Reaper 09051)
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
  • Ground
    • Intense Brown (Reaper 09138)
    • Muddy Brown (Reaper 09028)
  • Hair
    • Fire Orange (Reaper 09006)
    • Pumpkin Orange (Reaper 09670)
  • Mace
    • Polished Silver (Reaper 09054)
    • Honed Steel (Reaper 09053)
    • Harvest Brown (Reaper 09200)
  • Robe
    • Carnage Red (Reaper 09135)
    • Stone Grey (Reaper 09086)
    • Stormy Grey (Reaper 09088)
  • Scarf
    • Carnage Red (Reaper 09135)
  • Skin
    • Fair Highlight (Reaper 09048)
    • Fair Skin (Reaper 09047)
  • Urn
    • New Gold (Reaper 09051)
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
    • Intense Brown (Reaper 09138)
  • Wash
    • Flesh Wash (Vallejo 73.204)
    • Black (Vallejo 76.518)
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)

The Void Wizard

This and the grey cleric are probably where I spent the majority of my time during this project just due to the amount of smooth cloth involved in both miniatures. His character direction was similarly simple: purples and blacks to look “void-y”.

To break up the different pouches grouped together I picked a few different shades of brown that all looked like leather and interchanged them between different elements. On the boots I tried a bright highlight of grey over the black base followed by a thinned wash to bring them back together. The cloth and magic in his hand were the majority of the work, requiring me to try out wet blending and really heavy layering to get smooth shading across the surface.

  • Belt & Bags
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Harvest Brown (Reaper 09200)
  • Boots & Gloves
    • Black Wash (Vallejo 73.201)
    • Shadowed Stone (Reaper 09085)
    • Walnut Brown (Reaper 09136)
  • Cape & Loincloth
    • Black Wash (Vallejo 73.201)
    • Imperial Purple (Reaper 09023)
  • Dagger
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
  • Ground
    • Black Wash (Vallejo 73.201)
    • Shadowed Stone (Reaper 09085)
  • Magic
    • Amethyst Purple (Reaper 09024)
    • Imperial Purple (Reaper 09023)
  • Potion
    • Goblin Green (Warpaints WP1109)
    • German Cam. Bright Green (Vallejo 70.833)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
  • Scrolls
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Linen White (Reaper 09061)
  • Shirt & Pants
    • Black Wash (Vallejo 73.201)
    • Midnight Blue (Reaper 09019)
  • Skin
    • Flesh Wash (Vallejo 73.204)
    • Fair Skin (Reaper 09047)
  • Staff
    • Black Wash (Vallejo 73.201)
    • Harvest Brown (Reaper 09200)

The Elven Sorceress

Unfortunately for this one I don’t have a lot of in progress pictures, just the ones that my brother took at the end. This magician was supposed to be a blue and white theme with pale skin. I kept the colors as light as I could while still having a good adventuring look to her. I was actually really impressed with how well the blue wash worked to shade her dress. I was not looking forward to another saga of blending like the void wizard above.

  • Belts
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Intense Brown (Reaper 09138)
  • Book
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
  • Boots
    • Oak Brown (Warpaints WP1124)
  • Bracers
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
    • Intense Brown (Reaper 09138)
  • Dress
    • Quickshade Blue Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1139)
    • Sky Blue (Reaper 09018)
  • Hair
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Blond Hair (Reaper 09257)
  • Potion
    • German Cam. Bright Green (Vallejo 70.833)
  • Skin
    • Flesh Wash (Vallejo 73.204)
    • Fair Skin (Reaper 09047)
  • Staff
    • Yellowed Bone/Ivory (Reaper 09143)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Harvest Brown (Reaper 09200)
    • Linen White (Reaper 09061)
  • Vest
    • Quickshade Blue Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1139)
    • Crystal Blue (Warpaints WP1114)

The Orc Samurai

This model marked yet another first for me, painting a samurai. As someone who enjoys Japan and Japanese military history this was a bit of a shocking gap for me. The instruction was dark blue armor with red accents. I think keeping the blue to the chest makes the model look more vibrant and I really do like how the wraps contrast against the red armor plates. Overall I think this one came out well but if I were to do it again, I’d spend more time on the sword crossguard and blade. Right now it looks fairly one-dimensional and I’d love to have a really epic looking blade given how it is such a focal point for the model.

  • Breastplate
    • Quickshade Strong Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1135)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Dragon Red (Warpaints WP1105)
    • Deep Blue (Warpaints WP1116)
  • Chainmail
    • Matte Black (Warpaints WP1101)
    • Honed Steel (Reaper 09053)
  • Cords & Belt
    • Quickshade Blue Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1139)
    • Sky Blue (Reaper 09018)
    • Wash thinned 50%
  • Greaves & Bracers
    • Quickshade Blue Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1139)
    • Dragon Red (Warpaints WP1105)
  • Ground
    • Black Wash (Vallejo 73.201)
    • Harvest Brown (Reaper 09200)
  • Hair
    • Walnut Brown (Reaper 09136)
  • Headband
    • Quickshade Strong Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1135)
    • Linen White (Reaper 09061)
  • Robe
    • Quickshade Strong Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1135)
    • Chaotic Red (Warpaints WP1142)
  • Scabbard
    • Quickshade Blue Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1139)
    • Dragon Red (Warpaints WP1105)
  • Skin
    • Quickshade Strong Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1135)
    • Greenskin (Warpaints WP1111)
  • Sword
    • Antique Gold (Reaper 09050)
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Quickshade Strong Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1135)
    • Honed Steel (Reaper 09053)
  • Tabi
    • Quickshade Blue Tone Ink (Warpaints WP1139)
    • Linen White (Reaper 09061)

The Ashad Mage

This last model was an interesting paint on a couple of fronts. First, it was for a custom player race unique to my brother’s setting which is similar to the khajiit of the Elder Scrolls. Second, it was the first HeroForge mini I had the chance to paint. It had been printed of the newer high strength black plastic and I was really surprised at the level of detail it had without major surface issues. The biggest concerns were a few bits of overprinting flash, which were easily trimmed off with a hobby knife, and the cape looking slightly…low poly? There were definitely some areas that, after priming in grey, looked too flat and blocky for a billowing cloak. The character was supposed to be from the desert and dressed as a traveler, evoking a Tok’ra-esq look, so I picked out a tans and yellow brown palette and went from there.

  • Boots
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Oiled Leather (Reaper 09110)
  • Buckles
    • Polished Silver (Reaper 09054)
    • Honed Steel (Reaper 09053)
  • Cape
    • Desert Yellow (Warpaints WP1121)
  • Clothes
    • Pale Sand (Vallejo 70.837)
    • Yellowed Bone/Ivory (Reaper 09143)
  • Ground
    • Leather Brown (Reaper 09030)
    • Oiled Leather (Reaper 09110)
    • Beige Brown (Vallejo 70.875)
  • Hair
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
    • Blond Highlight (Reaper 09258)
    • Blond Hair (Reaper 09257)
    • Fur Brown (Warpaints WP1122)
  • Magic
    • Ghost White (Reaper 09063)
    • Sky Blue (Reaper 09018)
    • True Blue (Reaper 09017)
  • Sash
    • Carnage Red (Reaper 09135)
  • Wash
    • Sepia Wash (Vallejo 73.200)
  • Wrappings
    • Khaki Grey (Vallejo 70.880)