One of the best things about miniature painting (unlike, for example, pediatric surgery) is that you get second chances.
A few weeks ago, I painted the Wookie Warriors for Star Wars Imperial Assault. Instead of dry-brushing, I painstakingly highlighted individual hairs. It took forever, and the end result was bland and oddly reminiscent of a cat turd. To make matters worse, when it came to their big swords, I tried to emulate the past success I enjoyed in using non-metallic metals when painting Imperial Assault firearms. But on such a large blade, my NMM technique collapsed entirely, making the Wookie swords look streaky and artificial.
Time for a mulligan! Wookie Warriors are such a useful unit in the Imperial Assault skirmish game, I splurged on another pack, which I painted up a few days ago. I much happier with the result: a simple dry-brushing of the fur, and more (metallic) dry-brushing on the weapons. Each miniature only took me about an hour to paint, and I'm vastly happier with the results. Sometimes, simpler is better.
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| My original Wookie Warrior: like a cat turd |
The most important addition, of course, is the warpaint. I think it makes the Wookies look angry and a little crazy, rather than just hungry (which is what my original Wookies seemed to convey). I love putting warpaint on a miniature - it always requires a certain amount of daring, since one false stroke can ruin the whole face. I just had to plunge in, like a Japanese calligrapher... and hope that I didn't need a mulligan on my mulligan.
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| Simple painting: not at all like pediatric surgery |
If you're interested Imperial Assault, I recommend you check out boardwars.eu. Not only do they have the most insightful podcasts and articles about the game, but they are featuring my paint-jobs in their excellent miniature reviews. I'm really honoured.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're looking forward to The Force Awakens as much as I am...