Pig Orcs, The Swine Herd

These beauties are from Dragon Bait (https://www.dragon-bait-minis.com/) to accompany the Pig Orc Shaman I painted a few weeks ago. It's the same Zorn scheme for the models, albeit a different scheme for the bases as you can't achieve that green-blue hue with a limited palette. 

Here's a "warts and all" set of photographs of these beauties from the front and back. I've done it in order of my own personal preference as some were more successful than others, and honestly on some of them I did only the loosest painting for the unimportant areas. Small pouches? The mildest of highlights, if at all. Finger and toenails? A touch of grey and nothing more. Legs? Well, a bit of a skintone should suffice.

The focal points are head, chest and weapons and tightening the painting on those areas was really the goal for this project. I also aimed for a parody of Roman legionary shields as I felt it suited them, and created a touch of uniformity in an otherwise disparate group. Such characterful sculpts and an enormous amount of fun to paint them.

 

Pig Orc Shaman

Over on Mastodon, Berit ran a small challenge for #FediPaint to complete a figure with the Zorn palette. It's been a while since I did anything with a Zorn scheme, and felt this was a nice time to jump back in! Behold the Pig Orc Shaman, or the Boarcerer as my friend named him.

For anyone unfamiliar with the #Zorn palette it's ivory black, white, yellow ochre and cadmium red. This article (https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2021/02/02/colour-mixing-exploring-the-zorn-palette/) is a great illustration of the breadth of tones you can find in just these four paints. I don't have a perfect match to those, so forgive my substitutions. You can see me trying to find some skintones in the early mixes here. The palette won't stay this neat throughout the project though!

I have ten of these fabulous models in total and jumping straight into the shaman felt wrong, so I started with a couple of skintones on a foot soldier. He was also my test for quick steel on the helmet but gave me a good idea of whether it would work on the character.

So that's the shaman finished, and I'll continue with the other members of the warband in the same palette over the next week or so. Yes, I should be working on one of my army projects I commited to earlier this year but that's how just things are right now so onward!

Prophet of Set

"You can't have your Thulsa Doom until you finish your Throm. So contemplate that on the tree of woe."

A fun sculpt from Dragon Bait (https://www.dragon-bait-minis.com/shop/miniatures/sculptors/brother-vinni/ts2-prophet-of-set-version-ii/), although I picked mine up from Fenris Games in the UK but he doesn't appear to be selling it any more.

• Skintones. I wanted to do something different and bring it closer to a pale snakeskin, so it's Phthalocyanine Green with Dwarf Flesh and Ice Yellow in the highlights to give an ill feel and accentuate the darker areas under the cheeks and brow.
• Base. The same as Throm to tie them together, so Phthalocyanine Green and Dioxazine Purple at the darkest, through to just the green, and finally Greenish White.
• Cloak and loincloth. Dioxazine Purple, Quinacridone Magenta and Dwarf Skin.
• Gold. Armour Brown as a base, then English Uniform, Yellow Oxide, Medium Orange and Ice Yellow. Trying to pay a bit more attention to the shape and shadows for once.
• Steel. It's just a simple gradient in neutral grays with a bit of the English Uniform and Dioxazine Purpleadded in light and dark areas for variation.

My interest in painting the back of the model was pretty low, so it received the most perfunctory painting and then I moved on. So onto the next!