I'm on the final stretch with the Nomads.

Mobile Brigade is done except for the base:

And then this guy which I am painting up entirely on camera and if all goes well I will make a tutorial video about:

Hello everyone. Yes I know, updates have been lacking so far this year. It's almost June and only one post so far (Painting Crusade report). But it's not the first time this blog has gone quiet for a few months, it usually goes hand in hand with painting motivation, which comes and goes.

After finishing the TGCM Miniatures commission (work in progress here, but I did another batch of figures after that), I didn't really feel like immediately starting another project. The motivation would return after Painting Crusade I thought. But the fact that I did not take part in that event's painting competition made it feel a bit different. No inspirational boost which usually comes after winning (and even loosing) at a competition. So that proves that competing is much more important than winning I know now :)

Anyway a few months back I bought the Infinity starter box Operation Icestorm, on which I am now slowly working.

Starting with the PanOceania forces. As usual with this kind of projects I'm going for a good gaming standard, focusing on contrast rather than smoothness. But the sculpts are amazing, so that really helps.

More pictures to follow soon :)

Hey everyone, quick roundup of what's been on my desk lately.



These are some Infinity Morats I finished a while ago, I haven't shown them on the blog I think. Good pictures incoming :)

Stephen Rao is also finished, except for the base.





And this is the figure I am currently painting, a Malifaux Flesh Construct.



I'm also testing out a new photo setup, black backdrop and more room for armies etc. Results of the first test will be shown here soon :)

Haqqislam Remote by Corvus Belli for Infinity The Game.

CMON

Weathering has started. In the past I already experimented with some minor scratches, but something all-over like this is new for me. I'm not entirely happy about it, some regions simply look too messy but it's something I will try out more in the future.

The metallics need some weathering and rust effect as well. When that is done then some small details (like the lenses) still have to painted, probably using light blue.

New project: Haqqislam Remote from the Infinity line. Going for a limited pallet, together with some heavy weathering (chipping and rust).

Basic armor plating is finished and ready for the weathering:

Vote on CoolMiniOrNot.

So far winter has been more like a cold autumn around here, but a bit more than a week ago things changed. With temperatures of -5 during the day and -15 during the night it's exceptionally cold this time of year. We had only one snow shower so far, which is a real blessing since traffic messes up pretty quickly here in Belgium.

The Drune unit is getting some delay. When I started working on them the plan was to get them ready before Painting Crusade IX, but since that's highly unlikely my motivation for the project has dropped somewhat :) But the figures have their skin basecoated and shaded already. It's going to be one of those on and off projects I guess.

For some reason Infinity has triggered my interest again. So I dug up a figure I bought years ago and paint it up quickly. I think there's about 4 hours of work in this figure:

And then for the title of this blog post. A new friend has joined me in the painting studio:

Knee problems caused me to quit running (which I did 3 times a week) and owning a racing bike is a dream of mine I have for a long while now, so I decided to make the investment. I'm not going to take it outside with those cold temperatures, so I mounted it on a roller. The downside is that I now have to choose again between painting and sporting when I have an hour time :)

Another figure which has been sitting on my desk for the past couple of months and which is finally finished. I've written about this figure before in a work in progress post. As mentioned in that post I didn't really go for a super smooth paintjob on the figure, but rather used it as an experiment for a high-contrast style of painting, together with a zenithal lighting approach.

I think it turned out very well. Actually the effect is nicer on a picture than in real life. I definitely want to try out this new technique on more miniatures.

If you care to vote: http://coolminiornot.com/235657 thanks ;)

At last year's Crisis I bought a bunch Infinity miniatures because I wanted to paint a unit of Haqqislam elite soldiers as a unit entry for next year's competition. Well 9 months later these blisters are still in my cupboard... unopened. But a while ago I was browsing the Infinity site and forum and really wanted to paint one up again.

So I decided to open the blister containing the two Naffatûn miniatures. Since I planned to use the male figure in my unit, the female one was available to do some experimenting with.

I'm not going for a smooth, high quality level paintjob on this one. I just want to test out a few things on the figure and see how I can incorporate these into some future work. First up is the colorscheme. I sticked close to the studio paintjob: khaki-grey, brown and green. The details will be in orange, the weapon black or dark grey I think.

The second thing I wanted to test out is a technique known as 'zenithal lighting' or 'directional lighting'. Instead of highlighting the top of all raised surfaces, highlights will be more intense if they are closer to the source of light. To amplify the effect I also used more contrast than I usually do.

I'm quite happy with the results. The blendings aren't that smooth, but that wasn't the goal of this little experiment. I think I spent only 2 or 3 hours to achieve what you see below. On the right upper leg and the helmet the effect turned out the best. There should be some more contrast here and there but in general I think it's not bad for a first attempt at this painting style.