Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Welcome back to the Madness

For the third year in a row I'm doing my Muninn's May Mini Madness challenge.

This is a 31 day exercise where I attempt to complete a mini a day. I take some of my started, but unfinished miniatures (and occasionally ones that are just primed) and finish them off in a month-long painting exercise.

The first year was pretty easy. I had tons of models to choose from, minis set aside, prepped & ready, as well as a lot of free time outside of work. Last year I had newborn twins taking up my attention, although I was on family leave from work, so I still had some time to spare.
2012
2013
This year I have two active & inquisitive twins, a puppy, my full time job, and relatively little prepared for the month ahead. I called last year Nightmare mode.

Welcome to Hell Mode.

~Muninn

Monday, April 28, 2014

Muninn 40k!

I started this blog in July of 2012. I wanted a place to post my commissions, ideas, techniques, and all sorts of mini goodness. I genuinely enjoy sharing my work, and really like hearing the feedback.

I've been a bit busy lately, working on a large Night Wolf commission (pics coming) so I kinda missed the fact that I've recently reached over 40,000 hits on my blog. That normally isn't a significant number but hell, I play 40k, so it's significant to me.

The last 21 months have been pretty exciting. The kids are growing like weeds, so I've had to find new ways to keep my paints and swallowable minis away from them. In addition, my family recently got a puppy. Here's Pepper.
"I pooped somewhere in the house, but I'm not gonna tell you where"
The last month and a half has been dedicated to the Night Wolves. Here's one of the recently finished pieces: a Chooser of the Slain. The client furnished the mini, and wanted it to look like a neophyte. I wasn't quite able to capture a youthful appearance, but I still think it's neat.

I had some fun with Lahmian Medium to create the OSL from the candle. I'll have to try it again soon.






































In future news, I may attempt my May Mini Challenge for a third year. I haven't decided yet, but I'm leaning "yes." It's a great way to finish a lot of the incomplete minis I've started, but never finished. I certainly have enough minis, but I'm not sure if I have enough time.

We shall see.

~Muninn

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Wood Elves leaks: Treemen, Treemen everywhere.

I got a hold of this Week's White Dwarf weekly, and am pleased to see all the awesome Treemen they've produced. I don't play Wood Elves, but I've always had a real soft spot for the pointy-eared xenophobes. 

The one thing I've never cared for about their lineup was the Treemen. They always looked like big lumbering trees (as silly as that is to write). I wanted something more svelte, more dynamic, and boy did GW deliver.



 
 I really like how the treemen have a kind of sub-skin, and the bark-like exterior. I can see having a lot of fun painting that, considering all the different types of tree there are. My first idea would be to paint it like an Australian Bloodwood tree. The underskin could be a nice rich red, and the bark could be a earthy brown. It'd made a sharp & interesting contrast.

Here are a few more shots from the magazine too.




















~Muninn