There’s been little happening on the hobby front just lately, as free time has been in limited supply – more of this in my end of month geek. In the meantime, as I’ve managed to grab some computer time, I thought I’d catch up on a few things I painted a while ago, starting with the Formless Spawn. ‘But where have the Serpent People gone!’ I hear you cry, or at least that’s what I hear in my head. Well, yes, they were finished before this one but I’ve yet to find the time to base them on their transparencies, though I am now in the process of doing so.
So, the Formless Spawn, a monster from the Horrific Journeys expansion. A blob, all eyes and teeth, there wasn’t a lot to go on from the creature’s game token and so I had a look what others were doing. One caught my eye, painted in purple and green using washes, and it really stood out as being a little different. I decided to go with something similar.
First though, it was zenithally primed, which would give variances of shade to the washes. I started with the green areas, using Vallejo’s washes for a change, as I find them better for staining than my GW ones. I then mixed Red and Blue together to get a violet colour and applied this over the veined areas once the green had dried.
The, let’s call it a mouth for want of a better word, was washed first in Sepia and then in Red. Once the Red had dried, I added some Dried Blood to all the recesses. I don’t know where I got the idea to do that from, but I’m pleased with how it looks – nice and gory!
That was it for the majority of the figure, nice and simple.
The eyes were Sol Yellow, washed with Agrax Earthshade and then highlighted with the original colour again. The teeth were done in a similar fashion but using Ivory – they were then highlighted further with Dead White.
I really enjoyed painting this one. I’ve never been a fan of washes, as they don’t usually behave how I expect or want them to, but this came out alright. I would normally have used ink and there probably wouldn’t have been much difference other than I’d have applied the Violet whilst the Green was still wet, as I find inks more controllable when wet blending than washes.
I’ve painted the two Star Spawns, and the Ancient Basilisk is under way, then it’s finally onto the characters, hurrah!
I have yet to order transparent bases big enough to fit the Star Spawns on, so it could be some time yet before I post them up, but it shouldn’t be long before I get The Serpent People based so look out for them. I have, however, managed to complete MCP’s Sin, though it was a bit of a rush job – and so she’ll be up next…ish!
The Solo Meeple 
The multi colours work so well on the formless spawn Justin, adds to the effect that it’s constantly morphing and changing. Hope you get some time soon.
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Cheers Dave.
Yasmin has just finished her exams so at least there’s a computer free now… when I get the chance🤔
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Nicely done, Justin! 🙂 I’m not sure the monster’s my cup of tea, but the painting’s excellent (I wish I could get washes to come out like that)!
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Thanks John.
I added a little water to the Vallejo washes and was really pleased how they went on, nice and even. Pure fluke I reckon😉
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This is a very strange sculpt and I think it could use a bit more form, if you know what I mean! 🙂 I do like your color schemes quite a bit however as it looks pretty Lovecraftian to me. The maw of this creature is suitably unsettling as well.
I know what you mean about washes being unpredictable too. I don’t shy away from using them but I’m also not as aggressive with washes as your average tabletop painter as I don’t worry too much about speed when I’m painting. It is really aggravating when a wash doesn’t work out though. Its one of my least favorite things that can happen when you’re painting, in fact!
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Yes, it is an odd one!
I agree, I’m not a fan of using washes because all too many times they’ve gone on not as I’d hoped – probably a lack of experience with them to be honest, I much prefer to layer rather than wash.
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I have used washes for years now and I still have incidents where they don’t do as I hoped so I don’t know if I’ll ever fully figure them out. If I do figure out the secret, I’ll be happy to share that with you, mate!
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If you figure it out mate, you could make a fortune selling your secret😁
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Wait, where did you get that mini of me? LOL! Excellent use of inks, Justin, the colours really suit it and its eyes are horrible! As far as formless spawn-type figures go, this is one of the better ones, to be honest; the others have too much, well, form to them.
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LOL! funny Matt!
Yeah, too much form sort of defeats the object doesn’t it…
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Very.. uh…. nice.. work on this spawn.
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Cheers mate!🙂
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Yea, I do like those different colors. It gives the feeling that it’s shifting in/out of dimensions. I don’t know that I’ve actually ever tried (or seen) Vallejo washes. I might have to check those out!
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Thanks Faust.
To be honest, the Vallejo washes aren’t great when used as a conventional wash, thought their Pale Grey is good for washing over white – I’d much rather use GW’s.
However, they’re pretty good for staining as I find them thinner, so you can build up the colour quite nicely with a couple of coats.
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