Friday 11 October 2019

Captain, My Captain!


Having finished the wizard for my new Frostgrave warband, I got straight to work on his apprentice… And got very frustrated with the miniature in question before giving up and throwing it away. So, instead, I painted up my captain! Actually, I can’t afford a captain in my starting warband, so he’s going to start out as a Man-at-Arms, and hopefully get upgraded after the initial campaign day.

This figure comes from the Oathmark range, and while he’s a little short compared to the wizard, he’s got loads of character. I love the hair. I love the pose. I love the attitude. He just radiates tough. I can see he’s going to be my wizard’s right-hand man.

That said, considering he’s going to be such an important figure, in such a high-fantasy setting, I thought he needed a little more of the fantasy about him. At the same time, I was struggling with how to paint his shield. Then I hit on the idea of having the shield being covered in runes, almost like a scroll…

This actually gave me an idea for a magic item that will be appearing in Frostgave down the road, and highlights one of the reasons why I think it is so important for me to continue to paint miniatures, and play games – both are breeding grounds for creativity. [Insert justification for painting and playing games in 'work' time].

So, in some ways, this figure has more of a future than a present – someday he’s going to be a captain with a cool magic shield. For now, he’ll take charge of the soldiers in the warband while the wizard is busy working his magic and worry about his apprentice (should I ever paint one!).

Please forgive my rudimentary photoshop skills. It's useful, but not something I have a lot of interest in.

5 comments:

  1. I like it! Especially the mustachios.
    I totally agree that doing some cross-disciplinary activities from time to time really spurs the creativity.

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  2. I consider the hobby to consist of four parts: "Building" is where you have to assemble and sometimes convert the mini, even if it simply means "Glue it to the base". "Painting" obviously is what it saids and often defines the character or the paintjob is defined by the story. "Playing" is bringing the miniatures to life or actually giving them something like an actual life, as their adventures take shape during gameplay. It also helps to give your models a feeling of value, as you'r actually doing something with them. "Writing" is the fourth corner of the hobby for me, as it is the gateway back and forth for imagination and creativity. It intersect with the previous categories at various points - sometimes before they take place, sometimes during, sometimes afterwards.

    This is a brilliant example for my personal view on this. It is painted nicely and has sparked creativity - for me as well as for you. Thanks!

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  3. check that moustache! I love the shield idea, might have to borrow it a little bit

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  4. The Oathmark minis have a lovely Gaulish feel to them.

    Runes, as a class of magic items could be fun, as players could actually paint them on to minis as they gain them.

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