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Post by Meph on Feb 3, 2015 0:10:08 GMT
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Post by dragon722 on Feb 3, 2015 3:44:39 GMT
great repaint dude
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Post by Meph on Feb 3, 2015 4:14:22 GMT
Thanks. It's kinda given me the urge now to go buy some real paints and brushes. I have really been wanting to pickup one of the Reaper Bones kickstarter sets off ebay. 240 minis at about $1 each is tempting. Painting them has been what has held me back. I really enjoyed doing this one though so I think it might be something worth tackling. I can assume after a couple hundred Reaper Bones I should have some good techniques down. =)
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Post by DMScotty on Feb 3, 2015 6:29:40 GMT
Great repaint but I would add a brown wash to the bright white claws to tone then down a bit...a lot like I did in my orc tent vid.
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Post by DnDPaladin on Feb 3, 2015 9:18:54 GMT
you are definitely more courageous then i am, i have yet to find the courage to paint my bones minis...
i even got two dragons waiting for me to paint since i love those mighty lizards.
thats your first time... seriously ? stop lying !!!
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Post by Meph on Feb 3, 2015 11:07:41 GMT
Seriously, first time. I wish I was lying and had some hidden skills but I am just learning this as I go. DMScotty and DMG videos have been a great help along with all the pics and tutorials here from everyone.
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Post by sgtslag on Feb 3, 2015 14:44:50 GMT
I painted up the Reaper Bones version of AD&D's Black Dragon (it goes by a different name, which I forget...). I painted mine all black, to start with. I recently re-did the base, adding sand, grit, and some plastic 'swamp' plants. I was also inspired to do the membranes between the bones, on the wings. I saw someone post the same figure, painted with a tan color, on the wing membranes, which inspired me to try and do better. I did not want to do tan, however, as it did not really fit with my vision of what a Black Dragon's wing membranes should be. Like Meph, I chose a bluish color. I really like the end results, but I need to go back and put a matte clear coat on the membranes. I'll try to add a photo of it, tonight. Cheers! |
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Post by runningwolf on Feb 4, 2015 14:15:54 GMT
Your first time out doing this?
I am awed. Fantastic job, and most likely a lot better than what I would have done. That dragon is good, plain and simple..... and not just for a first time trying to repaint something. Just damned good plain and simple.
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Post by Meph on Feb 4, 2015 15:05:57 GMT
I would love to see your vision of the dragon sgtslag. I am one of those guys that never feels confined by what the "accepted" view of a monster is. I never understood on Dragonsfoot when someone asks a question about something and gets told "you can't do that". My game, I can do anything I want. When it comes time for them to encounter my dragon I might decide its NOT a Black Dragon and make up some totally new type. I have one player that loves to memorize the Monster Manuals. They already have gotten hints of a Black "Wyrm" that is commanding an army of Troglodytes so I am sure he is already reading all up on Black Dragons. All the more fun to change it up on them. =) |
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Post by runningwolf on Feb 4, 2015 17:53:18 GMT
Meph - you got that right. YOUR world YOUR vision.  As long as something makes sense and is consistent with the cosmology you set up do what you want. A blood sucking decapitating rabbit? Typical Orc is a dumb lumbering hulk. An Orc chieftain is bigger and meaner, but would have to be smarter (not something an Orc is known for). Adding something to a cookie cutter monster throws the players for a loop as well as being memorable. And can even be an adventure seed. A band of primitive tribal mutants hasn't attacked the surrounding villages in nearly a decade, until a month ago. When a raiding party is outclassed by the players they surrender (instead of running away or dying to the last one). The mutants are hunting for a cure for a illness ravishing the village or a part for a technology device. Going on from there there are possibilities beyond the typical cannon fodder Orc/mutant. How bad a$$ would it be for a village to have a gang of mutants/Orcs who up to protect it when the next kingdom over gets land hungry? One thing I picked up relooking at your dragon pic. Constructive criticism (as I do think it looks awesome). Doing a real light black wash on the chest to bring our the sections between the breast plates. It would add some depth to the segments.Just offering my two cents and to repeat myself it is good (not just a first time good but a all over good). |
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Post by DnDPaladin on Feb 4, 2015 19:42:57 GMT
the fun of d&d... your world your rules.
that said, i dont have a problem with players reading the monster manuals. but be aware that metagaming may happen during that fight. those kind of people usually want to be prepared for anything much like they do in video games. like first time in a dungeon so they watch videos of said dungeon online in order not to be a nuisance and know what to do. this is not how the game works here. just make sure your players knows how to differentiate what his character knows and what he knows. how can a character react to something he never met before ? thats the kind of question you should be asking him. or make him do an intelligence check to know if he does know that much about dragons.
of course creating his own stuff is also a good way to make the game more interesting and leave metagaming out of the equation. but i think removing some of the stuff like its wings will only make the monster weaker. so i'd still compensate for it by giving it something else.
back to the figurine, i just think its awesome. the lying part was merely me joking around.
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Post by sgtslag on Feb 5, 2015 3:39:30 GMT
Here is a link to the photo's of my Reaper Bones Ebonwrath (AD&D Black Dragon) figure: link. Here is one photo, so you don't have to go to the link:  I added some sand, rocks, and plastic plants, to simulate a swampy environment. I also painted the whole surface of the base with full-strength Future Floor Shine, to give it a wet, glossy, swampy look. Overall, it isn't terrible, but it is not great either. I'm a GEtGW ( Good Enough to Game With) painter, so I'm happy with it, for the moment...  I still need to paint the blue wing portions with matte clear coat, to dull it down, to a more realistic lizard membrane appearance. Cheers! |
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Post by Meph on Feb 5, 2015 11:36:27 GMT
Very nice. I am the same as you. I am concerned with painting well enough for table play. I am not one to setup big display cases and such, I just want to wow my players when I pop down some new beast. The one issue I have with all the Dragons from the Tyranny of Dragons set is they are small. I need to pickup something more along the lines of the one you are using. I might have to check ebay for one. Thanks.
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Post by DnDPaladin on Feb 6, 2015 1:05:29 GMT
tyrany of dragons made dragons too casual now...
what do i say, 4th edition made dragons too casual.
dragons are supposed to be legendary beast. and the gods are even worse. yet in the video games you fight tiamat as a raid and its an easy one from what i was told. not to mention the dragons in the wild are easy to defeat with only 2-3 people who know how to do them and they are supposed to be done by 6-10 people.
in d&d they are not much better anyway.
all that said, i love that each dragon type has its own form.
i mean.... you'd not like a vampire that shines in the light now do you ?
so why would you allow a dragon to not have wings ?
i understand the whole point of making it your own and i agree that it should be thatw ay. but there are myths that shouldn'T be touched upon me think.
dragons are part of them, so are vampires and were creatures.
let's just say i hate harry potter and twilight, they simply butchered the myths of my childhood !
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Post by Meph on Feb 6, 2015 2:08:27 GMT
I don't really see any problem with a DM doing as they wish with any monster. I have no idea why you keep mentioning their wings but if someone wanted to remove them then go right ahead. Maybe the dragon was captured as a hatchling and imprisoned in a dungeon to serve as a guardian protecting something. The dragon has grown too large to ever escape the dungeon but being confined since hatching it's wings were never able to develop. You're the DM, you can come up with any story you wish. If you want a Vampire than walks in the sun, so be it. That Vampire just got infinitely more powerful with that one ability. Maybe you give the players a reason for it, maybe you don't.
You mentioned players playing impartially. In my experience, guys like the one in my group not only like to read the DMG to memorize magic items and the Monster Manual to memorize strategies, they also like to read modules if you happen to run one. They don't do all that so they can "educate" themselves and play impartial. They do it to give themselves an advantage by basically cheating. It's sad that there are players out there like that, but there are and I have one in my group. As soon as I start to describe a monster and he immediately knows what it is and how to kill it, then I change up its abilities on the fly.
I do hate that Tyranny made dragons so common and that I had to spend money on so many redundant large creatures. If there ever made a set with 12 unique large minis I would be in heaven. I already pre-ordered a case of Elemental Evil and it already looks like there will be a bunch more dragons in that. There looks to be some nice stuff in there too though like Ettin, Owlbear, Chimera, Fire Elemental, and Griffon. All of those will be great additions to my collection.
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jazhi
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 45 
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Post by jazhi on Feb 6, 2015 2:37:17 GMT
Great dragons, both! I was nervous about painting minis until I learned that you can remove the paint using Simple Green without damaging the mini. I figured I could keep starting over until I was happy, which I've done with some of mine. My Wrath of Ashardalon dragon has been unpainted twice to get to a point where I wanted it.
Meph, try Delta Ceramcoat and a mediocre set of small brushes from Michaels if you want to keep it cheap. I've had very good success with the Delta, but other craft paints are hit and miss.
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Post by Meph on Feb 6, 2015 3:11:40 GMT
Jazhi, I ordered a handful of Reaper Bones to try my hand at painting this week. I bought a couple decent brushes from AC Moore. I just hit twice on a Superbowl board so I figure its time to buy some paints. I am thinking if I really want to do minis then I need to go with Reaper, Citadel, etc for my paints. I can definitely see a difference. I have a bunch of .59 cent "My Studio" paints from AC Moore which work just fine for cardboard but they cover like crap on minis. My friend gave me a bottle of Palmer Prism Acrylic and that stuff covers like a dream. I know I need to buy better paints & brushes for doing minis.
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Post by sgtslag on Feb 6, 2015 16:05:41 GMT
I just bought some tubes of artist acrylics -- large tubes, paint intended for canvas, not miniatures. Haven't tried it yet, but I picked out Yellow and Orange, the two colors which never seem to cover at all, until the 4th coat... Looking forward to trying the Orange out on some Hobgoblin faces -- the craft orange paint is almost useless. If I need to thin it out, I will be using Pledge Floor Shine, which is clear acrylic, and CHEAP! With Pledge Floor Shine being acrylic, it should not affect the pigment, like water does. Cheers!
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Post by runningwolf on Feb 6, 2015 16:08:54 GMT
Meph - GF was over last night and in between looking for movie on my computer (output to TV) showed her this thread. She gives a thumbs up as well.
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Post by DnDPaladin on Feb 6, 2015 20:20:28 GMT
Meph, where the hell did i say the players were impartial. if anything i said exactly like you did, they metagame their way... aka reading th ebooks and making it seems like they know its a game and that their characters know its a game. i think you should know that cheating by knowing before wend what happens or having knowledge that your character really shouldn'T know is called metagaming and metagaming tends to screw games up pretty badly.
exemple of metagaming...
that description makes too much emphasis on that door. so lets double check that door to be sure.
thats a metagame call by the player. cause he plays his character as if the character knew there was a narator describing the door.
calling out monsters stats and how to defeat them and then playing your characers like he knew that all too well. is also metagaming.
also i never said a DM cannot do what he wants with his monsters. i said he could and thats the fun of D&D to begin with. i simply said that going too far... like they did in harry potter and twilight is going too far. like seriously... if for you a vampire can go to any lenght and do whatever he wants but is not needing to eat blood at all. or do not even have fangs. sorry but i'd not clal that a vampire.
a dragon to me is a huge reptile that breath whatever substance it can... its a mythic creature. the say someone will show me a puppy and tell me thats a dragon... i'll laugh at him for even thinking that way.
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As long as something makes sense and is consistent with the cosmology you set up do what you want. A blood sucking decapitating rabbit? 
I still need to paint the blue wing portions with matte clear coat, to dull it down, to a more realistic lizard membrane appearance. Cheers!
Cheers!