Ordinary Bat

A tiny "ordinary bat" miniature on a 15mm base. This unassuming creature marks a return to one of my favorite subjects - non-fictional animals! Despite their bad reputation, I love bats. While most people associate them with the fall, I look forward to our small friends first arriving at the end of long summer nights. Watching them flutter over the fire pit in the back yard is a favorite pastime with the fam. 

 

The "ordinary bat" title is a joking homage to how they are named in the AD&D MMII. Evidently the fantastical creatures are so abundant in some fantasy worlds that natural ones need to be specifically called out as "ordinary." This convention applies to other ordinary critters which are sure to wander onto my painting table in the coming year. 

 

This itty bitty miniature is from the reaper Bones familiar pack. Thankfully, it is a light enough material that I was able to attach it by the wingtip to a branch with a small pin, and it has proven sturdy enough to survive several falls and even a rampaging house cat over years of play. I think the added height is needed to capture the character of this little flying fellow. 

Wolf Eel Familiar

 Another tiny sea creature from Reaper. I modeled this paint scheme after one of my favorite local species, the wolf eel. Not a true eel, but so cool! They get really big, so this would be a smaller specimen. 

I had a lot of fun with the stippling on this piece. Its a technique used commonly in canvas painting, but rarely gets used by miniatures artists. 

The toothy smile is really fun and not unlike the real thing.

 This may be my favorite of the set, so far.

 

 

Bull Ray Familiar

 

 

Another model from Reapers aquatic themed familiar pack VII. I did some light re-sulpting of this model; It was a faithful rendition of living rays, but had a cartoonish mouth with sharp teeth unlike the actual critters. I prefer my animal models on the realistic side, so I filed off that area and did a little work with greenstuff to give it a mouth more fitting a real ray. They have funny little mouths and I think the model is more realistic and a lot cuter!

I based my paint-job on a real species, the common eagle ray/bullray.  Sadly, while the bull ray was once "common" it is now a critically endangered species.

Small Shark / Shark Familiar

 

This little guy is a slight change of pace, but on theme. It is from the aquatic familiar pack VII, by Reaper Miniatures, one of my favorite collections of small models. Sharks are a super popular topic with my kids, so this simple piece is much loved. It is a nice addition to my collection of animals and, though it is not representative of some specific species, I did my best to base the paint on real world images of sharks.  After a long hiatus it is nice to get back to a non-fantasy creature.

Mandragora (2)

 

 

 

Some cute little guys from Schlossbauer I finished as a speed paint. Despite their vegetable cuteness they are definitely a perfect post for spooky season. The little screeching fellows are also a little known entry in AD&D Monster Manual II, probably because they lacked art, so they check a box on my journey to complete miniatures for every entry in that tome.

Brown Jenkin

 This is a fun one! Brown Jenkin is one of my favorite HPL antagonists. Sure, lesser known than the big squid head guy, but so disturbing, sadistic, and no less enigmatic. He is something of a household boogeyman, so naturally I had to paint him up! This piece was sculpted by Schlossbauer, and I printed it at a very small size. For reference, the base is 15mm, making it one of the smaller works in my collection; roughly in-scale with a rat. 

As the years go by, I find myself increasingly interested in smaller and smaller miniatures. I even have a few projects that are at 10mm or less, and I thoroughly enjoy printing itty-bitty models. They are fast, I guess, and as a parent , I really need that to keep a glimmer of my hobby alive.

Bluejay

 

This is one of my favorite animal miniatures. Despite the simple techniques and brushstrokes I think it is one of the most effective and striking outcomes I have achieved on animal mini.  This is a very tiny model and a somewhat poorly defined Bones miniatures (on a 20mm base). It is listed as a hawk, but I think it actually looked more like a bluejay, si I reskinned it with paint. Of course, I have never actually seen a real bluejay....

This is the last of the animal miniatures I have previously published that I will be posting here for the time being. . My backlog of animal miniatures to post is pretty sizeable, so I expect will revisit them at some point, but for now I am looking forward to moving on to more monstrous blog entries. 

Cat

 This black cat is actually an accompanying piece / familiar to a classic witch miniature I have. It isn't particularly impressive, but it is an interesting conversation piece relating to techniques for painting the color black. at the time of my painting this (2013-2014) I had been using blue-black to get that deep black look. in retrospect it looks, unsurprisingly, blue. when compared to my more recent "fanatical acolyte" miniature, where I used the dark elf and dusky skin triads heavily, it is pretty clear that my  skill with that end of the color palate has improved significantly. Painting solid black colors has always been a barrier for me and it seems I am finally starting to understand the subtleties (shading, highlighting) of the color better.

Ferret

 The Ferret is probably the most "useful" of the animal miniatures I have posted so far, since they are often companions or familiars. The tiny sized animals are so small I really just make an effort to have some part of the head identifiable as a face despite the fact that it is about the size the head of a pin. To achieve this, I find the eyes are critical. The spot of reflection is usually the defining bit of paint to pull it off.

Based on a 20mm base. Originally published in January of 2015.

Skunk

 

Based on the North  American Striped Skunk.

 Based on a 20mm base. Completed in January of 2015.

Tortoise

 

Super cute! I need to paint more reptiles.

 Mounted on a 20mm base. Completed in January of 2015.

Penguin

 I just spent the day at the zoo with my fam and the penguin exhibit is always a hit.The paint scheme here was inspired by the emperor and king penguins, but is not accurate to either. Size wise (at scale) they are closer to the king penguins.

Really, I feel like I need a ton of penguin minis....for some reason.

 Mounted on a 20mm base.

Completed in January of 2015.

Hedgehog

 This hedgehog is easily the smallest miniature I have ever painted. It is swallowed up by the small 20mm base he is on. despite the minuscule size, I think I managed to make it work - it definitely reads hedgehog to me - its cute!

Originally completed prior to January 2015.

Vulture

 

Ah, the vulture! "Vulture" is my most frequently used moniker on the web, and this guy has served as my avatar on more than one occasion. I plan on painting up a wake of them at some point. 

this guy was completed and published on or before January 2015.

Raccoon

 

I really like raccoons, despite popular opinion and derogatory nicknames. I find their inquisitive and rapacious natures to actually be endearing -curiosity and resourcefulness are qualities I appreciate. Occasionally they visit my garden and I always consider it to be a treat. when I see this little guy on my shelf it brings me a little happiness.

This piece is pretty tiny - he is on a 20mm base. Originally published prior to January of 2015.

Fox

 A red fox! I am going to post a number of animals today in a bit of a binge (including some stuff I have never published before!). I have decided to post them individually even though I usually post animals in groups. As a favorite subject of mine, I think each one deserves its moment in the sun here in my blog

 

They are usually so small that they paint up in a single fast session, and they typically don't require much in terms of techniques - just some quick washes and highlights. I probably spend as much time on researching these little critters as I do actually painting them, but hey, that's fun too. I try to make each as close accurate to their living counterparts as possible.    this little guy was originally painted and published prior to January 2015.

Clockwork owl

I have a thing for miniatures of familiars. They are just so fun and gratifying because of their small size and the diversity of subjects.
I really like the style of the Wargods line, and when I saw they had some amazing KS exclusive minis I had to acquire them. Fortunately I was able to snag an extra set of the KS exclusives  from a fellow who was up for a deal. This classic character  was the first to see paint. I've always loved this concept, since it first captured my imagination as a child, and I am happy to have it in my collection.