Slithak, Clal-Chk Scavenger

 

This is one of my favorite sculpts that I have ever made! It was done for the game Shadowsea, on commission, many years ago. It took me much longer to make than it should have, but it is one of the pieces I am most happy with after all these years. Slithak is still available today and is now sold by Dark Sword Miniatures. 

I went with a very vibrant paint job here, in my favorite color palate. While I love lush green and bright colorful environments, they aren't something I often paint. It took, YEARS to finish it, but to be fair it sat 95% complete for most of that time on the shelf o' shame. I find that I have a really hard time finishing models that I sculpted - I have some self imposed pressure to make the models as "good" as possible, which ironically makes them underrepresented in my collection. This year I am actively trying to complete my sculpted WIPs. Slithak was finished in a single session after I picked it up again - after seeing things with fresh eyes it wasn't such a challenge. 

The only remaining images I have of the original sculpture are below - I apologize for their poor quality, but they are what they are!

The sculpt was based on this excellent concept art (below), though I adjusted the pose significantly so that casting would be less complex (at least, in my opinion!). I wish I knew who to credit  for the art - I think it was an Olley? I'll have to find out, because I really enjoy the style. Obviously my own paint job is very different from this one, but I really appreciate the mood it sets. These Shadowsea bug folk are very different from virtually every other representation I have seen - they're wearing clothes and using unusual, but clearly advanced equipment. It gives them a definite personality that other insect folk don't usually have.

 

 Just for fun, here is an additional photo set with a slightly different angle. I couldn't decide which I preferred, so why not both!

Flumph (2)

 

 

Flumphs! This is my 100th post, which flew buy in the blink of a ....decade (ha!), so I wanted to post something meaningful to commemorate it in a (slightly pathetic) special way. Models that I have sculpted myself, such as these flumphs,  are of personal significance (see the original greens below). 

I had a ton of inspiration sculpting the cute little heroes and it was one of the most relaxed and fun sculpting experiences I can remember. Fitting that the subjects are so benevolent. I feel like taking a model from a ball of putty to a final artwork/game-piece is a complete journey, a realization of my imagination into something tangible - it is a very satisfying process. I don't paint my sculpting as often as I should, probably because I tend to overthink these pieces. The flumphs were not a struggle, though; my concept from start to finish was clear (though it did take many years to even track down a copy of them to paint at all). 

These jellies even have an imaginary personality to go along with their physical embodiment. Despite the grief and/or sensationalism surrounding flumphs because of their perceived ridiculousness, they are really a great classic "monster" I use frequently in games. When playing with my sons, the two flumphs are clerics seeking help and they act as a perfect support NPC. This role is spelled out in 2e as the "monastic flumph." Their exposition and healing battery game-play is engaging for new players and makes them immediately lovable sidekicks. Who wouldn't help them?

These are some of the only photos I have of the original greens, so I apologize for their quality.

Ochre Jelly & split

 

An exclusive post! LOL. Since my blog/gallery has so little traffic they will effectively remain unseen ( ultra-exclusive!). I completed this ochre jelly in 2020, but I was unsatisfied with these pictures so it was never posted. I have come to the realization that it wasn't the pictures I didn't want to post, but rather that the models themselves were pretty uninteresting as simple blobs of orange ooze- ha! In any case, they deserve some sort of love - they are widely used in adventure modules so surely someone will find them interesting/useful. I couldn't find any suitable ochre jelly models on the market that captured the complete progression of the monster with its "split" ability with enough variety, so I sculpted these with polymer clay. I think the sculpts themselves are decent and the mass of the medium (25mm base) and small (20mm base) jellies works well - success! I could've taken the paint to another level, but the simple two tone paint with a wash and gloss-coat definitely does the job. 

After making these I realized that the I need a second ooze for DoIP (and probably more for OoTA), so I will have to replicate this design for at least another pair of each size, but that shouldn't bee too difficult. A variety of other oozes is high on my to-do list due to how easy they are to work on, so expect to see more of the classics and some unusual varieties between humanoids.

Giant leech (2)- painted!

 

Not sure how I missed cross-posting these here - they are a special set for me. this is my copy of the leeches I sculpted for reapers bones line. While not complex, I think their simplicity makes them among my favorite sculpts of mine to have ever been produced. The sculpts themselves were not perfect, but I personally love the end result. Just as I modeled these inspired by actual leech anatomy, I also painted them based of of some of the more striking colors I found in my research. 

I have a third incomplete leech that I never submitted floating around in my WIP drawer that I may have to dust off this year.

Kobold Hero

This is an interesting archived piece to showcase, my first complete humanoid sculpt! This green dates back to 2009 and was painted in 2011 with the rest of my kobold warband. It was sculpted to go along side the Ben Seins kobolds, though slightly larger and more dynamic, befitting a hero. I surprised myself with the result, and thus began my forays in to sculpting.