art – Page 6 – ToadChapel Minis

Dwarven King Progress

While trapped inside with my little family, I’ve been making steady progress on the little dwarf bust I showed you a few days ago. This disease that has shut our society down, and which will cause suffering worldwide for a long time to come, does invite reflection, appreciation, and maintenance of the self. I’m thankful I have something creative to pour my efforts into in these strange and frightful times. I can say that I have enjoyed this project in a way I have never felt before.

I got the idea for the russet beard from a friend of mine. I would not have thought of that option myself.

The Return of the King

I’m going to try to buckle down and finish off this little bust from Lukáš Žaba. I started him a while ago but sort of lost steam. I think I succumbed to the paralysis that visits us when we fixate on how good, and how much better, every detail ought to be. I think I’m ready to just dive in, do my best, and move on the the next thing. If I have fun painting and learn a thing or two (which I already have), then he’ll be a success.

And since I’ve got nothing else to do, I’ve also got another 40k Kill Team project started!

Mushrumps for Granny

At last her search is over. Granny has found an incredible patch of all sorts of mushrooms! Perfect for her soup!

There are a few poisonous fungi in these woods, but Granny knows what’s good and what’s not.

She’ll never tell you where she found them!

My plan is to add a few animals to complete the scene, but I’m basically done with this fun project at last. Don’t forget to check out the tutorial on sculpting the mushrooms I have scattered throughout this diorama.

If you’re on Instagram, check me out at:

https://www.instagram.com/toadchapel/

Mushroom Hunter

I’ve been slow to really get underway on the figure to complete my mushroom wonderland, but I’ve finally got enough painting done to show you a few WIP shots. The scene will feature a sweet old lady hunting for tasty mushrumps.

I’ve been more interested in peaceful, everyday, human scenes in my miniature painting for a while, which can be challenging to pursue, since the vast majority of figures are either fighting or looking as if they’re about to.

Mushroom Forest

I think I’ve finished up the setting for my next mini creation. It’s a forest scene packed with all sorts of mushrooms. There’s a figure still to come, but I wanted this piece to stand without one.

There were plenty of challenges. Leaves that can’t effectively be bent, rolled, or twisted. Various media fighting each other. Frustratingly slow drying times!

There’s plenty I’d like to improve or change, but I’m very happy overall. The turkeytails and lichens are the best I’ve done. The effect of the leaves in the water looks cool. And the logs are real good to my eye. So yeah, a nice little piece of modeling, I think.

Read on for a tour of the various mushrooms and other woodsy stuff!

Forest Diorama First Look

I pointed out in a few recent posts that I often draw the same natural objects. I should have mentioned that I model them, too! Here is a sneak peek at a project I’ve been engaged in for a little while. I intend for it to serve several purposes.

Trouble at the Taberna

Two weeks were enough to finish this fun and creativity-inspiring project. I’m a Latin teacher and have studied antiquity for more than half my life, but this is (almost) my first foray into the Roman world as a modeler. It was also my first complex diorama, but it certainly won’t be my last. I’m going to bring this scene into class to share with my students, and I can’t wait to hear what they have to say.

Read on for a peek at all the details and my thoughts on creating this piece.

Last One to Arrive

Ok, I’ve added a ninth and final figure to my Roman tavern/street diorama. There is pretty much no more space to add another mini, at least not in a way that would supplement the scene rather than detract from it.

This fellow is peering around the main character’s shoulder, lending emphasis to that figure’s gaze & shout. I’m not sure if he’s a patron of the bar, the landlord, or what, but I knew he belonged back in there. He’s a well fed guy, so I gave him a nice palla to wear to further emphasize his affluence.

Another Shopper in Rome

I’ve successfully added to my diorama again, this time adding a lower class woman out shopping for food. I needed another, more typical Roman woman to complement the senator’s ostentatious wife, so this one is wearing a simple undied wool tunic while she visits the market.

She’s removing her hood to see what all the fuss is about behind her. In her basket she carries a small loaf of bread, a sausage, and an apple. I’m planning to add another item, maybe a pomegranate or a quince, which has fallen onto the street.

Chicken Little er… Little Chickens

Sorry for the dad jokes. If the shoe fits!

Here’s today’s mini added to the Roman diorama. This figure is a slave cook carrying two chickens from the market. Unlike the other figures, who are engaged in one way or another with the hubbub in front of the popina, this fellow is going about his business as planned.

I knew the scene wouldn’t be complete without a slave, a member of an often forgotten class of essential workers who enabled the vast Roman society & economy to function. We must keep in mind the institution of slavery whenever we are tempted to glorify Roman ‘greatness’. While a fundamentally different practice than modern slavery, servitudo was nevertheless a vicious and dehumanizing state of affairs.