Thread by @matthewmercer

Since some folks have been asking since the Gorm pic, here’s a deeper dive into my recent, therapeutic obsession w/ painting @kingdomdeath minis, & some of my fav examples.

Painting minis has long been a centering place for me, and in 2020, I’ve needed it more than ever.

As such, discovering the game and the challenges of bringing these amazing sculpts to life has given me a renewed inspiration to pick up the brush and release the tensions and anxiety that plague me. The chance to learn and practice new techniques has been a blessing.

First, here’s our collection of assembled and painted survivors so far (including the non-KDM huts & terrain we use as our settlement signifier). Such tiny details are always a struggle, but it’s fun to see how, like a Monet, my sloppy work can come together at a distance.

Here’s the Watcher, a great mini that I practiced some lighting technique on. Not a perfect final result, but it gets the idea across, methinks.

I posted an images awhile back, but still proud of this fella. The Gold Smoke Knight, my first successful dive into flame/smoke effects that I didn’t totally mess up, hehe.

This is the Slenderman, or as we call it, @AlexWard777. SUPER cool, creepy sculpt, and a fun exercise in outfit detail and filigree. LOVE those tendrils.

Here’s the Dung Beetle Knight! A delightfully strange design that was a blast to paint. Got to pull out Marisha’s old iridescent green acrylic paint she used on her Cryx army years back and give his armor that beetle-shell iridescence (you can see it a little here).

The Dragon Tyrant, or the humanoid form of the Dragon King (after this). Adore the calm confidence and power this pose and design exudes. That, and the cool Safer-Sephiroth-like golden halo mantle looks badass.

And his BIGGER form, the Dragon King! I posed some pics of this awhile back, but I’m just super proud of it. Probably the mini I’m most proud of painting...ever? I was SO scared to start it, looking over me for weeks after priming, taunting me to fuck it up. Thankfully, I didn’t!

I also fell down the rabbit hole of replacing the KDM terrain tiles with 3D printed ones, and I’ve THOROUGHLY enjoyed painting and customizing them! Hats off to the talented sculptors who modeled these!

For completion-sake, the Gorm mini many folks saw used on CR recently. This was the nightmarish sculpt that originally got my attention for the game, and I needed to eventually drop it on my players, hehehe. A faint bit of glow on the face to match the lure was a fun challenge.

Aaaaand because this is still a huge point of pride, the original pic I posted of the Spidicules and it’s brood. Another intimidating project due to the shape, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected! Also... happy nightmares, Travis. ;)

Oh crap! I totally forgot the Phoenix! This guy was also a blast to paint! Beyond the terrifying number of hands and the creepy face-within-a-face, I enjoyed trying for a solid gradient: