Friday, April 18, 2014

DSM Dragon Diorama WIP: Of Bases and Coins

Work continues on the base of my Dark Sword Miniatures Elmore Dragon Diorama.  The work has been tedious and at times rather boring. But I know I'll be happy with the end result when it is finally completed.  Slowly but surely the treasure horde is coming along.



I've kept to my goal of not drybrushing the coins.  Each coin thus far has been painted separately by hand.  I'm glad I have done so.  Though it may be difficult to tell from these low resolution iPhone photos, the coin horde is quite striking to the eye.  I do have to admit however that I am doing it the hard way.  Each coin, or stack of coins, has to be painted from several different angles.  I usually start with the top of the coin, then I hold the base at eye level and rotate it around, brushing on color where needed.  Otherwise the coins would look two dimensional without their sides painted.  Drybrushing the coins first, followed by the stone gray color probably would have solved this problem.  But I truly think the effect would be much less dramatic. 


As I mentioned a few weeks ago, most of the coins are/will be gold in color.  As you can see in the photos, the gold really does contrast nicely with the gray.  However, to break up the mass of gold I decided to add a few silver coins here and there.  The effect is subtle but does the job nicely.  When I finally get around to painting the assorted weapons and armor included in the treasure pile, the golden mass will be broken up even more.


I've dry fitted the dragon to the base.  Wow!  I had forgotten how massive the miniature megature really was.  The vast majority of the base will be covered by his body while the dragon's impressive wingspan will drape most of the treasure hoard in shadow.  These factors lead me to wonder if I am wasting my time by painting all the individual coins, especially when I will be the only person to really appreciate the detail.  What do you think?


I guess I should get back to painting coins.  I estimate that I'm a little over halfway finished.  Hopefully updated photos will be posted soon.

Thanks for reading!

9 comments:

  1. "Each coin thus far has been painted separately by hand" - that's madness! Absolutely beautiful though, and I'm sure you'll be every happy with the result when it's finished though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Madness indeed. I wish I would have counted as I painted them just to prove how crazy the idea really is. I hope you're right about the end result.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  2. You may be surprised at how much others pay attention to the detail. In the end, though, what is important is that you feel that you completed the model the way it should be done, to the best of your ability. I'm impressed with the way it's turning out, and by your patience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement. That really helps my decision. I think I will continue painting by hand. And you're right...even if no one else notices, I will have the satisfaction of knowing the work that was put into the display base.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  3. The base is really coming along nicely! I'm torn between wishing I had a copy and thinking "better you than me". I painted a stone building once the slow, tedious and hard way and although virtually no one else recognized the amount of work that went into it, I still think it was worth it.

    It doesn't matter if anyone else knows, what's important is that YOU know and the end result is what you want. Besides, it seems there are at least a few of us out here that appreciate the effort. Anyway, keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can only imagine how long it took to paint a building stone by stone. Which one of us is more crazy? Ha!

      After the comments I've received I resisted the urge to finish up the base using a quicker method. The going is still slow but I agree....it will be worth it in the end.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  4. Anonymous3:59 PM

    pretty nice blog, following :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome and thanks for the compliment. Will check out your site as well.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  5. Hola
    Buena esa escena si señor
    El detalle de las monedas es magnifico
    UN SALUDO

    ReplyDelete