Elise the Witch - Better Late Than Never

Fifteen days after Halloween, I finally have my Halloween project finished.  I would like to use my normal excuse of real life stuff getting in the way but unfortunately the delay was mostly due to a very stubborn color - orange.  Oh, and maybe just a bit of that other stuff like, you know, work and such.

 

I finished Elise rather quickly since the color selection was fairly simple.  Hat, shirt, thong, stockings, and boots are all that covers the little witch.  But when it came to the pumpkin, I hit a stumbling block.   I really had not used orange before except to help highlight reds but since I basecoated with a light brown, I didn't think I'd encounter any issues.  Boy was I ever wrong!  I must have repainted that bloody pumpkin seven or eight times without ever getting results I was happy with.  Finally I simply gave up and let it be as is and came to the conclusion that I hate using orange....even more so than reds and yellows.  I think from now on, I will do whatever I can to avoid using that blasted color.

Is it just me and my poor painting skills or does anyone else have issues with orange?

Anyway, other than orange getting the better of me, Elise the Witch (Reaper 65015) was fun to paint.  I was drawn to the sexy seductive bearing of Elise over the more traditional Halloween witch and waited for the months to pass by after buying her so that she could find herself in the painting queue just in time for the spooky month.  I knew she would be a striking miniature when completed due to the simplicity of the sculpt.  And with her so scantily clad, I also knew I would be given the opportunity to work on my flesh tones (an area where I really need to improve).
 

The only problem I had with the miniature itself was that a portion of the right side of her face was degraded and somewhat missing.  I wish I had known before I started painting but the defect was hidden by the shadow of the form and camouflaged by the black primer.  Until I put on the basecoat on her face, I was unaware of the issue.  No worries though.  I now have an excuse to purchase another Elise and maybe conquer the dreaded orange pumpkin.

A Halloween Witch - Dragon Magazine Style

Happy Halloween everyone.  It's probably my favorite holiday of the year...a chance to dress up in a silly costume and act like a kid again, no matter how old we really are.

To help celebrate the night of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins, I've been working on a few witch miniatures.  Unfortunately they are not quite finished yet (despite my best efforts) but photos will be coming soon.  But I didn't want to strike out on a Halloween themed post so I thought I'd throw up a photo of one of my favorite Dragon Magazine issues.

 

The issue is number 114 from October of 1986.  The cover features a scantily clad female witch perched atop a positively evil looking stone monument.  Actually, "skyclad" or nude would be a better description since the only article of clothing is a sheer robe or cape.  The painting for the cover was done by David Martin and titled "Spirit of the Night."  I think his quote from the magazine in describing his work perfectly translates the image to words:  "In a shower of moonlight, a lone figure kneels in supplication to the image of a god worshiped long ago.  Aroused, the elemental nightwind rises up, phoenix-like, from the ashes of the dead city.  It carries the smells of the forest, invisible, yet potent as a prayer in the silence."  Indeed!

Let's see, October of 1986...that would make me around fifteen years old.  No wonder I liked the cover so much.  But in all honesty, I have very fond memories of the cover, not only because I had a mostly nude female on the cover of my favorite magazine but also due to the painting itself.  The "cool" colors used to cover most of the canvas makes me think of a chilly autumn night while the full moon definitely portrays a late October evening.  As I mentioned in my last entry, autumn is a special time for me and anything that reminds me of that time of year is bound to fall into favor.  And maybe it's the use of an old broken statue to represent an ancient being or something else entirely, but the painting simply screams AD&D to me.

The articles inside were just as good as the cover.  (Yes!  I do read it for the articles!  Ha!)  To go along with the Halloween theme, a wonderful rewrite of the Witch NPC class served as the centerpiece while a small section entitled "Grave Encounters" offered several tables to help generate inhabitants of cemeteries, graveyards, and crypts.  I also particularly enjoyed the Elven Cavalier article on page 26.

Although I rank this as one of my top ten Dragon Magazine covers ever, not every subscriber and reader was happy with the issue.  In fact, number 114 caused quite a scandal.  The cover reignited a debate about the depiction of females in the game and in artwork and one reader went as far as to call it "soft-core pornography."  I wonder how many subscriptions were cancelled after that issue?  I also wonder how many new subscriptions were ordered?  After all, a cover like Mr. Martin's could be considered cutting edge at the time.

Though certainly not the intent of this post, I can't help but wonder where the gaming community stands now on such issues as scantily clad females on covers or their general depiction in gaming.  Do you have an opinion?  Is it acceptable in today's media or are females being done an injustice?  I'd like to know what you think......