From BartekR: That is not dead...and nuke 'em from orbit (Sci-fi) (80 points)

Submissions for the "Studio Challenge", found among the papers of BartekR of Canberra, Australia...

Black and White Studio: WizKids Star-Spawn of Cthulhu

"The Thing cannot be described--there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order" - H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

 

I'm a sucker for the Cthulhu Mythos, have been since I discovered them as a 12 year old: the literature, the art, boardgames, RPGs. If the topmost bookshelf above where I sit at the computer failed, I would be crushed by the combined weight of Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green RPG books, or even just the lone Centipede Press A Lovecraft Retrospective artbook tome. I should add - I do draw the line at Cthulhu plush toys and the like however. Cthulhu etc should not be cute. Ever.

Similarly, I'm fascinated by how Cthulhu Mythos uber-gribblies are represented in miniature. For my money, Cthulhu: Death May Die does it best, very much on the back of Adrian Smith's art.

This WizKids "Pathfinder Battles Deep Cuts" mini is a symptom of that interest - quality isn't great, and its in a softish plastic, but bought at a con because...well...its Cthulhu. After at least half a decade of it bouncing around my study it seemed the right subject for my first attempt at greyscale/b&w painting: Cthulhu or its Star-Spawn ilk rising from the waters under the Gibbous Moon. Clearly the Stars were Right. (I was also thinking of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's B&W film of Call of Cthulhu as part of my thinking).
 

 

Then came the troubled dreams of how to get the right grey tones, nightmares of eldritch rites involving black washes...SAN-loss followed.

Sweet dreams

I joke but this was plagued by a few instances of things going well (eg, good undercoating of black and white sprays for dark and light tones, or managing to pull off green glowing eyes) before I'd do something that screwed the overall effect. Mostly not knowing when to stop - overdoing washes - or ending up with a monotonal grey that didn't work at viewing distance. Thus, on the third attempt I called it quits - end result a slightly abstract, maybe comic book like effect...suitable for a B&W movie.

 

 

Black, white and grey paints (mostly Citadel) aside, I also used grey filters by Ammo and Vallejo transparent water effect (hence the shine). I have found the latter, even when dry, attracts cat fur quite well.

The lightbox helps with the dramatic effect

 

A pure aside, but there are some great images of Cthulhu rising from the water (Sam Lamont's cover to the Call of Cthulhu 7th ed Keeper Rulebook being one) but recommend checking out Darren Tan's 'Operation Starfish' graphic which appeared in the Osprey Adventures (Delta Green-esque) The Cthulhu Wars, written by Kennon Bauman and Ken Hite (of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff podcast, and plethora of RPGs including Trail of Cthulhu and The Fall of Delta Green).

 

Size comparison photo - chap at the front has the right idea

 

Interlude

Oscar and I haven't worked come to an accommodation as to how i can paint with him on my lap - hence his determined look

Sci-Fi: Gale Force Nine xenomorph Queen and Warriors 

 

 

The GF9 Aliens minis were a bit of an impulse buy (because I never make many of those!!!). Originally released for the Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps? boardgame, I picked up the standalone minis boxes for potential use in sessions of Free League's Alien RPG.  

These were another try and try again subject. As far as I can tell from trawling images, the xenomorph is generally black, with a metallic tinge (and some very silver teeth) - also in keeping with H.R. Giger's art style. So...silver undercoat and black washes it was. Which produced a very accurate looking alien. Problem was, it left them too dark and plain.

GF9 box art has some glorious looking minis - dark with soft blended blue (respectful of Ridley Scott's Alien palette). Alas, given I am still over reliant on drybrushing rather than blending, there was no way I was going to achieve that in the time I'd allocated. And, to be honest, it looked too bright. I know, "too dark...too light" - I sound like Goldilocks! But these are ambush from the shadows predators, not genestealers or tyranids. It was enough to prompt me to add a blue wash, and some blue highlighting before toning it down with a thinned black wash (maybe it was Contrast or Speedpaint, further diluted with thinner). End result, better (maybe not 'just right'). Bases are Gunmetal, blash wash, rust wash (comes out a bit too gold or copper in the photos) and Ammo's 'starship filth' filter. 

Running this way and that...

And a lot darker outside the light box

Realised reading over this draft how effectively the light box is at washing out colours - for good or bad (maybe will stop using the max light setting!)

Points

Star Spawn (54mm?) 10 points

B&W Studio bonus 20 points

Alien Queen (54mm?) 10 points

Xeno warrior gang (28mm x 4) 20 points

Sci-fi Studio bonus 20 points

Total: 80 points

In next week's episode: ???

Kissy kiss

THe aliens are great and so is the octopus thingy - don't really get Cthulhu, kinda passed me by. Top work