After my last blog update on Ian Miller's artwork, I re-read Ratspike and looked long and hard at his Terror of the Lichemaster artwork. Looking at it I was really inspired by the bright colours used, so I decided to paint up the central Evil characters in this style.
I am really happy to be back painting again after not really painting anything for a few months (I've been buying things, but more on that in another blog update). I am also really happy to have chosen this paint scheme and style as it is really quite unusual. When I, and I am sure when many others, consider Undead, rusty and dull paint schemes often spring to mind, but the Ian Miller inspired really does look interesting. It may not be the most 'realistic' look, but for a fantasy army it does work.
Now, I find myself sorting out C16/C17 range Skeletons and Undead in order to build at least the bare minimum of the army for the Vengeance Scenario, and with an eye to using this as a core for a full 3,000 point Undead army. I have all the Undead required for the Vengeance scenario, and lots of odds and ends too. They are fun, and quite fast to paint, I painted all the four characters here in four hours (excluding varnishing and basing time).
Enjoy :)
'The Terror of the Lichemaster' artwork by Ian Miller.
From left to right: Krell; Heinrich Kemler, The Lichemaster; Mikael Jacsen; and Ranlac.
I am really happy with them, the look and vibrancy of the colour scheme.
For reference, The Lichemaster and Mikael Jacsen are both slotta miniatures, Ranlac and Krell are pre-slotta. The Lichemaster and Mikael Jacsen were made specifically for the scenarios, whilst Ranlac and Krell are from the Citadel C17 Skeleton range, and were designed by the Perry Twins.
I am really happy with them, the look and vibrancy of the colour scheme.
For reference, The Lichemaster and Mikael Jacsen are both slotta miniatures, Ranlac and Krell are pre-slotta. The Lichemaster and Mikael Jacsen were made specifically for the scenarios, whilst Ranlac and Krell are from the Citadel C17 Skeleton range, and were designed by the Perry Twins.
The Lichemaster.
I wanted to capture the look and colours of the artwork and looking at it the palette of colours was very simple: Red, orange, white, and yellow, with green for the hat, and a few items gold. .
I wanted to capture the look and colours of the artwork and looking at it the palette of colours was very simple: Red, orange, white, and yellow, with green for the hat, and a few items gold. .
The Lichemaster's cloak.
I purposely went for a bold contrast in highlighting to mimic the art. I think that cloak alsmost looks aflame.
I purposely went for a bold contrast in highlighting to mimic the art. I think that cloak alsmost looks aflame.
Side view.
I love the sculpting of the face, very much with a driven evil intelligence. I'm happy how the white flesh looks. A simple watered down black paint wash helped to give depth.
I love the sculpting of the face, very much with a driven evil intelligence. I'm happy how the white flesh looks. A simple watered down black paint wash helped to give depth.
Mikael Jacsen.
In the Terror of The Lichemaster Mikael Jacsen is the lieutenant of the Zombies. He also has a flaming skull and shrieking piercing shriek.
This character is of course based on the singer Michael Jackson, and the infamous incident which occurred in 1984 when his head was set on fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. I think the shrieking alludes more to his singing.
The miniature was great fun to paint, and I copied the orange armour with gold trim.
In the Terror of The Lichemaster Mikael Jacsen is the lieutenant of the Zombies. He also has a flaming skull and shrieking piercing shriek.
This character is of course based on the singer Michael Jackson, and the infamous incident which occurred in 1984 when his head was set on fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. I think the shrieking alludes more to his singing.
The miniature was great fun to paint, and I copied the orange armour with gold trim.
Rear view.
Ranlac.
Ranlac was the captain of Krell's Guard. The miniature has an oriental look to him, with the flowing robes, the Katana, the Oni or Noh looking face on his shield, and the Samurai looking helmet. It does make one wonder about the life time adventures of Ranlac.
Ranlac was the captain of Krell's Guard. The miniature has an oriental look to him, with the flowing robes, the Katana, the Oni or Noh looking face on his shield, and the Samurai looking helmet. It does make one wonder about the life time adventures of Ranlac.
Rear view.
Krell.
Krell was in life a great Chaos hero. He now serves as The Lichemaster's lieutenant.
I like the look of this miniatures, he looks as all good Skeletons heroes should: a hero from an earlier age.
Krell was in life a great Chaos hero. He now serves as The Lichemaster's lieutenant.
I like the look of this miniatures, he looks as all good Skeletons heroes should: a hero from an earlier age.
Rear view.
I enjoyed painting the rich coloured cloak. I only used highlights with red, orange, and yellow paint, without ink or contrast paints.
Next blog update will probably be more Skeletons, as I appear to be painting an Undead army now. :)
I enjoyed painting the rich coloured cloak. I only used highlights with red, orange, and yellow paint, without ink or contrast paints.
Next blog update will probably be more Skeletons, as I appear to be painting an Undead army now. :)
They look great, love the vibrant colours
ReplyDeleteThank you. I really wanted to try something different and capture the vibrancy of Ian Miller's artwork.
DeleteOh, Wow! Those look really good, Lee! Great idea to work from Miller's art. The Lichemaster looks amazing with the bright colors. I would have probably just defaulted to black or dark blue for his robes, but he looks far more sinister this way! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I was considering the same thing, just dark colours, etc, until I posted my blog update on Ian Millers art in Ratspike. I am suprised how nice the miniature looks with the bright robes, it does give a slight unsettling feel to him.
DeleteI like what you have done with the painting. Until you actually get up close to Millers work it is easy to under appreciate how much detail there is.
ReplyDeleteThank you. You're right, it's not always possible to appreciate the level of detail, or the use of colours in Ian Millers artwork, until you really sit down an look at it. I saw some of his art in a Gallery Exhibition, and it was only possible to appreciate the full level of detail and colour when you saw them at actual size.
DeleteExcellent paint work and colours... I haven't seen this Kemmler before, only the one with the enormous hat which I never really liked. This fellow would work well as an Ekwesh shaman from Winter of the World which Miller also illustrated.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteHe is the old original Lichemaster from the mid 1980's scenarios, rather than the 1990's Undead charater one you are familiar with. I am pleased that the detailed sculpt of the miniature lends itself an Ian Miller based painting approach. Here a link to the scenario miniatures:
http://www.solegends.com/citscenarios/index.htm
I have never read the Winter World books, but I was vaguely aware some of his work was used to illustrate. I'll have a look for them now. :)
Well worth a read. Miller did the covers which capture the atmosphere of the stories wonderfully. Totlm came out just as I was abandoning fantasy gaming in pursuit of wine and wimmin, so I missed out on that period of Warhammer.
DeleteHi Lee!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see that you´re painting again. Lovely models and paint jobs.
Yes, it's been a while since I have done some real painting. I have been collecting and building up armies though, so once I have that sorted out I can focus much more on painting. Glad you liked the miniatures.
DeleteGreat work on these old classics, still have my copy of that journal, for the comic strip of Kaleb Daark
ReplyDeleteThank you. It's a shame that the Kaleb Daark comic never carried on, I liked that. I do have a plan to build an army of Praag, based on the Warhammer Armies lists, with Kaleb Daark as the General.
DeleteOne of the most wanted Citadel models of all time... You did a hell of job on these undead!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, the Lichemaster is a sought after miniature. I only purchased mine a year or two ago. Glad you like how I painted them, they were fun to do.
Delete