Hi folks,
Monster March has come to an end I managed to get my Forest Dragon finished just in time. To achieve this I had to graft a more modern elf rider onto the old metal legs. I kept the classic Wood Elf shield with the S shaped glyph on it, but swapped the spear for a Sisters of the Thorn wand. I imagine that would be a more useful weapon to use from the back of a dragon. I used a bunch of bright colours on the rider that I wouldn't use, inspired by some artwork of the elf-like Sitha from Tad William's Memory Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, which I love.
I painted the hair a very dark brown, which was a suggested by my daughter. Apart from that, I used a lot of metallics, but tried to match them with the colours of the dragon as much as possible. Overall, I am very happy with how the project has turned out. It has earned a prized position on my daughter's model shelf, with the rest of her Wood Elves. Here are some final photos:
Such a beatiful and evocative miniature! You can really see the dragon moving! I agree, that a magic staff might be a more useful weapon on the back of such a big mount.
ReplyDeleteI like your use of colours to tie the rider in with the dragon.
Cheers :-) Trying to get close whilst riding a flying beast, even to strike with a long lance, seems like hard wok to me. Casting a spell, though, sounds quite manageable!
DeleteVery cool; and so colorful! Love the base here, very interesting with lots going on. The new rider w/wand works quite well.
ReplyDeleteThanks mate, I was of two minds regarding the base. With all model I find simple is often better, but Wood Elves really do lend themselves to abundant undergrowth!
DeleteI loved that trilogy! But it was so long ago! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for participating in the challenge! It is a beautiful model and you did it justice. I like the rider a lot as well. Great idea and perfect overall effect!
Cheers!
I know, right?! I got the first book as a gift during my first year of high school, from my best mate. I have read the entire trilogy several times since. It will always be one of my favourites!
DeleteThe dragon's colour scheme seems so familiar to me, almost like I painted one that way in a previous life... But I know the only dragon I did was blue, weird?
ReplyDeleteI too had Tad Williams trilogy, loved the covers. I always hated that 'never judge a book by its cover' advice because that's how I judged most fantasy books. That said I think I only read it once and I've misplaced one of the books. If I recall correctly I think I was disappointed how the hero had been manipulated throughout, which spoiled the ending for me somewhat.
I think is such an iconic sculpt from that era of Warhammer Fantasy, it evokes so many memories and the thought of painting it in a different scheme felt... off. I was thinking about reversing it, so that it had brown scales and green skin, but it just didn't feel right and I couldn't bring myself to do it.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing the cover of the first book and being fascinated. If the artwork is done well it should be a window into the story, which rightly draws you in. There are two big "gotcha" moments at the end of the trilogy, which people seem to either like or they don't. I love the books for the wonderful secondary characters and the things they go through. It is a very rich story in that regard. Apart from that, I felt a lot of connection with the main character (Simon); I'm a bit of a mooncalf :-)