Squig Hopper

Description	:	And now for something completely different...for me anyway. I generally paint Space Marines, but these little guys just kept calling to me. I wanted to break away from the traditional red squigs, as well as the typical exploding-retina green gobbo. This entire mini was done without a basecoat. I went from glaze to glaze, adding an orange/brown, then a darker shade mixed with purple, green, and/or gray. After that, I glazed a lighter color on the highlights. I repeated this 3-step process about 30 times, going from median, shade, and finally highlight. The first couple of tries looked a bit odd, but after a few hours of this little dance, the colors really started to come alive. With this mini, I tried to emulate Mathiue Fontaine's "Hop We Go", although using a different pallet. Thanks for checking it out, and C&C is always welcome.

Poll results:
Number 2 overall.
First Choice: one vote
Second Choice: 2 votes
Third Choice: 2 votes

From:	Glyn Evans (Zaphod)	(Mon 17 Dec 2007 11:53:41 PM CST)
I really like the natural color choices. A view of the gobbo's face in your painter album would be cool. So you mean that you basecoated white and simply glazed colors over it? Looks great :D

From:	Jeff Lybbert (LunchBox)	(Tue 18 Dec 2007 07:56:52 PM CST)
I added a 4-way shot in my gallery that shows the gobbo's face. The problem with photographing this mini, is that there is so much going on, for such a simple model...so it's hard to really find the 'best' 2 angles. As for the coloration of the mini, you are mostly correct. I base in a light gray, which would be the GW equivalent of Fortress Grey, if not a touch lighter. I use Rustoleum Automotive Primer, because it's sandable, smooth, doesn't really flake or chip, and holds paint like a champ. I haven't found a good white primer out of the many I have tried, and honestly I don't like painting over white anyhow.

From:	Jeff Lybbert (LunchBox)	(Tue 18 Dec 2007 07:59:19 PM CST)
The colors were built up as you stated; there is no real base coat, and it was all done with glazes. It seems like that would take a lot longer, but when you eliminate the time spent wet blending, and waiting for washes to dry, it really takes about the same amount of time. Like I said, it looks a little strange for the first 5 passes, but after that, it really starts to come alive, and makes the blends pretty smooth.

From:	kevin deming (primeval)	(Sun 30 Dec 2007 11:03:39 PM CST)
You really achieved rich tones here, which is especially commendable considering you did it with just glazes.

From:	Rhonda Bender (Wren)	(Thu 03 Jan 2008 01:39:49 PM CST)
It's really interesting to see a squig and rider done up in such naturalistic colours, and I think you've relaly made it work. Though there are a few spots that need a bit more contrast to read the contours of some shapes. Eric Louchard does a lot of glazing over underpainting, and I believe he goes to a more opaque mix for the top highlights, might be something to look into?