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Hello crew, This post is about a new set of dungeon crawling critter miniatures for using with table top role playing games, specifically Dungeons and Dragons from Wizards of the Coast. At this time, currently at its 5th edition. I know there is not many of you that come and visit anymore. I think Google has strangled most organic search results to us smaller kids on the block. That, and we all need to do a better job of putting out quality content. That said, I am planning on a renovation of kinds to this website to better help people looking for custom art of certain certain kinds. Stay tuned for that. But, for those select few that show up here, on a semi-regular basis, thank you! I appreciate you. In either case, I have a good post here, mostly images, of these new miniatures I painted up. They have been done for a while, just finally got around to gluing the bases on and sealing today. And that also means doing my amateurish best on photographing these little devils. Read on, if you dare! Phase Spider from Wizkids' Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures This was the main piece for my collection of dungeon critters to start collecting and painting. The plastic was interestingly flexible and pre-primed with something of which I am not familiar. The reason is one of my one-shots I have penned uses the creature and I wanted to have one painted up for it. This one took around 6-10 hours. I used a combination of Folkart and Citadel paints along with Army Painter and Vallejo washes. The primer I use is a Krylon gray. Enjoy the pics! You'll have to excuse the fibers - sealed outside while tree cotton was blowing around! Oops!  Giant Spiders from Wizkids' Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures The next set of icky creepy dungeon crawling critters for DnD 5e are the trio of Giant Spiders kit. This is also from Wizkids, but I had a much harder time with these. The bases were very small compared to the spiders. Luckily, I prefer using gel super glue and this helped pile up glue around the limbs to harden and, so far, securely fasten the little buggers to their bases. Also, in that same one shot as mentioned above, I have these featured in it, so I wanted to have a couple handy for the table top. Hm, their paint and color scheme ended up looking familiar!  Dungeon Critters from Mantic Games - Spiders, Rats, and Bats I liked this kit a lot because it got me purely more miniatures for my money. A total of 8 dungeon dwelling creepy crawler critters. There are 2 bat swarms (be careful as they break easy and they have irritating mold lines to clean), 3 rats (or you could call them Giant Rats, I guess), and 3 spiders (again possibly used as Giant). These are all going to be used in my one shot as well since they do appear and I think visuals like these can help draw people in to a session better. I liked these a lot, they were more cute, I guess, but I will say they did not like brush-on primer. Lesson learned. These are on modeled carved stone bases, so if you care about that, be aware they are not plain! One thing to note is that I used the Citadel Technical Paint - Blood for the Blood God for blood dripping from the rat fangs and also I think spattered blood under the spiders. It really helps give it a wet shiny blood type effect. 10/10 recommend. Enjoy the lot! Rat Swarms from WizKids, I think? While these were crucial as pieces to the one-shot to acquire and be able to field, I found them the most annoying to deal with both in terms of model fidelity and prepping and painting. They had poor definition and terrible mold lines to clean which made it tricky for painting. That said, there is something rather satisfying about the pile of rats to look at. One thing I found odd about these is that they have a base of sorts molded into them, but, for some reason, they came with their own glue-on bases. Well, me being me, I simply didn't want to waste those bases and ended up painting them up and gluing the seething mounds of dungeon rats to them. I think they turned out as good as can be hoped. Hopefully, a better kit comes out. This was 2 swarms in the blister, by the way. I can recall who I got them through, but I am pretty sure it was another Wizkid pack. Enjoy!  Bonus Pics - The Whole Gang - Crittering About in their Dungeon If you or anyone you know are looking for someone to help paint up some minis for your adventures, hit me up in the comments or the contact page. Thanks!
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Xytych the Planesdrifting Aether Minder Digital 2D and Traditional 2D Photoshop, Canon Scanner, Pencil, Inks Creature Design contest submission # 3. "Nevermind the goblins and cave ogres, Delvin. They don't liquify your brain like the aether minders do. They come out of nowhere, you know." Of all the minders that ever existed, drifting through the aether and planescapes, attracted to the minds of magical beings, there was one of such renown that it was feared throughout the multiverse. It was known as Xytych. A cult had sprung up in the far reaches, beyond the reason and logic of imperial rule. There, they worshipped it, researched it, and some have even said to have communed with it. Through them it had gotten its name, believed to be given to them in some forgotten, dark seance. To instill fear, they spread its name in secret, amongst plain folk, and made it be known that all who would dare use magic had a most awful death awaiting them. Some sects of the cult actually baited magic users to hidden lairs and sacrificed them on open altars to the transdimensional being. The ripple effect of these magical sacrifices would be felt for ages. Aether minders exist in fair quantities between planes. It is true they feast on the minds of creatures in other planes that are sensitive to the aether or possess higher powers. But none were as ageless, ravenous, coldly predatory, and relentlessly driven, as Xytych. He was wholly seven times bigger than most, which lent credence to his status as a deity. Some scholars believe he is an elder minder, in existence for many countless ages, many times older than all other free-roaming aether minders. Ancient legends contain stories of spiney horns and tentacles erupting from out of a rip in reality, impaling the skulls and brains of wizards and sorcerers alike, turning the gray matter into pulpy soup. While it appears they were victims of a very real, physical death, they suffered the worst kind of end imaginable - the consumption and snuffing out of their mind and spirit - their eternal essence. Each one adding to the power and monstrosity of the interdimensional creature. Xytych has also been known to drag his prey into his own dimension, a transit between planes, whereas lesser aether minders would drop theirs, not quite able to carry their humanoid size prey yet. If you were to behold Xytych, you would first see tentacles appearing out of a shimmering hole in the air, above which glide two massive bone-like tusks. The bulk of his body would follow, resembling that of a floating bulbous beetle or tortoise, as it has a softer midsection with an armored shell behind what passes at its head. The eye is massive and multifaceted, much like an insect's. Some believe that is what gives it extraplanar vision, being able to view many at once. Usually aloft in the air or aether thanks to its gas-filled organs, it can look like an airborne cuttlefish or squid of sorts. At its base are tough protrusions and several drooping claw-like legs that are used for grasping its prey for prolonged periods of feeding. Its colors are obscene and bright, often shifting as it moves from dimension to dimension. Usually, after translating into realspace, it can be seen coalescing in a vibrant display of colors like a bubble of liquid in bright light. But, make no mistake, it's nothing but dark, cold, uncaring, death for those who dare toy with flagrant displays of magic. The cult of Xytych is thought dead now, long since being hunted and eradicated by the Emperor's forces. However, the lasting effect of the message and fear can still be felt and seen. Many have spoken of seeing Xytych in their mind, aimlessly drifting in the aether, after having performed such simple tricks as lighting a candle with a snap of a finger only to swear off magic for good in response to the terror they felt. It is not known how many victims Xytych has claimed, only that it is many - almost incalculable. Now, those with magical abilities are rare and often in hiding. For Xytych is waiting, drifting just beyond the veil, sniffing the aether, ready to strike. If you ever see a shimmer or feel a sudden cold behind you or a sharp pain behind your eyes, run. But, it might be too late.  Conceptual Fan Art of a Krak Grenade for Chaos Boiz  Fellow Heretics, Please enjoy this post as it is one amongst many in a series of artwork based on the Warhammer 40,000 video game Eternal Crusade. This particular concept / fan art is an old sketch I have recently done up in photoshop. Resplendent and ominous at the same time, this concept is what I think a krak grenade would look like if it belonged to a faction of chaos space marines. I have always been a follower of the ruinous powers when playing, painting, collecting, and being a fan of Warhammer 40,000. Thus, the reason for all the Chaos-themed items in this series. The process is simple, yet tedious at times. It started a few years back being inspired by the release of Eternal Crusade. I loved the items you could get from playing so I visualized my own set of wargear for chaos space marines. These all started as pencil line sketches on paper. Next, they are scanned or imaged into my computer. After that, I would print the cleaned-up line work and then shade that version in on paper using a set of art pencils or just my favorite Black Warrior Mirado Pencils. The last few I started to challenge myself and shaded them using my Wacom Intuous Bamboo and Photoshop. Finally, using a few filters and many layers, I simply paint single layers of color overlays to make them pop. I usually save these different steps out so I can show the process in a post. Back Story Blastiche Krilgin of the Oratory Font of the Ragegivers Warband of Chaos Space Marines was out of ammunition for his loyal bolt pistol and his power sword had been jammed into a gearwork of his prey’s transport carrier. He was lacking in the warp-gifts and not particularly large. His comrades had either advanced through the fog of war and left him or lay scattered around the immediate vicinity as a result of their assault cannon defense batteries. Yet, he was still eager and optimistic. He had assisted in the spearhead and seen many of the foe stricken down in their righteous fury in the name of their deity. Many moments were taken to rehearse the litany of devotions to imbue his cohort with renewed zeal and ferocity. He was tired, he had to admit, as he was still mostly human. He had looked around for something he could use. A tinny noise at his waste interjected his internal dialogue. Could it be? His hand instinctively grabbed for something. It was there. He tilted his head down and beheld a glorious sight. The Oratory Font brethren all carried these. Of course. In his battle-rage he had forgotten. So it was that Blastiche was able to enter the enemy’s compound and begin the ending of their suffering and grant them deliverance to the Ruinous Powers. The simple, yet effective krak grenade became legend that day. From then on, it would be known as the Lone Demise of Asteroth, the namesake of the wretched homeworld of the antagonists of the Ragegivers. https://play.eternalcrusade.com/ https://www.wacom.com/en-us/products https://warhammer40000.com/ https://www.photoshop.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Mirado-Warrior-Woodcase-Pencil-Nontoxic/dp/B07HMFQ6PD/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=78340271162382&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=mirado+black+warrior+pencil&qid=1557811428&s=gateway&sr=8-1 Playing through Skyrim, and got my first big freeze-up at game-save file of about 7500 MB. Bethesda, any thing you would like to comment on?  Oops, looks like I found a french screenshot. Oh well. |
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February 2023
Tim Kaney
Uhm, I'm the guy who runs this website - artist, designer, writer, father, and husband . . . big whoop, wanna fight about it?!     Copyright © Kaney Kreative |
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