Mandzak-Miniatures Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 What better way to get back into action than to start fresh! I've taken over a small 6' x 11' room in the basement for my studio. Before I get back into the groove of sculpting, modeling and painting I figured the best thing to do was get a new set up. As you can see it is a little room, and dated. In fact it is one of the only rooms in the house we haven't worked on since we bought it. This room doesn't need a whole lot of bells and whistles and anything major can wait till we are ready to remodel the basement. I've since gutted it, primed it and painted it! As you can see the floor has some ugly stick down tiles with old paint splatter on them. Since this is my studio it doesn't really matter, I am sure more will be added in time! Eventually I will switch out the electrical to be white, not too important at the moment. I am not going to bother with the vents or the Fuse Box cover.. I have put together some floor plans and really narrowed it down to option 2. I think 3 would have been great, but I would like to keep access to the Fuse Box unobstructed. I will also have a nice full wall to put up inspiration on. 1) 2)3)4)5) I am currently looking at these various options for work surfaces: 23" x 78" 25" x 74" 29" x 59" The drawer towers on either end are also 14" wide, something to consider about leg room/ maximizing the table top. I prefer a deeper desk but unfortunately the room isn't very wide and the deepest top was only 59"L.. It really comes down to Black, White or Wood top, which brings up the next point. Why a grey room? There are a ton of articles out there on it, but to sum it up: most painting studios are an 18% Flat Grey, or a grey green (mainly for portraiture life painting). The 18% grey is also used to balance photography levels prior to shooting. In this case the flat grey walls will help reduce light and color reflection. Ideally I would like a grey work surface for mini painting, but with cutting mats etc the surface is irrelevant. My walls are not 18% grey, as it would be much darker. Since the room is so little I didn't want to make it look any smaller with such dark walls, and this is close enough. If anyone is wondering (note it is darker, light is right above this): Anyone have some thoughts to share about the work surface and sizes? I am interested to hear about what kind of spaces you all work with. More studio progress coming, then I can get back to modeling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AthlorianStoners Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Damn I wish I could do a set up like this haha. Is this going to be your display room as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted May 5, 2018 Author Share Posted May 5, 2018 16 minutes ago, AthlorianStoners said: Damn I wish I could do a set up like this haha. Is this going to be your display room as well? Thanks AthlorianStoners! Yes it will be. I plan on putting up some sort of storage and shelving on the wall under the vents since it is only about 16" deep from the door frame. I plan on just getting some stuff from IKEA as it is the cheapest and most efficient. I do product development for a furniture company, and I have no issues abusing IKEA stuff. It is cheap enough to damage and replace if need be. Hell, I've even considered using a slab door for my table, but IKEA is still the best option. I have a plenty of house work inside and out going on, and with a 9mo my schedule is very busy! It will be a slow work in progress for sure. I would like to re-do the 1960s large square recessed 'can' lighting, as it doesn't provide good lighting. but that is a larger project because the original home owners hammer a dozen nails clean into the floor joist to mount it... I will eventually make an x-arch lighting rig for the desk top so I wont have to use my photo booth lights. So far my only concern is that since it is a windowless room in a basement (not my first pick, but this is a space I was "allotted" by my better half lol) I don't have any ventilation for my airbrush, a bummer but I am sure I can work something out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted May 5, 2018 Author Share Posted May 5, 2018 If anyone would like, please feel free to post some images of your work stations here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Well it’s been awhile since I had any updates. But I bring good news! I have finally had time to finish the “rudimentary” desk. I had originally bought a solid core door on sale, thinking it would save me time to cut that down. But it had a paper wood veneer which I wasn’t happy about. After a lot of searching I decided to not waste anymore time and just make the damn thing. I went to Home Depot bought two 3/4” x 4’ x 8’ sheets of cabinet grade ply. I had them rip the sheets into two 30” x 96”. Knowing I’d want my surface to be 28”-29” deep so I had some wiggle room knowing that them cutting wasn’t always accurate but also was easier to handle and saves me time at my work studio. I just made sure to completely glue one surface and then clamp and weigh the other piece down on top. Once the glue cured I cut the length down to 72” and proceeded to 400 grit sand the top and sides, followed 2x coat & sand with a final finish coat. I used polycrylic over polyeurothane because it won’t yellow over time. The desk drawers are the “Alex” from Ikea. Unfortunately for those in the USA the Alex storage cabinet has been discontinued. Basically a cabinet with a door and single removable shelf and cord management, ideal for a desktop tower.. or in my case an airbrush compressor. instead I went with the next best option, the filing cabinet drawer. Though I am not sure if I want to bore some holes in the back for the cord just yet until I get acclimated with the desk. I still have a long way to go for my setup to be done though. The good news is that the Moppe finally back after many years! Cheap desktop hobby organizers! oh they also had plenty of Slan! yeah bad joke but worth it. I am still debating what lighting I want to go with, either doing an arch light or two of these: I do have some models I’m putting together that I’ll get around to posting, but the desk has been crucial. Until next time, thanks for looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Since my desk is now functional (for the most part). I thought I would share a project I am working on. A long time ago I started to put some models together to represent an Araby faction, but life got busy and before I knew it the old world blew up. I have recently found an old sketch book that had some concepts in them and then I actually found some old models I was working on! So I decided that it would be fun to remake & revisit some of these concepts and models as well as new ones. First up, Araby Sorcerer: The unfinished mini: The concept is pretty on the nose. A lot of flanderization going on but nothing screams Araby Sorcerer more than a Jafar type character right? I think this guy was just a wizard with dispel scroll. Now that AoS has made a lot of things more fantastical (& they should be) I think this guy could go another step. Not sure what he could count as (have I mentioned I just model and have a tenuous grasp of playing the game?) but I will worry about that later. Though if anyone has some input on that, feel free to chime in. As soon as I saw the Soul Scryer I had longed for his release. I knew exactly what I would use him for, badass Araby Sorcerer remake! Normally I would sketch some concepts out but since I have my old one I think I know where I am going with this one. But I think a fun melding of Ind & Araby could be cool! The pose, cloak & pointy armor, staff all works for my vision. I am thinking of having him directing his bird familiar like the fish. Cut away the front part of the robe to create more depth and layers on the model so he can have a holstered dagger, scroll or do-dad wrapped with a sash. Still need to cut away the high head guard. For fun I got the same snake staff top, in homage to the old model and of course the inspirational character Jafar. Currently I am not sold on the pose for the staff with the weird bowl thing in hand.. maybe I can change it some sort of smokey 'lamp' deal (if so would probably be better if he was directing some sort of spooky ghost djinn/ spirit from it instead of his bird pet!), or I could make him holding the staff/ clutching it with his hand. I am also not settled on what head to use as a base for him either. The Soul Scryer head is nice, but his one good eye is huge like a fish's, probably best to save for when I need a head with a monocle.. I welcome some suggestions! Thanks for stopping by Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollow Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 cool. Im just about to embark on a room myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 30 minutes ago, Hollow said: cool. Im just about to embark on a room myself Oh very cool! Feel free to share your room pictures here if you’d like. I wish you luck with your build out. If you need any advice don’t hesitate to ask Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZakalwe Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 I love the sorcerer concept to bits though I'd call him a Vizier. Blatantly plotting something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 18 hours ago, MrZakalwe said: I love the sorcerer concept to bits though I'd call him a Vizier. Blatantly plotting something. At this point he can be called whatever! Waiting for the new GHB to drop to determine what if any rules I could use for this and what direction I could theoretically take a small army in. I have an idea for another fellow but don’t want to get too ahead of myself this early on! I would like to add I am looking for recommendations on what to do with the swirly bit and the scoops in the metal chest & shoulders. I like it better than it being made smooth and feel an added texture is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZakalwe Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Tricky as it's quite a small area for sculpting anything. What have an Araby look on such a small surface, I wonder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 I haven't forgotten about my Sorcerer rebuild, but I just couldn't contain myself. I feel that the best work is done when it is not forced. Currently I have a couple hurdles with the Sorcerer, like finding the right head. So I will occupy myself with another character of sorts! This guy will be loosely based on the Vizier from the Golden Voyage of Sinbad. On a side note, this film and many other films featuring Ray Harryhausen's movie magic is what I grew up watching and what lead me to pursue an art degree. He paved the way for many others such as Stan Winston, Gentle Giant Studios and Tim Burton. Tim Talks Golden Voyage I would also like to point out that this model will be based on another, of course I wouldn't have gone down this path without his blessing. Shout out to Hagen for the green light and also the constant inspiration. Seriously, check his stuff out. Characterful conversions and fantastic painting that grounds them in reality. So this guy is more than likely going to be a wizard, or maybe one of those new Evocator SCE? Either way, the best thing about this concept is the unusual mix of bits. Any time you can use something from 40k and insert it into AoS or vise versa is an intriguing choice, especially when it seamlessly blends. I especially like that I can use the Kharadron head and invoke the same thing as a Stormcast without it being one with a sculpted beard. Kharadron Overlord head I personally like head #2 but the first head has a nice center 'jewel' Skitarii Princeps Body (chest @ shoulder armor) Eldar Farseer arms & torso Staff top undecided Legs undecided, more than likely parachute pants Head I am debating boring out the eyes to make it look more like a SCE or give the impression it is more a helmet, or I could just paint the eyes.. Also think I should add a lip & gap for the mouth. But I will need to remove the filters. Body The Farseer body is ideal for this conversion for several reasons. He has a great pose, loads of bling a vizier would have, a sash and robes! The Princeps body is used to add some armor and stylized should pads often depicted within Araby. It is also different enough and not over the top like the Sorcerers, it is a bit more regal and will help tie in this chaps head. Staff The staff is a tough one. I like what Hagen did with his, and would contrast nicely against the Sorcerer. But a sentient eyeball staff is where I'm going! --- I've since done preliminary work on composition and assembly of the Vizier. Though I have run into an issue with the staff head. The idea behind it is that the staff is sentient, and has a large magic eye that moves around. GW has done this on various models such as Magnus and 1kSons sorcerers. These eyes are sentient but are fixed to the item as if it were in a socket. These eyes can freely move but cannot level out with the ground no matter what position their vessel is in. This is how I originally imaged it: This is the staff with the 'fixed socket' eye: Now this one is completely free to move around and level out The blue is a magic flame I may add to the staff. At this point I am stuck with how the eye should be represented on the staff. The first follows modeled trends and the other, while looking cool, could come off as weird that the eye doesn't look right on the staff 'if it were held up right'. Trying to convey that it can move around without explanation is solely dependent on the person looking at it. What are you thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 To me at least the eye in the second pic looks alive and capable of independent motion, and the eye in the pic before that one looks like an inanimate sculpted detail on the staff (which a good paint job might mitigate, admittedly). Looks great overall! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 2 hours ago, Tommy said: To me at least the eye in the second pic looks alive and capable of independent motion, and the eye in the pic before that one looks like an inanimate sculpted detail on the staff (which a good paint job might mitigate, admittedly). Looks great overall! That’s exactly why the decision is a tough one. with the examples I provided you can see that the one staff has the greenish wispy magic eye but is fixed. It would be like if you were the staff and tilted on your side. Same wth the Magnus book eye and all the others over his armor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Yep, not always easy to be sure things will look right. The second one certainly doesn't come off as weird to me at least, if that's any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 6 hours ago, Tommy said: Yep, not always easy to be sure things will look right. The second one certainly doesn't come off as weird to me at least, if that's any help. No it definitely helps! More people on FB have said the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrllaine Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 For me the best way to coomunicate that the eye is free to rotate is to avoid placing it in a resting position (aligned with one oo more of the planes of the staff), in this case the second option you showed is the best one, it really conveys a sense of movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 3 hours ago, mrllaine said: For me the best way to coomunicate that the eye is free to rotate is to avoid placing it in a resting position (aligned with one oo more of the planes of the staff), in this case the second option you showed is the best one, it really conveys a sense of movement. Yeah this is the direction I’ll be going. Hoping I can have some updates today. But with vacation on the horizon followed by a work trip to Asia I may not have anything through July lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted August 14, 2018 Author Share Posted August 14, 2018 I haven’t left! Work has kept me busy, lots of travel. anyways I managed to get some work done on my Wizard or whatever he will be. While definitely different in style, the vizier proved to be great reference for what I wanted. I had this idea to keep the beard in a similar way that the KO make their helmets. So a back story could be that a helmet was specially for him, he had to be interned in it to save his life and now looks for a way to cure himself.. or to just hide a disfigurement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundercake Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 yes! an update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted August 14, 2018 Author Share Posted August 14, 2018 4 hours ago, Thundercake said: yes! an update! Yes it’s been too long! currebtly I’m debating if he should have a double horn circlet of an annunaki or the triangle patter like the vizier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted August 15, 2018 Author Share Posted August 15, 2018 So I’m trying the horns out and so far they aren’t doing anything for me, still need another row but it seems odd.. any thoughts? Sculpted horns or triangle circlet? this model has also really grown on me and reminds me of the fantastical monsters in the old RH films. I am kinda thinking maybe I should scrap most of this guy and make him riding this thing. Otherwise he is just some random model that could be a Wizard lol, short of doing a Tz list and having him on a frisbee/ carpet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramer Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 I like the model a whole lot. Don't think adding horns or the circlet will add much to for the viewer so no advice there. It's all in the eye of the creator I think. The mount would be very cool. I do think the ramlike pegasus is an awesome model but he also grabs so much of the attention that it would draw the eye away from the Royal Vizier. A Disk or a Balewind Vortex would give that extra uumph without drawing away from the model. I think the posing also fits with both. But that's just my two cents! Looking forward to seeing where you will take it all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundercake Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 I agree with @Kramer. Some sort of flying carpet or disc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandzak-Miniatures Posted August 22, 2018 Author Share Posted August 22, 2018 Another minor update. Unfortunately my blog is suffering as I’m super slammed with work. Not much progress. Gave him some proper foot ware. Also got him a disc for fun since I’m not really sure what to do with him game wise.. so I need to magnetize him, though it’s platform is super thin. Onto the stole. I like the first one. The stole is narrower. The trinket loosely ties together with the breastplate and shoulders. The second ones stole looks pretty thick at the base where cloth meets metal. I’m also worried there are to many “eye shapes”, also the squiggle doesn’t tie in with anything but may look weird without the extra detail if cut off. Or he could have none, which also doesn’t look bad. Which do you guys like? stole 1 Stole 2 No stole Still plenty of major things to do like finish breastplate, redo headgear (not happy with the wrapped horns, probably doing prism circlet), etc. let me know what you think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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