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Kurnothi/Pagan Sylvaneth passion project


Nos

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For about a decade now I've been trying to create an elf project which reflects my personal vision of what elves should be-unknowable, sinister, somewhat malevolent, as much inspired by folklore and Teutonic paganism as anything by Games Workshop. This darkness needed to be offset by a degree of grace and dignity though. In my minds eye these beings were dreadful, not evil. Their motivations beyond the ken of outsiders, but not despicable or excessive.

For the majority of that period the project was based around Various iterations of the dark elf aesthetic but I wasnt in the place personally to pursue it. It was a vision out of reach, the principal obstacle being that I didnt feel as though I had the skill to realise my vision. Inspiration would give way for frankly ruthless self doubt. The army sat in my spare room but would cause me intense irritation for not being quite what I wanted it to be, and gradually found itself sold off in chunks to fund my AOS habit. Eventually forgotten. 

Then the Arch Revenant and Kurnothi were released in quick succession and I was immediately won over by the aesthetic, the revenant as Valkyrie and the Centaur of the Kurnothi. Their release also made me properly consider Tree Revenants who I never really looked at before only to realise that they are absolutely outstanding models in their aesthetic. 

This triumvirate of models fired my creative cylinders and provided the aesthetic to work to, and without me really thinking it through money had been spent feverishly and a more feral iteration of my sinister elves was back on the table.

After months of mobilising the core units I have finally finished painting my first unit below and am delighted with how my paint concept sells the idea:

20200719_011424.jpg

Removing the horns on the Unit champion in particular made him much more of a fearful looking individual and he is sort of the epitome of the project:

20200716_235213.jpg

Currently the army is comprised of:

Drycha (Converted into a tree demon)

Durthu (Conveted into a sort of fen beast monster) 

Arch Revenant

Branch Wych (Converted into something more sinister)

15 further Tree Revenants

3 Kurnothi wolves conversions (KH proxy)

3 Centaur conversions (KH proxy) 

All of these are assembled and I will post as I make sufficient progress on them. 

The reason for posting all this is solely out of respect for the hundreds of articles, blogs and army projects which have inspired me to maintain or pursue the hobby over the years. Especially when I have not had the self belief to actually do any hobbying myself.

Honestly I'm not really satiated much by feedback or praise in the hobby. After spending much of my life living in crippling anxiety I have thankfully with support come out the other side to know that the greatest value in any hobby is that the person practises it values and enjoys it for themselves. In that sense the greatest reward for me in all this occurs at the painting table while I contentedly work away and watch an idea morph into reality. It's nice if people like my stuff but I dont do it for anyone but myself and in that sense posting on here feels somewhat redundant.

But army projects are my absolute favourite aspect of the hobby and I have benefitted immeasurably from the time and hard work of others in chronicling their work.  While I dont have anything like the time or skill I would like to properly do this justice and make the blog itself an event as say  is showcased in the exemplary work of @KnaveOfScribes  if someone is inspired, engaged or otherwise enthused by even one aspect of what is here then engaging here is time well spent.

I hope you enjoy my contribution to the wonderful canon of army building projects that bless the hobby. 

 

Edited by Nos
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Well, this is a cracking start to a project - I love the muted colours, and removing the horns is absolutely the right idea. The autumnal tones you've got in there are beautiful. 

Very much looking forward to seeing how this progresses and the other units you've done, and I'm a sucker for anything folklore inspired when it comes to Sylvaneth. 

Also totally agree that doing the hobby for yourself is the most important thing. There's no point chasing what the internet tells you you should be doing for a particular army, do the stuff you want in the way you want to. 

Please do keep posting though, because I for one want to see more :)

 

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Apologies for the slow response folks, been able to see my nephews for the first time since Covid restrictions so far more exciting things have been taking place. 

On 7/19/2020 at 11:48 AM, KnaveOfScribes said:

Well, this is a cracking start to a project - I love the muted colours, and removing the horns is absolutely the right idea. The autumnal tones you've got in there are beautiful. 

Very much looking forward to seeing how this progresses and the other units you've done, and I'm a sucker for anything folklore inspired when it comes to Sylvaneth. 

Also totally agree that doing the hobby for yourself is the most important thing. There's no point chasing what the internet tells you you should be doing for a particular army, do the stuff you want in the way you want to. 

Please do keep posting though, because I for one want to see more :)

 

Thanks man. Your project log is one of the finest bits of "hobby" in respect to concept and execution that I've ever encountered, and I have been devouring articles on army collecting since I was about 10, so 24 years or so now. Transcendent stuff, honestly. It made me realise in particular that the "limitations" of AOS' fairly tepid narrative are actually strengths in respect to freeform projects, in that you're not constrained by the need for narrative logic or accuracy.  You can just go with a mood or feel. 

On 7/19/2020 at 1:57 PM, silverstu said:

Looks great Nos!! Can't wait to see more!

Thanks man! Finally get to show you some of the stuff I guess, how are your own Kurnothi coming along?

On 7/20/2020 at 11:46 PM, Mirage8112 said:

I saw this on FB! I really really like this scheme. Super moody.  

Hey thanks man! And congratulations on your family news, that's wonderful. I remember reading on your very inspirational and impressive project log last year or so that you were finding lack of motivation and self criticism very difficult to overcome. Glad you're in a better place. I think it's one of the unspoken aspects of mini painting, the psychological challenge of it. Amazing how these little guys can become a concentration of our angst and insecurities!

Personally I've come to the conclusion that they are an outlet for my creativity. If i feel inspired and enthusiastic, I love having them for that. If I dont, I do something else, maybe even for months at a time. I find the whole "pile of shame" or notion of having to make a commitment that often does the rounds really corrosive actually. I refuse to pick up a brush now unless it's something I'm excited about.

On 7/22/2020 at 10:18 AM, Rungi said:

Colors fit the description perfectly. Can't wait to see the rest!

Thanks pal. 

Speaking of, gonna take a crack at the doggies next I think:

20200721_190153.jpg

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22 hours ago, Nos said:

 

Thanks man! Finally get to show you some of the stuff I guess, how are your own Kurnothi coming along?

 

Speaking of, gonna take a crack at the doggies next I think:

20200721_190153.jpg

Wow love the hounds!! The horns and branches are excellent! I was thinking of using Fenris wolves as well- definitely would want to add a few forest additions!

My Kurnothi are coming along ok- I've converted 2 centaurs so far which I'm happy with and just working on a foot wych/warrior conversion. 

 

Have you seen this thread where someone is working up a fan Kurnothi Battletome? It's got some nice ideas around the faction.

 

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Hi all

Just a small update: in short the last year kicked my ass. Further to being a health care worker in a pandemic and the extra work I took on regarding that, I developed out of the blue a chronic eye condition which at its worst meant I couldnt really see for days and it's my experience that its best to paint minis with your eyes open.

Thankfully its being treated now and I'm hoping to return to the painting table in the next month or so once I'm healed. Thank you for kind words and patience in the meantime 🙂 

Hope those of you reading this are taking care of yourselves 

Edited by Nos
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  • 4 months later...
On 7/30/2021 at 12:52 PM, Nos said:

Hi All  

Apologies but this is on hold as my heart currently belongs to the crooked vibes of the Kruleboyz. You can see how I'm getting on with them here if so inclined: 

 

Hahaha, just as I find this blog. Hey, I am right with ya, follow your dreams and passions! I have been going through the same, trying to motivate myself with schedules and pledges and while it can be fine, when it burns out, it burns hard. Your hobby should never be your job. Some people make it work, but god it is a hard road to travel.

I'll be excited to see the Kruleboys grow, they are a cool force! May your hobby make ya smile.

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