Monday, February 14, 2011

Zombies #1 and #2


This is my first crack at painting post apocalyptic zombies or modern zombies. These guys have been an experiment in several ways, this being painting zombie flesh and blood which I have little experience and last is full up painting without using any black lining. For anyone who hasn't painted blood, it's much more difficult then one would think I've discovered. Like I mentioned, blood is a tricky one to paint and I needed to do some research in how to go about it. The thing with blood is colour and amount to be applied is very much a judgement thing and so trial and error are the order of the day. Another thing I found difficult when painting blood is a psychological one in that applying it over areas you just carefully painted is nerve racking as you really don't want to mess up!
The first few zombies will be the Hasselfree generic zombies as I work out flesh tones and blood, before moving on to their character zombies with the idea being if I mess these up I won't be too disappointed.
This first zombie above is a pretty nice sculpt for a generic zombie and looks as if he has been well and truly chewed on before becoming a zombie and so he is pretty bloody. I don't like to put on as much blood as possible on a model, but rather only as much as the model demands to make it convincing. The result on this guy went pretty well for a first time I think and so I'm happy, but still more to learn of course.
In regards to flesh tones I first wanted to start with a greenish flesh and later  try some blueish ones on another set. I don't like the zombies with flesh tones so green they look more like green aliens then dead flesh and resolved to take it easy on the green. However, I think his flesh came out a bit too "healthy" and so on the next zombie coming up I added a bit more green.

No black lining works for this period I think and so I'll continue that method for the rest of the zombie project.



This next zombie above isn't a very good sculpt which is not normally the case for Hasselfree miniatures as they usually have excellent sculpts,that said  this model is still worth owning. One thing I noticed was that blood doesn't look as effective on darker clothing as it's more difficult to show the transitions in colour blood undertakes. In the future I'll use more light colours when appropriate.
I added a bit more green to this ones flesh, but still noticed I need to a little more and so on the next "green" zombie as I've come to identify them in type I'll add more.
The bases are asphalt street colour with some grass/weeds growing through the cracks. I'll leave the more detailed bases for zombie survivors.
Thanks for viewing !
Miniature Company- Hasselfree Miniatures

15 comments :

  1. Very nice work, excellent paintjobs, you need to put your talent to studio miniatures zombies.

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  2. Hi Christopher,
    These are looking really nice, I have been waiting for you to start your Zombies. Can I ask what varnish do you use?
    Cheers
    Paul

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  3. Thanks guys!

    @Angry

    I've been admiring their(Studio Miniatures) Zombies for a long time and I will be buying some for sure! Too bad they screwed up their survivor's with the overly big heads. However, I'm not worried as I'll be using the best survivors which are Hasselfree. All IMHO of course. :-)

    @Paul
    I use Citadel Purity Seal. Do you have a particular question why so perhaps I can be of further assistance and offer some help if you wish or need it. :-)

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  4. Hi Christopher,
    yeah I do, I have been having problems getting a matt finish on my troops. I use 2 coats of Revell matt varnish and the 1st coat is really flat and the figures look very good. I wait 2 days and give it another coat and the finish is satin (and not as good as before). It is an ongoing problem my brother and I have had with varnish. I would like my troops matt and pick our the areas that will be satin myself.
    Any help would be most appreciated!
    Cheers
    Paul

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  5. Hi Paul,

    If your looking for a really good solid matt then Testors Dull coat is it. However, your problem sounds similar to what I use to have and is why I long ago switched to Citadel Purity seal in that it's not too dull and if applied correctly isn't shiny either giving you a nice flat. It offers better protection then a matt, but without the shine of a gloss. It should be applied in short bursts and at least a foot away from the miniature.Careful not to apply too much or it will shine. The nice thing about Purity Seal is if you over do it on accident you can always apply a matt over to dull it back down. ;-)

    I hope this helps.:-)

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  6. Ooooh, I like them a lot. The blood is especially well done and I know how hard it is to get it right from past experiments. Care to say something about your method? Concerning the dark colours, I'd maybe stop thinking of solely blood and introduce some general dirt and grime. Dark patches, perhaps re-varnished in satin would create a fitting impression.

    I agree that you need to make the skin tones look a bit less healthy and I look forward to seeing how you will achieve it. These are just slightly "fresher" Zeds. :)

    @Paul

    If you can cope with brush on I can recommend the Daler Rowney soluble matte varnish. It's excellent as a "finisher" for that really matte look. Sadly not the sturdiest of them hence "finisher".

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  7. Thanks Christopher and Doc Phobos,
    I will try these out and see what looks right.

    Christopher ment to say love those Nike trainers!
    Cheers
    paul

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  8. They look nice! (well, as "nice" a zombie can look...)

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  9. Nice as always. With this output of beautifuly painted miniatures you´ll manage all the projects from your list.

    Cheers mate, see you in Hamburg

    Jan

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  10. Thank you guys! I appreciate the kind words.

    @Lt. Hazel

    Hamburg? I'm sorry Jan, but I won't be attending Tactica this year. Have a good time with Doc and the rest and take pics!

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  11. I love the way you've painted the first zombie, from the nike stripe to the blood spatter pattern on the poor guys shirt. Great work!!!

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  12. Thank you!:-)

    The first miniature is a better sculpt and the brighter colours work in his favour I think. For me it means I'm weaker on the darker colours with zombie stuff and need to work on getting more from them. I'll try out Doc's suggestions I think.
    Thanks for the input everyone.:-)

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  13. Great job!! I love what you do with these blood stains.

    Regards.

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