Saturday 27 May 2017

CXXVII. Swampfiends: The Witch

I reached the stage of my club's Malifaux campaign when my crew can purchase a Master, so I got to work on a model to represent Zoraida herself.
The Witch is my Zoraida proxy. The original plastic model would have been passable, but as soon as I saw this released I knew I had to get it as a substitute. It's the Hag from the Guildball game. I had to convert a bit to change her from a sea hag into a swamp hag, but it was totally worth the effort. I like her so much better than the plastic Zoraida.
Instead of fishing gear she originally came with, I gave her a bundle of sticks. Them, the skull and the fish are motifs that make a connection between her and the monster characters in her crew.
The round buoy is now a crystal ball - and Zoraida actually has an upgrade called Crystal Ball. I added shrooms to her belt; they are made of pins and PVA.
Hex doll, shaped by the Witch from a clod of red clay. The doll is Zoraida's Totem, and an essential tool for her to work well in the game. I'm not too fond of the original Voodoo Doll model. It is huge, cartoony and the flawless patterned texture screams computer-sculpted. So I took a tiny doll left over from the Bad Juju sprue and painted it with Martian Ironearth. Being so minute, it would fit much better on a 25 or 20mm base. However, it must be 30mm to be playable in regular Malifaux games.
I had room for one more purchase this Campaign Week, so I panted a second Wisp. Now Zoraida and the Spawn Mother can each have one for herself.

 
 

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In other news, I attempted to sculpt a shield for the first time. The result could be better, but what's more important is that the process was educational. I'll be getting some new sculpting tools soon.

The yellowish one is the unpainted original, sculpted from Milliput. The three painted ones are plaster copies.

21 comments:

  1. excellent concepts and execution!

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  2. Just next-level amazing, again.

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  3. Agree with grimful - astounding stuff - i feel a kind of brotherhood here - lots of femme references - red voodoo doll, faces appearing out of nowhere .....

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    1. Thanks, John. I guess we are haunted by the same demons. :) That must be why I appreciate your artwork so much.

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  4. Damn those are pretty! <3

    As for sculpting tools, I recently got myself some silicon ones with 0.3 heads in firm-black; best purchase I've made in a long time. Cannot recommend them enough! ^^

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    1. Thank you! Yeah, I have my eye on a set of clay shapers and a set of sculpting styluses. So far I've been doing everything with dentist's tools, and I feel I need to expand my arsenal.

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  5. Great work on this model, so much character here! Wisps are amazing with Zoraida, thanks to them she's become a viable master in Malifaux.

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    1. Thanks! Quite right. They take over the doll summoning and fish egg haching, which frees Zoraida and Mother to do other actions.

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  6. Wow, this flying...thing is just inspirational, thanks for showing!

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  7. She is beautiful. And the doll reminds me of the clay golems from berserk.

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  8. Actually I like how the design of the shields is so understated. Makes them look old and worn, which fits your setting very nicely.
    That Zoraida is so much better than the original (I had to look that mini up). All those little details are creepy as feth!

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    1. Thanks! I think the shield sculpt should have cleaner details, so I'll see if I can achieve that on my next try.

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  9. Brilliant stuff Ana. And to be honest that hex doll looks like an evil version of Groot, in a good way of course! :)

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  10. What a beautiful Witch mini. I love to facial expression and all the little goods she has on her back.

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  11. Thanks FourEyed and Florian. :)

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