Earthdawn Art #4

Sadly, I’ve only played a little Earthdawn. I’ve played at conventions, and I had a couple short-lived campaigns that I gamemastered. My favorite PC was an ork troubadour who’s player wrote a summary of the adventure in rhyming iambic pentameter on the back of his character sheet :)

I own all the first edition FASA and second edition Living Room Games books, and recently started picking up the RedBrick third edition books, and hope to at least run a short game. Maybe when I finish painting the miniatures, I can put them to use :)

• Let’s talk about the gallery. There are 101 pictures of 35 different Earthdawn miniatures there. Is this all of your Earthdawn miniatures collection, or you have plenty of more? In your closet for instance…

By my research, Heartbreaker made 53 Earthdawn miniatures, of which I own 50. The painted ones are on a shelf, the rest are in a shoe box, as a matter of fact :)

I am still missing „0302  Windlings (3)”, „0333  Mounted Dwarf Calvaryman”, and „0334  Troll Illusionist”. I made it a mission to find them all and paint them. I plan to finish this mission, but the last 3 have been pretty hard to find, and I haven’t looked recently.

When I am done with my current painting project (soon), I will finish painting my Earthdawn miniatures. I am a lot faster than I used to be, so I don’t expect this to take too long.

• How and when did you acquire your Earthdawn miniatures? Was it expensive?

I bought my first few miniatures at a game store back in the days before the internet :) Since then, I have gotten the rest online. Various game stores and eBay have been useful. They haven’t been very expensive, but I have a few duplicates since I’ve had to buy them in lots a few times.

• You painted your miniatures yourself. Can you tell us something about it? Is it expensive? How much time does it usually take to paint a single miniature? What kind of tools do you use?

I like painting miniatures, because I like to draw pictures of my characters and this is like having a 3-dimensional character sketch. It’s great to have a nice looking miniature that I know I made myself. It’s also a great way to relax and clear my mind for a while. I like to listen to podcasts about science while I paint, so I learn something at the same time :)

It’s not very expensive. At first, you need to spend a little money on paint and brushes. Eventually, you will want other things. I’ve acquired these things over many years, so I only need to spend a few dollars every now and then for a new brush or bottle of paint.

When I’m painting a series of fairly simple miniatures, like a dozen orcs or kobalds, I will probably spend 15-20 minutes on each, but I will paint them all at once, one color at a time. For instance, I’ll paint all the skin at once, then all the armor, then boots, etc. This saves a lot of time. It’s a trick I learned from other painters. When I paint an individual character, I will focus on the details and I probably spend a couple hours on each. I usually have at least 5 miniatures in progress on my table, and I like to switch fairly often, especially when one is frustrating me :)

I use mostly Citadel acrylic paints and washes. I am still learning how to pick out good brushes, but I like Reaper brushes. I use Armory primer and matte varnish. I use a small spring clamp to hold onto the bottom of the miniature so I don’t have to touch it. I use a 2-part epoxy glue since it’s thicker than super glue. I have a small file set, exacto knives, tweezers, and a small Dremel that I sometimes use. I use „Green Stuff” and Milliput epoxy putties to fill gaps and modify miniatures. On finished minis, I also recently started customizing my bases with sand, grass, and other things.

• Have you ever used any of your miniatures for a role-playing game session?

Yes. My regular Dungeons & Dragons group doesn’t like to use miniatures, but most of the other people I play with do. When I start a new campaign, I like to pick out and paint a new miniature for my character and sometimes the rest of the group. I am waiting for my game shop to get in a miniature for my new cleric in Pathfinder :) I like to get the miniature as close to my concept as possible, so I will often re-sculpt part of the figure, or change out items.

• Beside the miniatures from Earthdawn, you have plenty of other. Which collection is your favourite?

When the Earthdawn collection is finished, it will probably be my favorite. Right now, my Reaper miniatures are my favorite, since they are the nicest miniatures I have, and I put the most attention into them. My Descent collection is almost done, and it’s a project I’ll be proud of completing.

• Thank you for the interview, Dan. I wish you continuous fun with your hobby.