As Blogger wouldn't let me upload photos from the tablet, I have had to wait until the laptop was out and take photos on the phone.
There seemed some interest in the latest Soldier King army so this is a filler as I have not finished them yet, but nearly there,
For Jonathan really who likes my terrible sketches I use to get colour combinations.
Some "works in progress" the figures varnished awaiting flags and basing.
Then the flags - only finished this morning
And just for Jonathan and Donnie, a special bonus of my notebooks for the project, I jot down ideas, scribbled flags, uniforms, names and set out plans for the armies - you can see it evolves and changes over time as the ideas are refined or rejected. Some things arrive fully formed - the flag design for example but others can take a while to crystallise. I have three for this project plus various A4 pads and some old notebooks that I'm using to transfer the final details to.
Should have a proper parade by next weekend.
Taking peeks into your sketch book are some of my favorite posts. Thank you! Brilliant stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonathan. I've found I work better visually working things out on paper.
ReplyDeleteNeil
A very nice army shaping up here. I do like your flag designs - especially the ones with the 'unicorn rampant'. The sketches look great, too, especially the stern looking hussar.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Ion
Thanks Ion. The various bits sort of came together. The unicorn was what was left of the GW heraldic symbols when all the other states had theirs allocated. White on red seemed fitting, then the idea of pink uniforms seemed to fit the unicorn idea.....
DeleteNeil
I read Martin Rapier's comment, which led me to look at whether you could use the flags as sketched to form paper flags - my own technique for ones I have created myself. Then I noticed something - something I did myself in respect of the Cat Sable Passant Guardant in the Jotun-Erbsten battleflags. I forgot to 'mirror-image' the cat! I left them as is of course...
Deletehttps://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.com/2010/02/army-of-jotun-erbsten.html
Mind you, the sinister facing on the reverse side of the flag is, anything, more threatening than the dexter... :D
Cheers,
Ion
Thanks Ion. My method is outlined below.
DeleteYes, you are correct, I didn't mirror image the heraldic design. In fact I've committed worse errors - poor Waldow had the obverse and reverse designs mixed up which I didn't spot until I'd finished and there was no way I was going back!
I think Bern ended up with me colouring the wrong bits and having to redesign on the spot!
Estavia didn't come out how I thought they would and I could go on.
I find with flags it's often hard to get a design that's different from the rest. Next trying to be consistent in drawing images or symbols and get them the same shape and size.
Then actually painting the b***ers!
Oddly, some flags have just popped into my head from early on - a good reason to jot the ideas down- and have remained either unaltered or slightly modified. Bravance for example emerged as Prussian double blue FK with a flag like Quebec and pale blue cross on white with a white fleur-de-lis in centre. These were tweaked by the cross having a "V" inserted at the end to make it more Germanic - but that didn't arrive until last minute.
Neil
Thank you for sharing your approach technique. A much more orderly approach than mine towards documenting the why and how.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe. I have found if it doesn't get written down, it gets lost! Especially over the 30 years since I started the project. It consists of lots of bits of paper in a deteriorating folder and these notebooks.
DeleteNeil
Great to see your notes Neil. I'm looking forward to the parade!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jason. Nearly there, probably won't get it finished until next weekend.
DeleteNeil
Gosh, that is very organised indeed. A lot of my modelling stuff gets scribbled onto random bits of paper, although I keep my shopping lists on a spreadsheet. My rules notes live in notebook though. Nice flag designs, do you just cut them out and use them as is, of transfer them to some sort of software to print?
ReplyDeleteThanks Martin. I am an inveterate scribbler. The notebooks originally started as a record of how many SSM I had in different boxes, using a notebook discarded by one of my sons. I then started jotting down ideas and it went from there.
DeleteI avoid spreadsheets - too much like work!
Oddly, rules are either scribbled notes or electronic - which allows rewrites and modifications.
The flags - bit of a saga, so with your forbearance....
When I started, I had a very vague idea that I would "do" the flags from a PC drawing programme.
I concentrated on painting figures - very much stop start and didn't even varnish or base them. At some stage early on, I found some GW decals with heraldry - this gave some ideas for the non-game states (the game has four kingdoms with existing heraldry). I think I had tinkered with whatever drawing package I had. I found it was harder than I thought, especially getting and inserting clipart. So it was put on hold, with vague plans for using the decals in combination.
Fast forward to completion of the first two armies, Bravance and Hrvatska. Forced to deal with the issue of flags - at this stage I only had some vague idea of designs - I attempted to print out what designs I had and scan decal images or decals on printed designs. It was frankly a disaster!
Ink bled and wasn't the colour it was on screen, the decals made things worse, I couldn't size the flags to the figures.
So I went "old school" and drew them out on paper using pencil. Once I had a design I was happy with, I inked the outline with drawing pens then painted the flag. I needed to go over the lines with pen and touch up paint here and there. I think Hrvatska has some PC designed and printed flags, but the rest are done using the method above as it gives more control.
Neil
Superb post Neil, it's great to see the though process behind the project and the notes etc. are brilliant, if only I was as well disciplined as this!! The new army is taking shape and the uniforms are cracking, be nice to see the parade when they are done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie. I'm not sure it's discipline or fear of forgetting good ideas!☺
DeleteA lot of this is simply to test what works and what doesn't and to think through things like what colour to paint saddle cloths for example.
Neil
Fantastic notes, ideas and painting Neil. I love your detailed planning I am far too lazy to be so organised.
ReplyDeleteWillz.
Thanks Willz. I doubt you are lazy when you can churn out 24 figure Spencer Smith regiments by the dozen, often with extensive conversions!
DeleteI think people are mistaking "discipline" for what is probably mild OCD! ☺
I guess I think enough at work so just want to switch off when I paint; that needs something to work to - fine if historicals, but for imaginary you have to create it yourself!
Neil
Neil;
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pictures of the figures and a peek behind the curtain of the "all knowing, all seeing Oz". I actually enjoy your sketches. I just don't that ability. I am also not disciplined enough to organize my thoughts into notebooks, as you are. But I do enjoy your SK project, very much. Mine has stalled, alas, but it will start again. Sometime.
Eric
Thanks Eric. I'm not so much disciplined, more attempting to rein in the more erratic impulses. Keeping notes helps keep me organised and curbs the flights of fancy. Plus I like a list! Who doesn't get a sense of achievement in crossing off what you have done?
DeleteAs to your Soldier King project; think long term investment! After all I started around 1996, painted what now are 2x half armies - stalled- and didn't seriously resume until 2009 when I started the blog, but did nothing with it. The last few years have seen the motivation return and I have completed about 9 armies or equivalents! The remainder are more for completeness and balance and are nowhere near as huge as what's finished.
Neil
Yeah, I know a filler post when I see one! I don't need you to tell me it's filler post. 😁
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the parade. Now that, I'd be happy to see.
Stew, is P&J filling? ☺
ReplyDeleteThe parade will follow - I didn't get the army finished until late Sunday afternoon - everything seems to take longer than you anticipate....
Neil