+ The Infinity range is full of spiffy models; more so now than ever. The manufacturer, Corvus Belli, have done a great job in jumping over to CAD sculpting which, while bringing its own problems, does mean that there are some beautiful fine details and a very clean appearance to their figures. I think variety's the key to enjoying my painting, so while I love hand-sculpted figures, these are a nice change – a palette cleanser, if you will. +
+ Most Infinity figures I've seen painted up have been done in a very clean, futuristic style. That doesn't really float my boat (though I admire the skill in achieving such a clean, smooth result), so I've gone for my typical grungy, low-heroic approach. This decision is in part because none of the PCRC play Infinity, so the figures will likely see more use in Inquisitorial skirmishes (using a variety of rulesets) rather than in the Infinity universe. +
+ However, I didn't want to completely cut them off from their possible use in the 'correct' universe, so I've kept the scheme realistic – or at least believable. I usually avoid trying to make things multi-purpose (as they tend to end up not fitting properly in any game), but I think that because the figures are not particularly stylised in proportions, or hugely distinctive from tabletop distance (in the same way as say an orc is), they should work well as 'grunts' for everything from near-future special ops to the oppressive vision of the forty-first millennium. +
+ Another important point to make is that I don't have a dedicated Infinity-styled set of terrain. The 'third army' is becoming more and more important to me in my enjoyment of the game, and so almost any figures I paint have to conform to the world in which they'll appear. +
+ The basing reflects this. I've got some plans bubbling under about a new urban board upon which the Iron Warriors, these chaps, and my Court of the Sun King figures will likely be used. To break up the concrete grey, I'll be using creams and some orange and gold accents on the ground, along with patches of these static grass elements. I get these from Gamer's Grass [+noospheric link embedded+], which are a great little company – good variety, the prices are cheap, and the parcels have come securely packed and promptly sent. +
+ This shot best shows the scheme – dark grey rifle furniture, muted camouflage fatigues similar to my Lamb's World army (there's a tutorial here if you'd like to know how it was done [+noospheric link embedded+]), and pinky-red armour. These are sci-fi figures after all, and I'd just been listening to a programme on the wireless about Mars. Must have got into my subconsciousness! +
+ A fairly obvious question is 'why desert camouflage for an urban table?' The answer is simply 'contrast'. Camouflage works by breaking up the silhouette and tonal contrast, making the figure harder to see. Great if you're being shot at; not so desirable in a figure for a game. There, I think it's better to suggest the idea while still making sure the figure is on display; otherwise you spend a long time painting realistic camouflage only for the figure to disappear when you play with it. Better to slightly stylise things. +
+ It is here that it becomes clear why tone is more important to impact than hue. Look at the strap holding the sidearm on the thigh. It's a completely different colour to the underlying fabric of the fatigues, but this is not obvious because the two areas are similar in tone. This helps to get a realistic feel, and not distract from the focal point. Compare that area with the head (the focal area), which is painted with a skintone much lighter than the surrounding area. This draws the eye. Even within the face, the features (particularly the eyes) are noticeably darker in tone than the rest of the face. These small areas of high contrast are the most important part of miniature painting for impact. +
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| WIP – the completed figure is pictured on the left-hand side. |
+ These realistically-proportioned figures look quite odd in comparison with the heroic-styled Games Workshop and Privateer Press figures (and your taste will dictate which style you prefer), but I think they work quite nicely with the larger marines based on Terminators. What do you reckon? +
3 comments:
Great paint job, and I find this style far more appealing than the "standard anime" look you get with the official color schemes.
Also agree that he fits nicely with the Marine, although in this case the bulk of the marine is more evident than the height, as the Infinity guy is clearly much taller than the average GW figure.
Glad you like him; he – and his similarly tiny-featured friends – have provided some enjoyable challenges. More to come soon.
With regards to the height of the Fusilier, he's actually not much taller than a modern GW figure (though compared with older metals like my Steel Legion, he is rather more pronoucedly larger). I think it's the more delicate frame that gives the impression. I'll see if I can get some scale pics with standard modern figures from Warmachine and 40k.
Scale pictures would be lovely... and if you can, toss the steel legionnaire in the mix too, since I happen to be painting a platoon of them (slowly).
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