Posts 015

src/posts/crafting-grand-archway_pt1.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ next:
     title: "Part II"
 footnotes:
     - ref: "1"
-      title: "hoarding"
+      anchor: "hoarding"
       titleIcon: "cubes"
       text: "A key skill of any terrain crafter is identifying 'potentially useful' pieces of rubbish/garbage/trash. However, if living with a partner, you must also become proficient in convinving _them_ that there is some use for it. The problem is you just don't know exactly what it could be yet..."
 ---
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ While the shapes I was adding were simple, enough variety helps to sell the look
 
 ![Measuring once, cutting twice..](miniatures/arch/build_1/s4_0.webp)
 
-I was enjoying working with the thinner, white foam for detailing, because it was much easier to cut with a knife than the pink stuff. But my gun-ho approach did result in a lot of cutting things after glueing them, trying to be roughly symmetrical.
+I was enjoying working with the thinner, white foam for detailing, because it was much easier to cut with a knife than the pink stuff. But my Gung-ho approach did result in a lot of cutting things after glueing them, trying to be roughly symmetrical.
 
 <ImgGrid
     cols={[1, 1, 1]}

src/posts/crafting-grand-archway_pt2.md

@@ -66,8 +66,8 @@ The pink, thicker foam bricks were a lot easier to get sized up for the two side
 
 Then it was a simple job of cutting a piece to cover the remaining card and marking up the rest of the bricks to make it look cohesive with the existing sides. I didn't end up implementing the diamond shapes that I drew in the initial design because I had already had some ideas about the roof - I didn't think there would be enough space for them to look good in the end.
 
-![The 'facade'.](/miniatures/arch/build_2/s16_0.webp)
-![The edge where the two foam pieces meet would need covering.](/miniatures/arch/build_2/s17_0.webp)
+![The 'facade'.](miniatures/arch/build_2/s16_0.webp)
+![The edge where the two foam pieces meet would need covering.](miniatures/arch/build_2/s17_0.webp)
 
 `Now I was really starting to get buzzed - this was by far the <FootnoteRef text="coolest piece of terrain" ref="2" anchor="well"/> I'd ever put together - And I wasn't even finished. Because the outside was looking great, it felt right to cover the disgusting exposed cardboad on the inside. I cut some pink pillars to go in the corners and took a few attempts to get the interior facades cut just right, so the gaps were minimal - although I wasn't holding myself to too high of a standard here.
 
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ Then it was a simple job of cutting a piece to cover the remaining card and mark
 
 Obviously I would measure the pieces out and score the bricks before glueing it in place. The extra effort to do the inside really paid off and the piece hard started to feel great to hold and look at - although it was a little wobbly on the table.
 
-![Hmmm.. we can do better than that.](/miniatures/arch/build_2/s20_0.webp)
+![Hmmm.. we can do better than that.](miniatures/arch/build_2/s20_0.webp)
 
 To stabilise the bottom I then cut and glued squares of cardstock on the feet and underside of the roof. I had thought to try some intricate dome shape with bricks - but I'm not _that_ crazy... yet.
 
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ However I was crazy enough to realise that even though no one would ever see the
 
 After inserting and glueing this floor/ceiling bit in I was really starting to feel accomplished! The piece was really getting some weight and heft to it which made it feel more substantial. Despite being an amalgamation of insulation foam, hot glue and cardboard it was almost.. *art*?
 
-![Really coming together at this point!](/miniatures/arch/build_2/s19_0.webp)
+![Really coming together at this point!](miniatures/arch/build_2/s19_0.webp)
 
 I decided this was a good place to leave it for this 'episode'. [Part III](crafting-grand-archway_pt3) covers the roof and "edge bits".
 

src/posts/crafting-grand-archway_pt3.md

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ footnotes:
     import ImgGrid from "../lib/components/layout/ImgGrid.svelte";
 </script>
 
-![Where we left things...](/miniatures/arch/build_2/s19_0.webp)
+![Where we left things...](miniatures/arch/build_2/s19_0.webp)
 
 With both sides completed it was looking great, but definitely missing some panache. There were a lot of gaps between my non-perfect cuts of foam that needed filling, and the top needed some detailing. Wanting to consolidate the work I'd already done, before braving more foam, I grabbed some spackle and started slapping it into all the gaps.
 
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ I felt really good glueing this slab onto the top of the build. If I had more ha
 
 ![Kind of feels like a cake at this stage.](miniatures/arch/build_3/s25_0.webp)
 
-I then started adding definition to the strips of foam on the eges, giving them impression they were great slabs. After making a pig's ear of the first one, I measured out the marks on the other sides. Fortunately, mistakes are somewhat easily covered up at this stage with more grout.
+I then started adding definition to the strips of foam on the edges, giving them impression they were great slabs. After making a pig's ear of the first one, I measured out the marks on the other sides. Fortunately, mistakes are somewhat easily covered up at this stage with more grout.
 
 <ImgGrid
     imgs={[

src/posts/crafting-grand-archway_pt4.md

@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ And there you go. The piece was finally finished. It took a lot longer than I th
 
 ![View from the top.](miniatures/arch/painting/p7_0.webp)
 
-The piece is nice and weighty due the unspeakable amount of hot glue used to attach all the foam bricks. It's an odd size in the 28mm scale though, but then again all my recent foam creations are slightly oversized. I am going with the idea that my frozen city that I am crafting for playing [FrostGrave](https://www.ospreypublishing.com/us/discover/gaming-resources/frostgrave-stargrave/) was once lived in by giants, who mysteriously vanished and left the place frozen in the ice - only now, a millenia later, beginning to thaw.
+The piece is nice and weighty due the unspeakable amount of hot glue used to attach all the foam bricks. It's an odd size in the 28mm scale though, but then again all my recent foam creations are slightly oversized. I am going with the idea that my frozen city that I am crafting for playing [FrostGrave](https://www.ospreypublishing.com/us/discover/gaming-resources/frostgrave-stargrave/) was once lived in by giants, who mysteriously vanished and left the place frozen in the ice - only now, a millenium later, beginning to thaw.
 
 <ImgGrid
     imgs={[

src/posts/diorama-strike-at-dawn.md

@@ -1,19 +1,101 @@
 ---
 title: First Diorama - Strike at Dawn
 description: I made a miniature diorama for a good friend of mine.
-date: 01/13/2025
+date: 01/18/2025
 projectId: miniatures
-# published: true
+published: true
 dev: true
 icon: umbrella-beach
+coverImage: miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/diorama-backdrop.webp
+footnotes:
+    - ref: "1"
+      anchor: "wizards"
+      titleIcon: "wizard"
+      text: "Shout out to Osprey games and NorthStar figures for making an all female presenting wizard sprue kit and just calling it 'Wizards' and not 'Witches' or something like taht. Great way to get some equal representation into our hobby."
 ---
 
 <script>
     import CarouselGallery from "../lib/components/layout/CarouselGallery.svelte";
     import { DIORAMA_GALLERY } from "../lib/data/galleries.ts";
+    import FaIcon from "../lib/components/utils/FaIcon.svelte";
 </script>
 
+<br/>
+
+![The Warlock surveys the valley below..](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/diorama-alpha.webp)
+
+About a year ago I finished my first diorama project. As far as miniature dioramas go it is fairly static, but I'd like to think it tells a bit of a story. I have always loved miniature dioramas, since I first opened the pages of the Lord of the Rings Warhammer rule book, and saw how they made the rivers, rocks and little walls from cork and stones. I think it was important to keep it simple for the first one, and we can get more ambitious as time goes on!
+
+# The Mini
+
+I wanted to paint a mini as a gift for a good friend. Initially I had no idea what I would do for him, so I went to my local hobby store and rummaged through the D&D bins until I found this guy. We hadn't known each other very long at the time, but I knew he liked [Hearthstone](https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/en-gb). The mini was a sort of boar-man with these epaulets that felt very on brand for a character in that world or [World of Warcraft](https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-gb/) - the same kind of colourful fantasy.
+
+![I decided he was a Hoard Warlock](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/model-0.webp)
+
+The cogs started whirring and an idea began to form in my head. I wanted to paint it in bright colours, purples and greens, and have him standing on a clifftop in the moonlight. I had never done any OSL (object source lighting) before but I wanted to try and capture that in the final piece.
+
+I did find that the way the resin had been cast resulted in the details being slightly less crisp than other minis - and to to define the intricate bits was quite challening. But I was careful enough to capture the essence of what I wanted. I have learned my lesson about painting these kind of resin models! Nonetheless I forged on.
+
+![The resin cast has softer features than I'm used to painting](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/model-1.webp)
+
+I tried to capture the colder moonlight by mixing a light blue into all my colours for highlights. I think it worked to tie the colours together but I don't think it particularly has much contrast. There aren't any shadows that one would expect to see when a light source is directly above.
+
+# Telling a story with the Base
+
+The real inspiration I had for doing this was trying to find something to be a plinth. I found the lid of a glass coffee container actually made a really cool plinth. The story I wanted to tell was this rogue Warlock/Druid fellow making a long journey, probably on a quest to do something nefarious. The scene shows him having set up his last camp, looking down into a deep valley at a town or village where his final task awaits him, to which he will attend first thing in the morning. I wanted to add the campsite in with a fire because I felt that my painting skills weren't quite enough to really emphasise this was a night time scene.
+
+## Building <FaIcon icon="hill-rockslide"/>
+
+I started with cork roughly stacked on the plinth as jagged rocks. I covered these in ultrathin superglue to harden them up. I wanted to stack up a pile to become a cliff top, whilst leaving a flat area for the campsite below.
+
+![Cork piled up on the plinth.](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/base-0.webp)
+
+I then smoothed out all the cork layers with polyfilla, which actually gave a really good rock texture - I'll bear that in mind for future endeavours. I selected an appropriate piece of orchid bark for a Lion-King-esque cliff edge, jutting out over the edge of a valley. This was supported by a build up of milliput, which I textured with the round side of a metal sculpting tool.
+
+![Polyfilla and milliput](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/base-1.webp)
+
+To make everything a bit more uniform I covered the piece in texture paste, leaving the odd rock jutting out here and there. I then laid out a cascade of round rocks to match the somewhat cartoonish aesthetic that we were going for, and then some smaller rocks with some sand on top. I locked all of this down with a layer of ultrathin superglue, which has a very low surface tension and covers surfaces evenly.
+
+
+![Texture paste does a lot of blending](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/base-2.webp)
+
+After the rocks were down I started working on the campsite. It didn't need to be too complex, just a campfire and some gear resting nearby. I actually went back and forth a few times on how to achieve this, whether to include another weapon (he was already holding his staff though) or whether to try and make it more of a scene with some leftover food or something. Erring on the side of keeping things simple I ended up opting for a backpack, which comes from an [Ogre Kingdoms](https://www.warhammer.com/en-GB/shop/Gutbusters-Ogors-2018?queryID=44b2bd7346096639eb3e9524ee085fdc) kit (as they were called when I bought them), and a length of rope which possibly comes from [Frostgrave Soldiers](https://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=7467).
+
+The campfire is just pieces of sprue, shaved at jaunty angles to try to play into the wonky Hearthstone/WoW aesthetic.
+
+![The camp scene begins to take shape](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/base-3.webp)
+
+I was already pleased with the outcome - it had this anticlockwise spiral moving up from the flattened area up to the edge of the cliff.
+
+I wanted to draw the eye up from the campsite to the top of the cliff, and tried a few things before settling on a wee cat critter. This came from the [Frostgrave](https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/frostgrave-second-edition-9781472834683/) [Wizards II](https://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=14244) sprue and really helps to tell the story of this piece. Cats tend to be associated with the night time, and I think it turns the perception of what this guy's mission might be - initially I was thinking a clandestine assassination but now perhaps he is delivering an important message, or maybe still in the darker realm of things, planting a shamanic cursed item within the Lord's abode...
+
+![The cat critter surveys the valley](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/base-4.webp)
+
+# Painting the base
+
+I wish I had more photos of this process, but I put it together quite quickly in the end. I began with watered down browns, purples, greens and even a bit of khaki just building up thin layers and blending the hell out of them.
+
+Then to try to achieve a moonlight glow I built up a light blue drybrush over the whole backside of the piece. I also dusted the plants with the same blue to tie them into the piece, after they were attached of course.
+
+![I tried to make it look like night time..](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/diorama-5.webp)
+
+I tried to include more browns and warmer tones towards the front of the piece where the light was going to be coming from the campfire. I applied a very very thin layer of a dark red over the whole area, careful to try to leave shadows where they would be cast by the campfire. Then I painted a white over the campfire area before covering it in layers of orange, and building up to yellow. The logs themselves I tried to keep dark on the top. I tried to catch gentle bits of red under the cliff where light would flicker, and even put a tiny bit of red under the guy's hand.
+
+Overall, it came out okay - I think it sells the effect I'm after. But I think if the piece had more detail I would need to do a better job of bringing contrast into the piece. We can imagine it's a cartoonish scene where there's more artificial light than in reality. Given the overall vibe I'm going for is whimsical fantasy, I'm pretty pleased!
+
 <CarouselGallery
     title="Strike at Dawn"
     imagePaths={DIORAMA_GALLERY}
 />
+
+My friend who this was a gift for is an artist. He has done commissions for MTG before and I think he nearly ended up doing some art for Hearthstone. So I knew his standards would be pretty high, but I think he appreciated the work that I put into this. We don't live in the same country anymore, so I'm glad I was able to give it to him before I left.
+
+![All packed up!](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/diorama-packed.webp)
+
+In the end I learned a lot by trying to challenge myself to go out of my comfort zone. I thoroughly enjoyed diorama building and already have ideas for more in the future, so watch this space.
+
+![Actually quite like the starry background...](miniatures/diorama-strike-at-dawn/diorama-backdrop.webp)
+
+I thought this background was corny when I was initially putting the images together, but coming back to it I kind of like it. I think next time I could paint something behind which would really add to the scene...
+
+Alright, I'm off to bed. For at dawn...we strike!