Sunday, March 30, 2008

Project: Ogre Kingdoms

This is my latest project, Ogre Kingdoms. I've always loved the Ogre models, all of them. That's rare for me to say so about any army. (I guess I don't like Gnoblars, but they're not Ogres!) So it was a natural step to start collecting this army.

I've got all the models for the 2,000 point starting force built and primed. I'm working on one unit at a time, and am really taking it slowly. In fact, since an Ogre Kingdoms army is so small in size, I can really spend time working on the models. I spend hours layering skin tones up from a dark base on three Ogre models. It comes out to about the same time it would take to do a unit of 25 Orcs. So here are some representatives of my Ogre troops:

You'll notice that I left the Leadbelchers (the Ogres with the cannons for those who don't know) with very dark skin. This was intended to make them look like they are dirty from getting enveloped in clouds of black powder smoke. The rest of the Ogres will be really light skinned, to reflect their adaptation to life in the high mountains.

I really like the skin I've painted for these guys. The skin looks pretty smooth in person, while these photos make the transitions look pretty stark. Still, here are some details of the rear of an Ogre Bull unit and a profile of one. This is just to give a closer look at the skin.


Totally I've painted two units of Leadbelchers (shown above, two units of two each), and four units of three Ogre Bulls. I'm currently working on four Ironguts. But they got suspended as I moved over to work on my pirate crew. I'm really in no hurry to get these guys on the table. So I'm taking my time and doing these to my satisfaction. So far I'm really happy with the outcome. Let me know what you think!

3 comments:

Dan said...

Hi, I know this post is almost 9 years since this page was uploaded, but I'm just starting an Ogre Kingdom's Army after 12 years of Wood Elves, and really like the way you've painted your skin.

I've been scouring Google and various other miniatures website for a good Ogre skintone and recipe for nearly a week now and just stumbled across your blog. Your Ogre skintone is the best I've seen so far and perfect for the sort of Ogre's I want to paint, so was wondering if you'd be able to spread a bit of wisdom regarding how you painted their flesh?

Thanks.

Jerry said...

Hi Dan, Wow, I'm glad people still review these old posts! Thanks for your compliments. These Ogres are some of my favorite models.

The colors I used are now out of production but I'm sure you can get similar results with the new paints. I used GW paints.

I primed everything with black paint, then applied a base coat of 50/50 Graveyard Earth and Shadow Gray. Then I lightened that mixture with Kommando Khaki. Finally I used pure Kommando Khaki for the highlights.

I kept layers smooth and thin, using Vallejo glazing medium. It was a lot of work but worth the results. Nowadays I don't put half as much care into my painting!

Anyway, not sure what corresponds to these colors now. I know the Graveyard Earth substitute is not close to the original. The idea was to get a warm neutral undercoat leaning toward the brown side of things.

Good luck!

Dan said...

Not at all Jerry, it's always great to browse literally unlimited blogs online to inspire your own army, I find it's the best thing for learning to paint, deciding on colour schemes, even choosing an army to collect/play with. Thanks for the very prompt reply too!

Kommando Khaki, now there's a blast from the past. That's one of the old paints I really miss, along with Mechrite Red, Scorched Brown and Space Wolves Grey. Other than the new Space Wolves Grey, none of the others have been bettered or equaled in the new paint range. I've got all the equivalents for your recipe though, so I'll give it a go and see how it turns out!

Once again, thanks a lot! :)