the Forge of Ice, miniatures from Alex Bates - blog/preview thread

[luckyone]

Great job! Very nicely done.

[Veez]

I have this strange urge to go hunt mammoths!

[Alxbates]

So... here're a few more previews.  A paleolithic venus, sculpted by me:



And the original reference material:



We've found quite a few of these ancient figurines - for 28mm scale mine is probably way too big - the Willendorf Venus that I copied my sculpt from is only a few inches high, small enough to fit into a human hand.  Sculpting something that tiny is way beyond my ability, so I made one that's big enough to be carried (as an objective counter, maybe...?), but still pretty small.  Idol sized - throw me the whip and I'll throw you the Venus.

I'm pretty happy with it - it's not perfect, I wasn't able to shape the breasts quite right, and I think the arms are too thick, but it's still recognizeable as a Venus (I think).  I'm very happy with the rough, worn stone-y texture (which I got by carefully dabbing a tiny piece of coarse sandpaper all over the figure before the putty completely cured).  I'm not sure when or if I'll release it, but I wanted to show it off.

Here's the "Mutant Terror Bird" that Tyson is working on, it's still a work in progress:




And another little thing that Tyson's just getting started with:



-Alex

[Manic _Miner]

 Looking very good so far Alex.Might have to have at least two Terror Birds.

[Alxbates]

Thanks, Manic Miner!  The Terror Bird is still a ways away from being done, but he's far enough along that I figured I could show him off.  We found a really nice museum-quality T-Rex model, and Tyson is using it as the basis for skin and musculature.  It still needs most of the skin and almost all of the detailing (face, claws, eyes, etc...). 

-Alex

[Alxbates]

Lucas is a local (Fairbanks, Alaska) artist that I was introduced to through a mutual friend.  His work has an aesthetic that I like, and he's great to work with.  Here's a piece he's done for me:



You can contact him through his blog -

http://bigfootillustrations.blogspot.com/

I know that he's looking for more commission work right now.

-Alex

[joshuaslater]

You and his art are like peas and carrots, Alex, a perfect match.  I'm diggin' the terror bird.  I'll prolly get some to use as mounts for somebody or other.

Keep up the good work.

[Alxbates]

And because someone asked for side views of the Venus:

[DrFritz]

I totally dig your development Alex.  What's next on the list? 

[Alxbates]

A Venus of Malta and some shields are gonna be the next most immediate releases, along with the Peafowl.

After that it'll depend on how much money and free time I've got.

-Alex

[Glenn M]

I still have not heard about the elemental, when abouts will you be ready to have him done up so I can ask for it to get done?

[Alxbates]

I can have him cast in metal within a couple of weeks of getting my hands on the sculpt, I expect a relatively quick turnaround.l

[Glenn M]

No, I mean when will you want him?

Like end of January, June, etc.

[Alxbates]

Ahh, hmm... February.  I plan on doing my next set of releases (I'm gonna "officially" release my tents later today or tomorrow, depending on how long it takes me to get good pictures) in mid January, and then ideally another small set in February.  He'd fit in well with the February stuff.

-Alex

[Alxbates]

And here are the pics that I'll be (tentatively) using as my catalog pictures for when I eventually get an online store up and running.  Painted tents, done by my friend Rob Mailander:



And pictures of the tents next to a simple scale page that I drew:



That's something I intend to do with all of my releases - take a picture of them next to some sort of measuring device so that a potential buyer will know *exactly* what size to expect the item to be.

Any feedback?  Should I make the numbers larger in the scale pic?  More light, less/more background stuff?

-Alex