Wednesday 16 May 2018

Burrows and Badgers Adder Mage


Tail end of last week was pretty shit. My young dog Alfie has been struck down with some sort of mysterious illness and has been really quite poorly. It was touch and go as to whether he was going make it Thursday/Friday as he was really lethargic, not eating or drinking and I was having to keep forcing him to drink water using a syringe and eat a little bit of food. Vets haven't a clue what it is but it came on quite suddenly. I am hoping that him being only 2 1/2 means he can bounce back. 


Alfie with his new Bee Squeeky toy I really Love this little guy.

Alfie has reacted well to the steroids and anti-biotics that the vet has given us to give him. I am hoping he will make a full recovery and that there will be no long term effects fingers crossed. Alfie is showing signs of his normal playful and cheeky behaviour but we won't know until next week what the score is until he has more blood tests and they shows signs of improvement.  I am kind of scared to be to optimistic at the moment for fear of being disappointed. We lost our other elderly labrador Brandon in January and its not been a fun year so far.

As you can see we are very close and sits by me when painting or working on my laptop even as I write this post.




Anyway I've not had much time really to do a great deal of painting but after finishing the Shrews last week I decided to have a crack at painting a snake. Reptiles and especially a scaled skin is something new for me to paint so this was another interesting figure to paint up for me.

Now being B&B being based on British Woodland creatures I had a look at what snakes there were in the UK which isn't many! However I found a nice picture of an Adder so decided to try and duplicate its markings. As a mage though I made his eyes a little brighter than what would be found in real life.

In the end I use Rotting Flesh washed with soft and a thinned green tone. Then used matt black high lighted with oak brown for the black scales.






I really like how they have done the snakes poses. Its quite dynamic and I like how he (or she) is coiled around the staff and has numerous piercings with feathers, teeth and other trinkets.  There is a second one that is not available yet in a more traditional pose but coolly has armour. I used less foliage as I didn't want to detract from his skin tones.

The name has been the trickiest part to sort out. Carmen my daughter asked me if he was good or bad and wants to name him Kaa if he is bad and Haa if he is good lol.

 I ended up searching for mythical serpent names. Grootslang or Lotan were both ones I really liked but as not being based on British myths seemed wrong. In the end I found a site with various British myths around serpents/wyverns/dragons and spotted the Sockburn worm and really liked the sound of it. The Sockburn worm was a Wyvern and you can read more on the legend here.





40 comments:

  1. Fantastic work and lots of health for a pooch!
    best regards

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    1. Cheers Michal! We have everything crossed at the minute. Signs of improvement are thankfully continuous!

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  2. Hoping Alfie overcomes his illness mate. Wouldn't want to even imagine how I'd deal with my own pooch being that sick. :/

    Whilst I love your daughter's great name choices for that super well painted slitherer, I find I am rather partial to Sockburn.

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    1. Cheers Dai. Yeah it gave us a big shock especially with how young he is.

      Thanks I loved Sockburn as soon as I spotted it :)

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  3. Great work on the Adder, Simon. Really, really great work :-)

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    1. Thanks mate. Glad you like him. It was a real pleasure to do. I need to decide what to do with the armoured one when he becomes available to purchase!

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    2. Well you could send him to me, so I can field two ;-) LOL!!

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  4. Wishing your fog good health.

    Snake looks cool as well. You’re really cranking out these miniatures.

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    1. Thank you Stew. The are really refreshing to paint as they are so different to what I normally would paint.

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  5. Here's to Alfie making a full recovery soon! Good work on the snake too.

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    1. Thanks you for both the well wishes and compliment on the snake. :)

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  6. Hope Alfie gets the all clear Simon.
    Great work on the adder, the markings and colours work really well, and an interesting way to look for a fitting name

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    1. Thanks Dave Alfie is showing more and more signs of improvements each day I hope it continues.

      I was struggling for a snake name and didn't want to be cliche and use then name of Asmodeus from Greek Myth and Redwall. So as its based in Britain decided to have a look at British myths.

      Have been browsing Aboriginal names as well which is a clue to what I am working on next. :)

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  7. My thoughts and best wishes are with you, Simon and I, too, hope Alfie makes a full recovery.
    Fantastic paint job on the adder.

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    1. Thank you Bryan it was a tough week and many tears were shed at one point. I am happier this week but feel uncertain which I am glad to say is diminishing each day>

      Thank you I have really loved painting him.

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  8. It is great that Alfie wants to be wit you while you paint and work on the laptop. I seriously did not expect anything else. Alfie looks great a real bundle of cuddles and fun (on a day he is well). I can well imagine me and him being good friends.

    As long as Alfie keeps making a recovery the better it is for all concerned.

    Three cheers for Alfie!

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    1. Alfie is my little shadow. If I could take him to work with me I would. Thanks for the well wishes he continues to show improvement.

      :)

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  9. I have been glad to hear that Alfie is doing better and hope that continues - I look forward to seeing him next time I am around. :)

    The B&B stuff you have been doing looks superb mate, very inspiring. :)

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    1. Thanks mate I am sure he will sit in your seat as you stand up as usual!

      Thank you it is very enjoyable to be doing them as they are so different to the norm.

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  10. It sounds optimistic with Alfie so fingers crossed that his recovery continues.

    You really nailed the snakes eyes, they are spot on, I've recently bought some ordinary ones, fortunately with small eyes so not such an important bit of the figure.
    Well done and good luck with Alfie.

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    1. Thanks sir! Alfie continues to improve. I just need the reassurance of good blood test results now.

      I think this is whats great about this line is that they are that little bit chunkier than what a 28mm human would be allowing you to be that bit more artistic with details such as the eyes.

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  11. The adder is amazing mate, just brilliant! Sorry to hear about Alfie, hopefully things are still improving

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    1. Thanks dude. Yeah he seems to be was was worried a bit earlier in the week as his Poop was really not a good colour but as his taste/appetite returned to normal so has that settled down.

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  12. So sorry to hear about Alfie, keeping everything crossed for him. Your adder looks amazing though.

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    1. Thanks for Alfies well wishes. The Adder was such a joy!

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  13. Great brushwork on the snake Brummie and I hope your dog recovers swiftly.

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  14. Excellent work, the patterning is great.

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    1. Thanks man! I wasn't sure at first but it seems to have worked.

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  15. Our collie had hemorrhagic fever when he was young. He was as close to death as an animal can be without actually crossing the line (spent nearly a week in vet hospital) - so I have some idea what you must be feeling about Alfie. Here's hoping that he will make a full and speedy recovery...

    The snake magician is awesome, by the way!

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    1. Yeah Alfie was just seemed so ill. We lost our older Lab at age 12 in January this has been heart wrenching to see him going through it. Each day is an improvement so far. I'd love to know what caused it whether it was some sort of poison he ate or if it was just an random illness.

      Thanks the snake was really interesting to do. Squirrel is coming after the next one.

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  16. Prayers for a speedy recovery of Alfie, Simon! He's a cutie and part of the family.

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    1. Thank you very much for the thoughts and prayers Dean it means a lot.

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  17. Good to know the good chap is getting better!
    About the mini, wow, truly amazing! You made an outstanding work on those scales!!

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    1. Thanks very much Suber. Really it is a testimony to the details on the sculpt.

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  18. Great work Simon.
    I hope man's best friend is on the mend.
    Cheers
    Stu

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    1. Thanks Stu. Alfie certainly seems to be on the mend.

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  19. You nailed the pattern of the scales on this one! I can only hope mine will turn equaly good when I get to him.

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    1. Oh and I hope Alfie gets better soon.

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    2. Thanks Alfie seems much better almost back to normal.

      Thank you the figure is wonderfully detailed to do. I didn't paint particular scales as such more just tried to replicate the pattern more than anything else.

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