Another Dolmenwood Miniature Done

The Goal

Day 127 of daily hobbying. Today we’re finishing the Dolmenwood model—specifically the book and the pipe smoke effects.

Painting the Illuminated Book

I spent more time on this book than the whole rest of the model combined.

The Technique

Using a 5/0 zeros brush (the thinnest I could find) with Mephiston Red mixed with a small amount of black ink. You have to be careful mixing black and white with red—otherwise you’ll just get brown or pink.

The goal is to make it look like illuminated text—the fancy margins and images you see in medieval manuscripts with those big ornate first letters.

Key Tips

1. Keep the paint wet - With such a small brush, paint dries quickly
2. Pull the brush towards you - This is how you get straighter lines
3. Brace your wrist on the table - Use your pinky to brace your hand against your other hand on the painting handle
4. Practice first - I practiced on paper behind me before touching the model
5. Make it vague - The letters should look like they could be an E, an R, a B, or an eight—keep it mysterious and in-setting for Dolmenwood

The Design

The sigil I’m drawing is inspired by the Sigil Fur from the Goat—not a one-to-one copy, just inspired by it. I’m rotating the model constantly so I can always be pulling the brush down for straight, uniform lines.

Creating the Pipe Smoke Effect

The Process

1. Base layer - Multiple layers of Vallejo Game Color Fluro Green, building it up over three to four different applications
2. Add depth - Dry brush Dark Russian Blue from the bottom up, hitting more of the top as you get farther from the ignition source
3. Add magic - Dots of Vallejo Pure White throughout the smoke to create swirls and suggest something magical

This looks janky up close, but from tabletop distance, it makes the smoke look wispy and glowing.

The Final Result

From tabletop distance:

• The smoke pops
• The dashes of white make it look wispy
• His eyes peer over the top of his glasses
• You can see his colorful clothes
• Then you notice that blood-red book with the strange sigil and think “Wait, what is he doing with that weird book?”

It doesn’t match his cheerful appearance at all. Did he just find it? What is he up to?

Terrain Nostalgia

I had to pull out terrain I made 20 years ago because I’m flocking bases like it’s 1999. The secret to making terrain last forever? Slather it in Elmer’s glue. I have terrain from the early 2000s that’s survived many games of Warhammer Fantasy and Age of Sigmar.

Another model down. Back to more Warmachine content tomorrow.