Painting the Wood Elf Wizard: A Journey Through the Learn to Paint Kit

This is the first miniature from the Learn to Paint Kit: Layer Up from Reaper Bones. It is the next step after the core skills. This miniature is the wood elf wizard.

Like most miniatures we started with a basecoat. The instructions called for a base coat of Brilliant Red. I ended up applying two coats to ensure I covered all the spots on the model. I was a bit messy in applying the basecoat and didn't pay attention to what I was doing in different areas. So I ended up getting paint on the robe trim mainly which I would paint a different color later. This didn't affect my ability to paint the other areas later on.

Basecoat done.

Basecoat done

Next, I moved on to applying shadow layers. It had me mix some Brilliant Red and some Dragon Red. Dragon Red is a darker color to make the color a bit darker then the original red. It goes over how apply a shadow layer. It talks about figuring out where you want the shadows and painting there in a method of pulling from lower to higher. I found that technique pretty hard to do but gave it my best attempt. I was pleased with how it turned out after applying the shadow layers. These two photos are from the first layer of shadowing put down.

First shadow layer added to miniature

First shadow layer added to miniature

The next step was adding highlights to the miniature. I took the Bright red and used a lighter color to brighten it up some. I painted it on the upper layers. So the parts of the fold that would be out in the light. The top of the hood and things like that.

Highlights added to the miniature

Highlights added to miniature

From here I glazed the miniature and this was the first time I have ever added glazing to a miniature. I was kind of doubting how the model was going to turn out until this step. After this step I thought the model was starting to look good. In order to glaze the model I took the basecoat color and thinned it way down and painted it all over the model. This kind of softens the transition between the dark and light.

Glazing added and it helped with the transition

Glazing added and it helped with the transition

Glazing added and it helped with the transition

I then lined the miniature and this ended up being one of my favorite steps. You take a dark color (they have a color that's close to black but not) and water it down a little (two parts paint and one part water). You then kind of trace around between areas to kind of have a stand out point. So between the cloak and cloak lining, the hands and staff, and other places like that. The best way to think about it is what they do when they paint comic book characters. At first I thought I was painting the lines too thick, but I then pulled back from the magnifying glass and realized it wasn't as thick as I thought it was. It reinforced the lesson I have learned a couple of times, pull back and look at the miniature with my eyes and don't critique it too hard under the magnifying glass. I think this step was the step that made the biggest difference between this character and the ones in the basic Reaper Bones set.

Lining added to the miniature

Lining added to the miniature

I followed the same basic steps for the different parts of the miniature. First, I painted the robe trim, followed by the skin, staff, and pouch. Finally, I painted the staff gem, metal on the staff, hair, and base. The following photos will be a selection of that process.

Robe trim painted

Robe trim painted

Robe trim painted

Staff and pouch painted

Hands and face painted. Got a bit messy here and got it all over the hair.

Hands and face painted. You can really see the mess here.

Gem and metal on staff, hair and base painted.

Gem and metal on staff, hair and base painted.

Finished miniature

This was a fun miniature to paint and I enjoyed how it turned out. I really liked the lining step in this miniature and will try to incorporate that step in most miniatures I paint in the future. I had some concerns during the painting process, but I need to learn to trust the process.