Spotlight: Warhammer Underworld - Skaeth

I've fallen so behind on posting these spotlights!  Beastgrave has been out for a few months now, and I've had both The Skaeth and Beastmen warbands done for probably a month or more!  If you've been following me on twitter or Instagram, then these are probably old news by now... that said, without further blabbing on, I'm going to go over my thoughts on painting these!




Overall:
  The overall concept was to create was to try and create a story that the Skaeth, brought new life to the Beastgrave.  I wanted the land to look harsh, and blasted, but I wanted to try and show new life springing up from wherever the Skaeth touched.  I wasn't a big fan of the sculpted textured bases, so the first order of business was to try and create more of a "normal" style, textured base.  Again, with a kind of badland's look.  I attempted to show the "new life" aspect by having the darkened, withered plants and landscape kind of liven-up at their touch.

  Another key aspect that differentiates this warbands from other that I have seen, if the lack of metal.  Back in the "old world" days, I have always felt that wood elves probably would like to keep fires contained while within their protected forest, severely limited their use of forges to craft metal.  Hence, all of their gear is limited to leather, stone, and crafted out of bone.

  Finally, I also wanted to do away with the whole, bright, BRIGHT orange hair so often seen on wood elves and classic wardancers....


Skaeth The Huntsman
  This is the main dude of the warband!  One of the big changes I made should be extremely clear to see, I decided I wanted him to look more deer-like!  It was pretty easy to do overall, I just snipped his tail, and used a bit of green stuff to make what was left of it into a more deer-like one.  I also grabbed some reference for deer, and did my best to mimic the reference.  (pro tip: USE reference!  Reference is your friend!)  The main color scheme of his fur took a lot of back and forth work, and a lot of wet blending.  The dots on his hind quarters, which really sells the deer aspect imo, was easy enough to achieve.

For the non-bone portion of the armor, I wanted to give a unifying look with some green-dyed, woven leather.  This was a bit trickier than anticipated, as it was kind of hard to see at times just where the the weaves went, especially on sections like the shins.


Sheoch, Kurnothi Tracker
  Next up, Sheoch.  The first order of business was the water.  I started with a black base, followed by a Vallejo Luft. Cam. Green, heavily watered down, with a highlight of GW camo green.  After spraying, I went back over just the water with a layer of Ard' Coat to give it a "wet shine" look, like a ghetto water effects.  Here you can also see my attempt to show the "magic, life-giving touch" of the warband, as his left hand glows green near the dead branch, with some reflective glow left behind.  You can also see the darker green that I used on the softer portions of the cloth and straps.  In addition to the hair being different colors, I also went with different shades of brown on the lower "fawn" portions as well.



Karthaen, Huntcaller
  A.k.a. "Mr. Doots!" due to the horn... I like to picture it having a saxophone sound... maybe some smooth jazz.  His base also displays the "magic touch" I mentioned earlier via the glow around the hooves, and the plant springing forthe.  Really, there is not much to say about the guys (and gal) on foot... err, hoof... as they are really all pretty similar, just armed a bit differently.  (obviously, they'll play differently too, but I'm focused on just the painting aspect.)




Althaen, Kurnothi Tracker
  She has a bit of a crazy pose, and I was initially worried she would be a bit fragile.  (I don't think it is too bad though)  For her "magic touch" the I painted a dark, withered plant, that brightens up where her leg brushes against it.  I felt like dark hair would fit her best, for whatever reason.  I see her as a wood elf sniper, shooting from the shadows or ambushing prey.  She's also got the darkest tone of the fawn-portion as well.




Lighaen, Malkyn
  Ok, I'm not even sure what a "Malkyn" is, so I'ma just got with a "Lion".  I like to think of him as a pet or mascot for the team!  Once again, I used a bit of reference to achieve what I hoped would be a more realistic lion look.  One thing I did assume, is that he'd lack the "magic touch" seen throughout the others.... I mean, he is just a tiny lion!

Conclusion:
  There you have it!  I want to say this was start to finish in about a week, but I could be wrong... it has been finished for awhile now!

That said, I'm thinking I'm going to be posting this warband, and all the Skaeth-specific cards up on ebay once I get back from vacation!  So hey, they could be YOURS in a few weeks!  As fun as they were to paint, and as characterful as they are, I just don't get to play Underworlds enough to warrant having 5+ warbands.  (That, and I'm committed to the Goblins!)  I got my enjoyment out of them by painting them, so I can pass them along to worthy home!  If you haven't already done so, please follow me on twitter, as I'll post on there when the auction goes live!


Thanks for stopping by!