My first goal in any design endeavor is to get rules to the table as soon as possible. Normally this means slapping random physical assets together to just get the bare minimum across and see if the game concepts even work. There is no point in creating beautiful layouts and printing cards or assets that may undergo radical changes during the development process. That being said… I did paint up the minis needed for my first test.
I broke this rule for a couple of reasons. First, I know I’m going to use my Joan of Arc minis for this monster hunting game and these minis will have use outside of this homebrew adventure so getting them painted is a priority for one of my goals this year. Second, unlike other designs I’ve done, I’m also wanting to have fun as I play the tests and having a nice looking miniatures setup helps me to enjoy the process even more. No matter what happens to the mechanics, I don’t need to change the painting of any of these figures.
I’d already painted up the werewolf that will serve as my first monster for the game. I knew I also wanted to test out minions in the game so getting the regular wolves from Joan of Arc painted is useful too. Lastly, I need a hero and selected the most iconic knight pose I could find in the minis. I primed everyone in black and then base painted white or browns with the airbrush in zenithal patterns.
After the zenithal highlights were done, I went back and dry brushed lighter tones and applied appropriate colors of wash. With the washes dry, I dry brushed again and then started on detail work.
Detail work consisted of dotting some wolf eyes and then working a bit on hair, skin, shield and sword for the hero. I spent longer than I expected on the hero but since he is so central to the game, I think it is worth it. After the details, I dabbed in browns and greens for the base on everyone and called them done.
Combining everything on a standard grass gaming mat and some of my already painted Joan of Arc terrain, the whole look really comes together. This hero is ready to hunt some terrible beasts and die over and over for my play testing regiment.