Freehanding shields, part 2

I got some good tips on TMP for shield work.  One of the tips was to rough out the motif and use the background color to paint over and clean up the image.  Some motifs were fairly simple and I was able to get them right in a single pass.

Now that I'm in my late 40s, I can't paint without reading glasses and an enormous amount of light. I work under a pair of 500 watt halogen work lights.  As a result, I'm painting in an environment not unlike the Gobi desert. The work light kicks off heat and a few times, shields were ruined because the over painting technique resulted in 3-D built up of paint. When this happened, I scraped the shield down and started over.

36 knights and shields later, here's a sampling of some of the better motifs.  Each is based on East European heraldry and most are Hungarian.

Goose in a Chalice is one of my favorites!

I can't help but think about the Impetus ruleset and their style of basing armies. By using fewer figures and larger, diorama style bases, I think I could field a better looking army in less time. A lot of detail will be buried when these figures are snugged shoulder to shoulder on a single small base.

Here in Minnesota, the sun has disappeared entirely beneath the gray skies of November. Maybe the relentless gray days are taking a toll on my attitude.  Tomorrow is another game at the Source.  A good game will renew my energy and interest in seeing this project to the finish line.