Week 16, part 2 (27 Oct - 2 Nov 2002)
Forest altar
Grommet and Grum stood in the clearing, their orcish eyes squinting in the bright light.
"Hng," said Grommet, scratching his head.
"Indeed," said Grum.
Grommet pointed to the stack of rocks and odd items. "Tree things?"
Grum frowned. "Yes, I suppose it could be elves, although to be perfectly honest I'm not sure as to who constructed it. There's moss around the base, so it's certainly been here for some time. On the other hand, it's been maintained -- there's no lichens growing on it, and it's been kept clear of fallen leaves and the like. And look at that antler. . . can't have been there more than a season. Looks as though it's been naturally thrown, as well, not from an animal that'd been killed. Elves would certainly be a likely choice, though I don't recognize those runes. Could just as easily be humans. Or why not another band of orcs? I mean, it's not as though we're always running about shouting and pillaging, is it? Dammit, we're people too, so to speak.
"I wouldn't do that," he added as Grommet stepped closed to the altar and reached towards it.
Both sets of orcish ears perked up. There was now a slight rustling in the brush around them, and their sharp hearing also picked up the distinct sound of arrows being nocked.
"Right then," said a voice in heavily-accented East Forest Orcish, "step away from the altar, and keep your hands where we can see them."
This week's mini is another original sculpt. It began (as a few of them have) with some leftover putty and wire on a 1" washer. I'd mixed up too much, and squared it off on a base. Later, I added more leftover putty. I had a bit of trouble with the execution of the runic cylinder, and I'm not sure the antlers came out, either. Looks as though I forgot to sculpt an attachment for the antler, so it's officially magical.
This piece was a study in textures, and in making a terrain piece. I'm interested in what makes a good inanimate object miniature. This isn't it yet, but I think paint helps -- judge for yourself at week 18.
Back to week 16, part 1 (27 Oct - 2 Nov 2002)
Forward to week 17 (3 Nov - 9 Nov 2002)