TMM 007: New Projects & Reading Recommendations

The building of my Hello Kitty diorama is done, I still need to paint it but it might already be one of my favourite things I’ve made. I had a really good time doing all the greebling and I just didn’t want to stop working on it. Paint time!

I did get a little sidetracked though and instead of starting painting, I filmed a Goals for 2022 video. This was a bit of a last minute idea but it’s something I think I will be thankful to look back on at the end of the year. It should be up on my channel within the next 36 hours.

Yeah so, I started another project. I am working on new Miscast Notebooks to start the year with. Last time I made a notebook I had a lot of requests to film a tutorial, so that’s what I’ll be doing this time.

Unfortunately I found myself not using my previous notebook all that much, as it was just too big to carry around. I really like Field Notes brand notebooks but they are expensive and it feels wasteful because of the way that I use notebooks. (I don’t finish them, scribble on them, and beat them up, which makes me feel guilty.) Plus I don’t really like the Field Notes dimensions. The last few days I’ve been trying to find the perfect size that will fit in my pocket well and also be enjoyable to write in and in the end I’ve settled with roughly a tarot card size.

I enjoy using different types of paper which is another perk of going DIY. The book will be filled with different weight papers and patterns. Less perfect pages make me feel less guilty about using it too.

Later I’m hoping to experiment with scrap leather again but for now I’ll be creating a cardboard cover. The cover will have Arcane Ugly artwork printed on it and I also want to give my friends the opportunity to design their own covers. I plan on creating some Patreon exclusive covers so watch out for that!

Here’s a sneak peak of one from Rachel.

Wizard Hat

When I mentioned in a video that I really wanted a wizard hat, New England-based artist, Kitsune Sun Studios, reached out to me to say they could make one so I commissioned them. Kitsune Sun Studios specialise in making fantasy and Dungeons and Dragons related props, cosplay, jewellery and other magical knick knacks.

Initially I was just going to get a regular wizard hat, but I wanted something that looked like it could be a magical treasure, maybe something you could find in Arcane Ugly so I requested they put ears in it. When asked what ears, I said donkey, because I thought about when Pinocchio turned into a donkey and his ears poked through his hat.

One thing I’ve found, is that when you support indie crafters and makers on Etsy, a lot of love goes into their packaging and the things they include. Kitsune Sun Studios made the experience really special because they decorated the box, like it came from a fantasy place, and inside were stickers and key rings. Now I have a wizards hat appropriately located in the study for when I need a thinking hat.

This selection has some odd ones in it that you might have trouble finding but I get asked about most of these quite a lot, so I figured it was time to talk about them. I have a lot of fun books so I plan on doing more of these articles.

Richards Topical Encyclopedia Volume 14: Leisure-Time Activities

This was my favourite antique book shop find ever. It has everything from martial arts to mythology in it. It's filled with gorgeous art and weird stuff I never knew I wanted. This book has inspired so many of the weird tangents I've been on with Arcane Ugly.

Encyclopaedia of Collectables

I have a lot of books like these, but I've used them most frequently for getting inspiration for Treasures in Arcane Ugly.

Reader Digest Repair Manual

While not used often, I love going through it to learn how things work to inspire solutions to problems I have making things.

A-Z of Collector's Terms

There's a lot of little books like this you can find in antique shops and I love them for building word banks for creative writing.

Harry Potter: A History of Magic

This book is filled with real (supposedly) magical artifacts and their relationship with the fiction of Harry Potter. It's a very cool read and there's a documentary of the same name to go alongside it too!

How to Make a Graveyard

This is my favourite piece of terrain I've ever made and it's easily had the most use. Some really epic Mordheim showdowns have happened among its tombstones, it's beloved by local Undead Warhammer players and it's featured in a d&d session or two.

I got a lot of flak from my professional painter/crafter friends about the sand and PVA glue texturing I used on just about everything here. While I don't texture things like that anymore I think it really works on a piece like this, it's dark and stylised rather than realistic. @totally_not_panicking is an artist I've followed and admired for a long time and to my surprise they said the texturing of the graveyard piece really influenced their very particular style they have now. Which is pretty amazing to me and something I'm really proud of.

The paints I'm using in this were scale modeling military paints that someone donated to our local tabletop club. Eventually, after no one used them, I was given them many years later when our club shut down. In my terrain videos in particular, I always used what I had even if it wasn't ideal because I didn't have the budget otherwise. Turns out the limitations of military greens ended up making a really stylish and spooky effect I definitely wouldn't have otherwise tried. One color in particular 'Yellow Green' would go on to feature in just about every terrain build I made since as a nice moss color.

There is "red flowery flock" in this video that I made from mixed dried herbs stained with paint that I then put in the coffee grinder. I loved this stuff and I'd use it all the time for some pop. I originally made this flock for an Autumn leaf themed High Elf Warhammer army.

—-

The Miscast Minute - brought to you by Trent and Rachel. Have suggestions for what you’d like to see? Let us know!

We also love featuring your work in the Miscast Minute. You can email a photo of your project to miscastminute@gmail.com for consideration.