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Taking a Bead on Some Statues

So this week we start with a box of bulk random beads. No telling what you get, so you have two options:

  1. Pay a little more and get the exact beads you want
  2. Pay a lot less and deal with what you get

I've always been of the mind that creativity is at its greatest when it has to work within contraints. So I got some random beads and said, how can I use them to do what I want?

Here is the basic result. Glue some shaped beads on to bottle caps, and paint. This guy (from Pulp Figures) seems to be entering either the Temple of Bast (on the right) or the Hidden Shrine of the Eternal Poodle (on the left).

So, the upshot is you can get some serious things that merge well with existing motifs, and sometimes, you end up with something a little out there. And quite honestly, I'm sure our own lives will look odd to someone peering back at us across the mists of time. The odd piece is a nice way to create that evocative effect without tying it back to something specific from our history.

These troops are again, looking at something more traditional - fish statues. Since I had enough to make two tri-fish ones, I went with silver on one and gold on the other.

Count Casamir is taking a walk with the animals. Whether pure jade or decorated gold, the effect seems to work here. I think sometimes when we look at the remains of ancient sculptures after the paint has worn off, we think they were all just very abstract, pure works when they were made.

Another benefit of this approach is that it is easy to hide markers under the bottle caps. A trap might be under one, while a secret door under another. Depending on how consistent you are with your painting, you could make "identical" markers with permanent markings that get "shuffled" before the game. Or you could just pick up some letter beads from your box, shuffle them in a closed fist, and slide them under the markers without looking.

And, of course, going the random route sometimes gives you things you just have to deal with. But, really, what Space Marine would be caught dead without his pack of the Empire's poodlis impetum at his side?

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