Welcome to the Hero Forge Miniature Masterpiece Countdown.
Every day I post a miniature that exemplifies a designer’s use of at least one of my critical design principles: technical skill with the tools, innovative thinking, and expression of theme or subject matter.
At the end of the week, I post the number 1 Miniature Masterpiece. This mini demonstrates the designer’s ability to employ all 3 creative elements in their work.
After 7 weeks, all the winners of the countdown are placed on a single list, and you vote for your number 1 miniature.
Who will be the season 2 All-Star?
Washing in on the tide at number 4 we see a sultry sea seductress!
This miniature has quite a bit going on. I was surprised to find that the designer, Xikey, managed to produce this masterpiece with only one figure. They achieve this by employing the tail asset to its maximum potential. Xikey used 9 straight tails in order to render a complex tentacle appearance.
This wasn’t easy to do. Each tentacle needed to be painstakingly arranged, and I’m quite literal when I write “painstakingly”. Each tail possesses 19 separate pivot points. That’s 19 points in which the tail can be arranged in a three-dimensional direction. In order to wrap the torso and arms in twisting tentacles, Xikey needed to methodically bend every single joint in each tentacle employed in this way. Achieving this spicy design required patients and dedication.
Xikey’s hard work didn’t end with the alluring detail dedicated to the tentacles. The coloring employed in this figure also displays the designer’s mastery of the platform. The decals sell a cultural look while the disk floating behind the figure gives a truly otherworldly aesthetic. Adding assets to the platform was also a nice touch. Without a doubt, we see a miniature forged by dedication and determination in Xikey’s “Miliessa Daughter of the Tide”.
The Countdown so Far
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