The minis were purchased, as was the base. (a "scenic" base as it's called) so while the minis aren't unique and the base isn't unique, I'm probably the only person with them in this combination. The process can be as complex as you want to make it, with this style of "single cast" miniature, as opposed to a minis that have to be assembled from parts, along with a scenic base being a very simple process for assembly, that allows for a lot of paint detail.
The guy with the stick (and I'm glad it's obvious it's a stick) is Miyamoto Musashi, a famous samurai and duelist. He's most known for his "Book of Five Rings" and the sword fighting style he created (Niten Ichi Ryu, Two Heavens United As One Style). Musashi was more of a rough and tumble kind of guy, he came from a common background and was a very practical warrior as well as a brutal fighter. His opponent Sasaki Kojiro was another master swordsman, and according to legend Musashi's rival at many points through their lives. He's commonly depicted in art (and here) in a full kamishimo, the standard garb for samurai. My one error that I've found so far painting wise actually lies with Kojiro's kamishimo. The kamishimo includes a garment called a kataginu which is essentially a large sleeveless vest with exaggerated shoulders, with a look similar to a doublet for European clothing. So Kojiro's sleeves are part of his kimono, but I painted them like his kataginu. I have corrected that.
Any way, Musashi is sculpted here and commonly depicted as well as wandering around in clothes more common for a workman like a yukata as opposed to the full formal kimono, he had a reputation as a wild man, and as an aesthetic later in life, and he regularly practiced psychological warfare against his opponents. Combat in the age of the Samurai was a formal affair, especially duels like this one. You wore your best clothes, carried your best weapons, bathed and groomed impeccably. There was a formality and ritual to it all that Musashi delighted in ignoring. Even his weapon at this duel was designed to A. attack his opponent's mental state. as well as B. provide an effective counter against Kojiro's fighting technique. As Hedgie said, Musashi brought a big fucking stick, a bokken (wooden sword specifically) that he'd carved from an oar on the boat ride to the island where the duel was to take place.
So excessive detail aside the process is roughly as such:
Assemble the mini(s) and in some cases base them
Prime with a neutral color (I like gray for most of mine)
Painting is a more personal pattern, but I paint big things and colors and work down to small things and colors, so Musashi's yukata gets painted first, and so on till you're doing details like headbands.
Depending on the colors involved I'll do a watered down layer of a lighter color or darker color to get more depth to the material and the color. Kojiro's hakama (the rich red) and the green of the bamboo reeds were accomplished in this manner. The water actually took four layers of paint total.
Washing: Various colored ink washes can be applied to add depth and shadow to models and terrain, I used a black wash on Kojiro, Musashi and the Bamboo and then a brown earth shade wash on the sand
Drybrushing: This is what I did to finish off the sand and rocks, taking a lighter color, much like highlighting and getting as little paint on the brush as possible then lightly running it over so the bristles are just barely kissing the upper surfaces I want to put paint on, I think the effect speaks for itself.
Highlighting: Now you take lighter shades, either made via mixing or through selections from your pile'o paint and get a very light amount of paint on your brush, there's lines in cloth and other parts of the mini, whether built in folds or just natural composition lines, when you highlight you follow these "high" points to bring out more contrast to both the darker areas you created with your wash, and the "normal" areas.
Then you take some pictures, get feed back while you sleep on it for a bit, then you seal it.
Which is why the photos are rough, I don't have a photo box any more and these were rough and dirty for critique and touch ups, not the presentation just yet.
