Private Tutoring With the Man in Blue

Sorry for the radio silence all. I was busy guy over the last three days. I took part in my first one on one paint coaching over the weekend. 3 days of instructing with my new friend, Bob. He came to me as a blank slate and I hope I've imparted some knowledge through the chaos. We had a lot of ground to cover and still much more to go. But the weekend marked a big turning point for me, I've wanted to teach/inspire and thanks to Bob, I've taken that first step. I didn't even get a picture of us together. Well, I did but it was at the bar and probably not my most flattering angle ha. Instead I present a collection of images from the course. He was completely new to miniature painting and wanted to get started on the right foot. Many techniques were demonstrated and I was very impressed by his ability to learn.

Wet blending, lining, edgehighlights, washes, blending, contrast, color theory, airbrushing, order of operations, I tried to cover all the basics. Now that it's said and done. I can't wait for more! My next excursion will be in mid September and if you want me to come to your town, book a class now :) You can also come here ;)

Photo Hunt

A small break from painting today, and the humidity :) I like to do this every once in a while to gather some inspiration as well as get out somewhere new. Here at the site of this old barn, I found some very natural deterioration going on that produced some beautiful, and temporary results. Enjoy and place models wherever your imagination sees them.

Finished! Captain Gunnbjorn

I've always liked this model but never took the plunge when I was collecting Trollbloods. It's a really cool sculpt and the posing is perfect. So it was a little added bonus when I was commissioned to paint him. I like his backstory and wanted to capture a little of that in the paint. If you don't know, in short, his story is that of a mercenary and then working for the human army of Cygnar. He came full circle in the times of war and now fights for his kin and adds his valuable knowledge and tactics  gained in the military to aid in the fight. To reflect this, obviously his uniform for one thing, but I also use a different formual on the metallic parts. More of a polished gunmetal that the rusty plate worn by his comrades.

Enjoy!

Gallery View

Finished! Cygnar Stormwall

Big Blue in all his finished glory.

Gallery view

I've blabbed enough about this guy in the numerous WIP posts I put up before Gencon. At this point, he's safely on his way to Canada. Safe travels Blue, you're my boy.

Touch the sky!

WIP Captain Gunnbjorn

Moving right along on the Kriel, the next piece too add was Captain Gunnbjorn. Below is the basecoat next to the colors involved.

To get a quick start on the massive gun he's toting I painted a basecoat of shadow grey and then airbrushed the shadows and highlights. Why didn't I follow that on the rest of the metal? Well, that's a question I just asked myself.

I also employed the airbrush for some basecoating on the next piece, the Storm Troll.

Today's mission is to follow on that basecoat and finish Gunny off. Wish me luck!

What have I been listening to? Lately, it's been the ever constant Dismember

Finished! Ragnar Skysplitter

Like I said in the last post. Getting back on track. I'm a day behind but on the other hand, it takes what it takes. I proudly present the brand new, mark 3 warlock, Ragnar Skysplitter. A pretty cool sculpt and Privateer seems to have progressed in their plastics production.

For the Kriel! Chaper 5

As the crazy train of Gencon begins to rattle back on to the tracks I find myself ready for more painting. There were a few days where I definetly slept out of sync with the rest of the world. 6pm? better take a three hour "nap". I was nursing bit of a virus upon departing for gencon but I think, after tomorrow morning, I'll be done coughing up grey phlegm.

The humitiy is hanging in full force, an almost phyeical veil of it hangs in the air. So priming should be done carefully and in the presence of a dehumidifier.

Moving right along and I'm hoping to have this project completed by the end of the month :)

Return From Castle Gencon

Gencon is always whirlwind and this year was no exception. The whole city changes and the sideshow blows through every year. Id like to hear what someone shoslived in Indianapolis for the last 10 years has to say about Gencon.

All that prepping for the P3 contest really paid off. I walked away with three best in category awards. I also have to appreciate the Murphy's law in getting a bronze with the piece I felt over confident about ha-ha. The feedback there was valid and it's easy to get lost comparing your work to other pieces, but when the dust settles the lesson is always the same, learn and improve.

I also didn't fare too badly in the MHE contest. Unfortunately I was snubbed out of the rainbow brush by a clerical error. The error being I had to read the rules to the person taking entries to explain that I did qualify and was still left out. The theme being Muslim tolerance this year focused on Islamic contributions to society. Miniatures depicting chemistry, science, and astronomy to name a few. The clerk (?) was under the impression it had to be a miniature of an Arabic person...I clarified that point by opening up the rainbow brush rules online and he said ok. Most every question asked was answered with an "I don't care". Pretty shitty but when Marike found out about the mistake she kindly gifted me on of the pieces she painted for the winners :) What I take away from this experience is the painting community is a caring one. Maybe the guy was tired. A real sweet and sour experience ha.

But the coolest award I've received. One of a kind and painted by a master of the art. 

Congrats Y'all!

On to the loot!

The fat demon was a gift from my buddy Nick, more on that big daddy later. I smell a diorama.

Loot I didn't even know I had, my kickstarter for The Others arrived as well!

A big congratulations to Kat Martin for winning Grandmaster this year. Her, Tom, and I realised we were the last three winners so we took a picture. Tom, being the saint that he is, bought the meal for her whole table. Props! Both of ya!

Now I'm back and I headed to the woods I frequented as a child. The financial benefits of these awards will give me some free time to paint on the easel again. I'll never stop miniature painting but I want to expand my illustrative skills again.

Cheers!

Made it to Gencon!

Woooooooo! Made it to Gencon baby! About 7pm is when we all rolled in and the usual photo ops ensued. Enjoy!

                            

I'm nervous as usual about my entries so if you're reading this, wish me some luck!