This week’s update is a bit of a long one. The first part is about my processing of MMSI and where I’m going in the future. The second half will be about what I’ve been painting so hopefully there’s a bit of something for everyone in this one. Over the last week, I’ve had a lot to think about as you can probably imagine. Some good, some bad, but all in all, it was productive. One of the biggest questions I pondered was: Why do I do competition painting? I’m sure that to some of you it seems too demanding, not rewarding enough, and possibly even for sadists. So I thought discussing why I do what I do, what drives me in the hobby, and what keeps me interested, is worth discussing. I guess you could say it is a mission statement of sorts.
It is true that entering and coming up short in a competition is hard because you have to face some hard truths. Competitions help you see where you actually are versus where you think you are. Sure, sometimes judges get things wrong but I don’t think that was the case here. So instead, you have to face yourself, your insecurities (especially after a disappointing result), and think about what’s best for you in the hobby. In my case, painting competitions have always given me a lot of motivation to improve. Its not often the warm and fuzzy kind of motivation but it is very valuable or it has been for me. For example, my experience at Golden Demon years ago, lit a fire in me and caused me to pour my heart and soul into the Stormcast mini which I exhibited at MMSI. I didn’t realize how difficult it was and how big of a deal that gold was until more recently but I really cherish the gold medal now. It was and continues to be validation of my hard work as well, which is something special.
At the same time, I don’t compete to be the best painter in the world (that idea is fool’s gold, in my opinion), only the best version of myself as a painter. Our hobby is so deep and there is so much to learn and to try. That is why I’m rarely bored and painting isn’t a chore. That also drives me forward as a competitor because I can always learn new things and I can always try to improve further. It is a never-ending quest, if you want to think of it like that. I take it for granted now but I remember a number of years ago seeing painters where I couldn’t even imagine how they did certain things or how they could make a miniature look so realistic and now when I’m on my game, I feel like my best work is as good as anyone’s which is really gratifying. I don’t mean that at all in an egotistical way either. Its more that I can paint with confidence and belief in myself because I’m never completely outclassed by others.
So that drives me forward and is why I keep coming back to competition painting despite some challenging results. There is part of me that feels like an underdog in this hobby. I don’t have a huge circle of painter friends that give me constant feedback on my work. I do get a little feedback here and there but in general, its just me and my best effort. I feel indebted to anybody who has ever helped me whether it is giving advice, feedback, or teaching me something new in the hobby. I know I wouldn’t be here without meeting and interacting with genuinely kind and giving people. I also am a hobbyist and not a professional. I paint about 1.5-2 hours a day for six days a week. At Golden Demon, you’ll see plenty of people who paint full-time or only paint a couple of minis in a given year. That is something I can’t do and probably wouldn’t do, even if I could. With all that said, when I am successful at a painting competition, it is a great feeling, especially in the world we live in nowadays where it feels like the little guy doesn’t stand a chance and the have’s, have more and more, if you know what I mean.
With that said, what am I going to do moving forward? There are no competitions to enter in the near future so there are no goals like I need to get a piece or two done by X date. I think the main thing for me to focus on is to go back to being a student of the game and to try to learn as much as I can to improve. One of the best ways to do that is to try some new things out and so that is something else I will try to do.
One of the other things I’ve thought about are the different scales I’ve dabbled in the last few years. I’ve talked about some of these things in the past but I think it is good to collect my thoughts again here to explain my plan for the near future.
Busts
Pros – They look incredible when painted up. Busts are the most lifelike miniatures you can work on because the large scale gives you the space to make everything look realistic. There are tons of really cool busts out there on the market. It pains me sometimes that I don’t have the time to paint busts but that is life. You can’t paint everything!
Cons – Busts are very different than gaming scale miniatures which is what I’m most used to painting so there is a fairly steep learning curve. The opportunity to be more realistic means there are more things to master to achieve that effect. Lighting is hugely important with busts and there is some pressure to be creative with lighting to make the bust interesting. I’ve messed this up before and I find the pressure throws me off. Busts have the least “contemporary” learning resources. There aren’t a lot of Youtube videos or Patreons that focus on busts so I have found them to be the hardest to learn about.
75mm Miniatures
Pros – These miniatures also look fantastic when painted up. Not quite as life-like but they have more details which in turn make them look really impressive. They’re also big enough that you don’t have to be super close to them to appreciate the details which is a bonus as well. The jump to 75mm from gaming miniatures is not nearly as steep as the one to busts and so its pretty comfortable to switch between gaming scales and 75mm. Directional lighting is less of a focus which also makes them easier to paint. There are tons of cool sculpts out there, more than a person can ever hope to paint.
Cons – They are very time consuming to paint, which makes each one a major commitment. Because there are more details, the “shapes” on the miniature are often more advanced and harder to paint well with NMM. There are not a lot of basing products out there so I find 75mm a lot harder to get creative with in that regard. There are not a ton of learning resources out there for them either. There tend to be more painted examples but not a lot of Youtube content or Patreons you can follow. 75mm is generally the priciest of these three options as well.
Warhammer
Pros – The biggest variety in miniature subjects so its impossible not to find something you will like. Generally speaking, the miniatures are cheaper to buy than the other scales since they’re smaller. More basing products than you can shake a stick at which means it is easier to make dioramas and vignettes. The smaller scale means these miniatures take up less room in your display case which is nice. The “shapes” on miniatures tend to be simpler and easier to figure out how to paint well, especially with NMM. There are way more learning resources at this scale compared to anything else. It is the easiest space to learn new things about what you’re painting.
Cons – The minis are smaller and harder appreciate on display. You really need to get close to see all of the details. So much Warhammer gets painted that it is harder to come up with fresh ideas. It can feel like everything has been done before at times. Sometimes Warhammer miniatures have details that are maddeningly small which can be tricky to paint well.
When I consider all of these options, I think that I need to focus my energy to ensure that I’m producing the highest quality work. I also tend to think that I should go back to my “bread and butter” and paint Warhammer again for display projects. I’m definitely out of practice in this regard and I remember buying the Darkoath Chieftain pictured above (which I still have kicking around) and feeling like it was too small to work on, but after plenty of consideration, I think this is probably the best place for me right now. I need to learn and improve and there’s things I’ve been wanting to do like get better at dioramas/vignettes so I might as well commit to this scale for now. Part of me wonders if I kept painting Warhammer the whole time, what would have happened with my results at MMSI. Of course, I’m proud for branching out to larger scales and I learned a lot from it but I did really well painting Warhammer and I might have continued to do well if I had not changed gears. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I guess you could say and truthfully, I’ll never know so I’m not going to spend a lot of time second-guessing.
Either way, my plan is to give Warhammer another go in the nearish future. I think I’m going to pick up a miniature that should be pretty forgiving to work on and just try to get back into the swing of things. I’m out of practice and so putting some time in and painting something that I will enjoy seems like the right next step to me. I have a couple of 75mm miniatures to paint one day but I think taking a break and focusing on small scale miniatures that are less time consuming seems wise. There is an idea that the more miniatures pass through your hands, the better you tend to get. I’m in a spot where some miniatures need to get painted and I will focus on learning instead of just the end results. I also would like to work on dioramas and vignettes more so that will be part of my plans too in some way shape or form, though I haven’t quite figured it out yet.
So that is my plan for display painting in the wake of MMSI and I thank you for reading about it. Now it is time to turn towards what I’ve been working on the last two weeks. First up, I worked on another Minuteman miniature for Fallout. I painted the first one of these up 2-3 years ago which is hard to believe. I didn’t love the miniature, particularly the face which came out a little ugly looking for a lady. Here’s a look at her.
The second one is kneeling so she’s pretty small and hard to photograph. I tried some different colors out on her clothing and paid greater attention to lights and shadows as well. When I saw the base, I thought some flagstone colors on the stonework would really spruce up the miniature and I was really happy with the final results.
She’s not perfect by any means, but I feel as though this miniature is quite a bit more appealing than the first one. I actually went back and did something I never do and repainted the first mini’s base to try and make them match a bit better. Now they are both improved and look striking on the tabletop. You can also see how the lighting looks better on the newer, kneeling one as well.
This is the type of improvement I love to see in my hobbying and why I keep coming back for more. These are not competition pieces, of course, but every little bit of improvement helps and prepares me for competition painting at the same time or that’s the way I like to look at it.
Next up, I painted Baron Harkonnen! Okay, not exactly but not too far off from the truth either.
The new Monsterpocalypse miniature is that corpulent one on the right and its about as close I get to painting something grotesque like Nurgle. I don’t know what in the Cthulhu happened to him but he came out nicely, especially considering it is a tiny miniature. I’m impressed that across the three miniatures, the colors look pretty consistent which is great for the Monsterpocalypse diorama, I reckon. I have plans to tackle something else for Monsterpocalypse fairly soon so you can expect to see more in the near future!
And finally, I’m working on something new the last few days that is going to take a while yet to finish but I’ll go ahead and give you a teaser since I think it is looking quite nice.
You can probably guess what game this is for already but I’ll discuss the mini more next week when it is hopefully finished. I’m having a good time working on it thus far and I think it might be the best one of its kind when I get it done. We shall see!
There is plenty more going on but this update is long enough as it is so I’ll stop here and say that I hope to discuss something I’ve been reading in the near future. It is quite a barbaric affair so you can ponder what that could be in the meantime!
