monkeyboy30672

Okay... how did you do it ALL?? Your models are really gorgeous...! How do you manage to keep your colors so vivid and also keep your shading, highlighting, and transitions so smooth?

Well...it USED to be a fun career. In 2006 the GWHQ in Nottingham, UK, decided that ALL images were going to be supplied solely by the UK Studio henceforth... so my job was dissolved... sigh. I got paid a measly salary for what I did, anyway, even though I loved my job. I still work in the hobby gaming industry, just not as a photographer anymore. I miss it. Sigh. Yeah, Mako's suggestions are always things that make me think, "God, that is a brilliant idea!! Why didn't I think of that?? Oh, right... Because I'm not as brilliant as Mako is..." hehehe I am really looking forward to painting a ton this weekend!! No work to bring home! I have a lot of laundry to do, so I'll be switching loads and folding clothes when I need to take short breaks, for the sake of my back. I have a TERRIBLE habit of hunching over when I paint, and my back hates me for it. I'm like the Quasimodo of miniature painting... Hopefully I'll have at least one image to post by Monday, if I can superglue my fingers to my brush for long enough. An idea, just to throw it out there like raw meat into the lions' den... I am starting my Poltergeist... Traditionally, he would be painted like the art, and would be glowy green and grey, like my Sorrow(s). With my purple/green theme, how do you think it would look if I painted him in grey and glowy purple...? Is that gonna disturb the force too much, Obi-wan? The idea just popped into my head. Thought I'd share the concept and catch some perspectives... Thanks!

Well, this week, at least, your envy is unfounded, as I have yet to touch brush to paint since Sunday... sigh... *withdrawals* But usually, it's a lovely way to relax, outside of shooting arrows into targets. Too dark in the evenings still to do that after work.

So there, I was... across this COOL desert/wild-western "Deadwood" ghost town table at my FLGS, playing a 35ss game with Pandora, a Poltergeist, Baby Kade, Teddy, and Candy. THe whistling theme to "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" wavered on the wind as tumbleweeds rolled by, kicking up a few thin clouds of dust... And then besides the Poltergeist dropping a scheme marker for a VP on "Breakthrough" (I think it was), I got absolutely whipped. Seems that NONE of my Horror Duels were being failed, and though Kade certainly ripped through a Torakage with minimal damage in return, not many other fared well. Candy was dropped like a sack of potatoes by a Torakage, and Teddy was double-teamed by Ototo (who was getting a good beat-down on Teddy) and Shang (who shredded the Tedmeister). How do I synergize my crew a bit better? I know now that using Depression with Baby Kade can be a turbocharge for his damage output, and that would have certainly helped! It just seems like my Auras for things to happen, and my timing to get Incite or Nobody Likes Me into play are terrible. But that's more my lack of tactical sense, really, than the composition of my crew. It just seems like he was getting a helluva lot more damage out of his crew than I was out of mine. Any thoughts?

For the love of toast, Syb, how did I miss this thread???? Wow, do I feel tiny... These models are incredible!!!! I will have to pick your brain at some point...!

Very valid points, Rodent. And I also agree with the previous posts that the table is FRIGGIN' AWESOME!!! How cool would it be to play on THAT??? That's totally cool!! WELL done, Monk!! Very well done! If you really want, you can sculpt tables for me all day long... Can we try a dilapidated and horror-fied orphanage this time...?

@Mako: Yeah, I could see the whole, "Wha--??" moment going on. I've never met Mike, but I've always been a fan of his work. I don't think he would have been so impressed with MY Green Knight... that was about 15 years ago... not nearly enough experience under my belt... Yeah, I'll have to experiment a bit with the carpet texture and see what I can come up with... I think I have a spare base insert I'm not going to use immediately, so I can have a go on that and strip it later. Thanks for all the advice! @Kotep: Hahaha... "honing my technique"...? Nah, not really. Granted, I've been painting miniatures for over 30 years, but I know plenty of award-winning painters who have painted for much less time than me, and are far better at it. In fact, it wasn't until I was about 18 that I started improving at all. Granted, I painted VERY sporadically in my youth, but what took me to the next level was a little leaflet I picked up at my FLGS called How To Paint Citadel Miniatures. Hell, I didn't even know who Games Workshop WAS at that time..! So the idea of something called a Space Marine Librarian, to me, was rather ridiculous... Heh! But it taught me the techniques of Drybrushing and Washing (or Inking), however, and with just a couple tries, my painting skills jumped radically forward. About 6 years later (after university and discovering Warhammer), I was lucky (?) enough to be offered a job at the GW HQ North America, here in Maryland. I moved up to the area and first had a job in their Retail Store in Fairfax, Virginia. When we weren't helping customers, we would be sitting at the table and painting miniatures to be displayed in the window cases. So my manager would give me tips about how to shade different colors more effectively, about freehand tricks, etc. My painting took another big step forward. After 4 years at GW (through different departments), a job in the US White Dwarf Studio came up. They created the position of Studio Photographer specifically for me, since I have a degree in it, and I started shooting competitive models at Games Day US in 2000. For the next 6 years I photographed every Games Day and GW Grand Tournament all across North America, and would see a lot of the same people at multiple events throughout the year. I got to know (and drink with... hehe) a lot of them. And since then, whenever I really have troubles with painting specific things (or if I am painting a model to look like the box photo of it, and the original painter is someone I know... haha "Hey, Jess, how did you paint the belly hair on the Executioner model on the box...?"), I will enlist the "experts'" opinions to help me. You'd be AMAZED how much of miniature painting is less about actually painting like a canvas artist and so much more about what tricks and techniques you know, in order to paint a tiny 3D surface better. Like the pen suggestion from Mako (another Master Painter, if you didn't already know!!!), it's more about working smarter, not working harder. That's basically why I am in these forums and why I post my work. I'm not here to get accolades... I'm here to steal everyone else's great tricks!! MUAHAHAHAHahahahahahahahaha!!! (Honestly... this is one of the best painter communities I've known, and I am already indebted greatly to many of its members for giving me invaluable advice... That's how I got to this level.) Wow... this became a huge post... sorry, guys. And now back to your regularly scheduled painting...

Those compliments have tonnes of weight, coming from you, Mako!! Thank you!! Yeah, I painted the Green Knight like McVey, too, years ago using a brush instead of a pen. I was a bit disappointed when I heard he used a pen. I still feel like that would be cheating, as I am stubbornly a "brush-purist" (a brushist...?), but the thought of using a pen for the worded carpet borders HAS crossed my mind, admittedly... I am not sure I have a brush good enough to keep a point that fine while still holding paint. I suppose pile carpeting might be a good look, actually, though I had envioned them to be flatter, like a simple, thin, purple throw rug. But for the sake of detail and interest (and I do love a good painted texture...!), that could be an excellent choice that I never in my life would have thought of. Thanks, Mako!

I know, right???

Damn you and your manipulations...! Or, damn me for being such a sucker... sigh... Just prepared to be underwhelmed...

So little time on each figure? It certainly does not show in the quality! I usually paint (or try to paint) at least an hour or two each evening, if I can, assuming I don't have translation work that I have to do at home (like this week). But that's of course when the painting muse descends. I usually go a few months of painting, take a few months off and do other things, then get pack to painitng again for a few months... There is an ebb and flow. It really depends on a few factors like what I have going on (damn you, life, for getting in the way!! *shakes fist*), how excited I am about the models I have chosen to paint (boring models are a CHORE!), and the reason for painting them. I tend to not do commissions, because then my pleasure becomes work, and then I don't want to do it. Yuck. If I have a tournament or some other goal, I tend to paint rather fervently, though I tend to sacrifice some quality in the process. I don't paint well AND quickly. I can do one or the other. I paint best when I enjoy the models, I have a good theme for them, I have the luxury of time, and the amount I have unpainted isn't too daunting. Yeah, my 200+ model Skaven army probably won't ever be finished... sigh.

That is BRILLIANT!!! Will take a lot of time and effort, though, maybe even more than painting the model itself. I can't wait to see what you do with these ideas!!!

Sigh... I wish I had more finished models to post... Damn you, work, for getting in the way of my painting!!!!

Not bad at all! I like the color choices, as well as the shading on the chest and collarbone! I can't wait to see what you can paint when you get back into it fully.

I don't have YOUR talent... And you'd be surprised how easily I can pick a lock with a hammer... Absolutely stunning models, Wings, as always...! I feel like I am running out of synonyms for beautiful, inspired, and magnificent...

I think the airlines have some sort of hefty fee for baggage that weighs over 100 kilos... Then again, I'd sacrific a LOT of pewter and plastic to have to opportunity to sit down and paint with you! And that goes for the rest of all you Master Painters!! If anyone is gonna be on the East Coast of the States, lemme know!! I'm not far from Washington DC or New York! Of course, you're right, Wings... Maybe just something small... I probably won't get to try it out until Friday evening, at the earliest (lots of work this week that I have to bring home with me... yuck), but I'll definitely give it a go. Hell, if it looks like complete crap, I can always paint solid purple back over it. Or I could make it LOOK like a line, but really it's very teeny tiny lettering circling the border of the carpet that reads "Wings made me do this... Wings made me do this..." Heeheeheehee Actually...hmm... if I could pull that off, I'd totally do it... That would be hysterical! And thanks for the accolades about Candy! I was a bit nervous with the idea of painting her eyes green, because if I bled paint onto the face, I'd have a bitch of a time getting it nice again... I'm glad the green on the basket is enough. I always appreciate comments and suggestions from everyone!

Thanks for the perspective on Sorrows, Gorbad! I'll definitely have to remember that and use them much more effectively from now on! And I will ABSOLUTELY have to remember the Baby Kade/Depression combo!!! I could have worn Lady J's head as a hat with that one!!!

Thanks, everyone! Don't tease me, Wings... I have a spare bedroom in my house where you and your bf can crash, if you really want a holiday across the pond... And I am GLAD you point out something to be improved! Yeah, I had originally thought about doing something funky with the carpets on all of the models, rather than just purple... The first thought was to do a spirally pattern, to emphasize the theme of insanity and overall weirditude and creepiness. But then I thought it would compete for the eye's attention with the actual model itself. I didn't want to take away from them; they are the focus! Especially after also adding childs' blocks and other accoutrements, I didn't want any of the models to get too busy overall. So instead, I kept it as a basic flat purple (not even highlighting it at all), just to extend the purple/green theme of the crew. Maybe that was a subconscious cop-out... I dunno. The first model I painted with the carpet was my Sorrow, and there's just not enough of it showing to get a good recognizable design into it. Besides... with that much green on him, I really needed to get more purple going. Conversely, after finishing Candy, I thought I might need more green on the model, other than just the ribbons on her basket. I almost painted her eyes a glowy green. I still might.

I was always a huge fan of the original metal Teddy. Sure, he's a bit flat at the side view, and the new plastic one is nice and round. But I agree with the earlier sentiments that the furriness is REALLY being lost in the plastic casting, and that saddens me a bit. The Nightmare Teddy, to me, seemed FAR too malnourished and ragged to me. And the new one is stiched together at odd places, like the family dog got a holdof him and ripped him apart one Sunday morning? I want a nice, pristinely fluffy and well-kept Teddy who, when the mask comes off, is truly an unsuspecting terror to behold! I might have to buy a few more metal Teddies... Maybe I'll eventually buy a plastic one, for variety, but I agree that I will probably want to Green Stuff some proper fur texture onto him. And also hide the ragged stitching.

But I thought "Misery Loves Company" is specifically to move the Sorrow into an ENEMY model up to 8" away... I don't particulary want to get them into Ml combat range, do I? Even with Incorporeal, they will go down like a sack of potatoes pretty quickly. I don't have the RB handy, so I don't know the exact wording of "Misery Loves Company".

Been slacking on photographing Pandora, because I'm not so happy with her. On the table, when I play, she looks fine, so she is a good gaming standard. But her face is so damn hard to paint, and I can't get that sultry, manipulative look in her eyes that the art for her has... The OSL on her hands, jawline, and cloak gets to be a bit too much, as well... the light in the camera washes those areas out really easily. Not sure how to combat that in the camera. Overall, though, I'm pretty pleased with her. She's meant to be a playing piece, after all. And Candy was a LOT of fun to paint!! Luckily, her eyes weren't as much of a pain in the ass as I had thought they'd be. Painting the blocks that close to her legs, actually, was the hardest part. This is the first of my crew that I have painted differently from the art (purple in her ribbons and dress instead of dark slate blue). I wanted to still keep to the purple/green theme that my crew has. Peeking out from behind her legs is a single building block, painted yellow, that is instrumental to keeping her attached to that base... Her feet have the only contact points to the base, and they are almost impossible to hold her without snapping off. The block helps. I am still VERY delicate with her, though. Criticisms and critiques are ALWAYS welcome! It's the only way we get better! Thanks!

ALWAYS a pleasure to see your work, Viruk!! Samael is absolutely stunning...! I wish I had your talent!

Congratulations!! A well-deserved award, certainly! I had a great game of Malifaux, too, on Saturday, even though I lost horribly... Ten Thunders is tough against Pandora's crew when they get into combat quickly...!

That is DAMN GOOD for a first mini!!! It shows talent right at the outset...

Wow!! ALL those things together make a huge difference, in my humble opinion...! Stunning work taken to an even higher level, Jen. VERY well done!