2019 Monthly Painting Challenge

[Sol_Sorrowsong]

No reason to start down the ladder, I hope to make the new year a gloriously painted one although ending it as high will be tricky, might need to buy more!   @Caedrus Master level for me please!  @Nikodemus Will you join and go Tyrant?

[Burnin' Coal]

@Caedrus thanks for taking this into consideration....at the end of the day, for me at least,  it's about getting a model painted and onto the table regardless of game...I'll have a look later at the Bad Things Happen app and get some idea for the lowest value Soulstone models....base size is a good call...most of the lower value Malifaux models are on a 30mm base as are most of the plug in fire team bases for TOS...if we can get some kind of equivalence there it would work for me...obviously that's just my opinion...I'll be happy to go with whatever the group decides in the long haul

[Adran]

14 hours ago, Burnin' Coal said:

 A question re TOS "soulstone" equivalents....if I paint a TOS titan such as Gorysche or King's Hand which are both at least three to four times bigger than any Malifaux model they are worth 7 Scrip in TOS....Margaret Bell a single figure commander is worth 25 Scrip whereas a squad of ECB Black Ops come in at 10 Scrip for nine figures...I want to sign up as henchman but there is no way I will finish nine figures in a month and even if I did on a straight Scrip for Soulstone exchange I'd still be one short ! - they may come pre assembled but they are in every way as intricate as Malifaux models...

...basically two to three models per month in Malifaux is a significant achievement and can make Henchman level in the Challenge because three figures can make a lot of difference within faction and their Soulstone value reflects it....every one of The Broken in TOS could easily pass as a character from Malifaux but the game is built around massed squads so two five figure bases come in at 5 Scrip in total....is there a way we could make it work on a per model basis ? Just asking 😉

Happy Holidays to everyone and look forward to seeing your models next year

On the rules posted The Titan is worth 21 soulstones, the ECB Black ops is worth 30 SS (each fire team of 3 is worth 10 ss) and Margaret Belle is worth 15 SS. Which sounds fairly comparable.

You might need some special cases for Adjuncts, The Frenzy, Horatogma from the top of my head as well as the single figure champions. (A motor scout or a maurader for only 2 ss is very low).

 

[Burnin' Coal]

@Adran Thanks for that - I'd somehow missed that post - makes more sense and works for me 👍...and yeah...2 for a Motor Scout that you need to break apart if you want to get to every bit of it ? Might leave that one for a while until we arrive at a happy compromise

@Caedrus working to these values please sign me up for Henchman

[Phinn]

Am I the only one who has this... Malifaux Identity Crisis? 😃

I want to paint, but don't want to paint something that I am not going to play in M3E. I can't decide what I want to play in M3E, because the most important aspect for me is the visual one (since I spend much more time painting than playing actual games) and some masters are getting new Crew Boxes and new thematic models. I also don't want to buy model X and then, when M3E comes out, find out that it is now sold in a thematic Box Set (like an Encounter Box) with other models with the same Keyword.
A sensible thing would be to paint some unfinished models which I already have, but... I can't bring myself to feel enthusiastic about them and to try to think of ways how to personalize them - create a custom base that tells a story for example or add some fun details etc.
And at the same time I would like to have a running start when M3E comes and have few models already painted for the new crew 🤪

 

What are your plans for 2019? What models are you going to paint? 🙂

[Nikodemus]

@Sol_Sorrowsong Not sure I want to commit to painting Wyrd minis every single month. Seems unlike many minis players I actually paint for fun and that means sometimes there's no game attached 

But I'll give this a thought or two. 6ss per month doesn't sound too rough. If I stick to playing Marcus for rest of 2e I can space out my few unpainted TT models and have something for first few months at least.

[Boomstick]

@Caedrus and anyone else on the TOS equivalency question. I had completely forgotten about adjuncts and single model non-commander units when I suggested the rules as they're currently showing.

For comparison's sake, here's a 9ss model, Amina, with a 9 Scrip unit, The Warped (same number of models and sized bases as the ECB Black Ops Adran mentioned)

Each fireteam is three 30mm models all fitting into an 80mm base.
For further comparison, here's Amina (still 9ss) with a unit of Karkinoi from Gibbering Hordes (8 scrip, each fireteam is three 50mm models on a 120mm base)

And here's Amina with the Cult Titan, 7 scrip, 120mm base

Looking at the difference of sizes, number of models, and complexity, as well as the issue with Adjuncts (1 scrip upgrades that swap out a model on a fireteam for a different one) I'm rethinking my initial recommendation that each fireteam is worth think the easiest thing to do would be to count each model on a fireteam as worth the scrip cost of the unit, since each model is essentially a single Malifaux model in its own right (and doing a whole fireteam will also generally mean basing the larger base they all fit on as well). This means that single model units are also worth their unit cost as well (other than Commanders, who count for 15ss like a master, though for the Gibbering Hordes "The Fury", being 3 models not on a fireteam, I'd recommend each one of them count for 15ss then), so we're cutting down on the math.

This leaves two outliers: Adjuncts, since they're again 1 scrip upgrades that are shown via a model swapped out on the fireteam they're attached to, and Titans.

[Boomstick]

Continued from above:

Titans I still think are worth 3x their scrip cost. It would make them basically the same cost as a full fireteam of infantry (some of which are on the same 120mm base size) just one morel instead of three.

Adjuncts are definitely worth more than 1 scrip/ss, painting-wise. Maybe set them as a "standard" minion at 5ss?

Thoughts?

[LordZombie]

I have tried this the last two years, hopefully third time is the charm. I will sign up for Master level and see how long I can keep that up. 

[emiba]

Given how slowly I paint this is probably madness. But sign me up for henchman level.

[Burnin' Coal]

6 hours ago, emiba said:

Given how slowly I paint this is probably madness. But sign me up for henchman level.

Excellent ! Now there's at least two of us trying to keep up - I'll race you to the back of the line 😂

[misterfinn]

On 12/21/2018 at 6:33 AM, Phinn said:

What are your plans for 2019? What models are you going to paint?

Totally get where you're coming from! I also paint Malifaux models to play - I have plenty of models from other manufacturers to paint for display. Some day I'll actually start my Confrontation goblin pirate ship...

My plan for 2019 is to knock out a few stragglers from the two Masters I play: a Freikorps Engineer, Big Jake, and alt Taelor. I already have a regular Taelor and Big Jake is more for completion than play right now, so it's really just killing a couple of months. By that time I should have Mah Tucket's box assembled. I like the sculpts so I'm OK with it if Wyrd changes something around. Alt sculpts != better sculpts. Given the rate at which I paint that should take me up to May or June. After that, who knows? 3e should theoretically be out so I'll have the lay of the landscape. Maybe I'll want other models that go with Mah, maybe I'll want to start a new crew, maybe there will be more Von Schill or Vik models out that I want to add.

Consider painting some of your backlog using @Caedrus's Deck of Painting Achievements from this thread. He's got a ton of cool ideas in there that have already got me thinking. 2, for example, is a big motivator to paint my alt Taelor. 12 is an inspiration to put some tattoos on Big Jake. That might bump your enthusiasm level for long enough to see what 3e brings you.

What crew(s) are you waiting to paint?

[Phinn]

Thank you, @misterfinn 🙂

My girlfriend is giving me Bultungin Box Set as a christmass gift, so that kind of solves my Malifaux Identity Crisis 😃

I have been playing Zoraida almost exclusively for the last three years and decided that edition change is an ideal time to start something new. Euripides sounded cool and thus I bought Cyclops Box Set and started working on it, so that I have as much Savage (Euripides) models ready when M3E and Euripides' Crew Box actually come. Just to explain, I paint painfully slowly. To finish a single 30 mm miniature a month is a heroic performance for me 😃 I was like 20 hours in painting the male Cyclops and had 1/3 of the model "finished" when the MIC (Malifaux Indentity Crisis) kicked in 😃 I felt frustrated and wasn't sure if painting big models is for me.

Currently the plan is to take a break from the Cyclops, paint one of the Bultungins, return to it and when I feel frustrated again repeat the process 🙂

The main problem is that every master has something cool - models, theme, playstyle - and at the same time none of the masters is perfect. How is one supposed to choose?! It's like with girls 😃

[lusciousmccabe]

@Phinn - don't suppose you have an airbrush? I picked up a cheap one earlier in the year and I don't know how I ever painted large models without it. Just takes away all the hassle of laying down even coats over the whole thing and shading large areas. Obviously setting it up and cleaning take a bit of extra time, but on anything larger than a basic fig it's totally a time saver, especially if you use it for priming as well. 

[Phinn]

I don't, @lusciousmccabe and unfortunately I don't believe it would help me. Me personaly, I mean. I don't have a lot of experience with painting (I think that I have painted no more than 10 models total) and thus almost everything is an experiment for me 🙂

This is how I would describe me painting the Cyclops:
"Let's try blue skin. Looks OK, but what if it had slight green shade. That I like much better."
"It's a little bit boring, what if I added some white on the belly, inner thighs etc. Good idea, terrible execution. Again, but better. Now I have overdone it, let's take it down a notch. Now it looks nice."
"The blue is good, but it's missing something. What if I added red tone around knees. I like that, let's try that around ankles as well. That looks horrible, I have to repaint that. How about around toes. OK, that looks good."
I would describe my painting technique as 'three steps forward, two steps back' 😃

I also constantly come back to "finished" parts, because with fresh eyes I see mistakes I haven't seen before.

Luckily, when I come to something that I have already painted it's not so dramatic 🙂
Brown pelt of the loincloth, toenails (similar to bones), even though painting individual ice shards is time consuming it is at least similar to painting gems etc.

[Nikodemus]

Sign me up for Minion. Basically one Wyrd per month I can promise. Might end up doing loads more if I buy new models but I can't know that.

1 hour ago, Phinn said:

I don't, @lusciousmccabe and unfortunately I don't believe it would help me. Me personaly, I mean. I don't have a lot of experience with painting (I think that I have painted no more than 10 models total) and thus almost everything is an experiment for me 🙂

I'd say one of the more important tips I can give to new painters is paint more minis. Finish stuff. Getting enough of that start-to-finish experience is a huge help.

[Phinn]

@Nikodemus, I used to spend significantly more time watching various tutorials than actually painting and felt like I am doing something good. I was basically procrastinating 😃

I participated in this year's Monthly Painting Challenge and even though I was eliminated halfway through it taught me how to work on a single miniature until it is finished... more or less 😃 It is very difficult to resist new miniatures since I have Wp 2 and it's so tempting to switch to a new miniature when things aren't going well with the current one.

This year I would like to paint more and actually finish Monthly Painting Challenge 🙂 I already bought new table and lamp so I can paint when I am at my girlfriend's and would like to learn to again paint everyday, even for half an hour.

[Nikodemus]

59 minutes ago, Phinn said:

it's so tempting to switch to a new miniature when things aren't going well with the current one.

That's why I emphasise finishing minis when talking face to face at the local game store. It doesn't happen every time but usual way (my minis at least) go is they will at some point look a lot worse than they did earlier in the paintjob. It is only later steps that "fix" it usually by working off of the ugly base. Having that start-to-finish experience gives you confidence and willpower to pull through because you realise it's just a phase in the process. Often quite a necessary phase.

[Phinn]

31 minutes ago, Nikodemus said:

That's why I emphasise finishing minis when talking face to face at the local game store. It doesn't happen every time but usual way (my minis at least) go is they will at some point look a lot worse than they did earlier in the paintjob. It is only later steps that "fix" it usually by working off of the ugly base. Having that start-to-finish experience gives you confidence and willpower to pull through because you realise it's just a phase in the process. Often quite a necessary phase.

Your advice then would be to finish the Cyclops and not to take the break I was talking about before 😕 Not... what I wanted to hear 😃 Probably what I needed to, though.
Alright, I will give it a try 🙂 I will not start painting new miniatures until I finish the one I am currently working on.

[Franchute]

It's great to read about all your excitment for next year 👍🏻

This motivates myself quite a lot 😊

[misterfinn]

On 12/23/2018 at 11:35 AM, Nikodemus said:

I'd say one of the more important tips I can give to new painters is paint more minis. Finish stuff. Getting enough of that start-to-finish experience is a huge help.

I agree. The more time you spend with brush in hand, the more comfortable you get with the materials and the better your models look. It takes time to show progress. It's frustrating, even for experienced painters like me who are trying to learn new techniques. My NMM looked like trash on the first half dozen models I tried. Like, strip and repaint bad. It's still pretty shaky. You just have to plow through.

 

On 12/23/2018 at 10:20 AM, Phinn said:

"Let's try blue skin. Looks OK, but what if it had slight green shade. That I like much better."
"It's a little bit boring, what if I added some white on the belly, inner thighs etc. Good idea, terrible execution. Again, but better. Now I have overdone it, let's take it down a notch. Now it looks nice."
"The blue is good, but it's missing something. What if I added red tone around knees. I like that, let's try that around ankles as well. That looks horrible, I have to repaint that. How about around toes. OK, that looks good."

I can totally relate.

I see two issues being conflated here (correct me if I'm wrong): one is "I can't figure out what color scheme I'm doing" and the other is "dang, my technique sucked there so I'm gonna clean it up". I have pretty strong opinions on this stuff so please forgive me if I get a little pedantic.

The first issue is easily solved with "sketch" models: crappy things that you got for free at a con or you had an extra one in a boxed set (I'm looking at you, Ronin) or whatever. You know you're never going to paint them. That makes it real easy to try out color schemes or practice/test techniques without getting bogged down.

This is the model I used for working out the colors on my Nothing Beast. The metal on his head was from some previous session where I was testing out an armor wash.

This is the model I used to quickly demo fire basics for another painter at my FLGS.

Once the model's usable space is filled up, you drop it in the Simple Green, reprime it, and use it again. Make sure to write down what paints you're using for your final color scheme so you can reproduce it later.

Now the second issue - "correcting" mistakes over and over - well, that way lies madness. The key here in my experience is simply to lower your sights. Build up your techniques in phases. You're a new painter, so start with the basics: flat color, smooth paint, clean edging, and blacklining. No drybrushing, washing, blending, glazing, or using weird technical paints. Practicing these basics is especially important with big models like the Cyclops, where it's easy to lay on paint that's too thick or doesn't cover evenly. A clean, simple paint job always looks better than a messy, complicated one. This phase is all about getting a feel for the materials and establishing reliable brush control. Also it will get finished models on the table in short order.

Once you're reliably cranking out models that look neat as a pin, pick a new skill - shading, for example - and start practicing it on your next batch of models. Use a sketch model or three first to get the basics down so you don't obsess over how it's gonna turn out. Once you've got that on lock, move on to the next technique, and so on.

At some point (many months in the future, don't push this part) you'll look back on your older models with their flat paint jobs and go, "I'm ready to spruce this up". Then you can take a break, go back, and use the new techniques you've mastered to build on the basic paint job if you want to.

This is the first miniature I ever finished: my half-elf magic user for D&D. I was like 16. There was no Internet and I hadn't discovered White Dwarf yet. All I knew about painting was what I'd learned from model airplanes and Gundams and suchlike. Flat color, smooth paint, clean edging (I learned about blacklining later). I think it still looks just fine on the table.

Whew! OK. I hope some of this has been useful/inspirational/otherwise worth your time.

Edited December 24, 2018 by misterfinn
Whoops, forgot a picture

[LordZombie]

I would love to finish up all my resurrectionist models before m3e hits. Most of kiria's stuff and other bigger models. That is my goal for next year. Get in more with the community also. 

[Hawkoon]

I've been slacking too much lately, so sounds like a good push to get some work done. Sign me up for henchman!

[Phinn]

@misterfinn, thank you very much, I truly appreciate that 🙂 And yes, you are correct in both cases.

"I can't figure out what color scheme I'm doing."
I have a notebook where I write or sketch ideas, write "recipes" for colours, make notes and sometimes sketch colour schemes as well 🙂 Sometimes I use a bit of sprue as a "sketch model" as you called it.
The real problem comes when I have to actually apply the colour scheme on a miniature. For example, if I am painting the skin blue and want the belly to be very light blue (almost bone colour), where is the colour supposed to start turning light? Where exactly do I place shadows and how dark are they supposed to be so that the miniature looks interesting? When to make a particular part of a model more interesting with a freehand and when it is too much so that it starts to be distracting and clash?
Simply put, I lack experience and still haven't fully developed my own style 🙂 I look at photos of miniatures on painting blogs, CMON, Pinterest, art from videogames etc. (When I was painting Silurids I had a whole folder full of photos of frogs, catfishes, newts and such.) and make mental notes of what I like and what I don't and try to mimic it.

"Dang, my technique sucked there so I'm gonna clean it up."
I remember listening to an interview with a Golden Demon winner where they asked her what would she like to advice her younger self if she could when it comes to painting and she said something like: "Avoid perfection at all costs." 😃
Here is the first miniature I have painted - Young LaCroix. That was 4 years ago. I was so proud of those delicate, almost invisible shadows. LOL 😃
And here are two latest miniatures I have painted - Mysterious Effigy and Stitched Together. That was well over 6 months ago.

 

@Nikodemus, you can't imagine how difficult it was to resist those Bultungins when I unwraped them as a christmass gift 😃 The actual miniatures look so much better the art and 3D renders on the box set. But... I did it 🙂 I am looking forward to painting them.
I am taking all my painting stuff to my girlfriend's for the weekend. We were both working over Christmass holidays so we are very tired, she likes to lie in on weekends but I am actually crazy and wake up at 5 am every day no matter what, which means... 3 hours of Cyclops painting a day 😃 She also likes to take a nap after lunch, but there I have to serve as a pillow so...

[emiba]

To what degree can the models be prepared? I'm assuming primed is ok? I know the rules said models count the month they're finished but I'd feel like chatting if I counted my near finished Nephilim crew. 😛 

What is considered finished? Does the base have to be finished? I have a nasty habit of leaving the bases unfinished until I have a few models painted and then batch make the bases.