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The little quirks ...


Nathan Caroland

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I just got into a discussion with Ann offline about how some sculptors/painters/etc have little quirks that seem to work their ways into their artwork and sculpting and found it to be a rather interesting conversation.

I'm interested in what sort of quirks, flaws, whatever that some of you have noticed about some of your favorite sculptors and artists. Do they make all their faces the same, something just a little out of shape or size that is just slightly 'off', etc.

For instance, and I don't know this for fact actually, but someone once said that all Sandra Garrity faces are the same on all her miniatures (I'll have to go look).

I'm curious ...

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On the subject of Werner, I agree with the above mentioned.. similar faces (in the females atleast) in most of his sculpts, also I agree with the v shaped chin (again only for the females)... Also his faces tend to be rather broad... and again in the females... the back is bent rather painfully in the lover back (breasts perky forwards, butt promined back, seems to be the motto for it) on most female sculpts, up to the point of being extremely unpleasant, painfull of even impossible were they real woman.

But even so... Werner remains my favorite sculptor to date.

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Oh and Chris Fitpatrich has vary narrow faces often with pronounced cheekbones... definatly visible in some Croc games and even more in his GW work (Dark elves (like the dark elf witches), Dark Eldar and elves). Also his stomach area's seem to be rather "square"shaped... but I love that look for it doesn't look unatural.

Oh and Werner does rather typical eyes... Very clearly defined, bigger with both eye-corners often sculpted deeper than with most sculptors (Kev White does this too though, be it less obvious) Speaking of Kev... his naked females and the somewhat more fleshed out female figures instead of skinny ones is rather telltale Kev. He also has a rather rounded style in the shapes (both lines as volumes) he generally choses in my eyes.

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I'm trying to think up painter quirks, but I don't know, this type of thing doesn't seem quite as regular in painters as in sculptors...anyone think of anything for painters?

Marieke Reimer always has a very soft almost silky "dusty" look to her figures... But if a quirk is to be something negative I definatly wouldn't call this a quirk.

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I'm interested in what sort of quirks, flaws, whatever that some of you have noticed about some of your favorite sculptors and artists. Do they make all their faces the same, something just a little out of shape or size that is just slightly 'off', etc.

Oh yeah... *Everyone's* got their quirks artistically, sculptor or painter. Just a brief list of things I've seen:

Dennis Mize - don't get me wrong, I have a lot of his sculpts, but he's got two major things that bug me: 1) knock-kneed women. He seems to have this thing for portraying women like they have to go take a pee or something...

2) figures with raised arms. I swear half the Shadowrun line had minis holding their hands up like the stereotypic "I'm yawning pose."

Tom Meier - every one of his faces uses the classical convention of a hole in the eye for a pupil. In marble sculpture this was done so the hole creates a natural "black" or dark patch for the pupil. He carried this through to mini-sculpting. Also, in his older models many of his men tended to look like old men, even young barbarian warriors! ;)

John Dennett - he had a very particular way of making claws, which he used on nigh-well every monster with claws he sculpted for Grenadier. They carried over from dragons to aliens to Cthuloid monsters... You could tell just by the claws it was one of his. He also had liked to wrap the claw over the base, so the mini looked like it could just come to life and step off.

Werner Klocke - as mentioned the 'elfin' features are almost a trademark for him. That and the use of unusual poses. He tries to spice things up, though he doesn't always succeed and some his minis have odd stances or strangely-tilted heads as a result.

For instance, and I don't know this for fact actually, but someone once said that all Sandra Garrity faces are the same on all her miniatures (I'll have to go look).

I'm curious ...

You noticed that too huh? ;) Well, she has very similar faces for her men and women, but then again most sculptors have a particular style for them. My thing with her is she picks the same poses and does them over and over and over... Though in her defense she has been trying new things, like that awesome undead dog she just did for Reaper.

Bob Ridolfi's women all have the same, rounded face style.

I could go on and on... Truth be told everyone has their quirks, including me, it's just when it gets to (drum roll please) the "Jakusovszky Rule" ;) that I get concerned - "All artist's reach a plateau point, then either coast forever at the same level, or go down hill." This seems to hold true for any art form.

It's rare when someone breaks out of a mold, or stretches their wings when they reach the point where either they feel in rut or they stop listening to their overwhelming fans/art director/etc telling them to keep putting out the same stuff....

The example I use of this is Boris Vallejo (no relation to the paint ;P) I mean how many more muscle-bound, oiled, "pseudo-fantasy" weight lifters does the world need? At one point he did try different things, telling stories, illustrating books, but now it's all testosterone and swords. Which is what the "fans" come to expect.

It's nice to see when an artist stretches their wings and contradicts me! Like Julie Guthrie for Reaper. I never used to give her much credit when she worked for Grenadier - her faces looked alike and all the hands were large (like an anti-Austin Powers ;) .) But her new models for Reaper were a breath of fresh air - unusual subjects, like six-armed snakewomen and banshees, and creative sculpts. I love it!

Take care,

Laszlo

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Kev White makes the sexiest female minis around. I think it is quite a bold statement just to admit that one finds a mini sexy, but his are...well, hot!

And he makes them have *real bodies*! Not willowy, underfed super models. Not DDD top-heavy women. Women who have a little flesh to them (almost Rubanesque). As my wife said about one of his sculpts: "She looks like me!" It's good to see someone recognizes that not all women look like model waifs.

Take care,

Laszlo

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I'm trying to think up painter quirks, but I don't know, this type of thing doesn't seem quite as regular in painters as in sculptors...anyone think of anything for painters?

Well, my personal quirk if you will, is to put something modern world into the mini and paint it in a way no one else will.

Some examples (all in my CMON gallery):

Elmore Amazon with Girl Scouts emblem on her shield

CMON contest Amazon with hard-hat, "road work ahead" sign and holding stop sign.

CMON contest Valkyrie with surfboard and Baywatch bikini and torpedo bouie.

Space marine Dallas Cowboy and Washington Redskin.

Klocke assassin as skater-dude.

Void Commander X as Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.

Frankly I was quite surprised I didn't get lots of people guessing the cheer-leader was mine in the CCV contest. Maybe I'm not famous enough yet.

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Well, that's tough to answer.

I think I'll go with I enjoy having a bit of a change.

However, I might like modern if anyone was making modern pieces like mine.

The only thing out there is men in suits. Thugz comes close, but I think they are all carrying guns.

No one I know of is producing a road crew or construction workers or park rangers etc.

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