Darklands 2013 Painting Competition; Early Penda WIPS

     Hello again.
     I decided for this blog post I will talk a bit about the first, and so far only, painting competition I joined.
Let me tell you. If you every want to be humbled by the talent of other painters out there, join a painting competition. I spent months trying to figure out what miniature from Mierce Miniatures I would paint for the competition. In hindsight... I should have spent that time painting a bunch of them instead. I finally decided on Penda.
      I knew I would have to step up my game for the competition for I seen some of the talent I was going to be up against. With that knowledge I picked up a paintbrush and started.
I went over to my local FLGS to round out some of my paint and to buy spray paint. I tried something I never did before. Using two shades of spray paint; black and white.

     After undercoating the mini black and spray painting white from the top, front right to provide a point of light, I first started with painting the skin, which I have never been all that good at. I decided to do something a little different this time. I started with a medium skin tone (Cadian Fleshtone - GW), then washed it with several layers of a dark red-brown wash (Reikland Flesh - GW). After I was satisfied with the level of shadow, I used Cadian Fleshtone again and slowly blended and layered it. eventually mixing a bit of a lighter tone (Kislev Flesh - GW) and at the very end. a little bit of pure Kislev Flesh. I do like the colours it gave me. I could have blended them better overall but I liked the results.


     The hair and fur I just layered from dark to light. and the cloth and metal used simple wash and drybursh techniques. Although I may have went over board on the grey fur. I believe I used 9 different colours on it.

      I did drop him a couple times, resulting if the arm falling off and the sword breaking.. multiple times. it was an easy fix, although frusturating.

      Finally done painting him I spent HOURS messing around with lighting trying to get the perfect pictures and then even more time figuring out how to make a collage. I quickly submitted him onto the WAMP competition and eagerly awaited to see what people rated him.
      I check back later to see. And to my dismay... it was rated 5/10 (I think it deserves at least a 6 :P) I was a little dissapointed at first but after several compliments from people I got over it and realized even though he wasnt the best painted figure on there, he was certainly my best painted figure.

     In conclusion, all I can say is, I strongly recommend even new painters out there to try at least one competition. We are all generally a friendly bunch, maybe we can even offer some advice. I know I have given and received lots myself. Just don't let the skill level of some people get to you. Most of the pros have been painting for years if not decades. so do not be down on yourself if someone paints the exact same model 10x better then you. Plus, at the very least. you may win some good entry prizes ;)

     Alright, think it is time for an actual WIP next time! maybe I should try to cram some more last minute painting in quickly before I post it though, haven't painted for about a week because of midterms.

     Once again, please comment! whether a compliment, criticism or even a suggestion to make this blog better, please post.

     And a few people have asked me where the WIPS of Eric are. I have an answer! they are coming, I was painting him while writing this article. Just want to finish the colour I am working on then I will show you all :)

ThrowBack Thursday: How Far I Have Come

     Guess I should put some pictures up, with this being a painting blog and all.
     What better for a first picture than a picture of my FIRST painted mini?
     Here it is, the spider rider champion from the Warhammer Battle For Skull Pass Starter Set.

     Done laughing yet?
     In my defense, I painted this way back in middle school, when I didn't have a single artistic bone in my body.
     Here is how bad I painted the miniature...
     This miniature was simply painted in basecoats, no highlights, no washes, no undercoat, no anything. Funnily enough though, the brown feather on his head appears to be washed or highlighted. It has different colours in it certainly! nope, that was simply due to paint running into the recesses from a lack of undercoat. The light grey shows through on the raised surfaces JUST enough to make it appear almost yellow.
     Oh, I lied, I guess I did technically wash the figure. I bought black ink from games workshop, thinking it was just a standard black paint. Boy was I wrong. The paint was runny and I didn't know why. Thought it was just a bad batch of paint so I painted anyways. several layers later, I achieved a near complete coverage on the carapace of the spider. Only later did I learn it was supposed to thin and was for a technique called 'washing'.

     I keep this figure near my painting desk at all times and often look at it when I feel stuck and don't see any improvement in my painting. It provides great inspiration for me and makes me realize I have grown a lot as a painter.
     If you asked me what my favourite paint job was for any figure I have painted. Part of me would want to say this one. Part of my loves the childish paintjob and all the beginners mistakes that came with it. The other part of me would be realistic and say one of my more recent ones (which I will show you all soon)
     There you have it, if any of you have a more pathetic/embarrassing story about how they got into the hobby, please, do share! Now you guys really don't have an excuse for leaving the hobby thinking you are not good enough.

     So the title of this post is 'How Far I Have Come' so many of you are probably wondering what the answer to that is. well here is the answer. dozens of minis later with very inconsistent painting habbit (Have stopped several times for nearly a year) I present to you... Penda from Mierce Miniatures!!

     Alternatively, here is a link to a bigger picture: http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/brad7224/media/Darklands2013-Penda_zpsd31e4e4f.png.html?sort=3&o=0
     There is actually an error in the title on this link, should be 2013 painting comp.

     And, if you don't mind me bragging, I think I can claim the title of painting the first fan painted Penda. The only one painted before me was a freelance painter hired to paint the studio model.
     I know it is still not the best standard out there, but I don't think I have ever held so much pride for something I have completed before then I felt when I finished this figure. It is definitely better then my first miniature and uses multiple techniques: washes, highlights, blending, layering, even a VERY subtle directional light source (from his front left) I don't even think I notice it anymore though.
Already, I am improving past that though. Should see the improvements I have made already on the new miniature I am painting. but that is for another time ;)

Humble Beginnings

     What have I gotten myself into? That's the first question I asked myself as I sat down to start this blog.
      I will be the first to admit I know next to nothing about computers, so bear with me as I try to find my way around the interface here. hopefully over the next few weeks (maybe longer :P) this place will start to tidy up and look a little more professional. Maybe I'll add a picture or two.
     By the way, this is a miniature painting blog in case anyone was wondering!
     My goal is to post about 2-3 times a week here (once again, subject to change). Posts will mostly be WIPS of what I am currently painting. I will maybe try a ThrowBack Thursday post every week. Looking at something I have painted in my past. In fact, I have an amusing one I will try my best to get up this Thursday.
     I will also probably have an occasional review of a company, or talk about some major kickstarter running, those seem to be all the rage nowadays in our little hobby.
     The reason I have started this blog is two fold. One, I hope it acts as a stimulus for me to keep on a more consistent painting schedule. I have unfortunately slowed down with my painting and would like to speed up my progress a bit more. Secondly, I hope it may inspire some people out there who feel they cannot paint. As you will (hopefully) see this Thursday, to be frank, I started off as an awful painter. However, I like to think I have reached a standard worthy of being shown to the public. I have painted dozens of warhammer figures and boardgame figures. However, there have only been a small handful of figures that I have put my full attention into. It is on those few miniatures that my skills really leaped forward.
     I have some great ideas planned for you guys! Here are some of the posts I hope to make, just to give you something to look forward to.
1. Oct 31- Throwback Thursday: How Far I Have Come.
2. Nov 3- My First Painting Competition Entry
3. Nov 5- Eric Longaze WIP #1
4. Nov 7- Throwback Thursday: Here Be Trolls
     And that's all for now :) please follow this blog to keep up to date.

     Thanks