Back to basics

Today I'd like to share with you something special. Well at least special for me.
This month I statred a series of articles about basic things in our hobby: preparing miniatures for paint, priming, basic techniques and such. Apparently there is a lot of people asking about such basic things we all assume everyone knows. So if any of you finds the subject interesting, please let me know what would you like to read about, ask questions if you have any. I'll do my best to cover all interesting topics and after every part, will have a small Q&A about previous one. Of course if we'll get any Q to give them an A:)
 

First article is about preparing miniatures for paint, cleaning them, fixing issues, removing mould lines. Next one will cover priming. I hope you'll enjoy the whole serie, and even if you're not beginners in our hobby, you'll find some interesting things.

cheers
'eM

Euromilitaire is upon us!

and I'm burried in nappies... instead of paints.

And with less than a month left, I'm affraid I won't be bringing too much to the competition. So far I have only  Leon, and Capt'n Sapo, two busts finished at the beginning of this year.

I'm hoping I'll be able to finish something else, but it all depends on how much sleep and free time I'll be able to  get these next few weeks. So far the most advanced is Old Gnome bust (from War Griffon Miniatures). At this point basically only the flesh needs to be finished, rest is more or less ready.

As always I'm struggling with the skintones, that's why I tend to leave it for the end. It's a real pity, as the face is the most important part of every miniature, bust especially. And if I won't do it good enough, the whole paintjob will be, well, wasted. So finger crossed I won't mess it up this time.

For the first time I'm trying to do directional light, shining on his left shoulder, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull it off. We'll see how it looks with the face ready. Hopefully it will work.

And if I'm really lucky, and wil be able to get into 'the Zone', I might even paint something else, something small and simple. If I'm lucky...

cheers

'eM

Few announcements for the next month or so.

Just a short post to highlight some of the events that's gonna take place in London in next few weeks.
I'm hoping to attend all of them;]

1. London PB Meetup, Dark Sphere
March 23rd, 2014

I know it's the last minute notice, but maybe someone will have a free afternoon.
As previously, we meet around noon and paint/chat til 5-6ish (plus some nice lunch somewhere around).
The address is:
Dark Sphere
Arch 186 Hercules Road
London
SE1 7LD

2. Welling Modell Club 40th Anniversary, Welling, Kent
April 5th, 2014

As you can see there is a big anniversary coming for the folks from the WMC, so it would be nice to be there to celebrate with them:)

3. Salute, ExCeL London
April 12th, 2014

You can check all the details here.

4. BMSS Nationals Annual Show,  Holiday Inn, Coram Street, London
April 26th, 2014

Really friendly show in the center of London.  If you never heard of this, maybe this year is time to check it out. More info on their website.

cheers

'eM

Another London PB meetup

Finally, after long months, we'll meet again.
On the 16th of Feburary 2014, as always third Sunday of the month, in Dark Sphere.

If you feel like joining us, feel free to come by.
The whole thing will start around noon and will last till 5-6pm.
We'll be painting and chatting so if you feel like bringing your paints and miniatures that will be great, if not, we can still chat about the hobby and other stuff.

Just notice please, that Dark Sphere has moved. 
And the new address is:
Dark Sphere
Arch 186 Hercules Road
London
SE1 7LD

Tel: 020 7928 1373

As you can see from the map, it's not far from the previous venue, and looks like a walking distance from Waterloo station.

See you soon

'eM

Detolf finally pimped (even if only slightly)

Finally, after many months of thinking about it (and complaining how far the Ikea is, and how inconvenient it was to order it online, you know... so many clicks and stuff;p), I managed to get the lighting for my miniature cabinet. Of course I had to buy few more things 'by the way', i.e. sofa;], but right now I can proudly announce, that I do have some light to shine upon my precious minis.

I know, I know... it's not a major improvement, but I'm happy anyway. And it not only gives some light for my minis, but also adds nice ambient light, so it's win win for me:D

cheers

'eM

All Quiet on the Western Front

Ehh it's been a quiet month. Hobby wise even a dead month...
I did absolutely nothing.

I tried to paint but I couldn't find my mojo, so I decided I need a break. So for now my brushes and paints are simply waiting for better times, slowly covering in dust and spiderwebs in the meantime.

I had a plan to go to two competitons and I failed misserably here as well.
First one, Hussar, was in Warsaw. Not to close to where I live, but I really wanted to go, seriously. I even managed to fly to Poland, but at the time I was leaving the plane in Swidnik (my hometown) I had a massive cough, runny nose and high fever (all thanks to the awesome plain's aircon and sick people inside). So instead to go to Warsaw, I went straight to bed, and stayed there all 4 days of my visit. Trust me it wasn't fun at all. Even my mum's awesome chicken soup didn't make it much better.

The second competiton was yesterday in Gravesent, basically like half an hour from my place. I was really looking forward to this one, but with the sickness not fully out of my system I decided against it. Cozy bed was way too tempting this time.

I trully hope that this autumn's mood will change soon, and I'll be able to paint again...

Next stop - Hussar!

With EuroMilitaire behind me (photos will be sorted out tomorrow), I'm already thinking where to go next. And it looks like the next stop will be Warsaw, and 4th edition of painting competition called Hussar. Well it was called Slayer of Demons at the very beginning, but even if the name changed, the people behind the event are the same, so I just count it as one event.

It's gonna be my second time, as I was there in 2011. One of my entries did pretty well back then, so I'm really hoping I won't embarrass myself this time... Which may proove difficult, as the competition there is really fierce. As far as I know all the top Polish painters are expected to be there (maybe the group is not massive, but very very talented and skilled) plus some from abroad, so we can expect many excellent entries, and as I said, tough battle for trophies.

The show is on 19th of October 2013, as part of the “Weekend with fantasy” held in the Community Centre Rakowiec – 8 Wiślicka St., Warsaw, Poland.
Here you can find all the necessary informations about the competition itself, categories, rules, and planned attractions (i.e. workshop with Karol Rudyk, speedpainting comp). And of course galleries and reports from previous years.
So if you have a free weekend, and would like to try something new, don't be affraid and just give it go:D

And there is one more massive attraction.... the after party. And not just some after party, but a party held in a little cafe in the same building, the cafe that still keeps the feel of the 80's in Poland... A true treat for the connoisseur;] As I'm old enough to remember that time (sadly), I just felt there like a child again.

As for me, I need to start planning my entries, and I need to do it really fast;] Less than a month left...


cheers

'eM

Group photo

Not much to say to be honest.
Just a proof that I'm ready;]

cheers

'eM

Who doesn't like gifts?

Like the title says... who doesn't like gifts?? Most certainly not me;] I love receiving them, especially if they're unexpected. And today I received one:D

2 lovely parcels from Painting Buddha, containing:

• DVD set (containing 6 DVDs, some leaflets, few badges, and even fridge magnet),
• T-shirt (my size:P),
• Angron (signed by Simon Egan),
• another metal box with 'Brad & Yanet'

I completely forgot about the giveaway I won on masterminis a while ago, so the parcels were a really nice surpise for me. And I must say... it made my day:)

Below you can see what was inside the big box, and of course you can expect proper review really soon. I just need to watch the DVD first, as I need to know what exactly I'm reviewing:D

Long time no see and the workshop in Cambridge

WOW, that was a long break in posting, few more days and it would be a month;p
But even thought I didn't post anything here, this time wasn't completely unproductive. I did some painting, some new reviews that gonna be published soon, planned few more pieces, and, what's most significant, took part in my first painting workshop. Full review of the weekend, written by Redrum-Jay from Warpaintstudios,you'll find in next issue of Figure Painter Magazine soon.

The workshop was organised by The Weekend Workshop and run in a nice little shop Inner Sanctum in Cambridge and run by a very talented painter Chris Octive (aka Apa).
From my point of view, I can say, that it was a great weekend indeed. I had a wonderful time with my friends (old and brand new), painted for 2 days straight and of course learned a great deal.
I was mostly focusing on wetblending and enchancing my contrast, so hopefully my next pieces will be even smoother and contrasty;]

Below you can see few photos from that weekend, taken by our host John Harrison (aka Darkmessiah), more you can find on the facebook page of TWW

Here are photos of the ogre I was working on taken at different stages of painting:

And here photo of the same miniature taken in more controlled condidtions:

I was focusing mostly on his back and left arm and chest and must say I'm pretty happy with the contrast. Judging by results of other painters my ogre was the least saturated, but I guess that's just my style;]

Great weekend indeed - FigureWorld 2013, Oundle

It was trully great weekend. Just the right combination of chatting with friends, and strangers, admiring beautifuly painted miniatures and spending hard earned money on new goodies.
I wish events like this could happen more often than just once a year, especially in such a beautiful little town like Oundle. But, considering the amount of work that is required to organize, I guess it's not gonna be possible...
So all that is left to do now is... say massive thanks to all those who dedicated their time and efforts to make it possible.

Of course as I predicted, I didn't manage to take any decent photos, but here you can find some photo galleries prepared by other participants
FigureWorld's gallery
Model Display Product's gallery
Ross Mahoney's gallery

cheers
'eM

Figure Painter Magazine and Me

Figure Painter Magazine issue no 3 is out now. And  you can find my two articles inside.
I started the collaboration with the magazine with the previous issue, where I did a review on Andrea's lovely piece Norse Lord. This time I went a step further and next to another review (Spellcrow's Plague Prince) I managed to prepare a step by step article on my way of painting true metallic metals.

And because it looks like it may turn out to be a long-term thing,  I thought I may share it with you:)
I hope you'll like it:D

cheers
'eM

New ride arrived:D

Finally I have a decent mean of transportation for my minis!
Thx to Jon Page and his sphereproducts, now I can transport my works in a fashionable way;]

Now I'm ready for FigureWorld and all other mini related events.
And it's even airplane proof due to the custom dimentions.
Isn't it a beauty?

cheers

'eM

TwistedBrushes open for commissions

I've been thinking about that for a while now, but finally decided to act on it.
So if any of you, or someone you know, likes my style of painting, and would be interested in having a piece painted by me, just send me an email (mslusarska@gmail.com), and we can discuss things in details.

During next few days I'll prepare some more information in a dedicated part of the blog. At this point I'm mostly interested in bigger scale, 54mm and larger, busts and vehicles. It doesn't really matter if it's historical or sf/fantasy, I'm focused on producing the highest quality projects to your complete satisfaction.

cheers

'eM

Awesome blog collections

I'm constantly searching for, and discovering new and awesome blogs and websites about our hobby. Mostly by browsing known blogs and checking their 'blog lists'. And I must say sometimes I find true treasures this way. But recently I found two really awesome sources. I'm so happy about that, so I need to share my joy with you:


One is blog called The Pewter Brigade, written by Johan Kees, who specialize in historical pieces painted with oils (mostly ancient rome). On his blog you can find two really nice things. First is lots of reviews, photos of unpainted , freshly unpacked historical minis, and the second is really impressive list of blogs from our community.

And the other one is spanish 'Figure International Magazine'. I don't speak spanish at all, so I don't really know if the website itself is good or not, but their resources are pretty ipressive.
Not only do they have very long and very diverse list of blogs, but also equaly nice list of manufacturers and associations.

So if you're looking for something different than only wargaming pieces, those two places trully worth checking.

cheers

'eM

CoolMiniOrNot Annual 2011 and me

CoolMiniOrNot 2011 Annual is finally ready, and I'm happy to let you know, that my works will be published there as well. It may seem like not a big deal, but I'm quite happy anyway.
I know that 4 works may seem like not much, but in 2011 I published only 6 works.

By the way, for those of you, that skipped this part, my nick on CMON is Asha, so if you feel like browsing through my gallery, feel free to check it here.

cheers

'eM

Heavy artillery arrived:D

In order to paint Gurka (and few other giants) I needed new, better, bigger, or even gigantic brushes.
After checking the prices of W&N series 7 I decided to go for Rosemary & Co. Quality isn't bad (some say it's comparable with W&N), I don't mind longer hair anymore. And what's most important, all four brushes size 1, 2, 3 and 4 with shipping costed less than net price of single brush no 4 from W&N:D I'd say it's not such a bad price for a decent quality, especially if I'm not sure if I'll like using them:D
And I just received a parcel.
They are seriously huge...

 Here compared with W&N series 7 mini, size 0

cheers

'eM

Templar nominated;]

This is quite unexpected but nonetheless very pleasant news:
My Templar  is nominated for the WAMP Awards 2012, as one of 5 miniatures in Best Painted Historical.
Full list of nominations in all categories you can find on this shortlist, and if you feel like voting for any of the categories check Wamp Award Voting.

I doubt (judging by the competition in this category) it will go any further than this, but I'm happy anyway. And I do feel appreciated here, so thanks for anyone who decided that he's worth it:D
And good luck for everyone taking part in the competition.

cheers

'eM 

Putty and paint - new source of inspiration?

I'm probably the last person in the hobby world to discover this website, but never mind, important is that I finally found it. And I must say, so far it looks fantastic.

I'm not talking about layout (even though it's clean and nice), but the selection of works you can find there. A serious source of inspiration. And the artists you can find there are not only CMON's 'top ten' but some new faces (at least for me).
So if you have a while give it a go and check the their website putty&paint.

After quick browse through the members list I can say that the amount of historical and modelling projects gives me a huge hope to learn there a lot. So I look forward for new 'eye candy' projects.
But I must also say, that it would be nice to compete with them and find out where my painting is according to their standards.

cheers

'eM

Inspector Bombel's new Assistant

Hi Guys:D
I'd like to introduce our new family member and Mr Bombel's new Assistant.

Her name is Mila (or Milka), she's almost 5 months old and she's definitely the cutest little devil I know.
Hopefully in time she'll develop an interest in miniatures and will be a valuable help for Inspector Bombel. But for now she's just fooling around and having good time;]

So please, say hello to our little princess, and make her welcome here;]

cheers

'em