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

Back from the 'dead'. Hopefully for good this time.

After months without the brush I finally felt like I'm ready to go back and paint with pleasure and some consistency. Well almost without the brush, I tried to paint from time to time, but it wasn't very successful. So right now after a few days with painting I really hope the 'dry spell' is over and I'll be creative again.

Because I'm not really a fan of preping miniatures, you know cleaning them, assembling, priming... Especially priming. I use Mr. Surfacer 1200, which smells really nice, but still is not the healthiest thing to inhale, so I need to use a mask and all that stuff, and it takes time... you know.
Well anyway, I decided to prepare bunch of miniatures, prime them at one go and be over with it for a while. Below you can see the minis I chose to be painted next. As you can see, mostly busts and bigger scale. I'm not quite sure if I knew what to do with 28mm mini right now:D

At this point, the minis are all primed and 'preshaded'. Because I use light gray primer, I couldn't just use white paint from the top to mimic zenithal lighting, it wouldn't be wisible enough. So first I applied a fairly diluted, dark gray paint from the bottom (+/- 45 degree), and then again diluted white from the top (+/- 45 degree). Thanks to that I can see much better lights and shadows on my miniatures, which should help me to build the volumes. The darker and brighter areas will also look a bit different when covered with paint, wihich is an additional help to the contrast.

And here the last step of my work with airbrush. Of course if I had all colour schemes planned out already I could do much more, but I'm still hesitating, so I did only flesh parts. Here again I applied first lights and shadows, but rest of the job will be done with the brush.

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...

Gallery - The Veteran

Another finished piece, medieval knight bust from JMD miniatures, which I called The Veteran.
Due to some issues with the sculpt I decided to add some scars on his left cheek to hide some of them.

cmon

pnp

cheers

'eM

Gallery - Da Rock

Final photos of my orc bust ein Stein (Da Rock).
I've been posting so many wips from this project so there is really not much more to say about it. You can always check out earlier post about this bust, to see how it was shaping up.
I entered this bust into the EuroMilitaire competiton last weekend, in Folkestone, where it managed to get Silver in Fantasy Bust category. I must say I'm pretty happy and proud.
I hope you like it.

cmon

pnp

cheers

'eM

Euromilitaire 2013 photos, reports

Well it took me a bit more time than I expected, but finally I managed to gather together some photos and videos from last weekend.


Photos taken by me:
Part1
Part2
 
Euromilitaire - Best of Show, posted on PlanetFigure by Paco
Alex Long's gallery
Mario Delgado's gallery

Smudger1960 photos posted on PlanetFigure:
Part1
Part2
Part3
Part4

And some facebook galleries.
I hope they will be visible for everyone, not just for friends, but if that's the case, I'm sorry.
John's fb gallery
Pekka's fb gallery

Here you can find a proper report from the show done by Painting Buddha, Michael. And of course his photo album.

And a bunch of youtube videos published by:
Cursed Monkeys
Mr  Bob's build (flats)
Mr Bob's build (figures)
Mr Bob's (armour)
jamesbritton1

enjoy

'eM

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