2016 Looking back... and forward.

Some years stand out more in the memory than others and 2016 certainly made an impact! Many sad, disturbing and sometimes terrible things have happened in the world at large and it feels negligent not to acknowledge that. However, this blog is always written from my own personal perspective and for me 2016 brought many things for which I’m very grateful.

I went into 2016 with the intention of making it a ‘big’ year not least because in July I turned 50 and celebrated the tenth anniversary of my civil partnership. Winning another Slayer Sword would be the icing on the cake – or so I thought.

I can now look back on a year where I not only won two Slayer Swords but also, In September, took early retirement from work. Neither of these things seemed even remotely possible this time last year!

I may not have had the most productive year in terms of the number of miniatures I painted, but it’s been a year of achievements nevertheless.

So what does the future hold? In the shorter term I’m focused on April, which is going to be a very busy month. There is my workshop in Copenhagen and the Salute painting competition. Beyond that there is the next classic Golden Demon in May, and I’m planning to do some more workshops this year.

The big adventure for 2017 is exploring what it means for me to be a full time hobbyist. I’ve a growing backlog of unpainted miniatures (who hasn’t in this hobby?) and some exciting painting projects planned.

I now have the opportunity to take my hobby and run with it!

Eldar Farseer - chosing a colour palette

As usual I worked out my ideas for a colour palette before I began painting but once I'd started I allowed my plans to evolve as the work progressed.

It took me quite some time to make my initial choices for an overall colour scheme for my Farseer. I considered a lot of options but in the end I decided to paint the majority of the costume in dark tones with a contrasting light outer robe. The colour palette features black, blue, red, purple, gold and light grey. This gave me some bold colours and strong contrasts, both light/dark and warm/cool, to experiment with. In addition both black and white are colours I tend to avoid using so, by choosing to work with them, I’d set myself a little challenge.

I used black as an overall base colour for the scheme. Although I first learnt to paint minis with a black base colour, it’s been many years since I’ve worked in this way. I used a mix of GW Abadon Black, for good coverage, and Scalecolour Flat Black, for a matt finish.

The first part of the mini I painted was the inside of the robe and straightaway I found myself struggling! The black base colour really threw me as my colours behaved very differently from what I'd become used to. Colour is relative and colours that would have been vibrant on a light base looked chalky and washed out on a dark base. After this initial set back, I gradually built up a more pleasing intensity in my colours by layering them. In addition I would have had an easier time blending my colours into a black base if, rather than using a pure black, I had mixed a little of my colour into the black base.

For the black areas of the Farseer’s costume I used Dark Sea Blue in my mix. This gave a subtle blue/green tone to my blacks and tied it in with the cool elements of my colour palette. Black can be highlighted with a straightforward grey tone, but the addition of a little colour adds a lot of interest to what could otherwise be a rather flat and boring colour.

The use of black in my palette helped me to create a darker and moodier feel, more so than I would normally achieve. This is exactly what I wanted as I think it suits the nature of an Eldar Farseer. However the palette needed some contrast and the Eldar are not all about darkness!

My initial intention had been to use white for the outer robe but I quickly rejected this as the scheme developed. White would have been too strong a contrast for the overall feel I wanted. I chose instead to use a light grey, which felt right both in terms of contrast and as a colour choice for the sometimes ambiguous Eldar.

The obvious colour choice seemed to me to be a cool grey but I decided to experiment. One of the basic rules of colour I was taught at college was ‘never mix warm and cool grey in a design’. For years I never questioned this until I was required to create a design in an Art Deco style. After some research and experimentation I discovered that the best colour scheme for the job used both warm and cool grey. Under the right circumstances warm and cool greys can be used together to great effect.

I decided to attempt a warm/cool grey contrast on the outer robe. To do this I used warm greys in the shadows and cool greys in the mid tones and highlights. It took a lot of going back and forth between the tones to get the balance right but I’m delighted with the result!

The colour contrast needed to be kept fairly subtle to work but it adds a lot of interest to the otherwise plain outer robe. I’ve also incorporated a subtle stippled texture to contrast with the smooth armour. In addition by using Games Workshop paints on the outer robe and Scale colour on everything else, there is a pleasing contrast between the matt finish of the inner robes and the soft sheen on the grey outer robe.

Golden Demon: Enemies of the Imperium

Yesterday felt rather special and it caught me by surprise! I was hoping like mad to get a trophy for my Farseer and was delighted that it won Gold. But when I saw who the other Gold winners were, and what they had won with, I tucked my statuette under my arm so I would have both hands free to applaud the latest Slayer Sword Winner.

I honestly didn’t expect to hear my own name at that point and it still hasn’t quite sunk in!

It makes me think back to my 21 yr old self, entering the first Golden Demon in 1987 with no idea of the journey he was about to go on. I’m extremely proud of the swords and trophies I’ve won but way above and beyond that I feel grateful for all the friendships and experiences I’ve had as a result of my miniature painting hobby!

Please forgive the cloying sentiment but I’m a bit tired and very over excited. Normal service will be resumed shortly.

Eldar Farseer

The Farseer is finished and in the end I had plenty of time to get everything done in time for Saturday’s competition. I’ve really enjoyed being able to turn this project around in just a few weeks and it served the purpose of getting me into a steady routine very nicely.

It’s also given me the chance to try a few things I’ve been meaning to have a go at for quite some time. Aside from the use of black in my palette I’ve tried object source lighting for the first time.

The base is inspired by something that Roman Lappat did over on Massive Voodo. As soon as I saw what Roman did I wanted to try it myself and this project felt like the perfect opportunity!

Eldar Farseer - Conversion and Construction

I wanted my Farseer to be levitating with both feet off the ground. My plan was to take the Farseer’s torso and fix it to the legs from the Harlequin Solitaire to create the dynamic pose I desired.

The first stage was to do a rough test fit to see is the idea was even possible. For this I held the parts together with Blutack. From my test fitting it seemed clear that the concept would work and the parts were, with some serious trimming, compatible.

I removed the mould lines with a combination of scraping and sanding. It’s a fiddly job, but it’s essential to take the time and effort to get it done right. The discovery of a missed mould line once you’ve started painting will result in a world of pain!

With the parts cleaned up, it was then time to trim them to fit together. In this case that involved carving away a quantity of plastic from the inside of the Farseer’s outer robe and the Solitaire’s backside. It’s best to go slowly and carefully with this sort of work. Gradually shave away the plastic a little at a time while making frequent ‘test’ fittings. You want to avoid removing too much plastic. Once I was happy with the way the parts fitted together, I sanded the carved surfaces to a smooth finish. This was especially important on the inside of the long robe, as this previously concealed area will now be visible.

The parts were glued together using Humbrol’s plastic glue. I allowed plenty of time for the joins to set after I attached each part. Once all the parts were together, I let the glue fully harden overnight. This is an important process as you want a strong bond between the various parts. They will need to hold up during the next stage, which is gap filling and more sanding.

In the case of this conversion there weren’t too many gaps to deal with. However the waistline, where the parts from the two minis join, needed some attention.

I always take my time on the preparation of a mini. I find it tedious because I want to get on with the painting. But good prep work will enhance the finished mini just as bad prep will spoil it.

In order to achieve a levitating effect I needed to find a way of supporting the mini above the base. As GW have developed their plastic minis they have become increasingly bold with the poses and many of then, like the Solitaire, have a leaping aspect with a cunningly contrived point of attachment that leaves the feet free from the base. I needed to achieve something similar.

I had already given some thought to this when I was working on my Dark Eldar diorama and one of the options I’d considered provided a solution for my Farseer. I decided to create a long trailing sash that would act as a support for the mini. To do this I needed a material that was strong enough to support the mini while thin enough to be convincing as a sash. Brass sheet provided the solution with the added advantage that I was able to cut it with scissors and bend it to shape.

Work in progress

So, here I am three weeks into my new life and I’ve been conspicuous by my absence.

I’ve actually been very busy getting a feel for how I can spend my days and, most importantly, pace my painting. I’d planned out my painting projects for the next few months but, of course, things change and I’ve decided to adapt my plans to new circumstances.

I need to go to Nottingham to pick up my minis from Warhammer World and so I thought I might as well go there when an event is on. With ‘Golden Demon: Enemies of the Imperium’ set for November, it was a bit of a ‘no-brainer’ as to when I should plan my trip. Of course there was no way I could enter the competition as I’d nothing ready and not enough time to paint anything … but then again.

I began mulling over the prospect and possibilities of ‘having a go’ at getting a mini ready for November 6!

I saw it thus:

• I know I can turn a single mini around in four weeks. At that point I had seven weeks before the competition. For five of those weeks I would be ‘retired’ from work. 
•  A short-term, focussed project would be a great way of establishing a regular and productive painting routine as I embarked on my adventure as a full time hobbyist. 
•  I‘ve had the idea and parts for an Eldar Farseer conversion for some time and it fits the ‘Enemies of the Imperium’ theme. 
•  I’m going to the event anyway so I might as well have a go at painting an entry. 
•  I had planned to see if I could do the Farseer for the ‘Classic’ Demon in May. If I can’t get him ready in time for November I can still take him along in May as originally intended. 

So the Megaboss is on the back burner (again) and project Farseer is go!

At this point I’m well into the project and it’s going well although I find that my painting days go by very quickly. It’s true that time really does fly when your having fun!

I’ve been recording my progress on the Farseer and will be posting in more detail later. For the moment I’m thoroughly immersed in my hobby and enjoying every moment of it.