WAMP Awards 2013

Well this is a very nice surprise!
My Dark Eldar came second in the Painted Sci-Fi category of the Wamp Awards 2013. To be honest I hadn't realised that I was a finalist untill quite late in the day and when I saw the other finalists in the painted Sci-Fi category I really didn't fancy my chances at all!

Congratulations to all the winners.

Check out all the results of the WAMP Awards 2013, here.

The Finished Dark Eldar Diorama

Here are the pics of my finished Dark Eldar diorama.
Winner of the Gold Award in the Diorama category and the Slayer Sword at GDUK 2013.

You can find the Diorama on cool mini here: http://www.coolminiornot.com/342470?browseid=6858398

Preparing for GDUK

The last week has been intense with mini painting pretty much taking over my life in the run up to  GDUK but all the extra effort seems to be paying off.  

So, my Skink is almost finished and my plans are coming together when from the back of the figure cabinet something catches my eye. Those of you with good memories may recall that my Dark Eldar diorama started out as a totally different concept from the finished piece. The very first thing I painted for it was a Hellion and it has been sat in the cabinet ever since.

Because I was keeping my options open for the diorama I never based up the hellion and pretty much forgot about him when the concept moved on. But as the DE dio is finished it seems a shame not to make something out of the hellion. So with just a few days to go project Hellion is underway here at Sproket Towers. I'm keeping things simple not the least due to time but also because it would be easy to go OTT on a base in a fit of Golden Demon frenzy. 

Just as the Skink stopped me overworking the diorama this will stop me overworking the Skink. Not that I don't already have enough on my hands with all the finishing touches I've planned! 

I doubt I'll get round to posting anymore before GDUK (It's this Sunday - there's so little time!!!) so I'm planning a catch up & report after the event. In the mean time here are a few teaser pics some of which may or may not feature things in my GD entries.

Dark Eldar Diorama - Finished!

One of the early lessons I learned at art college was that it can be surprisingly difficult to get a new project started. A blank sheet (real or metaphorical) is a daunting thing. It takes discipline, and a deep breath, to make those first marks and get things started. Much the same applies to ending a creative project.

Having worked on my diorama for so long it's been been a bit of a wrench to put down the paint brushes. I've been fine tuning the details and there always seems to be one more thing to do before it's all done. The obvious danger is that rather than improving things I'll overdo or even ruin them so, with a cry of 'enough', I am declaring this project finished.

A big part of the problem is that at the moment I'm just too close to the project. All I can see are the faults and I can see lots of them! This isn't because I'm unhappy with the piece but rather it's on account of it not being perfect. I'm well aware that absolute perfection is quite impossible to achieve but that doesn't stop me trying because trying for and falling short of perfection how I improve as a painter.

This is something I go through with almost every mini I paint and It's not a problem. I just need to put my Dark Eldar diorama in the mini cabinet and ignore it for a while. Then I can move on to the next project (Chi Chi) and start trying for perfection (whatever that may be) all over again. In a while I'll be able to look at my diorama with a fresh perspective and judge more truly if any details need adjustment.


Perfect or not I'm very happy with my Dark Eldar diorama and I suspect that I'll leave well alone as it's time to move on and apply the lessons learned to something new.

Dark Eldar Diorama - Work in progress

With the bulk of the ice & snow done I've taken the plunge and fixed the Scourge minis onto the spires. I'd planed this well ahead and knew exactly how and where the minis were going but I always find this step a nerve-wracking one. With the Scourge minis in place the overall composition is really coming together and I can now work on the finishing touches. 

The Third Scourge - Finished!

Well it's been a bit of a bumpy trip but the third Scourge is finished! I needed to do a little filling on the join between the wings and the body and a few tiny tweaks to the paint job once I could see the whole thing in one piece.

This mini has been a real test of endurance for me. It's the first time I've ever painted more than one of the same thing for a project and I struggled to keep my focus and enthusiasm. The biggest thing I found to be an issue was a strong feeling of "been there, done that and now I want to paint something different". I think I'm best suited to painting one off character minis as my interest moves on much more quickly than my painting so I'm always looking to the next project. 

Having said that I'm pleased I stuck it out as I'm very happy with the result. The Dark Eldar diorama is finally ready to be assembled from all the elements I've been preparing over the last two years. 

It's make or break time for the Dark Eldar diorama!

Painting the Third Scourge Part 8

This last weekend I made progress painting the wings for my final scourge. The outside surfaces are done and I've added the tattoo designs to the inside.

Freehand decoration is an enjoyable challenge but even a relatively simple single colour design can seem a bit daunting. I prefer to mark up my design before I start to paint and in this instance I used a soft (3B) pencil sharpened to a very fine point. The trick is to go very lightly and put a few discreet marks on the mini at key point of the design. You can then join up these marks to sketch out the guide lines for your design. At this stage it's not a very pretty sight!

Next I fill in the design. I use a very dilute mix ( GW Asurmen Blue & Rakarth Flesh) for this and the result is inevitably patchy looking but thats' OK at this stage.

Now I build up the density of the tattoo by stippling on more colour. This enables me to even out the colour density while achieving a dotty texture that matches the wing surface.

Now it's time to cover up those pencil lines where they still show. Because of the stipple texture this is a lot easier to do than it would be over a flat colour. With the pencil lines gone the edges of the design really pop. 

At this stage it's time for any fine tuning/adjustment of the shading.

Almost done ... so close!

Painting the Third Scourge Part 7(a)

Admittedly this is all very subtle and you'd be forgiven for thinking I'm doing a spot the difference quiz with last weeks picture, but the inside surfaces of the Scourge wings are done! I've knocked back the veins just a little with some glazing and painted up the arms. Now the arms are painted they help to set off all the veins & stippling on the membrane and I'm very pleased with the final balance.
I've a busy week next week and It's unlikely I'll get to do any painting so I'll take a pause for thought before painting the outside of the wings and finishing off the mini. The end of the project is in sight!

Painting the Third Scourge Part 7

I've been painting the inside surfaces of the wings over the past week. I've managed to put in a fair amount of time by setting aside an hour each evening for painting and this has worked out very well.
This 'a little but often' way of painting works well for me. I like to work in stages so I can sit back and consider each step before I move on. This makes it  easier for me to balance out and match the shading and texture across both wings.  Added to this my 46 year old eyes are no longer able to hold a close focus for as long as the used to, to but let's not dwell on that!
I'm very pleased with the results so far although I think I need to knock back the veins just a little with some glazes. They look OK but are a little bit stronger than on the previous two Scourge minis. Once thats sorted I'll paint up the arms and then I can turn my attention to the outside surfaces.

Painting the Third Scourge Part 6

Last weekend's bank holiday gave me the opportunity to settle down and get some serious painting time to myself. As a result I've finished painting the body for my third Scourge.
I'm relieved to have painted the last bit of the brown under suit on this mini as I've had nothing but grief blending the colour this time around. I'm pleased with the result but I didn't have a happy time getting there! Once the arms were finished I moved on to the spear and from then on it all went a lot more smoothly, both literally and figuratively. I really got back into the swing of things and thourougly enjoyed the painting experience. It feels good to have finished this stage of the mini on a positive note after my earlier struggles.

Next I'm going to stipple another pair of wings and when they're done I can finally start to put the Dark Eldar diorama together.

Painting the Third Scourge Part 5

The Easter break was a busy one for me with a lot of travelling up and down the country to visit friends. In spite of this I've managed to have some quality painting time and as a result it really feels like I've made some progress on my Scourge mini. 
The back pack, utility belt and one of the arms are now all but complete and with so much of the base colour covered up the mini looks a lot closer to being finished. I't been the usual mix of easy and hard with the belt being a joy to paint and the arm a total pain! I'll be very glad when I've painted the last bit of dark brown on the remaining arm as the colour has been a pig to get right.
A major improvement to the ease of the task came with the delivery of some new paint brushes. I'm still sold on sable but they don't seem to last me any longer than my old brushes. This may say more about me than it does about the brushes though! This time around I've gone for a slightly larger brush size using a 1 instead of my usual 00. I've been able to do this because the sable brushes hold such a good point  and a larger brush brings the benefit of having a larger reservoir of paint behind the tip. I found that a 00 sable had an incredible fine tip for precise work but really held very little paint.

Painting the Third Scourge Part 4

I managed to get the stomach and chest painted up over the last week and what a diference this makes! Suddenly the mini looks a lot less incomplete and closer to being finished. 

This is something I should be used to by now as it's a direct result of my painting method. Because I focus on an area and work it up to a finished state before moving on to the next one my jobs often appear to progress in fits and starts. Linking up the already painted areas of the head and legs gives me a clearer feel for how the mini is going to  turn out.

Armour Amour

Painting the third Scourge part 3

February hasn't been a very productive month but when I've been able to pick up my brush and paints  things have gone well! Painting the NMM armour on my third scourge has turned from a pain into an enjoyable challenge and although the progress is slow it still feels like progress so I'm a happy bunny.

The armour on the first two Scourge minis was often resolved by trial and error. This time around I'm aware of painting the in a more organised/formulaic way with distinct stages.  I'm sticking to the same colour palette as before and using my photography of the first scourge as reference. Although I'm not going for an exact copy many of the tricky decisions about how to treat the armour have been worked out on the earlier minis. I'm able approach each area with more confidence, concentrating on achieving the effect and spared the stress of having to first figure out on what the effect will be!

Painting The Third Scourge part 2

This week I've moved on to start painting the minis legs and it's been a much more positive experience than the one I had painting the head.

Before I could start on the armour I had to tackle the under suit and initially it looked as if my painting troubles were still be following me. Working up from a base of scorched brown I highlighted by adding an increasing amount of Rakarth Flesh. The colour was good but became a little too pale and slightly dusty looking. It was (I thought) a simple fix with a glaze/wash using some of the new Citadel shade colours. Unfortunately, unlike the old citadel washes, these colours dried on my mini with a shiny finish and looked horrible! That was unexpected and a major disappointment. I shall have to experiment with washes to find where I can get the best matt finish. Luckily I had saved a small amount of some of the old washes and was able to sort the problem.

With the under suit painted I could begin painting the armour plates.  The initial highlighting is fairly speedy, working up with increasing amounts of Adeptus Battlegrey added to the Calthan Brown base colour. This acts as a sort of underpainting for the blue,grey and orange tones that give the colour palette a more nuanced feel. This stage can be a fiddly business and requires a fair bit of going back and forth between colours and tones but it's worth the effort. After that it's a matter of keeping the highlights fine and sharp.

Painting The Third Scourge part 1

I'd guess that nearly all creative types hit a bad patch now and again and the trick in dealing with them is knowing when to push on regardless and when to leave well alone.

So far painting the third of my Scouge minis has been a long hard slog. I've struggled at every stage and at times came very close to giving up on it! On a few occasions I had to quickly down tools and put the mini aside or risk doing some serious damage.

On the positive side I'm pleased with the results so far and I've managed to solve a problem I've been having matching the blue/grey tones on my Scourge minis. There are parts of this that could be better but it's good enough for me to now move on and paint other parts of the mini. Later on I should be able to review the work on the head more objectively and in the context of the overall mini. Sometimes there is very little difference between refining and obsessing!