Dirt, damage and decay - weathering a Kastelan Robot.

I am pleased to announce I will be back at Element Games in Stockport with another masterclass on the 23rd and 24th May 2020!!

The chosen model for this two-day master class is an Adeptus Mechanicus Kastelan Robot from Games Workshop. There will be an emphasis on the techniques I use to paint textured damage and corrosion over a variety of surfaces and materials.

Topics & techniques to be covered will include:

• Assembly and preparation including the addition of real surface textures to a model;
• Priming a model and choosing a base colour;
• An overview of contrast and colour theory, and their application to creating a successful paint scheme;
• Painting volumes and forms;
• Painting true metallic metals;
• Creating and enhancing painted texture - stippling, dry brushing and freehand textures;
• Weathering effects including battle damage, corrosion and staining;
• Adding finishing touches and special effects to a painted miniature.

For more information and to book a place please follow the link to Element Games. 

Sproket's Troggoth Masterclass - January 25th & 26th 2020

The Troggoth Masterclass has proven to be my most popular painting class so I’m delighted to be returning to Lead Belt Studio in Nottingham, to run it once more! This will be the last opportunity to attend my Troggoth Masterclass before I announce a new workshop in 2020.

For further details and booking info go to the Lead Belt Studio website.

Sproket did Troggoths in Nottingham.

I can’t believe it’s been almost a week since my Troggoth workshop in Nottingham, how time flies! The run up to the weekend was busy as I checked through my workshop notes making sure that everything was still up to date and relevant. Even a tried and tested workshop needs to be kept current and this was only the second time I’d done Troggoths. Having said that it’s become my favourite workshop to run because the Troggoth models are perfectly suited to the topics I like to teach.

On the Friday before the workshop I was able to indulge in a long held wish. I finally got to see the Slayer Sword Winners board at Warhammer World with my name immortalised in glorious wood! It was something I’d never got round to seeing for all the years it was on display with my 1990 win fourth on the list. When I won my second Sword in 2013 I thought my chance had come and, even better, I’d have my name at either end of the list. But before I could manage to get to Warhammer World the boards were removed as part of a refurbishment. It’s an unimportant thing really but I felt gutted! So I was delighted to hear that the boards were back and updated so that all five of my Swords were there. I know that gloating is not an admirable quality but I did allow myself a few moments, after all it’s been a long wait.

Saturday and Sunday were the workshop days and I had a full programme of teaching to get through. It was a busy two days for all and the time flew by incredibly quickly. That was helped in no small way by the venue. Lead Belt Studios is a fairly new venture but the venue and set up were ideal and facilitated a friendly and informal atmosphere that added a lot to the experience. On Sunday, in particular, with everyone relaxed and in full swing, there was a lot of (mostly) hobby related chat.
I’m not going to go into great detail about the workshop myself because Ross over at the Fauxhammer.com has written down his own impressions of the weekend. He has said some very nice things about me but my main reason for sharing (honest) is that I think it’s more useful and interesting to get the views of a workshop attendee rather than my own.

Rockgut Troggoth – Part 3

Getting back into the swing of things can be difficult after taking a break from painting. Although I’ve been busy sculpting that hasn’t actually helped because the mindset is very different. As a result I’ve had a frustrating few days trying to warm up my technique and get back into a regular painting routine. At first things did not go well! My brush control did not come straight back and I had to re-familiarise myself with the colour palette I‘m using on my Troggoth. Thankfully I’m experienced enough to have expected such troubles and knew that the cure lay in perseverance. By sticking to a steady routine of two to three hours painting every day I’ve managed to work through the difficulties and get my painting mojo back!

I chose to hold off from finishing my Troggoth back in June so that I could use him in my forthcoming Nottingham workshop. He will help in demonstrating the later stages of the painting process, but that meant I would need a new model to demo the early stages. So, as well a getting back to painting, I’ve been making up another Troggoth. I’d forgotten just how versatile the kit is and all options can be a bit overwhelming. But this time I’ve decided to keep it simple and build a ‘basic’ weapon-free Troggoth.

I did this so I would have an uncomplicated demo model but I’m actually very taken with the result. As always preparing a model for painting is my least favourite part of the process and the Troggoths require quite a bit of work. Thankfully there is nothing too fiddly and all of the filling could be done with liquid filler, which made life a lot easier! Once the seams were sanded I gave the model a coat of grey primer and checked it over for any gap or flaws in my filling. This is a bit of fuss and bother but well worth the effort because any gaps, mould lines or seams that you miss at this stage will cause you no end of trouble later on!

Sproket does Troggoths at Element Games.

The last month has seen me the busiest I’ve been in a long time with Golden Demon at Warhammer Fest and my Troggoth workshop in Stockport. Having said that I’ve just had a quiet week to take stock and make some plans for my Nurgle demon tank, which is finally seeing some activity (at long last!). That will be the topic of my next post.

For the moment it’s time to look back at my Troggoth workshop. Rather than rolling out something already prepared like my Plaguebearers ‘contrast’ workshop I’d decided to focus on a newer model. This certainly made for more preparation but I think it’s important to keep things fresh and not fall back on old favourites too easily.

In truth I had a few misgivings about using Troggoths for a workshop! From the painting perspective I was confident that they would be a successful subject, but the new Troggoths require quite a bit of construction before you can get down to the painting. While I hoped that participants would be able to arrive with a Troggoth pre-assembled and ready to paint, I assumed that not everyone would have the time or opportunity to do so.

Such proved to be the case but I’d factored some flexibility into my schedule and by lunchtime on Saturday everyone was painting. By the end of the day all the Troggoths were at roughly the same stage. This is a credit to all the participants who put some serious effort into their painting and kept the pace up over both days!

Painting was at the core of my workshop and the Troggoths proved to be an even better subject than I hoped they would be. With widely differing front and back sides they provide the opportunity to explore a range of forms, volumes and textures. They also pose a challenge with regards to the transitions between these contrasting areas. Best of all the Troggoths are large enough that there is a good amount of surface area for a painter to get to grips with all the challenges posed.

I prefer participants to be comfortable working at their own pace but I think it was a testament to their dedication that, by the end of play on Sunday, we had a remarkably consistent line up of Troggoths. Everyone focused on slightly different aspects of the miniature but I had the pleasure of seeing real progress in all cases. I might have had my doubts beforehand but the Troggoths are a definite winner when it comes to workshop miniatures!

More Troggoths!

I’m very happy to say that my Troggoth Workshop looks likely to be making a swift comeback. Final details are awaiting confirmation but I can give a heads up that, all going well, I will be running the workshop plus an evening presentation ‘Top Ten Tips, Tricks and Techniques’ in Nottingham on the 28 and 29 September. I will be posting more details ASAP!

Comming soon ‘Sproket does Troggoths’ Workshop at Element Games June 1 & 2

Golden Demon may be all done and dusted but there’s no time to ease the pace as I’ve gone straight into workshop preparation mode! My ‘Sproket does Troggoths’ workshop will be running on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd June at Element Games in Stockport. There will, of course, be the chance to explore the painting of textures and ‘life-like’ flesh tones but these models also offer the chance to get to grips with painting volumes and forms in a way that many smaller minis don’t.

In addition I’ll be presenting my ‘10 Top Tips Tricks & Techniques’ on the Saturday evening. This is a three hour seminar where I reveal, among other things, the secret of the microbead and the art of making professional looking labels for your display plinths.
Tickets are available on the Element Games website.

https://elementgames.co.uk/ev…/sprokets-painting-masterclass

Exploring contrast in miniature painting

I’ve just got back from a thoroughly enjoyable time teaching my second workshop at Element Games in Stockport. It was great fun but after 18 hours on the go, plus the five hour drive each way, I’m taking a couple of days to chill!

Understanding the importance of contrast in miniature painting and taking control of it is vital. Over the course of the weekend we examined different types of contrast, degrees of contrast and comparative contrast with regards to painting miniatures. Contrast is the foundation of every paintjob and it helps to create a focal point, impact, visibility, character and atmosphere.

While my workshop contained plenty of theory and demonstrations, I like to get everyone painting their own miniature as soon as possible! The aim was not to be going home with a finished miniature but to gain some useful theory, techniques and, most importantly in my view, experience. Painters can then build upon this experience and apply it to their own projects.

The focus for Saturday was on the use of tone and colour to create contrast.

We looked at:

• ways of establishing global lighting/contrast on a painted miniature

• colour theory and different types of colour contrast

• how tone and colour can be used to create an effective colour scheme.

On the Saturday evening I delivered a seminar titled ’10 top tips, tricks and techniques’. This was an illustrated presentation where I discussed some of my favorite ‘tricks of the trade’ and demonstrated how I had applied them to my own projects. In a new development from last year, Element Games live streamed the seminar via their Facebook page.

During Sunday we continued to develop the colour schemes we had created and explored other types of contrast using various techniques and materials. This included:

• painting texture and detail

• True metallic versus Non metallic metals

• Surface finishes - matt/gloss/satin

• a highly worked versus loosely worked finish and using this contrast to create a focal point

• adding textures and special effects to a painted miniature.

We rounded the weekend off by looking at ways of bringing together the different types of contrast on the same model to achieve a balanced effect and create overall impact.

I was impressed to see how thoroughly everyone committed to the weekend and applied themselves to the exercises I set. One of the most rewarding aspects for me was to see the total variety of colour schemes and types of contrast that the painters had created! No two Poxwalkers were alike but all of them utilized the aspects of contrast we’d discussed.

2017 Looking back... and forward.

I caught a cold over Christmas (who didn’t this year?) and suffered a flare up of my asthma. So my painting motivation has been at an all time low for the last few weeks! Such is life and I’ve learned to go with the ebb and flow of enthusiasm for my hobby. Rather than beating myself up over my lack of progress, I can see that it all tends to even out over the long term.

As I’ve begun to feel better (but not up to painting) I’ve spent a little time on this blog replacing some of the missing pictures. It’s just as much of a slog as I’d feared, but I’ve worked my way back to the end of October 2014 and the start of Gutrot Spume!

It’s been quite nostalgic to go through my old picture and it’s heartening to see how my painting has continued to develop and, I hope, improve over the last few years. As I say in my bio on this blog, ‘there is always something new to learn’.

All this nostalgia reminds me that it’s time to look back and review the past year! Overall it feels as if I’ve been less productive in terms of finished miniatures especially as I’m now painting ‘full time’. However while this is true it’s not the whole picture.

The first half of the year was dominated by my workshops and the necessary preparation they involved. So when you factor in the Plaguebearers I painted ready for Copenhagen, my output is on a par with previous years.

This greyscale Plaguebearer was painted for my contrast workshop in Copenhagen.

My three workshops, in Copenhagen, Stockport and Hull, were a huge and thoroughly enjoyable part of my painting year and I’m looking forward to developing this side of things in the coming year.

Contrast in Copenhagen

Textured NMM in Stockport

Monster Flesh in Hull

2017 saw me finish three projects: The Orruk Megaboss, The Abyssal Warlord and the Death Guard Chaos Space Marine. In addition to these, and the aforementioned Plaguebearers, I’ve put a fair bit of work into the Akito bust and made a tentative start on my new Nurgle Predator.

I think the three finished minis represent a very distinct phase in my painting. This year I’ve explored and developed my approach to painting contrasting textures and that’s very evident in my work. I feel that, over the last year, I’ve greatly increased my range in this area. That’s something I’m especially pleased about because I think it’s bridged a gap in my skill set. Not so very long ago I was all about smoothness!

I’ve enjoyed continued success in painting competitions. They remain a great motivator to improve my painting and help to give my painting year some structure. Salute 2017 saw me take home a Bronze for my Abalam bust. The Golden Demon Classic in May saw me win a Gold in what was the most strongly contested Golden Demon I’ve attended! But it was the Warhammer 40,000 Open Day in November that gave me my greatest success with a Gold and my fifth Slayer Sword. I’m very proud but no one gets anywhere by resting on their laurels so I’m going to have to keep on my toes and keep pushing myself to grow as a painter!

On the personal side, I took myself in hand this last year and made a major effort to improve my health. Over the last few years I’d become quite seriously over weight for someone of my height, or lack of it, and my blood pressure had gone through the roof as a result. I got my diet under control and began to exercise regularly. By August I’d undergone quite a transformation having lost 44 pounds and ‘found’ a full head of hair! Most importantly my blood pressure is now good for someone of my age.

These photos are, give or take a week, taken one year apart,
it's quite a shock to see exactly how much I've changed!

So what of the future? As I said earlier I’m looking forward to further developing my painting workshops. I shall be returning to Element Games for my ‘Contrast in miniature painting’ workshop on the 2nd and 3rd of June and beyond that I’m looking into running a series of workshops by myself in Southampton.

On the painting front I have Akito to finish. This project continues to challenge and stimulate me, as it’s so different from anything else I’ve ever painted before. I’m looking forward to seeing Akito finished, hopefully in time for this year’s Salute.

Once Akito is done I will turn my attention to the 2018 Golden Demon season and consider my approach this year. I’d like to work on some long-term projects, as this is where I do my best work. But for 2018 I will probably try and get a couple of character minis painted and I already have my eye on some likely candidates.

In the much longer term there is the new Nurgle Predator and the recent release of a plastic Great Unclean One by Games Workshop has raised some very interesting possibilities and further fueled my enthusiasm for this particular project.

Although my plans for 2018 are a little vague, the year feels full of possibilities and I’m keen to see where it will take me!