The Improveometre

So, my last post discussed attending Meg Maples' Masterclass painting clinic. Since then I have been inspired and have spent a great deal of time at my painting desk. One of my current projects is a Nippon Goblin team (by Greebo). I had, before the class, painted the skin areas of one of the Oni Trolls for this team and was a little bit disappointed with it. Over the last couple of nights I decided I would start the other one and see what could be done...

Well it is incredible. The difference is overwhelmingly obvious, which the depth of shading and smoothness of blending improving out of sight.

It's a very satisfying comparison which, IMO, completely justifies the money spent on the class and the brushes I am now using.

Let me know what you think and, if you get the chance, go and enrol in one of Meg's classes before she leaves Australia (or, if you live OS, enrol when/if she comes close).

Meg Maples Masterclass

This weekend (11 and 12 January 2014) I was lucky enough to attend a painting masterclass with Meg Maples of Arcane Paintworks. Meg has worked for Reaper Miniatures and Privateer Press and has an impressive series of painting awards to her name (but not SSB Best Painted!).

The focus of the class was a techniques called two brush blending. It is not worlds away from my usual style, although it will revolutionise my painting. For 12 months or so I have been using the "push-pull" glazing method, using very thin layers of pigment that is "pushed" and "pulled" around using a lot of water. The two brush blending method, however, speeds this process up considerably, allowing a more opaque colour while still using a similar methodology. I feel I picked up the technique pretty quickly and it will definitely continue to define the way I paint.

I was also let in on a little secret that I wish someone had advised me on earlier - larger, better quality brushes are much much better. Now, the better quality part of this is a no brainer really, but I've always used relatively cheap brushes because, well, cash. But the larger part is a revelation! Meg uses a size 2 and a size 3 (that's 2 and 3, NOT 2 zero and 3 zero). I wouldn't have considered doing this is a million years, but it is actually much better. The brushes hold the paint better and you can effect just as fine detail while retaining a reservoir in the bristles that lasts longer.

Unfortunately the number 2 brush I ended up getting for the weekend was, in a word, crap. It was literally the only size 2 sable brush I could find in Adelaide (I visited five separate places) on short notice and I knew when I bought it that the tip wasn't really forming well. But the 3 was incredible (a Windsor & Newton Series 7). I highly recommend trying to use larger brushes if you don't already.

I picked up all sorts of other hints and tips from Meg, including a black recipe (my eternal bane), a methodology for eyes, a series of metal recipes and many other smaller, almost indefinable, ideas.

So, I guess I should post my work as well. The following photos are of the completed miniature that the class painted. It is a Guild of Harmony piece called Garolph, Blacksmith. It doesn't look like much, but the miniature itself is beautiful. The detail is crisp and the concept simple but full of character. I was able to complete painting the miniature itself during the class. The base was added this evening after I returned home (and was an opportunity for me to practice the two brush blending techniques at my own desk). I considered giving it a much more 'storied' base, but in the end I was happy enough with the cobblestones and I felt I would keep this one simple as an example from the class.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

If you are inclined to do such things, the CMON link is here (when it clears) and you can rate it out of 10: http://www.coolminiornot.com/pics/pics16/img52d294279f38c.jpg

Le Coq return to the pitch

Hi all

Well, I painted these guys some time ago, but I have never actually posted any team shots. I have also been using the team for the CCKUP's current Streetball league (under the name Le Petit Coq), so I thought it was as good an excuse as any to put up some decent, recent photos.

Enjoy...

What's on the bench?

After the highs and lows of Southern Shrike Bowl, I have two main ideas in my head for the future.

The first is a chaos team. Nothing particularly special about that idea, but I have got myself the amazing 3D designed Willy Miniatures team, which is just an absolute joy to behold. I have wanted to do a Khorne styled team for ages (NOT the new Khorne daemon team, just a standard chaos team) and this is definitely the set of miniatures I want to use. I'm working on a test warrior and beast man at the moment, with more details as they are completed.

I also picked up a Greebo Nippo Gobin team some time ago that I am looking at getting painted. The test goblin is almost done, although the Oni are a bit daunting, so they might not get done first. I'm thinking a red, white and black colour scheme for these little buggers, with a washed out green skin tone. I want to try my hand at some Japanese inspired material designs, will keep you updated on how they go...

Starting again...

Ahem, is this thing on?

So, it's been a while. As it turns out being a teacher, raising a young son, running a quarterly Blood Bowl magazine and so on is just too much for one person to do. So, BL!TZ Magazine is no more and I might be able to add some more posts to this blog every now and again... hopefully.

The big recent news is that I won Best Painted at Southern Shrike Bowl again... and, considering that my last post was me starting the Rift Valley Lions, I should probably note that I won last year as well.

The Lions turned out really well, although they have now seen a great deal of action and are somewhat chipped and scratched. I'll try to get some pics up at some point, but they managed to win my first foray into the City of Churches Kings United Prize (CCKUP) league, weathering a very bashy field and carving through four finals games before taking the trophy against a nasty Chaos team. They also won the Adelaide Dungeon Bowl Cup (ADBC) this year, although this one was a little bit lucky.

Since then, however, I have turned my attention to one of my old favourites, the halflings. The old White Acre Weed Pullers were getting a bit ratty and, considering the MVP from last year was a minotaur, I decided I would try for a bashy halfling team at SSB2013. Now, under SSB rules only stunty teams can take 2 star players. So I went with the two halfling tree men allowed, Deeproot AND Vladimir, the MVP minotaur. This left just enough cash for 7 halflings, giving me a team of only 11. Yes, that's right, a halfling team without a bench!

Needless to say the team build was rubbish and I finished 30th of 32 coaches, but the new and improved Weedies took Le Coq Fancier's Trophy (best painted) for the fifth time in six years. My Vlad also took out "Best in Show".

I should note as well that this year's painting field was incredibly well contested. Daniel Wallace's lizardmen team, the Teepok Titans, were amazing and came very close to tipping me off my perch. There were also a number of others who had done a great job and who deserve to be proud of their efforts. I love seeing the range of well-painted teams that inhabit SSB each year, and I hope this builds again in 2014.

Anyway, here's a few pics of the Weedies for you. I hope you enjoy.

I'd love to hear what you think of them.

SinDex

Hear the Roar

It's been a while.

This blog was always really a place to keep a track of my own stuff, so if you happen to be a follower who is hoping for many updates, many apologies. However, life is pretty busy and it just gets in the way.

However, I've recently started a new project that is fairly important to me in terms of my Blood Bowl development.

First thing's first, it is a new wood elf team.

I know, I know, you've done woodies you moron, move on! Well, I've been having issues with the Duskrunners. You see, I like to fancy that I actually have an affinity for the feminist movement. As much as what I'm doing here is playing a fairly marginal niche hobby, it is both a barrier to women entering the hobby and a poor reflection on the attitude of gamers to have such highly sexualised representations of women on a tabletop. So I've decided that the Duskrunners really should be retired. There are a whole host of pro and con arguments here, and a massive debate that could be entered into as to the importance of such stances and the way this plays in to feminisms, but suffice to say that it is a decision I've made that I intend to stick to.

The issue is that I've also made the Steelballs state team again this year and will probably be called upon to play wood elves at the AusBowl State Championships in March next year.

I love the play style of wood elves. They are my second favourite team (behind humans - and I do have a long-term human plan) and I have a relatively good record with them, but I don't think there are any good model ranges out there for them (that aren't also highly sexualised women). The lack of a good range was instrumental in my design for the Duskrunners as well, so I really needed to put my thinking cap on.

After some searching I eventually hit on a concept that also dragged in another of my favourites. For a long time I have really liked the Siringit team from Impact! Miniatures but haven't been able to find a way to build a good Blood Bowl team based on them.

And this is where the idea comes in. The Rift Valley Lions are an African-themed wood elf team. Hailing from the Great Rift Valley from beyond the blasted undead lands, the warriors of the Pridelands are not humans or elves but a strange mixture of both. In addition, they exhibit an inherited form of lycanthropy that manifests as shapechangers based on totemic tribal beasts. One such tribe has now emerged into the Blood Bowl circuit. Fast and agile, the team is built around its were-lion Roardancers, with one massive Tantor were-elephant representing a treeman.

For models I am using a bit of a mash up. The linemen are Wargames Foundry Maasai warrior miniatures with some greenstuff work to ensure they aren't just male versions of the sexualisation I was against to begin with. The catchers are similar but I am going to use GW Norse catcher bear gloves, with the thumb removed, to represent lion paw catchers' mitts. The catchers will also have a lion tail somewhere in their uniform. The thrower (I only ever have one) will be the Impact! Theja Doris miniature. The Roardancers and Tantor will be pulled directly from the Siringit range from Impact!

I've already done up a prototype miniature for one of the linemen. Let me know what you think:

I also intend on entering the Rift Valley Lions into the Adelaide-based CCKUP league. Can't wait to get some games under my belt. I'll let you know how they go.

AusBowl Star Player 2012

I recently attended the Adelaide Dungeon Bowl Cup. This tournament is absolutely amazing. It is a Blood Bowl tournament with a few twists. The rules have been play tested by a local league called the AFOUL (and were featured in issue 1 of BL!TZ magazine), the dungeons (and the beer) are all crafted by anc001, commissioner of said league, and the opponents are top notch.

I can't say enough about the dungeons. The Grand Dungeon isn a marvel. Three square feet of multi-level, 3D, excellently painted dungeon to play across.

But the main reason for this post is that, during this tournament, I was blindsided by the local community, who caught me completely by surprise when they awarded me the AusBowl Star Player award for 2012, also called the MVP.

I just wanted to say thank you (again) for this. It really is an honour and I am just glad to help. To get an award for doing what you love is just amazing, and far beyond what I expected.

Oh, and the award itself comes in very useful too:

Happy New Year Fleshling

So, it's been a while. This is largely because, over the last month or so, I have been both packing up my life for an impending move about four hours southeast to Naracoorte and have been working on BL!TZ issue 3.

However, I have been slowly painting and this little beauty is my big reveal for the new year. That's right, it's Megatron!!!

The original figure is a poly-vinal figure released some time ago that has been slightly converted and painted. It stands about 10cm high to the top of the head, so it's not particularly small, and that's a 50mm base he's on.

Anyway, hope you like...

Razorbakz #4 - a shiny new chainsaw

So, the amazing Mr Inkpwn (I think) over at TalkFantasyFootball suggested that they start a monthly painting competition (similar to what some over discussion boards do). November's category was secret weapons, and I just happened to have a mini undercoated and ready to go on my painting desk...

Here he is, the star with the scars!

If you're interested in seeing any of the other entries, head over the TalkFantasyFootball and take a look (you will need to be a member of the site to access that link though... sorry, not my rules).

As usual, any comments and criticisms are welcomed.

White Scars Captain

This is a bit of a teaser for a fundraising lottery that I will be running in mid 2012. The raffle will be for a White Scars space marine force that includes some tactical marines, some assault marines, some bikes and a land speeder. In addition, it will be led by the miniature below.

I've pulled out a few stops on this one and am really happy with the results. The NMM is something I've been working on for a while, and the skin tones on the face are quite nuanced. Comments and criticism are, of course, welcome.

The CMON link, for those inclined to vote, is here.

Elven Referee

In between my other projects, I've been painting up this figure and setting her in a small and simple vignette. I think I got this figure at SSB last year. Generally I haven't been a fan of the Shadowforge figures (that this is), but I've been doing a commission evil elf team and, while I still think the proportions are a bit out (short legs for the torsos), the miniatures have very clean lines and interesting poses, as well as being well themed. This one was actually really nice to paint, and ended up being a bit of a study in some new flesh tones for me. I hope you like it:

Light Box Awesomeness

Hellooooo!

I feel like I've been neglecting the Studio (and the Hall for that matter) recently. Unfortunately, real life has been extremely busy... but you don't care about that. Fortunately, Southern Shrike Bowl 4 was held on the weekend and, amongst other shenanigans, tomfoolery and games of Blood Bowl, the organiser Adam brought along his light box.

I've wanted a light box for a while, but it's something I haven't yet sprung for. I'm not entirely convinced we were able to get the best shots possible, but I was able to take some pics of some miniatures that are slightly better than previous pics posted.

So, I thought I'd share and see what you thought...

Oh, and how did I fare at SSB you ask? Well, 8th overall in the gaming stakes (4-0-2 record for the weekend) with the Duskrunners, most touchdewns for and, yes, best painted team. There was some stiff opposition this year though, with a number of very well-painted teams showing up and making the affair a very colourful one.

But without further ado...

Some pics of the Duskrunners, starting with my new, sculpted and painted air elemental (counts as a wardancer) "Eurus the East Wind" who, incidentally, has to have come close to tournament MVP!

The earth elemental (counts as a treeman), "Cruac the River Bed":

The team:

And Jordell Freshbreeze:

The Drakwald Ravens are not my oldest Blood Bowl team, but they are the one that I have run with for the longest, through a stretch as the Marienburg Ravens, and back again. But the old miniatures are looking a bit shabby. This is the first "test" piece for the new incarnation of the team, which will be the next generation of players. This one is one of twin daughters to the old captain/blitzer Jock "the Hammer" Hammerstein: Jacqueline "JacHammer" Hammerstein (the other twin will be Samantha "Sledge" Hammerstein). I still have to add clumps of grass to the base and some more detail (a name and number) on the base itself).

And now a bunch of models you have seen before. Some of the Razorbakz:

The sculpted Ice Vixen:

And the diminutive flings of the White Acre Weed Pullers:

I hope you enjoy them. I'll also put up a pic of another project I've been working on recently... but that's another post.

EucBowl Monster Dice - good pics

So EucBowl has been run and won and I have it on good authority that the one and only GreedySmurf, part of the Zlurpcast team itself, took home the monster dice. Congrats to Greedy, and many thanks to all attendees who had such nice things to say about them. I'm just glad I was able to be a part of this event, even from such a distance.

Virral, the Commish, managed to get some excellent pics of the dice, so I thought I'd put together a bit of a collage and post it up. I really need to get myself a light box!

Air Elemental - sculpting reprised

With the EucBowl commission finished, even though there are a few other things on the boil, I have enough breathing space to look back at my sculpting. After taking the Duskrunners to the AusBowl State Championship in March I realised I wasn't happy with the wardancers. The centaur thing just wasn't doing it for me. I started sculpting an air elemental to go with the team some time ago. I had planned for it to be a star player, but now the plan is to make two as replacements for the current wardancers.

So I have now finished the sculpt. I still need to do a little bit of sanding to smooth out some areas, but it is pretty much finished other than that. As I will be taking this team to Southern Shrike Bowl in September, I need to have her done by then. "But won't you need another wardancer?" I hear you ask. Well, no. I have something special up my sleeve for the other one...

But in the meantime, I hope you like the sculpt...

EucBowl Monster Dice #5

So, with EucBowl happening as we speak, these five dice have winged their way to Burwood to be placed on the prize table... or have been sequestered for Virral's private collection!  :)

Either way, they are finished. The final element to add to them is number five: "Fatality".

EucBowl Monster Dice #4

Well, I woke up to myself with a start the other day when I realised that Eucalyptus Bowl was two weekends earlier than I had thought! Not to worry though, I have been getting close to finishing these guys and the fourth Monster Dice has been completed.

This one is named "Tentacles", obviously as an homage to the skill of the same name. It has a little bit of a different palette to the others, I was aiming for a more pustulent and slimey feel.

Anyway, I hope you like it and, like always, please come along to EucBowl (6-7 August at Burwood RSL in Burwood, NSW) to check out the action.

AusBowl Legacy Team Snow Troll (Yhetee)

Each year the AusBowl community gets together and creates a "legacy team", with painted miniatures donated by individual coaches from around Australia and raffled off at the CanCon "Nationals".

This year Qman actually donated a mini to me to paint - the Yhetee. This is actually the best Yhetee/Snow Troll miniature I've ever seen and it was actually really nice to paint. I've gone to town as much as I can on the skin colours, using a mauve colour that is a blend between Crimson Gore and Ice Blue to add a rosy shadow. I also worked hard to produce a chipped feel to the armour plates, which is not an effect I've had much experience doing.

My favourite bit is the "orcidas" band though.  :)

EucBowl Monster Dice #3

OK, so my brushes have been running a little bit hotter than usual. Being sick and off work means there is little time (or inclination) for much else!

Number three of the EucBowl Monster Dice I have dubbed "Always Hungry", for reasons that should be obvious. With this one I tried to get as smooth a blend as I could from the white of the dice itself to the fierce red of the monster.

Just the one pic of this one (and it is my "promotional" pic too), but I hope you like how these are progressing...

EucBowl Monster Dice #2

It seems like forever since I updated this plog. You know the story, real life gets in the way. But I recently finished the big BB project I've been working on (BL!TZ magazine issue 1) and am in-between pracs for my study, so I finally managed to get some desk time with my paints.

Of course, first on my list of stuff to get done is the EucBowl monster dice commission, so here I bring you number two: "Red Card".

This one is little bit subtle in the shades around the face, with a much more human skintone than the previous one. Obviously the stripes are supposed to represent a Blood Bowl referee.