Reaper Artist Conference Day 2

I'm back with more Reaper Artist Conference information! I love my "Best Vampire" trophy with the sculpted chattering vampire teeth conversion-- so much that I created a new Instagram account so I could start sharing videos. If you can hear it, my giggle at the end of the video is proof that I'm genuinely amused. (For some reason, the sound only works when I open the Instagram link on my phone, but not in my web browser).

While I finally have pictures of my miniature, they're washed-out and awful. I'm glad Christmas isn't that far away-- I sure know what I'm wishing for! I'm also in the process of building/acquiring a light box. I'll need to take some better pictures of him before I feature him on my Work page. I originally painted him for our Halloween-themed one-off D&D game, and I'm glad I did!

My "Best Vampire" Reaper Artist Conference trophy just makes my day

A video posted by Mocha (@mocha_minis) on

mocha_minis's video on Instagram

First up on Day 2 of RAC was "Crafting Creepy Halloween Trees" where Julie Guthrie showed us how to create trees using some wire, glue, and pliers. I love it! While I'm not familiar with basing (but I'm eager to learn), this class was a great bridge between basing & sculpting. I felt like I was able to make something creative without graduating to the intimidating green stuff. I'm also convinced Julie's hands have magic in them. Armed only with paperclip and some pipe cleaners, I'm sure she could find a way to sculpt something interesting and unique! Looking forward to using this technique to create a tree base for all the great Halloween minis I bought at the event.

Next up was Bob Ridolfi's "Crafting Your Own Graveyard Base" where we used simple materials to craft a spooky base ready for a Halloween-themed miniature. Of course, my finished base will look much different once it's primed and painted! I especially enjoyed Bob's sense-of-humor and his fun approach to what I now call "resourceful basing". Found objects really do make the best basing materials! I also had my first experience with "green stuff" and I'm happy to be learning more about sculpting & basing in small increments-- baby steps!

Lastly, Derek Schubert's "Freehand Painting Techniques" class. Derek broke down the intimidating prospect of freehand painting into approachable steps. I was able to take a photo of the demo example miniature (though it's a bit blurry). This was the largest class that I attended at RAC with attendees of all ages & experience levels. Derek did a nice job passing around examples of his work While there's no substitute for experience and practice, I'm far more likely to try my hand at this technique on one of my next miniatures! 

As with these miniature events, I found wonderful things to add to my miniature hoard. Reaper has recently come out Bonesylvanians, a line of chibi-style Halloween-themed miniatures. They're terribly adorable with their big eyes & I just couldn't help myself. Needless to say, I now own them all. I've already done some work on Gus, though he's still a work in progress. Hoping to finish him and paint a few more on Halloween! 

Reaper Artist Conference Day 1

Thanks to a series of fortunate circumstances I was able to attend the Reaper Artist Conference (RAC) in Denton, Texas this weekend. I'm splitting my adventure into two parts & I'll share my experiences on Day 2 in my Thursday blog post. So many great experiences and new ideas floating around in my head, it's hard to know where to start! 

On Saturday morning, as I made my way to Reaper HQ Saturday morning in nervous anticipation, I enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and the promise of a beautiful day (not that I'd need to spend much time outside!) 

The Reaper staff was there bright & early and the space was decked out in Halloween-themed decorations. I'm happy to say that I was able to work in several great classes both days! First up was Jennifer Greenwald's "Painting Modern Figures". I admit, my Chronoscope miniatures are the most unloved miniatures sitting on my "Shelf of Shame", a term I learned at RAC. While the figures are sculpted well, painting modern things is considerably more challenging than painting, for example, an imaginative magic staff on a figure clearly based in fantasy. Painting denim needs to be convincing, since people see it on a daily basis. Jennifer gave me some great ideas & tips for adding interest to simpler sculpt with lots of surface area to play with. Here are a few of her miniatures she passed around to the class-- I look forward to trying her ideas including painting a striped, cracked pavement base.

After that, I took a break for sustenance! Found a great little sushi place down the street where I was able to meet up with some family for lunch. Cue the gratuitous pictures of food!

Next up, Shaded Metallics with Michael Proctor! I had the pleasure of meeting Michael at this past ReaperCon where I was first introduced to his style & use of dynamic colors. After trying my hand at the NMM (Non Metallic Metal) technique, I decided that there's just as much value in painting with metallic metals, as long as you approach it in the right way. I've attempted a few TMM (True Metallic Metal) miniatures, though I couldn't seem to produce the desired effect that I wanted. His class opened my eyes to incorporating color glazes and shading applications to creating different types of metal effects. While I love taking these classes, I find it most rewarding to watch painters paint, see what they use & exactly how they use it. Here's a picture of Michael's workspace during his demo (taken with his permission of course).

This was a paint-along class and my demo miniature turned out better than expected. I tried techniques in both silver-steel & gold-bronze. Can't wait to apply my new knowledge to miniatures with lots of sculpted armor!

Last but not least was Derek Schubert's "Painting Monochrome", where I excitedly took notes on how to identify certain values and assign those values to different textures and surfaces. Derek is one of my favorite painters and I was so happy have some one-on-one time with him at the last ReaperCon. His intelligent & practical approach to painting really resonates with me. As he explained in his class, when painting monochrome, one isn't distracted by colors and can focus on assigning light & dark values to achieve high contrast in their miniature. Of course, those same techniques can be applied to colorful miniatures as well. I can't wait to try painting a sepia-toned miniature with lots of different textures.

On a side note, while recording instructors is understandably prohibited at these events (and taking photographs of them without their permission is quite rude), I focus on taking an appropriate, if not a bit blurry, picture of the table. Here, Derek brought some example minis & source materials during his class to show & share. I'm not sure why this picture makes me smile so much but it does! Maybe it's the photo of Sean Lennon and his thoughtful expression that seems to say, "Hrm, yes, it's true. Painting in monochrome is never boring."

One photo I didn't get was of my own miniature in the Halloween painting contest. Since traveling to Denton, Texas was a bit rushed, I don't have a picture of my own mini! I hope to have one as soon as I'm back. While I'll have more information & pictures about the painting contest to share on Thursday, I can let you in on a secret and tell you my great experience at RAC may have been made even sweeter after these guys were involved...

See you Thursday!

Reaper Artist Conference

Last-minute change of plans! I'm currently on the road and on my way to Denton, Texas to spend some time at the Reaper Artist Conference this weekend. More to come...

[updated] After 9 total hours on the road in the last 32, I'm here in DFW. Working remotely tomorrow thanks to my generous boss :) I'm happy to report that I'll be at RAC this weekend and enjoying a few classes & the company of fellow painting enthusiasts! I hope to see some friendly faces from last April's ReaperCon. Funny story-- since I was on the road when I heard about the painting contest, I'm having my brushes & Alucard mini shipped overnight to me. Miracle of miracles!

 Now if I had my choice (and could bend time or be in two places in once), I'd take each of these classes:

  • Julie Guthrie: Craft Your Own Creepy Halloween Tree - In this class, Julie Guthrie will teach you how to create moody and creepy trees perfect for Halloween dioramas for tabletop gaming applications. 
  • Bob Ridolfi: Craft Your Own Scenic Bases - In this class, Bob Ridolfi will teach you how to build scenic graveyard bases. 
  • Gene Van Horne: Basic Tool Making - In this class, Gene Van Horne will show students how to create just the right kind of tools useful for sculpting and converting miniatures. 
  • Michael Proctor: Shaded Metallics - Covers high-level shaded metallics techniques. If you want to excel at getting the most out of your metallic paints, this is the class for you! 
  • Jennifer Greenwald: Painting Modern Figures - Modern, as in, not fantasy guys, and not space marines. There are a few things to consider with modern figures - how to do denim. How to do guns. Since they tend to be simpler sculpts, what can you do to add interest? What kind of base do you put them on? 
  • Derek Schubert: Painting Monochrome - Much of painting monochrome is learning how to depict different materials and textures with a limited range of colors. This course covers that and the more general choices and techniques related to executing a convincing model in sepia, noir, or other monochrome schemes. 
  • Derek Schubert: Freehand Techniques - A class covering the painting of freehand designs onto surfaces such as cloaks and shields. Covers how to choose, simplify, and execute freehand designs and patterns. 

Of course, there are so many more great free classes being offered by many different knowledgeable & creative artists-- these are only a selection of what Reaper's making available. Can't wait!