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! 

Good Housekeeping

On Tuesday I made some changes to my website to improve the overall user experience. 

1. I cut down on how many posts will be featured on the main blog page, so you should experience faster load times. Since my posts are especially picture-heavy, I expect mobile users will see a significant improvement!
2. Archived my previous blog posts organized by month as well as categories. It's hard to believe I've been blogging every Monday & Thursday for the past 5 months! While I haven't had every post ready the night before, I'm happy to say I've only truly missed one post since I started. I posted the next day of course with my regrets, and while coming up with ideas twice a week isn't always easy, I'll continue to do my best to keep posting timely & relevant content. 
3. I added a Speed Paint Gallery on my blog page that links to the miniatures I've painted within 4 hours over the last month. I also created a button that links specifically to blog posts about Speed Painting. Voila! 
4. I merged the "About Me" and "Contacts" pages. Have a question? Want to share ideas or suggest a topic for future blog posts? Feel free to drop me a line!

I have some fun news to share: I just found out I won 2nd place for my Alien Hunter on a Reaper forum contest-- awesome! It's humbling with so many talented artists out there, and I love learning new things from each one. The community I've found inspires me to keep painting. That being said, I want to take the time to sincerely thank each of you for your involvement! From brand new painters with questions to full-time professional painters sharing their tried-and-true methods, I appreciate you all-- thank you for your support and interest. As I continue to learn and grow, please don't hesitate to reach out! 

In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the weekend after a very long work trip and I can't wait to paint in the comfort of my own home. As beautiful as this stormy-and-sunny drive was, I'm glad to be back.

I'll be painting and playing a little D&D 5th edition this weekend. That's right, I finally gave in. I visited a really cool bookstore that featured games & comics-- I'll write more about that next week! However, I broke down and bought this:

We'll be rolling some brand new 5e characters this Saturday. I'll let you know how it goes! Until then, have a great weekend!

Handsy McShakerson

I started a great adventure this weekend: I started a personal training routine. I just paid off my car, which means I'll have a bit of extra money every month. My first thought, of course, was "More minis!" but since I've already amassed quite a hoard, I think I'll hold off (at least for now). As it is, I'm slowly painting through my box of Reaper Bones Vampire Package from the Kickstarter while practicing how to "speed paint"-- basically, learning how to paint faster & with more accuracy. Painting miniatures is a sedentary activity and lately, I wouldn't call myself active by any stretch of the imagination. (Though I bet Lindsey Stirling could somehow paint and dance at the same time). 

Now, there's no need to worry. This blog is not going to turn into a fitness blog and I won't post about my workouts or upload pictures of food from my nutrition plan. However, something unexpected happened when I sat down at my painting table this weekend after my first training session. I realized I had a dilemma: I couldn't paint. The curls, push ups, planks, rows, dips, and weighted lunges had my arm stabilizer muscles freaking out. I couldn't hold my miniature still, and the tighter I tried to hold it, the more I would shake. So frustrating. I had to give up and as I shuffled around the house in my mopey soreness, the door bell rang. My Amazon shipment had arrived! Perfect timing. I bought a few things on Amazon last week, including some reusable mounting tape for minis (because the 3M foam tape that I use doesn't completely come off) and James Gurney's "Color & Light".

You may have heard of James Gurney-- if not, definitely look him up! He's a prolific artist & creator of Dinotopia, a series of beautifully illustrated books. Check out a few of his Dinotopia images here. The realism he creates in his fantasy realm paintings is truly stunning. "Color and Light" was recommended by one of the digital painters that I follow and I wanted to incorporate some of Gurney's brilliance into the way I approach miniature painting. 

So far, I'm really impressed by what I'm learning and I can't wait to try out some of the techniques that will directly apply to miniature painting. However, directly applicable or not, it's all interesting! One section I'm currently reading is the "Color Zones of the Face" where lighter skin tones are broken up into three sections from top to bottom-- light golden, reddish, and blueish/greenish. Complexions subtly shift colors in each zone with the forehead being generally lighter. The ears, nose, and cheeks are in the central zone of the face, and since that area has more blood capillaries closer to the surface of the skin, it has a reddish tinge. Men with five-o'clock shadow will have an especially darker blue/green third which can contrast nicely with a warmer color painted on the lips. Fascinating! It's one thing to paint what you see, it's another thing to know why we're seeing what we're seeing. 

While a 3D miniature poses a few different challenges than a 2D painting, I'm learning how to "see" things in a different way. Mostly, I want to be able to easily visualize how light interacts with objects without depending on lamps & photos-- one of my biggest personal struggles. With more research and experimenting, I hope it will come more naturally to me soon! I know real-life examples are still important, and that combined with insight contained in this book will definitely bring me to the next level, both as a painter, and in the way I observe things in everyday life. I may not have been able to paint this weekend, but I still found a way to improve upon myself and learn some new things!