Keeping A Painting Journal

journal

Between a sluggish painting speed and the occasional hiatus I’ve occasionally found myself at a loss when trying to remember how I painted older models.  I can usually remember the technique I used but don’t always recall specifics like paint mixing ratios.  Late last year I finally decided it might be a good time to start keeping a basic painting journal.  There’s a number of electronic options out there, from Google Docs to a wiki (either personal hosted wiki or on a stick).  At some point I’ll probably transfer most of my notes over to some sort of taggable or sortable format but for now I’ve found it most convenient to keep a small notebook and pen next to my painting area so I can jot down notes or paint recipes as needed.

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Different Strokes: Technique and Painting Speed

Recently I’ve been experimenting with a few of the techniques that the Privateer Press painting staff talk about in their recent books.  It’s taken a while to adapt to a new way of doing things but after getting used to it I’ve been able to increase the speed I can paint a figure pretty significantly. … Read more

Glutton for Punishment

I’ve noted a few things before on my blog: I hate painting Exemplar and I’m suffering from brush burnout.  You’d think I’d pick different a different model type for my newest project.   But alas, I just started my Exemplar Errant Seneschals and Unit Attachment instead.  Sometimes I wonder if something’s seriously wrong with me. … Read more

Hardcore: Down to the Wire

With just a couple days left before Privateer Press Weekend at DieCon X here in St. Louis, I’m still scrambling to finish a few last minute figures before Saturday’s Hardcore event.  Surprise surprise, it’s down to the wire with me scrambling to finish a everything up in time.  It really shouldn’t be a surprise, though. … Read more

Basic Basing

Base WIPs

In a previous post I mentioned that I use concrete patch as a basing material.  It’s an alternative to sand that’s a rock solid way to model dirt to-scale on a base.  It requires a bit more effort than the traditional glue and sand but I think the end result is worth the extra work. The most … Read more

The Crunch Time Cometh

Hierophant WIP
Hierophant WIP

It’s already that time of year again. In a few short weeks Privateer Press Weekend at DieCon X will be upon us.  This year the event will feature another Hardcore event again – the first ever official one for Warmachine MkII.  There’s not much time left, but I’m behind on getting prepared.  This feels oddly familiar.

I have a few lists I’m tossing around to play, but I haven’t even really settled on if I’m playing the Protectorate or Legion.  The Legion models I’d want to use are already painted, but there’s still a few key Protectorate ones – like the Hierophant and Covenant – that I needed to get to.

It’s been a while since I last picked up the brush; maybe even a couple months.  Painting has always been an enjoyable hobby for me, but lately it’s always seemed like there’s something else I rather do with my free time.  Still there aren’t many chances to play in a Hardcore event, so it’s time to buckle down and get to work.

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Terraformation

Lately I’ve been neglecting my painting table – cheating on my models with a different craftform.  I put down the pewter in exchange for styrofoam and traded in my paint for some spackle.  With a little advice from Ulf of Dice-Speak and Game Fusion Studio, I’ve made an initial foray into the realm of terrain making.

Hills
A few initial attempts at hills (and Niska’s Skyplex on TV)

I’ve been painting models for years now but I hadn’t really spent any time on the terrain side of the hobby – there’s always been terrain to play on locally and I preferred painting models to fabricating scenery.

Sites like TerraGenesis have taught me the basics of terrain making but I didn’t have any real hands on experience.  But over the course of a few nights with a hot wire foam cutter I put together some basic hills.  Nothing major – and still in need of some greenery – but after I was happy with the results I decided to move up to something else I’ve been wanting to build for a while now.

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Workhorse Brush

When I upgraded my brushes to Winsor & Newton Series 7‘s a few years ago, I started paying more attention to brush care.  With the brushes’ higher cost, I wanted to get as much life out of them as possible.  For me that meant keeping an older brush around to do my painting dirty work. Before … Read more