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.
Miniature Painting
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
Switching it Up, Keeping it Fresh
To help keep motivated after spending a fair bit of time on my exemplars’ armor, I switched up things a bit and started working on some side projects. I found a couple Hordes figures I had started to work on and forgotten about, and started work on some figures for a new RPG campaign. The … 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
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
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.
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.
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.
Some Basic Brush Care Tips
I had a request as a comment on a previous article to talk about some basic brush care tips. I’m no expert on the topic but I’ve ruined more than enough brushes to know there are a few traps to avoid in order to keep your brushes in working condition as long as you can. … Read more
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