Blubbernaught

Hit me with your best shot, fire away. Woohoo! No more unecessary J-cuts! Someone noticed they didn't notice! Thanks, Dixon :) I've never heard of Scenic Express or Silflor, so, there goes my tax return :| Thanks for the positive feedback, guys! :) Make that two who noticed that they didn't notice the cuts. Much smoother to watch.

Good idea, though be careful with that. I taped over the label on one bottle and the part taped over (With 'invisible tape' type tape) faded to virtually nothing, while the untaped parts of the label are more visible. Odd and not consistent across labels, but something I noticed happening.

Curiosity brought me to look up J cuts and I stumbled across a a tip 'In reality, while you're editing you probably won't be thinking "I should start a project that employs lots of J-cuts and L-cuts." As usual, the best editing is the editing that no one notices. The same applies to J-cuts and L-cuts. They should be used to subtly aid the flow of your videos and to keep your audience focused on the story you want to tell.' For myself and it seems for others who have commented the cuts are a small distraction from the focus of the videos. Maybe not the cuts themselves, but when several such transitions are done one after the other in a short span of time it becomes much more noticeable. It almost ends up looking like the video is lagging from the audio for a moment. Sort of like watching a streaming video when there's not enough bandwidth and it can get choppy and doesn't feel like a smooth flow. Not really a complaint, just an observation. I like the videos and the way the quick, to the point style. Keep'm coming.

That man looks frighteningly like 'Captain Lou Albano'. I for one, wouldn't try and take him!

Very nice. I've been thinking of making a DIY flocking setup similar to the 'flockbox', using the same basic working components as you used in this. But like many plans, it remains on the drawing board. Definitely an inspiration to see somebody actually put one together and see the results.

Mr. Burns: "Excellent." The rules are simple and straightforward enough though that they should take very little time to grasp the basics of. One of the things that I like about Mantic is that they offer the rules for the game free. Also, since essentially all the armies use the same rules it's nowhere near as complicated as that other big fantasy battles game where every faction had a plethora of special rules. I admit, a personal favorite part of mine is the scenic basing options, but it's also the part that's hardest for me get off my lazy rump and actually finish. I keep changing my mind.

Not quite local, but I've been looking to try it out with my old WHFB elves...next paint day perhaps? Not sure I want to try and learn a new war game by next paint day. Especially considering that I have no book, or army or clue. Even if "next paint day" happens to be "spring thaw". I'll gladly throw down some Frostgrave. Or Warlord even. You have still been my only opponent thus far for that game. But paint day should be for painting. We could always roll with a NEMPA game day.... For what it's worth, the KoW rules can be downloaded free from Mantic. It's easy enough to mostly pick up as you play as well so learning it all in advance isn't really that important to just try the game out.

Also, Simple Green is not really required for stripping. I've seen household cleaners of various sorts from pine floor cleaner to window/glass cleaner used.

I didn't know Faust used synths as his go to until I happened to stumble over it. I've never really said that synthetics are every bit as good as a sable brush, but I would not equate it to driving a nail with a pair of pliers. That's a little extreme, since there are some quality synthetics out there that are not absolutely horrible. I'd say it's more like having a cutting boards with a hand saw as opposed to a power saw. They both do the same thing, it's just one makes it faster and easier. I personally can't think of anything that you can do with a Kolinsky brush that you could not manage to do with a synthetic. The sable will make it faster and easier and likely more enjoyable (Or at least less frustrating). I won't deny that Kolinksy brushes are great, at least if you get a good quality one. I love mine.

I can't really name names, I'm simply referring to work I've come across in forums or painting sites and videos over the years. I've seen more than a handful of miniatures that were painted to a very high standard using synthetics or 'cheap' brushes. It's just something that I've noticed here or there. At least a couple of which were mentioned as having been painted with only branded brushes like Citadel, or army painter, or whatever it may have been in the instance. I didn't say 'many great artists paint using only synthetics'... but I have seen pieces here or there that caught my attention because they were done with synthetics or without the premium Kolinsky sable brushes. I don't follow any of the top tier painters closely enough to know what they use or do not use. It did catch my attention when browsing videos on Youtube a few days ago that 'Dr. Faust' of the painting clinic uses synthetic Kolinsky for his work. That's the only name that comes to mind offhand.

I wouldn't say it's an unpopular opinion, though I personally don't agree that they are mandatory. I've seen amazing work done with nothing beyond cheap taklon brushes. Would a fine quality sable make it easier to accomplish? Perhaps. But if an artist knows their tools and is comfortable with them then that's what matters. (Full disclosure, I don't consider myself an artist. I'm a dabbler, who slaps together tabletop grade minis and not much to higher standards). So far I've not done anything that would be impossible without a fine quality Kolinsky, though they do make some things a bit easier. Like craft paints vs artists paints vs miniature paints. Any of them can accomplish great things... but some make things easier. Kolinsky brushes are widely regarded as the best for a reason, I'm sure. I really like the ones I have, but they're just another tool in the toolbox. I've only used W&N so far and have been pleased with them. I'd happily make use of Raphael, Isabey, Rosemary, WAMP or whatever else I get my greedy little mits on.

Wamps? 8) George WAMP did a kickstarter a while back for brushes. The brushes were made by Rosemary & Co.

I once read somewhere, that you should ask the store for a small cup of water and a piece of paper to test the tips of brushes before you buy them. Never tried this at Michaels, AC Moore, or Hobby Lobby, but the place where I got the W&Ns had no problem with this. The article said that any reputable store wouldn't have issues.... Anyone else try this? I haven't tried that myself but I came across the same tip. It was in the old orange Warhammer Fantasy Battles game book (Oldhammer these days). I was browsing through a copy of it yesterday, in the section where it talks about painting your miniatures, they give the exact same tip that most reputable art shops would have dishes of water so you could point the brushes. Because 'artists take their brushes seriously' or something to that effect. I really like my W&N S7s, but I'm also trying out a Pinceton 4050 'best' synthetic kolinsky I picked up to bulk an order up to free shipping mark. It's a size 2, that holds a beautiful point thus far but has a little bit less belly than the W&N of the same size with just a bit more snap on the synthetic. I just need to get myself back into painting mode again and put it to some actual work to see how it holds up.

Piranhaconda? Never heard of it. Now I want to see it just because of the name. *checks IMDB* Oh gods, it looks terrible!....................I must see it. It's every bit as hideously horrible and amusing as you imagine. It's up there with Two Headed Shark Attack, and all those other terrible SyFy movies. Turn off your brain and enjoy. Which is also how I plan to enjoy the D&D movie when I eventually see it. Set my expectations terribly low, and if I'm wrong.. then I get to see a good movie. If not, I still have fun.

I hope they can bring some new life to the franchise and actually do it well. I'll admit to having a fondness for cheesy, horrible movies. SyFy spectaculars like Pirrahanaconda, I can happily enjoy. But I would love to see a GOOD D&D movie. I saw a mention of the Forgotten Realms, which offers a lot of history to draw on. Much like the LOTR movies, but with a lot more actually written if you take in all the novels that have been put out. That... gives me hope*. *of course, when I get excited about something like a movie or a TV show, it's usually a sign that it's going to end up disappointing me.