03419 Vaeloth, hellborn paladin (as seen in WIP): sculpt & paint Derek Schubert

[dks]

I'm not a sculptor. I may do a mod here and there but for the most part I only paint (and not even that well). I have learned my lesson, I cannot compete against pro sculptors for Sophies. I won't ever enter the open again. Only the painters division for me from now on.

:(

 

After further thought, I'm still having trouble figuring out the reasoning behind this post. Please help.

You're self-aware enough to know that you don't paint or sculpt well, and yet you seem genuinely disappointed (without a winking or sarcastic emoticon) that you didn't win a Sophie Trophy. If you peruse the Show-Off forum or the Inspiration Gallery or the galleries of past ReaperCon entries, you can see work by many strong painters/modellers who aren't "pro sculptors" or members of Reaper's artist team. (...yet. @Duliniel happens to be one of the best.) Not all of those strong painters attended ReaperCon, not all of those who did attend had entries for the Open category, and not all of their Open entries were Reaper models (eligible for Sophies), but can you say honestly that you didn't expect the Open category to include at least three other Reaper entries that the judges would consider to be better than yours?

If you're in it to win a Sophie (in Painters, if not in Open), post a Show-Off of your entries and let's figure out what you're already doing well and what you can improve.

 

Analogies are never quite right, but... I play bass guitar pretty well and I enjoy doing it, but I know that there are many bass players in my city alone (pros and experienced amateurs) better than I, so I wouldn't expect to win a bass-playing contest and I wouldn't be disappointed at not winning. I would still enter if I could get recognition for my current best performance and I could get suggestions to improve, as is the case with the painting contest at ReaperCon. If, however, I didn't trust the judges or I believed that there were no objective standards of quality (even in technical ability, recognizing that styles vary), I just wouldn't enter.

 

Derek

[themudhead]

Shaka, when the walls fell.

 

Open: Presentation and Workmanship gets you 45% lousy score...

Painters: Presentation and Workmanship gets you 10% lousy score...

 

Homer said, "Pfft. Facts. You can use them to prove anything. Facts are useless."

Homer also said, "Kids, you tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is, never try."

 

 

Hannibal Lecter, his jail open.

[Duliniel]

 

(...yet. @Duliniel happens to be one of the best.)

 

 

 

Aw, thanks! See me blushing:

[Midnight Lurker]

Shaka, when the walls fell.

 

Open: Presentation and Workmanship gets you 45% lousy score...

Painters: Presentation and Workmanship gets you 10% lousy score...

 

Homer said, "Pfft. Facts. You can use them to prove anything. Facts are useless."

Homer also said, "Kids, you tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is, never try."

 

 

Hannibal Lecter, his jail open.

 

Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they will be yours.

 

 

[themudhead]

Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they will be yours.

 

Not arguing here. Just some recognition considering Clint Eastwood claims, "Man's got to know his limitations."

 

Anyway, I think we've gotten away from the topic of the post and I will be PMing DKS anything further.

 

You are a great painter DKS and a great sculptor.

 

That'll be enough out of me. In here.

[sh007er]

Wow! That's all I can think of at the moment! After reading the whole step-by-step in the Works In Progress section, I certainly have had my eyes opened to miniature painting! Been playing Pathfinder for a little while now, after just learning D&D, and my friend and I decided we would like to paint our own miniatures (been borrowing a couple). (We ordered a couple this week) I always thought it would be a fun and hands on hobby, but I had no idea how in depth it is!!! Wowwwww. I'm now torn between apprehension of such an undertaking as learning to paint these, and excitement about how really amazing it is and can be... Now I really want to try this! (this is my first post btw xD) I don't even know where to start!

[Dodson]

Shooter,

 

Just understand that Derrik is a master painter. He is incredibly gifted and talented at painting. The rest of us work towards achieving the level of Derrik and the rest of Reaper Painters, but most people are not Michelangelo. Don't be intimidated with miniature painting at all. I started with a basic understanding of color theory, aka I had seen a color wheel in grade school. Now I understand warm/cool and complimentary colors etc. You'll start off with base coating, washes, dry brushing, and metallic paints before transitioning to wet blending and non metal metallics. My goal is that each piece I paint looks a little better than the last, and slowly incorporating new techniques to expand my skill set.

 

I would suggest starting by getting a few minis from Reaper and a few of the basic paints. Order a flesh triad, a few various color triads, and some metallic colors. Oh and grab two of the Reaper Kolinsky brushes, #1 and #0 probably.

 

Search the forums for advice on priming (very important) and base coating. After that just go have fun and practice!

 

There are tons of great posts on forums for new painters, and great people here that can answer any and all questions. You've found an amazing home for miniature painting.

[DixonGrfx]

I always tell everyone new to painting minis buy some plastic army men from Walmart. Prime them like you would for a metal mini and practice new techniques on the disposables before painting on your expensive metal minis. It can take away allot of the apprehension you can get when first starting.

 

Have fun and welcome to the hobby Shooter!

[sh007er]

Yeah, Dodson, it's quite apparent he's been at it awhile and is rampant with talent! Thank you for the pointers on paints, brushes and info. That's just the type of starting point I was hoping for. I wouldn't have thought of the army men idea either, @Dixon. Thank you as well, and I appreciate the welcome, guys.