A cool video on minipainting trends/styles

I watched a pretty fantastic short Youtube video on painting trends that I 100% agree with. I'll link it here: 

It's not even too long, but it goes into different painting trends quite well and how they change. (I won't say 'come and go' since there are plenty of folks still painting in all of these.) Some of these trends, of course, started before the Internet was a widespread thing(Warhammer Fantasy Battle came out in 1983 or so? I think it still mentioned pre-decimal British currency, given folks playing it in 1983 might actually remember when that was last used.) 

When he mentioned goblin green bases, that was just a thing with the models being easy to see(I believe some stores had it as a rule? But you'd have to ask someone that was around at that time in the 1980s.) That was more of a base color choice, but it was a style. 

I think, of course, a problem with just about any artistic style is when it devolves to something being right or wrong. Now I of course do know that there are things in art that are objectively good to learn. Learning, say, brush control as ANY painter will help you, etc. Learning more techniques help and so on. This isn't so much speaking about that, though-it's about how certain styles come off as right/wrong/more accepted. Another part that hits home is in regards to the whole social media thing-stuff needs to look good while scrolling those algorithms. 

But the line in this video that stuck out the absolute most to me is "Knowing when you're following a trend, and knowing whether you actually enjoy it." I do think that folks get caught up in painting styles they do not enjoy because it's The Style At the Time. I managed to not get too hung up on it since I've only been painting about six months and still learning a lot, but I will say I started to fall into some of those 'cleaner' styles at first, and realized that while it was fun now and then, I wasn't sure if it was something I wanted to do all the time. When I did my first 'nastier' models, I realized that it was fun getting the atmosphere right. I totally respect Golden Demon painters and aspirants, but I remember hearing a video with Vince Venturella, where he decided to not enter Golden Demon anymore, and stated how he wanted to 'Paint things that make him happy.' And those words stuck with me. Like I definitely chafed when I heard people refer to the grimdark style as 'too messy' or by less-flattering ways, when people can spend just as much time on those models than people do with the 'clean styles.' Capturing the whole grim atmosphere between building the bases, kitbashing, adding other materials into the mix with planning and so on, thinking of the 'story' of the piece all the way down, all takes time. They just don't look as 'Typically Pretty', because they are not supposed to. (Of course, you can have a preference. FWIW, I don't think it's right if grimdark style folks talk down on, say, volumetric highlights or whatnot either. But I think everyone should just remember preference is a preference, and that's it.) 

I'd say for me, my favorite style is definitely grimdark, but that's been well-determined by now. I've tooled around in a ton of styles so far, since I didn't want to learn on 'Just One.' Contrast/Slapchop, volumetric highlighting, 'eavy metal, wet-blended stuff(this is more of a technique than a 'mini style', though, but it's fun!), I played around with TMM, and NMM and all of that. And I don't think I straight up *dislike* any of it, though I definitely like some less-I am not, for example, a huge fan of edge highlighting. It's not the amount of time it takes-I can sit there and glaze a leather cloak for ages until I think it looks cool. It's just something about it that I don't care for. 'Eavy metal is fun once in awhile, but definitely not a style that stuck with me. I occasionally get in the mood to do a volumetric piece like I did for the frost death knight. I had a ton of fun wet-blending a purple and green plague beholder. I even have a plan soon to do a limited-palette(Zorn) barbarian with NMM, just because I feel like it, and doing more of a 'sketchy/comic' style with it. I think I'm doing this musician I have lying around in an RGB scheme. Maybe with the sponge/drybrush combo, just because I'm in the mood. (I use both of those with any piece, but rarely for an entire piece, so it might be fun.) At the same time, I'm working on this diorama, doing some test parts for it, for Trench Crusade, and assembling some stuff I need to do some actual terrain for that one. (I still have the other half of my warband to finish, as well!) 

"Just Doing Stuff I Felt Like at the moment" is how I settled on painting, and most of the time, it turns out I feel like the grimdark, kitbashed style. I like taking random junk, kitbashing a model to look blasphemous and nasty and trying to get the atmosphere right. 

I dunno, I just had to talk about this a little, or I felt like doing so. Basically, paint how you want, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Probably preaching to the choir, here, and I think nowadays the community is pretty much open to a big variety of styles now; I don't see the 'style snobbery' too much these days. Hopefully it goes away for good! 

 

Via Doloris is Awesome

I'm just stopping in to say that my latest music obsession has been with this one-man band, Via Doloris. 

Gildas Le Pape(mostly a jazz fellow, also played guitar for some years with Satyricon, from about '08 to '13, if I recall?) has so far managed to compose two amazing black metal tracks. Very bleak, melodic yet cold and blistering sounding, I cannot wait to hear this whole album on March 20th. I have my vinyl pre-ordered. I knew the guy was talented, but hearing him compose this stuff is spectacular. I can't wait to hear more! 

Oh, I did say it's a one-man band, and that's true, but the album does have a session drummer-the one and only Frost, who sounds, of course, on point. If you're gonna get a session drummer, get one of the best, and he's one of the best! 

If you like that cold, well-produced 90s-vibed black metal, please check out the songs that are out so far, "For the Glory" and "Un Franc Soleil!" 

I'll definitely be doing a review of the album here. If the rest is as good as these two songs, it's AotY potential already! 

Base or Diorama? That is the question

 I've found in my mans-painting endeavors that I'm starting to get really into base-building. Like, I have to be adding lots of trappings to them. I can keep them simple for basic 'filler' minis I do(the ones I paint that can act like proxies for TTRPG enemies, or extra PCs, and so on), but even then I try to give them a little depth and more than just the token grass tuft. For my more serious minis I've been getting more and more into doing all of the grimdark trappings and so on. You've seen some of my bases as of late.

It's at the point, though, where I'm starting to ask myself "...Should I just make this a diorama, and make the base, while still atmospheric and grim with lots of cool trappings, maybe a *bit* simpler?" One can only do so much with 28, 32 or even 40mm bases; in games that have set base sizes, it starts to become trying to fit enough ONTO the base. (There is an option here, which I'll get into.) 

And it's a tough decision sometimes, because 40mm+ bases especially do give you some decent room to play with. Like, while I'm still learning(I'll always be learning), and am only going on six months of painting at the end of this month, I think I did *alright* on this base, given the 40mm room:

The recent Hell Knight.

I managed to get a cursed altar, some trench wire and a couple of poles, some boards to stand on, and so on. You do get some wiggle room, especially depending on the size of the mini, and there are ways, like elevating them, as well. 

But for the 2nd Hell Knight, I had a pretty keen idea of a base and mocked it up with some unpainted pieces and wall tack. I wanted him to have messed up some Pilgrim's chapel, so I was going to set up an elevated part with a stone wall, ruined altar, and dead priest. 

And then I thought about it. The idea was really cool, but then I thought 'Maybe I could put him on the *path* to the chapel on the piece. And then build a much cooler looking ruined chapel, with the same idea, only bigger, and actually place all three Hell Knights around it. One already has the sorta 'trench' looking base, and he could be in an area like that off to the side(the ruined chapel could well be in an area that's somewhat fortified, given the world. I can put another on a haunted looking hill near the chapel, and the third on the outside.

And this of course lead me to think: when to decide to build a diorama? I don't think there's a cut and dry answer, sometimes "When the base gets too busy" might be one time. Again, you don't always get a ton of room to work with(especially when you're dealing with something like a 28mm base.) 

On one hand, it's actually really good practice to see if you can come up with a nice plan in a limited spot, practice and a nice creativity exercise. I had a lot of fun coming up with bases for the Rat Ogors, but those were 50mm, to be fair. On the other hand, 'less is more' does come into play from time to time, and there are times where a base can take away from the model(which should be the focus.) Like, a base can be SO elaborate that it becomes the centerpiece, and I think, at least for me, this is the line I've been trying not to cross. 

The idea I had with the altar I think might've crossed that. So I opted for the idea of the 'path to the chapel'(complete with some stones that might be a road, of course some skulls and branches scattered about, and I'll add a few more bits to flesh it out), but I think that scene will be heading into the diorama. And it'll be even cooler, since I'll have even more room to play with it!

So yeah, just me musing about stuff as I figure out this painting thing. Hopefully I'll have the 2nd Hell Knight based up tomorrow, and start figuring out something cool for the first Yoke Fiend, who I'd say is sitting at about 70% done? The 3rd Hell Knight I'd say is almost halfway there. (Oh yeah, all 3 HK's are getting metal hair, just because.)

'Til next time(when I can also get away from the retro handhelds.)