2012 CS Challenge Wrap-Up: Part 2

What a ride.

I started the 2012 CS Challenge to fill the gap left by the completion of my larger-scale painting projects. I had no idea just how clean the slate would get! 

The final CS Challenge models of 2012 are below for your perusal.

Dark Eldar: Drazhar, Master of Blades

Skorne: Hexeris

Warhammer: Adventurer

Orcs: Limited Edition Warboss

Dark Elves: Sorcerer 

I've been getting a truckload of great feedback from users about the illustration projects I've been posting lately, and I'm more than happy to continue them. So from here on in, it's time to let the good times and roll and the ink flow! That Guy James continues onward, still in love with games, still bringing you the best that I can every week. If anyone has any suggestions for new illustrations, just let know. I'll be happy to bring your idea to life.

2012 CS Challenge Wrap-Up: Part 1

As I'm working on all the new illustration projects, some secret some not, I realized I never posted the remaining models from my collection that I had painted as part of the 2012 CS Challenge. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting these models (in no particular order). Enjoy!

Imperial Guard: Vostroyan Sniper

Imperial Guard: Cadian Style Vostroyan Sniper

Lords of the Rings: Denethor

Orks: Mek Boy

Orks: Runt Herd 

Beastmen Beastlord with Great Weapon

This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

I've wanted to paint this model for quite some time. It was the pose that sold it for me. There's only two types of personalities that would lend themselves to doing something like this: total inexperience, or total confidence bought on by a lifetime of battle. As this guy is quite literally the boss, I say it's the latter. I went so far as to purchase this model, but just never got around to actually painting it. Time to fix that.

Micro-Lesson: Photography 

You could write a whole book on small-scale photography (in fact, several people have.) Today, we're just covering the basics that you should consider when you're getting your mini ready for it's internet debut. We spend many long hours working on our models, making sure every little detail is perfect; we owe it to ourselves to take the five minutes to make sure the photo reflects such careful attention to detail.

1. Give it a proper background
The shot below is fine for a Work-In-Progress (WIP) shot but not a finished one. All the junk laying around is distracting, not to mention unsightly. Clean things up with a simple piece of cloth. You don't need anything fancy, just a plane of neutral color to photograph your mini against. If you live near a store that sells fabric, you'll find you can buy "scraps" for cheap. You might even find some cool textures that you like the look of. This will not only clean up the photo, but reflect light evenly over the model. Speaking of light...

2. Light it
If you take nothing else away from this article, let it be this: you owe it to yourself to have good light when you work. What we're doing to our eyes working on this scale is downright criminal. The level of detail that is being cast in these models is impressive, but if you want to have half a chance of seeing and working with it, good light is essential.

That being said, brighter is not always better. 

At some point, the quality of the light becomes more important than the amount. Having multiple light sources that use the same type of bulb and manufacturer can really help when it comes to fighting eye-strain.

For my setup, I use a pair of full-spectrum lamps, one to either side of my work. I keep them at different heights so I get the most light coverage no matter how I'm holding the model. It ensures that I can work for long periods of time comfortably, and that I don't miss details on my work. Additionally, there's a bonus to having high-quality lights to paint with...

You now also have high-quality lights to photograph with.

Full-spectrum lights eliminate the blue or orange tints you see in a lot of mini photos like the one above. They let the camera do its job with the least amount of built-in compensation. The less information the camera has to make up as it goes along, the better. That being said...

3. Use a decent camera
The camera I had been photographing with up until last week was originally purchased in 2002. I was able to get away with it due to the aforementioned background and lighting. More importantly, though, was the lens of my old camera. Megapixel count will not magically create quality, the only way you're going to get a good picture is with a good lens.

In the photo below, the 2002 camera does a good job with the image, but at full resolution you can see the details start to get a little fuzzy. Still, this is by all accounts a good picture that most people would be happy to have. Let's fast forward 10 years of technology.

You can see below just how much detail the new camera is capable of capturing. For your reference, this is a Nikon Coolpix S5100; which cost me $100 new. We're all on a budget, and it's good to see you don't have to drop $20k on a pro-sumer SLR with a specialized macro-lens. An hour of research will last you through years of photographing without breaking the bank.

There's one thing I didn't mention here, and that's photoshop. I don't think it's fair to expect that a recreational painter should have access to high-end graphics software and know how to adjust levels, white balance, and so forth. I haven't done anything to any of these pictures in photoshop aside from cropping and resizing, which you can get from much more modest (read: free) graphics programs. If it's well lit with a clean background, you won't need anything else.

So another model is done and tucked away. Next week we take a break from the challenge for something completely different...

Necromancer

This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

This model came to me from a good friend who had purchased a Warhammer Fantasy Battles started box back in the day when it was Empire vs. Orcs. He had purchased some supplemental figures for his empire army, just because he liked the way they looked. This model made it's way to me brand new and unprimed, and was promptly tucked at the back of the bits box. No more hiding sir Necromancer, into the light with ye!

Have a look at this guy and start to build an image in your mind of how you would paint him.

If the image is anything like mine was, it's probably pretty close to the one we've been collectively spoon-fed our entire lives. Dark clothing, withered skin, musty atmosphere. A soulless old man, completely desaturated of color and life. 

It's exactly how I was going to paint him until I remembered the entire point of this exercise, to challenge myself creatively and see where I could take the sculpt.

Make it Your Own

I read a lot of tutorials and articles on the internet dealing with creativity and visual art. Though each one might be slightly different in terms of it's presentation, they all boil down to the same two or three elements over and over. One of those elements is the concept of originality. 

As hobbyists, we're always striving to be original in everything we do, to help ourselves stand out from the crowd and command the respect of our peers. Sometimes an artist simply tries to be original by doing it the best, other times they seek the road less travelled. 

In this case the road less travelled was throwing a hard 180 in terms of color selection and dynamic lighting. Rather than draw from the hundreds of repetitious horror images I grew up with, I opted to go for the American southland, deep in the heart of Cajun territory, Mardi-Gras style. 

A Shadowman. 

And why not the Shadowman? Just because Walt Disney put out a movie with similar color styles doesn't mean it's off the tables. The Princess Frog was a well received movie, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say most Warhammer players who weren't parents and didn't have an active interest in animation never saw it. 

Remember, it doesn't have to be new; nothing is. It only has to be new to the person who is seeing it.

This is why retro works. Any given image will only survive for so long in the collective consciousness of society before it fades into obscurity. If you want to be original, you don't have to sit and stare at a blank wall until your inspiration magically comes to you (trust me, I've tried.) All you need to do is a basic analysis of what people are seeing on a regular basis. Whatever it is only represents a small portion of what is out there, and all you need to do as a creative person is to tap into those dusty tomes of lore to draw your inspiration. 

Micro-Lesson: Saturated Light

I covered source lighting in a previous post, but I wanted to go over some of the rules that change when you go from realism to saturation. 

1. Work Backwards
   When you paint light sources over a dark model, you're looking to hit the highlights very gently and just on the edges of the surface. You're usually working by painting the model dimly first and then highlighting it. When going to areas of concentrated color, the key is to start with the lights instead of the backdrop. The first pass of colors had this model oozing green, yellow, and red. The blue was added afterwards to create the gradients as the source faded.
2. Let Multiple Lights Mix
   Even though these are three strong light sources, they are going to have some areas of overlap where one does not dominate. This step is best done after the initial shading work. For example, I was able to blend a little extra green into the contact area with yellow, as I was cleaning up the blue. You don't have to go overboard with this, as you're looking to really push those colors, but a little mixing and overlapping goes a long way. 
3. Have Fun With It
   Sometimes there's just nothing else to do but throw up your hands and yell like you're on a roller coaster. I don't condone this during the actual act of painting, in public or at home. That being said, sometimes we hobbyists get a little too concerned with finding the perfect color, the perfect freehand and so on. Never forget they're toy soldiers, and you'll feel free to let your imagination run wild.

Just writing this post has given me a couple new ideas on where to take painting, and I'm excited to try them out on some upcoming models. Here's to creativity and originality!

Pegasus Knight

This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

I've always had a fascination with knights. If you look at the six armies I've painted, only one of them hasn't been knights or space knights. I never had the conviction to paint en entire Bretonnian army (more on that next week), but that didn't stop my picking up a model from time to time. This Pegasus Knight stood patiently by for many months as I worked on other projects, and now it was time he receive his dues.

The first order of business was to ensure that the knight was properly pimped out. I did some research into what other people have done with this model in the past, and one of the recurring themes was a more impressive lance. This only makes sense, a Bretonnian Pegasus Knight is pretty much the pinnacle of ostentatiousness. The only thing more showy that a armor clad knight on a flying horse is one with a bigger flag!

I scrounged through my fantasy bits and came up with just the pieces I needed: a unit banner from an old Empire state trooper and the lance from a High Elf prince. The flag was second-hand and in pretty rough shape. Thankfully it had been soaking in simple green for the better part of two years. The layers and layers of paint had finally come free, leaving me to concentrate on the liberal glue that had been used to secure it to the pole.

Something good to note here: it pays to have bits for the game system you're working on. Not only do the pieces fit stylistically with each other, but it eliminates a lot of problems in terms of fitting. Despite the fact that I was pulling from 3 separate army ranges, the fact that they were all GW meant that all the pole diameters and join locations were already consistent.

After everything was cleaned up, I drilled all three pieces for pins. This was a time consuming and delicate process, but there was no way I would realistically rely on super glue of any caliber to hold a join that fragile. Once everything was pinned, glued, and primed, it looked like it had been cast that way.

Micro-Lesson: Freehanding
Freehanding is an all or nothing gamble that will either make your model look like gold or garbage. My suggestion is to start simple with some script that no one expects to be able to read. It will give you a good foundation and let you experiment. A great trick is to prime some left-over frames from your plastic sprues and use the long flat surfaces to get some experience. But when it comes down to the real deal, I'd like to propose a new way of thinking about how you paint those impossibly small details.

Picture your mind as the world's most impressive juggler. Every single thing you do all day every day is like a bowling pin being thrown to this guy/gal. The more you're doing at once, the more pins your brain has to juggle. Everything from breathing to walking to thinking about stuff to talking to chewing gum; it's all stuff your brain has to handle.

It gets worse.

Not only does any activity add pins, you end up having to add extra pins for a skill. Watch a competition of any sort, the competitors are most likely in a quiet, secluded space with little or no intereference from the outside world. Watch the face of a gymnast during the olympics; that is the face of someone who has committed every single pin they can to whatever act they are performing. So what does this have to do with freehanding toy soldiers?

Everything.

First off, you need a plan. Sketch your image out a couple times to make sure you're happy with it and get some practice in. Make sure your space is at whatever volume level you can best ignore (SimplyNoise with a pair of headphones is perfect for this). Do everything you can to make sure that you won't be interrupted, during whatever time of day you usually do your best thinking or when your the most relaxed.

Now lets talk physical. Just like sudden noises and sights will distract you, so too will having to control your body. Even the act of sitting requires core activation and some amount of motor control. With this in mind, I've begun laying down on the floor, completely removing my core and legs from the equation. I only had to move my lower arms while my mind stayed focus, allowing me to execute complex freehand designs with relative ease.

This has been one of my favorite models to paint in the challenge so far. I was so happy with this model that I couldn't possibly let it go to waste just sitting on my shelf. Thankfully, I knew someone who could make good use of it...

Salamander

This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

This sternguard veteran is the last of a broken family. Of the initial box of 5, one became an Ultramarine, a Space Wolf, 2 Black Templars, and now finally a Salamander. I admit when I got this box I wasn't even thinking of how I could use these guys, only that they were shiny and new. Now, 3 years later, we finally put this box to bed. 

Space marines present me with an interesting challenge, mainly due to the fact that I've painted entirely too many of them. It's a real effort just to find something I haven't done yet. I've painted four complete space marine armies, as well as dozens of the emperor's finest for other people's chapters, roughly 500 in total. But for as many variants as I have painted, there are still many canonical chapters that I have not. So I cracked open my 5th edition codex and flipped to the first chapter to grab my attention: the Salamanders.

Micro-Lesson: Green
Ever since foundation paints came out, I've used them in virtually every project; they're just too good to pass up. The range of colors that GW offers is prolific, but there are a few notable exceptions. While the 3 greens that foundation offers can cover a large range of natural subdued tones, getting that rich vibrant green can be a tricky proposition.

Here we have our marine with a watered-down coat of Knarloc Green over a white primer base. Interestingly, you can see where the water pooled it separated the pigments, showing just how much blue is sitting in this color. 

Watering down is the key here. You want a fairly even tone throughout the model, but you don't want to go overboard. You'll avoid the thicker foundation paint building up, and keep the tone brighter. Snot Green streaks like crazy over pure white, and loses it's saturation over the Knarloc. Once you've gotten the consistency you want, you're free to work in some shading. 

Looking to the above pic with the blue remnants, you'll find that we've actually been given a clue as to how to shade this model properly. In a previous post I had talked about using colors besides black and the base color to create more interesting shadows. The same rule applies here. I worked blue into all the shaded areas and even bought it into the highlighting for the black armor (more about that here). Since the Salamanders only have two major colors (green and gold), I was able to introduce blue without making things look busy. 

A good rule of thumb for miniature painting is to try and keep the major colors at or below 3. Shades and tints don't count, and neither does black or white. Some models will have extra gadgets that require a new color, but for the purposes of this rule we're only talking about a surface area that accounts for more than 20% of the total model.

I also took the opportunity to go to town with some custom freehand work. A word to the wise: if you're going to work on the underside of anything, do yourself a favor and get the work done before you glue it together. You'll save time and stress, trust me on this one.

Well, that's enough of this far-future nonsense. Next week we're kicking it old school with shiny knights and high-flying banners!

Servo Skull

This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 


This one is a real mystery to me; I just can't remember where I got this guy from. I flipped past this model so many times in my bits box wondering what I would ever use it for. I always assumed it would be a secondary element to a larger model, floating next to a techpriest, inquisitor, etc. But in typical fashion, a much more interesting idea was spawned from a conversation with a very good friend of mine.


I mean really, even the greasy spoon has to advertise in the 41st millennium somehow, right?

Micro-Lesson: Source Lighting

A lot of people will tout this technique as a indicator of a higher level of skill. Don't buy into the hype. This is an easy step you can take with any model that adds to the result without requiring hours of your time or an MFA. The first step is to get your model painted up like you would normally. We're going to built this effect layer by layer.

Layer 1: Ambiance

When you've gotten all the basic colors down, your first choice is about the environmental or ambient light. Subtle shadows will push the highlights back resulting in a more balanced look to the model. Here I pushed the shadows way back to illustrate how far you can take this technique. The other consideration is color of the ambient light. Think about the world that you're putting this little guy in. In this example I wanted him to be on a lonely cold street well after dark, so I added a ton of blue to the shadows. 

In practice, what you'll be doing is washing/dry brushing (your choice) with the colors you've established. Here I was drybrushing successively darker layers of a mix of Chaos Black and Necron Abyss. I also gave the underside of all the surfaces a wash of Asurman Blue. 

Layer 2: Shadow

This is where you really push the dark parts back, all the way to pure black if you want to. The key to a good shadow is knowing where the light is coming from so you paint only where it isn't hitting. In this case the light source is a obvious one, which makes it simple to see where the light would and would not hit. 

The execution of this layer is the same as the previous one, you'll just be doing heavier coats with more repetition. It's always good to go less subtle on a given pass of the brush. You can always add more pigment, but taking it away is nearly impossible without some amount of destruction. 

Layer 3: Light

Here's where it all comes together. With successively brighter pigments, work your way closer to the light source. Every time you switch to a brighter pigment for a new pass, try to cover a smaller area inside the one you just completed. You will create some nice gradients that get brighter as they approach the source.

Like any technique, this requires practice, but if you keep it broken into these three steps, you'll have it down in no time.

And don't forget to Eat at Joe's. Every Thursday they have Hamburger and Egg for a nickel. 

Imperial Guard

These models are being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

I remember being in my BLGS (Belligerent Local Game Store) and seeing the box of 5 troopers, thinking to myself that I should really get it. I must have had a good use for the box, as I only have 2 of the original 5 models left. What happened to the other 3 is a complete mystery. If anyone reading this has any clue as to where those models ended up, I'd be fascinated to hear how and when they made their way to you from me. 

Cadia is an all-time favorite of mine from the Warhammer 40k universe. I've always been intrigued by the idea of a group of regular every-day men being trained to fight off the horrors of the universe with little more than rigid discipline and a reliable if slightly underpowered firearm. 

I knew the first model had to be a traditional Cadian Shocktrooper. If I had the time I would paint a million of these guys. I love the simple aesthetic of this model and how well it translates into the game. It's clean, well stated, and direct; a noteworthy contrast to the overly verbose space marines.

Micro-Lesson: Khaki with depth. 
Beige is a deceptively tough color to get just right. Yes, you can throw down a coat of Dheneb Stone, wash it with Devlan Mud and call it day; I understand IG players have a ton of dudes to get painted up. At least consider this tutorial for your Junior Officers and above.

The idea when adding depth to this color is to do it in stages. It also helps to do this before you paint any other part of the model, so you don't have to worry about messing up another color. This model starts with Dheneb Stone, and all the steps will be a 1:1 ratio of wash to water. Remember: baby steps.

1. Ogryn Flesh: whole model
2. Devlan Mud: undersides/shadowed areas
3. 1:1 Mix of Devlan Mud and Thraka Green: where the uniform meets plate armor
4. Badab Black: Darkest areas
5. Highlight the top level areas with Dheneb Stone

With a little practice, this technique will give you nice smooth transitions in your cloth. 

I had my basic Cadian done, and I wanted to really push the weathering / battle damage with the second.

This was essentially the same paint style, except when I was done I took it a step further by adding the wear-and-tear. I really enjoy this paint style personally, but it isn't for everyone. It reminds me of one of my hardest-learned lessons: Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

This guy looks great, but so does the first model. Which one should you paint? Whichever makes you happy. Unless you're painting for competition, there's never any tangible difference between techniques, only the value you assign to your own work. You are going to see these models more than any other person on the planet; make sure you like what you see.

Another two models down for the 2012 CS Challenge. Next week, a model that I literally have no idea how I got. It very well may have been put in my bitzbox by gremlins... but hey, a challenge is a challenge!

Priest of Ulrik

This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

This Priest of Ulrik was acquired from a friend's bitzbox. I believe he originally got the model thrown randomly into an ebay auction lot. It passed to me, mercifully in one piece, and spent a year in my bitzbox. Time to finally give this poor guy some recognition for so many years spent in neglect! 

The first challenge in painting this model was simply identifying it. It's been a long time since GW has formally acknowledged the followers of Ulrik; something that will hopefully change with the rumored Empire updates.

Once I found out what this guy was, I was able to find some good examples of similar models in old empire army books and the outstanding GW publication: Uniforms and Heraldry of the Empire. This book is a must for any hobbyist, irrespective of whether or not they play the empire. The same goes for the Skaven equivalent book. 

Micro-Lesson: White Fur

GW fur is a pain. Trying to paint that fur white is an even bigger pain. 

I started with a coat of Astronomican Grey, washed down with a 1:1 mix of Asurman Blue and Badab Black. The issue with this is that the fur is modeled too deep, which means there's too much wash and the finish is too dark. It took two drybrush passes with Astronomican and a half dozen drybrush passes with Skull White to get the fur where I needed it. 

The fact is that when you're painting fur, it should look a little flat, because fur is flat in many instances. It sits tightly packed against the skin, forming a protective barrier against the cold. The texturing is nice, but it's a little too much for real fur. I'd be interested to see what GW fur would look like after a light wash of the new liquid green stuff to even things out a little. 

Another model for the 2012 CS Challenge is finished. Next up, a little action with the Imperial Guard.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: British Freelancers

These models are being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist. 

This particular box was bought hastily a year ago but never ended up painted for the intended project. I saw the outside of the box said "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang!" and I was happy enough knowing that I was getting some snooty looking guys in suits.

The 2012 challenge is officially underway, and the first model on the table is... 

This guy: affectionately named Colonel Harumph. 

I had no idea who these characters were or who they were supposed to represent. Usually I do an extensive amount of research into the source material, but I purposely avoided it this time around. I wanted an unbiased perspective on how the models would come to life. If I started reading I would eventually see images and the project wouldn't be the same.

Micro-lesson: Shadows of a different color

Consider using a different color to form the shadowed area of a model. Very few things are purely one color in real life. The brown of the fabric in the Colonel's suit is shaded with brown, purple, and black. The purple gives the suit a new dimension, while the brown pulls it back toward a believable hue, and the black provides the deepest shades.

So how do you determine the colors to use? 

Take a look at the color wheel. 

If you want to push a shadow especially hard and in a realistic manner, use the adjacent colors on the wheel. In the case of the good Colonel's suit, he's wearing brown, which is a shade of orange and red. Therefore our best bet for a new shadow color is either purple or yellow, depending on your taste and the situation. Here purple wins out for the shadow, and I mixed some yellow in for the highlight.

What about grey?

Grey is both your best friend and your greatest enemy here. It can take almost any color on as a secondary, which gives it ultimate flexibility, but also forces you to make some hard decisions. My recommendation to look at the rest of the model and pick a color that compliments the other non-grey colors you're using. If you've got a warm color scheme, keep it to the right side of the wheel, cool keeps to the left. But if all else fails, go blue. 

Here I used a softer blend of green and blue to form the shadows for the Lady's jump-suit. I wanted her to have that pleathery look, so I didn't push the shadows too far. The slightly flat color helps to give the fig that impossibly synthetic look that we've all seen in the movies.

I decided this guy should be named "The Crimson Parasol" for obvious reasons. 

I admit, the pinstripes were an act of pure masochism, but the ends definitely justified the means. Now that I've seen him painted up like this, I can't imagine him any other way. Here the shadows had a lot of blue mixed in to give the grey some needed depth. 

You can find the manufacturer's website here.

This project was a fantastic start to my challenge and I'm excited for the next few models I have lined up. 2012 is going to be a good year for painting.

The 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge

Another year, another army put to bed. I was looking at the list and realizing that I haven't committed to painting anything major in 2012.

Let's fix that right now, shall we?

If you're like me, you've accrued more than your fair share of random figures and pieces as you've ground through more important projects. Little ideas and pockets of inspiration left unfulfilled in a little box in the closet. Time passes, as it tends to do, and one day you realize that little box in the closet says Rubbermade on the side, and has a capacity measured in gallons.

Typographic logo please:

Thank you.

The 2012 CS Challenge is simple: find every wayward model that has fallen by the side and paint the hell out of it. Every space marine, every goblin, every little "I'll work on that later" project. It's all coming out of the bits box and onto the painting table.

Da Rules:

1. Painting will take as long as is necessary. If I'm happy with a model after a day it's gone. If it take 2 months, so be it. I want these models to reflect the highest standards I am capable of putting forth, and I'm willing to take as much time as is necessary.
2. No fair just giving stuff away. If I get rid of a painting obligation, I need to trade it. It's okay if I don't feel like painting a fig anymore, so long as I can find someone willing to trade for one that I want to paint. 
3. It's called the 2012 challenge because it started in 2012, not because that's how long I anticipate this will take. It might take 3 months, it might take 3 years. I've been hoarding stuff for a long time. 
4. There is NO RULE 4!
5. When it's finished, there will be a party. With cake. No lies. 

Every Friday post will be a progress report on whatever I'm working on, and you're invited to come along and witness firsthand my battle to leave no model unpainted. 

It begins.