The power of the neglected painting techniques

Hi Folks,

I hope you are doing great! It was great to meet some of you at the LVO last month. Along with some unforgettable memories I also brought home the nastiest Con-Crud ever! 

3 shows 3 strikes:

So, sorry again for the long silence... but here it is:

The final episode of How to become a better painter & the mercenary goblin from Lucas Pina.

In this episode, we will paint the little tower base I have sculpted in addition to the bust.

We will use this bust base to demonstrate the three last missing techniques from our nine essential blending techniques.

We will be also talking about another strategy on how to become a better painter!

The personal value catalog method(PDF)

This method can help you to analyze what you adore in other people's paint jobs and what defines a good model for you, ultimately it can help to determine the divergence between your current level and what you consider an outstanding model. You can use it to find your weak points and fight them one after another.

But next to our mind games and methods, we want to focus on some of the more neglected techniques in miniature painting:

We will be starting with the sponging technique to get an interesting texture and tonal variation established.

After that, we will be working out the crevices with a few washes.

Once everything has dried we are continuing to emphasize the highlights with controlled drybrushing.

We are adding a few moss and dirt variations and a few more controlled opaque highlights.

We are also adding the chimneys and a little goblin that peeks out behind the little tower window.

.........

I thought for a while if I want to share the story of the goblin with you

and if it fits into a painting video or a patreon post. But in the end, I decided that it's important to also share those moments with you!

The small goblin was a gift I received from a good friend from Denmark, his name is Mikkel, an amazing guy, a true metalhead, a guy with a big heart and a gentle soul.

The goblin is something bitter-sweet to me.

It was sculpted by a good friend of ours - Bent, he used it for his beginner painting classes.

Bent was also from Denmark, we met a lot of times - A fantastic guy, with great humor, a passion for miniature, a creative guy, a man with the most contagious smile. He was an important part of the danish painting community, an important part of our little family of miniature painters.

And besides all the joy he carried in his heart, he also had hard and dark moments. In the end, the dark moments prevailed and Bent decided to end his life in 2020.

I really considered him a friend even if didn't spend that much time together. He will be always missed.

Mikkel helped his family during this time and he also took care of his hobby stuff. He discovered the molds from a couple of Bents miniature busts that he sculpted for the classes and decided to cast a few copies.

He made a few for Bent's friends. 

Mikkel made a display in Monte to honor Bent. You could just grab a copy and paint one of sculpts. I think it is a fantastic way to memorize a friend from our community.

A lot of us go through hard periods in our lives, and it´s definitely okay to be not okay. Make sure to seek help if you need some...

and keep an open ear and heart for your friends that need it.

Anyway, I don't want to end this series on a sad note.

I wanted to find the right model project, where I could incorporate the little fellow and I think he fits perfectly behind that window. This way

he is somehow immortalized, a part of my own "painting lifeline".

The perfect way to say goodbye to a friend: with tears in the eyes, a smile in the heart, and paint on the brush.

We are in this life together- brought together by the passion for tiny painted miniatures- we are a wild mixture of astrophysics, plumbers, teachers, and whatnot, scattered all over the world-all striving to be better painters. 

This series was meant as a guideline on how to become a better painter.

Becoming a better painter is not only a matter of mastering the technical side of painting. It is the quest of understanding yourself, acknowledging 

your weak points, and fighting your fears. It is also about not becoming too cocky in your art highs. It´s about sharing your knowledge - try to help people to get better- we are all moving forward,  the higher the standard gets the better we want to be.

One thing that has not been mentioned in this series is maybe the most important thing:

ENJOY THE RIDE!!

Make sure you love what you are doing! Sure there will be ups and downs in your motivation- we all have those and they are part of the process.

This might almost sound spiritual :D But I believe you feel the emotions you have while painting, they are somehow banned in the finished paint job. 

You feel all the joy, fun, enjoyment, all the concentration... but you also feel all frustration, missed birthday parties because you wanted to refine your latest contest entry, all the back pain... everything!!

So make sure to keep the balance, don't take it too seriously, make sure to enjoy the ride, and never sacrifice an important "real-life" moment with

family and friends in the hunt for some golden-sprayed resin trophy.

Alright, I truly hope you enjoyed this series!

See you for the next project, here on straight from the desk!!