The Speed of Success
Issue:024
Reading Time: approx 5:42
Ok, so the title might be a little misleading as I don't think I've reached the end of success. Quite the opposite; it's just as soon as you reach your highest level, another path is open before you that stretches out even further. Firstly, what I want to refer to you in Speed has to do with is the finish of the painting itself. How much time does it take for you to complete a finished model and directly compare the quality of results you achieve? The second part of this Speed has also to do with the time it takes you to learn the techniques necessary. For myself and others who are on a similar path of wanting to improve their work, possibly commission painting, and love getting models on the tabletop to roll some dice. It's a very tall order to fulfill all those needs. You want/love to paint to your very best abilities, but also that need to finish them at a reasonable time cap. Whether it's for a client or just your own gaming itch to roll dice with your friends. Here are the lessons I've learned that have helped me along that path.
Don't focus on speed
Sounds counter intuitive right? Well, it can be if ALL you want to learn is to paint fast. If that’s the case then just stop reading and go search up the latest Slap Chop painting video on YouTube. But if your goals include a higher degree of detail in your models you may want to reconsider. There are no shortcuts, just smart cuts that if made with consideration and discipline can help you get there. To quote me from many tutorials over the last year, "Smooth is slow, slow is fast." Taking your time and learning the brush strokes with copying, understanding the techniques with repetition, and consistently reviewing your work will make you a stronger painter. In the case of my work, I wanted an even stronger sense of volume and light to play an integral part of the painting. The works I admire both in the miniature world, and traditional masters all had in common were their deep understanding of these principles. In order to set myself out to really understand them, I need to paint it. Every plain, edge, and volume by brush so that it was purely created by me. It's why most of my paintings I never used an airbrush to sketch out a pre-shade, as the airbrush was doing the majority of the work. Sure you still have to place the brush in the right place, but the spray would do the volume work and even with that it still doesn't do the finer details. This approach did come with some struggles of course. There were times of mental fatigue and testing my patience to say the least. But I dug deep and kept convincing myself that this is the right path for me.
“Smooth is slow, slow is fast”
This has led me to the paintings I really love and with each model getting closer to a form of expression I want in my work. And over time with repetition, I've become faster and more efficient at it. My paintings get more refined and cleaner too. Putting it all together reminded me of watching a group of Chinese seniors gathering outside the courtyard at Dr.Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden early morning doing Tai Chi. This seemingly slow choreographed form of traditional Chinese martial arts focuses on the controlled form of movement and breathing. But if you speed this up, you can clearly see the movement of blocking, striking, parrying and so on. I thought this was a great analogy to my progressive practice of the brush. Really focusing on the control of each stroke, understanding the techniques and bringing them in fluid harmony.
“ I go through phases of focused study through observation of video lectures or articles, copying to understanding, reiteration of the techniques learned, and then deconstruction of each element involved”
There is no single technique for making it.
The first thing is that I have a lot of teachers. It doesn't matter that I teach painting myself through in-person workshops, tutorial videos on the Pro Palette, and email critiques. I will always be a student of painting and never will I want to stop learning. Even for my students, I encourage further exploration and even go about teaching the techniques I've taught them to others. It's all about expanding the creative knowledge of this young art form and through lots of iterations being shared and using them for your creativity. I go through phases of focused study through observation of video lectures or articles, copying to understanding, a reiteration of the techniques learned, and then deconstruction of each element involved. Only by going through each of those phases will I then proceed to go along to the next. I find a benefit in understanding the fundamentals of each technique. As understanding and going through this motion will allow us to deconstruct the method well. In turn, this allows me to remix the techniques to my advantage, and carry out a lot of experiments in quick succession. Many times it's on a new piece and not always on a dummy model. I used to do many more of these on spare model parts, and sketches to call them that. Now with an increasingly larger bank of techniques, deconstructed methods to remix, and a visual library of actually going through those motions. I can confidently put together a visual concept in my mind of what this can look like. This is by no means perfect, but going through all the working parts and taking the time to understand it all. I can lean into my thought experiments well and play with many different approaches to the painting at the start and throughout the entire process. You can say it's another way to describe Good Artist Steal. I steal from many sources by taking little deconstructed bits from them and remixing them into my expression to create something new.
To where I am now
In my latest pieces of Horus Ascended, Exodus and now this Blood Angels Terminator Captain. There is an interesting path of progression, deconstruction, and rebuilding of methods that are linked in line with speed. With Horus, it was getting the right values by brush, and really building my understanding of how light is falling onto each element to create drama and atmosphere. The airbrush here was only used as a method to glaze large areas of the cape and unify the mistakes of the OSL which I dodged a bullet there! Next with Exodus is a very similar approach again, this time to repeat the lessons of Horus into a smaller model and clean up the process to make it more efficient. And lastly, the Blood Angels Captain which I took the lessons from both Horus and Exodus to see where I can further cut the airbrush into an effective way to create volumes and still retain the lighting scheme I desire. It turned out to be an excellent lesson in the approach and I wouldn’t have landed on the same results without going through those first 2 models. I have recorded the Terminator Captain and is coming to the Pro Palette and youtube so you will get to see what I referring to and will have more written notes in an article From the Desk.
Like how I started this, I am nowhere at the end and not looking for that point anytime soon. The road is too amazing to find the end and I'm still enjoying the journey. But I hope there is something in here that has opened you to a possible path that I've found joy and success on. My idea is that each model whether it be a single character, a Golden Daemon entry, or a model that’s part of a greater army; can be painted to a degree that is asked of it. That is done to the finish that you want, leaving an impression about yourself that reflects your values, teaches you, brings joy to others, and gives you another cobblestone set in your miniature painting journey.