Friday, May 31, 2013

Competitive Painting Etiquettes

Competitive Painting Etiquettes


If you have been around hobby for some times you might’ve heard announcements around your local store about miniature painting competitions or converting competitions. These 2 events might not be as big as your tournaments but they do attract certain crowds. Some competition prizes goes as high as $10,000 like the Crystal Brush (hosted by CoolMiniOrNot) for example. Believe it or not, while not as “competitive” as tournament goes, people do take these types of competitions seriously. Like any competitions/tournaments, they each have their own rules and regulations to follow. But what if there are some gray areas that were found and even the organizers don’t even know how to rule them out? This is where you, as painter, have to think what is ethically right. What does it mean to be behaving according to the unwritten rule or etiquettes?
Do remember that a painting competition is usually a judged event. Whether it is community judging or a panel of judges, the event is entirely up to the organizers. Since it is a judged event, it is almost entirely up to the judge(s) to determine who the winner is. Now let’s take a look at some of etiquettes that you should know before entering any competitive painting events.


#1: DO NOT ENTER MODELS THAT YOU DID NOT PAINT YOURSELF!
This goes without saying! Blatant plagiarism is notorious in the local level and usually the scale of the competition is so small, the plagiarist (or I call them D-bags) just get disqualifications. I am pretty sure there are higher consequences for international contests or bigger contests in general. This is like finishing a paper for your college exam by doing exact copy paste and turning it in with your name. I’ve witnessed this first hand where a model that my friend painted being turned in onto a competition that I was competing in. What’s even worse, the D-bag didn’t even feel the remorse for doing it when we (the organizer, my friend, and I – in front of a recording camera) confronted him. Please, have some respect to the painter and the model!

#2: DO NOT ENTER MODELS THAT ALREADY WON SOMETHING (without any modifications)
This is another simple etiquette that people usually have to be reminded by the organizers when they sign up. It is also usually in the rules and regulations of the competition. If you have won using the model, you shouldn’t enter it in other competition without making modifications to it. What kind of modifications are we talking about? Changing the skin color of the model, completely stripping the paint and paint it over, or adding 2 more layers of highlights are just some of the examples of modifications that you need to do before you enter the model into a different painting competition. Why is this a problem? Imagine the winner of Golden Demon or Crystal Brush turning the same models over and over knowing that it’s the best paint job in the entire competition. There will be no chances for him to grow as a painter by painting something new and there will be no chances for newer painters to win against him/her.


#3: DO CONGRATULATE YOUR OPPONENTS AFTER A WIN OR A LOSS (good sportsmanship)
Like how gamers shake hands after a game is finished, this shows sportsmanship. No one likes a sore loser, or even worse, a bad winner. There’s actually a certain kind of satisfaction shaking your opponent’s hand (even though you lost) and say “Congratulations, awesome work!” or somewhere along the same line. And to be honest, I rather be beaten by a bad painter that has good sportsmanship rather than a good painter with bad sportsmanship.


#4: DO BRING YOUR A-GAME!
Whether it is a small local competition or a huge international competition, do train yourself to bring your A-game. This means don’t bring your half finished work and turn it in expecting it to win something because there is no other entry in the category. The judges have the right to cancel a category out and you will be sh*t-out-of-luck. I’ve been in competition where the judge should’ve cancelled the category out because there’s only 1 entry but gave the guy what he deserved because it was a really well painted model.


#5: BE ON TIME!
This goes with everything in general. Pay attention to the time schedule that was given by the organizers. If they say 12pm is the last time you can turn in your model, then you should be there to enter your model at 11:45am. Because writing down your information and the model handling et cetera does take some time to get it right. You don’t want to rush the organizers because usually they are part of the judging panel and piss them off, and you don’t want to rush them in the risk of mishandling your information or your models. Relaxed and happy judge insures a smooth event!



These are just some of the etiquettes that I picked up according to my experiences in the competitive painting scene. If you have any other unwritten rule that you go by or organizers should know by now, please drop'em in the comment box down below. I'd love to hear what you guys think about this. Until then, Mars OUT!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Detail Shots on Vanhammer Blood Angels Captain Conversion



Here's some detail shots on the Vanhammer Blood Angels Captain model that I painted for Crystal Brush 2013. And here's the video of the showcase:

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

I've Been Busy!

Even though the competition is over, I'm still painting a lot! Also in the works: MWG Dvd, lots of showcases including a model done by Vanhammer73! And here's Wurrzag the Great Orc Shaman for a local competition coming up this weekend



Friday, May 24, 2013

Finished work! Gamex 2013 Sci Fi Squad & Diorama entries



Finally done! And I would have a total of 7 entries for Gamex 2013!

Keeping Yourself Motivated to Paint


If you are a miniature painter, at some point of your hobby life, you will be facing this age-old dilemma: I have so many models to paint but I don’t feel like painting at all! This is a classic example of what is called a “Painter’s Burnout”. Some people get this as soon as they finished assembling their models! They get excited when they take the miniature sprues out of the box. Smelling the new plastic, getting the tools ready, playing some fast beat music; these are all a typical scenario when you just got back from a hobby store. As soon as you’re done assembling the newest addition to your army, you tell yourself “I’ll paint these tomorrow!” Then you look to the pile of models you assembled a week back, a year back, 10 years back. It is a perpetual vicious endless cycle of a hobbyist life. With that being said, how do you keep yourself motivated to paint?


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Gamex 2013 Sci-Fi Squad entry all done!


Now onto the bases!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

WIP on Gamex 2013 Sci Fi Squad entry


My first attempt on wet blending seems to work pretty well on the power swords. Now I have gained a little more confidence on these models :)

Friday, May 17, 2013

A little distraction doesn't hurt!


So instead of painting my entries, I ended up having to finish 4 of these guys for the Malifaux tournament tomorrow! That's 2 Guild Hounds and 2 Watchers from the Guild factions.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Games 2013 Painting Competition, more entries!


More entries to Gamex 2013 Painting Competition are getting prepared. These are for Fantasy Large and Sci Fi Squad. The one on the left is a Dark Age model, and I've never painted Eldars before too ... This is going to be interesting

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Gamex 2013 Diorama entry WIP... almost there!


It is almost done! I can almost feel it... just a little bit more..

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Gamex 2013 Fantasy Squad entry done!


And they are finally done!!

The Dwarf Berserker is done!


Sorry for the bad lighting! But the Dwarf is done and on to the orc and the display base itself!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Gamex 2013 Diorama entry WIP


Loving the dwarf model but I'm having second thoughts about the Orc. Might have to re-base coat him a darker green.

Gamex 2013 Fantasy Squad entry WIP... bases loaded!


The bases are laser cut MDF from Andaya Laser Cutting. Even got it home delivered! The picture frame is just a $1 picture frame from Dollar Tree. Now I just need to paint the MDF and done with another entry!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Update on Gamex 2013 Diorama entry


Finished off the zenithal base coat for the skin... I can't wait to finish this diorama!

Gamex 2013 Fantasy Large entry



This Ogre Tyrant for my Mordheim Maneater Warband (converted with some custom sculpts with Vanhammer73's guidance) will be my Fantasy Large entry for Strategicon Gamex 2013 painting competition

Dark Age loot!


Look what the the cat brought in? Dark Age special package from CMON (courtesy of Derek Osborne). I will be playing some Dark Age after I started painting my faction - Dragyri Ice Caste. The other 2 factions you can see here are for my 2 buddies that will be spreading this game through out Los Angeles. Stay tuned for more.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Adepticon 2013 Loot!


Adepticon 2013 Loot for your eyes!!

Strategicon Gamex 2013 Diorama Entry


Here's something I'll be working on for Strategicon Gamex 2013 Diorama entry. Classic Dwarf vs. Orc on a round plinth. Stay tuned for more pics!

Wifey's First Malifaux Crew




It all started out with wifey getting a demo at Wondercon 2013 and the next day she told me that she wanted a crew that is fast and hits like a truck! I /facepalm myself since I just created a Neverborn player!
Anyways, this crew will be my Fantasy Squad entry for Gamex 2013 painting competition