Learing the craft

No photos this time around. I just thought I'd share a handful of thoughts I hope to turn into lessons. I'm working on a master that has given me considerable difficulty. It's not a difficult pose, or subject. For some reason it has been a source of frustration and adversity. So far I haven't drawn blood over it. I have learned several things about anatomy and how it applies to this hobby. There's a lot written about proportions and balance and how to pose a figure etc.. I try to apply this as much as possible. Sometimes however no matter how many times you measure and remeasure, there is something visibly wrong. Now, what I've figured out is, the human body is more dynamic than we might imagine. Also, it makes a difference where you take your measurements. Take them the same place every time and take them from the same place as they're taken from your template. Arms and shoulder have been a significant source of trouble for me in the past and I hope to apply some of the lessons of this past few months to something tangible.

I've been digging around on the Cool Mini or Not site lately. The folks that model fantasy sci-fi figures geared toward the gamer are some of the most creative and artistic figure models I believe I've ever seen. Technique notwithstanding, they are visually inspiring. I'm not particularly drawn to this corner of the hobby myself. I find the proportions of these figures a little off-putting. I have to admit that I greatly admire the creativity I see here. I sometimes wonder if this part of the hobby I currently enjoy will be replaced by this genre, much the same way our genre supplanted toy soldier collecting a couple of generations ago. Not that it would be a bad thing. Evolution of the hobby I guess.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's day. Hat's off to all the veterans of past, present and future. I have the deepest admiration for those in this country who have served in the military. Personally, I never served. It wasn't something that was done by many I grew up with. I can only think of one or two of the guys I went to school with that joined the military. I'm somewhat envious of the feeling of fraternity that veteran's enjoy with one another. Even the friendly rivalry between the services is fraternal. So, hat's off to all you vets and I hope you enjoyed the day the country has set aside to honor your service.

On the model building front, I feel like I've emerged from a hole recently. I've been frustrated with some of my efforts lately. That said, some recent studio time has broken the spell, if you will. I recently received the excellent book by Danillo Cartacci from Colorado Miniatures. This is a great book. I adapted the technique for painting faces to something I'm working on and I'm very pleased with the result.



I also got back to a long term project that I envisioned a couple of years ago. Not gonna reveal the subject yet. Here are two of at least three figure that will be in the diorama. Hopefully the project will build some momentum and it'll actually see light of day before I go gray.