I'm back with more Reaper Artist Conference information! I love my "Best Vampire" trophy with the sculpted chattering vampire teeth conversion-- so much that I created a new Instagram account so I could start sharing videos. If you can hear it, my giggle at the end of the video is proof that I'm genuinely amused. (For some reason, the sound only works when I open the Instagram link on my phone, but not in my web browser).
While I finally have pictures of my miniature, they're washed-out and awful. I'm glad Christmas isn't that far away-- I sure know what I'm wishing for! I'm also in the process of building/acquiring a light box. I'll need to take some better pictures of him before I feature him on my Work page. I originally painted him for our Halloween-themed one-off D&D game, and I'm glad I did!
First up on Day 2 of RAC was "Crafting Creepy Halloween Trees" where Julie Guthrie showed us how to create trees using some wire, glue, and pliers. I love it! While I'm not familiar with basing (but I'm eager to learn), this class was a great bridge between basing & sculpting. I felt like I was able to make something creative without graduating to the intimidating green stuff. I'm also convinced Julie's hands have magic in them. Armed only with paperclip and some pipe cleaners, I'm sure she could find a way to sculpt something interesting and unique! Looking forward to using this technique to create a tree base for all the great Halloween minis I bought at the event.
Next up was Bob Ridolfi's "Crafting Your Own Graveyard Base" where we used simple materials to craft a spooky base ready for a Halloween-themed miniature. Of course, my finished base will look much different once it's primed and painted! I especially enjoyed Bob's sense-of-humor and his fun approach to what I now call "resourceful basing". Found objects really do make the best basing materials! I also had my first experience with "green stuff" and I'm happy to be learning more about sculpting & basing in small increments-- baby steps!
Lastly, Derek Schubert's "Freehand Painting Techniques" class. Derek broke down the intimidating prospect of freehand painting into approachable steps. I was able to take a photo of the demo example miniature (though it's a bit blurry). This was the largest class that I attended at RAC with attendees of all ages & experience levels. Derek did a nice job passing around examples of his work While there's no substitute for experience and practice, I'm far more likely to try my hand at this technique on one of my next miniatures!
As with these miniature events, I found wonderful things to add to my miniature hoard. Reaper has recently come out Bonesylvanians, a line of chibi-style Halloween-themed miniatures. They're terribly adorable with their big eyes & I just couldn't help myself. Needless to say, I now own them all. I've already done some work on Gus, though he's still a work in progress. Hoping to finish him and paint a few more on Halloween!
