My Commission Work - Looking Back

Happy New Year everyone!

It is that time of year.  Looking back, looking forward.  Every year I do a little recap of the previous's work, but this time digging through my folders I was hit in the feelers by some of the older stuff.  I get so wrapped up in paint that, while I never forget any of them and they stick with me, I get a little tunnel vision and there is an effect of looking through an old photo album and memories come flooding back.

So this time I grabbed a handful of older stuff too, some projects from the past and a few of my favorite pictures from them.  Not really what it is about, but it does always feel a shame to spend a month on something then the effort and fun celebrated just for a fleeting moment.

With that, here is to 2018, and the awesome projects it holds in it's potential.  Great deal of big, thematic and fun armies.  I always try and make each year better than the last, and between that motivation and the vision of my clients lined up for 2018, it is more than possible.

Thanks to all of them, and you, and see you next time.

Early Presents

Christmas came a little early for me this year, in the form of these two boxes.  Two of the biggest that have rolled through at that, the larger one standing almost six feet tall on end.  Felt a bit bad for the UPS man who lugged it up to the porch at 8PM.

The best part - these contain the entire catalog, in some instances twice over, of Tabletop World.  These will all be going underneath huge Game of Thrones armies late next year, each house getting a spot and a themed board and terrain to go home with them.  I used Tabletop World in the skeleton throne Adepticon display and am excited to dig into the rest of the current line.

Thanks to all of my clients who allow me to play Santa as well as kid on Christmas morning every single day of the year.  Nothing else is as rewarding and fun, and am grateful to be able to do it.

To all of you, happy holidays and safe modelling. To this crazy guy and his ilk - "Merry Christmas ya filthy animal!"

The Mountain of Mad(ness) - A Khorne AoS Army

"YARGABLARBLA!" - Dremora Lord

Time to celebrate another culmination of a great deal of hard work and good times painting away. While painting is what keeps me mellow and content, there is a huge rush to the last couple days of a project, and for this army especially so being one of the longest spanning in terms of weeks. Always a good feeling to sit down after a ton of hours in a project and see it on the computer screen.

Personally happy and glad to be able to paint red again, which I have not in some time. Pleased with how the backdrop came out as well. Originally I kept it a bit simple for space and time, and felt it could have been a lot wilder. However with the pictures taken it actually worked really well, and I underestimated the impact of a mess of Khorne models which balanced it out in heft. Proves sometimes simple is better and learned I should probably watch adding complexity for it's own sake, as simple can in this case be just what it needs.

Up next - Marines! More reinforcements for the Clan Lachesis army. That will likely take my next project post into 2018, so an early Happy Holidays to everyone if I don't have anything for you until then. Thank you as always.

The Last Voyage of the Crusty Anchovy

"Ello, I wanna munch ya" is da thing to say
on a bright, humie huntin' day.

Dat's da island greeting dat we send ta you
From da land where fat guts sway
Here ya know yerr bones will be white and bright
Da sun will shine by day and the spit at night

"Ello, I wanna munch ya" is da Butcha's way
to say get in my belly, to you!

Bon voyage and other well-preserved cheese to another project. A bunch of Alestorm, Kraken and late nights wrapped up in one final set of pictures. The customer wanted some tribal Ogres, a little bit realistic and menacing, a little bit silly, fitting for the inherent character of Ogres to begin with.

Stormcast Eternals Army

"You come.

I forge.

We talk.

You good friend.

I very happy."

- G.B.

It is finished!  The big Stormcast army is a wrap, and here is the full gallery.

The army went well, lots of time spent, with some stories to tell at a later date.  Overall very happy and the original scheme idea worked great with only minor tweaks.  The customer wanted something similar in layout to the traditional scheme, but with a much darker feel.  Antique and royal, but also brooding and ethereal.  Ancient armor that has seen some stuff, but still on this side of "good." Personally love this sort of aesthetic so it was a whole lot of fun from start to finish.

Feels good to be done with what is my longest spanning project in terms of time involved.  You never fully see it, despite all the time spent with them in my face, until pictures are taken.  It is extremely rewarding. On the other hand, there is always a bit of postpartum, for lack of a less dramatic term, when an army is finished.  I enjoy being in the thick of it and that is what allows me to do things like this alone.  But that is life, and there is always another cool project waiting for me to get my mitts on it.

So until next time, thanks for following along with the making of it, and see you for the next one.

Orruk Ironjawz Army

I am back from the desert fortress of Gordrakk himself, and brought a whole bunch of other gitz! An Ironjawz army big enough to choke Mork.

It had been a minute since I've done yellow or the green boys, so a real treat. The new Orruk stuff is very well designed, lots of character and a pleasure to paint up.  This summer is Fantasy throughout, mostly Age of Sigmar, and looking forward to getting into the other armies.  Next will be Stormcast Eternals, digging into those as soon as I hit post.  See you next time!

Adepticon 2017 Recap

Back home again in Indiana, and back to work!  This year's Adepticon was, as always, better than the last.  Sounds cliche, but trying new things and refining what I do, it is true.

Saim Hann Adepticon 2017 Charity Raffle Army

Hey out there. I am back with this year's Adepticon charity raffle army, and this time it is Saim Hann. If you will be at Adepticon next week, be sure to pick up some raffle tickets to try and win. For two good causes - Disabled American Veterans, and the W.D Boyce Boyscout Council. Last year the army raised into the five digits and hopefully we can do that again. 

As for Adepticon itself, I hope to post something when I get there with more information, but for now I will be in booth 57 in the vendor hall all weekend, so by all means stop by and say hello! Plans for the booth are pretty fun, with a little reunion tour of a few of the big displays and a couple other things. 

Until then, safe travels to all of you going, looking forward to another fun weekend.

Once Upon A Time in the Wyrd - A Malifaux Gang

Why howdy par'ners!

It's been two shakes of a rattler's tail and I'm back with a new project, and a whole mess o' varmints, outlaws, and weirdos.  This sleepy little mountain town litr'y ain't big enough for all of 'em. Tarnation, etc.

Little bit of Mailifaux with a western vibe, mixed with the dark and spooky flavor the game is known for.  Another set of models with a lot of variety, each little subsection painted separately but using a rough chunk of the same core colors.  

The block of skirmish games is over for just a minute, on to a big Orruk army and then some Eldar.  See ya then, cowpoke.

Infinity: PanOceania

Another Infinity army, this time PanOceana. A bit different from the norm, rather than using a predominant color with secondaries such as with a Marine army, it has many complimentary colors balanced across each unit and tied together with their placement and primary shading colors. Somewhat similar both in color and concept to the Covenant in Halo - different units in both form and uniform.  

Fun to be able to flex my color muscle a bit, as it required painting each small batch separately, but advancing them all at the same rate to ensure balance.  A real pleasure and one I am glad rolled through.

Lot's of skirmish games around here lately by coincidence.  That's going to continue for one more project, to the Wild West of the Malifaux universe.  See you then.

Hotline Heresy - A Grey Knights Army

HOTLINE HERESY

ACT 1 SCENE 1

Fade from black to skyline shot of hive city at night.  Storm rages behind neon urban sprawl.  A thunder clap followed by purple lightning striking a tower. Camera pans down to street level.  Group of Grey Knights led by our hero KALDOR DRAIGO walks down main drag.  Loud sound of marching ceramite boots builds. Halts. Panning shot of Terminators.  Acid rains peppers their armor, streaking in neon pink bolts before fading.  A lighting flash illuminates.

2016 In Review

It's that time again, another year of projects down and time to look back. Always a bit surreal to stop and remember what the schedule looked like on January 1st.  Each one a little flicker of imagination, each one coming to life through the year. They grow up so fast, but wouldn't want it any other way.

To all of you reading this, thank you very much for being around.  Your support and enjoyment of my work always means a great deal, and is one reward I get excited about through the late nights of a project.

To those who's projects are featured in this recap, a special thank you goes out for your trust and opportunity to make these ideas reality.  You give me the mental fire to run the gauntlet every day, every week of the year.

The opportunity to paint these sorts of projects, and as often as I do is only thanks to you.

Happy Holidays, happy new year, and thank you.  See you in '17.

- Brandon

Infinity: Aleph

Hello everyone.  I'm back with another - this time some Aleph for Infinity. A little break from 40k for a minute, with some quite nice sculpts and enjoyable to get some use out of the city again.

The client requested a scheme similar to Ghost in the Shell with it's white and black with military green over pale flesh tone, adding in a bit of red glow.  Quite an appropriate range for it, and had fun making a few adjustments to the color placement to give it a little more GitS flavor.

Looking forward to some more Infinity projects in the future!  Up next I am going back to the 40k universe for some Grey Knight Paladins.  See you then,

Wrath of the Khan - White Scars Army

Hello out there.  I am back with another project - this time some White Scars!

This project originally started as a traditional Scars bike army.  Over time the client asked about adding some flavor, and after discussing it back and forth came up with what is before you today.  Something of a Space Wolf version of White Scars; bikers that are a bit feral and live on their bikes on some plateau planet.  Mongols in space.  

Throw in a palette throwback to Frazetta Conan paintings with orange and blue tones, a ton of conversion and bits and you have King Khan on his throne bike and some mean hunters on 41st century horseback.

Both very happy with what is a relatively common army turned into something very unique. 

Have a dream army you have wanted to make reality? Get in touch.

See you next time! 

Sistine Sisters - Freehand Warlord and Reaver

Hello everyone, I am back with another project, and it's a big one! A Warlord and Reaver, decked out in freehand and marble.

This project started as a rough idea of something for the glory of the Imperium, a set of parade Titans in gratuitous celebration of deeds and characters of all sort from across the universe.  The customer's base request was a walking Sistine Chapel, kicked up a bit over the top to blend in with the 40k universe.

To begin he sent me a massive folder of all of his favorite images he had collected from the 40k background.  I then went over all of them and began to compose them across the panels of the Titans.  It was important to him I kept to the general original look of the art, so instead of tweaking them, the existing colors and composition of each artwork was arranged to match the placement of the panels themselves with an overall eye to color from panel to panel. 

The marble was a natural choice to fit the aesthetic of a chapel, and much better than any single solid color for any panels too complicated for freehand to look right from all but one angle.  Once this was figured out, it was a matter of finding a style to balance the freehand and marble to the eye overall, then it was off to the races.

All important parts are heavy magged, with swappable weapons.  Head, torso, weapons, wrists, and more on each are magnetized and separate and articulate. Any point that would take one, has a large roofing nail acting as a massive pin.

The bases are 3/4" cut plywood, then sculpted over with clay for a crumbling tile look.  The Tians attach to the bases with heavy 3.5" deck screws counter sunk into the bottom of the bases, so they are removable.  The pictures are deceptive, the Warlord titan base is a good 2-3" thick in the tallest bits.  The models present on the bases are painted to match the customer's Imperial Guard army that these will be fighting alongside.  These models were actually a surprise for him, and the tanks removable for play.  Funny a Macharius is a very exciting model, but by the end by comparison it was the least of surprises.

Well that about wraps this one up!  See you next time,

The Big One

If you've been around for more than a minute, you know I have some big armies roll through here.  This one is about to break a few records.  This Ultramarine army will be so big, it's the first time a project has had "assembly" be it's own scheduled spot in the calendar. This army has more Drop Pods, Land Raiders, and Super Heavies each, than most armies have individual units!

To budget the army, the customer has put forward I do each subsection in scheduled groups a couple a year and been so kind as to allow me to hang onto them, for one insanely huge post at the very end.  Looking forward to painting some Ultras, and some really great updates in the next couple years.

Next project is a Warlord Titan with some very special paint, so keep an eye out and see you then!

For the Motherland: A Khador Warband

What's that noise? Straight out of her icy fortress, it's Sorscha and friends! Brand new Khador army commission and a with a little bit of everything big and small.  

After this summer of blue projects a Khador army was a nice change of pace, and I love painting red.  A nice variety of models in size and sculpt as well, with the solos blended in with the traditional scheme making the whole thing wrap together nicely in the overall.

Enjoy and until next time,

Tau Invasion - Part Two

The sequel to last summer's big hit - Tau Invasion is here, with more suits, more big toys and a brand new setting.  Action, drama, communism - a film for the whole family.  Can the Tau cleanse a rundown shipyard of human corruption and crime?  They're the protagonists so you know they will.  Ebert posthumously states "a groundbreaking new standard in cheesy action. Samurai Cop is no longer my favorite movie." Thanks.

Anyway.  Round two of a set of Tau I did last summer in blue and grey. The last set was the essentials, so this one is all of the new releases and some more really big kits.  All really nice models that painted up well, especially the big guy.  A new custom Farsight made up of a few kits, and scratch built basing.  I have fun painting anything, but the square panels of Tau are always extra enjoyable and get along well with my style of hand shading and highlighting.

The backdrop is a new addition to my now overflowing photo room.  A shipyard is something I have wanted to do for a long time, and earlier this summer got with Alex of Ironheart who laser cut my designs for the big buildings.  The entire thing is about 6x4' and wood framed for wall mounting.  The big buildings are sunk into the concrete pad and roofs removable.  Will be doing a set on the making of it as well.

Up next, a Warlord covered in freehand!  "Blue summer" is over but work is always in a state of just getting started.  See you again soon.

High Elves of Caledor

Blue summer continues with some High Elves of Caledor.  The customer wanted a balance of traditional Dragon Prince scheme mixed with a few Lord of the Rings influences such as Dol Amroth which you will see in the uses of darker gray and whites.  The Sea Guard were, as a lover of all things nautical, a set of models I had wanted to paint for a long time and the sea green addition turned out to be a nice touch to set them apart that doesn't pull them out of the army.

Up next - a new photo backdrop I have been excited to start all summer, and more blue and grey Tau to go on top of them.  Stay tuned as this will be the best one yet and lots of build images will be posted on Instagram and Twitter.

Until next time,

Mantic: New Empire of Dust Army

The latest addition to the gallery, the official Empire of Dust army for Mantic, which will be releasing for purchase soon.  Some nice models and good options for anyone wanting this style of fantasy army.  

New backdrop as well.  Needed something with a tomb theme and it will surely find plenty of use in the future as well.  Loving the box frame base for these as I am gathering so many they have to be hung from the wall.  In the future will do a write up on it's building.

Up next a High Elf army, then straight into some Tau.  As the Royalettes said it's gonna be a blue, blue summer! Looking forward to it, and thanks for dropping in.