BANANALICIOUS Painting Contest - Random Prize Pool Update!

by Massive Voodoo



Thanks 
to all the great sponsors for MV's Bananalicious Painting Contest 2 we are able to present you another update on the Random Prize Pool. Do not forget to take part in the contest - find all the rules and information here!



Random Prize #04:
Putty&Paint throws issue number 9 of the Scale Model Handbook into the Random Prize Pool.
This is definatly a good read!


Random Prize #05:
Morland Studios hands out tons of miniature- and hobby candy. This is the first set of their sponsoring. A great mix of different sized, beautiful miniatures, some basing material and a plinth.


Random Prize #06:
The Bent Bristle throws three handmade, beautiful plinths into the random prize pool.


More to come soon!



Many thanks to the BANANALICIOUS SPONSORS:
























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and:



... to be continued!

MV Interview - Sergey Popovichenko

by Massive Voodoo

Hey jungle painters,

we often have the honor to chat with fellow painters from all around the world on shows like Monte San Savino or the Duke of Bavaria. Often we realize that there are so many other painters, which are not present on shows. Today MV had the chance to have chat with a famous Ukrainian painter: Sergey Popovichenko.

Interview is done by Peter,
of the MV-Team.

If you are interested in more Interviews please check this link!




MV: Hey Sergey, nice to have you here. As some of our readers will know, you are a well known painter from the Ukraine. You paint your minis in a very dark and realistic way. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Sergey: Greetings my friends!! I´m also very happy to have this chat with you!
What can I tell you about myself ... My name is Sergey Popovichenko. I live in Ukraine, in the capital Kiev. And I have been painting miniatures for more than seven years. I get the most pleasure from it in my life. I embody my ideas. In miniature, I find my expression. There is nothing limiting me, and success depends on me. It's worth a lot.

At the moment, I'm not only an artist, but also a teacher of the Kiev National University of Technology and Design. My speciality is to design engineer equipment for the light industry. It was the work of the teacher allowed me to develop as an artist. I had some free time after school with students and wanted to do something other than designing of equipment. It has enabled me to remember my childhood fascination with toy soldiers.


Defensor Romanum

MV: It´s always interesting to hear the tales of how somebody got into the hobby. So please tell us your tale of the brush

Sergey: My way of engaging in miniature long enough. When I was a child, my family was not rich, there was a time when we did not even have a TV. I devoted a lot of time in reading books and drawing. Over time, I became more interested in adventure and historical novels. I drew and redrew the characters from the books. Of all the gifts that were given to me I'm most fond of my soldiers. I arranged the war on the floor of my children's room, glued cardboard castles and siege machines from wood. Thus, began my passion for modeling. Then, when I was at university I came over pewter figurines, a company unknown to me. And at models magazine I saw how they can be painted and arranged. I began trying to paint. Then, when I got internet, I became acquainted with the works of artists from around the world. I was impressed, so my enthusiasm only intensified, and the results began to grow.

MV: As most of our readers are from Western Europe or the US we are sure they don´t know a lot about the painting community in Ukraine. Please tell us a bit about it.


Sergey: Talk about the community in Ukraine can be long. There are many emerging artists, and a few guys whose works inspire respect. Among them are Konstantin Pinaev, Victor Osipenko, Stanislav Kurilenko. You could already see their work on the P&P and PF. However, in comparison to Europe, the number of people who are interested in miniature is very small and there is no organization for it. Far more people make models of tanks, aircraft and ships. A large number of them is more organized. They have clubs and they hold exhibitions on which you sometimes can find a small number of figures.

However, it is nice that there are sculptors who are collaborating with a variety firms from Europe. Among them, Oleg Pogosyan. You should have seen his figures in my painting. He creates a wonderful knights. He sculpts for Tartar Miniatures, First Legion, Mercury models. Chronos Miniatures.


Dungeon of Skulls

Arbalester

MV: As we already mentioned, you are famous for your dark and very realistic style of painting. What´s your philosophy of painting? Where do you get your inspiration from?


Sergey: My style of painting is probably a reflection of my philosophy and my view of history. War is bloody work, and I can clearly see the ancient times in muted colors. So I imagine these warriors are not as bright as they are usually drawn. Most of the figures, which are created by sculptors are quite brutal. So why not emphasize their brutality with a brutal muted painting. Mud and blood in acceptable amounts will speak about the environments in which they are fighting.

Just dyes available simple soldiers were not so bright and so stands in antiquity as in modern times. So this is another reason to mute colors. Of course, the more noble warriors, I would draw more clearly, if required by the situation. But I try to choose simple Slayers for painting. I prefer legionaries and centurions, not legates. I prefer infantrymen, sergeants and knights in battle rather than kings.

Bertrand du Guesclin

MV: What was you greatest success in you hobby-life and of course why?

Sergey: I hope I have not yet achieved the greatest success and my main achievement is yet to come. I have several awards at exhibitions in Spain, Italy and Russia. It's nice, but much nicer to conceive a new interesting project and bring it to completion. In this lies the greatest pleasure and I hope I have the strength for the realization of all my ideas. If I make them, I think you would be interested.

MV: At the moment there are a lot of miniature companies. Which is your favourite one?

Sergey: I can not name a favorite company there are interesting to me periods and figures on these topics from different manufacturers. If the figure is interesting for me, I do not watch a company name.

MV: Beside brushes, minis and colors, what is the most important thing on your table? 

Sergey: This is of course the camera :) But there are things near the table without which I can not be. This is my bike and my dumbbells. And of course my computer and books. Sometimes I like to play shooters and strategy or read an interesting book.

MV: Do you have a picture of your table? Please, do not clean it for it :)



MV: Some short questions: Are there any painters you admire?

Sergey: Diego Ruina, Roman Lappat, Ernesto Reyes, 

MV: Do you lick brushes? 

Sergey: Yes  This is done unconsciously. So I'm using thin brushes. And the left hand in the paint, I remove the excess paint from the brush.

MV: Favourite breakfast? 

Sergey: Eggs to shake with milk.

MV: Favourite song?

Sergey: Oh ... a lot of them! Something heavy!

MV: Favourite film?

Sergey: Terminator

MV: Favourite color?

Sergey: All colors, but only muted!

Crusader


MV:
What is your favourite miniature so far?

Sergey: I can not choose one. There are many great figures from the great sculptors. 

MV: Last question: please tell us which would be the greatest development in your hobby?

Sergey: In the past a great development was to try oil paints. Work with oil on acrylic - it is surprisingly pleasant. It gives remarkable results. The greatest development in the future - learn to sculpt. It would be great to embody my own ideas.

MV: Thanks a lot, Sergey :)

 
Follow Sergey on his websites:




Tutorial Voting: SMC!

by Massive Voodoo

Hey Jungle Painters,

today there is a very calm day of Massive Voodoo's year of the painter.
Due Roman's autumn blues, today's start of a private coaching and the massive amount of bananalicious work which is going on behind the curtains of MV you will not find a choice today for voting.

There will be only one article today and this one will be up next week for you to read.

#01
In this article you will see a project log of Roman's take on a 1:35 Military Model from Alpine Miniatures. See how it grew to become a special gift to the organisator of the recently held Scale Model Challenge.



Read it soon!

Kong's WIP-thoughts - November #01

by Roman aka jar



Hello Jungle of MASSIVE VOODOO,

it has been a while since I wrote my last WIP-thoughts.
Now it it's time for it, but be warned this write up is also mixed with Kong Fu, some very personal thoughts of mine to explain my painter's soul nowadays.

It happened some days after the Monte San Savino Show. 
Monte always marks a spot for me in the year. A spot where I feel the need to calm down.
Autumn is standing at the front porch, telling you that winter might soon arrive and well I am a child of the summer. I love it warm, sun, power, endless energies.

My miniatures I took to Monte San Savino Show.

Autumn for me feels like, honestly: Blahgnarglohnowhybluargh!
I do not know why but it feels stranger every year. I feel the need to calm down. Focus on myself, drink tea, do less activity in the internet. Maybe I just need some holidays after this year passed without one so far.

I said it happened some days after the Monte San Savino Show. That weekend was beautiful and really great, but it also marks a spot. A spot telling me the 'season' of this years miniature painting madness is over. Sure there is still some private coachings and a painting class in the Netherlands ahead and I won't calm down on these, but I feel to calm down for myself - for example by trying to write something on MV every day, answering my mails like a greek god of speed ... calm down and breathe. Drink Tea, find time to search for new music I like, enjoy good books while drinking tea. I think you are getting the idea of what I am talking of, eh?

Well, being back in the studio after the show in Italy felt very strange. First of all I took most of my finished models home into my cabinets to have the studio's cabinets free for new ideas and projects. Some were sold and are at the moment shipped through the world. Then I tried to paint and painting was no fun. So I cleaned up the place.



I just don't know, but that felt good. Since then I am not caring to much about my autumn-blues. It's there, I accept it, let it happen. The difference to summer is, the power of the sun guides me and I feel strong. Autumn is more like ... I just don't know, I follow where the blues takes me.

... and so far it took me to realize I need to breathe and calm myself down. Taking a little holidays on things in my life that keep me from focus on what is important for me. Some of the past weeks were truely filled with me going to bed so early it did not feel 'normal'.

In autumn I just want to be a lazy cat.


... but I quickly realized I am no cat, no matter how early I try to get myself to sleep. My mind needs to work and luckily autumn does not take me down like it did in some of the past years as I learned to work with my energies and capabilities. I learned to take a breath in the right time and now it's that time.

Drawing the banners for the BANANALICIOUS Painting Contest 2, 
drinking tea to it, was truely relaxing.

I even took out a truely old WIP from 2010, to have some relaxed painting strokes on it. Without any pressure, without a goal to push me to my limits - just paintin', drinking tea.


Well, can I sum up this write up? - No.
I just don't know. I won't be gone, I will just do things a little more relaxed. I will focus my upcoming blogging work on the BANANALICIOUS and will do some other blogposts for sure, but I won't fly straight like a bolt-thrower like I did this year until now. I just don't know, I just need to drink a tea now :)

Keep on happy painting!
Best Wishes
Roman




Step by Step: Virago, Ilyad Barbarian Beauty

by Massive Voodoo


Hey Jungle Painters,

time for your last tutorial voting winner.
This time Roman talks about painting the Virago (Ilyad Games, Female Vorag Barbarian, a great model, but sad to the toe - very rare as the company Ilyad Games is no more. You can find some rare Ilyad Games Miniatures on ebay, sometimes and they are far from cheap.

 Let's hear what Roman has to say about this lady.

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FOREWORD
First of all I want to give thanks to my friend Rafael Garcia Marin who played a big part in getting me this miniature. Keep an eye on his blog, it is worth it: Volomir's blog.

Well, as I am selling most of my own works as I am freelance artist in miniature painting one day I decided to create a little special collection for myself, without selling the models after the paintwork. I decided to slowly get my fingers on some Ilyad Games Miniatures via ebay or other occasions. My collection is at three painted models at the moment and some unpainted resin in my drawer.

BASING / PRIMING
I also decided to create simple bases for them. So I went with some stones with superglue on her gaming base. Nothing too fency, but still nice. Primed her white with surface primer by Vallejo. Using the airbrush for that. Why? Well, it is definatly finer than using sprays out of the can.


Next step was the usual one, taking basic tones for every material and placing them as a preparation for further work. Using the brush here. As you can see in the fur I already included a little light situation sketch, using zenithal light theory while applying my first colour layers.


Next step was painting first gentle lights to every area. Base, skin, clothes, metals and leather. I even was in the mood to throw some sandy pigments to the base to make her boots look more dusty. Don't ask me why, I just did.


Well, I now got interested in working on the fur and the skin parts as those make most of the model. So far the skin was too yellowish, so I took some skintone that is more reddish or pink to work further on the skin. The fur recieved some detailed lights in a blue grey to seperate single hairs from eachother. Also her mohawk recieveda dark wash to have the different hair seperated from eachother.


After this I went for some details on the metal. Working with a brigher metal tone here to give the pieces volume. The skin also recieved some glazes of dark red-brown to make out the shadow situations even better.

You can see the red glazes really come into play on the following photos. Additional to that I did some darklining. That means I seperated different material from eachother by using a dark brown line between both of them. You can see that pretty good on her leg to the fabric, on the fur and leather parts to the skin.



Now it was time for final lights on the skin, fur and some blood effect. Using a a bright blue for some tribal paint. In this case I did not want to have it look like a tattoo. If I would have gone for the tattoo I would have mixed in some skintone into a darker blue to make it look more included in the skin. This time I wanted to have it look like paint, she painted on her skin before the battle.

The base recieved some edge highlights on the stones. Leather parts recieved some more light and as I decided to make these models of my collection decent ones I felt the end coming closer.

The blood string from the fresh severed head was made in this way: Blood & Gore and Blood Drops.
Instead of Raffa's hair I used a piece of clear plastic here, like one I have I used here to create waves or waterfalls.


She looked like this in my cabinet and I was already happy with the result.
Final photos of  her revelead what I was aiming for. By putting more work and time into the upper area, adding more details there her lower legs were not that important for me anymore. Click to enlarge the photo:


Well, this was not a very strong article. I know, but I do hope that some of you might find inspiration in it.

Keep on happy painting!
Best Wishes
Roman