Aloa,
i am really organising myself upon here - so here we go with a review from my first workshop ever - done in the early months of 2009 in Graz/Austria.
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First i have to thank everyone who has taken part in the workshop, specially to Robert (yeah this guy here - this workshop was our start of our friendship i guess) for his talent of organisation and his sister for being such an angel all the time. Another thankful shout goes out to Felix and Johanna from Avatars of War again who made this also happen like everyone else who had his fun on this very special event to me...
The workshop took part in the library of the techniqual university of Graz/Austria. Here is a little overview over the place we had under siege over the weekend:
Me and Robert totally confused - 30 Minutes to go... i am that ogre looking guy there:
The main goal of the workshop was:
Basic goal of the workshop is showing different perspectives and techniques to paint fast and well looking gaming miniatures while surfing through the history time line, art has gone in the wing of art history. To get to know and understand a lot of things like light work, colour concepts and theory out of the artworks from artists like Rubens, Giotto, Rembrandt, also actual artists and a lot more to create an harmonic final look of a miniature...
As told above main concept on the workshop has been a travel through art history. As i am becoming a teacher of art class in Germany someday in the future i really tried to bring miniature painting together with ... Ãhm, i mean everything. I tried to show the people who have been participating at the workshop that a miniature is also a canvas like everything else you find in art, especially those great Avatars of War Models from Spain.
We met on Friday at 13:00 o'clock and started a bit with organisation talking and so on. Then planned the basework for the model. We had a lot of basing equipment with us and find inspiration in pictures of nature which i had collected and shown for this part of the workshop. One example of what i am talking about:
It was very important to me, that everyone creates a theme he wants - so a same final look of every dwarf has been deleted already at the starting steps during the basing. A little view during this process:
After this we started cleaning the models and preparing them for bringing them together with the base. That has been a very intresting part of the workshop because a lot of new ideas came up how to transform the different dwarfs. The participants of the workshop really took their chance to create everyone very individual, by didn't use the mohawk or cutting of the goblin head, already planned in their base concepts.
During Friday we also took our time to understand light. I mean unreal light - not daylight - and how it turns out in artworks, how it is used to set focus points, how to see light sources which are not a part of the artwork itself and brought all together on our canvas for the weekend the miniatures themselfes...
Also we've started talking about basic colour theory - how colours influance our souls, our emotional thinking and feeling. All things have been collected by the workshop participants themselves while browsing through art history with me as a moderator. I tested the people who have been taking part a lot, always asking about if they can explain light sources to train their eyes and seight...
Some pictures of the first day - cleaning and preparing the miniatures...
At night we went to get some food together and that was maybe the best thing we could do - it has become a bit like a family weekend trip from now on :)
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Saturday has been the longest day planned and it took even more time, because the fun was so big and i am such an hard teacher... i mean talker or whatever - thanks again for the energydrinks to Yozo ;)...
A lot of theory again in the morning about colour theory, choosing colours and a slow incoming change to get to the painting with first priming and a part of techniqual "How to's" let the midday meal become very quick and unintresting. Painting Time! Some really have been prepared like hell:
We also had some testing models when it came to painting, so that no one has to fear touching his dwarf with maybe a new technique or a strange colour combination... testing ground have been plastic demonettes by Games Workshop:
I can't remember everything only that my mind felt like exploding during this time and i became "Roman the Destroyer" because of bringing down 2 dwarfs from their bases... I guess i have never been this tired and empty inside my brain after this great funny day of Painting... i slept like a stone.
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But Sunday came up with his full force and me with way too less sleep as needed and we even skipped the breakfast to have more time for painting, hehe.
We did a lot of demonstration painting this day about detail work, like leather, eyes, metallics, gems, clothing, blood and some more. During this we really used every inch of time painting like greek war gods... i had made about 300 kilometers this day while doing my round through the participants and their individual dwarfs... helping out, bringing some more input or just saying "wow" of the improvements made by them... a real joy!
To the afternoon some had to left the place because they had a longer way home but i want to say thank you all again for that great time. I hope everyone was happy with the workshop i have done there and i am greatfully thankful of every constructive criticism you gave me for my next workshops... it really was like bees and flowers, everywhere great ideas, thoughts and moments around those lillte dwarfes...
We took the chance to get some group photos of all the dwarfs which came up from the workshop. Not everyone is finished, but hey that ain't easy on a weekend when Roman (me, jar) is talking all the time - here they are...
Some quick shots of everyone of them...
The other dwarfes... uhm, i mean we all together now (only Roberts sister is missing):
Some more impressions on the workshop:
Painting was spread in Austria, hopefully a lot of painting meetings will start and as the participants said - we will do another one in Graz/Austria in one year, not a beginner workshop - more a high level Bob Ross lesson with totally energy...
Thank you again, Avatars of War to help made this happen...
Happy Painting!
Regards
Roman aka jar
PS: This was the last picture shot on the workshop... our batterys have been totally empty, haha i love to remember this moment in between all those other great moments :)
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Nice! This sounds like a lot of fun with lots of interesting and informative stuff going on. I wish I had taken part in the workshop.
Vielleicht beim nächsten Mal... :)
Oooooooohhh!! I want to go to this kind of workshop!!
All the miniatures looks fantastic, the slayer dwarf is an incredible figure.
Graz is very far from here!! Shit!!
Thanks for your pictures and the jokes, it's a very interesting post.
Be happy,
Jose (Connann).
@Cianty
It would be my pleasure to see you around some day :)
@Connann
Again, thanks for your thoughts... yeah, Graz has been very far from me too but when you someday have to chance to visit this great city then do so... it is awesome... just look at this
http://www.zeughaus.at/frameset_e.html
Outstanding and a great inspiration!
Man... Your workshop is damn cool!!! I think if you release a Painting Miniatures DVD, it will be a gr8 sales. Hehe.. Just a suggestion... Regard Oliver