Review: Modeling. Stories in Miniature

Hey guys,

At the moment I feel like a happy litttle child during Christmas. Yesterday a long-waited packet arrived. Inside I found this:

For those of you, who don´t know what it is, have a look at the following video:


After a long time I recieved my book "Modeling. Stories in Miniature" from our Spanish monkey-brothers Cursed Monkeys. Some months ago they started a campaign on Indigogo and it was sure I would support it. The members of the Cursed Monkeys are one of the most inspiring guys you can find on the internet. The gang consists of:

• Arsies
• Antonio Fdez.
• Cris
• Fstar
• Iguazzu
• Piqui
• Luisete

Well... I think now you know why I´m so crazy about this book. I was sure I would get a huge load of inspiration and new ideas. I would learn a lot new stuff and this is something every hobbist should want to :)


So, what did I get?

Because the campaign was very successful I recieved a lot of stuff:

• the expected book "Modeling. Stories in Miniature"
• an artbook "Monkeys Gallery"
• two artworks
• a DVD with tutorials
• a anatomy mannequin (sculpted by Piqui)
• stickers
• a nice letter

Let´s have look!

1. Modeling. Stories in Miniature

Let me be frank: it´s awesome! 156 pages full of pictures and tutorials. I got the English version (there was a Spanish, too) and it was translated from Spanish by a professional. There are 11 different chapters which include a huge amount of knowledge. The book mainly focuses on sculpting. But even as I´m as skillful in sculpting as a rhinotaur, every page gives me a lot of inspiration. Why? Because there are so many pictures of finished and painted miniatures. And beside this you´ll find two chapters about bases and scenery composition. There is even one about painting. So I can recommend this book to everybody.

If you are interested in sculpting, this book will be a even larger pleasure. Antonio (Piqui) has written a lot about every important thing the sculpter needs. Which tools and materials are there? How do I convert figures? What is important if I want to sculpt faces or busts? There are so many ideas and hints that it´s impossible to list them all.

As I told you I´m no sculptor. But when I read through the book I feel like if I could start being one the next miniute. It covers every important step. Surely it´s not possible to cover every aspect of sculpting in a single book, but I gives you a nice start and helps to drop the fear of doing something wrong. 

Here some impressions:

2. Monkeys Gallery

This is the second book. I was one of the available strech goals the campaign offered. The book consists of 60 pages full of pictures. Every member of the Cursed Monkeys has his own chapter and there are some miniatures I have never seen on the internet. So inspiration struck me often while I had this book in my hands.

Beside the gallery you´ll find some nice photos of the crew and every member tells something about himself and how he got into the hobby.







Here some impressions:

3. The DVD

The DVD was another strechgoal. On it you´ll find seven tutorial. Two sculpting tutorials and five painting tutorials. All of them have English and Spanish subtitles and it´s very intersting to see (just for example) two different approaches on painting a face. One is done by Iguazzu with the brush, the other done by Arises and his legendary use of the arirbrush.

4. The Anatomy Mannequin

Another strechgoal. The mannequin was sculpted by Antonio himself and shall help you to understand the human proportions. Funny detail: there are two heads, some weapons and even a shield inside... I think I´ll have some fun with it :-)

5. Artworks

This was something I was really happy about. Two nice artworks. I think I will place them at the wall above my painitng table. I like the colors and the style a lot!

Conclusion

Well... do I really have to write a conclusion? It´s really one of the best investments I have done in the last year. For a small amout of money I got a huge load of stuff and even more offers of knowledge. It will surely take some time for me to read everything but the first hours have been very impressive.

But some of you will be sad about having missed the campaign. But I have good news for you. If you are quick, you´ll have the chance to get the Second Edition of the main book. The Cursed Monkeys will print a new stock of books. After this, there will be no other copies. So, hurry!

Follow the following link and you´ll be happy soon: CLICK ME I´M A LINK!!!


Tell me what you think about the book. Did I miss to tell you something? Feel free to comment below!

Regards,
Peter