Painting Class Review: Forchheim, Germany
by Roman aka jar
Hey you all,
it took Roman a while to sit down with a cup of coffee and write this up properly.
Massive Voodoo had another miniature painting class weekend about two weeks ago in Forchheim, Germany. With big thanks to Mathias and Peter who organised the class this review is about to drop in.
Mathias helped Massive Voodoo to hold the class in the place where he works as a teacher himself, a tendance vocational school in Forchheim. The location is a great place to hold a class in as everything is like in a real school. Mathias prepared everything already as we arrived on Friday and during Friday afternoon the students dropped in, even it was not the easiest place to find via navigation systems. Thank you Mathias for the effort, the help, your hospitality and the great place you provided for the weekend. During this weekend there were even Snakes involved, but just found this blurry photo, sorry.
Massive Voodoo wants to thank every participant who took part in the class.
Those who travelled far distances and those who travelled short distances. Roman and Peter were happy to see many new faces on the class, some painting their first miniature ever during the class. It was also cool to see many "repeaters of the class" who took the class for the second or third time. Thanks to Sebastian for his help and advice to his neighbours during the class. Thanks to Oliver and Peter for providing many photos of the class. Big thanks to Peter for his help during the class.
Thanks to the sponsors of the class,
who helped with material sponsoring:
PK-Pro
Sockelmacher
Juweela
Modelmates
and Kellerkind Miniatures.
Thanks to Peter who wrote his own review of the class experience over on his blog (german language) - click here!
Thanks to Kedohan who did the same over on GW-fanworld forums.
You can find his experience if you click here!
We started on Friday late afternoon and jumped into the schedule of the painting class: Introduction, theory, preparing the figures, more theory, basing and even more theory. Students who took the class the first time had to paint a GW's demonette in order to get the full amount of provided information to be painted to this figure, while repeaters brought their own project decisions to focus on.
Classroom.
Before the storm.
Saturday arrived and still we were not at the point to take out colours and paint. We still got detail work to do on our bases, paint colour circles, prepare everything for the priming session outside in a back alley and pedestrians looked at this gang of sprayers pretty suspicious.
Pfft! Pfft!
After lunch it was time to sit down and talk about brushes, paints and the proper use of our wetplaettes. Luckily the school was placed with sorrounding stores so some students were able to get go and buy a proper wetpalette for small coins in just minutes. Next step was the introduction in Roman's wet and wet technique which helps to get a good sketch on your bases. The next hours were filled with working further on that sketch, improving the early rough basework to detail level.
After the initial work on the base was done Saturday evening granted us some dinner and a start on the figures themselves. It was time to make experience with new techniques again and while most of the painting work on the bases was fun the smaller surfaces on the figures helped to let struggle and frustration appear here and there. This is very important. If you get to know something new you might fail in the beginning. The frustration that appears is a good sign. In this moment you learn and if you go on you will conquer by gaining more experience. Train your painting muscles by painting. That is what we did Saturday night.
Next morning arrived and we strictly jumped into high concentration painting mode again. Bringing our figures closer to a final picture by adding details like skin variations, maximizing the contrast, cleaning up blendings, painting leather, painting metal parts and much more.
Let me show you the results of this weekend
- thanks to Oliver again for the photos. Keep in mind that a lot of different experience leveled painters took part in the class so you will find the photos with explanations:
Main focus of this class repeater was to work on his gaming army scheme but with more quality of the paintjob.
Main focus of this class repeater was building up a big base idea and paint OSL to it.
Main focus of this class repeater were finishing this figure, improving his army themed bases and much more.
This student took the class for the first time and this was his demonette.
This repeater of the class painted Forged Monkey's Brekk and focused mainly on the face.
This student took the class for the first time and his demonette vision looked like this:
Again a first timers demonette and his vision to it. Brutal basework going on here, eh?
This student took the class for the first time and this was his demonette.
Another repeater of the class going fro reds and OSL here.
A class is incomplete with at least one lava base.
This was the class of blue demonettes.
This class repeater had to leave during Saturday afternoon for a birthday party, but finished his base.
The focus of this class repeater was also skintone and improving the quality of his paintwork.
Another blue demonette plus an owl on that base here ...
Blue again, walking the path of destiny.
Well, a blue lady again. I kid you not if I say this was the class of the blue demonettes.
Hah! Another blue one ...
This demonette burns her sorroundings while roaming through spring.
This class repeater went for a orange beard and dwarf power.
Proudly Massive Voodoo can tell that this was one of the demonettes
who have been painted as the student's first figure ever. Well done in our eyes, eh?
Not a blue one here, but blue included.
And another lava basa and a duck.
Well, this was the second student who painted his first figure ever during the class.
I hope you liked the review and enjoyed that we did put the focus a little more on the results of the class. Massive Voodoo is proud of this class students. You did well and we want to thank all of you again for the great time we enjoyed together. Thanks to everybody involved as we all together made this possible.
Keep on happy painting and take care that your brushes stay wet!
Massive Voodoo is looking forward to see you again in the future!
Da hat sich der Lehrer zu hause gefühlt oder? :)
Sehr schöne Bilder! Ich denk immer noch an das Tolle Wochenende in Blumberg :D
All of those bases were amazing. Now I want to come for a class. I'm sure my wife would like a trip to Europe. I better start saving. Unless you are planning an Australian visit (hint hint) :)
@ThPaintingMage
Yes, indeed. Blumberg was truly nice class too. Good to see you keep the good memories and spirits alive.
@Mg
Honestly, Australia is not at my list at the moment. But we are spreading over Europe a bit more in the not so far future. Let us learn this first and maybe one day we'll can manage and organise such a big trip to the country of crocodiles and spiders. If you do not want to wait that long it is your turn then :)
For me as a repeater it was also a great weekend. I visited my first class in January, driving about 200 km. Some days before this class the date in Forchheim was announced which is only 20 km away. The question was: It is worth to visit the workshop twice in such a short period of time?
The answer is a simple: Absolutely!
I came to the workshop and had 3 topics on my mind which I would have like to test.. In the end I started with my original idea: Building a large Diorama in a nightly scene and lern how to work with OSL. The base is not quite finished but the results of the weekend were amazing. If there was another Workshop near by (less than 100 km) I would definitely take it again to improve the next skillset I am unhappy with. Therefore I can only say: Visit the class, it is absolutely worth it!
@Roman I understand. We are a long way away and it would be a big commitment to travel this far (and not cheap). I think maybe I have a new goal to save for - a visit to Europe :) BTW, the crocodiles and spiders here aren't too bad (you forgot snakes too) but it is the dropbears you have to watch out for ;)
@Mg
Fair enough. I think I even would get in big trouble bringing all my basing stuff through oz' costums. Snakes too yes ... but are drop bears really that dangerous?