Hey painting people,

a new international painting class is ahead :)
This time it will take place in Sprange-Chapelle (the Netherlands).


Date is: 12th until 14nd of December 2014


The class will be held in English!



We are happy to have the class in Sprang-Chapelle again. Last year it was so much fun. Thanks to Gert and Jurgen for their help again :)

Check out the last year´s class review:
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.de/2014/01/review-painting-class-in-sprange.html

Important:

If you like to attend the class, please send a mail to me (Peter) and I´ll put you on the list. My mail is: baphomet[at]massivevoodoo[dot]com

As soon as I got your mail, you´ll recieve a PDF with all necessary information (in English).


If you´ll need the painting class information in German or if you´d like to help us organizing a class in your hometown, feel free to send me a mail, too: baphomet[at]massivevoodoo[dot]com, but don't forget to read the FAQ about Massive Voodoo's classes first.


If you like to attend one of Roman´s classes in Germany, check our class in Munich: CLICK


Regards
Peter

Name: Matt Cexwish

Nickname: The Ghypsie

Job: Freelance Architect and Urbanist, self-employed Designer & Artist, founder of überliner.com

Years of Painting: 2003 in Miniature Painting (Competitions), some time before that

Media: Blood, Tears & Sweat, besides: Everything that can be used for communicating Ideas

Brushes: Windsor&Newton Series 7 (Miniature), sizes 0, 1 and 2, Reaper, some Synthetics

Airbrush: Much underrated, very useful Tool

Miniatures: Mostly Fantasy, SciFi and very little Modern Miniatures

Scales: Mostly 1:28 Heroic Scale, but also Bigger, Smaller and everything in between (up to 1:1)

Speed: Fast in Building, Too Fast in Painting Average Painting Hours per day: > 2 h

Sculpting: Theoretical Studies and huge appreciation for Traditional Sculpting, could have done way more Miniature Sculpts. Love Sculpting Machinery and Constructions, though.

Favourite Miniature Painters: Anyone who transfers Painting Techniques from other fields to Miniature Painting and thus changes what we believe to be possible... A.C., A.G., B.K., E., F.R., K.K., L., L.G.P., R.P., R.L., S.A., ETC. PP.

Favourite Miniature: The Next One

Sculptors: Anyone, who thinks Volume, speaks Texture and understands the Silhouette naturally...


For the past years, Matt has strived to turn the Miniature Hobby into a true Form of Art.

Although he does seem like an typical Architect / Urbanist, he really cares a lot about Film, Poetry, Pornography, Art, Music and Science. Matt always tries to push the boundaries of what is thought to be possible and to find new, innovative, creative, surprising, stupid, unusual, boring and appealing ways to tell relevant and interesting stories through his narrative Dioramas – at least relevant to him. In his free time, Matt likes to Walk around the world with an open mind and open pockets, swim with the Whales while counting the pool tiles (4.324) and meeting old and young people that can teach him a lesson or two. He likes his Tea with Brown Sugar and Milk. Also, he loves speaking about himself in the third person. Matt´s favourite colour is Turquoise.


Matt is always looking for new ways to visualize and communicate Miniatures. Here he has scanned one of his upcoming Projects with a medical grade CT Scanner.




Matt is a strong believer in an warm-hearted and straigh forward approach in life. Life itself is way too precious to be too serious about it. After all, no one will make it out alive anyways. So why not relax, take a deep breath, make yourself comfortable, make yourself a Wig, make yourself a Coffee, Grab a Cookie, Grab your Friends, Grab your Girl, Go on a Trip, Go on Vacation, Go back to School, Go to the Loo and simply enjoy the Show as long as it lasts? Matt is fascinated by the Small things more then the big “Badaboom!!” Moments in life. He loves to observe the Creation around him and all it´s facettes, including / especially people. Understanding why something looks as it looks is the first Step (the Conscious Mind), then one can start to carry the thought around like a Baby and Think an awful lot about it (the Breeding Mind), then come up with Solutions, Inspiration, Polite Suggestions, Counter Ideas, Harsh Repulsions, Innovations, Repetitions, Stupid and Bad Ideas and everything in between (the Ingenious Mind) to start sending out signals to one´s or someone else´s Muscles (the “Do” Signal) to -finally- help a thought pain- tears- and sweatstakingly become Reality (the Oh Yeah! Stage).

There are no secrets other then to learn to say Yes. To Everything. To Everyone. But first and foremost: To Yourself.

All Miniature Projects are a joyful challenge, especially those which have been planned from sketch to sculpt to finished Miniature.

 Ladies and Gentleman,

Week after week we will show you the entries of the Forged Hope Program.
You can find the other rounds here:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5

Remember, the Lottery of the Random Prize Pool is over, check if you have won. Some names are marked green now, we got those adresses, one is missing: Daniel Owen, please check back with us via:
click!

You will find these posted galleries of the entries linked up to the event section - click here!

Let's continue with the next round!


Hello there, in the jungle, 
when the competition Forged Hope was proclaimed on the MV blog, I was thrilled. First of all I liked the idea – waste lands,  robots sent there by the mysterious Forge Father... That’s what I call a fantasy, fantastic idea. The comic strip by Raffa really kicked my own fantasy. Now I know – and it was something new for me though I’ve been painting and sculpting figures for some years – the story is very important. It helps you paint your miniatures because if you have a strong story, you know how it should be paint like. The same rule is even more important if you want to sculpt something. BTW rules… I’d like to thank the jury for allowing me to show there the robot though it’s not from the marvelous kit by Heroes and Villains Miniatures (that’s why it’s out of the competition but Forge Father is Forge Father).

I just knew what I had to do from the very first moment – a robot created by the Forge Father that is looking for some raw materials somewhere in the deserts... It had to be quite damaged and scratched and – we are on the Massive Voodoo blog (=in the  jungle) so the robot had to looke like an ape. 

That’s why I chose the name of it Atom Powered Entity (A.P.E. for short).  OK, everything was set and it was the right time for the sculpting. I started the sculpting job by drawing a quick and simple sketch of the robot. I draw something between gorilla and an old steam locomotive. I wanted to cover the body with plates and rivets because I hope it  could be great fun to paint it.
Using epoxy putty Magic Sculp and some copper wire I made a simple mannequin. I decided for small size about 28mm known from the war-games. When the mannequin was done I tried to use Magic sculp but I wasn’t satisfied. So I removed it and decided to use oven-bake clay. Using i tis much more comfortable and if you make a mistake, it’s very easy  to remove it and sculp the wrong part again. I used Super Sculpey FIRM, (red) FIMO and (blue) mass! by Koh-i-noor. The only reason for it was simple – you can mix it as you wish and after you do it, you get a quite new clay with a new colour(s).

Rivets
There are many ways how to sculpt rivets.  You can make a stamp, use head of pin… it depends of the soze of the rivet you want to have on your figure. Sculpting the rivets on the A.P.E. I knew it was almost impossible (for me ) to have the same size of each rivet. That’s why I decided using quite different technique that allowes me have the rivet heads almost the but not the same from the very start. I believed it could be fine detail of the figure. I made a thin slice from the clay on my Clay Conditioning Machine and cut a small circle with a simple tool I made before – cut-off needle (there’s a wire to help to eject the stamped circle from inside the tube). I made a ball from this circle and this ball I put into a hole pushed before. (I recommend place a drop of Sculpey Translucent Liquid Sculpey into the hole before you put the ball into it because it works as glue when (!) you bake it.

So here’s the almost finished A.P.E.. Hope you like it because it’s not finished yet. I have to sculpt the shoulders, hands and the base… So thank you for watching for now and stay tuned … and see more on my blog in the future!



After the nuclear war, human communication broke down. Power stations were destroyed, landlines broken, antennas gone, digital communication was down as the satellites couldn´t be reached. And the post offices were closed for obvious reasons...

The few surviving settlements were scattered far away so the contact between those few was completely lost.

And even within the underground dwellings communication was a big issue. Systems of runners were established that connected the sometimes kilometers long and deep bunker systems. But that system didn´t prove right.

So humanity started to introduce an ancient technology called telegraphy. Back in the days whole continents and even lands overseas stayed in contact by this technic. Soon the tunnels and underground halls were connected by the "singing wire" as the survivors started to call the cables running through their settlements.

After a life on the surface was possible again, it didn´t took too long and humanity started to reestablish communication with their "neighbouring" settlements. The distances were really huge so the only practicable solution was the construction of a singing wire network.
Whatever material was available was used to build the masts that keep the precious cables safe form movement on ground. Mostly metal scarp was used, trees were still a rare sight in the sun burned wastes. To save recources sometimes even natural structures were incorporated. Like rocky spires or overhanging cliffs, even termitehives weren´t save. Nobody could tell how those insects survived the big war and the years after.

After the first robots were created, the settlers started to give them specific colours, according to their actual tasks. Multipurpose bots were repainted if their job changed, others stayed as they were. Black was used for guardians and hunters, orange for maintenance bot, yellow and white for scouting bots and green for those who served the leaders in their daily tasks to run a settlement.

There was one particular green bot, his original name and serial number was lost, called rusty. Something was special about him. There was unrepairable construction fault or a defect in the software, nobody could really tell. Even reboots and a new CPU didn´t help. This green bot was kind of clumsy, throwing down glasses and bottles, stumbling and dropping technical devices, sometimes even forgetting his given tasks. This enraged the leaders and elders, and so the bot was returned to dismantle. The robot forgers couldn´t find it in their hearts to simply do this. So the bot was sent back into the settlement to help whoever needed a hand. The people liked that and overlooked his scatterbrained nature. As he had no real owner to look after him, nobody cared for keeping him in a good condition, like what happens with mostly all community owned constructions. His paint wasn´t repainted when color chipped of, nobody polished the blank metal parts. Gears, joints and pistons stayed unoiled. Due to the harsh environment the bot started to rust pretty soon. Limbs creaked when he moved and his general look was really weathered and beaten.

Soon everyone started to call him RUSTY.

He liked to call himself S M I L O B O T 0.1, but RUSTY sounded find as well. On one occasion he must have done something really hilarious, and passing by children started to laugh and giggle about that funny sight. Rusty registered that and kept doing silly things. The kids kept laughing and having fun. As laughter was a rare sight in these hard times he had found his destiny. From now on the walked the streets doing funny things, bringing smiles onto the faces of even the hardest men.

Then one day a kid came to him and showed him an old tattered book, telling a story about a little clown. It also brought along a set of paints and suggested to color his face according to the book. Rusty looked at the book, eager to learn more about clowns and in an instant decided that having a new makeup would be awesome.
He also started to collect clown accessories like shown in the book. Ball shaped rocks of different sizes, jingling metal parts, sticks, an umbrella and various hats.

Thereafter he was known as RUSTY THE CLOWN. 

You see the human's latest creation "H2-GO" searching and now finding a source of water! He has rolled the barrels and wheeled the pump far across the desert from the human settlement, now he turns the handle to drill through the rock so water can be pumped to the surface.
However, H2-GO cannot see the shadows that lurk in the caverns...

After years of struggling for survival in the late 2130s, mankind
developed a strong desire for entertainment again. After building
helpful robots for a long time and getting good at it, people started to take
part in illegal robot fight tournaments with their modified household-bots.

Mexico was an Eldorado for illegal robot fighting. Rumors say, that
there is a secret robot wrestling league, with robots dressed and programmed
to fight like ancient masked mexican luchadors.

They say the company's name is WRW... World Robot Wrestling.
And its champion is a golden behemoth named "El Botto Libre",
dressed in the proud colors of a long forgotten nation.

Story waiting for english translation, post will be updated.


Everyone needs shoes, even in the post-apocalypse. So this robot makes them!


This is the CS-4.2 collector-sherpa that travels the outside world to grab all the necessary bits it can find for the forge father and the Blue Hunter 3.0 that protects the collector.

It seems they found the remains of the first one who has been lost a months ago.
But they also found something most important, the proof that the life can reborn in the outside world.
That day, hope reborned for humanity.

The O2 Operating Special Unit – The O.O.S.U.
Joe, Dan, Garry, Dean, Robin, Johnny, Tom, Brad, George, David and Quentin

The guys sitting here are the toughest and most fearless robots on this planet. They are the only ones who can do the job and they do it bloody well! They dare climbing on the highest buildings on earth and by doing so these guys guarantee the survival of the community. It´s their responsibility to suck out the oxygen of the poisoned atmosphere and carry it down to mankind.

Story waiting for english translation, post will be updated.

With Round 6 we come to an end.
All entries have been shown and this weekend we will do the judging work.

We really hope you enjoyed all the entries and be sure to check out the other 5 rounds of entries if you haven't seen them yet!

Aloa Jungle,

before August ends in a hurry it is time for another look on my workbench.
The last of my personal WIP-thoughts can be reviewed here!

Wetpalettes and brushes are - as they should be - wet and colourful these days. I am working further on my big project of Bellerophon vs. the Chimera. Some of you might know that this project is on my table for some years now. In fact it is even a comission and I am really happy that the comissioner is a very cool guy, not putting any pressure on me, knowing that the day will come when my interpretation of this myth will come to life.

As I am doing photos of the birth and progress of the project once in a while you can bet that I have a big collection of the last years.

It is indeed funny to look back and see where this all started:

 

... and where it went during the past- I always say a project has its right time to see proper progress and sometimes it is very important to stay put to this saying. At least in my personal case:


All is still in WIP, and of course the paintwork, but progress is on. Bellerophon rose on his steed to slay that beast of Chimera. Can't wait to bring some paint on him and integrate him in the overall picture. I will have a bigger article on this project coming up and explain what I did here and there.



I am working on finishing the Eskimo Fisherman sculpt by Romain van den Bogeart and I know for myself that not much is missing before I call him done, but sometimes like in the last days it is hard to find the exact moment of finishing the model. I was searching for it, did not find the mood of relaxation to paint him to finish. I tried and tried, but sometimes trying and searching for it won't work. Life taught me that again in the last couple of days.

So, yesterday while taking photos of finished miniatures by Hasslefree (Hasslespree again!) I sat down and took the WIP Fisherman too into the photo session, knowing that he is not yet finished. That was a good idea as I see now what and where I want to improve and push further:




As I am already in the progress of writing a step by step article about my paintwork on that bust I felt that these thoughts I make right now - with the help of these photos - are a good point on explaining them further. I will focus to name these points and put a finger on these spots for the future article of that guy. I think this could be helpful for some of the jungle painters or at least inspiring.

More to come soon, but first I have to find the right moment or mood to get my brush to final work on that big bust!

BTW you can win some of those Hasslefree's at the moment via facebook jungle lottery - you have to share this photo to be part of the lottery!

Stay tuned and keep on happy painting!
Best Wishes,
Roman