Massive Voodoo is getting excited!
NOVA OPEN 2017 is approaching!
Make sure to enter the Capital Palette Painting Competiton!
This interview was formerly posted on NOVA Open's facebook page, but the jungle thought to copy it in here too! Enjoy!
Letting the Miniature Speak to You:
NOVA Open Speaks with
Raffa Picca and
Roman Lappat of Massive Voodoo
Recently, the NOVA Open had a chance to talk with Raffa "Picster" Picca
and Roman "jarhead" Lappat, the co-founders of Massive Voodoo, "a blog
by a group of friends about the passion of miniature painting and
sculpting."
As friends and co-founders, Raffa and Roman expanded the
blog from a showcase of their work and teaching tutorials to a
comprehensive multi-lingual resource for painting and creating
miniatures that allows individuals to learn about topics ranging from
the theory of painting to approaches for sculpting miniatures. The
artists have also turned the website into a storefront for the Massive
Voodoo team's miniatures and have published an art book titled Figure-Art showcasing their impressive work.
Raffa and Roman joined the
NOVA Open Community as NOVA Open 2015 seminar instructors and model
donors to the NOCF after Mike Brandt, CEO of NOVA Open and Justin McCoy,
Owner of Secret Weapon Miniatures recruited them. "NOVA Open was a
great event and we are really lucky and happy to be back this year,"
said Raffa. This year, the artists will be teaching the following
courses:
Roman Lappat
Beauty of Skin
Project Log: "The Last Light"
Roman's Blending School
Roman's Speed Painting Master Class
Tattoos and Warpaint
Raffaele Picca
Birth of a Miniature
Converting Miniatures Made Easy
Freehand Painting
Laid Back Speed Painting
Painting Faces
Participants interested in these classes should register as soon as
possible, classes such as Roman's Blending School have already sold out
and have a waitlist.
Washington, DC: 1st September - 4th September, 2016
Multiple English language classes!
Massive Voodoo will also be generously
donating two miniatures each for the NOCF charity raffle: Raffa will
donate "The Great White Werebull" and "First Ranger Mira" while Roman
will donate "Crashed X-Wing" and "Kill. Humans." The NOVA Open is
excited to have Raffa and Roman contribute their immense talents to the
convention and NOCF.
Check the NOVA's Charity Foundation!
Read below to learn more about the founding
of Massive Voodoo, their insights into the process for painting
miniatures, and the artists' seminars for NOVA Open 2016.
Roman and Raffa's Founding of Massive Voodoo,
"A Living Room of Friends Sharing the Same Passion"
Massive Voodoo grew from Roman's idea to create a blog that showcased
his work and tutorials for painting miniatures, an idea that Raffa
helped shaped. As Raffa noted, "we were having a chat, and I said to
him, "why don't you use a blog, I think it would fit much better to what
you want to do." After launching the blog in September 2009, Raffa and
Roman decided to invite their friends to collaborate on the website. "It
was a bit boring to do it alone," Raffa said, so "we started to invite
friends and basically it was a living room of friends sharing the same
passion."
As Massive Voodoo has grown, the artists have found
that their audiences' growth as miniature painters and sculptors has
been the most fulfilling component of operating the blog. As Raffa
explained, "if you see the progress of regular visitors - and the way
they lose the fear of doing things wrong and try out new things - that's
the best part." In light of these successes, the origin of its name
remains a mystery. "No one exactly knows why it was called Massive
Voodoo," Raffa said. "We needed a name and then we found a name," Roman
added, laughing.
The artists' work through their website has
allowed them to note evolutions in painting styles across the world over
time. "When I think back when I started, the differences in the styles
were much more visible, like the French style, the Spanish style," Raffa
noted, "but these days, the styles are more mixed." According to Roman,
the melding of these styles emerged from the miniature communities'
willingness to share tips and ideas online. As he observed, "nobody is
saying, 'hey, I'm keeping my secrets.' Everyone is sharing their ideas
and I think that leads to a better mix of different styles."
Letting the Miniature Speak to You: The Artists' Inspiration for Painting Miniatures and Advice for Other Hobbyists.
While Roman and Raffa have refined their painting techniques over time,
the two artists explain that letting their intuition guide the painting
process plays a major role in their work. As Raffa explains, "I don't
try to think too much about color schemes, I just try to paint the way
the miniatures are talking to me. If you look at the mini, often times
you already see the story you want to tell other people." Roman agrees,
noting that "it's a vision you receive from the model and then you just
paint it."
The artists' emphasis on letting intuition play a
role in painting miniatures extends to their advice for other hobbyists.
As Roman reflects,
I would say it is important if you start
painting, try to know where you are on your path. You're walking a path
as a miniature painter like you're walking a path as a guitar player.
You start to play the strings, then you learn another song. You're
growing and going forward in your journey. That's the same for miniature
painters. And very often people compare themselves to other people who
are much further on their own personal journey and they get frustrated.
So know where you're walking on the path.
Roman agrees, noting
that painters should also "play around" with different painting styles
and see what works for them rather than rigidly following one approach.
"Maybe wet blending is not your thing, maybe you like glazes, or the
other way around," he said, "but if you never try it out, you will never
find out."
Blending Courses and Crashed X-Wings:
Roman and Raffa's Road to NOVA Open 2016
This year, Raffa and Roman will serve as instructors for ten courses
and donate two models each to the NOCF raffles. The artists drew
inspiration from video games and found objects for their NOCF models.
Roman's "Crashed X-Wing" came from a moment of inspiration that turned a
former student's gift into the miniature. After a student gave him a
miniature of the Star Wars ship, Roman kept it in a drawer for two years
since he could not find the right idea for the miniature. After seeing
some garbage on the street however, he said "I thought that it looks
like a planet and a place to have the X-Wing crash there. So I was
inspired by garbage."
The inspiration for Raffa's "First Ranger Mira"
model came from a mage in the Witcher 3 video game: "I tried to use her
as an inspiration and recreate it with red hair and a green color
scheme," he said.
The artists are also looking forward to helping
their students improve their skills as artists and sculptors at their
NOVA Open 2016 seminars. In addition to "Laid Back Speed Painting,"
Raffa is excited about "The Birth of a Miniature" seminar since it will
"show the process of a complete figure basically from start to finish,
from the first drawing of an idea to the finished product." The artist
said the course reflects his growing interest in miniature sculpting.
"It's the thing that I'm doing the most - sculpting, creating my own
concepts, and casting," he said, noting that he works resin and silicone
for casting and different clays and putties for sculpting.
Roman also is excited about "Roman's Blending School" since he believes
it will address the frustration that many painters feel "from their
blending technique or their blending results." In order to address this
issue, his seminar will use a unique approach where students work on
color transitions on canvas before applying these concepts to
miniatures. "This will be a fun class that teaches many blending
techniques," he said, "but it also takes away being scared of blending
mistakes. So I'm looking forward to it because it gives participants a
lot of freedom when they're at home working again."
The NOVA Open
and NOCF would like to thank Raffa and Roman for generously giving
their time and effort to support our work and causes.
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See you all in a couple of days in DC for a great and amazing time at the NOVA OPEN 2017!
Safe travels everyone!
