Name: Hansrainer

Nick: ApokalypseTest

Job: Scientist by nature and training , Consultant by vocation

Painting: Coloring since 2012 - learning to paint since 2017

Media: Acrylics, Watercolors, Oils, basically what I can get my hands on. Currently preferring Lascaux Studio and Sirius Acrylics.

Brushes: All I can try out, mostly Raphael 8402 and 8404, W&N Series 7 and Chernaya Rechka

Airbrush: Harder & Steenbek Evolution, Infinity, Colani; Badger Sotar 20/20, Iwata Custom Micron B, several Non-branded ones

Miniatures: I prefer the larger scales but will use whatever allows me to pursue my latest idea.

Inspirational Miniature Artists: Roman Lappat, Raffaele Picca, Alfonso Giraldes, Aleksandra Cvetanovski, Lucas Pinha, Romain van den Bogaert, Richard Sharp

Gallery: Putty & Paint

One of the first minis I painted when I got back into wargaming in 2012...

... and one of the latest from last year (2018).

Hiho,

my name is Hansrainer and I live in Darmstadt, near Frankfurt Germany.

My first contact with miniatures was when I was just 14 years old. Back then, not too long before christmas the first edition of Warhammer 40k showed up in my local gaming store and little me, just infused with roleplaying games a few years earlier had to have that big box, full of 10 space marines and 20 Space Orks and 40 Gretchin - it was EPIC. I bought a few paints and started splashing it on my little toy soldiers. But only a year later I was out of the hobby again and any idea of painting was gone from my mind for decades.

One of my very first miniatures, painted around 1992

Fast forward to 2012, I had just stopped my academic carreer and entered the workforce for good. All of a sudden I had all the money - and time - on my hands. Alas I still couldnt paint...



In 2013 I met Roman, Raffa and David for the first time at one of Roman's Beginner classes.

It was an eye-opening experience and the first small step on one of the most interesting journeys of my life. I went there to learn how to color an army quickly to a decent standard and came home looking for lights and reflections in all kinds of surfaces, trying to analyse why certain paintings work and of course how to paint a few miniatures pretty slowly to for my concepts by then insanely high standards. Unfortunately the demonette was never finished and didnt survive until today.

Again, I went a different route first: Coloring armies for playing, taking the odd painting course but staying out of any serious attempts to actually paint.





That changed in 2017
when I took another beginners class with Roman, decided to try out showcase painting and participated at the Duke of Bavaria for the first time. I never looked at art or sculptures before, always sure that art is not for me and that I just dont "get it". Romans and Alfonsos ways of teaching especially have opened that avenue for me - today I look at paintings, photos, statues, even architecture for inspiration at least as much, as I look at painted miniatures.




Since then, I have enjoyed pushing myself with every new project, usually more on the conceptual side than the technical - probably because I am lazy at heart. I adopted the differentiation between coloring and painting from Alfonso Giraldes, because it describes the different mind-sets I had when painting armies and for gaming compared to now. Back then it was about getting an army ready for battle, looking good was an objective, but effeciency and speed where at least as important.

Coloring is all about
optimizing my process, increasing efficiency and creating pleasant results fast. The individual piece doesnt matter beyond its function as an element of a larger whole. Only effect matters.

Painting on the other hand is about
the individual piece, having a smart idea, creating a concept or challenge for myself and realizing it. My goal is always to communicate either the idea or what I learned in the process (something I need to work on - I should probably paint more for myself and less for communication).

I like to paint studies in varying topics: Emotions, colors, subtext or abstract ideas like "paint something that includes all primary and secondary colors in different hues but in harmony".

cold rage

sadness

chromatic balance

What has kept me going most though is the friendships and bonds that I found in the miniature world: Every one is warmly welcomed, supported and appreciated, no matter how novice. People in the painting community give great feedback if you ask and help you improve and its been a lot of fun to be in that environment.

I used to be part of another hobby blog (www.magabotato.de) for years, but they are more on the gaming side of things and I stopped writing when I stopped gaming. Naturally I was very excited and grabbed the chance to join the MV-family and explore this artful world further.

See y'all around :)

Yours
Hansrainer