Across the Fediverse - eatsbluecrayon
Tell us a little about yourself, who are you, what do you do, and what interests you about mini painting?
"I spontaneously responded to the request for minipainters in the Fediverse because I'm currently riding a wave of hype - it's just so much fun at the moment! But I have to admit - after looking at the other interviews, I'm a bit doubtful. Because: I'm an absolute newbie. I've painted exactly eight miniatures so far. You can't get much more beginner than that! "
"But maybe it's nice for some of you to be reminded of your clueless, exciting newbie days?"
"So, I'm a Lorebunny. I love Warhammer lore and read the books with great enthusiasm (mostly heresy era stuff) - and take endless pleasure in memorizing the bizarre details. And I'm a graphic designer, so I slipped quite naturally into the role of fan-artist. Well-built astartes without armor? That's my thing! Undaunted, I fill the hashtag "Marine Meat Monday" on Tumblr and Mastodon with life every Monday, but somehow I never wanted to paint miniatures. Until the new Heresy Era miniature of Lucius came out."
"I'm an incredible Emperor's Children fan (and Word Bearers and Salamanders). And Lucius is my comfort idiot. And it's clear in the books and in his game rules: He's so damn beautiful. And the miniature is everything but beautiful. Of course I had to buy the miniature and get a nicer head from Etsy."
"So I now had an unpainted Lucius on my shelf, and soon an additional Squad of Palatine Blades, and then Fabius (My second favorite son of Fulgrim. The Chief Apothecary is just great. If you haven't read Josh Reynolds' fantastic trilogy about him and his Consortium, yet - please, do it!) It couldn't go on like this."
"Surely I couldn't just start painting my Emperor's Children and mess them up? No, the Sons of the Phoenician demand perfection. So I had no choice but to buy more miniatures, finally some colors and then get started. To learn. So you could say that what interests me most about painting miniatures is getting good enough to finally paint Lucius and Fabius!"
How did you end up on the Fediverse/Mastodon/Pixelfed?
"I've always had a difficult relationship with the Warhammer fandom on Twitter. Even before Musk, there was a lot more right-wing thinking going on there and intolerance was thriving. Something I didn't knew from Tumblr - my main social media site (and don't even get me started on Warhammer Reddit. So many meme-edge lords who get their lore knowledge from YouTube videos and podcasts). Warhammer fandom on Tumblr is diverse, very queer, very imaginative and full of ideas. But from Twitter I got all the information and also some interaction with other artists who weren't on Tumblr, so I endured."
"When Musk drove Twitter into the proverbial wall, I followed some friends from real life into the Fediverse a year and a half ago and haven't regretted it. The community here is growing but remains friendly and polite and supports each other. That's great!"
Want to share any contact information?
"You can find my (very NSFWish from time to time) 2D stuff - and now also the minis - on Mastodon: @eatsbluecrayon@rollenspiel.social "
How long have you been in the mini painting hobby?
"Haha, well coughs. About two months."
Are you primarily a war game player or a mini painter?
"I'm a terrible loser. Only surpassed by the fact that I'm an even more horrifying winner. I mean, I know you can cause lacerations with abalone balls. That's why I don't play."
"So you could say I'm just a painter. Or that I paint because I love the lore and want to bring it to life. The same reason I make fan-art and write fan-fiction."
In your own words, what level of painter are you?
"Is there a zero? I'm at the "Hey, look, it's greeeen!"-stage. I'm amazed at every corner and love everything new I encounter right now."
What mini(s)/ model(s) are you using for your current project?
"This weekend I finished a Word Bearers Raptor by giving him gold leaf coated glass stones and purple earth for his base. And started two Firstborn Salamanders. I did wet blending on the fire effect of a rocket-contrail and had so much fun with this!"
"The two Firstborn are from the "Space Marine Heroes"-series. Collectible beginner miniatures. I got a lot of boosters as a gift from a co-worker. Both Firstborn and Terminators. And I love them! Easy to assemble yet not a bad quality or cheap looking. GW should do more of these to interest people in the hobby who are not frequenting the stores anyway."
What is your favorite part of the model(s) you are working on? What makes it your favorite?
"I love doing metals and the fire effect was the second most fun I had so far in painting. Mostly because both is very organic (weird to say this about metals, but it just feels way more natural than the ceramite parts). The most organic miniature I painted so far was a Beast of Nurgle (because Paz'uz from the Fabius Bile trilogy is such a good doggo) and, boy, do I love painting gradients! I already bought a pack of flesh hounds to do even more gradients. But first things first: More Salamanders, because I need more practice with basic techniques."
What are the most important paints that you are using for your current project?
"Uh, brand-wise I'm eclectic. I have Army Painter, Citadel and Kimera Kolors. I have studied graphic-design, so I am rather fearless when it comes to mixing anything to get where I want. One of the first things I bought was a wet palette, so mixed colors are usable longer."
What do you like most about them?
"I don't have enough experience to have an informed opinion on paints. But I think all of them are useful if used for the right project."
What do you like least about them?
"I'm not experienced enough to talk about the acrylics, but, boy, are good brushes important! At first I used whatever I had lying around (and I'm a digital artist, so - not much of physical painting stuff any longer!) and those just gave up any shape or form almost instantly and I ended up with nearly tip-less, bushy abominations that gave my little guys the funniest blotches all over!"
What are you learning while you paint the model?
"Right now I am learning constantly and I LOVE that feeling! I am just rushing through that fun and engaging learning curve and every miniature is a bit better than the last one (love all of them, of course!). I avoid watching too many YouTube vids and instead get my hints from friends and from painters I see on Mastodon."
"So I can act very freely and experiment without overthinking the whole process. That may produce a lot of mistakes - but mistakes are just stepping stones. Or, as the greatest of all always told us: Happy little accidents."
"As I am a 2D artist, in a way I already have a head start when it comes to certain techniques. I have experience with the combination of colors, with light and shadow and with things like muscle structure and anatomy. But I also realized very quickly that painting little men requires a completely different skillset. And that's what I'm working on right now. I'm learning to deal with unfamiliar media and with a tiny scale that can't be zoomed in on (just a bit with a magnifying glass). "
"But I've also learnt that even a fat blob of color on the wrong surface isn't a disaster, but can be corrected with patience. I have repainted three of my salamanders four times to get exactly the green I wanted."
"You can say miniature painting is teaching me patience right now. Working slow and not taking things too serious."
Have any cool events coming up that you would like to share?
"I don't think I will ever enter any competitions, but I like looking at other people's work! I learn the most by just seeing the stuff, other painters do. And how different they are approaching their work."
A request from @eatsbluecrayon
"I am constantly looking for any tips experienced painters may want to share! What do you wish you had known when starting out? What are your best tricks not in any books or vids? And, of course, I love any kind of interaction with other artists, be it 2D, 3D or writers, crafters … everything! Warhammer is such a big universe of stories waiting to be told by us, the fans. And I would love to hear and see all of it!"
