Miniature Painting Part 3

Wow, it's been a year and a half since my last post about mini-painting. If any of you were following me for that, you must be gravely disappointed.

For those who don't remember, about two years ago I started a new hobby - painting gaming miniatures. I don't play Warhammer, but I do a lot of roleplaying game minis (Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, etc) and I'm branching out to some other things. I did a whole series of posts about painting and modelling for the 2023 A-to-Z Blog Challenge. I meant to continue using this blog as a place to share some of my creations, but I've been really irregular about it. 

So anyway, let's get back to it. For reference, I think this batch are all models I painted about a year ago.

It's nice to see how far you've progressed. Below are two models. The one on the left is one of the very first I painted, well over twenty years ago. The one on the right is a new one. I think I've doing pretty good.

These are from the first painting contest I ever entered last summer. The character, the "Red Scribe," is from an actual play podcast set in the Lord of the Rings universe, featuring a bunch of notable gaming folks, such as Reggie Watts, Deborah Ann Woll and Luke Gygax (Gary Gygax's son). It also featured Sala Baker, an actor and stuntman who played Sauron in the Lord of the Rings movies (he was the guy inside the sharp pointy armour), as well as numerous orcs and other monsters, and an appearance by Elijah Wood. It was in support of Children's Miracle Network, and anyway there was an associated painting competition. The scene I depicted was when the heroes encountered the new villain at the Grey Havens (years after most of the elves had gone West over the sea). 

I did not win anything, but I thought my entry was pretty good and I was happy with how it turned out. It was fun to have a set goal and a deadline, as usually my painting is pretty laissez-faire. 

Here are some random baddies I made for nothing in particular, just because they would be useful for any D&D game. I used mostly Army Painter Speedpaints (I talked about these last time), which makes it very quick and easy to get a decent outcome, but I continue to notice how bad I am at taking photos. 

Here are some minis that were inspired by a specific game. I was playing D&D with my kids and nieces, and somehow the bad guys ended up as this organization that destroyed forests just for the fun of it - they called them the "Anti-Environmental League." So I made some models to match, with even a some custom-painted coat-of-arms. These bad guys were also featured in the yearly Christmas book last year, which I'll probably talk about at some point.

Finally, I'm quite proud of these models of Rincewind and Death from Terry Pratchett's Discworld. They're a little larger than the miniatures I usually paint (about 10cm tall), so on the one hand it was easier to paint some of the detail. On the other hand, there was also MORE detail than usual, so it took a lot longer as well. 

Anyway, that's an update about where I'm at with my painting (or where I was about a year ago). Maybe next time I'll show some of the larger pieces I've done, or maybe something about the terrain you see in the backgrounds (all those pretty trees and stone walls). 

Hopefully I'll see you sooner than 18 months this time!

Hugs & Kisses,
-CDGK

So You Want to Be A Writer? (#IWSG September 2024)

September Question

Since it's back to school time, let's talk English class. What's a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?

God, that's so long ago. There are plenty of rules I've learned since then that have been nightmare (seriously, for any advice you can find about writing/publishing, I guarantee you can also find the opposite advice out there somewhere, too), but in school?

I was pretty lucky that my teachers always gave me freedom to write what and how I wanted. I read a lot as a kid, and my writing reflected that. It was quite common for my teachers to have me read my stories out loud in class. There were a few times they had to call home to tell my parents about the blood and violence in my stories (I read a lot of Stephen King as a kid) but that's neither here nor there.

I guess if there was something that messed me up, it was how supportive everyone was. Parents, teachers, classmates, everyone were always full of encouragement: You're a great writer! You should get your stories published! You could be an author!

Ha.

Ha.

Ha.

It ain't easy being a published writer. I mean, with Amazon KDP it is, technically, easy to publish, but it's very hard to be a good or successful published writer. I've got a shoebox full of rejection letters, tons of unfinished/unpublished manuscripts, and handful of self-published novels that aren't exactly lighting the Amazon bestseller lists on fire. I haven't made a dime. Again, technically, I have sold a few books, but ten years into doing this, my lifetime revenue is only just starting to match what I've put into it.

Last week I went to a store in my hometown that had been carrying some of my books. It's been two years since I was there, and they'd only sold one book in that time. The owner wanted me to take the rest of them back. That was a kick in the teeth, let me tell you, and a long way from my school teachers and classmates telling me I should be a writer when I grow up.

So how did school mess up your writing?

Hugs & kisses,
-CDGK

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/