tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31353572156147594222024-03-14T02:18:06.743-04:00Stories I Found in the ClosetC.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.comBlogger363125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-35874793578660495422024-03-06T10:58:00.004-05:002024-03-06T10:58:35.749-05:00Spring is Coming (#IWSG March 2024)I'm sorry about my mopey and depressed post from last month. Not sure if was the winter blues or what, but I'm feeling much better now. More positive, more energy. It probably won't last, but I'll make the most of it while I can.I've been writing again, and revisions on Gale Harbour book 3 are coming along well. I've also started thinking long and hard about my next project, and I have several C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-69923432643236749692024-02-07T10:42:00.009-05:002024-02-07T10:42:58.049-05:00Sigh. (#IWSG February 2024)I feel like a broken record, but I've been struggling to write lately. I want to, I really do, and I often try, but I never get much out. Life in general has just been a drudgery, from illnesses in the family to constant appointments for ongoing health issues to increasing pressure at work. Even when I get the time to do anything, I just don't have the energy. I started to revise Gale C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-40930150252594930412024-01-10T00:30:00.001-05:002024-01-10T00:30:00.132-05:00GUEST POST: VERSUS Cover RevealJust dropping a quick note today to tell you about a fun new anthology coming next week from the Fantasy & Sci-Fi Writers Alliance!Versus features thirteen stories that examine humanity's triumphs and failures in a world full of challenges. Drawing from science fiction, fantasy, ancient myths, and post-apocalyptic worlds, these tales examine the expectations and demands of society, love, C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-13740447092041660772024-01-03T00:30:00.042-05:002024-01-03T00:30:00.146-05:00Survived Another Year (#IWSG January 2024)So I had a rough end to 2023. In November the family came down with Covid and we were sick for weeks. I was sure I had long Covid, but turns out that I had actually developed an unrelated sinus infection (which I do not recommend), and my wife and daughter had strep throat. That was a lot of bugs going through our house! We had a course of antibiotics and finally cleared up in time for Christmas,C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-61634369033343073932023-12-07T09:38:00.002-05:002023-12-07T09:38:36.698-05:00What? I missed IWSG again? I'm not dead!I haven't been posting much the last couple of months because life has kinda been awful. Battling Covid right now, I've had a fever on and off for two weeks. Needless to say, not much writing has been happening.I hope everyone out there in IWSG land is staying well. I don't know how many blogs I'll get to visit this month, but I'll try.Happy Holidays, everyone.Hugs & KissesC.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-44384712052566101302023-10-04T09:33:00.003-04:002023-10-04T12:04:02.347-04:00Spooky Season is Coming and the Robots are Taking Over the World (#IWSG October 2023)It's that time of year...October Question:The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts?AI has already replaced writers. You know those terrible click-bait articles about recasting your favourite movie franchise, or gossip about when new video games might be coming out, C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-63774734058425422642023-09-06T00:30:00.006-04:002023-09-06T00:30:00.139-04:00Missed by That Much (#IWSG September 2023)I was really hoping to have an update today that the first draft of Gale Harbour Book 3 was complete. Alas, it was not meant to be. I'm close, I have about 1.5 chapters to go, but I couldn't get it finished by this weekend as I had secretly hoped to. That's okay. It's been a crazy year and the fact that I've gotten this close is still really good. Just another week or two to the finish line...C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-61997110365218232802023-08-02T07:37:00.002-04:002023-08-03T10:48:40.859-04:00I feel the conflict within me (#IWSG August 2023)Writing on Gale Harbour book 3 continues. I'm regretting that I gave so many characters their own side plots, because I feel like I have to tie everything up, and it's making the story a lot larger than I anticipated. This has evolved far beyond the simple sci-fi/horror adventure series I originally set out to write.I joined a Facebook group for writers called 20BooksTo50k, the premise of which C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-81751149230136708542023-07-07T08:00:00.002-04:002023-07-13T12:34:15.148-04:00July is really freakin' hot (#IWSG July 2023)Don't take me off the list, I'm still here!I missed the IWSG post this month (by two days, anyway), but I have been writing. A couple more chapters of Gale Harbour book 3, changed around an old one, two. This will definitely be the longest book of the series (possibly by a lot). I added too many characters. :-(I've also been considering changing the branding on the series. I love titles like "C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-68067577678971131222023-06-07T00:30:00.021-04:002023-06-07T00:30:00.138-04:00Finding stuff to do is not my problem (#IWSG June 2023)May chugged along, writing-wise. I finished a couple of more chapters in Gale Harbour book 3, and had lots of ideas how to fix some glaring problems in previous chapters. It really feels like it's starting to come together, which is good. I still have another 20-30K words to go, but for a long time I was stalled and it felt like I would never be able to get it back on track. Now the end is (C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-2073461478631519672023-05-03T00:30:00.140-04:002023-05-03T00:30:00.137-04:00April Fooled Me But Good (#IWSG May 2023)April was rough. On the First, my daughter suffered a concussion (no, not related to failed April Fool's prank). We ended up in the hospital emergency room all weekend, from which she picked up a nasty stomach flu. The flu proceeded to work its way through our house, and took us two whole weeks before everyone was back on their feet (we completely missed Easter). We got better for one day, met C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-60848442928278061952023-04-30T01:00:00.047-04:002023-04-30T01:00:00.132-04:00Z is for Zenithal PrimingZenithal Priming is an advanced priming technique that attempts to simulate shadows and highlights created by the sun at its zenith.Basically, you prime the entire model in black, then spray on a white primer from above only. This leaves any lower edges and recesses black, creating baseline shadows even before you start blocking in your colours.I've also seen this done with black, then a grey C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-78005362132126691922023-04-29T00:30:00.046-04:002023-04-29T00:30:00.130-04:00Y Can't I Find a "Y" Word?Y can't I find painting terms that start with Y? I've been trying to come up with something for almost two months and I can't think of anything good.Oh well. Instead I'll talk about a few terms that I missed earlier in the month.Flash is the excess plastic on the seam lines of models, where the piece was previously attached to the sprue. These are usually easily removed with a sharp blade (like C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-44626048834533074272023-04-28T00:30:00.053-04:002023-04-28T00:30:00.141-04:00X is for XPS FoamXPS Foam, or extruded polystyrene foam, is a type of rigid foam board usually used as insulation. It's very useful in construction as it's water resistant, easy to cut and work with, and very effective at insulating from heat and cold.It comes in thicknesses between ½ to 2 inches, and convenient sizes from 2x2 up to 4x8 feet.For our purposes, XPS is also incredibly useful in model building. It C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-11241782543177666742023-04-27T00:30:00.057-04:002023-04-27T00:30:00.135-04:00W is for... a Wide assortment of stuffWashes we've discussed before - it's a high-viscosity medium that allows its pigment to flow into the recesses and low points of your model, adding shadow to the nooks and crannies.Weathering is adding visual texture to a model to make it look old and well, weathered. This is a common technique used on vehicles and terrain to make them look rundown and battle worn. It's often achieved through a C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-39238966372098464482023-04-26T00:30:00.050-04:002023-04-26T06:09:05.471-04:00V is for VallejoAmadeo Vallejo started Vallejo Paints out of his garage in New Jersey in 1965. A Spanish immigrant, he could barely speak English, so his Dutch wife, Eugene Safranek, handled most of the business and PR, while Vallejo himself perfected his new style of acrylic paints.Vallejo in his workshop in 1971. SourceVallejo's early customers were primarily animation studios, particularly Hanna Barbera (of C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-42871293270251325532023-04-25T00:30:00.001-04:002023-04-25T00:30:00.142-04:00U is for Undercoat, UV ResinUndercoating is really just another way of saying "priming," which we discussed in depth last week. It's probably better to use the term priming anyway, as "undercoating" can be confused with "basecoating."We also discussed UV resin last week, in terms of 3D printing. But UV resin also has other uses.In printing, UV resin is deposited in thin layers and then cured with ultraviolet light to hardenC.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-52459829001906836892023-04-24T00:30:00.001-04:002023-04-24T00:30:00.324-04:00T is for TerrainTerrain is the area where you play your tabletop game, representing the environment where the characters are located. In a wargame like Warhammer, this could be a large battlefield, in Dungeons & Dragons this could be an elaborate dungeon or castle. Really anything is a possibility.Some people use simple grid maps with 1-inch squares, providing a quick simple reference for scale. Obstacles C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-74624654262566882942023-04-22T07:57:00.004-04:002023-04-27T21:16:52.806-04:00S is for... Several ThingsThere are quite a few terms relating to models and minis that start with "S," so let's just quick go through a list:Stippling is a technique where you apply tiny dots of colour using a very fine brush. Varying the density and colour of the dots can produce a shading/highlighting effect, much like screen tones are used for shading in comic books.Source: Wargaming TradecraftShading - we've covered C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-2607377720929139622023-04-21T00:30:00.047-04:002023-04-21T00:30:00.189-04:00R is for Resin PrintingIn chemistry terms, a resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers (a polymer is a synthetic material like nylon, polyethylene, polyester, Teflon, and epoxy).In terms relating to miniature and model painting, resin printing is a type of 3D printing used to create highly-detailed models, exactly the kind that can be used for C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-10172540351048258752023-04-20T00:30:00.001-04:002023-04-20T00:30:00.183-04:00Q is for QualityA lot has been written about the “Quality” level of miniatures. Warhammer even has semi-official rules about what quality of painted miniatures are allowed at official Games Workshop events, though their definition of what constitutes an acceptable level of painting is annoyingly vague.Basically, miniatures can be graded as to whether their paint jobs meet certain standards. Exactly what those C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-28390817683005748072023-04-19T00:30:00.066-04:002023-04-19T00:30:00.173-04:00P is for PrimerPriming is the first step of painting, so it’s only appropriate that we’re finally talking about it on, what is this, day nineteen? Oh well, better late than never.Primer, also called the undercoat, is the first layer of paint applied to your model. It’s used as a matte, non-reflective surface with “teeth” that makes it easier for your further layers to adhere. When I first started painting yearsC.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-348078505316752852023-04-18T00:41:00.000-04:002023-04-18T00:41:26.891-04:00O is for OSLObject-Source-Lighting or OSL is a mini-painting feature where the actual source of the light is depicted on your model or its base, such as a torch, lamp or glowing sword. Basically, the model is painted to look like the light is being projected onto the rest of the mini.This was the first OSL mini I saw, and it totally changed my view of what could be done with a miniature. The subtleties with C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-44745802471684733162023-04-17T00:30:00.030-04:002023-04-17T00:30:00.176-04:00N is for NMMNon-Metallic-Metal, or NMM, is a technique that tries to trick the eye into thinking something is metallic when painted with regular matte paints. The highlights and shadows are painted in a way that appears metallic. I absolutely have not figured this technique out yet, so I will once again have to rely on second-hand material.If you're going to reference someone else's work, you can't do much C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3135357215614759422.post-3712335428793937842023-04-15T00:30:00.059-04:002023-04-15T11:30:15.012-04:00M is for MaskingMasking is a technique used to cover portions of your model to keep unwanted paint off of certain areas. This becomes extremely important when using an airbrush, which as I mentioned way back on Day 1, is something I don’t use! So my discussion of masking will all be second-hand.There are numerous ways to mask your model depending on your preferences and budget. A popular choice is masking tape. C.D. Gallant-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01080400727631587101noreply@blogger.com2