Summer Time!

It's good to have goals, they keep you focused and are essential for constant self improvement.

Here is my goal for summer 2009.

Thankfully now that summer is over and the restrictions on my time are relaxed I find myself in a position to really have some fun painting my small army.

I like to paint, no, I love to paint. Painting and modeling are possibly the two primary reasons I love to war game so much and have pursued it for so long.

I've posted them before but I'll do it again, here are a few of my pieces. Frankly they're nothing to boast about but I like'em and am proud of the job I've done. Just like my gaming venture from casual to competitive I want to take my painting ability to the next level.

I have a problem though, I don't know where to begin.

Here is a list of what paints I have, my tools and other misc odds and ends I use when painting.

• Reaper Honed Steel
• Reaper Cyan Blue
• Reaper Pure White
• Reaper Carnage Red
• Reaper Sunlight Yellow
• Reaper Pure Black
• P3 Blighted Gold
• P3 Molten Bronze
• P3 Jack Bone
• P3 Thrall Flesh
• P3 Khador Red Base
• P3 Bloodtracker Brown
• P3 Ordic Olive
• P3 Necrotic Green
• P3 Cryx Bane Base
• P3 Cryx Bane Highlight
• P3 Thamar Black
• P3 Trollblood Base
• P3 Underbelly Blue
• P3 Beaten Purple
• P3 Midlund Flesh

• Pin Vise
• Round File
• Clippers

I find myself at a loss though. When I frequent such affluent sites such as "Brush Thralls" or "Cool Mini or Not" and even the creative community on the PP forums I hear talk such as:

"Blending"

"Dry-brushing"

"Glazes"

"Smoke"

"Wet"

"Wash"

Etc. Etc.

I have an idea what those techniques are, I've even seen some of them put to use but when I take my turn at it I find the results lack significantly.

So, after that long winded into I present you with my summer goal.

(Drum roll please!)

I am going to finish my Cryx army!!!

And I'm going to do it using they techniques I plan on learning along the way. I hope to be able to document over the course of the next few months is a visible increase in both my own ability and overall fig quality.

The purpose?

1) I WANT to be a better painter and as everyone knows, "a painted army plays better and winz moar."

2) I plan on submitting a piece to a NQ competition. I don't know which nor am I certain there will be one, but I want to be ready in case there is one.

3) Hardcore. I want to play hardcore so incredibly bad my teethe ache. It's speed chess meets Warmachine and by thunder I like it!

The trick will be getting my local bunch of swabs in on the idea. Hey, here's a thought. Mayhaps once my mad painting skills are developed I could start petitioning commissions and help them get on the way to a life of hardcore.

That'd be one helluva road trip for next summer.

-cheers-