4/21/13: Smells Like Wargaming: Beyond Graduation

Hey guys,

So its been almost a week since I put paint to model, but my final semester of school is almost finished. I’ve got a couple of projects to turn in, a single final, and I’m graduating this saturday. I’ve gotta say, its super surreal to think that in less than a week, I’ll no longer be a student and be a full-time manager and artist. School, for me, has been a safeguard, a place for me to build Smells Like Wargaming, as well as many long-term connections to the Wargaming community and clients both national and international.

The real question is, however, is what does the future hold for Smells Like Wargaming? As an artist, I’ve found my niche and, if I so choose, I can always expand into other directions.



For those of you who don’t know, along with Smells Like Wargaming, I’m also manager at our FLGS, Durango Game Space. Anyone in the area should come and say hey! Anyways, having ties and connections via the shop helps secure me in the local wargaming scene, but various other games as well. Casual Magic: The Gathering, anyone? But through my job, I continue to work and expand the hobby through most aspects of my life. With school finally being out, I’ll finally have time to run more 40k events; I’ve been hankering to run a narrative campaign for quite some time now, I think its overdue!
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been setting a mental checklist of goals and projects I want to see obtained over the next year and beyond. So lets break them down:

• Both gaming and showcase pieces. Second place at Genghis-Con this year was a major step for me, but I know I can do better than that. I’ve got some painting AND sculpting projects set soon, so expect more non-gaming pieces to show up!
• The FULL completion of my Alpha Legion Chaos Army. This includes nearly 40 cultists, fully changeable Chosen and Marines, as well as markers, tokens, and, most importantly, a display board. Drawing inspiration from one of my favorite commission painters, GMM Studios, I know I can step up my game and get something incredible going!
• The completion of projects collecting dust. Thanks to commissions and trades, I’ve got two armies-worth of models that need to get painted. With idiots on eBay, I’ve got my Ork army to paint (minus Deffkoptas and other pieces…) and a Grey Knights force. It might even be time to repaint those old Imperial Guard!

• Checklists and calendars. Last summer, I was cranking out projects in under a week. Magilla’s Malifaux crews all took 3 to 4 days, TOPS, to finish. With school rolling, its been months. That’s unacceptable. Quality and timing has always been my forte, and I want to keep that going. Expect Google Calendars for clients, revamped customer service, and a refreshed painter.

I’ve also got plans to keep other artistic venues open, as well as various other projects, plans, events, and other endeavors to keep at, thanks to time opening up and my job at the shop.



This is the result of casting two Hirst Arts molds I’ve had during an eight hour shift at work. The bricks generally dried within half an hour, allowing me to CAREFULLY remove the bricks and pour them again. I want to play around with projects like this and really get both Smells Like Wargaming and Durango Game Space known for great terrain and gaming surfaces. We’ve got some great projects already, but we can always improve!

So again, I’d like to thank everyone who’s supported me since I began Smells Like Wargaming back in 2010. Its been 3 strong years, and, with some work and careful planning, here’s to many, many more! This next week is opening up more, so I should be able to get some projects done before I move following graduation. Stay tuned folks!

Granesh

1/30/13: Taking my Photos to the Professional Level!

Hey guys!

Man, what a week! School's been picking up a little bit, Saturday was the Magic the Gathering Gatecrash release, and the rest...well...that's for me to know! Anyways, its been a slower week on the painting front than I usually like, but that doesn't mean we don't have some pictures to share!

Gatecrash! We had 54 players turn out for the event, I got to direct the mob to their tables every game! You can see your favorite commission artist working hard on the right! Man my hat stands out... 

Monday, I grabbed my buddy Ryan (Not RTGamer Ryan, different Ryan) and had him help me take some pictures in the Documentation room up on campus. We've got a really nice setup in the art department with excellent lighting, access to a good camera, etc., so I packed up my pieces and took some shots. Granted I still need to play with them in Photoshop, but I'm rather happy with their turnout!

The Giant Chaos Spawn got the most attention, seeing as he's still sitting at the top of my painting game!

Crisis Suit Family shot!

Breaking out the Imperial Guard! Planning on rebasing these models soon!

Our favorite little buddy, the Sanctioned Psyker! 

Alpha Legion Squad and their Rhino. Wasn't happy with the individual pictures, they really washed out in the shots....

And, washed out a little too, the Orcland Raiders team!

Alrighty! That's what I've got for the week! Got an art project to finish tomorrow, then I'm planning on rolling through those Death Cultists. I've got a ton of commissions coming in very shortly, so its time to get busy!

Granesh

10/23/12: Gaming: How Extra Life Went!

Hey guys!

I’d meant to post this guy up yesterday, but I’m still kinda retuning my brain after being up for over 24 hours!
First off, I’d just like to say thank you to everyone who supported us through the event. We raised almost $600 total for the Children’s Miracle Hospital, which I’m extremely pumped for. They’re a great cause and the more help we can give them, the better!

First off, I still had to work on Saturday, so about 8 hours of the event I spent behind the counter selling Magic Cards and whatever else, though I did get a couple games in with my Krenko goblins!
The first gaming event we had though was a Warhammer Fantasy Tournament. 6 Players showed up and, from the looks of it, had a great time!



Our local DM and Board Game guru came by and ran a game of Arkham Horror. Last I’d heard, they had defeated the nasty Cthulhu-monster and saved the world…for now!



I actually managed to get a game of 40k in too! First time playing the new Chaos Marines codex, and I have to say, its going to take some getting used to!



First off, Giant Chaos Spawn rolled up as a Maulerfiend for the game. He was a beast, and if he hadn’t gotten mauled by a Hive Tyrant, he would have caused a lot of trouble against the Nids. Cultists are fun, but I should have deployed them in a spot where they could have shot more. They ended up in CC with the Hive Tyrant after the rest of my army was killed.



This won’t end well…
The biggest thing is the Champion of Chaos rule. All sergeant upgrades get the CoC rule, meaning they have to issue and accept challenges. Not a bad thing when fighting, say, a Chapter Master. But a Hive Tyrant? That gets dangerous. I know personally I’m going to be dropping the Power Fists off my Champions and go for the Lightning Claw or Power Weapon.



The rest of the night was kinda a blur, after hitting up the bar, playing NCAA Football, UFC 2009, and FIFA 2009, then finishing the night with some Nitro Dice…don’t ask…



Damn you Nitro Dice…
A little alcohol and 3 AM gaming will knock even your favorite commission artist out for a power nap!



Got an Imperial Strongpoint to finish up this week, and should be starting some more Malifaux soon too!
Alrighty, bring on the next Extra Life event! Thankfully its only a year away!

Granesh

9/30/12: Finished: 24 Kt Necron Wave

Hey guys!

So this was a crazy busy weekend. The Return to Ravnica prerelease on Saturday turned work into a madhouse; we had 25 people turn out for it. We ended up with an uneven number of people for FNM on Friday, so I got to play in that for the first time ever, which was kinda cool.

Before FNM, though, we had a little downtime, so I got pictures of Tom’s completed Bling Necrons! An interesting commission, it consisted of:

• 3 Ghost Arks
• 6 Tomb Blades
• Command/Annihilation Barge

The biggest problem with the commission was figuring out how to get a nice, smooth gold without driving myself insane hand painting every Necron on the Ghost Arks. Enter Rustoleum Gold Spray. My roommate had a can, and I’d been thinking about getting can anyways, so I test sprayed it on a spare Warrior. It was perfect!

After that, it was just a case of spraying, washing, and drybrushing to get the bulk of the group done. A little red for flavor, and we have a prominent, stand-out army!

Also got a little work done on some my culists. Cant wait for the new Codex!



Alrighty, this week Smells Like Wargaming is doing a little charity painting for one of our favorite clients, Magilla Gurilla. If you haven’t heard about his event, check out the link here! I personally think the Benevolence Ball is a great idea and does a lot of good for the community. I’ll also be taking part in Extra Life, so expect more information on that soon!
Granesh

4/23/12: Even with Finals Week, Who Says SLW Isn’t Painting?!

Hey guys!

First off, sorry for the week of no posts. Finals Week is upon us, meaning it’s a little hard to paint and get some posts done. I also started my job at Durango Game Space last week. In two days, I’ve learned a ton about Magic the Gathering. I may have to start playing it more regularly. I did get to play two games of 40k while working though, which I never thought I’d be able to do!

Despite all this, it doesn’t mean, however, that I haven’t been painting and hobbying! Lets jump right in!

First off, 1 full Tactical Squad of Imperial Fists is done, along with 2 more Marines. The 2nd Sergeant is almost done, I need to paint his back banner.



So far, the Captain, 1 Tac Squad, and a Drop Pod are done. With finals really being done for me tomorrow, I’m hoping to have the 2nd Pod, 2 Dreads, and the Speeders done shortly!

Next up is Orks. I can’t resist their siren song, they’re just so much fun! I figure I’ll run them a little bit, so I broke down a Loota Mek and scratchbuilt a Big Mek. We’ll affectionately call him Buzznutz!



I also grabbed the Trukk and played with it a little bit.



Totally going with Evil Sunz, I can’t resist red! Scheme is based off of the Kastorel-Novem art. I also wanted to do something silly on the inside.



“Dere! No more askin’ werz da WAAAGH at!”

Lastly, I sat down yesterday and rallied out the Empire Witch Hunter that’d been sitting on my desk for 2 weeks. As part of my challenge between SLW and Lost in Painting, I can rub it in my friend’s face that “MEH! I PAINTED MINE FIRST!!!”



I kept the standard Red and White Empire Scheme, but darkened the piece and made him look more sinister. No Macaws in the Empire, Thank you!



The extra pistol was added to the Greatsword so that any option could be counted too. Really happy with how he turned out! He’s listed on eBay HERE!

Alrighty, a little more studying and a lot more painting!

Granesh