From the Desk: Mobile Painting Kit

So recently I read Meg's post about Social Painting and it got me thinking about whether that's an option for me. The biggest barrier for me is simply being able to transport core tools that I need for painting. So to remove that barrier, and in prep for painting night with my buddies next week, I spent some time to assemble a mobile painting kit.

The first big concern I had was coming up with an adequate brush case. After a bit of hunting I managed to find this small box at a local craft store. It has a magnetic flap to close it. I proceeded to put foam in the bottom and created a second flat piece with foam on it as well. The idea is that the brushes get safely held in the middle and don't shift around mashing the points all up. I put some simple tabs on the panel piece to make it easy to pull out. The foam is just from old blister packs and just happened to fit perfectly with just a bit of resistance to the sides in order to stay securely. The pieces of cork are simply to brace up the ends of the panel since it was just made from old poster board.

As it turns out, there's plenty of space on top of the panel for paints. My dropper bottles (Secret Weapon, Vallejo, transferred P3s) all fit perfectly here too and as you can see it holds 10 paints this way. Not a lot, but enough for basic work.
In terms of the number of paints, my intention for the first couple runs of this is to work on Nephilim models that I already have an established paint scheme for. I'll just bring my paint diary and the appropriate paints from the formulas and work from there. So not having room for my entire selection of paints is not a big concern right now.

Next I needed to make sure I brought some basic supplies. This old container is serving to carry those basics safely. Paper towels, palettes, a brush cleaning cloth (lint free and super absorbent), an a handkerchief to use as a "drop cloth" so I don't accidentally get paint on other people's tables. This container also has leftover space for paints which is helpful. There's no wet-palette option in this kit, but that is still not a heavily used item for me at this point.

And here's everything for my kit (sans models) all sitting together. My travel Ottlite and a jar with rinse water are the only other additions. It's pretty compact, although not quote as amazingly compact as my assembly kit. I've got a cardboard box to put all this stuff into along with models being painted.

Now I want to point out, the only things I went out and actually bought to build this kit were the brush box and the Ottlite (and I got that lamp at 40% off thanks to a coupon), which kept my costs down pretty well. Everything else was just scavenged from my supplies that were already sitting around. Once I had all the materials together it only took me a couple hours of assembling and fidgeting with the assistance of my 3 year old son to get it to a point where I'm set to go. I expect to refine this kit as I use it more. This Tuesday I'll take it all for a test run and try to report back on what worked and what needs tweaking.

"The Color Of" App Launched

For those interested, Kwok Pan Fung has launched his iPhone app version of the color toy/tool from his website. I just downloaded it and it works just like the web version. It's an amusing toy that can bring some inspiration when playing with new color schemes. You can read more about it at The Color Of site. Also note that the app is free for this first day of launch!

From the Desk: Portable Assembly Case

Inspired by the value gained from having a portable assembly kit, I decided to upscale it a bit with a proper case that could hold everything I needed. Here's a quick overview of my refined version.

	This is the case itself. I picked this up at Michael's for $8-ish. There were lots of options, but I picked this case because it was compact, had plenty of lengthy spaces for storing specific tools, and a larger section in the bottom that could hold models of decent sizes. Let's take a tour of the contents!
	This section holds models in various states. I cut down my foam from before to fit. This foam lets me keep up to 6 projects safe and separated. As you can see, I've got an Ironback Spitter sitting in there, which is a large but relatively compact model. The case is great for things up to that size. However stuff the size and shape of say a Scythean or Dire Troll Mauler may not fit so well. There are of course limits to what can reasonably be carried in this case. Nevertheless, this gives me plenty of space to bring projects with me and is perfect for even large pieces that just need to be trimmed.
	This section contains mostly tools. Clippers, knives, pin vise, micro files, tweezers, probe, and brass rod. This section of the case isn't very deep, so I keep the relatively compact tools in this section. There's plenty of space for more, but I found that this was more than adequate for what I normally do.
	This is the top deck, which has a bit more space than the tools deck due to the shape of the lid. This one obviously contains green stuff, glue, liquid putty, a few random things, and then a mysterious bamboo roller (which I'll explain in a moment. This section also ends up carrying my dice and pencils when I take the assembly case to RPG sessions. At present I'm only bringing green stuff, but in the future I suspect I may also bring other types of putty with me, and fortunately there's plenty of additional space.
	This is the unrolled bamboo roller. I've converted it into a brush case, but here I'm using it to store shapers, sculpting tools, additional micro files, and a brush (for the liquid putty). I just roll the whole thing up and stick a rubber band around it to keep it secure. I've found this to be a very convenient and safe way to transport this misc tools.

The whole case measures less than 7"(d)x10"(w)x6"(h) which makes it extremely compact. As I mentioned above, it's great for taking to RPG sessions or other situations where I know I'll be able to sit and get some work done. In those cases I usually throw some paper towels in as well to catch any waste material. In any case, I hope this is useful for other people. I've gotten a huge amount of value out of putting this case together already. Over the last few RPG sessions I've gotten 8 models assembled which is keeping my assembly pace ahead of my painting pace, and that's great for maintaining my momentum.

The Funk

No, I haven't given up on this blog. There's been a whole pile of things going on. Work has been rather intense, my parents came to visit, and I've been working on my entry for KublaCon. I'm not going to post anything about it until after the con though. Here's a quick update though:

My Dad bought me a new lightbox. It's very nice. It collapses down into a very compact form, comes with 2 lights, and a tripod. It also has a perfect gray background as well. Here is a link on Amazon for it since I don't have any convinient photos at the moment.

I also spent some time messing around with Google's Picasa over the weekend. Going forward I will probably start using it (and Picasa web) for managing my photos. The big question is, should I just leave the photobucket album there, or move everything over to maintain a single account? Lots of work, but I've become rather OCD about having as few accounts as possible.

Wet Palettes

So as a part of my continuing effort to expand and refine my painting skills, I decided to try out a wet palette. I've gotten into the nasty habit of licking my brushes after I dip them in paint (the saliva is a natural blending medium) and it occured to me that a wet palette might accomplish the same goal. So, I built a super cheap one using an old PP blister pack (cut off the back side), some paper towels, and a sheet of wax paper. So far I haven't used it much, but I somewhat like the results so far. I have a feeling that it is going to prove of limited use, mainly because it seems to noticably thin the paint that I put on it, but it definately does keep the paint wet. I'll try it out for the next couple weeks and report back.

To credit the larger community out there, in the construction of my wet palette, I used this tutorial mainly.

Weekend Roundup

Yesterday I played in the WM tourney at my LGS. I got a Menoth coin by default, being the only Menoth player, but otherwise it was pretty uneventful. I had a by in the last round, so I only played 2 games. The first was against a very standard Cryx Witch Coven assassination list, which, assassinated me (but not before I destroy the Deathjack!) The second game however was against a Madhammer list, and was extremely entertaining.

I've also decided to bite the bullet and upgrade one of my lamps, mostly based on this thread on the Privateer Forums. I hadn't even noticed before how much heat my current lamps throw off. I'm hoping this upgrade will help as much as the Brushthralls claim they do.

Today's a catchup day. Getting lots of misc tasks done, and reorganizing/cleaning my painting desk.

Dick Blick

No, "Dick Blick" is not some new fancy curse word. It's an art store. Specifically, it has an online store from which I recently ordered more W&N Series 7 brushes at what feels like a complete robbery. I also picked up a very nice 12 well porcelain palette and some color shapers. I love all these things, and so, here's a quick tools summary.

Brushes: Winsor & Newton, Series 7 - I swear by these brushes. I was always afraid to get them (primarily because of the cost), and used to use synthetic bristle brushes. Now that I've switched to these, I'll never go back. I simply couldn't use any other brushes anymore. They keep a point amazingly well, are very durable (if taken care of properly), and are simply an order of magnitude better than any other brushes I've ever used. Unlike other lower quality brushes, I am able to use a size 2 for 75% of the painting I do. I recently picked up a second #2 and #1, as well as getting a #0 to try out. I don't expect to be using the #0 very much, but I couldn't pass on the price. Just as a final testimonial, my first W&N S7 was $35, and I've been using it for probably 8+ months now. I've NEVER given it a second thought that I spent so much on a single brush. Literally, after using it for a week, I've never regretted it and would easily spend another $35 to replace it if need be. Fortunately, Dick Blick has provided another option.

Palettes: multi-well porcelain - There's probably 50 different schools of thought on this topic, with alot of the differences based on personal preference. I like the porcelain palettes for 2 primary reasons: 1) They are easy to clean (just plop them in a bowl of water overnight and the next day just a light rub removes the paint), and 2) The wells keep me from making a mess. This is definately a preference things, but if you're going to get those crappy little plastic or metal paint well palettes, spend the extra money on a porcelain one instead. You won't regret it. The porcelain ones never stain, always come clean, and will last forever. Again, like the S7's, they pay for themselves after about 6 months.

Sculpting tools: Color Shapers - These are a new aquisition for me. The recommendation came from the Brush Thralls. I'm pretty lame when it comes to sculpting and conversion work, partially because green stuff has always given me fits. I've only used these new Color Shapers a couple times now, but I must say, they are marvelous. Literally, the green stuff does not stick to them. I was always having problems with it sticking to my metal sculpting tools before. I can't wait to use these little bad boys more. I got the variety pack of size 0 shapers which is probably the perfect size for the amount of sculpting I do.

In summary: new toys = good. Now, back to working on the Totem Hunter!