Something wicked this way comes...

Hi there readers, Lee here with a long overdue update.

Yes I know, outta the blue right? Where did we go?

Well the Beautiful Warfare team has been on a "working hiatus" and has been advancing the business in new ways. One of the major setbacks I've had is the profitability of miniature painting full-time. Or the lack thereof. I've had to take up part-time employment, which consequently also failed me temporarily and I had to take a 3rd line of income above that. This of course leaves little time for painting and less time for blogging, and all the other tertiary activities of running the business, but that's not to say we haven't been busy.

THE PROJECTS...

Myself and Gord have been working on some advance orders for a client who went away on vacation for a number of months, about 20 models. We've also been busy with a few personal projects and I painted up some Menoth figures for another client, but had to hand the project back incomplete(at no charge) as I just had to bring immediate cash in to pay the bills. I`m still working on my Dark Eldar, which are starting to make headway after finalizing the scheme on a model I painted up as a test and won GW`s UHC contest with. I`ve also scrapped my Menoth and Tyranid schemes and re-primed all the models for updated lists....
...anyone got some rending claws and scything talons? I need 3 of each!

OTHER WORK...

If you're on some of the Facebook groups we frequent, you may have noticed one or two posts with some models you don't recognize from any shelf in any store. I have been working with Action Games Miniatures Ltd for quite some time on their game Drake, and now with shipping deadlines around the corner, Gord has joined me on the painting team and we're working on their box art and product demo models. I`m taking on the Rish force and Gord is handling the Garrick figures, there may be some cross-pollination in the future, but for now, for continuity`s sake we`re keeping to factions. Arthur Nicholson is handling the Saan faction, and together we make up the official panting department(for now). I've also been helping the guys down there at the studio to clean up mold masters and rescue detail lost in the reduction and 3D printing stages.

AWARDS...

In the last few competitions we`ve been facing ever-stiffer competition and much bigger turnouts, making the placements that much harder to achieve and so very much more rewarding. Kelly Kim and Arthur Nicholson, have both been entering a lot more, and I must admit these are painters I very much respect, who`s work I always enjoy seeing. To be voted and placed along-side these painters is something that makes me proud.

• Paintapalooza 40K Single figure 1st place - Gord (March)
• Paintapalooza 40K Large Figure 2nd place - Lee (March)
• Trumpeter Best Painted - Gord
• UHC 1st place - Lee (July)
• Paintapalooza Fantasy Squad 1st place - Gord (August)
• Paintapalooza 40K Large Figure 2nd place - Lee (August)

NEW DIRECTION...

So we are going to be taking Beautiful Warfare in a slightly new direction. We are now going to branding not so much as a professional studio, but rather as an exclusive studio. It`s not pomp or bluster driving me to head this way though. What I mean when I say `exclusive`, is that we will be only taking on projects of interest and merrit, and the focus will be on pro and studio quality work with slightly higher fees, standardized minimum orders (within reason and allowing for those odd exceptions), etc. As part of this new direction we are now also seeking new artists, and the studio will function as a collective. We will be sharing out the work based on strengths, specialization, interest in the project and the time available of each artist to ensure the studio produces the highest caliber of work.

So our first new artist on the line-up is Arthur Nicholson. If you play in Vancouver you probably know him or have seen his work. He manages the Vancouver Elite Miniature Painters group on facebook, has written for Hand-Cannon' and is also notable for some recent awards. Most recently taking awards at the August Paintapalooza, Arthur also took a 1st place and numerous 'tokens' down at Lock and Load. As I mentioned above, he is also part of the Drake painting department.

We are still seeking new artist, priorities being for:

• Quality of work - ....
• Adaptability - Ok this one I think I may need to explain, we want people who are going to be get excited about projects and be both inspired and inspiring. People who try new things and who`s models don`t all have the exact same feel.
• Personality - as a functioning collective the group needs to get along and have a shared vision, we're not looking for employees we're looking for partners(though I will still had up the lion's share of the business end)
• Notoriety - we're looking for people who are a part of the community, or have blogs, or regularly compete at painting competitions.
• Category - tarrain specialist, mass production specialist, sculpt specialist, etc.

There will be a few things that I ask of the new artists, such as to contribute to the blog, write a bio for the website, let us include some shots of your work in the gallery, don't charge less than the minimums, etc. etc. but it`s very much going to be a work-together kind-of thang.


Thats about it for the update folks. I know, it`s a miniatures blog post and I didn`t post a single picture. it was an update of the studio, not the models. Just keep reading, We`ll be throwing up some posts about the drake stuff really soon. Comissions and personal pieces will be following shortly, but right now, with limited time that seems to be the focus. I`m going to be adding Arthur to the blog as a writer, so he may come in talk about some of his recent work.

Hang on! wait.....

....there. Better?