I'm 82 (gasp!) and have been painting figures for about 45 years. Most of that time I painted historical/military figures. As my interest in historical/military has waned over the years interest in fantasy figures has grown. Not of the bare bosom soft core porn figures of interest to some. But of the type produced by Spira Mirabilis, ZabaArt, Blacksmith Miniatures and many others. And I think I may know why.
Ready your pea shooters...
Painting historical/military figures is similar to a paint by number kit. The real life uniform serves as your guide to tell you which color to place in which position. This is not to denigrate the process. It's satisfying and takes a great deal of skill to do well. But the same figure painted by two different artists is going to look essentially the same.
No pea shooter - I agree with most of what you say, particularly on your first point referring to those particular fantasy companies, but comparison with Paint-by-numbers?
I see where you are coming from, and yes, that can be the case, at the "toy" figure market, or at an entry level but there's more than blocking in to it; as we all know - shading weathering even directional lighting effects etc. One can also choose to actually do a paint by numbers canvas by simply blocking in the lines but it too, can always then be used as a simple preliminary guide outline for painting with additional shading and change of colours to give a more artistic and personalised end product.
I personally don't mind all figures looking the same from a painting perspective if they are authentic, that's what we're aiming for isn't it - otherwise why use reference at all?
What I personally get tired of is seeing row upon row (hyperbole) of same piece painted straight from the box, without any modification or thought to the presentation. Remember the old days of scratch building?
O.K. I know it is still around, but that seems to be the dying art to me. I love it when I see that just a head has been turned around, an arm changed, a hose switched or or an original concept in the base work. It doesn't take much.
Although many might take my rivet counting a little too literally, I would never criticise anyone for the wide range of blues I have seen on Napoleonic grenadier models - that is the artistic choice bit.
To my mind the correct colour is very, very dark compared with most figures I see at competitions, but it's still a grenadier even if painted a few shades lighter or brighter, and there's always room to depict a sun bleached or weather worn uniform.
Quite a range of options for that one subject alone.
David
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