Welcome back! Time to wrap up this week of adepticon coverage! Today is just wrapping up my time at the event, as well as putting up all the photos I took with the cell phone. I generally use a Canon S110 to take the main photos (on a monopod), and use a cell to share photos with my buddies in hangouts. Normally I don't have too many cell shots, but it turns out I took over 200...I may have a problem.
So lets get started!
The Hotel and VIG
Great room, good bed, meh water pressure.
My number one recommendation for anyone attending this event...book a room as soon as possible. It is an entirely less draining experience to have a hotel room in the actual venue. The ability to take a nap mid day made all the difference in being able to power through till early in the morning (especially when you can't have caffeine!)
This year I did VIG vs normal admission. The bag came with a ton of goodies, including lots of coupons for "free mini if you visit the booth". At first I expected a sales pitch, but the coupons were actually to "choose a mini" from a selection available at the booth...which was a great surprise. I got some amazing mini's, including some from a game I had never heard of before, Arena Rex! Their booth was swapped the entire time, because their mini's are AMAZING. I ended up buying a second one, just because it was too difficult to decide which to get.
One word of caution...if you don't check a bag at the airport (because of bag fees), you will have to ship most of your contents home. I could not fit all my goodies in my carry ons! Shipping is available (UPS ground) from the hotel, which I used and got the box about 2 days after I got home. That being said, the main freebee in the VIG bag was a hordes battle box, which though roughly 70% of the value of the bag, wasn't that much use to me, so I traded it for some X-wing mini's.
One word of caution...if you don't check a bag at the airport (because of bag fees), you will have to ship most of your contents home. I could not fit all my goodies in my carry ons! Shipping is available (UPS ground) from the hotel, which I used and got the box about 2 days after I got home. That being said, the main freebee in the VIG bag was a hordes battle box, which though roughly 70% of the value of the bag, wasn't that much use to me, so I traded it for some X-wing mini's.
Open Rib Eye Sandwich with wild mushrooms and asparagus!
Food was good at the hotel, but difficult to get something healthy. Little trick I found though, if you ask around dinner, they can bring you both the bar menu, and the restaurant menu, so you can order something cheap from the bar, and then get sides from the restaurant menu. You can also ask them to exchange french fries for fresh fruit, which makes a world of difference.
You can use Uber to leave the convention, but depending on what you are doing, this can cause you to lose out on some impromptu events...like running into friends at the bar and having a few pints.
You can use Uber to leave the convention, but depending on what you are doing, this can cause you to lose out on some impromptu events...like running into friends at the bar and having a few pints.
Classes
I took three classes this year (officially), and a few unofficially (just watching artists paint, and listening to their advice on techniques). I wanted to take some more classes, but they filled up so quickly, and I'm a bit chicken when the class says "bring a mini and I'll watch you paint". Next year I'm going to bring supplies so I can paint in the artist area, to try and break up my anxiety over painting in front of others.
The classes were Vehicle Weathering with Marc Raley, Light/Color/Comp with Misterjustin, and Liber Titanicus with Dave Taylor. (didn't snap one of misterjustin). Marc's class went over an awesome technique using liquid mask to prep your under layers for chipping...which was just spectacular in it's overall effect, as well as mixing your own oil washes for streaks. Dave's class was an awesome hands on experience with a model virtually none of us will ever own.
The classes were Vehicle Weathering with Marc Raley, Light/Color/Comp with Misterjustin, and Liber Titanicus with Dave Taylor. (didn't snap one of misterjustin). Marc's class went over an awesome technique using liquid mask to prep your under layers for chipping...which was just spectacular in it's overall effect, as well as mixing your own oil washes for streaks. Dave's class was an awesome hands on experience with a model virtually none of us will ever own.
Including trusting us all to pass around component parts, including the entire torso and head! Lots of talk about the techniques needed to construct such a large resin model. Really great class!
I've taken misterjustin's light/color/comp before, and wanted to have a refresher. For some reason or another, he finished the class really early, so we had an hour of Q&A with him, from everything to techniques, to example of good composition, to paint design and what he was working on next.
I've taken misterjustin's light/color/comp before, and wanted to have a refresher. For some reason or another, he finished the class really early, so we had an hour of Q&A with him, from everything to techniques, to example of good composition, to paint design and what he was working on next.
Crystal Brush
I entered my plane into crystal brush, mainly to share it with the other artists. Crystal brush is the super bowl of these types of competitions, but you should never not enter because you don't think you will win. Always always enter! Art is for everybody! Share your work! Discuss it! Get critques! Get Better! What was my favorite piece in crystal brush?
Kadjit Has Wares by Derek Scott. Absolutely incredible. The best part? Telling him how I felt about his piece and seeing his face light up light a xmas tree!
Fort Wappel/ Wappelville/New Friends
James Wappel is my favorite mini artist. I just love his use of saturation to generate interest in a piece. His models are instantly recognizable, and he paints with such ease as to be nearly frustrating to an observer :). This year he had his full wappelville set out for everyone to look at. It was gorgeous! (photos do not do it justice!).
The term Fort Wappel is also used for the area where all the painters congregate to paint, share ideas, and just generally hang out doing awesome things. I was able to spend a whole slew of time over there, hanging out with friends from twitter @Terminatortids, @DaCellaBoyz, @TheLonelyHavocs , @LilThunderLiz , @itsacoyote , and so many others! Had a great time learning with James, and even hanging out with misterjustin for an evening. Just a fantastic event! Dave Pauwels even introduced me to car wars and we had a game where I tried to blow him up the entire time.
I checked out a ton of game demos while I was there, including finally playing Armada. Checked out Rebellion, Kings of War, Arena Rex, and a few others. Didn't do as much wandering into the other halls, as I was pretty much just going back and forth between the artist area and the 40k area. It's incredible how fast time goes by. On that note, I'm going to leave you guys with the remainder of the 40k photos. Enjoy!
Even more 40k Photos...Geez Greg
I hope you guys have enjoyed my adepticon coverage! We'll be back to our normal posting schedule next week! Have a great hobby filled weekend!
