The Miniature Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, our interview is with return guest Chris Suhre. We discussed his part in the upcoming "The Art of..." Volumes 4-6 Kickstarter by Dave Taylor. Chris is one of three artists in this Kickstarter along side Tommie Soule and Seyni N'Daive.

During our interview, Chris and I talk about what kind of content he's including in his book and what he wants the readers to come away with. Specifically, we talk about how much of the book is going to be instruction and how much is going to be Chris reflecting on past projects. A large percentage is going to be walking us through Chris' thought process and desision making from several of his past projects.

Overall this interview gave me a great insight into what to expect from "The Art of Chris Suhre" and I'm more excited to get my hand on these next three volumes.

CHECK OUT "THE ART OF..." BY DAVE TAYLOR KICKSTARTER HERE

- https://www.instagram.com/chris_suhre_miniature_art
- https://www.puttyandpaint.com/DVader
- https://figurementors.com/Artists/chris-suhre/

Mocha shares how she started painting miniatures and the importance of smooth blends on every mini she paints. We also discuss the struggles she's had with feeling like she is ready to tackle more complex pieces. How does anyone know when they're ready to paint one of their dream miniatures, or should they just go for it?

Mocha also makes the point that not every miniature has to be better than the one before. There's nothing wrong with painting to a lower level if that is what will achieve the goal or purpoise you have for that project.

We also discuss how one of the worst disasters of her commission painting carrier was also one of the biggest triumphs in the development of her skills. Each project has the potential to be both the best and the worst we've ever done, but that shouldn't eve stop us from trying and continuing to learn.

- https://www.mochaminis.com/
- https://www.twitch.tv/mocha_minis
- https://www.instagram.com/mocha_minis/
- https://twitter.com/mocha_minis
- https://www.patreon.com/MochaMinis

Links of Note:

The Art of Loish - https://www.amazon.com/Art-Loish-Behind-3dtotal-Illustrator/dp/190941428X
The Sketchbook of Loish - https://www.amazon.com/Sketchbook-Loish-progress-3dtotal-Illustrator/dp/1909414549
Marguerite Sauvage - https://margueritesauvage.artstation.com/albums/1539437

These interviews are recorded live at Twitch.tv/Uselesswizard. Check the stream schedule there for the next recording date and time.

You can join me, Uselesswizard, on Tuesdays and Fridays nights at 6pm Pacific. We have a wonderful, supportive, and welcoming community of people and we'd love to see you.

If you'd like to help support or improve the show, please leave a review on our page in Apple Podcasts or our page on Podchaser. Reviews have a big impact on whether the show is recommended to others, and it would mean the absolute world to hear from you.

Thanks for listening!

The Miniature Podcast Twitter

Check out Uselesswizard's Twitch Channel to see interviews recorded live
Visit Uselesswizard's Instagram page to see what he's been painting
See Uselesswizard's Twitter for the non-toxic side of the Twitterverse

Intro and Outro Music
"No.4 Piano Journey" by Esther Abrami
YouTube Audio Library

I wanted to apologize for not getting the latest episode out in time for Friday morning. I have no excuse and I take full ownership of my failure.

I am going to be completing the episode over the weekend and releasing it on Monday morning. This late release will not delay the next episode release on the following Friday, as normal.

I also wanted to put out a request to you for any suggestions on new core questions to be added to the existing list of questions I ask the guest. If there are any topics or questions you'd like to hear the miniature painting community weigh in on, please message me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or email at theminiaturepodcast@gmail.com

Thank you and remember that painting is good for the soul!

Chris started playing Warmachine and Hordes with his friends as a way of relaxing during his medical residency. As his medical and social responsibilities grew, he had less time to play against his friends. He wanted to be able to maintain contact with them and the hobby, so he started focusing on painting miniatures to a higher level instead.

Chris finds inspiration for his miniature dioramas everywhere he goes. When he sees something that strikes him as interesting and possibly something he could use in a future project, he stores it in a mental inspiration bank for future use.

One of Chris' favorite eureka moments was when he took two figures from two entirely different scales and was able to successfully combine them into a single diorama. This lesson was a breakthrough for him in terms of overcoming the fear of messing up two very expensive miniatures.

We then talk about some resources that Chris has used to build his understanding of visual composition for his miniature dioramas and how he approaches building a vision for these dioramas through sketches and impressionism.

- https://www.instagram.com/chris_suhre_miniature_art
- https://www.puttyandpaint.com/DVader
- https://figurementors.com/Artists/chris-suhre/

These interviews are recorded live at Twitch.tv/Uselesswizard on Thursday evenings at 6pm Pacific. Check the stream schedule there for the next recording date and time.

You can join me, Uselesswizard, on Tuesdays and Fridays nights at 6pm Pacific for miniature painting, doing terrible accents and character voices, and chatting with the community.

If you'd like to give feedback or tell me how I'm doing, please leave a review on our page in Apple Podcasts or our page on Podchaser. It would mean the absolute world to hear from you

Thanks for listening!

The Miniature Podcast Twitter

Check out Uselesswizard's Twitch Channel to see interviews recorded live
Visit Uselesswizard's Instagram page to see what he's been painting
See Uselesswizard's Twitter for the non-toxic side of the Twitterverse

Intro and Outro Music
"No.4 Piano Journey" by Esther Abrami
YouTube Audio Library

Cathy tells us how she and James started to paint miniatures and how that has been a central element to their relationship and their friend groups.

Cathy is the mind and heart behind Fort Wappel, a painting area you can find at almost every Reapercon and Adepticon where painters of all skill levels can gather together and paint during the convention. It's often the highlight of my time at conventions, especially late at night and into the wee hours of the morning.

We continue to talk about some of the breakthroughs Cathy had during her early days of miniature painting and how those have shaped her current style. Cathy shares about her current selection of paints and how important mixing and playing with color is to her enjoyment of the hobby.

Cathy also shares the experience and reason behind why she sculpted her very first miniature from scratch and why that's one of the biggest risks that has paid off for her confidence.

- https://www.instagram.com/cathywappel/
- https://www.twitch.tv/more_than_dice
- https://twitter.com/catheero
- https://www.facebook.com/morethandiceapodcast/

These interviews are recorded live at Twitch.tv/Uselesswizard on Thursday evenings at 6pm Pacific. Check the stream schedule there for the next recording date and time.

You can join me, Uselesswizard, on Tuesdays and Fridays nights at 6pm Pacific for miniature painting, doing terrible accents and character voices, and chatting with the community.

If you'd like to give feedback or tell me how I'm doing, please leave a review on our page in Apple Podcasts or our page on Podchaser. It would mean the absolute world to hear from you

Thanks for listening!

The Miniature Podcast Twitter

Check out Uselesswizard's Twitch Channel to see interviews recorded live
Visit Uselesswizard's Instagram page to see what he's been painting
See Uselesswizard's Twitter for the non-toxic side of the Twitterverse

Intro and Outro Music
"No.4 Piano Journey" by Esther Abrami
YouTube Audio Library

Berserkerworks and I start off talking about what got him into painting miniatures and streaming on Twitch.

He has plans to enter the next Golden Daemon painting contest and we talk about what inspires him to try painting to that level. He also talks about how he plans to use his love for building terrain and telling stories to improve his entries.

We move on to talking about painting styles and the way miniature painting has expanded beyond the standard base/shade/highlight of Games Workshop to embrace texture, abstraction, and style that verges on impressionism. Some of these styles of birthed communities of their own like inq28, aos28, turnip28, and

Berserkerworks also shares share some of the best lessons and advice he's received from other painters like Sam Lenz who told him that not every miniature needs to be finished.

Follow Berserkerworks on Twitch
Checkout Berserkerwork's Instagram
Watch Some of Berserkerwork's YouTube Videos

These interviews are recorded live at Twitch.tv/Uselesswizard on Thursday evenings at 6pm Pacific. Check the stream schedule there for the next recording date and time.

You can join me, Uselesswizard, on Tuesdays and Fridays nights at 6pm Pacific for miniature painting, doing terrible accents and character voices, and chatting with the community.

If you'd like to give feedback or tell me how I'm doing, please leave a review on our page in Apple Podcasts or our page on Podchaser. It would mean the absolute world to hear from you

Thanks for listening!

The Miniature Podcast Twitter

Check out Uselesswizard's Twitch Channel to see interviews recorded live
Visit Uselesswizard's Instagram page to see what he's been painting
See Uselesswizard's Twitter for the non-toxic side of the Twitterverse

Intro and Outro Music
"No.4 Piano Journey" by Esther Abrami
YouTube Audio Library

This is an extremely interesting dive into the minds and passions behind one of the best MDF terrain companies in the industry.

Austin tells how we started working on building and selling small house and model kits at a very young age. His love of building and crafting led him to work with Miniwargaming and starting commission work. Now the creation of Death Ray Designs allowed him and his business partner to get back to creating terrain and scenery for all kinds of miniature wargames.

We also discuss the various artists and worlds he gets a lot of his inspiration from. So much of Death Ray Designs' products feature shapes and impressions that nod to other worlds. Austin also talks about the importance of understanding what essential elements give a terrain piece the feel of an established world without being a copy.

Austin goes into his design philosophy and how he approaches the layouts of their MDF terrain to make assembly as efficient and easy as possible. There were a few very specific things he wanted to avoid in his products and we talk about those choices.

And he shares about some products that didn't quite go the way he was expecting and the lessons the company learned from those experiences.

- Death Ray Designs Website
- Check out their Instagram
- Death Ray Design's Twitter

These interviews are recorded live at Twitch.tv/Uselesswizard on Thursday evenings at 6pm Pacific. Check the stream schedule there for the next recording date and time.

You can join me, Uselesswizard, on Tuesdays and Fridays nights at 6pm Pacific for miniature painting, doing terrible accents and character voices, and chatting with the community.

If you'd like to give feedback or tell me how I'm doing, please leave a review on our page in Apple Podcasts or our page on Podchaser. It would mean the absolute world to hear from you

Thanks for listening!

The Miniature Podcast Twitter

Check out Uselesswizard's Twitch Channel to see interviews recorded live
Visit Uselesswizard's Instagram page to see what he's been painting
See Uselesswizard's Twitter for the non-toxic side of the Twitterverse

Intro and Outro Music
"No.4 Piano Journey" by Esther Abrami
YouTube Audio Library

James shares the beginnings of his journey in miniatures painting, from a career in painting canvases to transitioning to painting minis. We then talked about the thought processes of getting into painting miniatures with oils and what that says about James' perspective on experimentation and new painting techniques.

James experiments with techniques and materials more than almost anyone else I know of in the miniature hobby save a few. When someone tells him something can't be done or won't work on a miniature, he puts those assertions to the test and usually proves them wrong.

- Jame Wappel's blog
- Check out Jame's Instagram here
- Watch James paint live on Twitch
- Get access to 100s of Jame's tutorials on Patreon

These interviews are recorded live at Twitch.tv/Uselesswizard on Thursday evenings at 6pm Pacific. Check the stream schedule there for the next recording date and time.

You can join me, Uselesswizard, on Tuesdays and Fridays nights at 6pm Pacific for miniature painting, doing terrible accents and character voices, and chatting with the community.

If you'd like to give feedback or tell me how I'm doing, please leave a review on our page in Apple Podcasts or our page on Podchaser. It would mean the absolute world to hear from you

Thanks for listening!

The Miniature Podcast Twitter

Check out Uselesswizard's Twitch Channel to see interviews recorded live
Visit Uselesswizard's Instagram page to see what he's been painting
See Uselesswizard's Twitter for the non-toxic side of the Twitterverse

Intro and Outro Music
"No.4 Piano Journey" by Esther Abrami
YouTube Audio Library

Seth and I talk about how he became involved with the Las Vegas Open, and his vision for what the hobby events and programming of his dreams look like.

We also talk about the new Master Classes that are available for the first time at LVO 2022. These are weekend-long classes with a specific painter who takes you through an entire project from beginning to end.

We also talk about what Seth's vision is for what he wants the Las Vegas Open's hobby events to foster in the miniature painting community. A stronger community who know each other as people and not just painters. Friendships and comradery will help the community to grow and develop strength.

These interviews are recorded live at Twitch.tv/Uselesswizard on Thursday evenings at 6pm Pacific. Check the stream schedule there for the next recording date and time.

You can join me, Uselesswizard, on Tuesdays and Fridays nights at 6pm Pacific for miniature painting, doing terrible accents and character voices, and chatting with the community.

If you'd like to give feedback or tell me how I'm doing, please leave a review on our page in Apple Podcasts or our page on Podchaser. It would mean the absolute world to hear from you

Thanks for listening!

The Miniature Podcast Facebook Group
The Miniature Podcast Twitter

Check out Uselesswizard's Twitch Channel to see interviews recorded live
Visit Uselesswizard's Instagram page to see what he's been painting
See Uselesswizard's Twitter for the non-toxic side of the Twitterverse

Intro and Outro Music
"No.4 Piano Journey" by Esther Abrami
YouTube Audio Library

Synjinn and I start out this interview by talking about getting into miniature painting after his first child was born and what encouraged him to pursue higher-level painting.

One of Synjinn's eureka moments led to the importance of keeping your worst model intact as a reminder of how far you've come. Use it to keep you grounded and remind that you are better now than you were before

Syndjinn also tells us how moving from the deep south to Colorado had an effect on his painting. Moving from a high humidity environment to a very dry environment had a massive impact on how both his brushes and his paints performed.

He continues on to talk about being proud of your work, and the importance of being incredibly picky when choosing to take on miniature commissions work because of it's high potential to affect the way you look at the rest of your work.

- Check out Synjin's Instagram here
- Visit Synjinn's Putty & Paint gallery
- Click here for Synjinn's studio Facebook page

These interviews are recorded live at Twitch.tv/Uselesswizard on Thursday evenings at 6pm Pacific. Check the stream schedule there for the next recording date and time.

You can join me, Uselesswizard, on Tuesdays and Fridays nights at 6pm Pacific for miniature painting, doing terrible accents and character voices, and chatting with the community.

If you'd like to give feedback or tell me how I'm doing, please leave a review on our page in Apple Podcasts or our page on Podchaser. It would mean the absolute world to hear from you

Thanks for listening!

The Miniature Podcast Facebook Group
The Miniature Podcast Twitter

Check out Uselesswizard's Twitch Channel to see interviews recorded live
Visit Uselesswizard's Instagram page to see what he's been painting
See Uselesswizard's Twitter for the non-toxic side of the Twitterverse

Intro and Outro Music
"No.4 Piano Journey" by Esther Abrami
YouTube Audio Library