They're here!!! The Stephanie Law Masterworks Dark Sword Kickstarter miniatures I ordered arrived yesterday. I wrote about this Kickstarter a few weeks ago, and I can't believe how time has flown-- Dark Sword really worked hard to ship these out during the busy holiday season!
Box Party
I opened the box and squealed like a crazed fangirl. Inside were glorious boxes of the Kickstarter miniatures along with my Thief of Hearts bundle & Marike Reimer DVD add-ons. Beautiful. I promptly popped the DVD into my Blu Ray player and hit "play" while I spread out & fussed over my new miniatures.
Marike Reimer Introduction
Stephanie Law Kickstarter miniatures + Thief of Hearts Add-Ons
I'm really excited about the "Dark Sword Masterworks Miniature Painting with Marike Reimer" DVD made in 2012. Marike is touted as one of the most accomplished miniature painters in the industry and her work is absolutely stunning. She values smooth blending and has a sharp eye (and steady hand) for freehand detail. Just look at her "Guardian of the Sea" miniature:
Image from Dark Sword Miniatures - Guardian of the Sea sculpted by Jeff Grace & painted by Marike Reimer
It's truly amazing. Like stupid-good-hurts-my-eyes-how-is-this-possible amazing. I'm looking forward to learning more about her style and practicing similar freehand techniques. Practice makes perfect!
Chapter on Sheer Fabrics
I've already binge-watched Disc 1 (of 4) which contains:
- Dark Sword Introduction
- Marike Introduction
- Tools, Paints & Brushes
- Terminology & Paint Consistency
- Basic Color Theory, Blocking and Base Coating
- Blending & Layering - Shadows & Highlights
- Female Skin Tones, Faces & Eyes
- Sheer Fabrics
So far, I'm loving it-- Marike has a calming voice and a fun sense of humor (I love the part about her sexy magnifying glasses). There is so much more content in the next few discs, including in-depth freehand sections on 3 different patterns on cloaks & capes. In fact, I needed to feed the cat. He jumped up on the table and pawed at me as if saying, "Stop staring at the moving light box and playing with these tiny boxes. I'm hungry now!". I obliged him, but I would have rather started Disc 2. If it were up to me, I would have ordered a pizza and painted late into the night. But alas, the pets and people needed feeding so painting will have to wait until tonight. In the meantime, I made some killer spicy chili, which was perfect with this cold front rolling through-- a perfect night for staying in & painting. Now for the hard part: I need to decide which of these many miniatures to start painting!