Here we go again with a little review of the latest edition of the Scale Model Handbook published by Mr Black Publications. This time we have the honor to present you the beginning of a new rage of books: Diorama Modelling
The Scale Model Handbook – Diorma Modellng 1 features big step by step tutorials by Antonio Fernandez (Piqui), Jesus Gamarra,Javier Gonzalez (Arsies), Theodoros Kelesidis, Noel Petroni, Sergey Popovichenko, Costas Rodopoulos, Kazufumi Tomori, Alex Varela (Iguazzu), Dave Youngquist.
In this issue Mr. Black Publication added a new topic to their range of books: dioramas. In nine huge and fascinating articles you will find a lot of different topics and the solutions to varoius difficulties met by the artists. If you want to start building dioramas, this range is a must-have!
Bailén, July 1808 - 54mm - by Jésus Gamarra
Back to the Front - 120mm - by Dave Youngquist
US M3 Stuart “Honey” - 50mm - by Noel Petroni
Die Ostfront 1945 - 120mm - by Kazufumi Tomori
Conquistadors - 75mm - by Sergeji Popovichenko
“The Cannon” - 50mm - by Javier Gonzalez (Arsies)
Kings of the Road - 54mm - by Antonio Fernandez (Piqui) & Alex Varela (Iguazzu)
Making Pine Trees - 50/54mm - by Costas Rodopoulos
Near Moskow, December 1941 - 50/54mm - by Theodoros Kelesidis
As always you can get the book from your favourite hobby shop or directly from Mr Black Publications.
Today's interviewee is Alfonso "Banshee" Giraldes. Thank you for sharing in.
Spotlight are short interviews to introduce some of the artists here at Putty&Paint.
Who are you? Tell us a bit about you.
My name is Alfonso Giraldes aka Banshee. I was born in 1983 in Madrid, Spain. I started painting miniatures when I discovered Games Workshop when I was 12 years old and my first job was in a GW shop where I discovered games days and golden demon, a contest that gave me the opportunity to start showing my ideas and my vision of painting and it was the perfect environment that showed me that miniature world would be my future.
Nowadays I am an artist currently working for Scale75. Developing several jobs such as art direction, design, concept art, painting and sculpting. I have been working for this small industry for almost 10 years.
I started working for Andrea Miniatures many years ago and since then i have worked for several companies such as Andrea miniatures, Tale of War, Coolminiornot, Ron&Bones, Kabuki Models, Sergeant Blackart, Knight Models, Games Workshop at Forgeworld Team and Scale 75 .
My main passion are miniatures because this world let me develop many skills and each new project makes me better. I am passionate for improving. I have been giving classes for years, having a lot of students, some of them are nowadays some of the most renowned painters , people like Diego Esteban, Marc Masclans, Arsies, Ruben Martinez, Lotina, Emuse and many many others. This is one of the most interesting tasks I have been doing, because teaching is a very good way of learning. Doing courses I felt forced myself to understand my own painting and how works the colours, light and volumes to be able to translate it to a student.
I use to share all my works and processes in my professional facebook. so if you want to join, you will find many interesting pictures here.
This profession allowed me to travel to many places, know a lot of people and have had the chance to live fantastic experiences.
Modelling is not only my passion, is my life. My main goal in this aspect of my life is to bring the idea that technique is only a method and a tool to create and show our ideas.. that’s why i encourage all the newbies to run away from recipes and try to understand things without being constrained by the pure searching of the perfect blending.. painting miniatures must be not limited and it should be considered only as “just painting”, same as illustration or 2D painting, where every different style is well welcome.
What are your favorite tools, and why do you use them?
Sculpting: I made my own tools and my favourite always change to the new one i have just done. ;)
I started to sculpt with Milliput and Duro, but nowadays i am in love with SuperSculpey Firm grey, however i still don’t feel completely comfortable with it. I think is a very versatile clay.
I love also freexing sprays, which allows me to work the clay in many different hardness stages
Painting: Paints: I love the old Citadel range and nowadays i am moving to Scale75 colours mixed with inks from Inktensity range and old Citadel inks. I love Windsor & Newton inks, Golden Acrylic colours and many others. My brushes are always Windsor & Newton Series 7, and my laser sabre airbrush is an Iwata high performance plus.
How would you describe your own style?
Expressive,..I hope..and risky. I love to reach new levels of impact. And that’s what I have tried in many artbox, specially some that i did in the past for Knight Models such as the duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan, the Ironman bust or the Ghost Rider, which are probably the most difficult challenges I have done in my painting career.
Sculpting I don’t have yet a specific style. I am just learning and in the way to become what I want to be as an sculptor.. so there is a long road to walk.
Show us your workspace. Do not clean it.
The first one is my workspace at Scale75 office
The second one is at my home.
This was my table when I was living in nottingham.
Who influences your work and what inspires you?
Many many artists. If we talk about painters I would say artists like Caravaggio, Velazquez, Sorolla, frazetta, Miguelanxo Prado, Drew Struzan, Kekai Kotaky, Michael Kommarck, Kopinsky, Dainton, Bradstreet and many many others.
My favourite sculptor is Bernini. And some other like Corradini or Rodin are genious to me.
In the miniature world I admire the work of people like Raul Latorre (the big master of this miniature world) , Marjin Van Gils, J-A Gillois, Romain Van der Bogaert, Kostas Kariotelis, Pedro Fernandez, Andrea Jula, Sang-Eon Lee, Kiril Kanaev, Roman Lappat, Raffa Picca, Fabrizzio Russo, Diego Ruina, Mirko Cavalloni, Jose Manuel Palomares, Allan Carrasco, M Bigaud, Patrick Masson, Mike Blank, Maxime Penaud, Joaquin Palacios ... and many many others
What’s your current favourite music/movie/series you enjoy while working?
I am watching Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and yes….i must admit..Grey’s Anatomy jejejejejeje ;)..
I use to listen spanish hip hop all the time because it allows me to work very concentrate, people like Capaz Fernandez, Suite Soprano, Agorazein, Cheb Ruben or Violadores del Verso but I love other styles and artists like The Doors, Birthday Massacre, Rihanna, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Linkin Park, Korn, and many others. I don’t refuse any kind of music. I have an open mind in this regard.
Show and tell us what you are currently working on or what you recently finished?
I recently finished a bust for Scale75 ( sculpting and painting).. and now I am working at my place in Marvel’s Colossus for a private customer.
I am also working on a personal project but is just the sketch
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Visit Alfonso “Banshee” Giraldes at Putty&Paint
And on his Facebook page
Here we go again with a little review of the latest edition of the Scale Model Handbook published by Mr Black Publications.
The Scale Model Handbook – Figure Modellng 10 features step by step tutorials by Christos Katselos, Pepe Gallardo,Sergey Popovichenko, Ernesto Reyes Stalhuth, Christos Stamatopoulos, Grigoris Marmatakis, Adrian Hopwood and Michael Kontraros. In this issue Mr. Black Publication doubled the number of articles. Eight nice articles of which four are very detailed. The other four a shorter but nevertheless interesting and straight to the point.
Primus Pilus Roman Centurion 1st Century - A Comprehensive Painting Guide by Christos Katselos
Ejecutor - “Blood and Silver” - Combining Brush & Airbrush Painting Techniques by Pepe Gallardo
Blood! - Portraying Realistic Blood On Figures by Sergey Popovichenko
BAR Gunner US 29th Infantry Division - Painting an American WWII Soldier Box Art Ernesto Reyes Stalhuth
US Paratrooper 82nd Airborne, Normandy 1944 - Painting a Large Scale Bust with Acrylics and Oils by Christos Stamatopoulos
Laconian Hoplite - Painting a Large Scale Bust Combining Acrylics & Oils by Grigoris Marmatakis
Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile - How to Paint Female Flesh with Oils by Adrian Hopwood
Jules Verne - The Concept and Construction of a Scratch-build Project by Michael Kontraros
As always you can get the book from your favourite hobby shop or directly from Mr Black Publications.
Today's interviewee is Michael Kontraros. Thank you for sharing in.
Spotlight are short interviews to introduce some of the artists here at Putty&Paint.
Who are you? Tell us a bit about you.
My name is Michael Kontraros, I reside in my birthplace of Athens, Greece where I was born in 1980. I have acquired a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and a Master’s degree in art and design/visual communications and interactive media at the age of 23. I have my own business and have been working as a freelance graphic designer for some time now. But what has really won me over is miniature sculpting (not painting).
Eight months ago, I decided to start a company of my own, a company dedicated to producing and selling high quality figures for collectors, sculptors and painters, “Michael Kontraros Collectibles” will offer sculpts and figures in a variety of scales basely for fantasy enthusiasts. You can visit the online store at: www.mkontraros.com
What are your favorite tools, and why do you use them?
I use AB, AVES green, DURO, Super Sculpey and a lot of materials such us wire, plastic rods etc.
...and these are my favourite tools
How would you describe your own style?
I don’t know if I have a specific style. I just want my miniatures to be part of a story…
Show us your workspace. Do not clean it.
Who influences your work and what inspires you?
I have been influenced and inspired by the work of Kostas Kariotelis, Raul G. Latorre, Andrea Jula. I have also been influenced by the style movie directors such as Tim Burton and Zack Snyder.
What’s your current favourite music/movie/series you enjoy while working?
Favourite music: rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Favourite movie: LOTR, 300, Edward scissorhands, Headless Horseman, Prometheus, Alien 1&2 and many more…. I am a movie maniac
Favourite series: Game of Thrones, Big Bang Theory, Walking Dead
Show and tell us what you are currently working on or what you recently finished?
I am working on a lot of projects. Some are for collectors and some are commercial pieces. Here is a detail from one (I don’t know when it will be released)
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Visit Michael Kontraros at Putty&Paint
And on his Website mkontraros.com
Here we go again with a little review of the latest edition of the Scale Model Handbook published by Mr Black Publications.
The Scale Model Handbook – Figure Modellng 9 features step by step tutorials by Ernesto Reyes Stalhuth, Igor Kordyukov, Sergey Popovichenko and Christos Katselos. In this issue Mr. Black Publication went with even more down the number of articles. Only four. But they are way more detailed than in the issues.
Knight of the Holy Sepulchre Order – A Comprehensive Painting Guide Ernesto Reyes Stalhuth
A Grey Beard, but Lusty Heart – How to Sculpt a Scratch Built 75mm Vignette for Commercial Casting by Igor Kordyukov
The Last resistance fighter – Combining Acrylics and Oils on a Large Scale Bust in a Scenic Setting by Sergey Popovichenko
Christos Katselos’ Masterpieces – Get Inspiration from a Greek Master Modeller by Christos Katselos
As always you can get the book from your favourite hobby shop or directly from Mr Black Publications.
