Was early for an apppointment today (anxiety group therapy). Killed time by breaking up copious smoking of ciggies by a trip to WH Smiths to try the new WD. Disappointing. The WD that is, the ciggies were wonderful.
It is still more a collection of adverts than a hobby magazine. Not even subtle in that regard. It does at least cover the gamut of GW related stuffs. Forgeworld and Black Library.
The advert and intro' to Gw nature of it really renders it kinda pointless as a hobby magazine. At least, one you subscribe to. More, something you pick up and not need to again. Being dominated with all the steering it gives it's not really neccesary to visit on a monthly basis.
James had mentioned a couple things I was on the lookout for. The redness, and the layout. They did prove noticable, but can't be sure if I would have been struck by them if they hadn't been mentioned.
The red light cast on some of the showcase photos, I didn't mind it. Certainly made a change from the images of the same miniature being unredified in so many of the other pages. Dramatic photography is something I could enjoy more of I think.
The layout is really blocky. That is, like a US road system. It's really quite unorganic and uninspiring.
The thing that bothered me the most is a particular bugbear of mine. John Blanche.
This shiny new episode could have been an opportunity to move away from the delusional belief this man is even moderately adequate. Instead, there's an installment of Blanshitsu which starts with a self portrait of the smug bugger. As ever, in scratchy pen, piss yellow, shit brown, and blood red, with smears of white - with the obligatory random piping and skulls added (it's only a headshot though, else you can be sure he'd have added spiked heels, ripped fishnets and spiky fur, as he does to, you know, everything). The vanity of the bloke managed to override his avoidance of any other colour, painting his eye blue.
It goes on to show a few of his minis. He's in dire need of a painting lesson. Technique, but mostly colour theory. The self absorbed numpty does on to explain them as being part of his ongoing vision and experiments. Bollocks, an experiment is hardly doing something you've done countless times before, unless he forgets what occurs when you apply those same few colours he employs over each other.
I recall a previous one of his masturbatory sessions in article form, recounting an art teacher saying he'd not amount to anything. He was saying it to scoff, "ha ha, how wrong they were eh." The blinkered fool doesn't see how right that teacher was.
Art is subjective, but even an artist develops, evolves, moves into new phases so in that he's stalled (he's Status Quo, doing the same three chords over and over). As an illustrator, he sucks the farts from the donkeys bumhole. There's a purpose in illustration he can't come close to providing. Unless everything he illustrates, you know, really does look like it's been dressed in the dark by a fetishist and dragged through the smeared remains of said fetishist. Only bloke that's managed to make Eldar look hideous, quite an accomplishment in lack of ability.
/breathe out
/end rant
/enjoy a ciggie.
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