How to win a Golden Demon!

[darthfoley]

I also did not make the cut, but I am proud of my entry - despite the low score he\'s currently getting here. :moon:

I also will begin planning my entries for next year...like NOW.

 

[Cerridwyn1st]

So how about a LOTR entry?

Originally posted by darthfoley
I also did not make the cut, but I am proud of my entry - despite the low score he\'s currently getting here. :moon:

I also will begin planning my entries for next year...like NOW.

Darth:

I looked at your Nurgle. I guess he was in the 40K Single Mini. That\'s a really tough catagory; bigger than any other.

I did a Lucrezia Belladonna, which put me in the next largest catagory, Warhammer Single Mini.

If I\'d done something as nice as Lucrezia in a smaller catagory, I might have done better.

I\'ve started thinking about what I\'ll do for next year, too. I\'m thinking of doing something from Lord of the Rings. Two reasons:

1) Not that many people in the catagory

2) NO freehand.

I\'m not doing a troll, though. lol lol

My big concern about doing LOTR is I think that there will be a lot more entrants next year, for the reasons I stated above. If you are spot-on with cloth and skin but not so hot on freehand, LOTR is a great catagory.

I wonder if the guys gunning for multiple GD\'s will pack this catagory in the future just because it is smaller. So it could turn out that while the numbers aren\'t as great in LOTR, the compitition is as stiff as any other.

Cerri

 

[darthfoley]

I was actually working on an LOTR entry, but just didn\'t have the time to get both of them done. If I had finished Balin, I *might* have made cut, but I doubt I\'d have knocked off any of the three winners (I personally thought the 3rd place Saruman was the best of them).

Oh, BTW, we were competing against each other in Single Fantasy - I remember the Belladonna, nice piece! My poor little guy with no big base, and nothing really spectacular on him, was doomed - I was the fourth entry in the case that morning and I already knew I was out. lol

 

[Nelson]

Damn, I wish Canada had a Golden Demon Competition closer than Toronto!! And no, Toronto is not in the same province, an hours drive away.....James and I had a misunderstanding about that. He told me he might be going to Toronto, and could I meet him there? I had to break it to him that Toronto is thousands of kilometers away.
Anyways, it\'s a shame, because I just started painting two years ago, and I missed the youngbloods cutoff last summer....looks like it\'s the big leagues for me, and no promise of a golden demon until I\'m bald, hairy, and possibly a drunk.

Oh, and 7ommy, is that Necrach guy the same one that won the 2001 UK youngblood? If so, awesome job!
I\'ll try and hunt the pic down.

 

[darthfoley]

Originally posted by Nelson
looks like it\'s the big leagues for me, and no promise of a golden demon until I\'m bald, hairy, and possibly a drunk.

Bald and hairy? Somehow I don\'t even want to know how you will arrive at that combination. lol

 

[Nelson]

Oh, I have ways, believe you me.....Terrible ways, ways that will haunt your sleep until the end of your days...

Most of the men in my family are bald, so I\'m hoping to counterbalance that with massive amounts of body hair grafted on to my head.lol

 

[darthfoley]

Dammit, I knew I shouldn\'t have asked.

 

[Cerridwyn1st]

Not waiting to be bald and hairy

Being female, I sure hope I don\'t have to be bald and hairy to win a Golden Demon.

Hmm, sounds like I\'m not alone in wishing there was a contest between Youngbloods and Golden Demon, for those of us too old for Youngbloods and no where near good enough for a Demon.

Darth, thanks for the compliment about Lucrezia. That you could even remember her in that field is a compliment in itself.

Wish I\'d have met you - perhaps we can bump into each other next year.

 

[darthfoley]

I\'ll be there...provided they return.

 

[templartau]

Stay in your limits

If your NMM is only ok, stick with metallics, better stick with something that is easy to make look nice, instead of risking messing up the NMM. Dont sculpt too much unless you know itll turn out awsome. Ive seen alot of completely unconverted minis win. Get a killer base, but dont overdo it. Make a really nice looking base, but dont make it draw attention from the mini. Some free hand is good but if you arent that skilled in it, dont over do it. And lastly, try for something original. Hope this helps, good luck

 

[AlexDaKid]

Like in all things in life I think Originality in GD is getting really difficult. There are a lot of talented painters, sculptors and Steve Buddles out there who are all coming up with brilliant ideas, but there is a finite number of possibilities.

Coming up with something cool and original whilst staying on track and not going bizarre is very difficult nowadays.

 

[Cerridwyn1st]

Not easy, but possible

Alex, I painted Lucrezia Belladonna as a Bretonian Damsel for Atlanta `04. I didn\'t win, mind you, but a lot of people liked seeing an old favorite updated for a set with a lot of new pieces coming out.

You might try that - convert or re-do an older sculpt so it is in line with product that is getting a lot of attention and new releases.

Also, get a copy of the catalog. It has lots of pictures of old winners, good conversions, and a full list of all the spare bits. This should be fodder for some original ideas.

 

[AlexDaKid]

I was actually thinking of re-doing something this year for 40k squad, don\'t wanna give too much away cos I\'m putting blood sweat and tears into these little beauties! They are old favourites with a new twist. All I gotta do is learn how to scuplt and convert things well in an 8th of the time it should take and I\'ll be fine!lol

 

[Cerridwyn1st]

Good luck, then, Alex. Do you have anyone that can review your work and give you tips? That helps a lot, too.

I wonder - any of you Demon medalists that are on the boards feel like posting some tips for us aspiring types? It would be a great help.

 

[AlexDaKid]

I have the obscene luck of almost every wednesday having Steve Buddle give my minis a good critique also a guy called Neil who should\'ve won a golden demon by now! The fact that he hasn\'t is a very moot point with him because blatantly he should have and no one understands why he hasn\'t.

 

[Malfoy]

Well, I guess I\'d offer a little advice on the demons based on my experiences from Atlanta.

First, Atlanta was tough. While some categories were less represented than others, the general feeling was that Atlanta was on par with the national level. So be prepared for the rest of season to be crazy tough.

I learned that you really need to focus. I originally thought I\'d bring 4 or 5 pieces down to Atlanta, but I ended up with two. Instead of spreading yourself too thin, concentrate on a single piece, unit, vehicle, etc. These days, you need to put as much effort into one thing as you can.

I guess that\'s my advice. Focus. Don\'t try and do too much.

dave

 

[Cerridwyn1st]

What did you take to Atlanta

Originally posted by Malfoy
Well, I guess I\'d offer a little advice on the demons based on my experiences from Atlanta.

First, Atlanta was tough. While some categories were less represented than others, the general feeling was that Atlanta was on par with the national level. So be prepared for the rest of season to be crazy tough.

I learned that you really need to focus. I originally thought I\'d bring 4 or 5 pieces down to Atlanta, but I ended up with two. Instead of spreading yourself too thin, concentrate on a single piece, unit, vehicle, etc. These days, you need to put as much effort into one thing as you can.

I guess that\'s my advice. Focus. Don\'t try and do too much.

dave

Dave:

What pieces did you take to Atlanta? Did you win anything? Have you posted pictures here? Did you meet a lady who looked like she was somebody\'d mom, but was actually in the contest? That was me, byt the way. Just currious.

Mel

 

[Malfoy]

Mel,

I had two pieces at Atlanta- the Death Cult Assassin for 40K single and the Saruman with the White Hand banner for LotR single. I got a bronze for each.

I\'m trying to think of mom-looking people I met...

I did see yours and Darth\'s entries though. I think both of you have solid potential. It\'s just a matter of painting regularly and consistently. If that makes sense. Like I said, though, Atlanta was tough. I\'m gonna try and get a few things done for my hometown GD at Chicago now. Any chance you\'ll make it up north?

dave

 

[7ommy]

If you have patience, enter the squad/regiment catagories because these are often the poorer entries as you have to do at least 5 minis. Many people, including me, do not have enough patience and so end up giving up half way through the squad. Other than this just keep at one or two entries and make them stunning. I alwasy aim at easier catagories (for UK) such as duel, (for me) young bloods, and maybe the squad if i can get myself to finish them

The necrach isnt the gold placing one but it was slightly inspired by it lol

Tommy

 

[Cerridwyn1st]

Thanks

Originally posted by Malfoy
Mel,

I had two pieces at Atlanta- the Death Cult Assassin for 40K single and the Saruman with the White Hand banner for LotR single. I got a bronze for each.

I\'m trying to think of mom-looking people I met...

I did see yours and Darth\'s entries though. I think both of you have solid potential. It\'s just a matter of painting regularly and consistently. If that makes sense. Like I said, though, Atlanta was tough. I\'m gonna try and get a few things done for my hometown GD at Chicago now. Any chance you\'ll make it up north?

dave

Thanks for your kind words, Dave. I intend to keep striving to improve. Like I said to Darth, it says something that you could even remember Lucy in a group of minis as spectacular as the Single Fantasy Minature.

When I get Lucrezia posted on CMON, feel free to critique the mini. I\'d be glad to send you my website address to look at more pix, if I can ever get these darned computers working right again. Sigh.

I remember your Sauraman. I probably won\'t be the only one to tell you it should have been the Gold, not the bronze. I don\'t recall the other piece, but the pix from Atlanta have been posted, and I\'ll give it a look-see.

I doubt I\'ll make GD Chicago. I had to dip into savings to make GD Atlanta. But I\'ve got over a year to save up, so anything is possible for next year.

I\'ve also got more than a year to work hard and try to come up with something that would be worth the trip.

Here\'s a question for you: If they keep having the show in Atlanta, do you think it might work out as a \"test run\" for contests like Chicago and Baltimore?

It seems reasonable. Atlanta is a flight hub, so you can get there from any major meto in a single hop. You can get cheap seats if you plan ahead. The site is a modest cab ride from the airport. You could fly in in the moring, do GDA, and fly out the same day. This would negate the need for a costly hotel stay.

With the expense involved in getting to Chicago, Baltimor or LA, it would make sense to \"run it up the flag pole and see who salutes\" in Atlanta before making the major outlay for one of the bigger shows.

What do you think?

Mel