My Creativity Is... A Surfer?

I have (or maybe it was my wife who has) found out that my creative mood rides on waves. I've constantly felt this in a way but never really gave it any deeper thought, until lately.

When I started taking commissions, I noticed that, for time to time, it was really hard for me to keep my thoughts together and focus on the task in front of me. I felt lazy and unproductive. It had nothing to do with the projects that I worked with. I felt that I needed to hit the stones together a bit longer and harder to get the spark.

I've started to understand my mind a bit better while getting older. These seasons – the ones when I just feel like an empty and clean jar – are the tides when I either really need to push myself to do something creative or need to focus on something totally different, like go fishing.

But eventually I do find the spark.

These creativily melancholic tides are followed by the heaps when I just simply can't put my tools down and stop working. It feels great, like everything you do works instantly and looks superb, even after a good night sleep. The downside is that while on this mode, I rarely can think anything else than the projects that I'm involved in, until its finished. These are very difficult times for my family, as all I'd like to do is to get back to my cave and create something, anything.

The cycles do wary in length. Sometimes the mood stays for weeks, even months. Sometimes mere days. A good, long, productive heap season really gives you the boost and is even visible in your everyday life. Even the same coffee that you make every morning tastes better.

How is it with you? Do you have times when it is hard to grab the brush and start painting or are you in constant auto-fire mode, pushing out piece after piece of top grade stuff (like Jeff of Convertorum)?

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I think I'm currently climbing towards the heap, my mind working all the time, creating possibilities and processing ideas – and when one idea pops in my mind, it generates a dozen new ones.

Now, I'm literally neck deep in miniature projects. I have a couple commissions under way, all of them coming along with sure steps. Then there are some random projects that just materialized in front of me while putting pieces together. That is one good sign of the creative mood hitting the upswing.

Here's one of the randoms that is currently waiting for priming. Yep, it's another Inquisitor, this time a Puritan of Ordo Hereticus...

+ Inquisitor Valon, Puritan, Ordo Hereticus +

Inquisitor Valon will be accompanied by another character, an Underhive tracker who I will reveal to you somewhere later this month... Maybe they will play a part in the Punk Moth campaign at some point, who knows.

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I did mention the commissions, didn't I? Well, here's a sneak peak to one of them. This is a female Inquisitor of Ordo Xenos, high born and noble, very interesting project to work with...

Female Inquisitor, Ordo Xenos

All the details were given to me by the client. I started working out the idea of the Inquisitor on paper, thinking of which bits I would be using for her, sketching her out of my head while putting the pieces together.

This is my vision of her. We'll see how this thing will form out...

- Kari

Slaaneshi Cultist

Hopefully everybody had a peaceful Xmas and a jolly good New Year's eve. Now lets start the year 2014 with my latest finished miniature, Slaaneshi cultist.

For some reason I feel that he could use some detail pattern somewhere around his clothing, or maybe even something as bold as a gang tag on his fore head. Other than that, I'm pretty pleased how he came out. The base was pretty much inspired by the works of Migsula and JRN, maybe not that obviously but you can find the resemblances.

The colour scheme for this merry little gang will be apple greens and patinated bronze, along with fiery orange and red as complementary colours. The group will be portrayed as agile and cunning, with the taste of gluttony and lust. My plans are to add couple more skinny-like members, a chubby with a heavy weapon (noize gun maybe?), a standard/icon bearer and a priest of sort. We'll see how that will turn out...

Henchman, WIP I

The rascal got a wachy hair now, along with furry loin cloth, ragged shirt and some extra grenades. I'm thinking of either modding the Slaanesh symbol to represent =I= symbol and adding the character to my Inquisitor band, or starting an underground Slaaneshi INQ28/Confrontation gang... Which one do you think would be more interesting?

- Kari

Not Quite What I Was Looking For...

While searching bits for my next commission, I ended up putting together this roach back shooter with a bulky bolt pistol. I think I'll work on with this as my side projects while gathering inspiration for my next challenge. Still need to work with the GS, add funky hair, loin cloth and some stuff on the back...

- Kari

Arco Evisorators IV-IX

Arco Evisorator, running, striding, maiming – a fierce, trembling vision, that is. Here are six of them, feeding their blades with flesh and blood, rushing with hunger for death in their cold empty eyes, murdering for the sins of their Mother.

Like the previous pair of Arcos, this pack was a commission work too. I really like doing these things as they are fun to put together and paint, and provide just enough challenge for my sculpting skills. I wanted the flock to have a sence of violent movement, so I made them look like if they had only one mission in their minds; murder and maim their foes. You be the judge if I made it or not ;)

The bases were once again made by John Blanche. The vibrant reds and oranges are very different to what you usually see in bases, but I think they work very nicely in these and really pop the minis out. Oh, and the crackling effect is just pure awesomeness!

What's next? The tale of the Arcos is still unfinished and I will be creating another creature to accompany these things. Then there's a commission Inquisitor that will follow and some wicked ideas what comes to my personal projects... busy times ahead.

- Kari

Ambient Imperium V

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Dark Ambient 1HrMix #37 AW by Z. Beksinski
via Gardens of Hecate



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Half a Dozen New Evisorators

The times have been quite hectic in the northern nests. I bought a house about two months ago and all the moving and settling down has made my life quite a hassle.

Despite the chaos, I've been able to put my studio up and running, though it is still a pretty rough version of my great vision. I'm currently working with the new lot of Evisorators, six new menaces to be exact...

Believe me or not, this is the biggest bunch of minis that I've ever worked with at the same go. It's all new to me as I've used to paint one mini at the time. This is interesting, challenging and educational process and it really feels like it's pushing my technique forward.

And here's a shot of my current workbench. I'm trying my best to keep everything neat and clean so that every time I have some spare time to give for the hobby I wouldn't have to start it by wasting the first fifteen minutes for cleaning. Minor detail but improves the effectiveness of the use of time.

There are three special pieces giving me company while I'm working over the workbench. When ever I raise my head to stretch my neck or have a though, I see these marvelous things in front of me and get this feel of impetuous push of inspiration that helps me put my best effort to what I'm doing.

- Kari