Tears of Envy's blog

Music: Grammy Winners by Funkstörung

2012-01-31T07:11:00.000Z

Video by the awesome Designer's Republic.

RIP Eiko Ishioka

2012-01-30T19:38:00.000Z

Eiko Ishioka is rightly regarded as one of the late 20th Century's greatest costume designers. She died earlier this month, but leaves a legacy which will ensure she is remembered for years to come.

Born in Japan in 1939 she first designed costumes for the screen in 1985 for Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. It was her work on Coppola's flawed but beautiful Bram Stoker's Dracula that garnered her international acclaim. Her re-interpretation of what had become a hackneyed gothic yarn as an opulent, baroque and oriental fairytale rightly won her an Oscar. Her two most memorable costumes from the movie are the vampiric Lucy with her enormous wedding-cake ruff, and the mortal Dracula's strange suit of armour (resembling a skinned wolf with its muscles exposed). She later went on to work with Tarsem Singh on four movies - The Cell, The Fall, Immortals and Mirror Mirror.

I happen to know someone who worked closely with Ishioka for some years. She was reputedly a challenging colleague who concentrated on the conceptual side of the process. As a result, was reliant on a large support network to realise her complex designs. This would occasionally lead to tension as she sometimes failed to understand the technical constraints which her artizans faced. However, it cannot be denied that her creations were inspired, original and memorable. Cinema has lost one of its few superstar costume designers who could pull crowds with her name alone.

Via Muddy Colours

Music: The Kiss by Randy Edelman

2012-01-26T07:13:00.000Z

From the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack

GMUNK's work for TRON Legacy

2012-01-25T19:33:00.000Z

Amazing work from the super-talented GMUNK for TRON Legacy.

Music: The End by The Doors

2012-01-25T06:55:00.002Z

Thanks for the memories - the state of photography today

2012-01-24T18:07:00.001Z

I have just read this fascinating article about the use of Citizen Journalists (CJs - essentially untrained, voluntary contributors) particularly in the field of photography. The piece reports the decision of a regional UK newspaper to reduce its photography staff, while setting up platforms for the public (the CJs in question) to submit photos. The argument cited is that it will encourage “news and pictures they wouldn’t otherwise get.” The comments section below the article is, unsurprisingly, filled with the howlings and gnashing of professionals who are feeling the icy hand of death.

The noble profession of photography has taken a beating in recent years. First it has witnessed the rise of the digital camera (and, latterly, the ‘phone cam), which has opened up the art to the masses. Hand in hand with this has come the ability for anyone with an internet connection and few scruples to steal and re-use photos ad infenitum. There was then the death of Diana which demonised the press photographer. Finally (and this is perhaps local to the UK) the new terror laws have put restrictions on taking photographs in public. All in all, things aren’t looking great for image-makers the world over.

I do agree that copyright infringement is a bad thing, particularly when self-employed small business men and women are the targets. I also think the Stalinist terror laws should be relaxed and happily there seems to be progress on this front. However, I approve of putting the tools of the trade into the hands of the masses and curbing the behaviour of the papparazzi. The first of these is something I believe in passionately. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that it might strengthen the profession. Photographers will have to ‘up their game’ in the years to come if they want to make any money. We should ignore the bleatings because a business model no longer functionioning is not a good argument to regress to the old status quo. I think everyone should be able to enjoy photography and, if the amateur takes a great photo then it should only serve to riase the bar for those who want to get paid for it.

Check out my Gimme public firehose

2012-01-23T20:34:00.000Z

Gimme Bar is proving to be one of my favourite new toys. I am amassing a good stash of stuff on my public album (known as the 'firehose') so check it out here.

Miniatures at the Wellcome Institute

2012-01-22T14:26:00.000Z

Last week my friend FB and I spent a wonderful evening listening to a talk on miniatures at London's Wellcome Institute. The writer, philosopher, academic and thinker Stephen Connor delivered an excellent lecture on "the miniature" in all its forms and uses. His observations were witty and bolstered by humorous examples from pop culture, including The Simpson, Fantastic Voyage and The Twilight Zone.

His talk covered a lot of ground and his arguments were manifold. I won't try and recap the whole thing in this post, but I will touch on some of his more interesting points. He reasoned that we find accurate scale miniatures fascinating because they do not occur in nature. We are used to the laws of physics determining that large animals have stocky legs and small eyes, while small creatures have thin legs and large eyes (the result of the way gravity and light behave). Therefore when we see a reduction of a thing in perfect proportion, it is both unusual and unnatural. Interestingly, terms of endearment are usually in the diminutive - "You are my little flower" being a good example.

Connor explored the established observation that miniatures give us a sense of God-like mastery. This can often lead to a desire to be 'in' a miniature. We are able to create models of places and buildings and we have a tendency to want to be in these tiny locations. However, he extrapolated from this that our bodies (which, of course, begin as miniatures) are one of those rare things we both regard as possessing and which we are 'in'.

Food for thought...

Hitler Moves East - war in miniature

2012-01-21T09:33:00.000Z

I remember coming across David Levinthal's work with miniatures when I was at University. He is most famous for his fine art photographs exploring the themes of voyeurism, pop culture and media in America with the use of miniatures. However, it was only recently that I discovered his collaborative book Hitler Moves East: A Graphic Chronicle, 1941-43 (with Garry Trudeau) on the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

I would like to think I am fairy familiar with photographs of miniatures, but it took me a moment to clock that the Wehrmacht soldiers in this book are all tiny models. The authors studied archival material from the period in order to capture the look of vintage photographs. They cleverly hide their subjects' scale by playing with blurring, exposure and cropping. Their images have the look of the hurried snaps taken by a twitchy combat photographer from the German press corps.

I was struck by the similarities between Hitler Moves East, and the Chapman Brothers' Hell sculpture. It seems war (and in particular the atrocities of the Second World War) hold a fasination for artists working in miniature. The very male interests of conflict, collection and cataloguing are able to explored very satisfyingly through military miniatures.

Via creativereview.co.uk

Music: I Put A Spell on You - SPLATINUM dubstep remix

2012-01-20T06:40:00.000Z

Genius or sacrilege? You decide.

Music: What's a Girl To Do by Bat for Lashes

2012-01-19T06:35:00.000Z

When I was young BMX rides were never this surreal...

Dennis Wheatley's house

2012-01-18T19:29:00.000Z

The British author Dennis Wheatley (1897-1977) is remembered fondly for his lurid novels of witchcraft, satanism and gothic horror. I say 'fondly' because his work is nowhere near as popular today as it was during his lifetime. His stories of the devilish dabblings of the gentry in placid inter-war England seem somewhat hackneyed by modern standards.

His fall from (dis)grace has been variously laid at the feet of several phenomena. His work was popular until the 1960s and the Hammer Horror adaptation of The Devil Rides Out is rightly regarded as a classic of British horror movies. However, his stories became less attractive in the 70s when the horror market shifted its focus from the literal to the psychological. The devil and his minions were now feared because of the havoc they wrecked from within. Rosemary carried her blasphemous baby, Leatherface and his clan were clearly insane and Freddy was just a dream. In addition, it has been argued that Wheatley had been so successful in embedding his ideas in the public consciousness that it's hard for modern audiences to see just how innovative and ground-breaking his work was.

Wheatley settled in a house called Clinton in the London borough of Lambeth. When he lived there the road on which it sat was gated and guarded by a porter and it was in impressive edifice. It looked like one of the wealthy abodes he liked to include in his tales - a grand aspect, neoclassical ornamentation, balconies and very English gables. Sadly it is no longer inhabited and has now fallen into disrepair. It is a forlorn sight, and its sad end perhaps mirrors the fate of the stories penned by its most memorable occupant.

Sources here and here and thanks to Paulo for putting me on the trail.

Music: My Body's a Zombie for You by Dead Man's Bones

2012-01-18T07:16:00.000Z

From the amazing band founded by actor Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields.

Lana Sator - ace explorer

2012-01-17T19:07:00.000Z

Ms Sator has come to the attention of both the 'urb-exp' community and Russian authorities alike. She is a daring Urban Explorer whose exploits have highlighted the terrifying lack of security surrounding one of Russia's rocket factories.

The plucky girl broke into one of NPO Energomash's factories outside Moscow in order to explore the site and take photographs. This seems to have been possible simply by jumping one fence. Which is mildly disturbing given that the site houses some pretty serious looking kit.

Her photographs of the installation are truly awesome. They resemble something out of Alien or Brazil. I love the way the flourescent strip lights give a lurid green cast to their surroundings, while dust hangs in the air of the flooded chambers.

It seems the Russian authorities are pursuing the girl for breaches of security. I guess the moral of the story is: Don't try this at home, kids.

Via Gizmodo

Mantic Elves

2012-01-16T17:35:00.000Z

Following my last mini post I thought I'd show you some Mantic elves I painted using the techniques I was honing on my Marauders.

These fellows were very quick and satisfying to paint. I began with a white undercoat, then carefully applied Citadel Badab Black wash to the recesses. This gives you a black-lined look. I then washed Winsor & Newton inks over this. There was very little other work. I did wipe off some of the W&N from the uppermost areas when it was dry, which one is able to do by virtue of it not being permanent.

I was really keen to keep the colour schemes simple. I think they work well, and I like the way the basing on the uppermost chap matches his accessories.

I enjoyed playing with the bases a bit, giving them metallic rims and then adding glitter and Swarovski stones. This gives them an Old Skool dungeon-crawl feel!

threeA cosplay

2012-01-15T15:38:00.000Z

If the name Ashley Wood is not one that you recognise, then shame on you! The Australian artist has carved out his niche as one of the world's most sought-after creatives in the field of comic and concept art. He is perhaps most famous for his depictions of clunky-but-believable robots and their scantily-clad female companions in his trademark loose, impressionistic, impasto style.

Mr Wood teamed up with a Hong Kong production house in 2008 to launch threeA - a brand of luxury action figures. These creations are at the cutting edge of the trend of high-end toys for adult collectors. Many are very "Weird War II" in feel and have a wonderfully ragged look. My favourite is the threeA Barguest de Plume. And because I'm me I decided to put together an outfit based on the figure.

I bagged a French WWII gas mask, pouches and fatigues from a military fair and combined these with a tube and a sallet-style helmet I just happened to have hanging around (if you ever get to visit my abode you'll see how plausible this is). I also brought my newly repainted Mauser pistol with me. I joined forces with my esteemed photographer-friend Tom Medwell and took a trip to Epping Forest to brave the midges (and scare the locals) for a shoot one afternoon.

You can see the results below. Tom got some wonderful images and I love the slight vignetting and the desaturated tone. Thanks Tom!

=][=MVNDA Valerius mini and proxy

2012-01-13T18:31:00.000Z

I have finally got around to finishing the mini for the character Valerius in my =][=MVNDA campaign. Click here to see his background entry.

Although he turned out somewhat different from how I expected, I am still pretty pleased with him. The doner models are a Mordheim gang member and an Empire pistolier. It's a bit hard to get a good photo of him as he is so dynamic that a single angle doesn't really do him justice.

I painted him using the techniques Steve Buddle has been at the vanguard of. Viz - the awesome Citadel washes of fairly flat base colours with selective highlights. I was very pleased with how well his padded tunic came out - the Gryphonne Sepia provided some wonderful shading. The hue of his flowing jacket was based on the colour scheme employed by the great Migsula on his XX LEGION marines. I loved the way the dirty turquoise transitions to a lurid yellow.

Valerius' proxy is a rank pip from a military uniform.

Portrait to coming soon.

Music: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) by David Bowie

2012-01-13T08:02:00.002Z

I LOVE THIS INDUSTRY!!!

2012-01-12T18:13:00.002Z

Clearly "I have arrived". No sooner have I announced that I'll be going to GW the rumor mill has cranked out some poppycock.

Thanks to Steve for alerting me to this. Mucho hilarious!

Halls of Horror

2012-01-10T20:27:00.000Z

I have just spend a lovely couple of days in Paris. I stayed in a wonderful apartment in the Montmartre area. However, as we left one evening my stomach lurched and I realized we had entered the Halls of Horror!

GW collectors will remeber this was the name of a fantastic boxed set of floorplans the company produced in the 80s. I was aghast to see that the floor of the corridors I trod closely resembled those in the tile set. You can be sure I was vigilant lest all manner of beasties accosted me during my stay.

The future of this blog

2012-01-10T07:05:00.000Z

I want to thank you all for your kind comments on my last post. The general consensus seems to be that I should carry on this blog, which I must confess I am very pleased to do. There will be a few topics I need to avoid, but I hope to continue to entertain you all with all the remaining meanderings of my mind.

On that note I want to leave you with something awesome I found the other day: the Aphex Twin Star Wars mash-up. Enjoy!

Tears of Envy is closing

2012-01-09T11:57:00.000Z

The last few months have been a real roller coaster for me and they have culminated in a decision to close my design business. This is, however, for the best of reasons. I am extremely proud to announce that I have accepted the offer of a full time post as a Book Designer with Games Workshop.

Unfortunately it will not be possible for me to continue my freelance work. I won’t be accepting any more commissions after the middle of March. However, you lucky kids will still be able to get your mitts on my designs via the GW product line.

This new role is a dream job. Not only is it at a company which, in many ways, is a spiritual home for me, it also represents a massive career and life change. Many of you know that I don’t do design full-time. I spend my days as a project manager in the UK’s National Health Service. On top of this, I have no formal art or design training whatsoever. None. Consequently I am flattered that anyone, least of all GW, would offer me work as a creative. So, not only will I be moving from a corporate business environment to a creative studio, I’ll be moving from London to Nottingham.

The massive change is in no small part due to the support that I have received from the industry over the years. I would like to thank (in alphabetical order):

Adam Clarke for his friendship and trust in letting me monkey about with his business (and, indeed, bestowing a monkey with a pistol on me),
Alessio Cavatore for being a fine fellow who knows a thing or two about setting up Macs,
Chris Palmer at Mantic who has always made sure I’m OK at their open days,
Ian Miller for being utterly bonkers and giving me a leg (yes, a leg),
Jake Thornton for his unceasingly witty conversation,
Jakob Nielsen for his encouragement and his immense intelligence,
Jeff Wilhelm who supported me early on and who I count as a true friend,
Jim Bailey who gave me such scope in Incursion and let me run riot with Genie Weave,
Mike McVey for his continuing patronage and his wonderful ability to articulate complex briefs,
Mike Thorpe for allowing me into his mind-blowing World of Twilight,
Peter Gifford for his support and intelligent criticism,
Ronnie Renton for putting his trust in me and letting me build one dungeon after another,
Seth Nash for being an awesome comrade and helping me when I was down,
Steve Buddle for being a wonderful friend, client and follow explorer of the strange (and for sending me the ad for the job!)
Zoe Wedderburn for being such an awesome project manager and looking after me at Games Day

There are also all my clients over the years - you are too many to mention but you’ve helped me get where I am today for which I am unending grateful! I also want to thank all my blog readers too, whose comments and emails make posting so rewarding. I love you all!

Last but not least I want to mention John Blanche. It’s now trite, as a gamer, painter or illustrator to say he has influenced one’s work. However, the fact its a hackneyed expression is testament to him being a true visionary who has shown us the light (or the LVX MVNDI). Frankly, none of us would be doing what we do, the way we do it, without him. He has placed immense trust in me, shown unending patience with me and been extremely generous with his time over the years and I am chuffed to bits to be invited ‘home’ to Lenton to become part of his nefarious cadre.

There remains the question of what to do with this blog. At present I am unsure of its future, and indeed the issue may prove to be out of my hands.

PAX.

Image from here.

SEED

2012-01-08T10:32:00.000Z

Do you remember those really odd animations you saw as a child which were made in Eastern Block countries in, like, the 60s? After watching them do you remember, even at that young age, thinking to yourself, "Wow, now I need either a really stiff drink or the number of a good psychiatrist"? Well, I suspect this video will make you feel the same way:

SEED from Seed Movie on Vimeo.

The Hoplites are famous!!!

2012-01-05T19:44:00.000Z

Earlier this year I was very sorry to miss out on a trip the Hoplite Association made to Greece. This wasn't any old jaunt - they went to participate in the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon! They had a rollocking good time and there was a great deal of press interest. The profile of our little group has increased greatly as a result. The scan below is a profile from an Australian publication (it was published shortly before the event).

We have plans to return to Greece in future years for more reenactments, and I very much hope I can join my comrades on these escapades!

The Power Of The Witch - British Witchcraft documentary, 1971

2012-01-05T06:32:00.002Z

Miniature experiments

2012-01-04T20:50:00.000Z

I have been experimenting a bit with painting techniques on some excellent Mantic Orx and thought I would share the results with you. I have been very inspired by two artists; Steve Buddle (now of GW fame) who is rightly held as somewhat of a pioneer of the use of the new Citadel washes, and the less well known Massimo Colombari. Massimo's work was featured waaaay back in White Dwarf 152. He paints using very bright colours, which I am increasingly fond of on miniatures as it is in keeping with their 'jewel-like' nature.

I painted this cheery fellow during Mantic's Warpath launch day with the help and advice of Tommie from the excellent Golem Painting Studio. I used a lot of Citadel Devlan Mud to achieve the shading and the green was the result of using Testors' Clear Green applied over a black base with white drybrushing. Although this chap is passable, I am not keen on how dull and dark he is.

This naughty Marauder was both a triumph and a failure. The white drybrushing over the black produces an abysmally chalky result which I hate. However, his flesh is much more pleasing and the result of using Windsor & Newton inks (see below). I love how bright it is, in contrast to his armour. The brass base and weapon also set off the skin nicely.

Although he's a bit 'all over the place' his cheeky chappy proved a successful experiment. He was my first use of Winsor & Newton inks on a mini. These inks provide quite even coverage (they don't pool like the new Citadel inks) and are very bright. Here I applied them straight over a white basecoat, and blended in yellow to the highlights on the skin and blue on the armour. The inks are also not entirely water-fast when they dry so the blending is quite smooth. I then applied a white acrylic highlight to the armour, into which the W&N inks bled, to form light blue highlights you see here.

To make an omelette you have to break some eggs, and this critter turned out to be a big old yolk. I was experimenting with a high-contrast cell-shaded look and it didn't go well. His right arm (facing us) was OK and did prove useful on two counts. I got an interesting result on the shoulder pad using the W&N inks, and discovered a good method for getting stark non-chalky b/w shading. On a textured surface like his arm, you base with black, drybrush with white, wash with Citadel Badab Black ink then selectively re-highlight with white. You end up with quite smooth shading from black to stark white, over which you can wash inks to get colour.

All these minis were shot using The BoX.

Music: On To The Next One by Jay-Z

2012-01-04T07:21:00.000Z

Nice photography!

New work from John Blanche #10

2012-01-03T18:30:00.000Z

The wonderful J.B. has sent through another magnificent piece so I can share it with you lucky folk.

The Dowager Deaconess poses for us in front of a classic sci-fi vista. You can imagine her asking, or rather telling, her portrait maker to capture her 'from her best side'. The side which partially hides the artificial eye which gleams in its socket of necrotic flesh. Her stern, upright pose might make you think that she has squeezed into her most resplendent corset for this occasion. Her mane of copper cables has been arranged with delicate precision for best effect, perhaps by her dutifully attendant servo-skull we see to her left. Clearly she is in charge, as she wears a 'beard' akin to that sported by the ancient Hatshepsut who wore a similar accoutrement to prove she was as good as any man.

In a magnanimous gesture she makes a little room for the landscape behind her. A neighboring orbital giant looms through the leprous gloom to silhouette a hive of immense - one might say 'Blanche-ian' proportions. It would be as well to pity the poor cutters who reside at the foot of that immense, crushing edifice.

Wrath of the Titans trailer

2012-01-02T08:13:00.002Z

40K lore in (about) a minute

2012-01-01T19:35:00.002Z

Mass linkage

2012-01-01T15:23:00.000Z

Standard warning: some content might be NSFW.

LA Tribune font
Model agency 1948
Nice texture
Ornatique font
Badass commandos
Neil Krug photos
Japanese family crests
Fantastic Character Design by Arnold Tsang
Street Fighter artwork
Joker
Tony Roberts
Amazing classic sci-fi art blog
How to work from home without going insane

Hello 2012

2012-01-01T14:23:00.000Z

Following from my last post it would be uncharitable not to look forward to what's in store for 2012 (Mayan apocalypse aside).

This is somewhat of a difficult task for me as I wholly agree with the sentiments of the Victorian philanthropist Henry Wellcome who proclaimed, "Never tell anyone what you propose to do until you have done it." Suffice it to say that I intend 2012 to be a year of radical change and this will be reflected on both the creative and personal fronts. All I can say is there's some profound things in the works. What I can reveal is that I have nearly completed a commercial project which you will see later this year.

There are quite a few cultural events I am looking forward to. 2012 will see the release of Ridlet Scott's hotly anticipated Prometheus and a trip back to Middle Earth in the form of the first part of The Hobbit. I don't like indulging in rumors about what GW will produce next, but it's looking like there might be a new edition of 40K which, in my book, is always an exciting event. Kallamity's Abakan 2288 will be released, which I am very much looking forward to. I am somewhat curmudgeonly about the Olympics - they have and will bring welcome regeneration the East End and trade to this country in what are difficult times, but the fuss and bother leave me cold. I am always kicking myself that I am not more abreast of video games and anime so I am not sure what's emerging there. Perhaps it should be a resolution of mine to stay in touch with these cultures?

Today I have just shot a great number of minis, both old and new, so please stay tuned for forthcoming posts.

I wish you all a happy and productive 2012!

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T21:26:00.000Z

I figured I would jump on the bandwagon and post the obligatory review of the year.

Seeing my work in print is always a joy and 2011 has been a bumper year for that. Dwarf King's Hold 2 by Mantic, the beta of Sedition Wars: Battle for Alabaster from Studio McVey and of course Cutlass! by Black Scorpion have all featured my art. I have also continued to work with other existing clients on game projects while picking up new business and new friends in the gaming industry. I would like to give a big shout out to all my colleagues and thank them for supporting me to do what I love doing.

On the wider creative and social fronts its been a great year too. I have had some wonderful trips about the UK - to Derbyshire, Bristol, Nottingham and Canterbury. I have taken some great photos while on these jaunts and I feel I have really honed my photographic style. I very much enjoyed the IMVNDA project I launched later in the year, and have even found time to paint some minis (including my beloved Eldar). I finished the 1950s dress I had been making, like, forever and now have plans for some bonkers Russian-style harem pants. Added to all of this has been a good year of reenactment, which has seen the Ancient Greeks strut our stuff at Bushey, Broadlands and Detling (I also went to War and Peace as a punter, which was equally great).

Most of all I would like to thank all of you readers out there. There's now a hefty cohort of 87 of you and I am flattered that you'd want to hear my ramblings. I love chatting to you all and sharing wonderful things with you. I also appreciate all the feedback I get on my work.

Thank you all and here's to 2012!!!

PAX.

(Copyright) Apocalypse: The work of John Martin

2011-12-31T08:32:00.000Z

The other day I visited the excellent exhibition of paintings by John Martin at the Tate Britain. I have been a fan of Martin's work since my teens, but despite some cursory reading knew little of his background or career. Although the epic biblical scenes for which he is most famous drew accusations of bombastic popularism in his time, they are truly stunning. The canvasses themselves are huge (often ten or twelve feet across) and inspire the intended awe. He was trained as a craftsman and spent his early years painting decorative scenes on ceramics. Although this served admirably as training for his later work as a grand salon painter, it also hampered his progress. The particular techniques he developed for ceramics were not regarded as 'painterly' enough by the establishment and so the approval and election to the the Royal Academy eluded him.

I was surprised to learn that Martin's work suffered from the very modern issue of copyright even during his lifetime. Several of his paintings proved so popular after Martin had sold them (and the subsequent owners had made large sums promoting the pictures at salon exhibitions) he painted a second version so he could tour them himself and receive the profits. His patrons not unreasonably cried foul and there were legal wranglings. This fact might account for the way the subsequent copies Martin crafted often differed from the originals in aspect ratio, which strikes the viewer as quite strange when one sees both versions hanging side-by-side.

Martin is also famous for his wonderful mezzotint engravings, particularly of Paradise Lost and the Bible. He tried with varying success to make money from these but copyright and copying dogged this endeavour too. He strived to make quality prints but when this floundered he sold the plates and it was actually the cheaper versions produced by subsequent publishers which sold better. Also, other engravers copied his work and so a black market of sorts eroded his sales.

Martin's reputation as a painter diminished in the early 20th century to the extent that when The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum was badly damaged by a (aptly epic) flood in 1928 it was not repaired. Tate conservationists have done a wonderful job of restoring the canvas and even reconstructing a large missing portion. They were able to do this because, ironically, good photographic records existed of the work pre-flood. Thus the phenomena of the copy (in this case photographic) which was so much a part of Martin's career has helped save one of his best works.

Tessa Farmer at Viktor Wynd's Little Shop of Horrors

2011-12-30T14:04:00.001Z

Viktor Wynd is a man of many talents - he runs very successful parties, a salon hosting talks on esoteric subjects and, most notably a veritable kuntskammer of a shop. His Little Shop of Horrors sells everything weird and wonderful from real human skulls to pictures painted by Britain's most notorious prisoner, Charles Bronson. This astounding collection happens to be just around the corner from me and I took a trip there just before Christmas to see the latest exhibit.

Tessa Farmer rose to prominence on the UK fine art scene a couple of years ago. She is most famous for her microscopic sculptures featuring tiny skeletons (often alongside insects - which just goes to show how small they are). She had installed a piece, titled The Coming of the Fairies, in TLSoH which is a veritable riot of talent. A long glass case (see the bottom photo) hosted an aerial battle between insects piloted by her trademark tiny cadavers. Suspended from nylon, the creatures career about the space and skirmish over a floating battlefield of detritus. There is something epic and heroic about the tiny warriors. The effect is quite dizzying and takes on a magnitude far greater than its real-life scale.

For a better set of photos, check out this guys blog.

Music: Give the Drummer Some by the Ultramagnetic MCs

2011-12-29T07:53:00.000Z

Famous for a) featuring Kool Keith (of Dr. Octagon fame) and b) for being sampled mercilessly by The Prodigy.

New work: Graphics test

2011-12-28T19:08:00.000Z

And now for something completely different. I have been messing about with the 'sketch and toon' module in Cinema 4D and knocked up this little test. It's heavily influenced by the amazing Kilian Eng and the sources he draws upon (70s sci-fi animations, early video games and Métal Hurlant).

I am tempted to take this further as I have all sorts of ideas for a comic strip... Ah, if only I had more time.

Music: Blue Flowers by Dr. Octagon

2011-12-28T06:25:00.000Z

From the Wiki: Dr. Octagon is described as having yellow eyes, green skin, and a pink-and-white Afro.Further tracks detail a list of services offered by Octagon, who claims to treat chimpanzee acne and moosebumps, and relocate saliva glands. Octagon is described as being incompetent, as many of his surgery patients die as he conducts his rounds. Octagon also pretends to be a gynecologist and often engages in sexual intercourse with female patients and nurses. Octagon's uncle, Mr. Gerbik, is described as being half shark, having the skin of an alligator, and is 208 years old.

Merr Christmas & Gimme Bar

2011-12-23T21:31:00.000Z

A short post to first of all say a big Merry Christmas to you all - I do hope you have a lovely festive break and new year. I am going to take a break from posting over the next few days, and will begin again some time after the 27th. Stay tuned for more awesome Tears of Envy content!

Second, I want to let you in on my latest discovery which is the awesomeness that is Gimme Bar. The add-on allows you to save images and web content by dragging them to your personal stash. The files are stored remotely and they can subsequently by synched to your Dropbox account so you get copies on your local drive. This tool is proving a must for image-junkies like myself, as it makes grabbing stuff soooooo much easier.

Above: Just some of the bad-assery I have been grabbing to my Gimme Bar account of late.

Prometheus trailer

2011-12-22T17:54:00.000Z

Today has been pretty exciting. The fact this AWESOME new trailer is one of the LEAST exciting things to have happened hopefully goes some way to explaining how exicing my day has been. Anyway, we've been waiting a while and this looks like it's not going to disappoint...

Music: The Funeral of Queen Mary by Purcell

2011-12-22T07:21:00.000Z

The Pentel Aquash brush

2011-12-21T17:26:00.000Z

OMG! I have just discovered these awesome sketching tools via the amazing Parka Blogs. The Pentel Aquash brush is a really simple idea - sketchers need water for their brushes while on the move. Instead of them having to carry pots of liquid, why not just build a brush with a reservoir in the handle? Boom!

I have just received a set of three (s, m & l) through the post and tested the biggest. I have to say it seems to work pretty well. The water is drawn into a clear nylon brush tip. Clearly this arrangement is never going to be as accurate as a sable brush, but it seems to do a good enough job. I have just tried it in combination with my water colour pencils and new Moleskine watercolour sketch book and the combo works a treat!

The things are fairly cheap - one will cost about £4, while a pack of three with the various sized brushes set me back about £10. Their build quality isn't great, but I guess at that price they are disposable items anyway. I am mildly worried about how leak-proof the things are, so I'll be keeping mine separate from anything I don't want to get soggy until it proves itself trustworthy. There seem to be more robust versions made by other companies out there, but the Pentel version will do me for the time being.

Hobbit trailer

2011-12-21T07:26:00.002Z

Yessssss!

Christmas at chez Tears of Envy

2011-12-20T21:01:00.000Z

I dislike the idea of buying Christmas decorations and prefer to make my own. Regular readers may recall my efforts last year. This season I brought the spirit into my flat with a little vignette involving some branches, various bits of jewellery and the candelabra I bought for my Ghost of Christmas Past outfit.

I put the piece together without much conscious thought. In retrospect I would like to imagine it embodies the transition from the nature-worship of native British culture to Christianity. The branches are representative of the outside world and elemental forces creeping into my flat. I love the way the candle light plays off the reflective surfaces, and in particular the gold thread of the ecclesiastical charm.

I like to theme my Christmases and indulge in whatever culture or period I have chosen during the festive break. Previous years have seen me explore Vikings and Paganism in this way. This year I think it'll be the Crusades.

PAX.

Music: The Wolf by Fever Ray

2011-12-19T06:56:00.001Z

New work from John Blanche #9

2011-12-18T16:10:00.001Z

J.B. has kindly sent me another image to share with you all.

This poor soul crouches by a dismal pool while a throng of penitents winds their way through the dank landscape. His wizened body has been mutilated almost beyond recognition. Like Lavinia in Titus Andronicus, he has had his hands cut off (and quite feasibly his tongue cut out as well). However, in a Blanche-ian twist electro-lashes have been grafted on to his otherwise useless stumps. There is something child-like about his posture, with his knees drawn up to his chest in a foetal manner. He is a kind of Benjamin Button from a dark, forbidding future, inspiring both sympathy and horror. He sits with his relique-eyes watching the turgid decay around him. The dripping ground is at once mechanical, charnel and arboreal.

Even though it retains Blanche’s trademark ink draftsmanship, in its rendering this piece is somewhat more painterly. Little of his stipple or scribble shading is discernible while the ink shading models the forms with a relative smoothness. The white acrylic highlights on the creature’s skin are carefully placed to give it a thin, papery quality, while the occasional plumes of smoke are liquid in their application.

Stay tuned for more Blanche goodness very soon!

Brom’s Dark Sun

2011-12-17T17:21:00.000Z

Brom holds a special place in my heart as his work is synonymous with my first encounters with AD&D. While I exclusively read White Dwarf for a period (because it’s content, but more importantly its artwork was better) I later discovered Dragon magazine. This was around the time that TSR published their Dark Sun module for AD&D. I remember being blown away by Brom’s paintings of the arid dunes of Athas and their twisted denizens.

As a fantasy world, Athas is not unique in being a harsh desert (I’m looking at you here, Arrakis). However, the stroke of genius that makes the AD&D environment stand out is its lack of metal. Ore is rare on Athas and as such wood, stone and obsidian are used by the population for all tools and artifacts. Warriors are covered in bone and hide armour and carry sharpened horn weapons. What’s more, the planet’s sky ranges from a visceral red to garish green, giving a weird cast to the barren landscape.

These rather unique facets in themselves would have made for an interesting world. However, when put into the hands of the artist Brom they turned into something quite special. He depicted the gritty, weather-beaten and often in-human inhabitants with enormous flair. Not only does he capture the beauty of the natural textures (often decaying to the point of falling apart), he imbues the bodies of his subjects with the unforgiving nature of the world around them. The characters’ muscles are ‘ripped’, their flesh tanned to a deep orange and they are often covered with scars and tattoos. This is most noticeable on the females, who look rather like body-builders who were lost in the desert.

Below are some of my favorite images which Brom did for the project. I highly recommend you check out his book Darkwerks for more, and the 1991 TSR Dark Sun boxed-set books (which also contain beautiful b/w line drawings by him too).

Music: Paper Planes by M.I.A.

2011-12-17T10:44:00.001Z

Mass linkage

2011-12-16T20:02:00.000Z

WARNING! Some may be NSFW

Baryonyx
More Alexander McQueen
1940s NY by Kubrick
The Versatile Tube!
Michael Kiryanov photography
Wonderful Eldar portriat
Aviatrix portraits
Piranesi
Starry night
Lebbus Woods (who worked on Alien 3)
Geo
Jeweled skeletons
Free paper textures
Awesome new Freebooter mini
Atreyu font
G. Yudin - Illustration from "Sirin Bird And A Rider On A White Horse" 1991
Awesome fantasy landscape
100 free abstract Photoshop brushes
Fritz Lang's Metropolis
Richard Cosway painting
Inspiration for dioramas
Portals of the imagination
Danse Macabre
Toilet of a zephyr
Smog downloads
Mythos licence plate
Cool interface
Andrew 'Android' Jones
Bladerunner polaroids
Sylvan glade
Down in the dungeon
Bonkers pulp fiction cover
The Ship that Sailed to Mars
The cafe from hell

Keloid trailer

2011-12-16T17:55:00.000Z

Keloid Trailer - A Short Film by BLR from BLR_VF

Music: I Cut Like a Buffalo by The Dead Weather

2011-12-16T07:20:00.000Z

I told you so...

2011-12-15T18:11:00.000Z

Early this year I wrote a post which sparked some interesting debate. It was a set of predictions about how the hobby world might pan out over the next few years. Amongst them was the notion that 3D printing would become easier and cheaper and folk would start to use the tool for tabletop games.

Well, an exciting post has showed up at The Back 40K profiling just that. Home-brew 40K models made using 3D printing.

I know they infringe GW copyright. My feeling is that this is a bad thing, for both moral and legal reasons. I know some of you out there are going to want to talk about that until the cows come home. However, for the purposes of this post I want to restrict comments to the positive impact this technology could have on the hobby. Print-on-demand miniatures from companies? With the ability to specify colour? And choose what components are sculpted without having a frame of options? Count me in!

I have seen the future and it's looking awesome!!!

All photos grabbed from The Back 40K.

The Dunwich Horror

2011-12-14T21:14:00.001Z

I was excited when I learned a theatre company, Ororo Productions, was dramatising Lovecraft's classic tale The Dunwich Horror. I went to see it some weeks ago and watched the actors struggling against the terrifying spawn of The Old Ones and, unfortunately, a really dire script.

The play follows the plot of the 1929 story very closely. I am going to leave the plot out of this post as the Wiki does a good job of summarising it.

Much of the script is directly lifted from Lovecraft’s turgid text and puts the words into the mouths of the characters and a narrator. This is a massive problem for two reasons. As much as I love Mr 'Craft his prose is so purple that it is hard to read at times, let alone recite. It is no surprise, therefore, that the actors struggle with the cumbersome lines. In addition the language is utterly at odds with the supposedly rural low-brow country-bumpkin nature of the characters. The script makes the farmers and housewives, who are the focus of much of the tale, sound like the obscure 18th century poets which HP loved so much.

Dunwich is an odd choice of story to dramatise. It's cinematic and apocalyptic in scope, set in various locations and over a long period of time. A literal translation combined with no-budget (the set consisted of two stools and a podium and there was no sound or music) means that much of the action is simply reported to the audience. Such reporting is problematic in a play where character interaction is not the driving force (many are two dimensional) and events are the focus. The effect is both dull and silly. Given the lack of budget a more intimate story, of which there is no shortage in the Lovecraft catalogue, would have been better. Something more localised like The Colour Out of Space would have made a good choice.

The play's one redeeming feature was the depiction of Wilber Whately, whose presence is satisfyingly powerful and horrifying thanks to the talents of Rosco Brittin. Fans of Lovecraft will know Wilbur dies mid-way through the tale, and with him departed all hope for this troubled production.

Music: Me and the Devil bu Gill Scott-Heron

2011-12-14T07:10:00.001Z

Movie review: The Thing (2011)

2011-12-13T18:01:00.000Z

When I was younger I always regarded John Carpenter’s The Thing as Alien’s little, inferior brother. Comparisons between the two are justified – ancient gribblies found by a small, remote team run riot in cramped confines with bloody results. I think I was (not unreasonably) so blown away by Giger’s designs for Alien that Carpenter’s baby paled in comparison. Over the years though I have come to love the slow-building paranoia of Kurt Russell vehicle, the wonderful lighting and the wacky gross-out effects. In the current climate where everything 80s is being deep-core mined, it was no surprise that The Thing was slated for a prequel.

My sister and I braved the suitably Antarctic conditions last weekend to see the new film. We discovered that the title is a big clue – granted it’s a ‘prequel’ in terms of the fictional facts, but essentially it’s a remake of the 1982 movie. The plot, pacing and themes are pretty much identical. That this is a faithful homage is the film’s most endearing feature, and the reason it will surely be forgotten very quickly. It fails on any count of originality and will only satisfy viewers who love the original or have never seen it. Even the swapping of the main character to a woman does not really provide much novelty, as she is so like Ellen Ripley in many ways (pretty but not that pretty, stern and level-headed and ready to sacrifice herself).

There are a few redeeming features. The monster effects are now a very satisfying digital update of the original designs. The heated-wire ‘test’ has been re-thought quite effectively. We get to learn a bit more about the giant ship buried in the ice and this is the film’s most original and exciting sequence. I have always had a problem with alien technology being depicted as current earth technology with a few extra lights and some wacky-looking fonts (Kubrick admirably side-stepped this by revealing very little of the aliens and their kit in 2001). The Thing does a good job of showing us something which looks out-of-this-world, yet artificial and technical.

In the 29 years since the original no one seems to have learned the simple lesson: if you find something cool-looking that’s been dormant for a while, for God's sake don’t thaw it out! That goes for movies too.

Music: Rerezzed by Daft Punk & The Glitch Mob

2011-12-13T07:12:00.000Z

You have to admit TRON: Leacy was not as good as the original. Best skip the movie proper and just enjoy the visuals with this banging remix!

Your Business Sucks

2011-12-12T21:55:00.000Z

I have just come across the hilariously titled How Not to Run a Game Business; What's wrong with the industry in just thousands and thousands of words. It's a rant-ey sort of place run by a man called Gau who screams what are actually quite well-thought out criticisms at the gaming industry.

Gau's Stop. Making. Games. piece got me thinking (and that's a complement - any blog which can really make me think about something is, in my view, head-and-shoulders over most others out there). In the post he decries the sheer volume of products on the market and argues that this is actually bad for the customer (specifically the new customer). He also finds the glut of games irritating because, he argues, e-publishing has lowered the bar on quality.

I disagree with Gau on both counts. I think people these days are used to having a myriad of choice in any market for any product. This is a simple fact of the digital age where an internet connection lets you see the world and everything in it. Folk are now used to typing "[insert product here] review" into google to get a steer on what's out there. Newbie games are no exception and I think there being more choice for customers and not less is inherently better. A commentator on the post astutely notes that rather than ranting, we'd better serve the newbie community by posting constructively critical reviews of products.

As to Gau's second point about reduction in quality, I think this is a red herring. If we address the first point this one dissolves. A good bit of googling and a few constructive reviews will quickly alert the world to a poor product and it'll die a natural death. Also, junior game designers have to start somewhere and it would be wrong to stifle emerging talent (Mike Wolf's excellent Warrior, Rogue & Mage game springs to mind). That said, as a game graphic designer I do have sympathy for Gau on this issue!

I think Gau does have an extremely valid criticism on version updates. It is crushing the way our industry has become wedded to a business model relying on forced obsolescence. This, I wholly agree, is annoying, depressing and very bad for newbies. Publishers should concentrate on ensuring their products aren't broken when they're first released and then support them for a reasonable amount of time rather than plotting the launch date of the next version.

I want to conclude this post with a hats-off to Gau. He's clearly an intelligent guy and, as I've said, his blog is extremely stimulating. I wholeheartedly suggest you delve into his posts as there's some excellent stuff there.

Music: God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash

2011-12-12T07:07:00.001Z

Luca 'Kallamity' Zampriolo publishes ABAKAN 2288

2011-12-11T11:05:00.000Z

Kallamity is the handle for the enormously talented Luca Zampriolo. He makes very beautiful (and very expensive) resin mecha kits. Not only does he sculpt these awesome and insanely detailed things, he's a cracking painter. IMHO his stuff is up there with Paolo Parente, threeA and Kow Yokoyama.

The great news is he's releasing a book, ABAKAN 2288. From the press release:

Kallamity poses the question, "As oil and gas are depleted in the future and inhabitants of Planet Earth continue to grow exponentially, how will a world based on the exploitation of these two natural resources maintain its current technological growth?" and then he precedes to present amazing visuals for the answer in the form of ABAKAN 2288.

In this Sci-fi tale, with oil resources tapped out and the ensuing crash of the world economy, the Weingart family holds a dictatorial monarchy over Earth as a result of their development of WEIN technology which allows for the fabrication of H.D.M.s as well as travel to other planets for more natural resources.

ABAKAN 2288 not only focuses on the images for the world that is yet to be but also on the creation of the Hard Doll Machine mecha designs. Kallamity designs the master patterns that are cast, assembles and creates machine dolls from these pieces of various sizes; ranging from a volleyball to the head of a pin. Being a worldwide success as a collectible sculptor of machine warrior dolls, readers will learn from one of the best in the industry how to conceptualize, fabricate and finish machine robots.

Kallamity combines mecha designs with the steampunk aesthetic to create the stunning yet depleted Sci-fi world of ABAKAN that we hope to not have to occupy someday, as visually captivating as it is!

Check out the book's blurb here and also this thread from conceptart.org where he talks about his work and methods.

Dwarf King's Hold 3 - interview with Jake Thornton

2011-12-10T20:58:00.000Z

In this interview with Mantic Jake Thornton, the rulesmith behind the DHK, talks about the tiles in Ancient Grudge and says some very kind things about my artwork.

If you have not already done so do check out Jake's blog which has some fascinating insights into game design and very thoughtful reviews.

Looking different, but are comments working?

2011-12-10T17:54:00.000Z

Hi All

You can see I've adjusted the look of the blog. I've deleted the code I borrowed for the previous look as I think it was the cause of the problem with the comments function.

Please can folk tell me if commenting is now easier?

Thanks!

Xx

PS Here's a random image to keep you occupied!

Tim Burton & Gotham City

2011-12-10T06:08:00.000Z

I have always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Tim Burton's films. On the one hand I adore his preoccupation with the whimsical, his humour and the fact that he's essentially a niche genre auteur who has won over the Hollywood machine. Then there's his endearingly bonkers art direction - his bizarre and unique mixture of hokey Hallowe'en and German Expressionism all wrapped up in kitsch 50s Americana (yes, I know he's basically Edward Gorey with a Disney schooling, but he's still awesome). However, his films often seem rather hollow to me, and I get fatigued by what increasingly feel like his 'by-the-numbers' visuals.

I therefore approach his work with a bit of trepidation, both warmed and warned by the fact that I essentially know what I am going to get (and not get). I watched Batman Returns again the other day and was struck by how good the production design is on the film. On the Batman films Burton was clearly reigned-in by the studios. His trademarked quirkiness is more subtle and I find this quite satisfying. There's a whole other debate I could explore about the monumental shift he successfully implemented on the look of such an iconic hero, but I want instead to talk about his rendering of Gotham City.

The Wiki does a far better job of describing the origins and themes of the home of Bob Kane's hero. Under the talented hands of Anton Furst the first Batman movie showed us a towering Brutalist pre-war urban sprawn where industry and crime were unchecked by any civic planning. By the time the sequel went into production, Furst had died. Bo Welch replaced him and the success of the first movie meant the budget was significantly bigger. Welch not unreasonably wanted to explore his own vision of the city and the result is a delight. Under a crisp Christmas snowfall, a grander, more Stalinist metropolis emerges. The detail on the second film is quite stunning - frozen canals criss-cross the streets, the Penguin has made his lair in a fantastic decaying World's Fair-esque exhibition site and Catwoman lives in a cramped apartment made even more oppressive by the giant girder that stabs through it.

I agree Returns is not as good a film as the original, but if you've not seen it recently I emplore you to look at it again and enjoy the stunning prduction design. And if you want a Burton-related giggle, watch this video.

Music: In For The Kill remix by Skream

2011-12-10T05:44:00.000Z

New work: Dwarf King's Hold 3 tiles

2011-12-09T18:42:00.001Z

Mantic have officially released Dwarf King's Hold 3: Ancient Grudge which contains my new floorplans. The boxed set is an expansion to the DKH line and contains two entirely new tiles.

We wanted to make these tiles different from their predecessors and a clear candidate for their theme that emerged early-on was ice and snow. There were two things I wanted to incorporate to liven things up a bit - bones and crystals. I love the Hoth Wampa scene from The Empire Strikes Back - the way his cave is filled with the remains of the unfortunate creatures he's dragged back there. Hence I wanted some really big bones in the larger room to hint that the room had become the lair of some equally hungry beast. I also looked at magnifications of snowflakes which led me to the crystal theme. In the second tile I explored the way the snow turns into a bed of crystals, and then added a rather magical but menacing giant snowflake.

My favorite part of these tiles is rather subtle. I am really pleased with the patch of ice on the top right of the larger one. If you see one of these tiles in the flesh, check it out as it even features the kind of cracks and striations you get on real ice!

Music: Venus in Furs by The Velvet Underground

2011-12-09T07:36:00.001Z

TRINE 2

2011-12-08T21:08:00.000Z

Just came across this side-scrolling RPG and it looks pretty cool. Full website here.

Music: The Runaway by UNKLE

2011-12-08T07:20:00.002Z

Slightly NSFW.

Death's head makeup Mk IV

2011-12-07T18:20:00.000Z

Last weekend I decided to annoy everyone by going to The Chap’s end of year ball as The Ghost of Christmas Past, replete with shroud, chains, candelabra, bell and SKULL FACE!!! Regular readers will know I have a passion for Death’s Head makeup (and if you click on the tag at the foot of this post you can see previous incarnations). On this occasion I wanted to eschew my regular Mexican-style makeup and instead try something akin to Zombieboy and this guy. So, I gathered my facepaints and set to work.

The first stage was to sketch the design using a kohl eyeliner pencil. I then ringed the edges of the dark areas with liquid water-based facepaint using a brush. I filled in the eye sockets, nose and cheek hollows using oil-based cake makeup, which gives a wonderfully even coverage (much better than water-based stuff, but less accurate). I added details with the kohl pencil, which allowed me to achieve a sketch-like quality. The final touch was to erase any mistakes and clean up the teeth with an earbud (or ‘cuetip’ of you’re American) with moisturiser. Unlike previous attempts, I didn’t use any white facepaint – just the blacks I list here.

I was extremely pleased with the result, and was also pretty astounded that it lasted the whole night intact. However, the reactions I had from my fellow partygoers were more polarised this time. My friend Andrea greeted me with a concerned gaze and simply said “You look awful”. The party was full of folk of both sexes who had evidently spent a lot of time (and money) on their outfits and really didn’t appreciate my cocking-a-snook at their party. I did get some kindly comments, but these were in the minority. I was again reminded that I was railing against notions of feminine beauty and, as such, was regarded as a freak to be avoided. I think this says a lot about me. But it possibly says more about society.

Food for thought.

Music: Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars

2011-12-07T07:00:00.002Z

Awesome stuff!

Mantic begins DKH Ancient Grudge week!

2011-12-06T17:45:00.000Z

Wonderful news! Mantic are starting a week of coverage of their new latest release in the Dwarf King's Hold dungeon-crawl boardgame. You can see the beautiful cover art below, and I suspect that this week will see the first look at the tiles I did for this new boxed set.

Stay tuned!

More info on their blog here.

Music: Nightcall by Kavinsky

2011-12-06T07:43:00.003Z

From the excellent Drive soundtrack.

Out and about #5

2011-12-05T19:58:00.000Z

So, this is what I have been up to since I last reported to you...

Via a subscription she has my friend Lou and I went to go and see a free screening of the new film 50/50. I was rather rushed at the time and so failed to read anything about the plot. She, on the other hand, did. "Do you know what it's about?" she asked. "It's a comedy, isn't it?" I said, surmising that the strapline saying 'touching and funny' on the one poster indicated the rom-com genre. "No, its about a young man who gets cancer." Me: "Oh". Anyway the film was pretty good and I'd recommend it as it was both touching and funny. On the way home we stopped at the esteemed Resistance Gallery to watch a topless, body-painted girl aid an auction of custom soft toys. London is full of variety.

I had some karaoke inflicted on my after a night out with my colleagues. Actually, it wasn't that bad, but I did have to drink a lot.

I stopped in at the Wellcome Institute museum one afternoon to look at their core collection. They have some fascinating stuff there, like torture chairs, medical instruments and metal corsets!

Chief Chap Gustav kindly invited me to see 80s sensation Adam Ant perform at the Troxy in East London. I must say Mr Ant put on a very good show and the crowd (a mixed bunch - some who remembered him from his heyday and then East London hipster fashion darlings) really loved it. We were joined by Resident Bounder Michael 'Atters' Attree, whose hilarious Wiki I have plugged before.

I hooked up with my friend Retro R for a lovely afternoon out at London's Borough Market. The market sits by the wonderful Southwark Cathedral and sells lots of fresh and farmers' market produce. It's therefore a great place to go for a bite to eat. The site is right be the River Thames, and a reproduction of The Golden Hind, Sir Frances Drake's ship, is moored nearby.

My friend JMC invited me to join the boys for a game of Dread. This is an Indie horror roleplaying game where all rolls are instead replaced by folk having to pull Jenga blocks from a tower. Hence the games get more and more nail-biting as they progress. JMC had written an awesome and very-well-thought-out scenario about kids in an American summer camp. I'll try and persuade him to type it up sometime as we had a lot of fun.

I spent a weekend with my Ancient Greeks. Reenactment is seasonal and we only go to the fairs in the summer months. In the winter we gather to chat, eat and work on our projects. An ongoing task has been to paint the exterior of our tents in the bright colours and patterns we suppose the Greeks might have used. This seemingly Sisyphean task is almost at an end! We were also joined by our pet rabbit Fraser (who is often called 'lunch' when he misbehaves). The highlight of these weekends is our Saturday night feast, where we cook lots of food (sometimes from historical recipes) and drink things like mead (which is awesome - try it if you have not done so before).

Last weekend saw the 3rd Grand Arnarcho-Dandyist Ball. This is The Chap's end-of-year bash and is a celebration of cads, bounders and layabouts. Amid a glorious 30s ballroom decked out with banners we gathered to drink and dance. It was hosted by the slightly bonkers Viv the Spiv, who is the veritable reincarnation of Flash Harry from the St Trinians films. Most folk dressed in dinner suits or cocktail dresses, but clearly Atters and I read the wrong invite, and he came as a Dalek and I as The Ghost of Christmas Past. Cue disapproving scowls. More on my makeup soon.

Music: I-deez by 8-bit

2011-12-05T07:57:00.000Z

Hilarious 8-bit (and slightly low-budget) gangsta rap:

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE WANT?

2011-12-04T14:29:00.000Z

I have been typing a few posts recently and was struck by how diverse this blog has become. As you can probably tell, I have a lot of interests. But this blog isn't about me - it's really about me showing you things you might be interested in.

So, I thought I'd ask you, dear readers, what it is you like to see? Please let me know in the comments box below. Also, if there's stuff that makes you yawn, please tell me as well!

Do you like women in furry bikinis and rabbit ears with pink bows? Christ...where the hell did that come from? Oh, here.

Susan Kare's Icons

2011-12-02T20:54:00.001Z

The young Susan Kare was hired by Apple back-in-the-day to design the icons that would be used in their first Graphical User Interface (GUI). Armed with a $2.50 grid sketchbook the PHD graduate from New York turned out bitmap designs which came to shape the visual culture of computers that is ubiquitous today.

She has released a new book featuring these early designs, which range from the utterly beautiful to the down-right bonkers. Also, check out this article for the full story about her background and work at the fledgling IT company.

Mega-billionaire seeks hot twin bodyguard/assassins

2011-12-01T22:13:00.001Z

This is a post on Craigslist. Where do I sign?

Mega-billionaire seeks hot twin bodyguard/assassins - m4ww (Secret)

Date: 2011-11-29, 10:13AM EST
Reply to:

It has come into my knowledge that a certain left-wing underground society is targeting me and my vast wealth. The only way I know to protect myself is to do what all mega-billionaires do in this day and age: hire hot twin assassins to protect them.

Job requirements:
● Must be proficient in hand to hand combat techniques
● Must be able to handle Warsaw and NATO Pact small arms and on occasion heavier hardware, like TV guided missiles. The one with the camera on it.
● Able to identify biochemical agents. These are mostly labeled, but there are a couple of techs I employ that refuse to write anything down.
● Training programs ARE available, as there are terribly few biochemist/assassin/weapon experts in the world

Relocation:
● You must move into my secret lair upon getting hired.
● I have to move my secret lair on occasion due to attacks from the aforementioned left-wing agendaists. Must be able to lift 40 pounds unassisted. I hired a moving company one time. They were secret agents. I had to trick them into driving into a volcano.

Salary: Negotiable based on experience. I will be doing background checks on applicants.
Benefits: Full health and dental. We have a flex spending account to get laser eye correction done, I can't abide people wearing glasses (exception: safety glasses) while firing pistols akimbo and diving through shattering glass. We have an accidental death and dismemberment clause also, since our insurance company doesn't know exactly WHAT we do here; however, it does NOT cover accidents based on biochemical agents that are improperly marked or handled. We also have a fierce 401K plan.

I am also looking for backup sets of twin assassins. Don't feel bad if you get second-stringed, the right-wing ultranationalists that have differing opinions on how many mulligans one is allowed in a friendly game of golf are consistently sending agents to kill me. So the first set might not make it. Just last week our catering company was infiltrated and attempted to poison me with steak tartar. Luckily, I find that dish to be vile and wanted nothing to do with it.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Location: Secret
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 2726363156

Jon Law's miniature photos

2011-11-30T22:06:00.000Z

I have just discovered the miniature photos of Jon Law via the Games Workshop website.

Jon takes amazing shots of GW minis shrouded in mist and often with incidental lighting. What really strikes me about his shots is that, unlike the photos that appear in the Forgeworld books, Jon makes no attempt to disguise the fact that his miniatures are just that. Their bases are present and correct, and sometimes the edges of the games tables are visible. This makes his images somewhat more 'honest' than those which strive to disguise the scale of their subjects.

Added to this, he has a wonderful sense of composition, lighting and colour. I love the way his minis loom out of the mist. He uses silhouette to great effect too, especially on his 'Nid images.

I highly recommend you check out his flickr set.

V for Vendetta, Alan Moore and me

2011-11-29T18:10:00.000Z

'Good evening, London. I thought it time we had a little talk...'

I first got seriously into comics (or 'graphic novels' if they're pretentious) when I was at university. I had always been turned off them as a child as the glossy, beautifully rendered covers raised my expectations to a level where the interior artwork unceasingly disappointed. Also, I find the super hero genre baffling and that renders most of the American and British output incomprehensible to me. My uni friends recommended The Greats of the genre, and so I unploughed through the cartoon canon. Alan Moore's work was, predictably, on the list. Thus I encounter V, the verbose and poetic anti-hero with his vendetta. I was struck by the iconography of the tale - the graphic graffiti he would leave, his calling-card roses and, most of all, his impassive, sneering mask.

I was indifferent to the V for Vendetta film when it was released. All of my 'Christ - why did they have to fuck it up so badly?' bile had been consumed by the god-awful From Hell and League films. What annoyed me most, though, was that Time Warner produced a cheap V mask, which sold rather well. While at uni I spent a lot of my (ample) spare time making masks. There was a vacform machine in the architecture workshops and I put it to use on molds I had sculpted. I produced a rather good V mask and for about six years I was the proud (and slightly smug) owner of the only V mask I knew of. And then along came Time Warner. I was pissed off. Not only had they messed up a story which had a lot of meaning for me, they were now churning out masks which meant I wasn't the only person with one.

The reason for this rant is that the Guardian as just published a fascinating piece on Alan Moore's reaction to the phenomena of the V masks being used by anti-capitalist protesters. I would highly recommend reading the full article rather than just relying on my ramblings, but in short he has mixed emotions about the situation. However, he has a lot more reason to be pissed off about than I do and he's clearly more contemplative and measured in his approach than I am. Consequently, I feel I ought to stop whining and dust off my V mask and give it some air-time.

'Everybody is special. Everybody.'

My V mask. This is actually a really bad shot taken with an old digital camera about six years ago. It looks a bit better in real life. The lens aberration distorts it somewhat here.

101 images of the great Cthulhu

2011-11-25T18:34:00.000Z

Check it out!

John Blanche's desk!!!

2011-11-24T20:26:00.000Z

I have a very special post for you today. John Blanche (=[The Man]=) has sent through a photo of his desk for your enjoyment.

I am sure you'll all be as surprised as I was to see he does not work in a crumbling attic full of cobwebs, bottled homunculi and the bones of heretics. He explains that he hates clutter and tries to pair his kit only down to the essential components. The desk itself is a simple oak affair topped by an Edwardian teacher's writing box. Beside this sits his MacBook Pro and a wooden tea box in which he keeps his miniatures. He prefers to paint by natural north light, but has an anglepoise daylight lamp for occasional use.

This spartan set-up is complemented by a general lack of miniatures on display. JB explains that he has gradually reduced his collection over the years and retains only a few pieces. On the wall hangs an illustration by Ian Miller, 13th century vellum Bible page and a Frederick the Great-era cavalry pistol. In front of the desk is a hard wooden stool. JB doesn't use this work station for illustration - he prefers to stand while painting as it evades problems like neck and back ache.

I hope you've enjoyed this insight into JB's working practices and thanks the The Rat King himself for sending though this enlightening image.

New work: World of Twilight faction logos

2011-11-23T13:02:00.001Z

Below are the three faction logos I have recently finished for the talented Mike Thorp who has created The World of Twilight game.

Mike supplied rough sketches for these, and I fleshed them out and rendered them. I am really proud of the textures in these.

I am endlessly impressed with Mike's work and can't wait to see what he produces next.

Awesome steampunk WWI Gundam

2011-11-22T10:54:00.000Z

Check out the amusingly named Mousemuffins' steampunk Gundam WWI kit on Cool Mini Or Not?

The church of St John

2011-11-21T21:14:00.000Z

As I mentioned in a previous post, when I visited Nottingham I stayed next to a ruined haunted church. I spent two lovely morning, bell, book and camera in hand exploring the roofless edifice in search of lost souls.

The silent stones are walled off from the hotel and road and the atmosphere is quiet and still. Ivy covers the masonry. There are signs of human activity here and there. A custodian obviously mows the grass in the graveyard and someone had lit tea light candles, the remains of which were still sitting in niches in the door jambs.

A woman in white allegedly haunts the ruin. It would appear she is not too lonely as the specter of a man has been seen at the altar. There are also ghosts in the nearby woods and in the neighboring hall itself.

Ghost costume sketch

2011-11-20T19:57:00.001Z

I have just completed this sketch of a ghost costume. Clearly I've missed Hallowe'en but in my head IT'S ALWAYS HALLOWEEN! Or maybe I could use it as a Christmas costume and be the Ghost of Christmas Past.

It's based on a wonderful mini from Smart Max. As soon as I saw the sculpt, I thought it'd make a great real-life costume. Not only is the figure dynamic, but its design taps into the archetypal hallmarks of a phantom - chains, billowing white dress, candelabra etc.

I'm not very happy with the borders of my illustration. Watercolour pencils, although portable and handy, are not good when you need to cover areas of more than an inch or so square. In addition, and as I've mentioned before, the pages of Moleskines don't hold liquids that well. Nonetheless, I do enjoy having a Moleskine as a repository for my work. They do make versions with watercolour block pages, so I may investigate.

The Emperor's Will review

2011-11-19T17:13:00.003Z

I am shame-faced that I have not managed to post this review until now, but better late than never...

The Emperor's Will is the new art book from GW's Black Library publishing arm. It should be considered the latest John Blanche portfolio, which is the perspective from which I will write this review. Happily it is also a contender for the title of "best Blanche tome".

The book is a hefty hardback volume typical of the new standard of book design emerging from the Nottingham studio. The binding is solid, the paper heavy, the print quality excellent and it even has a place-marker ribbon. Physically, therefore, its a winner and much better than, say, The Inquisitor Sketchbook.

The book profiles the servants of the Imperium through Blanche's own drawings and other artists' work he has selected (including Clint Langley, Kevin Chin, Dave Gallagher and all the other GW heavyweights). Blanche's offerings are the most numerous and comprise over a half of the book. Most (but I don't think all) of the work has been seen before, but these reproductions are enlarged and sometimes in colour for the first time.

On the subject on enlargement, the layout of the book is similar to other new GW titles. It eschews the bordered and maximal design of the early noughties in favour of the full-bleed images and uncluttered layout we've seen in more recent publications. In fact, it takes this to an extreme. There is almost no text and we are simply treated to page-after-page of full-bleed and often full-colour artwork free from annotation and even page numbers. The designers have made the novel decision to crop many works to emphasise the Imperial characters. Consequently the overall compositions are sometimes lost, but readers get a refreshingly close-up of the artwork revealing brush strokes, pen lines and the smudge of ink. As a designer myself, the insight this magnification provides is startling.

Though newer images dominate the compilation, there are drawings dating back to the Rogue Trader era of the 40K universe (including seminal images by the likes of Will Rees and Jes Goodwin). Some of Blanche's original plates for the first 40K rulebook are present, as are a few of his pencil sketches for the Confrontation project that followed. These latter images are reproduced larger than ever before making the tome an essential addition to the library of a Blanche fan.

In short the book is a triumph and I hope we'll see more art books in this vein. An interesting footnote is that I have just noticed an iPad version is available, perhaps marking the first of what might prove more regular forays into digital-art-compilations from GW.

New geek furniture

2011-11-18T07:03:00.000Z

Purple Pawn has an excellent post about furniture for geeks, including some wonderful miniature cabinets.

Adventures in Nottingham

2011-11-16T19:12:00.000Z

Last weekend was the culmination of a slightly epic trip to Nottingham. Here is what I got up to...

On my way there I encountered this odd little face peering at me from a motorway bridge. Is the M25 regressing to a pre-Christian state of earth-worship?

Before I checked into my hotel I stopped at the amazing Anchor Supplies. They sell all manner of forces surplus kit. Visiting their stores (they have two) is always akin to entering an Alladin's cave of awesome hardware, clothes and gear. I picked up a lovely shemagh scarf.

I stayed in the amazing Colwick Hall (pronounced "colic"). The place is reputedly haunted by several ghosts. The autumnal morning were very damp and, as I emerged for breakfast, the mist rolled in and I could well believe it shrouded all manner of specters and ghasts.

I was delighted to discover that next to the hotel stood the ruined church of St John. I spent two wonderful mornings looking for undead minions amidst the broken stones and shattered graves. I'll post more photos of the church and the hotel once I've processed them.

I met up with my good friend Spyglass and we spent a fascinating day exploring the fringes of science and nature. We began our quest at the Hemlock Stone. This is a massive outcrop of sedimentary rock which looms atop a wooded hill just to the South West of Nottingham. It is reputed to have been a place of Druid worship and has been a central in local folklore ever since.

We then made our way to the village of Gotham. This village has an interesting history and is almost certainly the origin of the name of Batman's home city. We huddled away from the cold and damp amidst the warm glow of the Cookoo Bush Inn.

Upon our return to the city we stopped off at GW HQ and caught up with John Blanche and Jes Goodwin in Bugmans. I became increasingly distracted by a pile of boxes in the corner of the bar which looked remarkably like Old Skool supplements GW released in the early 90s. Closer inspection proved my geek detector reliable. Staff had discovered the stock in an archive room and were selling off the copies!

Saturday saw the much-anticipated release of Warpath - Mantic's new sci-fi tabletop game. I joined the Mantic crew in their Barker Gate HQ and spent a lovely day chatting to fans, showing off the tiles to Dwarf King's Hold 3 and watching the demos. It was great to hang out with hobby luminaries like Jake Thornton, Alessio Cavatore, the Golem crew, Bob Naismith, Ninjabread and Leonidas (the publisher of Ravage, who was over from France for the day). Ronnie was on fine form and I can assure you that the contents of Mantic's secret room are very exciting.

All in all it was a wonderful trip.

=][=MVNDA Gropius portrait

2011-11-15T18:57:00.000Z

Last night I finished the portrait for Gropius, one of the characters in the Leviathan Cycle of my =][=MVNDA project. I was pretty pleased with him so thought I'd post the image before I manipulate it.

He was drawn in my Moleskine sketchbook, hence the yellow cast to the paper. I tried to use Winsor & Newton inks to colour him at first, but was swiftly reminded how badly they sit on the paper in Moleskines. The pigment leeches into the paper and blotches horribly. The blue is the result of this aborted experiment. I instead turned to my newly beloved watercolour pencils (Derwent Inktense). They seem to work better as they require less fluid and so don't penetrate the surface quite as much. This was also my first use of a black pen for some time (a Steadtler 0.05mm liner). I usually use a brown Pilot but now I'm using colour more black seems more satisfying. The white is from a wonderful Uni-Ball Signo.

I hope to post the composited card soon.

I made Ninjabread...

2011-11-14T18:49:00.000Z

Curis at the awesome (and slightly bonkers) Ninjabread has uploaded an excellent review of the Mantic Warpath launch party. He has seen fit to immortalize me as a hybrid of Doctor Who and Lady Gaga. Now that's something!!!

Check out his awesome site and I highly recommend his mental Ork Genestealer Cult Clan.

My review of the day (and my other adventures in Nottingham) is coming soon.

Speedfreek's Harlequinade Macabre

2011-11-13T17:14:00.000Z

I happened across the Warseer WIP thread detailing Speedfreek's amazing Harlequin conversions. He's been building a massive Harle force using only plastic components (mainly Dark Eldar, but with lots of other Elf and Eldar bits worked in). I am sure you'll agree that both his modelling work and wonderfully pastel paint jobs are stunning.

Slow posting

2011-11-09T18:24:00.003Z

I will be away for a few days, attending the Warpath launch party amongst other things.

I'll post again next week.

In the meantime here's a wonderful vintage featurette on a town not far from where I grew up. Check out those clothes and haircuts!

Out and about #4

2011-11-08T11:02:00.000Z

This time of year is always busy as there are so many birthdays and parties to go to as well as festivals like Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes night. Here's what I've been up to...

Sunday saw the return of Kashpoint, the flamboyant London club night which takes on the UK mantle of the Club Kids scene which originated in New York in the late 80s. Completely bonkers costumes are de-rigueur.

On Saturday I was totally blown away by the Glitch Mob at their gig in Brixton in South London.

My Hallowe'en culminated in the a wonderful night at White Mischief - the UK's premier Steampunk party. The place was full of undead nurses, sinister fortune-tellers and masked pulp heroes.

In the day on the Hallowe'en weekend I performed with The House of Fairy Tales. We entertained children with a humorous mock seance where the kids were encouraged to leave the circle and become a ghost to scare the remaining participants.

The previous weekend I was lucky enough to attend The Minotaur show in the Old Vic Tunnels under Waterloo station. Strange and nefarious exhibits filled the cavernous brick-lined spaces and loomed at us out of the darkness.

I went to go and see a stage adaption of Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror. I'll post a review soon. Don't get your hopes up.

Some elegant Georgian villas in London's Isington district.

One of the few remaining vintage stores in London. Many have been priced out by rising property costs. This one is on the Holloway Road.

I spent a really lovely evening with my pal Tomki in this pub in Islington after work. Pubs are an essential feature of British social life and the best are lovely and cosy places to be on winter nights.

It rains a lot here in the UK. We occasionally get nice rainbows though.

The sketches from an informal life-drawing group I attend. I must post scans of my recent sketches soon.

The Atlantis bookshop in the Holborn area of London. This is (probably) the oldest occult bookshop in the UK and has an amazing range of titles covering all aspects of the subject. There are guides to vampires, Egyptian mysticism, esoterica and wicca all side-by-side in a wonderful traditional shop interior. The staff are very friendly too.

A ghost walk in London's Bloomsbury district. The area is a lot more haunted than I ever images it might be!

Two pigeons loitering outside my office window.

The Russell Square festival featured some wonderful outdoor installations, like this peotry parade with hundreds of streamers fluttering in the Autumn breeze.

These two photos are from a pair of exhibitions at London's excellent Wellcome Collection. One was of Mexican religious votives - these were offerings made to saints to beg for and give thanks for interventions in times of need. The other was a fascinating display of pre-20th century charms. Such trinkets were very common. They took various forms (like pierced coins, bits of string and so forth) and were believed to ward off sickness and afford protection against bad luck. The culture of charms was strongest amongst the very poor. Consequently few records survive and so little is known about the conventions and customs surrounding these little items.

=][=MVNDA site now live!!!

2011-11-06T16:00:00.000Z

The =][=MVNDA site is now live at: www.tearsofenvy.com/imvnda

Please spread the word!

Massive thanks to Andi (Cogpie) for his invaluable help in cleaning up the god-awful mess I made of the code.

PS - now you can find out what the proxies are for!

=][=MVNDA ward sigil

2011-11-04T07:37:00.000Z

=][=MVNDA: Ichabod & Bridge

2011-11-03T17:31:00.000Z

=][=MVNDA - stay tuned!

2011-11-03T07:59:00.000Z

In case you hadn't guessed, this week is =][=MVNDA week. Keep checking back daily as I'll be publishing the work I have done on the project so far. It'll culminate this weekend with the launch of the =][=MVNDA website.

Below is a sneak peek at what's coming tonight.

=][=MVNDA character card front - Ichabod

2011-11-02T20:07:00.002Z

=][=MVNDA logo

2011-11-01T18:00:00.003Z

It is coming

2011-10-31T20:56:00.000Z

Link dump

2011-10-31T07:03:00.000Z

Here's what I have been looking at recently (some may be NSFW)...

Leaf drift
Silent era movie posters
Cast iron font
threeA customs
Witch hut
Castle
Barry Moser illustrated Frankenstein
Dei Morti Viventi
Norman Lindsay
German spas
40s and 50s circus photos
Puppet masters
Last breath
Your taunts will leave me smiling
Elusive
HSX Collection
Tamara
M. Montedoro
The Hugged Face
More TinTin mashups
Barbari
The Wandering Marionettes
Keith Thompson
Silver Skulls
Khare by John Blanche
Terry Oakes
Bernie Wrightson does Edgar Allen Poe and here too
Dave Rapoza
Neil Roberts