Caution - Wet Paint

Painting judging interview/questions for Jeff

I interviewed one of my local painting contest judges.  His name is Jeff and currently works at Other Realms (Hawaii).   Other Realms holds a Games Day normally every 3 months with a painted miniature contest.

Question: What are you looking for when judging a painted miniature?
Hmmmm,
When I judge a miniature, I like to go to the basics first.  The miniature needs to be cleaned well, I don't want to see flash-lines and such.  I also look for painting technique early in the judging process.  If the lines aren't clean and colors are where there not supposed to be, even a little bit, then I usually eliminate that miniature and move on to the next entry. 

Question: What do you mean by "If the lines aren't clean..."
Answer to question 1: "keeping your lines clean" means that any given color that’s painted has to end somewhere, that somewhere should be neat and tidy.  If your blending your color into another color then you shouldn't see a line anyway, but the color to be blended into will have a border somewhere, as would the color that started the blending.   Lets make this clearer, if two colors meet, you'll probably have a black-line or similar effect between them if the intent is to separate them.  That said, this line should be consistent in its entirety, and the colors being separated should have an even border against the black-line, unless designed otherwise (i.e.; flames, orcy jagged lines, motifs etc.).  Borders should still be clean though! 

A competition mini should have no paint "splash" at all.  I know it sounds reasonable, but you'd be surprised at how many entries have areas of paint splash. 

Question: When you say, "paint "splash", what exactly are you talking about.
Answer to question 2: by saying, "color splash", I mean the paint of one color should not be on another color, unless that was the intended effect.   Say your painting the hilt of a sword and a little metallic color gets on the flesh color of the hand, that's splashing your color...very unattractive.

Once I find the total amount of entries that pass the first scrutiny in a given category, I move to the judging of more advanced areas of painting.  This would include shading, highlights, blending technique, color composition, conversions, and of course the all important base.  If you don't base your miniature, you’re wasting your time entering it.  I know of no judge anywhere that would give an un-based mini a second look, and if they did, they would need to be removed from the gene pool. 
With that being said, there have been times that I had to go back and consider a mini that I had originally eliminated, either because there was some other area on the mini that was exceptional, or all the mini's in that category were in the same league as the eliminated one.  This is painful for me to do, but there must be a winner.  Unless of course none of the entries had finished bases, then all would be dumped in a vat and melted down for better uses elsewhere.

Question: Surely you aren't serious about what you said in the last two sentences about unfinished bases.
About my basing fetish, I'm not entirely serious, just trying to make a point.  I will say however that the base of a miniature is "as" important as the mini itself.  Like you said yourself, a base of a mini should be considered a mini on its own.  You would not enter a highly detailed base with an unpainted mini to grace its presence, nor I believe should you enter a beautiful mini with an unfinished base.   That's all I'm saying.  I'm not sure what your reply meant about the " there must be a winner" part, so the answer will have to wait until next time.

 Question: How do you choose between entries that might otherwise be a tie?
Two miniatures that seem to have tied usually get separated by actively looking for flaws instead of judging comparisons in technique.  It's usually more accurate to find mistakes in two miniatures that are very close than to determine who blended more gradually or who's black-lines are cleaner.  I can also move to the base to separate them or see if any originality was added by conversion or unique color schemes. 

Question: What are some common mistakes or things people neglect to do when painting miniatures for competition?
Well, one thing I see from a lot of painters is a desire to put a lot of different colors on one miniature.  This isn't always a bad thing, but you need to be really careful about your color contrasts and how it all falls into place on the miniature.  I believe a mini can be painted well with two colors, and variations of those two colors.  Adding one or two other contrasting colors can really help bring out the two or three tones that are similar.  Color composition is something learned by experience and practice.  I still mess it up.  There are color wheels that you can buy that can help a lot, Grumbacher makes a good one that will show you which colors contrast and which compliment each other.  Another area that is sometimes missed is metal area's showing that were rubbed off during the painting process.  Depending on how you hold the miniature during the time your painting, it can lead you to rub a certain area to the point the primer is removed.  This should be rather noticeable because the raised areas of the miniature will be the ones to go.  Although a lot of people tend to enter mini's with this affliction.  A lot of what can go wrong with a mini is determined in the beginning stages of cleaning the miniature.  It can be difficult to get every last mold-line (flash), and sometimes you'll be halfway done with your paint job when you notice one you've missed.  Sometimes on an area you may have applied several layers of paint.  It can be difficult to go back and file away your paint job just to get that .0002 mm line of flash you missed.  If you don't and a judge sees it, it will cost you.  It may not make you lose, but it might be the determining factor in a competition that's close.

 Question: Do you have any specific advice for painting contestants?
I would have to say that if you really want to win, start as early as possible, take your time, and be patient.  I seem to do none of these things and it shows somewhere in the finished miniature.  A great paint job, (one that will win contests and make people go "wow", that's really nice), should take you no less than 30 hours to complete.  This time does not include preparation, conversion, or time spent staring at your mini trying to figure out your colors.  A lot of the Golden Demon winners state their painting times in the 100's of hour’s area.  The only other advice I can give would be to enter as many contests as possible and talk to the people who are beating you.  If you see something cool you would like to try on your own mini's, find the owner and ask them how they did it.  Unless your name is Danny (inside joke), you'll most likely get a response.  Last note: ALWAYS FINISH YOUR BASES :)

 Question: How long have you been painting and how long have you been judging contests?
I have been painting for about 15 years.  My first attempts were rendered with enamel paints and I remember dotting the eyes with these huge blobs of blue, it left a lot to be desired.  I got more serious about painting once I started entering contests at Other Realms, the hobby shop that later gave me gainful employment.  I probably entered contests for about 4 years before I was hired and could no longer compete due to the fact that my employer needed another judge.   I have been judging contests for about 7 years.  There are a lot of people who have been painting a shorter amount of time than I, who I believe are better painters.  The reason I feel confidence in judging is due to the amount of time I've spent around the hobby.  I feel I paint pretty well and I think my judging is fair and accurate.