As part of the Spire of Dawn Christmas in volomir.com, here comes the Swordmasters of Hoeth, the elite of the High Elves from Volomir’s army. More oldies rescued from Volomir’s blog!
These are the Swordmasters of Hoeth painted as part of my future High Elves army. As you can see It’s taking me forever because of the painting standard I want for all the army, but I think it’s worth it. These guys went to Golden Demon Germany 2013 and they won Silver in the Fantasy Unit category, and also won Gold in the Unit category of the Spring Angel 2013.
Behind the scenes: Step by Step Article
Swordmasters are my favourite among the myriad of units and warriors and has been from the very beginning of my involvement in the hobby. I guess this statement is not a surprise considering the nickname 😀 I remember very well how excited I got when you announced you are working on them some time ago. It is my dream to be able to paint these great models to a similar standard like yours. Once again, thanks a lot for the inspiration and a lot of fantastic advice on painting.
It is great to see your beautifully painted miniatures once again!
I know you are always busy with many projects but I was wondering if you could consider a tutorial about the way you painted Swordmasters. I know you have already described it on your blog but I would like to ask about it more about the details that often do not appear in the tutorials. For example, what brushes (brand and size) do you use at each stage? What is your preferred brush stroke or do you use different ways for different elements? How many layers do you consider optimal for achieving the fantastic blending effect on the helmets?
I have many more questions like that but I am sure you know what kind of advice I would like to ask for. It is this type of thing one can easily ask when talking to the person directly. Unfortunately, I have no opportunity to attend the same events as you do for a chance of a chat so maybe there will be an opportunity to learn from you through such tutorial. Or maybe a video would be a better option?
This is, of course, just a suggestion but I hope you will find time in the future for something like that.
Thanks!
Hi Pawel, many thanks for your comments! 🙂
Of course, there is always a lot more to show and share. With my usual tutorials, I think I give the most I can from a picture based tutorial. The natural step would be to try video, but that is something very time consuming and requires a lot of effort and preparation on my side. I am considering this route though, but for now I need to stick to photographs. I simply do not have more time to devote to this, I would have to make this my full time job and probably ask for money on the videos. But anyway, I am considering options and I think that 2017 will be a great year to try new things. I am more than open to ideas of course! Thank you for your suggestions, and please do not hesitate to suggest anything you think will be helpful!
Thanks a lot for such a quick reply!
I would like to add that your tutorials are simply amazing and I return to them regularly to see if I can learn something again. They are extremely helpful already. I understand that making a detailed video is a time consuming process and the one that is quite costly too. If you make one in the future it will be great but if not, that is ok too as I am sure you will provide a lot of inspiration through any article you are going to publish on this blog anyway.
I simply noticed, however, that the key to paint better is to learn not only about the colours used or the techniques applied but very much about tiny but extremely important details. It is easy to assume that I know how things are done only to learn that another painter is doing it in a completely different way. That is why going for a workshop where best painters demonstrate how they paint to such a fantastic standard is such a great idea. But when it is not possible to attend one, I was wondering what would be the next best thing.
I always have questions that very often start with “how did you …?” so if you think they might be helpful for your future tutorials I am more than happy to send them to you!
Thanks again for your quick answers!
Thanks Pawel!
Yes of course, every question you may have is useful and may be enlightening to other people too. I am in the process of thinking stuff to do next year and every idea you can give me will be helpful for me. As soon as I have my studio back I am planning on restarting the painting process, go back to my elves, start again with tutorials… and videos are something that are definitely in the list. I just have to sit down and decide exactly what I can do with the time I have.
I also have half-written an article which exactly says that you just said about workshops. Every painter has its own way and learning is a neverending process. No one has the universal truth about anything.
So please don’t hesitate to bring in your suggestions!
Hello and belated Happy New Year!
Sorry for a late reply. The end of the year was quite busy!
Whenever I look at your miniatures in general and Elves in particular, what I notice first is how incredibly clean your painting is. Even when magnified there are no unnecessary lines on your models, no “dirty” areas that blend when you look at the models from afar. I would love to know what is the way to achieve that. I can guess that proper diluting of the paint may matter. I also noticed that sometimes when the paint brush is not good it creates uneven surface. However, it would be fantastic if you could describe the way you make sure the painting is clean in more details.
Second question is about your perfect transitions between the colors. In particular on the helmets. I know the theory of how the highlights and shades should be distributed on a cylindrical shape but it is still an area that I cannot get right (among many other things :D). Could you provide a step by step description to painting helmets in the case of Swordmasters and Sea Guard?
Thank you very much in advance! 🙂
Would love to own an army of high elves painted by you, do you sell your units?
Hi Will! For any commission enquiries, please contact us over e-mail: info@volomir.com
Thank you!
Amazing colours!
Very inspiring!
Thanks Copper Golem! Really glad you liked them! 🙂