Well, THAT was a weekend! We made the short trek northward, survived the construction, settled into a very nice suite, and went on a 48-hr journey of awesomeness. There was so much community and support in the crowd and so many activities and classes to do! Through perseverance (and a drinky-poo or two) and the desire to improve our painting skills, we survived it all only to return to our regular work-lives for the week. We're exhausted, but I have to share because, well, it's what a Chaplain does!
The Paint Competition
This was the primary reason for our trip- we wanted to enter some models and establish that 'base-line' to improve for years to come. I was originally going to paint up and enter a dragon, but many obstacles appeared along the way. The universe is more than happy to let you know when you've bitten off more than you can chew... You can see the start of that project here and I did take the model and some supplies to do more work while at the Con. Little was accomplished. I did also paint up a couple of other models- the Paladin and 'Goeffrey'- you can see the progress in the last post from before we left. My wife painted up GW's Grove Guardian and entered that- she did good!
It must be noted that this is not a 'competitive' competition. ReaperCon uses the 'open' format where you're judged and awarded individually based on your skill and presentation and then you get picked overall as the 'Best in Show' for your categories. Think a game like golf or bowling versus a ball game like football- you're playing against yourself more than your opponent. Everyone gets a Participation Certificate at minimum, and dozens of participants all receive each bronze, silver, and gold medals within each category. The medal is based on your individual skill, not how you compare to others.
My Goeffrey model was the one chosen (the Paladin was relegated to title-screen duties for the ceremony- an honour itself!) and I got exactly the score I expected- a "2". That's a bronze medal right there! Woohoo! I received my award and immediately returned to teaching a gentleman how to paint (I was sneaking away from the ceremony to give paint lessons!). I wanted a silver but I know that the tunic and face weren't my top work. But now I know that this standard is the 'floor' in my skill level. Crap, that means I have to put in effort...
Her model was an instant hit! I thought she did a fantastic job and the judges agreed- giving her a "3"! That earned her the silver medal- and I missed it! I stepped away for the paint lesson and the judges called her name! She retrieved me immediately and I was very bitter and apologetic. I knew she'd get at least a bronze, but to earn the silver on her first go was awesome!
Activities and Classes
The second purpose to the Con for us was painting lessons. They offer lots of different classes by extremely talented painters and the retail offerings are aplenty and good! We each signed up for four or five classes and focused on specific skills. We both took a class for 'bigger models' and the blending aspect, and we missed one for mixing oil and acrylic paints on this medium (we were just too exhausted by that point). My wife did a great job and learned tricks for painting faces and blending that now matches my skill- that's how good the classes are! My favorite class was a "big eyes..." class that focused on the cel-shading paint style. The instructor was so good that I'm thinking of entering that part of the paint competition next year! We plan on signing up for more classes next year, for sure.
There's a ton of activities to do as well- I have to throw a shout-out to the Gummy Bear Painting Challenge in honour of Kathy Wappel. I knew Kathy (and her husband Jim) personally and give them credit for teaching me how to paint metallics and I helped them build their blog-site from back in the day. That one was personal and I had to participate but I gotta admit that my wife's little bear was absolutely awesome. It was nice to think of her again and all those years in the Chicago Battle Bunker. Good people, good times...
Finally, the whole event is such a fantastic time because they FORCE socializing on you. During the classes the professors will interact with the students regularly (no 'lecture' style here!), the staff were 100% amazing the entire time, and the role-playing aspect to the Con was neat- we had to choose 'factions' which led to some neat little contests. Most prevalent, however, was the 'ribbons'- you received small ribbons for meeting certain people or achieving certain objectives. There were miniature rubber ducks and raccons scattered about like a 'scavenger hunt'. There were costumed characters that you had to conversate with. And there were just fun little activities that would gain ribbons like playing a game with the hotel bartender. This turned into a contest between some folk (my wife and me!!!) and even more fun was to be had.
Earning these ribbons through all the activities and socializing became a sign for which attendees were social and which were particularly focused. These ribbons, attached to the event badges, stretched down to the ground and further so that it created a tripping hazard. Despite some glad-handing, deal-making, and overstimulated participations, my wife still beat me tthrough even more cunning. Across the weekend, she was able to accumulate more ribbons than me, making more friends and learning more things with proof. And to brag about it for months to come. Next year...
The social part
At one time, I was the head of all the gamers. I taught shiny devil winners regularly and learned from more that I was blessed to work with. I retired from that world 15 years ago and didn't practice my skills at both the hobby and social aspects. While I've still painted and played, even buffing my paintbrush output through trying new styles, I haven't gone into the game crowds and become integral like the old days. This Con was big on that, both between last year's underwhelming experience due to my illness to this year's contest to talk to everyone everywhere. The community is more important than sales or anything like that.
Where I felt that the most was during the paint contest ceremony. Everyone in the Con attended, and I mean everyone. Chairs were having to be dragged in from the lounge area and there was still only standing room. Every one of the over 1,000 entries was showed on the big screen above and every single participant was named and their model shown off. For a couple of hours, we all stuck around to see everyone and clap and cheer and give everyone their due credit. You could feel the connection between everyone in the room and their appreciation of the hobby.
Even through all of that, I still got to do some of those old things that I used to do. First was my ability and time to run an intro game of Relic Knights with a great guy named Cary. We got kicked off the table eventually, but he very much enjoyed the game and took to it very quickly. Check out my own work in the short time with this game here and you'll see the models are amazing (and great to paint!) and the rules are a lot of fun. I will have much, much more to say about that game in another post, but it was more awesome to see Cary enjoying a new game!
I also spent a lot of time with a young kid named Paul that also happened to work in the restaurant within the hotel. He wasn't really into the painting part, but he had collected a ton of skeletons that looked cool. I could not let him come to a miniatures painting convention and not teach a couple of skills! He brought a great set of paintbrushes and some miniatures and sat with me during the ceremony to learn basecoating, wash-shading, and even lining-in. He got it so quickly that we started some 'slapchop' technique in-between me dashing back-and-forth to see the contest entries. Paul definitely has some talent and I think he'll be really good by the time I see him next year.
I'm not social anymore, but I definitely enjoy it a bit. I love to see other people's enjoyment of the hobby, their commitment to the artistry of it all, and the focus on sharing experiences in the process. If I manage my time properly, I may even try to get involved with the events and activities next year (let's just say the '80's were the best decade) to generate even more of that. But that's all the social stuff that I'll think about later- I really need to focus on what I'm going to paint for next year.
Stop chatting already!
Okay, that's really about it. We're so exhausted and just trying to rest up a bit today before the football season kicks off and takes over half the weekends for next seven months. The Con was such a good time that we would very strongly suggest people (especially want to meet others in the hobby) check it out. Last year was the 'observation year' and this year was a 'test the water year'- try everything and see how it all works. Next year, the wife cannot beat me in ribbons or painting medals- I'm bringing it...
Happy Hobbying
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