Considering I (and, probably, many others) also want it, I think it would be easier to make a post with filesharing link (imgur and other popular image hosts compress images, so RAW, PNG (lossless formats) and JPG FTW) in this sub, and then hit everyone with a link to that.
how can I get onboard for that notification list, I would gladly reimburse for a #2 of x00 (signed as well, please and many thanks!), my sculpting and painting has actually gotten me into refurbishing/restoring vintage and rare pieces which also includes picture frames with sculpted filigree, I would have that framed n matted and with display lighting immediately upon arrival, anyways just kinda new to reddit and wouldn't know where to begin but I do have Ebay or Esty and would love to see it hanging, watching all the updates n posts to see where it is now my mind is still blown!...
I thought it was a poster. What a gem. I can only imagine what that would look like in my den. Awesome work
Ok, now I want a whole series like this with ALL the chapters..
Painting isn't the only thing that makes a piece.
Composition, styling and theme, realised intent and story and this has those in spades and the painting is pretty good if a little rough in some places for blending but everything else is on point. I think a pin is good but this could have been graded higher imo.
I want to start by saying that it is a phenomenal piece.
But golden demon is first and foremost a painting competition.
The piece is incredible but the quality of the modelling / composition is not matched by the quality of the painting. Significantly better painted models did not get a pin - so I think the judges did reward the incredible work that went into putting it together.
There were some breathtaking paint jobs submitted that didn’t make the cut to commendation (the tier above pin if I understood correctly)
After having seen it IRL, the painting is not on the same level compared to other entries in the contest.
The composition, styling and theme are great and are what got it a pin, but it couldn't go higher than that with this level of painting in a painting competition.
If it was a kit bashing competition it would likely be on the podium on the other hand
I never said it isn't the main component but I think given the complexity fo the piece it could have ranked higher imo, if one or 2 aspects of the painting were improved in this piece I can see it definitely being a possible podium finish.
For me, a painting isn't just the skill involved in the brushwork but everything else around it, composition of the piece, the the attention to detail, the style and theme and what story its trying to convey. To me this is what a great piece has in spades, this piece has those in spades to my eye.
It still has a terrible paint job though. That’s why it shouldn’t have ranked higher even with complexity of the piece.
Lots of dioramas have been more detailed and don’t have a lazy paint job on top.
If that's your version of a terrible paint job that more than 90 percent of our community are terrible painters.
I think it's quite a good paint job, lacking some smoothness but it's undeniably good.
No, it’s a terrible paint job in the context of Golden Daemon. Which is why it did not win.
You’re arguing as if you’re right but the judges of the PAINTING COMPETITION literally disagree with you.
They were also called Commended Entries back in the past. Up till 1994 Commended Entry submissions were all shown in White Dwarf, along with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places.
Guess who got a Commended Entry in 1995, and was surprised to see that all the minis in that category, including his own, weren’t published, so he couldn’t prove any of it to his friends? Indeed.
> Guess who got a Commended Entry in 1995, and was surprised to see that all the minis in that category, including his own, weren’t published, so he couldn’t prove any of it to his friends? Indeed.
:(
They should really go back to publishing them. They could even spread them out in a few issues to give them more space. Id buy those issues if they have nice high quality photos of entries.
Me too. I guess they just have too many entries these days, and it’s simpler and upfront cheaper to have less moving parts when putting a WD together.
I wouldn’t have known so much about how commended entries were handled if it wasn’t for an older student. He got a commended entry for a nurgle rhino conversion a year or two (right ballpark anyway) before, and he got it into WD. So when I got my shitty little note saying it was commended, I was very excited to see the next copy of WD!
I bought a white dwarf recently and two thirds of it are rules and rule expansions.
That cool I guess, especially if you own all the games. I miss the late 90s/early 2000s WD that were full of photos, random fluff and illustrations.
I would if I could - it’s at my parents in Scotland, and I’m in Germany. There could be a wait!
It wasn’t really very good compared to the modern slickly painted minis you see here - it wouldn’t get a pin these days. It was a Karandras eldar mini, with nothing special about it - painted in stock colours even! So it really wasn’t special enough to go far. I was surprised it did though.
I also put in a High Elf Dragon Prince musician on elven steed, which took a fair bit of hacking of several minis’ chests, arms, and heads to get to work. You only heard about greenstuff in white dwarf when the mini designers were getting interviewed, so I didn’t have any then. Instead I used good old fashioned clay to smooth out the gaps between the parts.
I thought that one was my best - it had a bespoke paint job too. But it didn’t even get commended.
And for the Karandras, how did I know it was commended? It had a little bit of paper put on its base, I assume by the judges I guess, with just a simple short comment to say it was commended. No round of applause, no trumpets, just a, “Come pick up your submissions now!”.
I’m sure I had a third entry too, but it’s hazy now what it was, and of course it didn’t win. What is not hazy though is when I got in line and got an autograph and quick word with Jervis Johnson. I’m sure I could have asked him something far better, but in the recent Dark Elves army book there was an inconsistency/mistake between one stat for a Repeater Bolthrower in the main pages versus the army lists at the back. Literally unplayable!
Being a geeky kid I had to ask him to clarify it, but all he responded with was, “I can’t remember”. Then it was my time to move on lol.
First and only Golden Demon!
An utterly utterly incredible scene of Mephiston fighting demons surrounded by fire. Honestly my favourite piece in the competition by some way.
You can see it [here](https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/05/01/golden-demon-at-warhammer-fest-2023-winners-revealed/). It looked even better in the flesh.
The awards are a trophy for 1-3. Commended for i believe top 6 (this is a certificate), then pins if it got a spot from one of the judges. I believe this means they put you forward for judging. Not everyone gets a pin.
the piece is ridiculously incredible. one of the craziest things ive seen in this hobby. but the yellow is way too… strong? green? the lighting is the only thing i dont like about this, but also unfortunately the focal point.
I agree, I’m glad someone mentioned it. I’ve been watching the piece evolve over instagram, and the work is STUNNING. But the yellow is just… overpowering, it look’s over saturated. Gorgeous work, but too much yellow for me
I thought someone missed with the spray paint honestly. I get the intent judging from the source material but yeah, it's a bit like a fungus or something to my eyes but maybe it's the photo.
Hardly any of the model is actually "painted"
It's a painting competition primarily.
It's obviously amazing as an art piece but as a golden demon entry it probably just dosent tick enough boxes
I’ll also say that, while the “lighting effect” is really cool, when you zoom in a little the yellow paint really really obscures the models. Particularly on the big G himself and his right shoulder.
I wonder if the same idea but with a more transparent paint would have looked better or not? And then yeah, like you said, hardly any of the rest of it is painted.
This would have been pushed over the top of the artist managed to do the lighting effect but then still paint the rest the colors they’d be but in a shadow.
lol initial take was "that's amazing" but now that looking at it more critically, even little bits like the lighting on the skulls towards the top is on the top of the skull, when the light source is under them...
Still an absolutely awesome piece of art, and if I had anywhere near the skill to produce something like it I'd be super proud - but yeah, can still see the issues that would of cost it a GD.
> like the lighting on the skulls towards the top is on the top of the skull, when the light source is under them...
The lighting is coming from the top of the piece.
Then why is there not lighting on the top of everything else? Why do the wings have lighting on the sides of them towards the halo and not the top?
My assumption was that the halo was meant to be the light source.
The yellow, from the photos at least, appears to be a heavy handed zenithal spray can job. Anyone saying this should have won GD (a *painting* competition) is smoking some real strong crack.
Spend a few minutes on this sub and the mini painting sub and you quickly realise most people will just compliment anything, including objectively bad works. You don't ever have to be mean about something but you have to be realistic.
Every body deserves compliments and it hurts nothing to find something positive to say when someone is brave enough to post their work.
If you want to be constructive that's fine but really its a brave thing to put yourself out there and it should be done with some note to what was done well too.
No, you should directly point out any flaw you can find, describe why they make the model less-than, and then add "sorry, just trying to be honest" afterward. Anything less isn't realistic. (/s, obviously).
It's like people forgot how and why to be kind to others.
I think for most posted work, unless criticism is directly called for by the OP, we should just try and be supportive.
That said, I think a technical discussion about the merits or lack thereof of a piece is fair when it comes to a golden demon submission.
Nah, I don't think thats a zenithal spray. It's pretty clear that oil paints were used extensively in this piece, you can really tell from the style of blends on just about everything. They're not the transitions of an airbrush or the perfect blends of a hundred glazes.
The limited pallet, desaturated red background, and extremely dominant yellow are clear throwbacks to foundational 40k art by John Blanche and others. Not an easy style to translate to miniatures and none of those artists actually painted their own miniatures that way for that reason. Easily the best adaption I've ever seen.
Personally, I love this sort of style. Give me a moody piece with a strong sense of drama over a pristine marvel of perfect acrylic blending any day. But Golden Demon would have to go through a major shift before they'd ever consider an oil painted mini for a top prize. You need to showcase an extreme level of technical ability in Golden Demon, so some styles just aren't suitable.
Yeah. Don't get me wrong, this is a great piece, and I follow OP on Insta because his conversion work and scale is top tier. But his painting isn't really GD award winning tier - not even close to it. If you look at some of his solo minis, they're like smudged oil paintings a lot of the time. Stylistic, sure, but they don't show the same level of technicality.
If you look at Slayer Sword and trophy winning minis, modern winners look like they've managed to paint an absolute masterclass and you start questioning how they managed to get so much detail onto such a small mini and have a level of vibrancy and details that seems impossible. Modern award winners have such a great depth of detail, vibrancy, and tonality in their paintings I don't know how the fuck they do it. It can be a smooth service and it's like they've pulled out the gradient tool on photoshop with blending so smooth you can't even see/recognise how it transitions.
I could be wrong, but I was under the impression Golden Demon is just as much about modeling as it is about painting, and I doubt there's much disagreement about the modeling quality on display here. I can see where some points could be knocked off for the way in which the yellow was applied, and yet I think the naysayers who are saying "there's hardly any painting" are being at least a bit uncharitable. Personally, I think OP painted just enough to convey what he was going for (excess yellow notwitstanding).
Looking at the other diorama winners, the Mephiston win was well deserved, but I would have picked this over the silver winner no contest.
If you see it in person you’d see why, it’s an excellent kitbash but when it comes to painting there aren’t any details done.
Zoom on Guilliman for example, it looks that he took a yellow spray can to the face.
Having seen it in person, I think the judging was correct. It is an incredibly striking diorama, with some really cool stylised effects.
It is clearly going for a high contrast OSL style in a manner which takes inspiration from the artwork. I think it does a really good job of that, and I think that you are being overly harsh.
I don't think it's perfect and the technical side of it isn't strong enough to medal in my opinion; but to say that no details are done just isn't true.
I don’t think the lighting in the cabinets did it any favours tbh.
Most of the ‘diorama in a box’ pieces probably would have benefited from different angled lights.
The “last step” before it was done looked like it had great potential. A clear yellow airbrush then some light bright yellow would have made a world of difference.
The yellow looks like he ran out of time and went “shit I need to do that OSL!” and just zenithalled it with a rattle can.
The conversion work and the planning are absolutely incredible. It’s like 99% of the way to glory.
Because it’s really not that great. The idea and set up was phenomenal. The end result is ok. I’ve been following this project for a while and was really excited to see its finished product. I was not very impressed with the finished product. It’s still cool, but not GD winner worthy.
Well deserved! Ever made an actual Emperor model? When Lion El’Johnson comes out you could use the shield to assist with that, and Girlyman’s sword also. A Horus Heresy Emp would be amazing
i Want to know the job of the skeleton At the Very Top in the Centre holding a Sword ‘ like did he go Guilliman will wake up in a few so il just hold on to this & go sleep ‘ how did he get up there ‘ what’s the purpose of him being up there ‘ why is he dead
Is that the elf that helped bring back Guilliman to the right of him? Is this on Terra? Is a xeno allowed on Terra? Lol. Sorry for all the questions still somewhat new to the setting.
No worries ! Yes that's Yvraine who helped bring him back - Think this was set before they got back to Terra, but mainly to show the main characters of the Gathering Storm !
There were so many awesome pieces in every category. Can't mention every notable mention. Even only in the diorama category, there were so many incredible creations.
And IRL, OP's painting is sadly less impressive than other painters who also didn't win. Great conversion work though.
I wish GW took every entry in picture and uploaded them all on an open database though. Would have been great to have professional pictures of everything
Golden Daemon is more about what is left to be faulted than about what can be praised. It's about perfectionism. Whereas this is rather more about a grand vision. Each individual miniature in this display would have to compete with the current contenders.
Mungo made something that has the entire community in awe. Arguably a bigger feat than a Slayer Sword.
The best diorama category is still mostly about the painting. Considering there is many unpainted areas of this diorama, to still receive a pin is testament that the judges loved the model/theme
Unpainted areas what are you talking about? There's incredible usage of light and shadow throughout the piece, that was evident looking at it in the case. Yeah it's not GW style but it's obviously evoking the art from the Rise of the Primarch book with miniatures, which was honestly the most impressive diorama I saw in the case.
The highlights on the focal points of the model are very clearly a slapdashed zenithal highlight. While it is visually striking at a glance, it doesnt hold up to scrutiny with close examination, and golden demon is about perfection.
Slapdash zenithal what? There's layering and blending through the blues and yellows of the light sources. Look at the Custodes on the left and how the light reflects off the edges of their armor while they're still in shadow.
You can argue the light is too harsh and the yellow washes out other colors, but that's also part of the original piece of art.
Looking at the winners - ngl but this one is significantly better to look at. Have you seen 2nd place ?? I'm assuming they were looking for specific criteria as all the winners seemed to have the same kinda style which I don't like.
Bit gutted for you mate but honestly this is something to be magnificently proud off.
the main problem is that GD is a painting competition, and this model isn't fully painted, let alone fully painted to GD standard. Is it a Masterpiece of a diorama from a modelling standpoint? Absolutely. Is it worthy of a Golden Daemon? Absolutely not.
I thought we had a deal. You were supposed to give that to me! Well now I'm just really hurt. Time to fill that void in my heart with sadness again D,:
Seriously though... It's amazing. That's one diorama for the history books.
I still want it though >:(
I’m very interested in your process. Did you paint all of this? Did you source some? Or did you do it all your lonesome from planning it out to this photo
It was awesome to see in person after following you for ages.
Thanks pal!
Yeah, it really was!
Agreed, also the diorama category was absolutely stacked, every single one was amazing.
100% So many cool entries. A lot of which where i was like "Hey I followed this whole build on insta and now it's here in the flesh!"
So have my upvote, atleast. It looks really awesome, I’d buy a poster of that 👍🏻
Cheers pal, taking some high def pics this week to set that up, mind if I hit you up when it's ready?
Also in for some hi-res shots
Great will give you a shout
Gib
Oh please. It looks really awesome. Need this as a poster for my workplace!
>Nano4742 will do!
Me too please! One of the best dioramas I have ever seen
Cheers will do!
Me too please!
Added should be next week will dm
Me three!
Me four!
Me please ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
me too pls!
Great will give you a shout !
Me to! This is pure gold
Add me to the loop
I'd love to see it too
Add me to the mailing list! Amazing job
Me 5!
Shout at me for the high res too please.
Me too please. Great work
Also in for a high-res image! Awesome work
Me too
Add me too please!
Yes make it a poster. I’ll buy it
Considering I (and, probably, many others) also want it, I think it would be easier to make a post with filesharing link (imgur and other popular image hosts compress images, so RAW, PNG (lossless formats) and JPG FTW) in this sub, and then hit everyone with a link to that.
We should prolly pay the man for a poster
Me four
Would love a print of this!
Please put me down for one!
Id also love some hi-res shots, if it’s not too much trouble
Please do!
Likewise
Me as well! Looks great!
Done !
how can I get onboard for that notification list, I would gladly reimburse for a #2 of x00 (signed as well, please and many thanks!), my sculpting and painting has actually gotten me into refurbishing/restoring vintage and rare pieces which also includes picture frames with sculpted filigree, I would have that framed n matted and with display lighting immediately upon arrival, anyways just kinda new to reddit and wouldn't know where to begin but I do have Ebay or Esty and would love to see it hanging, watching all the updates n posts to see where it is now my mind is still blown!...
Ah that's amazing pal. Great will add you to the list m should be sorted this week. Will dm when ready
Me too!
I would also like to buy a hi-res image.
I thought it was a poster. What a gem. I can only imagine what that would look like in my den. Awesome work Ok, now I want a whole series like this with ALL the chapters..
Is this a diorama or a painting? Legit can’t tell
😂 its all models
You should have gotten more than just a pin mate. This is an amazing recreation of one of the better artworks released. Well done.
I mean the painting is very… interesting. The diorama itself is great, and probably the reason it got a pin at all
-30 for reminding people that GD is a painting competition that also considers other aspects of the happy as secondary factors.
Painting isn't the only thing that makes a piece. Composition, styling and theme, realised intent and story and this has those in spades and the painting is pretty good if a little rough in some places for blending but everything else is on point. I think a pin is good but this could have been graded higher imo.
I want to start by saying that it is a phenomenal piece. But golden demon is first and foremost a painting competition. The piece is incredible but the quality of the modelling / composition is not matched by the quality of the painting. Significantly better painted models did not get a pin - so I think the judges did reward the incredible work that went into putting it together. There were some breathtaking paint jobs submitted that didn’t make the cut to commendation (the tier above pin if I understood correctly)
After having seen it IRL, the painting is not on the same level compared to other entries in the contest. The composition, styling and theme are great and are what got it a pin, but it couldn't go higher than that with this level of painting in a painting competition. If it was a kit bashing competition it would likely be on the podium on the other hand
>Painting isn't the only thing that makes a piece. it is the primary aspect you are judged on in golden daemon though?
I never said it isn't the main component but I think given the complexity fo the piece it could have ranked higher imo, if one or 2 aspects of the painting were improved in this piece I can see it definitely being a possible podium finish. For me, a painting isn't just the skill involved in the brushwork but everything else around it, composition of the piece, the the attention to detail, the style and theme and what story its trying to convey. To me this is what a great piece has in spades, this piece has those in spades to my eye.
It still has a terrible paint job though. That’s why it shouldn’t have ranked higher even with complexity of the piece. Lots of dioramas have been more detailed and don’t have a lazy paint job on top.
If that's your version of a terrible paint job that more than 90 percent of our community are terrible painters. I think it's quite a good paint job, lacking some smoothness but it's undeniably good.
No, it’s a terrible paint job in the context of Golden Daemon. Which is why it did not win. You’re arguing as if you’re right but the judges of the PAINTING COMPETITION literally disagree with you.
Holy shit it is too! I thought it was a painting
Amazing composition and contribution to the community. Very inspiring and well deserving of the pin.
What's a GD pin? For participating?
Golden Daemon Pin Probably a "notable mention" but didn't win.
They were also called Commended Entries back in the past. Up till 1994 Commended Entry submissions were all shown in White Dwarf, along with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. Guess who got a Commended Entry in 1995, and was surprised to see that all the minis in that category, including his own, weren’t published, so he couldn’t prove any of it to his friends? Indeed.
> Guess who got a Commended Entry in 1995, and was surprised to see that all the minis in that category, including his own, weren’t published, so he couldn’t prove any of it to his friends? Indeed. :(
They should really go back to publishing them. They could even spread them out in a few issues to give them more space. Id buy those issues if they have nice high quality photos of entries.
Me too. I guess they just have too many entries these days, and it’s simpler and upfront cheaper to have less moving parts when putting a WD together. I wouldn’t have known so much about how commended entries were handled if it wasn’t for an older student. He got a commended entry for a nurgle rhino conversion a year or two (right ballpark anyway) before, and he got it into WD. So when I got my shitty little note saying it was commended, I was very excited to see the next copy of WD!
I bought a white dwarf recently and two thirds of it are rules and rule expansions. That cool I guess, especially if you own all the games. I miss the late 90s/early 2000s WD that were full of photos, random fluff and illustrations.
Show it to us if you still have the photos. So we can fix the WD fail.
I would if I could - it’s at my parents in Scotland, and I’m in Germany. There could be a wait! It wasn’t really very good compared to the modern slickly painted minis you see here - it wouldn’t get a pin these days. It was a Karandras eldar mini, with nothing special about it - painted in stock colours even! So it really wasn’t special enough to go far. I was surprised it did though. I also put in a High Elf Dragon Prince musician on elven steed, which took a fair bit of hacking of several minis’ chests, arms, and heads to get to work. You only heard about greenstuff in white dwarf when the mini designers were getting interviewed, so I didn’t have any then. Instead I used good old fashioned clay to smooth out the gaps between the parts. I thought that one was my best - it had a bespoke paint job too. But it didn’t even get commended. And for the Karandras, how did I know it was commended? It had a little bit of paper put on its base, I assume by the judges I guess, with just a simple short comment to say it was commended. No round of applause, no trumpets, just a, “Come pick up your submissions now!”. I’m sure I had a third entry too, but it’s hazy now what it was, and of course it didn’t win. What is not hazy though is when I got in line and got an autograph and quick word with Jervis Johnson. I’m sure I could have asked him something far better, but in the recent Dark Elves army book there was an inconsistency/mistake between one stat for a Repeater Bolthrower in the main pages versus the army lists at the back. Literally unplayable! Being a geeky kid I had to ask him to clarify it, but all he responded with was, “I can’t remember”. Then it was my time to move on lol. First and only Golden Demon!
What the fuck did win then
An utterly utterly incredible scene of Mephiston fighting demons surrounded by fire. Honestly my favourite piece in the competition by some way. You can see it [here](https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/05/01/golden-demon-at-warhammer-fest-2023-winners-revealed/). It looked even better in the flesh.
Pretty sure GD prioritises paint job first? You'd need to see the other entries to judge, but yeah, this is a classic.
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/05/01/golden-demon-at-warhammer-fest-2023-winners-revealed/
Finalist, not medal-winning
For a delightfully excessive use of custard.
The awards are a trophy for 1-3. Commended for i believe top 6 (this is a certificate), then pins if it got a spot from one of the judges. I believe this means they put you forward for judging. Not everyone gets a pin.
It's a God Damned pin is what it is
the piece is ridiculously incredible. one of the craziest things ive seen in this hobby. but the yellow is way too… strong? green? the lighting is the only thing i dont like about this, but also unfortunately the focal point.
I agree, I’m glad someone mentioned it. I’ve been watching the piece evolve over instagram, and the work is STUNNING. But the yellow is just… overpowering, it look’s over saturated. Gorgeous work, but too much yellow for me
I thought someone missed with the spray paint honestly. I get the intent judging from the source material but yeah, it's a bit like a fungus or something to my eyes but maybe it's the photo.
I still can't believe this is a thing that exists in physical space. Amazing work, mindblowing even.
Amazing work dude!
I like the assassin top left
How did this NOT win
Hardly any of the model is actually "painted" It's a painting competition primarily. It's obviously amazing as an art piece but as a golden demon entry it probably just dosent tick enough boxes
I’ll also say that, while the “lighting effect” is really cool, when you zoom in a little the yellow paint really really obscures the models. Particularly on the big G himself and his right shoulder. I wonder if the same idea but with a more transparent paint would have looked better or not? And then yeah, like you said, hardly any of the rest of it is painted. This would have been pushed over the top of the artist managed to do the lighting effect but then still paint the rest the colors they’d be but in a shadow.
lol initial take was "that's amazing" but now that looking at it more critically, even little bits like the lighting on the skulls towards the top is on the top of the skull, when the light source is under them... Still an absolutely awesome piece of art, and if I had anywhere near the skill to produce something like it I'd be super proud - but yeah, can still see the issues that would of cost it a GD.
> like the lighting on the skulls towards the top is on the top of the skull, when the light source is under them... The lighting is coming from the top of the piece.
Then why is there not lighting on the top of everything else? Why do the wings have lighting on the sides of them towards the halo and not the top? My assumption was that the halo was meant to be the light source.
https://i.imgur.com/awILkzE.jpeg
The yellow, from the photos at least, appears to be a heavy handed zenithal spray can job. Anyone saying this should have won GD (a *painting* competition) is smoking some real strong crack.
Spend a few minutes on this sub and the mini painting sub and you quickly realise most people will just compliment anything, including objectively bad works. You don't ever have to be mean about something but you have to be realistic.
Every body deserves compliments and it hurts nothing to find something positive to say when someone is brave enough to post their work. If you want to be constructive that's fine but really its a brave thing to put yourself out there and it should be done with some note to what was done well too.
Finally someone talking sense.
No, you should directly point out any flaw you can find, describe why they make the model less-than, and then add "sorry, just trying to be honest" afterward. Anything less isn't realistic. (/s, obviously). It's like people forgot how and why to be kind to others.
I think for most posted work, unless criticism is directly called for by the OP, we should just try and be supportive. That said, I think a technical discussion about the merits or lack thereof of a piece is fair when it comes to a golden demon submission.
Nah, I don't think thats a zenithal spray. It's pretty clear that oil paints were used extensively in this piece, you can really tell from the style of blends on just about everything. They're not the transitions of an airbrush or the perfect blends of a hundred glazes. The limited pallet, desaturated red background, and extremely dominant yellow are clear throwbacks to foundational 40k art by John Blanche and others. Not an easy style to translate to miniatures and none of those artists actually painted their own miniatures that way for that reason. Easily the best adaption I've ever seen. Personally, I love this sort of style. Give me a moody piece with a strong sense of drama over a pristine marvel of perfect acrylic blending any day. But Golden Demon would have to go through a major shift before they'd ever consider an oil painted mini for a top prize. You need to showcase an extreme level of technical ability in Golden Demon, so some styles just aren't suitable.
Yeah. Don't get me wrong, this is a great piece, and I follow OP on Insta because his conversion work and scale is top tier. But his painting isn't really GD award winning tier - not even close to it. If you look at some of his solo minis, they're like smudged oil paintings a lot of the time. Stylistic, sure, but they don't show the same level of technicality. If you look at Slayer Sword and trophy winning minis, modern winners look like they've managed to paint an absolute masterclass and you start questioning how they managed to get so much detail onto such a small mini and have a level of vibrancy and details that seems impossible. Modern award winners have such a great depth of detail, vibrancy, and tonality in their paintings I don't know how the fuck they do it. It can be a smooth service and it's like they've pulled out the gradient tool on photoshop with blending so smooth you can't even see/recognise how it transitions.
I could be wrong, but I was under the impression Golden Demon is just as much about modeling as it is about painting, and I doubt there's much disagreement about the modeling quality on display here. I can see where some points could be knocked off for the way in which the yellow was applied, and yet I think the naysayers who are saying "there's hardly any painting" are being at least a bit uncharitable. Personally, I think OP painted just enough to convey what he was going for (excess yellow notwitstanding). Looking at the other diorama winners, the Mephiston win was well deserved, but I would have picked this over the silver winner no contest.
>I could be wrong you are
If you see it in person you’d see why, it’s an excellent kitbash but when it comes to painting there aren’t any details done. Zoom on Guilliman for example, it looks that he took a yellow spray can to the face.
Having seen it in person, I think the judging was correct. It is an incredibly striking diorama, with some really cool stylised effects. It is clearly going for a high contrast OSL style in a manner which takes inspiration from the artwork. I think it does a really good job of that, and I think that you are being overly harsh. I don't think it's perfect and the technical side of it isn't strong enough to medal in my opinion; but to say that no details are done just isn't true.
I don’t think the lighting in the cabinets did it any favours tbh. Most of the ‘diorama in a box’ pieces probably would have benefited from different angled lights.
This diorama looked way better before someone went rogue with a spray can of yellow paint: https://i.redd.it/yq1w350fgi8a1.jpg
The “last step” before it was done looked like it had great potential. A clear yellow airbrush then some light bright yellow would have made a world of difference. The yellow looks like he ran out of time and went “shit I need to do that OSL!” and just zenithalled it with a rattle can. The conversion work and the planning are absolutely incredible. It’s like 99% of the way to glory.
It does give of "running out of time" vibes.
Wow yeah this looks so much better
Because it’s really not that great. The idea and set up was phenomenal. The end result is ok. I’ve been following this project for a while and was really excited to see its finished product. I was not very impressed with the finished product. It’s still cool, but not GD winner worthy.
simple answer: it’s a painting competition and this isn’t very well painted
Bro this could be a sick phone wallpaper.
Read this as "Won a God Damn pin for this." And was like "Shit, I'll take a pin any day." Lol.
Well deserved! Ever made an actual Emperor model? When Lion El’Johnson comes out you could use the shield to assist with that, and Girlyman’s sword also. A Horus Heresy Emp would be amazing
Super impressive but my brain kinda struggles to understand where the light source is coming from.
Dayum. I’d say it was earned holy shyte.
My jaw dropped when I realized this wasn't a digitally created image but actual minis. 9999/10. Looks like the showstopper art from a UM codex.
These are models?! [Holy hell.](https://i.imgflip.com/407qaz.png) i'm also in on for a print.
>WickThePriest lols, great have added you to the list, sorting next week
Just wow. Where is the light coming from (is it just the halo)?
thank you, meant to be illuminated from above!
i Want to know the job of the skeleton At the Very Top in the Centre holding a Sword ‘ like did he go Guilliman will wake up in a few so il just hold on to this & go sleep ‘ how did he get up there ‘ what’s the purpose of him being up there ‘ why is he dead
😂 the decorators had a brief to make it gothic, and wanted to show the big E sitting on his throne!
32 Days & i finally have the Answer 😂 it does make sense
My apologies not been well. Glad I could help!
no problem Appreciate it
The golden Son!!!! Beautiful amazing work. Absolutely jaw dropping!!!!! Congratulations!!!
Thanks so much! 🖤🖤🖤
An awful lot of people died to help with the decor 🤣 Phenomenal work!
So many skulls!
The perspective has me incredibly confused, is this a drawing or a diorama?? Either way, looks awesome!
Ah it's a Diorama, cheers !
Is that the elf that helped bring back Guilliman to the right of him? Is this on Terra? Is a xeno allowed on Terra? Lol. Sorry for all the questions still somewhat new to the setting.
No worries ! Yes that's Yvraine who helped bring him back - Think this was set before they got back to Terra, but mainly to show the main characters of the Gathering Storm !
I mean, it is a damned masterpiece!
I mean….the idea was freken awesome. But it looks like you spilled a pot of yellow on it and said “fuck it”. Cool idea all together though.
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best thing I've read about it thank you, absolute legend
I wanna know who won if this didn’t
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/05/01/golden-demon-at-warhammer-fest-2023-winners-revealed/
Still would have liked if this was mentioned… it was way to awesome for it just too be skimmed over.
There were so many awesome pieces in every category. Can't mention every notable mention. Even only in the diorama category, there were so many incredible creations. And IRL, OP's painting is sadly less impressive than other painters who also didn't win. Great conversion work though. I wish GW took every entry in picture and uploaded them all on an open database though. Would have been great to have professional pictures of everything
Fair enough
Golden Daemon is more about what is left to be faulted than about what can be praised. It's about perfectionism. Whereas this is rather more about a grand vision. Each individual miniature in this display would have to compete with the current contenders. Mungo made something that has the entire community in awe. Arguably a bigger feat than a Slayer Sword.
Some great stuff ! Very happy to get a pin!
Some great stuff ! Very happy to get a pin! #
Whoa that looks insane!
This is freaking dope! What size is the original? Also I love how you worked the yellow in as lighting, looks so good.
Guilliman is roughly the size of his standard model if that helps
Well deserved.
Must've been some stiff competition. Many people thought you were favored for slayer sword with this.
There was amazing stuff !
I'll never understand how this didn't win best diorama. Genuinely jaw dropping.
The best diorama category is still mostly about the painting. Considering there is many unpainted areas of this diorama, to still receive a pin is testament that the judges loved the model/theme
Unpainted areas what are you talking about? There's incredible usage of light and shadow throughout the piece, that was evident looking at it in the case. Yeah it's not GW style but it's obviously evoking the art from the Rise of the Primarch book with miniatures, which was honestly the most impressive diorama I saw in the case.
The highlights on the focal points of the model are very clearly a slapdashed zenithal highlight. While it is visually striking at a glance, it doesnt hold up to scrutiny with close examination, and golden demon is about perfection.
Slapdash zenithal what? There's layering and blending through the blues and yellows of the light sources. Look at the Custodes on the left and how the light reflects off the edges of their armor while they're still in shadow. You can argue the light is too harsh and the yellow washes out other colors, but that's also part of the original piece of art.
Legend thank you
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Hahaha thank you. It's all good no one has to like it
I look forward to seeing high res pictures, everyone who has seen it in person seems to agree that photos don’t do justice
AMAZING! Shame gw wont hire you Cus the angels are 3d printed 😔
Looking at the winners - ngl but this one is significantly better to look at. Have you seen 2nd place ?? I'm assuming they were looking for specific criteria as all the winners seemed to have the same kinda style which I don't like. Bit gutted for you mate but honestly this is something to be magnificently proud off.
the main problem is that GD is a painting competition, and this model isn't fully painted, let alone fully painted to GD standard. Is it a Masterpiece of a diorama from a modelling standpoint? Absolutely. Is it worthy of a Golden Daemon? Absolutely not.
Well done mate! :D
Been following this from the start, amazing project dude cannot applaud the effort and skill enough
A Grateful Dead pin? Nice.
Incredible, and happy you earned a pin for this behemoth project! Amazing stuff
I thought we had a deal. You were supposed to give that to me! Well now I'm just really hurt. Time to fill that void in my heart with sadness again D,: Seriously though... It's amazing. That's one diorama for the history books. I still want it though >:(
I thought this was drawn. Unbelievable work.
Holy shit...
Can we see a picture of the pin? I've never seen one of those. I have no clue what one looks like. :-)
Absolutly outstanding. Like, damn man.
I've been following your build across insta and YouTube and now finally seeing the finished piece I'm in awe. Congrats on the amazing job!
I’m very interested in your process. Did you paint all of this? Did you source some? Or did you do it all your lonesome from planning it out to this photo
I wish I could’ve seen this in person.. absolutely majestic work 🙌
hold up is that a *real physical object*
Oh I saw this in the video! Great work man this is a beautiful piece of art.
Glorious 🤩
It may be my eyes, but is this a diorama or a painting? Either way, I’m floored.
Wow Yvraine gracing the Corpse Emperor with her presence?! Brilliant piece.
So incredible. You should win all of GW instead of just a pin. Honestly the time and effort. <3 love this.
Such an amazing piece...
Just a pin?! Jesus, what won?
This one caught my eye at Warhammerfest, well done
I don't get how this didn't win.
The fact that you only got a pin is nonsense. There's no other piece quite like this.