Friday, October 14, 2011

[RPG] Breaking Past Yourself

There's a guy I know at my local store who's pretty quiet. In fact, a much better way to describe him is "mousy"- he's very introverted, super passive and generally unlikely to stand up for himself in any way.

The character he plays is a whole lot like that, too. For the most part, this does't effect the game he's in, but now and then this isn't so great for him or the people he plays with. Recently, something pretty unpleasant happened to his character, and his response was - mild.  He just couldn't bring himself to do something "different" from his normal self, something crazy, foolish or even outraged.


It was very rough for me to witness as a bystander. I was furious and wanted him to "do something". However, that really isn't in his personal character, and he couldn't reach enough past his own makeup to act in line with another personna. 

At first I was very critical of this, and then realized that I am guilty of it too. I was specifically challenged to run a particular type of character recently, and I balked- HARD. I just wasn't comfortable with the things I would need to do in that kind of role, and felt it wasn't a good fit for me. I did move away from the kind of character I traditionally run, but I certainly did not do any real "break away" stuff in designing my new dude. 

If roleplaying is all about being someone else and exploring parts of yourself, these boundaries make it difficult to achieve something greater- and it's doubly hard when you don't know you're limited. I sure didn't- at least not until I looked closely at the situation. 

How do you break out of your own self and into someone else; move beyond your own personal tendencies and into new territory?

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

[40K] Show Me How

I am starting a new project soon, but before I get to it, I want some advice. You know me, I am always willing to give it out, so now I am going to ask for some.

I want a "clean, shiny" look for my next project; but I generally paint in a overwashed, muddy, dirty sort of way.
I personally love the look. I enjoy the over or undersaturated aesthetic a lot, as seen here:


This Maurader is one I personally painted, and is pretty representative of my ability and "groove".

There is also this guy (Mihalis and Back40K, This is for you...)


I really don't like yellow, but this guy is stellar. I love his washed out, grungy look.

So, if your paint style is a little messy,  how do you get results like this?


I'd love to have clean, crisp, sharp lines and colors. I would love to have the colors be "just right", rather than "too much" or "not enough". I have no idea how to do it.

Can any of you show me demos, videos, tutorials or other resources for a CLEAN paint job?