Jacobson, 1 Branden Jacobson 4/15/13 Senior Seminar Capstone Project

Playing With Your Art: The Art of Miniature Wargaming

For hundreds of years, man has created the image of that which exists and that which exists in his imagination. Grand, mythological creatures, legendary heroes and heroines, and valorous deeds all have been created by man through myth and tradition. Eventually, these forms have been immortalized by the pen of the writer and the brush and chisel of the artist. For example, both Michelangelo and Donatello both have depicted David, the great hero depicted in the Bible to have slain the Philistine champion Goliath, in immaculate sculptural form. Biblical characters, mythological creatures, and mighty gods have all made their way into classical and Renaissance art. However, as art shifts styles, themes, and images, these concepts fade into obscurity. Miniature Wargaming is a style that brings those concepts back, albeit in a different form. Generally accessible by both artists and non-artists, Wargaming is as much a strategic game as it is an art form. It is the artists vision, however, that creates the story and the universe that the games take place in. The artistic movement of the hobby itself, however, didnt really develop until the explosion of the internet, which allowed gamers and artists from all over the world to collaborate, plan, and develop ideas, making the art and game even more accessible and approachable. As the international gaming community developed, so did the commission painting community, and is where Smells Like Wargaming enters the picture. As the market continues to be flooded with professional and amateur artists, I

Jacobson, 2 have taken initiative, such as charity work and style, to create a name. Through its rise, Smells Like Wargaming has interacted with international and local clients, all of which would have been impossible without technological advances, as well as word of mouth. This is the story of the creation of Smells Like Wargaming, Wargaming in general, and the art form both encompass. Miniature Wargaming, as the name implies, draws its history from ancient military training practices. Originally a tactic by the Indian army, the most famous use of Wargaming is drawn from the Prussian military, which dominated Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. Several major Prussian victories are attributed to using Miniature Wargaming to practice, and the game, known as kreigsspeil, became very popular amongst Prussian military officers. Modern Miniature Wargaming, as well as the art form it encompasses, draws its history from the author H.G Wells, known for his fantastic scifi stories The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. In the early 1900s, following dinner with a friend of his, Wells and his dinner partner began to shoot tin soldiers with a small, spring-loaded toy cannon. Following their little game, Wells and his friend decided that, with some homemade rules and a little play-testing, that a kriegsspeil of their own could be created. In 1913, Wells published Little Wars, his first attempt at creating a Miniature Wargame and, with this book, set the foundation for the future of Wargaming.1 All the basics are included: how far a figure can move, whether or not he can move and shoot, how artillery functions, and how to set up the terrain (called the country). Figures were British-made tin soldiers to ensure continuity with figure size, and

Wells, H.G, Little Wars (Project Gutenberg, 2009), http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3691/3691-h/3691h.htm (accessed April 14, 2013).

Jacobson, 3 the country was made up of wallpaper buildings, chalk-outline roads and rivers, and freshly mown grass.2 Following in the footsteps of Little Wars, many games appeared as the years go on. In the 1940s, Fletcher Pratts Naval War Game was released; using wooden ships and mathematical calculations to determine results, the game quickly increased in popularity, regularly featuring fifty or sixty players a side and was played on a ballroom floor, rather than a table. Much like the Prussian kriegsspeil, the Naval War College respected the game, seeing it as accurate, and Naval officers became regular players. The only setback these games held at the time was the cost of owning a small navy worth of toy wooden ships (the same complaint can be held for todays Wargames) and, as a result, these games didnt get really popular until the 1950s and 1960s, following the economic boom America experienced following World War II. The first major company to produce Wargaming materials was Avalon Hill, which was founded in 1952 by Charles S. Roberts. Based on wooden and cardboard counters and boards, Charles S. Roberts has been called the Father of Board Wargaming, producing historical, fantasy, and sci-fi Wargames.3 The company is now a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, which is in turn a subsidiary of Hasbro. Wizards of the Coast is known throughout the gaming community for its Dungeons and Dragons line, which it acquired from TSR, Inc., in 1997, and Magic: The Gathering, which has been in production since 1993 and features the art of illustrators, graphic designers, and

2 3

Wells. Roberts, Charles S., In His Own Words(CSR: Charles S. Roberts Awards, 1983), http://www.alanemrich.com/CSR_pages/Articles/CSRspeaks.htm (accessed April 14, 2013).

Jacobson, 4 fine artists on its cards.4 Dungeons and Dragons, the brainchild of Gary Gygax, a name synonymous with Role Playing Games (RPGs) and modern fantasy gaming, inspired an entire list of secondary sources to produce add-on rules, campaigns, and scenarios for his ever-popular game. One such company was Games Workshop. Founded in the mid-1970s by several British gamers, they initially focused on creating supplements for Dungeons and Dragons, as well as other RPGs. It wasnt until 1979 that Games Workshop funded the opening of Citadel Miniatures, their own in-house miniatures production studio. Citadel would eventually be absorbed back into its parent company, but continues to be considered a separate entity from Games Workshop. Starting in 1985 with Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Games Workshop began producing a number of tabletop Wargames. In 1989, Games Workshop produced its sci-fi line Rogue Trader, which would be revamped in the early 90s as Warhammer 40,000. These two games flourished with rich backgrounds and generally strong intellectual properties and, as a result, the popularity of these games grew.5 Games Workshop would also produce a number of games based in these settings, such as Mordheim and Necromunda, both squad-based games which focused heavily on individual characters, rather than armies, and Dreadfleet and Battlefleet Gothic, which depicts naval combat in these worlds. Games Workshop exploded in popularity in 2001, after obtaining the rights to produce models and games based around J.R.R Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings, following the announcement of Peter Jacksons newest movies. The popularity of the movies skyrocketed sales of their

Our Company (Wizards of the Coast, 2013), http://company.wizards.com/about/ourcompany (accessed April 15, 2013). 5 Baxter, Stephen, Freedom in an Owned World (Vector Magazine, 2006) http://www.vectormagazine.co.uk/article.asp?articleID=42 (accessed April 17, 2013).

Jacobson, 5 models and, as a result, Games Workshop was able to drastically grow and develop their technology, allowing them to produce more complex and more detailed miniatures and rules. The popularity of the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game is where Smells Like Wargaming comes into the gaming scene. A very avid fan of the Lord of the Rings books and movies, I got into the hobby of miniature Wargaming through their third expansion, The Return of the King, and very quickly got into the painting aspect of the game, slowly painting a Mordor Orc army with my free-time. Having a mother who graduated with an art degree, Id always been encouraged to draw, paint, and engage in other artistic endeavors, and this hobby was no exception. Being a teenager at the time, I was unable to quickly build an entire army due to lack of funds and a kids attention-span, but gradually, my little brother and I built up armies and would play whenever we got the chance. I remember playing in my parents restaurant every Sunday before we opened, using the tables for the surface and salt and pepper shakers as terrain, which generally worked for a quick game or two. As we continued to play, however, my artistic side came out, and I started to build actual terrain pieces for our games. Soon, we were using cardboard houses and plastic trees instead of tableware, and the only thing keeping me from building bigger and better pieces was a lack of money. We eventually fell out of The Lord of the Rings, as friendships, work, and other things kept our time. It wasnt until my senior year of high school that I got back into miniature Wargaming, as a hobby shop opened up not three doors down from my parents restaurant in Gunnison, Colorado. I was able to purchase paint and miniatures easily and, as a result, my passion for the game and the hobby was rekindled. A couple

Jacobson, 6 friends of mine also got into Warhammer 40,000 with me, and, with a little more spare cash and time on our hands, we were able to dive back into the game. Again, I was always the painter and builder, completing commissions for my local shop and friends, as well as designing terrain and gaming surfaces. It wasnt until my freshman year of college that I began the freelance side of the hobby. At the time, the nearest shop to Durango was in Aztec, a dumpy little store called Pass-Go Games. It became my Saturday ritual to drive the forty-five minutes to the shop to hang out with like-minded gamers, play Warhammer 40,000, and to relax away from school. Like my group back in Gunnison, however, I was the only person whod actually paint their own pieces, which bothered me because it takes away from the game to have grey and metal pieces strewn across the table. I began offering free paintjobs, as something to do during the week to unwind from school, as well as see more painted pieces hit the table, and had a couple of on-and-off intern-esque jobs over the course of the semester. It wasnt until Christmas Break of my freshman year that I started down the course of Smells Like Wargaming. When I returned home, I found out that the owner of the shop in Gunnison was closing his shop down, meaning that much of his stock went on sale. It was a great chance for me to pick up some kits on the cheap, allowing me to do some conversions and remodels on existing kits. My first major project with the intent to sell was Ork Squiggoth, a lumbering, dinosaur-esque monster goaded into battle by orks, which was converted from a kit intended for Games Workshops Warhammer Fantasy Battle game, along with some plasticard, epoxy putty, and other materials.6 I also picked up a Tyranid Carnifex; a large, scything alien creature the size of a tank, with the

Granesh,Thoughts: 2010: Painting, Commissions, and Ideas Smells Like Wargaming, December 31st, 2010, http://smellslikewargaming.blogspot.com/2010/12/thoughts-2010-painting-commissions-and.html.

Jacobson, 7 intention of converting it into a Tyranid Tervigon. A Tervigon, like the Carnifex, is a battle-tank sized monster that produces units of smaller alien creatures during the course of a game. When the latest rulebook for the Tyranids was released in early 2010, there was no model available for this unit entry; as the entry was easily one of the best units available to the army, demand for a model skyrocketed in the gaming community. 7 Being the artistic entrepreneur that I am, I immediately set off to create one of these monsters. I immediately found a client interested in Aztec, and within two weeks of the start date, I had a monstrosity perfect for a Tyranid Tervigon. The client was thrilled, and the model remains in his collection in Aztec. The piece would also be featured on Games Workshops own Whats New Today blog later that year. As Smells Like Wargaming continued on, I would end up converting and constructing nine of these models over the course of two years before Games Workshop finally produced their own model for the unit entry.8 Following the completion of the piece and advertising my work on several Wargaming forums, work began to trickle in. My next project was my first international commission; a gentleman in Britain who wanted a Tervigon, unpainted, for his own Tyranids army. It wasnt until the summer of 2010 that Smells Like Wargaming came into being. With the desire of doing full-time commissions, I began a blog to advertise and catalog my work. The name was chosen as a tongue-in-cheek reference to Nirvanas hit Smells Like Teen Spirit, and Smells Like Wargaming was born. Since its inception, Smells Like

Lexicanum, Codex: Tyranids (5th Edition), Lexicanum: The Unofficial Warhammer 40,000 Encyclopedia, http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Codex:_Tyranids_(5th_Edition)#.UW9S8rWsiSo (accessed April 15th, 2013). 8 Granesh, 2/22/12: The Last Hurrah of the SLW Tervigon Smells Like Wargaming, February 22, 2012, http://smellslikewargaming.blogspot.com/2012/02/last-hurrah-of-slw-tervigons.html.

Jacobson, 8 Wargaming has taken on over sixty commissions for over thirty different clients, not to mention personal projects I can find time to work on.9 The success of Smells Like Wargaming, as well as the hobby in general, has to be attributed to the increase in social media and technology as a whole. While the Wargaming community isnt necessarily the most technologically-savvy people on the planet, the internet has closed the gap between gamers and allowed them to connect on a worldwide level. First and foremost is the internet forum community. With the advent of basic forum programs, groups have popped up all over the internet to discuss painting, tactics, gaming, and anything else pertaining to their particular interests. The most popular Wargaming forums presently are DakkaDakka and Warseer; both provide an able location to expand the hobby and discuss projects and ideas. DakkaDakka is notably prominent for its massive gallery and photo uploader, which the forum hosts itself. These forums provide a concise, condensed location for miniature artists and admirers to view projects from start to finish, receive feedback, and spread ideas. To a degree, the forum is much like a digital art gallery by allowing a wide range of people to quickly view projects and artists. After the forums, blogs are the most important way for Miniature Wargaming artists to get their work out to the world. Generally free or extremely cheap to start, there are several companies that provide blog programs which are easy to work with and easy to maintain. I use Blogger, Googles blog program, to operate Smells Like Wargaming, as do many other commission artists. These blog programs allow followers to regularly check up on projects, view completed works, and give feedback, again, much like a

Granesh, Commissions Smells Like Wargaming, http://smellslikewargaming.blogspot.com/p/commissions.html.

Jacobson, 9 digital art gallery. Most blog programs also allow moderators to view page statistics such as traffic, post popularity, and comments, allowing the artist to quickly view which works are most popular, who is visiting the page, and what direction to take projects and direct traffic. Many bloggers also provide a Bloglist, a compiled list of various blogs and websites directing people from one blog to another; sites like Bell of Lost Souls, who maintain a bloglist of thousands of blogs and who have thousands of visitors a day, may direct many of those viewers to your blog as a result of their traffic. Websites also function in the same way; although more expensive, a website allows for a professional, concise organization of pictures, pricing, and projects to easily attract clients. Lastly, Social Media has been a prominent tool to attract clients and followers, although not as quickly and easily as blogs, websites, or even forums. The gaming community has not taken to social media outlets, such as Facebook or Twitter, like they have with forums, blogs, and websites, for various reasons. On the other hand, these social media forms are a godsend for artists, as they allow for quick, easy uploads of pictures and statuses to keep followers and clients constantly up-to-date on projects and pieces. I know I update my Smells Like Wargaming Facebook page several times a day, whereas I may update my blog once or twice a week; ease of use makes connecting clients and artists even easier. As Smells Like Wargaming, Ive participated in several charitable events, using both the artistic and gaming aspects of the hobby. In late 2012, I participated in two different charitable events, both, of course, for excellent causes. 10 First off was The Extra Life Network, a nationwide charity raising money for the Childrens Miracle

10

Granesh, 10/2/12: Smells Like Charity! Extra life and Breachside Benevolence Ball, Smells Like Wargaming, http://smellslikewargaming.blogspot.com/2012/10/smells-like-charity-extra-life-and.html.

Jacobson, 10 Network by encouraging participants to game for twenty-four hours straight and to receive pledges to do so. Participating through our local gaming group, Durango Diceworks, I ended up raising over $200 for the foundation, with our group raising nearly $800 overall. Secondly, I was approached over the summer by a reoccurring client and friend out of Southern California at the prospect of painting up a group of models for a silent auction. He wanted to run an event to raise money to support a friend of his whose wife prematurely gave birth to a baby with Down syndrome. All the donated money was going to the Loma Linda University Childrens Hospital in Southern California.11 I, of course, accepted, and ended up getting two groups painted up and sent off to him. These groups ended up raising nearly $150 for his cause, and his event raised nearly $1500 for the Childrens Hospital overall. It has been argued that Miniature Wargaming isnt an art, but rather a craft or a hobby, something easily accessible and too pedestrian to be considered an art. Im a strong advocate against such nonsense. Miniature Wargaming and the painting of miniatures, both for gaming and display purposes, involves the same amount of planning and skill to pull off as a canvas painting or graphic design piece. These artists maintain many skills used by sculptures, painters, illustrators, and designers, and a figure or piece no more than an inch tall can take as much time, if not longer, than a project many times its own size. For a 3D canvas like a figure, realist effects and techniques are more accepted by clients and fans than, say, an abstract style. Realism and the ability to replicate Realist effects, such as source-lighting or camouflage, is more generally accepted. Fine art techniques can be seen best with, as the painting community refers to it

11

Magilla Gurilla, The Breachside Benevolence Ball Beyond the Table Top, July 26, 2012. http://www.beyondthetabletop.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-breachside-benevolence-ball.html.

Jacobson, 11 as, Non-Metallic Metal, or the process or replicating silvers, golds, and brass colors using greys, browns, and greens, rather than metallic paints. Fine art techniques also show up best in freehanding techniques, which allows the artist to add additional detail to cloaks, banners, parchment, and other flat surfaces to enhance and personalize the model. For non-gaming pieces, models may receive highly-detailed bases, podiums, plinths, and other stands to create a portrait-esque effect for the model as a whole. The basing can be as intricate and detailed as the model itself, and is important to create a theme for the piece or group of pieces. For many Wargames, true-line-of-sight plays a role, meaning that putting your model on a base that greatly raises or lowers his presence on the battlefield can be detrimental during the game. As a result, only centerpiece or important units in an army may be ornately based. The base is just as important on Wargaming pieces, however, as a unified basing scheme frames the models together, bringing them from a conglomeration of painted figures to a fully finished composition. Much like the artists of the Renaissance, Miniature Wargaming embraces the style of myth and legend, creating both realistic and fantastical forms that play with the imagination of fans and players. Smells Like Wargaming continues to be inspired by these styles and, as the industry continues to ebb and flow, so too does artists such as myself. From the days of tin British soldiers and wallpaper houses, to CAD-designed plastic models and terrain, this art form will continue to grow and prosper and, as I reflect on my roots in the industry, so too will I as an artist in this field. I can draw, paint, collage, and sculpt, but my real passion and inspiration as an artist, lies in Miniature Wargaming.

Jacobson, 12

Works Cited Baxter, Stephen. Freedom in an Owned World. Vector Magazine, 2006. http://www.vectormagazine.co.uk/article.asp?articleID=42 (accessed April 17, 2013). Lexicanum, Codex: Tyranids (5th Edition), Lexicanum: The Unofficial Warhammer 40,000 Encyclopedia, http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Codex:_Tyranids_(5th_Edition)#.UW9S8rWsi So (accessed April 15th, 2013). Magilla Gurilla, The Breachside Benevolence Ball Beyond the Table Top, http://www.beyondthetabletop.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-breachsidebenevolence-ball.html. Our Company (Wizards of the Coast, 2013), http://company.wizards.com/about/ourcompany (accessed April 15, 2013). Roberts, Charles S. In His Own Words. CSR: Charles S. Roberts Awards, 1983. http://www.alanemrich.com/CSR_pages/Articles/CSRspeaks.htm (accessed April 14, 2013). Wells, H.G. Little Wars. Project Gutenberg, 2009. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3691/3691-h/3691-h.htm (accessed April 14, 2013).