What I DIDN'T Bring Back From Toronto

 Back from a trip out east. Well... east from where I live... Amanda had a work thing in Niagara Falls, and for the first time EVER, I got to tag along! We also had a few days in Toronto on either end of the trip, which was nice. While in Toronto I popped into two games stores - 401 Games (on Younge Street) and Meeplemart. For both I had a few things I was lookng for... but in the end decided I could just wait until I got home and MAIL ORDER it!? And that' what I did... 

401 games was INSANELY BUSY when we popped in. They had a LOT of stuff... but for the most part it was the same stuff I could get anywhere - including my own FLGS.

they also had a My Little Pony deck building game that I had not seen before. I took a picture to send to Finnegan... He didn't reply... I didn't get it... I figured we could get the Dragon's Den to order it in if anyone was THAT interested. 

They also had a shelf of smaller "indie" RPGs that... maybe if it wasn't so insanely busy and it wasn't so late in the day and I felt like I had time to fart around, I might have had a look through those for giggles. There was one I remember called Sapphic Space Pirates that I briefly thought of picking up thinking ONE of the kids might think it's fun... Kind of regret not picking it up now... 

The only thing I'd really been LOOKING for was a copy of Wrath & Glory: Redacted Records... which they had online, but they didn't have at that location... 

Later I got to pop into Meeplemart. Holy CRAP did they ever have a LOT of stuff there... it was a bit overwhelming. like boxes and boxes of miniatures in blister packs. I had a longer list of things to look for but didn't even know where to start with some of them and quickly decided it would be easier to just mail order the stuff when I got home - save me having to spend hours looking for things, save us having to try and figure out HOW to get it all packed into our luggage!? 

One of the first things I saw that hadn't been on my list was a copy of Pax Viking! Now, my local store has a copy of it... but this was nearly half the price they're selling it for locally. I realized later it was on the "Ding and Dent" shelf and there was a "ding" in the back of the box. I do LOVE the Pax series of games and ... HALF PRICE!? Amanda said we could figure out a way to stuff it into the luggage... I have my doubts it would have fit and it was at that point I for sure decided i'd just order stuff when I got home. 

Also saw this neat looking game called Crows (or... "Tyler Sigman's CROWS"...?) 

Keiran is ALL ABOUT crows these days, so I took some pics to remind myself to look it up and ask about it at the Dragon's Den. 

When I got home a week ago I placed an order for Pax Viking and a few of the miniatures and bitz I'd wanted. It arrived today!

The miniatures are a Turtle Warrior from Darksword Miniatures and a trio of Space Dwarf Special Operators from Kromlech Miniatures. the other packs are kilted legs from Kromlech... somehow I have a BUNCH of Imperial Guard Catachan torsos and arms and heads... but no legs!? I think they came in some used lot I picked up at some point. I thought it might be funny to make a Kill Team of Catachans in Kilts... 

There were a few more miniature items I had wanted to look for, but by the time I got home I'd talked myself out of them (some Tau and Aeldari aircraft for Aeronautica Imperialis, and the Cruel Seas core rulebook and a Vosper and S-Boat flotilla!? Maybe a few more things from Kromlech and Darksword miniatures...)

Of course I'd ordered this BEFORE checking into the availability of the Crows game... and it turns out it was a Kickstarter game from a few years back and is NOT-so-available and Meeplemart was selling it for quite a bit less than it seems most places were selling it for... so I placed ANOTHER order for that a day or two later (and a Wrath & Glory book...) 

Speaking of having to place extra orders... I also stopped into The Beguiling the same day (AMAZING comic book store!) and I'd had a list of things to look for there... but forgot to LOOK at the list... and I did remember a few of the things ( a couple of books by Ralph Steadman) I forgot to look for an art book by John Blanche their online catalogue said they had in stock... so now I've had to order THAT from them... Ah, well... 

While there (on the same day we went to Meeplemart and The Beguiling) I was able to meet up with one of my favourite humans in the whole world, my old pal Christian! He took the train down from Barrie (which is near CFB Bordern, where he is currently posted) and, in addition to checking out Meeplemart and The Beguiling, we played a bunch of games at Snakes and Lattes on College... but more on that in the Monthly Games Wrap-Up! 

September Challenge - Part The Last

 As with the LAST THREE WEEKS, I've been "studying from the masters" - reproducing the works of John Blanche from a Black Library art book I have called The Emperor's Will. 

The original illustrations are, of course, © John Blanch and/or Games Workshop/Black Library and my studies  were done purely for my own private entertainment and education purposes and are presented here simply to share with the community a creative thing that I did. They are not now, nor ever will be, for sale. I do not take commissions of any kind. 

Just a reminder I post (most of) these (plus OTHER stuff!) daily on my Instagram as well:

https://www.instagram.com/tim.in.saskatoon/

Wednesday, 23 September 2020

Wednesday's completed study. 

Thursday, 24 September 2020

I started on this one on Thursday, but didn't quite get it done. 

Friday, 25 September 2020

I finished it up on Friday... and HAD planned on doing another one... but then life happened some more and it just didn't work out. So I didn't end up doing a drawing a day - unless this diptych counts as two...? 

Saturday, 26 September 2020

Comparison 

Finished Study

Sunday, 27 September 2020

Sunday I had to head over to my folks to start helping them pack up as they're moving midway through October. 

I did get started on my drawing before heading over there at noon. 

Finished things off in the evening after I got home. 

Finished Study.

Monday, 28 September 2020

Got out for a ride on Monday. Like, a ride for FUN, not just to get some place... 

Nice and cool. Pretty colours everywhere. 

I took a LOT of photos - to many to slip into this post, and FAR to many to post on Instagram, so I dumped them all in a post over on the Bike Blog

Despite plans to do something a bit more challenging - as I, in theory, had a pretty free day... I didn't get started on this until a bit later.... like, a LOT later... than I'd expected. 

This is where I was at when Amanda called it a night and went off to bed. 

I got the inking done just before midnight and decided to call it a night myself.... 

Tuesday, 29 September 2020

I coloured the previous days Tuesday morning. AFter all those miles and miles of cross-hatching and dot-points... I was a little hesitant to add any colour to this one - I was pretty certain anything else I did would just ruin it. In the end, I was pretty okay with how it all turned out. 

Earlier in the day, I'd king of given up on doing ANOTHER drawing - one just for today - but after working with the electrician for part of the afternoon, I found I had some time on my hands and decided to try knocking off another easier one... 

The colour was a bit rushed.... But, hey - I DID another drawing... and I had fun and did some different things with the drawing, so.,,.

Wednesday, 30 September 2020

I did START one for today... but then... well... life happened. 

Renovation madness.

Helping parents get ready to move. 

Ugh... just so tired. 

I'm going to go and watch some TV and I'll finish this one up tomorrow...

Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

My plan had originally been, with the momentum started this month with the illustration-a-day challenge, to continue right on into October with Inktober - a similar challenge involving one drawing a day - in INK. I know a lot of people that have participated in this challenge in the past - and even tried a few times in the past (it's been going on since 2009). 

Not sure if I should showcase them here....? Or actually make use of my old Art Blog (which I haven't posted of for over a year)...? Or just post them all on Instagram and Twitter.... 

In some respects this COULD be easier than this months challenge, as each of these illustrations I did this past month started off as INK drawings that I then added watercolour to. (Of course there is nothing that says I CAN'T do the same through Inktober! The only stipulation is that it's a drawing in ink).

OR... 

I might just do something altogether completely different. 

Orktober? Artober? 

Drawlloween?

Darktober?

so many October art/creative challenges!? 

We'll see how I'm feeling in the morning. 

September Challenge - Part Three

 Whew! Three weeks of this!? 

As with the First and Second weeks, all of the selections from this week are John Blanche illustrations copied from the Black Library book The Emperor's Will - Agents of the Imperium. The original illustrations are © John Blanch and/or Games Workshop/Black Library and my studies  were done purely for my own private entertainment and education purposes and are presented here simply to share with the community a creative thing that I did. They are not now, nor ever will be, for sale. I do not take commissions of any kind. 

Just a reminder I post (most of) these (plus OTHER stuff!) daily on my Instagram as well:

https://www.instagram.com/tim.in.saskatoon/

Wednesday, 16 September 2020

Process - tried going for some darker pieces this week. 

Comparison - I always think I have the dark areas dark enough - sometimes I think they're even TOO dark - and then the watercolours dry (or the paper dries) and it never looks dark enough... 

Ah, well... 

Finished Study

In the process of this renovation, we're finishing the rewiring of the house - ran into this fun bit of craziness - some more modern wiring bodged together with some knob and tube wiring that was tied into two separate breakers and still live? The RETIRED electrician I'm working with on this project says this sort of thing predates his nappy days... He took pictures of it because he was so fascinated to see it put together this way. 

Fun times... 

(It's all fixed now and up to Code!)

Thursday, 17 September 2020

Process

Further Progress

Finished Study

Friday, 18 September 2020

Comparison 

Finished Study

I did actually go out to Art Placement - local gallery/art supply store and treated myself to a few new things to play with. Mostly more of what I've already been using. Moslty reds and browns, as Blanche does seem to like his reds... 

(I also got a few liquid acrylics for some future painting projects) 

Kind of reminds of this meme I saw floating around Facebook a while back:

I don't think anything I buy is QUITE that outrageous... 

It does kind of make me wonder when everyone starts bleating about the price of Games Workshop games... Do they live in a bubble and exist on Kraft Dinner? They've clearly never bought any art supplies... or bicycle parts (like, GOOD bicycle parts) or golf clubs or custom RC car parts or lingerie or real wool for knitting or dance shoes or motor boats or jet skis or gasoline for motorboats or jet skis or ANYTHING else anyone ever spends money on for their other interests or hobbies...? 

Saturday, 19 September 2020

My little painting station - currently in our bedroom as the basement is currently a disaster area in the middle of a never-ending renovation. 

Process

More Process

Finished Study

Saturday I also helped Amanda haul home a new chair she decided we needed. Not sure why we had to pay money for this thing whern there are so many just laying around in the alley for free? 

Saturday evening we made some Traveller Characters for a game my firend Woody is going to run from time to time, while the Wrath & Glory game is on haitus. 

I may also run some one-shots or short campaigns using Fate or Fate Accelerated - as it looks rather fun.

 

Sunday, 20 September 2020

Ugh... Sunday... 

Sunday was a rough day - there were so many distractions and I was just NOT having a good time with this piece. 

Eventually I had to just call it a day. 

Finished Study. 

Monday, 21 September 2020

Sunday's chaos reverberated well into Monday, so I needed something a bit mroe simple and straightforward. 

Finished Study. 

The cause of much of the distress and distraction of the last few days. Amanda decided to pull this wall apart - NOT part of our original plan for the basement renovation... but now it is... It's not as bad as it looks (and it looks a lot better than when she first pulled the panel off... Previous owners had put it up to cover up crumbling plaster - it LOOKED like the whole WALL was crumbling - but after clearing away the plaster it became more clear that the wall itself IS pretty solid... it's just a MESS... and I'm not sure HOW this is going to be dealt with now BEFORE the people coming to do the ceilings are due to arrive in a few weeks...!? Apparently we're just making this shit up as we go instead of sticking to the plan. 

Ugh... 

I almost gave up on the painting project this week. 

Tuesday, 22 September 2020

Today... I admitted to myself that there is going to be no painting of miniatures for some time... the renovation has kind of killed that... and what little time I have, I spend on THIS project... so I cleared all those paints off the desk and made a little more room for painting pictures! 

I decided to ignore the basement today and clear my head out and just concentrate on the painting. 

Things are looking a bit better. STILL not sure how the Fü¢k Amanda thinks we're going to get this all done by October and get the heating hooked back up before the basement is freezing... but I'm trying to not worry about it too much... 

Process - Bit of a Diptych today....  

Finished Study 

This evening, Amanda and I got out for a ride with a friend we haven't really seen for a few years. 

Beautifully warm fall evening with lots of colour. 

I need to get out for MORE rides this week - especially while it's still so warm and colourful! 

Fresh air is good. 

Gets me out of the house and away from the basement. 

Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

September Challenge - Part Four...?

Doesn't seem to me much else going on around here these days...