As I was mindlessly scanning through my twitter blog today, I came across a name that evoked a strong painting inspiration within me, a name that I had not heard in quite a while: Fraser Gray.
With all the painting techniques and tools available today, it doesn't take terribly long to produce high quality miniatures en masse. However, this was not always the case. I often wonder what painters did without all the high-quality paints and brushes available to us, not to mention the abundance of readily available painting articles and tutorials from professional painters. While the bar is ever being set higher, a quick flip through White Dwarfs of old reveals one painter who stands out even amongst the giants of his era (the so-called 'Eavy Metal painters): Fraser Gray.
Even in the '80s, this talented artist was producing miniatures that were (in my opinion) a cut above the rest. Armed with enamel paints and patience, Fraser created and perfected his unique technique of painting miniatures. Take a look at the Realm of Chaos 80's blog for a fascinating description of Fraser's painting technique (as relayed to Andy Craig from back in the 80's in the form of paper(!!) correspondence). From people who personally know him, it appears that Fraser was somewhat reclusive. This makes this letter correspondence all the more valuable in providing insight into the techniques used by this talented young artist. It appears that he is sadly no longer involved in the fantasy wargaming community, but I leave you here with some images which I have shamelessly scoured from the interwebz. Enjoy ...
With all the painting techniques and tools available today, it doesn't take terribly long to produce high quality miniatures en masse. However, this was not always the case. I often wonder what painters did without all the high-quality paints and brushes available to us, not to mention the abundance of readily available painting articles and tutorials from professional painters. While the bar is ever being set higher, a quick flip through White Dwarfs of old reveals one painter who stands out even amongst the giants of his era (the so-called 'Eavy Metal painters): Fraser Gray.
Even in the '80s, this talented artist was producing miniatures that were (in my opinion) a cut above the rest. Armed with enamel paints and patience, Fraser created and perfected his unique technique of painting miniatures. Take a look at the Realm of Chaos 80's blog for a fascinating description of Fraser's painting technique (as relayed to Andy Craig from back in the 80's in the form of paper(!!) correspondence). From people who personally know him, it appears that Fraser was somewhat reclusive. This makes this letter correspondence all the more valuable in providing insight into the techniques used by this talented young artist. It appears that he is sadly no longer involved in the fantasy wargaming community, but I leave you here with some images which I have shamelessly scoured from the interwebz. Enjoy ...
I never really paid much attention to the artists back in the day, I would just get lost in the pictures. Great to see these, I have many of the orcs on that second page.
ReplyDeleteYes those greenskins are pretty sweet models. First time I saw them was on the Orc and Goblin Combat Cards, oddly enough (which was a random purchase way before I started collecting miniatures). I guess I must have always been drawn to that aesthetic.
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