We’ve previously looked at Mel Bose’s (AKA The Terrain Tutor) fantastic Terrain Essentials, the bible for all things scenery, published through Dave Taylor Miniatures, so it’s only fair that we take a look at some of the fantastic offerings from their range that focus on the miniatures themselves as well! The Art Of… series brings the expertise of industry professionals and online legends to your bookshelf, with essays and tutorials on all aspects of painting and modelling accompanied by hundreds of gorgeous full-colour photos of their work – perfect for getting your creative juices flowing!
Before we get started though, we requisitioned the man himself, Dave Taylor, to say a few words of the Dave Taylor Miniatures book range.
The Art Of… Miniature Monthly
The first volume covers the work of the American Miniature Monthly team – Aaron Lovejoy, Elizabeth Beckley, and Matt DiPietro. With rich artistic backgrounds and a stellar reputation for their painting tutorials, this book covers everything from the business of professional painting, through fine art theory, to old (like, really, really old) artistic techniques and their applications in miniature painting. Numerous competition-winning models are displayed and then explained clearly and effectively, and with so many different styles and techniques on display, everyone can take something really useful away from this tome!
This Volume includes:
The Business of Painting: Aaron’s take on the highs and lows of commission-painting life.
Never Stop Learning: There is always another step to take, another thing to be learned.
The Impact of Art Education: Elizabeth reflects on her time at art college and how it influenced her career path.
The Human Form: Elizabeth’s true passion is the study of the human form, in miniature.
Ancient Methods & Infinite Possibilities: Matt describes how centuries-old techniques can be adapted for use in painting miniatures.
The Art of… Christof Keil
Next up is The Art of Christof Keil, a professional blacksmith(!) and sculpture artist from Germany. Volume 2 provides a fantastic showcase of Christof’s fantastic (and often fantastical) kitbashing, converting, sculpting, and painting across an enormous range of miniatures. Christof guides readers through his processes, tricks and tips, the tools of the trade, and the things he keeps in mind when working on his projects. There’s also some fantastic advice for larger-scale working, including a section on the basics of sculpting and painting busts and similar. All in all, this has to be considered essential for anyone (like me!) who’s ever looked at their bits box with a pot of glue and malice aforethought!
This Volume includes:
Kitbashing: Christof takes a deep dive into the key considerations needed for kitbashing.
The Black Phallanx Crusade: Christof has tied many of his kitbashing projects to this evolving miniatures crusade.
Busts and Larger Pieces: a palate-cleansing look at some larger painted pieces.
The Adeptus Astartes: Christof’s exploration of an iconic and vast realm of miniatures.
Food for Thought: A Cornucopia of considerations that influence Christof’s work
The Art Of… Ana Polanšćak
Finally, Volume 3 focuses on the work of Croatian artist and worldbuilder extraordinaire Ana Polanšćak. A fantastic artist, painter, and sculptor in her own right, Ana creates beautifully detailed forces, models, and warbands for her gaming, with incredibly in-depth backgrounds to match. This book goes into detail on the principles of creating your own backgrounds and gaming settings to really bring the miniatures to life. Ana’s style tends towards the ‘dark’, but once again there’s something for everyone to take away from the book.
This Volume includes:
World Building: Ana explains her methods for creating a world that has enough background to be immediately interesting, and enough mystery to draw you in further.
Gardens of Hecate: Whats started as a reskin of the world of Malifaux has evolved into something that is very definitely darkness and pure Ana.
Dark Age of Sigmar: Ana describes her interest in the darker corners of Games Workshop’s Warhammer: Age of Sigmar setting.
Sculpting Miniatures: When there are no miniatures to describe your world, sculpt them!
Armies & Legions & Hordes
Also available from Dave Taylor Miniatures is Armies & Legions & Hordes, a showcase of Dave’s own enormous collection of miniatures built up over a lifetime of hobbying. It’s also a really handy guide for anyone embarking on a project (whether great or small!), with plenty of tips, advice, and encouragement for every stage of the process.
This Book Covers:
Inspiration: The thing that sparks our interest. The thing we can return to if we start to falter.
Aims: Goals we set ourselves. The clearer we can make them, the more likely we are to achieve them.
Expectations: Making sure we understand our expectations can stop us from tripping ourselves up.
Planning: Putting together plans before we dive into a project can help us make it all the way through.
Motivation: Motivation can come from peers and external sources. Sometimes, we have to be our own cheerleader.
Triumph!: Knowing that we’ve reached our goals and realized our vision of success can be very powerful. Once we’ve made it there, we’ll want to do it again.
Lots of Examples!: It is fine to talk about the theory of managing your miniatures projects, but seeing examples of hundreds of painted miniatures and the stories behind them really drives it all home.
