Siege Studios Essentials Masterclass 2 Review
I attended my first painting class last week, this one provided by Siege Studios. I’ve been painting minis for the last 5 years in my dwindling free time and found my abilities plateauing. James, the owner of Siege, taught the class himself and was a fantastic teacher that was able to connect with us and explain concepts in various ways to help students understand.
The skills I learned and refined on this course, in order of importance, are:
- Brush control
- Proper dilution
- Patience
- Blending methods
I would unironically describe this class as a revelation. Attending a structured class with guidance, tuition and crucially feedback as we went is helping me level up my painting. Each of the 4 activities over the weekend built upon the skills learned in the previous one, expanded our application of those skills and pushed the limit of our brush control, accuracy and command of colour and light.
I watch A LOT of mini painting youtube which has been really useful for expanding my theoretical knowledge and introducing me to new techniques. The trap is I kid myself into thinking I can apply all these skills now, that if I just use those paints or those brushes, put this colour there and highlight like so then I’ll have a model just like the people I look up to. I cannot overstate how important it is to actually apply these theories in a focused and deliberate manner.
So what did we paint?
- A cloak
- Leather
- A single shoulder pad
- Glowing plasma effect
The specific objects we painted are less important, they were just a vehicle for teaching the skills. They were still the best cloak, leather and shoulder pad I’ve ever painted. Glowing plasma was new to me and as the final lesson it incorporated everything we’d learned and pushed us. I don’t think my current skill set can accomplish the full plasma effect as demonstrated but I’m glad to have tried! I set the bar for myself, discovering what I can do and created something to measure myself against and refer to when I am feeling dispondent or questioning my painting abilities.
I booked the 2nd class, a more intermediate class. I believed I wouldn’t get as much value from the 1st class due to my experience level. I was concerned I made a mistake and would struggle to paint at the level required for the class but I’m glad to say I held my own! I am now considering booking on to the 1st class though to further improve my foundational skills. I believe there are gaps in my abilities which thus far I’ve been brute forcing my way through. If I were to fill those gaps with more structured teaching and feedback I think I can really level up as a painter.
Hobbying with a 1 year old for 15 minutes here, an hour there and doing what I can in meetings means I manage maybe 6 hours of hobby time a month. I’ve been in a hobby slump in recent months, struggling to enjoy the time I spend building and painting. Having the oportunity to spend an uninterrupted 15 hours over a weekend was a 10/10 good time. I can definitely recommend, if you can afford it, attending a painting class from reputable teachers. I will be doing this again.