Was something lost in the transition from hand-sculpted minis to computer-assisted design?
This is a common enough sentiment across the arts.The more complex and automated the tool, the less one feels one's hands have touched their own work.Particularly, there is a strong undercurrent of people whom digital colour never really grew on.The oversaturation and the crisp definite lines are like artificial flavours to the eye; abrasive and uncanny.
>>98053467Yes but also I think C&P the same part across every single gun you design is just bad lazy work.
>>98053446Yes, but GW has always burnt through most of the actual talent in miniature sculpting leaving only the people that are willing to work for the starvation wages that the Citadel Design Studio is willing to offer. That's how you end up with nonsensical, aesthetically bizarre kits like Desolators.
>>98053487>I think C&P the same part across every single gun you design>doesn't recognize a gyroscopic stabilizer when he sees oneHow the fuck to some Brit understand more about weapon design than you?Especially since the weapons are all based on the same core chassis/lower on purpose as a design element given their innovator for ease of fabrication.
>>98053924The nerf gun with the most recoil has the smallest "stabilizer" you idiot.
>>98053954>dismissive postWhy should I take this nonsense serious? Even ignoring further design notes and load.Just stupid.
>>98053446they're trying to copyright their stuff by design features they can put into the patent/other means of identifying their stuff>its stupid looking and nobody wants to copy itthus is GW fallacy
>>98053446This sort of motif reuse was a thing even back when things were hand-sculpted. For example, as an Iron Warriors player, I've observed that the angled vent that commonly adorns chainswords also shows up on the metal Warsmith's servo-arm and the metal IW upgrade pack's lascannon.
>>98053467>This is a common enough sentiment across the arts.>The more complex and automated the tool, the less one feels one's hands have touched their own work.How is that even possible when it's still ultimately still the human hand and mind controlling the tool, and deciding what it's fine with.
>>98054683Even beyond that, it used to be pretty common for sculptors to use pre-made parts cast in metal/resin for things like weapons to get them consistent across a model range, which they'd then sculpt around/on top of in putty
>>98053924>um achually You monumental bore, you stupendous oaf. You cretin of cosmic proportions.One of the pictured weapons is a fucking flamethrower.
>>98054782>it's still ultimately still the human hand and mind controlling the toolThis nigga doesn't smooth his lines
>>98053446Yeah what seems to have been lost is that the designers forgot that their miniatures are first board game pieces so they should have some structural integrity for being moved around.They don’t have to be designed to be strong enough to club a waacfag to death.They should not look like they’re fragile enough to break easily.The plastic nagash and the plastic deceiver and void dragon models have this problem off the top of my head.Along with dangly bits that look designed to break off so the wargamer buys a new model to replace one bit.And it isn’t just gw.Many stl sculptors have forgotten that their minis they’re trying to make to make money off wargamers are going to be painted.Yet they cram detailing and greebles everywhere like they’re trying to make the saying “less is more” become the golden rule of mini sculpting if it isn’t already.I’m a bit frustrated as professional teams seem to be forgetting the less is more rule.Anvilindustry seems to be forgetting at the moment.Just because printer resolution means they can capture tiny details doesn’t mean you have to make minis that allow people to show off how crisp details can be captured by their printers.
>>98053970You could have just said you have no idea what a stabilizer is or how it works. You idiot.
>>98055126>Many stl sculptors have forgotten that their minis they’re trying to make to make money off wargamers are going to be painted.Fucking real. So many sculpts feel like they make for impressive renders to sucker people into buying the STLs, only to print them and realise they're impossible to paint at wargaming scale.
>>98054884Flamethrowers have recoil, you are also retarded. I do agree that the gyros look ugly though.
>>98055126>Many stl sculptors have forgotten that their minis they’re trying to make to make money off wargamers are going to be painted.>Yet they cram detailing and greebles everywhere like they’re trying to make the saying “less is more” become the golden rule of mini sculpting if it isn’t already.That is because people that actually build models and play with them are the minority now. Most people look at nice renders of stl or the painted studio models and just buy the stuff. They're hoarding boxes and files like they are about to open a store, but never do anything with the models.Ideas are easy. Buying is quick. Building and painting the models takes a lot of work and time. Most people never get around to it.So the primary function of the design of the miniature is not to be a good gaming piece that holds up to regular use and is easily recognizable across the table. It is to make good marketing material that will sell, in spite of it being fragile, fiddly to put together or unenjoyable to paint.
>>98054782Thing of it this way.If you make dinner from base ingredients from scratch, then you made dinner.If you opened a package and inserted the contents into a microwave, you also made dinner.In which process are you more involved?And as a corollary, does the hand of the artisan show more in one, or the other, and why?
>>98053446bell pants and the space marine combat squatthe scope being mounted on the doohickey is extra funny because in SM2 it spins around when shooting
>>98056053I suppose making food from scratch makes one more "involved" in it and it "shows more hand", but you could tamper with the contents of the package as much as you'd like if you wanted to. This changes the topic of conversation from technology to laziness and complacency
WTF.They earn less than half what I earn. No wonder they produce such turds
>>98056009Thank you for saying this. In my perspective as a hobbyist (I might play 2-3 games a year if at all), I don’t hear or read it enough. I realized this when I was painting some of the new imperial guard and Jakhal models from GW. The new ork boyz from the upcoming 11th edition launch box confirmed it for me. There’s just way too much detail on them for no reason. I get that sculpting tech and sprue organization is getting more streamlined and optimized but nobody cares if there is a little dangling keychain or decorative patches on a single fucking ork boy. With character models leading an army it’s different, but stuff that’s gonna get removed in one shooting phase doesn’t need to look pretty. People always praise the models for their detail and complexity as if they’re not just gonna prime it in grey seer and cover it in contrast paint. If they assemble let alone paint them at all. The eavy metal style and modern sculpting is designed to sell models. Excuse the schizo rambling, I agree with you wholeheartedly anon. >>98055223I see a lot ultra detailed photo realistic STL files on cults3d. Clay beast creations is a good example. It’s just too much. There’s no charm or fun in it personally. I find that frost grave has a good balance of simplicity and detail, and build options as well.
Yeah.When you handsculpt theres limitations to how much detail you can slap onto a miniature and while sculpting youre fully aware if its gonna be easy or hard to paint.When you digital sculpt you just have to zoom in, sculpt the details sepparately and then just join it with the main sculpt.Also imperfections in the handsculpt process give that raw sovl thats alsmost impossible to replicate digitally.>inb4 'post minis'I never claimed to be a good sculptor but heres one of mine
>>98057858That's fucking rad mate, good job. You could have been a staff sculptor at early Asgard/Citadel.
>>98053467>here is a strong undercurrent of people whom digital colour never really grew on.This is something I noticed a lot in comics and manga. Too often digital artist don't do test prints or color test so just do everything based on what looks good on their monitor rather than what looks good in print or even something that will translate the colors they see to the colors of a device calibrated even slightly differently. Led to a lot of gradients that ended up muddy on the page and the overuse of "bisexual lighting" that messed with visual clarity on most devices and on page.
>>98057858Got a painted pic? I'm curious how well that sculpting translates to the finished mini.
>>98054782The process has a effect on the end product. If you drew the same thing using a pencil, a crayon, ms paint, and inkscape it's extremely unlikely the drawings would look the same.
>>98058200Thats an incredible praise since I was going for that oldhammer look>>98058291>Got a painted pic?Never got around painting it. Painting over a master sculpt feels...wrong, you know?And making a mould having to cut and such... I have never really bothered, maybe some day (unlikely)
>>98055126>Yeah what seems to have been lost is that the designers forgot that their miniatures are first board game pieces so they should have some structural integrity for being moved around.I remember when an ork player at my LGS got pissed that his pewter big mek died and slammed it against the wall. It was still in one piece.
>>98057585Partially, but also, the nature of the hand tool's process, being manual, you are involved in the micro-processes as well as the macro start to finish.If you are cooking your asian food in a wok, you decide how much char collects on the chicken as you momentarily let it linger on the bottom of the pan before zhuzhing it around again, or adding an extra squirt of rice wine.With the microwave, the machine automates the process, leaving no space for intimate fine manipulation; you would microwave your hand trying.
>>98058333There's a dent in the floor at a flgs where someone dropped an old pewter dreadnought during a 4th ed game. They've just hid the dent by moving the gaming tables.
>>98057817That's GW for you, they're super quiet about salary and it's obviously just because they low ball everyone.Like, why the fuck would I put together a video application, spend hours of my time on prep, when you won't even tell me if it's worth my while.What they want is nerds who will work for peanuts, what they get is idiots and activists living off daddy's credit card.
>>98057817>that annual salaryI hope this ai answer is fake and the earnings are actually much higher.This is just stupid.
>>98059741When GW and money are involved it's best to assume the worst
>>9805974120k is actually less than UK minimum wage for a full time employee so I'd take that screenshot with a pinch of salt
>>98059901>>98060654How bad will the quality of gw’s sculpts go down if uk makes this sort of thing illegal so gw outsources to foreign studios to save money if they already aren’t doing this?I think their cinematic animations are made by an East Asian company that uses the unreal engine.
