question/ confession for Gencon

[tallghost]

I'm not sure where to post this, but i thought this might be a good spot. My question revolves around the gencon pinting contest.
How forgiving is it to noobies?
I have never entered a contest before, and I know that I will in no way come near to the winner's circle. But i would like to:
1) get tips and advice on what techniques to start working on
2) get that free Wyrd Mini for entering a free mini (shameless confession)
So my delemma is, would it be an insult and a waste for me to throw my trash in with the actual competitor's treasure?
I would post a pic of the mini I'm painting, but it is still a WIP.

thanks for any advice you all may have

[supervike]

I don't know much about the contest either, but you should have NO shame in trying to get the 'free' mini.....its all about raising awareness of WYRD so its a good thing!!

The only advice I can give is win or lose --entering and preparing a miniature for a competition will teach you lots and you really should do it...even if its just for the sake of saying "i entered this comp"

Good luck!

[gi6ers]

Yeah have a go, free lead is a perfectly good reason (works for me!!). If you don't get the feedback you need/want just post it on here afterwards...

Go for it and good luck!

[Frustrated Father]

Pretty much what Jim said. The contest really is just about having fun and raising awareness of Wyrd Miniatures. There is a Manufacturers prize naturally but as you said, there is free lead to be had for just entering the contest and dropping by to show it off to us.

Welcome to Wyrd!

[eastman]

The contest itself isn't the best time to get feedback, since the judges tend to be overworked.

Bring along another piece which represents your current level of work and head to the area around the paint & take. You are more likely to find people there who can take a few minutes and give an honest critique and advice.

[thewartoad]

I'm working on Marcus & the Sabertooth Cerberus right now...maybe more! Cheers!

[vincegamer]

Don't be hard on yourself if judges are hard on you.
You may well get knocked out without any explanation or advice at all. It may even seem like yours is better than some others, but that's because matters of personal taste come into play.
Don't let it get you down if you don't win, and if you do, don't rub it in to those who didn't.

[Wren]

The level of painting experience of entrants is really diverse. As a big national contest, it is definitely the case that the top entries in the main contest categories are going to be pretty jaw-dropping, and most are painted by professional painters. If you don't feel you're quite there yet, painting entries to fit the manufacturer contests is a great way to go. (There's a list of these at http://www.gencon.com/2007/indy/events/events_guests/miniatures/awards.aspx. I think GenCon might not have updated the page recently, I believe Crocodile Games, Rackham and Hasslefree are also doing manufacturer awards. Iron Wind Metals usually does prizes, but I haven't heard that it is this year.) It helps bring people's attention to cool miniatures they might never have had a chance to see before, and it has been the case in previous years that manufacturer prizes weren't able to be awarded simply due to lack of entries.

It is not the best contest to enter for feedback, though. The judges do try to give feedback when asked, but that'll depend on you figuring out who they are and how to find them, and how busy they are. Since the judges are also giving painting classes or running other miniature events, they're usually pretty swamped for time. Painting seminars are usually a good time to get feedback if you bring along some of your minis for the instructor to look at. If you look at the GenCon events schedule and all the ones you're interested in are already full, you can try to get in with generic tickets. Just who up at the class time with the correct amount of generic tickets, and if a pre-registered attendee doesn't show up (which happens all the time) you should be able to join the class.

I think the GenCon forums have a miniature painting section now, and you could try asking there for other ideas for getting feedback on your painting while at the Con. The woman who organizes all the miniature painting events checks there regularly.