Hello all,
Happy New Year!
Planning a full year of work might seem like a bit of a fool’s errand. After all, something is bound to happen which will blow up my plans. We live in what feels like a truly destabilized time, and last year was one of my worst in recent memory. But with all that in mind, the only thing we have control over is ourselves. I really want this year to be better, and for me, feeling better has always involved storytelling.
With that in mind, I have planned to maximize content output and limit distractions this year. To illustrate this plan, here are some minis that work as a metaphor. You know the drill!
Those are two good little squigs from the Warhammer Underworlds line. I think they are both lovely in their own right.
The first is a pretty standard red squig.
He’s nice but not exactly inspired. The latter is where I experimented.
I used some undercoating and glazing techniques on him to really bring out subtle hues in his skin. I didn’t know it would work, but I think he looks great.
More importantly, he ended up being a proof of concept for something bigger.
Look at this monster!
This is the Dagon mini for CMON’s Death May Die board game. I used the same techniques as the squig and I think this is some of my best work (painting-wise). It kind of proved to me that this scheme and the techniques involved have legs. Now for the metaphor part, this is also how I will approach my writing this year.
The test ground will be bite-sized chunks that outline the world and themes of the longer works. In the last couple of years, I realized that I really enjoy podcasting, so that is a great start. I’ve also worked out the template for both short fiction and long fiction. Now I just need to apply it.
I’ll explain more later but for now, just know that I’m busy and happily working. This is going to be a good year damn it!
Jacob Marsh 