Meeting Derek Schubert

This weekend I had the honor of meeting one of my favorite sculptor/painters, the very talented Mr. Derek Schubert. Derek was going to be in Arlington, and he remembered that I lived in VA, so he invited me to meet with him. I brought my display box of miniatures and we talked for about an hour about all things minis.

Derek gave me some thoughtful critiques and ideas for my current project, like producing a sort of OSL effect on the wall behind Elizabeth to both similuate a halo for the Saint, and to draw the viewer’s attention to the mini. He also suggested lower contrast on all elements of the base as another technique to attract the eye to the figures.

He showed me a Reaper Bones mini he recently speed-painted. We discussed Derek’s speed-painting methods, including how he often base coats with a highlight and shade where appropriate, instead of with a midtone over the whole area. This saves you some steps in the process, and therefore time.

Another really neat trick for painting in general that he uses to unify a figure is to paint the same color for the highest highlight on all parts of the miniature, as if a same-colored light were shining on it. I will definitely try that!

Derek then showed me some photos of sculpted greens that haven’t been posted on the Reaper website yet, and talked about some of the finer details that I would have completely missed if I’d just seen them online. (Watch for a polearm with a locust design!)

We talked about some of our shared experiences, like how we sometimes take a break from the hobby, usually when some other creative outlet comes up that piques our interest for a while. I related how I pretty much stopped painting for a couple months when I got my sewing machine for Christmas last year. We also both agreed that we generally produce better painted miniatures if we plan out the color palette ahead of time. Derek showed me photos of a few color studies he did for some of his pieces before starting them.

ReaperCon came up, but only briefly. I told him how difficult it is to make it to Dallas-Ft. Worth during the school year, especially since I’d want to take my husband with me. I travel for work sometimes, and I have to leave Dave on his own with our kids. I wouldn’t want to ask him to do that just so I can run off to a mini painting convention. Maybe in 6-8 years my kids will be mature enough to stay home alone for a few days. In the meantime, I will attend vicariously through the Reaper Message Boards, and meet people one at a time as the opportunities present themselves.

We also chatted some about our families and D&D, but that has nothing to do with the hobby. :-)

It was a great experience for me, and I’m humbled and so very grateful that such a talented artist would think of me, invite me to meet with him, and take the time to talk to me one-on-one about miniature painting. Thank you, Derek!