SOPER! KING OF SWORDS!

DAVID SOPER

I haven't checked the records, but recently there are few mini painters that own as many Slayer Swords as David Soper. Starting way back in 1990, Soper started winning Golden Demons and Slayer Swords. For a short time he took a break then retired and, like a beast, came back into the painting scene. You pretty much have to play among the gods in beating Soper if he enters the same competition as you. He doesn't paint to get models ready for games or even just display quality, he paints them to be shown at museum level painting. There are many painters out there, but few take the meticulous effort that David does. Now that being said, how does that help you? The average day maybe trying to become great painter? Well, lots of ways because he has documented much of his current journey on his blog, SPROCKETS SMALL WORLD. 

It is not page after page of tutorials, but what you get is a open window to the start to finish building of a masterpiece(s). He doesn't paint a lot of miniatures (or at least from what I can see) but the ones he does paint, are slowly turned into something the sculptor may have never dreamed of. Like a great comic inker that took a good penciler's art and made it something next level. 

The tutorials he does have though, are amazing and well worth indulging in every one of them. He doesn't promote one paint over another because he uses what works no matter what the brand. The way he paints is amazingly thin. Glaze after glaze after glaze. Patience is key to his development and not jumping too soon to the fun parts. He usually works on the models in full and rarely in sub-assemblies. 

I highly recommend taking a journey through his site. Eventually I estimate he will be able to build a GOT version chair out of Slayer Swords.