Stouffville, Ontario Canada (647) 962-1997 gwstudios@rogers.com M-F 8:30am - 2:30pm & 8:00pm - 11:00pm

Author: greatwallstudios

Married, Graphic Designer, enjoy playing the electric guitar, model building, wood working and sculpting.

And so the present wrapping saga begins.

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I don’t mind wrapping one or two items on any given day, but I detest spending hours on end wrapping everything under the sun. I think I drew the line at stocking stuffers last year, and straight up refused to gift wrap shampoo bottles, tooth paste and hair brushes and the like. Way too much work. Sounds curmudgeonly, I get that, but by the week before Christmas my kids have my nerves frazzled. So this year, I am formulating a new game plan to alleviate much of what I don’t like. Smaller doses of wrapping, spread out over a whole month. 30 days until the big man makes his early morning debut.

We are using more and more gift bags as I get older and more ornery. Rather than leaving the whole lot for one night, I think I’m going to schedule just a few minutes every day to wrap one or two things. I also detest the asymmetrical, non standard box shapes for all of these toys nowadays. Give me flat surfaces, 90° corners, and fewer compound curves. Not that I want my wrapped gifts to look rigid and over tailored, but crinkled edges, and bunching isn’t my bag man. Not that the kids care. Like, at all. So, I don’t really know why I concern myself with it so much.

I’m trying to get into the holiday mood, and it’s increasingly becoming more difficult to do so. The tree is up, decorated and lit. The exterior lights are up and illuminated nightly. There is a new light up wreath & bow on the door. That’s about the most of it until the kids get older, and we start to lose more of the toys that clutter the house. We sat down to watch Elf as a family, and later on I sat down to Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Still not feeling it. Maybe I need a movie marathon with Scrooged, NL Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Die Hard, Gremlins & Home Alone to really drive it home. The presence of snow really does help it feel like Christmas. That and music. I miss the yellow LP my folks used to play on endless repeat. I have a photo of it somewhere. Ah yes, here it is:

One of the few Holiday albums that we played over and over again. There was a cassette tape that my brother Steve had too, with Kenny Rogers on it, which is forever burned into my psyche aswell.

Hard to over state exactly how much of my memories of Christmas is entwined with this old vinyl LP. I did scour iTunes to locate some of the songs individually, but it isn’t the same recordings, or we had our record player set differently… either way, it’s close, but not the same.

Fewer than 20 days to my goal…

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It has now been 346 days of writing. I am less than three weeks away from potentially achieving my writing goal for 2022. I am however busy today with my newest report (yay!) So I can’t expound on my thoughts just yet. I am happy to have two of the 4/5 reports in my possession, so it won’t all come the last week of December! Which is great. Maybe get one more next week? Maybe, hard to know. Either way, one or two per week can be doable if absolutely necessary, and not fry my wrists. Great news! Very happy.

So back to paid work for me. Hope your Black Friday / US Thanksgiving weekend is off to a great start. Ciao Bella!

Did I Manage to Salvage the Ogre Rogue… You Tell Me. The Painting Episode: Take Two.

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So in our last painting episode I attempted something which I had not done before, a realistic human skin tone. I had the appropriate paints, I was following along step by step, and I even added flecks of mahogany, green, blue and red for that authentic splotchy skin we all have. And then I got real heavy handed with the last two layers of high lights, and washed it all away. But not before I added the blue glaze to add some of that Ogre ‘otherness‘ to his look, and it all went to dog shit.

I had some thoughts regarding going right back to primer, and trying again from the start. I was all ready nearly three hours deep on the paint job at this point, so I instead opted for a quicker fix. It wouldn’t help with my over sprayed shading issue, being that I had mostly erased all of my layered shadows. But I pressed on. Adding a new round of flecked speckles. At this point I was happy enough (I guess?), and dug in to painting the rest of him. Chainmail, cowl, hair, teeth, eyes, belt, furs and trinkets. I tried to get a rusty feel to the pauldron, but as I started with a Copper look, a blue/green patina would have worked better, in retrospect. No matter. I put his crows beak/war hammer back on, and painted that a little. In all honesty the weapon requires a lot more work at this point, but I’m over it for now.

I had some EU labels come in, and the spectre of another report or three looming, and I don’t want to invest more time on the weapon right now, as the paid work can come in at any second. Gotta stay nimble as a freelancer. Hurry up & wait is real common round these parts.

Anyway, here he is, and here is how it’ll stay for a while longer. Perhaps come January, in my down period I’ll pick him back up and polish some edges. Behold, the thing I have made.

95% complete Ogre Rogue bust I sculpted this year (2022).

It looks like a thing, so I have that going for me, which is nice. Otherwise all I have left is the no name brand Ninja Turtle character I have left to paint. Could just leave it as plain Apoxie sculpt though. That’s a thing that people do these days, just leave it in it’s original colour. I can get behind that I think.

The Rogues Gallery of 2022 sculpted items, and their paint jobs.

What’a Wicked Wicken Wednesday Watching Willy Wonka Wash Worn Out Wet Wipes.

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Not much going down here today. Finalized a report, and spending some time trying to paint my Ogre Rogue. It’s not as awful as I had previously thought. I was rather upset, but with the addition of new colours it’s coming around a little bit. So best of luck to you.

Beaten by the elusive Skin Tones…

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Started the Ogre Rogue paint up today. It was supposed to look mostly human, with a hint of a blue wash over top. But I washed out all of the skin tone variation flecking of Mahogany, Red, Green & Blue by spraying too heavy on the high lights. And then the very thin blue paint washed away much of what was beneath it, into one flat drab monotone. So there is 2.5 hours wasted. Now I need to have a think on whether to prime it all black again, and try once more from the start. Or. Here’s a big, ‘or’, add more flecks of colour over top ever so slightly, and just continue on. As I do have a ticking clock counting down with more reports coming on my heels. You know what. I think I can salvage it with some slight flecking of different colours. I won’t have the highlights I was hoping for, but it will at least look less flat.

See if you can spot where I bungled the whole thing.

Rose red brown base coat.
50/50 Red and the next colour
100% second colour. Then, flecks of mahogany, red, blue and green.
1st high light. A tad bold.
Second high light – can still see flecks- kind of.
Too far. Got heavy handed with the paint.
Blue washed out all details.
Pooling starts to get really noticeable.
Pulled colour off the face – tried “something”, it did not work.

Yeah – so… not impressed with myself right now. I was a bit heavy handed on applying the high lights, and I washed away all of the depth. And my thinned down blue ran, and puddled, and looks pretty bad. Oh well. Still lots to learn. I should have used a clear coat at some point, most likely just before the heavily thinned blues. Live and learn.

Experience is gained through stupid mistakes. So I’m pulling in XP like nobody’s business right now. I really should have stopped once my high lights had totally covered the flecks. I’m always rushing. Rush, rush, rush. For some reason a sense of urgency permeates through nearly everything I do as a hobby. I managed to quell it in my wood working, namely because table saws, and blades are waiting for a moment of inattention to take my fingers. And I know how to be calm when I work my day job. But man, do I ever get impatient when painting. Chill out my man. It’s not a paid commission. Take your time my dude.

Somehow it’s only Tuesday. American Thanksgiving is coming up on Thursday, so there must be football, and parades and such coming up soon. I need to eat some breakfast, and think about this painting mistake. Airbrush compressor is now making a different sound than usual. Not sure what to do about this. Excuse to buy a better one should it crap out entirely? Or is it finally breaking itself in. I have no idea whatsoever.

I’m not known for my

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Painting or sculpting skills, but in the five to ten years that I have been chipping away at both, I’m getting happier with my results. No major leaps forward using the airbrush, it brings it’s own set of hassles and limitations, but I think it is more consistent than what my dry brushing ever put down. Takes longer, and uses more layers to do it with the airbrush, but then you don’t get brush strokes visible on larger surfaces, and it looks buttery smooth. Which – for now, is something that I like.

I the last few months I have completed my Ape, Hellboy, Elf Barbarian, Warrior, and now my Ogre Royal Guard. I went in vastly different colour palettes for each one. As I tend to like greens and blues, and didn’t want them all to be exactly the same. I should try a blue one next, as I’ve gone through Pink & Purple, Reds, Blacks & Greys, Various shades of Brown, and Green & Yellows. So my Ogre Rogue should be blue. But I kinda want him to look more human, and go with skin tones instead. Maybe I will try the Ninja Turtle next? Either way, I will need to sculpt some new things, if i want to continue painting into the new year. Or pray that the large box of miniatures I picked up off of Kickstarter shows up in the next 3-6 months.

5 of the seven painted bust sculptures from 2022.

I had a spot of good fortune over the weekend, and one of my reports came in, so I blasted through that in 18 hrs or so over three days. I wanted it done before, or at the least, very early Monday, as it looks as though we had another CUPE strike day set for today (Monday). But crisis was averted, but I was ahead of the game, so I should have a quiet day today. I did the laundry yesterday, and found out my wife’s winter tires, and did some chores around the house in preparation of the kids being underfoot all day. Now I can chill out for a bit. Prep files for new reports that I know are coming in the next few weeks.

I started to watch The Family Stone on Disney+ last night (from 2005), and had forgotten just how much I hated Sarah Jessica Parker in that film. I watched many seasons of Sex in the City with an old roommate decades ago, and kinds didn’t hate her as Carrie Bradshaw, but… Yikes. Can’t stand her in this film. I’m not certain if it’s set in Christmas or Thanksgiving. Either way. I also dug up Trains, Planes & Automobiles the other day. That’s always good for a chuckle. Trying to get into the holiday spirit this year. I just couldn’t quite feel it last year. I was so very close. Right on the cusp – even. But never really found that childhood wonder that surrounds the Christmas break. I don’t know if it’s our decorations, or the threat of Covid, or the weather that tamped things down, but it really did fell muted. Like hearing your favourite song from outside the dance club, through closed doors, and a blacked out window. You know it’s there. You can hear it going on. You can feel it thumping in your chest. But… it’s not the same, as being awash inside it. Could be age, and that I’m grumpy. Ha.

Happy Monday to all who celebrate. Take care of yourselves out there. Ciao Bella!

The Tedium of Incessant Hair Brushing.

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First off, it is absolutely required that we run a sturdy brush through both our kids hair at least twice a day minimum. Secondly, both kids hate it, and squirm, fight & cry about having it done for any length of time, regardless of how much nicer it looks and feels when done. Thirdly if you should miss even one session the hair will turn in on itself, create frizzy volume, and tie itself in such viscious knots that you’d seriously contemplate shaving the kids heads, and starting again from Pixie cuts, and hair clips. They also desperately want to draw attention to their hair by dying it bright colours, and insisting on wearing their hair down. Both things require extensive hair care and/or management to pull off successfully, and not end up looking like a homeless child. So naturally they resist all attempts to reign in their hair. A constant, and consistent struggle. Oh joy!

I look forward to a time when either child will focus even the slightest bit of attention towards the maintenance of their own hair. Washing, conditioning, drying, brushing, or styling & colouring. Then they will know the struggles first hand of what we deal with day in and day out. Maybe they come to realize how fortunate an hour in the home salon chair is. Does that sound right? You get my drift. We do it anyway, but maybe they make it less of a fight, and more a chance to talk and connect? A dad can dream can’t he?

In other news it is Sunday, and we are once again facing another CUPE strike, and more of this god forsaken on-line learning for Kindergarten. So I best shake a leg and get my newest report finished. Came in late yesterday evening, and I got several pages started. So have a great lazy Sunday. Fingers crossed for a resolution to the CUPE dispute before tomorrow.

The SlapDash Painting Episode, No° 108.

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I have recently been revisiting my old no name air brush. I picked up a wide variety of Vallejo paints, primers, thinners, and washes so that I could paint my latest round of bust sculpts. It has been a trying time, to say the least. But as I progress through my eight recent builds I am finding a stable, and repeatable method to getting half way decent results.

I am working off of the following methodology. A flat black primer over the whole bust, followed by a grey primer that I spray top down for stark contrast high lights. Then I use a mid tone, straight from the bottle to cover the whole sculpture. I use a darker colour to then paint from the underside only. Then I use a 50/50 mix of mid tone to first highlight, spraying top down all over. Then the high light colour at 100%, top down only. Focus primarily on head shoulders, and ear tips, and maybe belly if my character is fat/barrel chested.

At this point I pick up a tooth brush and then fleck a deep red, blue and green paint all over the bust, avoiding armor if at all possible. Once dried, I go to my last 100% colour and knock those flecks back a tad. And then use my final highlight colour to brighten up the face and very tops of the shoulders only.

After this point it’s all brush painting for metallics, leather straps, skulls, and anything else that wasn’t skin tones.

1.) Flat black primer.
2.) Grey primer, top down only spraying
3.) Mid tone all over.
4.) Darker under colour that is sprayed bottom up. 5.) First highlight sprayed top down and all over.
6.) Second highlight colour top down. More focus on head, neck & shoulders.
7.) Flecked red, blue & green paints for skin variations.
8.) Knock down flecks, and add next highlights for face, and shoulders only. 9.) Begin brush work for metallics and all other elements.

I’m not actually finished with my Ogre royal guard yet, so I’ll have to cut it here. I should note I’m using craft paints that I have thinned with a Vallejo acrylic thinner. I wanted something a bit different to my regular green, brown, red or blue palettes. Looks nifty. I think. Still has a long way to go. Catch you around.

Woken up by acid reflux burning a hole in your throat.

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Not the way I had planned to spend my friday night and/or very early saturday morning, but here we are. Nothing like getting up before 2:00am to wander the house in the dark looking for Tums, and a Gatorade to soothe my singed oesophagus. Other than that, and a pit stop to empty my bladder while I was up, the night went off without a hitch. The house is rather lovely when it’s quiet, and I can hear all the kids softly snoring away in their rooms. Makes me miss the dog, he’d have been up, tail wagging if he heard me walking through the house. A quick snuffle of my hand, an ear twiddle and then he would have scooted back off to bed. Miss that damn fool at the weirdest times.

The birthday party circuit has kicked into high gear, and we now have engagements most weekends from here on out. I could open a modest art supply store with all the gear I have purchased in the last month. The era of loud battery operated toys for birthday gifts has ended. Thankfully. A blessing really.

So what’s the plan today? Oh right, the aforementioned birthday parties. I’m off on a trek through Scarborough to find a glow in the dark Mini Putt place. Will have to think real hard about whether the youngest actually goes. Not a solid competitor just yet. Bit of a rotten cheater with a bad temper about losing to anyone for any reason. May have to leave the kid with Mum for the afternoon. We will see.

Got a start on some Christmas shopping, but I notice the prices have all jumped considerably this year. Good old corporate greed under the guise of ‘inflation’. Tree might look a little sparse this year, but I assure you I did not cheap out. I spent slightly more than last year (due to other kid’s birthday present obligations) but I certainly did not walk away with the same quantity of goods. No matter. I have some major projects on the way (at some point before Dec 31st) so I could potentially buy more if I have missed the one thing either kid was really hoping for. I followed the catalogue images they circled, and the tv commercials they moon over. So I think I’m good. But when more paid work comes in, I could comfortably do one more item each for the kids. I haven’t even gone looking for what my wife wants. Or the in-laws, or any body else even slightly tangentially related to me whom may be expecting a gift this year. Not to worry. There is still time to figure everything out. We are in November, so time is a wasting. If you plan to order on-line your window to get it by the holidays is gradually shrinking. **May the odds be forever in all our favour.

Making comic books : A trans generational trauma, of sorts.

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I know I made a fair few comic books of my own when I was a little kid, and I struggled to come up with a story, spell it correctly, draw all the correct panels & splash pages, colour it all in, bind it in a suitable fashion, and then try not to hate it when I finally finished. And low & behold my kids do the same thing with zero prompting from me. I see the spark of an idea, and then the crushing weight of what it takes to complete the project if you want it to be exactly as you envision it, and then the building frustration when the corners figuratively start to peel on you from the accumulation of minor errors. Ah that brings back memories. There are few self inflicted wounds quite like seeing how far off your vision you are when it comes to your own execution of said artistic vision. We are truly, our own worst critics.

As I sit here, both kids are hard at work, writing, drawing and colouring their comic books. When they aren’t fighting over crayons, or wigging out about how their art is progressing it almost feels like a great morning. I’m just happy that they have found something to occupy themselves for a few minutes so that I don’t have to entertain them.

I did build a deck of flash cards again last night to aid my youngest on her way towards early primary reading. And we are close to discovering whether the eldest has a LD regarding reading. We are trying lots of ways to build her confidence when reading. She seems to forget words of all lengths, and starts to panic when she has to read out loud. She can remember something like Cretaceous, but forgets words like who, when, and, and if. I don’t get it. But I’m no educator, and I don’t deal in child psychology either. She isn’t transposing numbers or letters, so likely not dyslexia. As far as my best guess goes. She does well in math, and listens in class, and is otherwise participatory in nature. Just the reading is lagging behind. She is several levels back of her peers (those that aren’t also struggling with reading anyway). I was happy to hear that her reading had progressed to where it is now, because she plateaued at a double digit level for two or more years. Thanks Covid and online classes! So yes, she can read, and does so, but just not at as high a level as she needs to to not continue to struggle with it as she moves on. But we are building a plan, and getting her extra help where any is available. We have hoops to get through in order to get her assessed by an academic type.

I know that I disliked reading a great deal in my youth, I was going on twelve before I actually enjoyed reading a full novel. I still have the first novel my mum bought me. It was a BattleTech brand novel about fighting robot mechs, war, treachery and violence. And I never looked back after reading it. I then read about Mortal Kombat, The Death of Superman, and the original Jurassic Park novel. Don’t quiz me on those publishing dates, they stick out in my memory in regards to reading. Plus a whole slew of Dragon Lance books, but that wasn’t until 1994 when we moved to Erin On, from Scarborough. So my own journey into reading started a lot later than my teachers had been pushing for. So the kid, she comes by it honestly. But once we get the reading to be less of a panic inducing activity, we have about seven hundred or so books that she can read if she wants to. Of all sorts of genres, lengths and difficulty levels. Science fiction, non fiction, fantasy, romance, poetry, technical, crime, humor, murder mystery, violent blood soaked horror, arts, historical and wood working to name most of our major areas of interest.