Hobbyistfirst - GGMS Partner Creator
During my 4th year of college for product design, I discovered the Warhammer hobby when I saw painted minis in a dorm room. This was 1997, the GW Golden Era, and I was instantly hooked.
My younger brother chose Orks while I was playing Crimson Fists, the cover boys of the 3rd edition Space Marine Codex. He and I would kitbash Battlewagons and Deff Dreads using toys, model kits, and GW bitz. My college background was handy when it came time to build all of these custom models, create terrain, and get all of it painted up to a decent standard. My brother ultimate moved on to other hobbies…so I looted his Ork army and added to it over the years.
My mini painting social media journey started when a coworker encouraged me to start an account to share my work. Like every good project, I needed a goal. I wanted to be a Gearguts Affiliate. It took a few months but I built up a body of work on Instagram and YouTube while participating in most of the Ork-centric Facebook groups. Acceptance into the initial program was a goal achieved and the later invitation to be a Partner Creator was a great honor. My favorite content to make are large-scale army showcases for YouTube, usually in the neighborhood of 10,000 points.
In real life I’m a husband of over 20 years, father of 4, and high school design and engineer teacher. I run the tabletop gaming club at my school and have lead to dozens of dedicated players joining our ranks over the years. I’ve worked as a commission painter for many years and my work is all over the globe. I offer painting prices that are very attainable for players who are looking to create a beautiful spectacle on their gaming table.
The basement gaming room and studio at my home are a popular tour stop for visitors. I’m proud to say that I designed the entire space for the purpose of entertaining Warhammer guests.
As a hobby veteran, I lean toward the more traditional painting methods of basecoat, wash, highlight, and edge highlight rather than use Contrast or airbrush paints. This takes longer but the result is often richer colors. Because I prefer to paint over black, my miniatures tend to look more sinister and brooding, which suits Gearguts sculpts well, in my opinion. Orks are alien monsters, so you’ll always see me adding a bit of purple to my skin tone recipe.
