Welcome back to The Miniature Painting Masters Series where we sit down with some of our hobby's most prolific and well known painters. In this installment we talk with Alfonso Giraldes, multiple Golden Demon and Slayer Sword winner, one time Forge World sculptor, and all time awesome painter and hobby innovator.
Before we jump into the interview I just want to mention that I transcribed this from an audio interview, so I apologize ahead of time for any weird flow issues that arise from that. There is also a bit of "adult language," which I only mention because normally my articles don't have that in them. Enjoy!
Tyler: How did you first become a member of the miniature wargaming and painting hobby?
Alfonso: I was 12 years old, everyone in my school and of all my friends started playing Warhammer. Pretty much the typical way to lose yourself in this wargaming hobby. Afterwards I was fascinated much more with the painting instead of the gaming. I am probably the worst player in the world, that’s one of the main reasons. I follow the works of Mike McVey, and afterwards I found some magazines in my local store, about some other miniature world, where I found the showcase Miniature World, and all those great masters from the 90s that I started to follow and that was my goal that I want to achieving. And then when I was 18 years old, my first job to get money for partying and everything else was at a Games Workshop store. That’s how I started painting again. It was always something that was easy and fun and interesting to me. Suddenly I realized I was painting professionally for years.
Tyler: Do you play any of the games at all and if so how do you approach painting a display model and painting a gaming model differently?
Alfonso: To be fair, I don’t play at all. I played in the past but that was only when I worked at GW because I had all of the minis and my friends played, but like I said I am one of the worst players in the world, so there is no sense in me playing since I will never win and there is no fun in losing all the time. I never approach minis differently. I always paint to my best level, whether it was for my army when I was 12 years old or now for collectors. It’s part of my principles, which is give the best because this is the only way that I can find joy in my work, so I always do my best. Sometime it ends up being more or less beautiful, depending on the eye of the viewer. It’s a personal choice for me to try and do my best always because this will be the only way for me to continue improving and keep my job interesting.
Tyler: How long had you been painting at what you would consider a serious level before you won your first award? (Golden Demon or other) and can you take us through a little of your thought process on how you prepared that winning model?
Alfonso: I started to paint when I was 12 but the I quit for like four years. You know, then you meet the girls and your goals change. Then I restarted when I was 18 because of working at the GW store. I was working on Saturday, so they gave me the main characters to paint. This was how I started to paint again. So I would say that I have been painting miniatures for 16 year, and professional since 2004, so for 12 years. My first award was because back at this time the Golden Daemon only had one award per category, so you can either get gold or be a finalist. So since I was the first finalist, the second choice. The figure was Azreal from the Dark Angels chapter full of freehand everywhere. I remember back then I use to sign my figures with an angel, so I drew an angel everywhere, even if it had no sense to have one in the scene or character. That was my first award.
My first serious award though was 1st place in the Open Category in 2004 in Spain. It was a huge diorama called the Battle of Gunberg. It’s a battle between the Orks and some Imperial soldiers. Obviously the Orks won because they are my favorite army. This was my first serious approach to a contest because I spent about one month painting and converting it. I participated from 2003 - 2011 at the Golden Demons. I only took about one piece each year. That way I never wanted to go for many trophies instead of going for the biggest trophy in my category. I competed in Golden Demons all over Europe and the UK during those years. I’ve won 10 Gold Golden Demons, two silvers, and two Slayer Swords. I won them both in 2006, one was the french slayer sword, and a little later, the spansish slayer sword. I don’t know if I’m the only person who has won two in one year or not. It was some of the best memories. Best meetings with people, friendships, meeting many great names. Many, many people who were related to that Golden Daemon era. I met many of them in 2003, 2004. I would say that was the best time for Golden Daemon. From 2002 to 2007 was like the golden era of the Golden Daemon because scratch builders were allowed to enter which gave us a really good chance to create whatever we wanted. The two slayer swords I won were both scratch built models in 54mm, which is not allowed anymore.
My first serious award though was 1st place in the Open Category in 2004 in Spain. It was a huge diorama called the Battle of Gunberg. It’s a battle between the Orks and some Imperial soldiers. Obviously the Orks won because they are my favorite army. This was my first serious approach to a contest because I spent about one month painting and converting it. I participated from 2003 - 2011 at the Golden Demons. I only took about one piece each year. That way I never wanted to go for many trophies instead of going for the biggest trophy in my category. I competed in Golden Demons all over Europe and the UK during those years. I’ve won 10 Gold Golden Demons, two silvers, and two Slayer Swords. I won them both in 2006, one was the french slayer sword, and a little later, the spansish slayer sword. I don’t know if I’m the only person who has won two in one year or not. It was some of the best memories. Best meetings with people, friendships, meeting many great names. Many, many people who were related to that Golden Daemon era. I met many of them in 2003, 2004. I would say that was the best time for Golden Daemon. From 2002 to 2007 was like the golden era of the Golden Daemon because scratch builders were allowed to enter which gave us a really good chance to create whatever we wanted. The two slayer swords I won were both scratch built models in 54mm, which is not allowed anymore.
I’ve never had a process, especially because I think people understand process as doing something step by step. I have proven to all my fans and my students, which I have been doing classes since 2005. The last few years it has become international, I am in like 15 countries, about 22 different cities. I have about six hundred students including a lot of the big name painters you may know. I have always told them everyone has to have their own process, and even more, I would say that every single project needs to have its own process. So there is no one process. My approach for a competition piece basically is to think properly and design properly the character. I consider myself a concept artists or model designer. Which means not only to create something beautiful technically, instead of creating something with strong personality. So my advice would be to think, to draw, make a mock-up. Do whatever you can to imagine how it will be your work and how it will end up, then just put all of your passion into that process.
Alfonso: I have painted many models, especially for companies. Especially when I was working for Knight Models where I was one of the main painters for four years. Then I was the main painter and art director for Scale 75. If I had to chose one it would probably be the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin. It was a blast and something that changed my perception of painting and makes my biggest or best level up I have experienced since I have started painting miniatures professionally. It was so complex you couldn’t just copy the frames from the movie, you had to do a proper illustration, a personal interpretation of this work. It became very well known and was a big moment in the painting community. Only one person has painted it before, which was about a month ago. Before that it’s been 6-7 years since that model was released, and it was a big seller and no one else painted it. So to me, it’s like some kind of honor since it shows the complexity of that work.
Tyler: Can you name one major change in the painting world that has impacted you the most since you started (basing changing from green flock to an integral part of the mini, more subdued colors, source lighting, etc.)?
Alfonso: For me, some individuals are most responsible for bringing the miniature to some other points that have not been reached before. I will say Bill Horan, at the beginning, because he started to create the emotion the story telling, the scene composition, like if they were real pictures, and created some of the most iconic dioramas of all time. Then I will say Raul Latorre, because basically he brought the zenithal source lighting to the miniature world. Before, everyone painted in a general looking light source, light coming from everywhere. Raul Latorre was the first one who somehow introduced the zenithal source light. Since then everyone has copied this, not because it is realistic, but because it is something dramatic. It enhances and boosts the expression of the miniature. It is compared to light in a theater. It is so dramatic because it has to be understood by the people in the front row, and the people in the back rows. Now, I am not trying to seem cocky, but myself and Jose Manuel Palomares Nuñez developed a very nice, vibrant, impacting, colorful, powerful style when we created the iconic pieces for Knight Models. Especially to the Marvel and DC ranges.
Many other people have brought many different developments, as well. People like Romain van der Bogaert for the expressionism, and the sculpting. The French school in the golden era of the Golden Daemon, with all those colors that were placed in a super small surface. This was amazing because they reached a point where their techniques was so so so complex, that was almost impossible to imitate. So it was definitely a personal, unique style. There are many more but, in the last five years the two people that-- for me-- are at the point of the spear, guiding us to the next levels of understanding the painting as an illustration, or to the canvas (because they look like this) are Sang Eon Lee from Korea, and Kirill Kanaev from Russia. Probably, to me, the two best painters in the world right now. And don’t forget Costas Kariotellis and Marijn van Gils in the scratch build modeling. Because they are big names, big creators. Costas with the super detailed pieces and Marijn with the capability to talk about things in a diorama, and to explain to you, and make you think. They are some of the most unique modelers in the world.
Alfonso: For me, some individuals are most responsible for bringing the miniature to some other points that have not been reached before. I will say Bill Horan, at the beginning, because he started to create the emotion the story telling, the scene composition, like if they were real pictures, and created some of the most iconic dioramas of all time. Then I will say Raul Latorre, because basically he brought the zenithal source lighting to the miniature world. Before, everyone painted in a general looking light source, light coming from everywhere. Raul Latorre was the first one who somehow introduced the zenithal source light. Since then everyone has copied this, not because it is realistic, but because it is something dramatic. It enhances and boosts the expression of the miniature. It is compared to light in a theater. It is so dramatic because it has to be understood by the people in the front row, and the people in the back rows. Now, I am not trying to seem cocky, but myself and Jose Manuel Palomares Nuñez developed a very nice, vibrant, impacting, colorful, powerful style when we created the iconic pieces for Knight Models. Especially to the Marvel and DC ranges.
Many other people have brought many different developments, as well. People like Romain van der Bogaert for the expressionism, and the sculpting. The French school in the golden era of the Golden Daemon, with all those colors that were placed in a super small surface. This was amazing because they reached a point where their techniques was so so so complex, that was almost impossible to imitate. So it was definitely a personal, unique style. There are many more but, in the last five years the two people that-- for me-- are at the point of the spear, guiding us to the next levels of understanding the painting as an illustration, or to the canvas (because they look like this) are Sang Eon Lee from Korea, and Kirill Kanaev from Russia. Probably, to me, the two best painters in the world right now. And don’t forget Costas Kariotellis and Marijn van Gils in the scratch build modeling. Because they are big names, big creators. Costas with the super detailed pieces and Marijn with the capability to talk about things in a diorama, and to explain to you, and make you think. They are some of the most unique modelers in the world.
Tyler: How do you feel the rise of the internet has affected the way people paint their models, or the general direction in which miniature painting has gone?
Alfonso: I think that’s normal, it happens in every field. You have your references. But, now with the internet, and all those tutorials, all those articles, all those comments, and the possibility to contact directly with the artist that you like. Obviously, there is the possibility of the start of some trend, including ones that now exist. I cannot judge it. I came from another generation, the generation of the magazines.
Alfonso: I think that’s normal, it happens in every field. You have your references. But, now with the internet, and all those tutorials, all those articles, all those comments, and the possibility to contact directly with the artist that you like. Obviously, there is the possibility of the start of some trend, including ones that now exist. I cannot judge it. I came from another generation, the generation of the magazines.
We didn’t have the capability to meet our references in person. Unless you went to a big contest, and had the courage to introduce yourself. It’s a question that I don’t feel sure of myself to answer. Because, I don’t know how it’s-- the internet-- affecting. Sometimes I think it’s wrong, because everyone is starting to paint the same way. But on the other hand, I think it’s a natural process. And I think it’s good for the market because the spread of the movement or the hobby, is larger. So, in some ways I am glad the internet exists, because this is the only way, for example, that I have been able to teach in the United States, in Canada, or in many other countries.
Tyler: Which miniature painters inspire me the most?
Alfonso: I will say, in the past, Bill Horan, Raul Garcia Latorre. Lattore is my biggest reference, probably. Gianfranco Speranza, Mike Blank, Rodrigo Hernandez Chacon. Those are from the historical side. And then from the fantasy side, if you want to separate into two categories, which is something that makes no sense to me. Because this is painting, and painting is painting, that’s it. I will mix names, no matter which kind of figures they paint. So, Jacques Alexandre Gillois is one. Roman Lappat, because of his creativity, not because of this technique, but his creativity is really nice. Feschenko is an actual guy that is painting right now. He (Feschenko) is one of the new interesting names, he is very original. I really like what he is doing. Sang Eon Lee is my biggest reference, I think. He is the most virtuous, genius painter in the world, probably. Kirill Kainev, the second one probably. Sergio Calvo Rubio is like an upcoming star. A new, very young, and super talented painter. Marc Masclans is another. I work with Masclans, he is like my cousin and I really admire his work, his technique is so amazing. Some works, old works, from probably Fabrizzio Russo and Mathieu Lalain. I will say also, Allan Carrasco, in the Golden Daemon years ago, had a very unique style. I don’t know, I will say many others. But in the end there are so many I like. But those ones I will say I admire, or had admired the most I think, personally. Obviously, Jose Palomares was my reference when I started painting professionally. He was like my older brother and he guided me in many ways. Also Julio Cabos, I learned a lot from him. He was the chief painter of Andrea Miniatures when he was working there.
Tyler: What direction do you think the miniature painting is going to go in terms of style and techniques?
Alfonso: Uh, hopefully I think it will be more variety and this is part of my vision. One of my goals in the painting community is to show that style is just different perceptions of colors, volume, light, beauty, and…looking. So at the end, you have to have an illustration, or digital art, or any kind of fine arts, whatever. You have to have your references, and every reference is completely different to the other (each individual). To give you an example, the style of Frazzetta, and the style of Rockwell. I admire both of them, and I can admire that both styles on the same level. I think both of them are some of the greatest masters in the 20th century. And I admire both. So I think that the new steps in the miniature world is to trespass the line between artistry and art. To bring some new concepts, new ideas, and new storytelling. Then also hope that the public starts to accept more styles, rather than only the super smooth blending. Which is something that is too old for my taste, and has passed away years ago. Now we should research, or look for some other goals. Not only the pure technical way to resolve a volume.
Tyler: Which miniature painters inspire me the most?
Alfonso: I will say, in the past, Bill Horan, Raul Garcia Latorre. Lattore is my biggest reference, probably. Gianfranco Speranza, Mike Blank, Rodrigo Hernandez Chacon. Those are from the historical side. And then from the fantasy side, if you want to separate into two categories, which is something that makes no sense to me. Because this is painting, and painting is painting, that’s it. I will mix names, no matter which kind of figures they paint. So, Jacques Alexandre Gillois is one. Roman Lappat, because of his creativity, not because of this technique, but his creativity is really nice. Feschenko is an actual guy that is painting right now. He (Feschenko) is one of the new interesting names, he is very original. I really like what he is doing. Sang Eon Lee is my biggest reference, I think. He is the most virtuous, genius painter in the world, probably. Kirill Kainev, the second one probably. Sergio Calvo Rubio is like an upcoming star. A new, very young, and super talented painter. Marc Masclans is another. I work with Masclans, he is like my cousin and I really admire his work, his technique is so amazing. Some works, old works, from probably Fabrizzio Russo and Mathieu Lalain. I will say also, Allan Carrasco, in the Golden Daemon years ago, had a very unique style. I don’t know, I will say many others. But in the end there are so many I like. But those ones I will say I admire, or had admired the most I think, personally. Obviously, Jose Palomares was my reference when I started painting professionally. He was like my older brother and he guided me in many ways. Also Julio Cabos, I learned a lot from him. He was the chief painter of Andrea Miniatures when he was working there.
Tyler: What direction do you think the miniature painting is going to go in terms of style and techniques?
Alfonso: Uh, hopefully I think it will be more variety and this is part of my vision. One of my goals in the painting community is to show that style is just different perceptions of colors, volume, light, beauty, and…looking. So at the end, you have to have an illustration, or digital art, or any kind of fine arts, whatever. You have to have your references, and every reference is completely different to the other (each individual). To give you an example, the style of Frazzetta, and the style of Rockwell. I admire both of them, and I can admire that both styles on the same level. I think both of them are some of the greatest masters in the 20th century. And I admire both. So I think that the new steps in the miniature world is to trespass the line between artistry and art. To bring some new concepts, new ideas, and new storytelling. Then also hope that the public starts to accept more styles, rather than only the super smooth blending. Which is something that is too old for my taste, and has passed away years ago. Now we should research, or look for some other goals. Not only the pure technical way to resolve a volume.
Tyler: Games Workshop have decided to make the Golden Demons a UK only event. They also seem to now be splitting it up even more, so each category is it’s own day, starting with Tanks, instead of one large competition. Do you think this shrinks the hobby a bit for painters since it limits the number of people able to attend, either geographically or economically as well as diminishing any overall awards by splitting up the categories?
Alfonso: I completely agree with the question, basically. In terms of hobby, and in terms of painting hobby or painting community, I think the Golden Daemon is dead. To me this is a commercial decision that could be good for commercial purposes, but not for the painting community. You want to be a good painter and you want to show your works next to someone else’s works? I would recommend that you go somewhere else, not to a Golden Daemon. So probably the Monte San Savino Show is the best place if you want to know what is a real-level comparison with another. Because I will say 90% of the greatest miniature artists in the world will compete there. This is the biggest event of the year. I should note, that the World Expo organizers have made some strange structural decisions. So I will say Monte San Savino is the best in terms of community, environment, how the people feel there, how the people meet other people there, the level of the categories, the level and number of the entries, the big names that you can find there. It is a contest that has to grow up, because now it’s so little. It has to grow too much in the last three or four years, so it has to make a jump to another level. But in terms of which is the best place to go, Golden Daemon is definitely not the best place to go. Nothing against the entries, I have seen some winners those years that have been really nice. The last one by David Soper is a really nice figure, definitely. But the level of the competition in the Golden Daemon in UK right now is not comparable to the Golden Daemon in France, UK, Spain, Italy, or Germany circa 2005 - 2008. No comparison.
Alfonso: I completely agree with the question, basically. In terms of hobby, and in terms of painting hobby or painting community, I think the Golden Daemon is dead. To me this is a commercial decision that could be good for commercial purposes, but not for the painting community. You want to be a good painter and you want to show your works next to someone else’s works? I would recommend that you go somewhere else, not to a Golden Daemon. So probably the Monte San Savino Show is the best place if you want to know what is a real-level comparison with another. Because I will say 90% of the greatest miniature artists in the world will compete there. This is the biggest event of the year. I should note, that the World Expo organizers have made some strange structural decisions. So I will say Monte San Savino is the best in terms of community, environment, how the people feel there, how the people meet other people there, the level of the categories, the level and number of the entries, the big names that you can find there. It is a contest that has to grow up, because now it’s so little. It has to grow too much in the last three or four years, so it has to make a jump to another level. But in terms of which is the best place to go, Golden Daemon is definitely not the best place to go. Nothing against the entries, I have seen some winners those years that have been really nice. The last one by David Soper is a really nice figure, definitely. But the level of the competition in the Golden Daemon in UK right now is not comparable to the Golden Daemon in France, UK, Spain, Italy, or Germany circa 2005 - 2008. No comparison.
Alfonso: I talked about this in a recent interview for Volomir.com. I think it's really good that someone is doing prize money on a best model. This will give us credit to show our work in a more serious way rather then just toys, because these are not toys. There are many artists in the miniature field that are in the same level of knowledge as big name artists in other art fields. A $10,000 prize guarantees that this piece, at least, will be well known. A problem is that the second prize is $3,000 and third prize is $1,000. Diego Esteban and myself went to the first edition of the Crystal Brush and took 3rd place and we won the money, but it's not a big amount of money, so it doesn't even deserve the cost of the hotel and flight. It's also a commercial contest that can have some strange positions and the voting process that can look much more like a competition of who is more known and who has more fans and not which is best. Sometimes the best piece has won, sometimes it hasn't. It's a tricky answer, but to simplify the answer I think it's good that someone is investing money in it. So we have to be grateful to Cool Mini or Not for doing this, and I think it's a good thing.
Tyler: Painting to a competitive level is a very time consuming activity. How do you find time to balance life and painting?
Alfonso: For me it's my job, I'm doing this 8-12 hours a day since I can remember. So, it's difficult to balance, but just like any other self employed work. The sentence, "painting to a competitive level is a very time consuming activity," it depends. I have painted box art that are very recognizable and many people think is a very good paint job, and I have painted it in two days. That is one of the things that I want to bring to the miniature community, that idea that something is beautiful and well done. if you have the skills and the practice and you have trained your skills and techniques. There are many techniques, especially with acrylics, since it can be used as an oil or a watercolor. That something can be painted to a super high level in a very short time. It's all about attitude. My attitude towards life is passionate, strong, fast, sudden, something that happens in the moment. That explains my way of being and my way of painting.
This idea of some guy in his room painting for hours and hours and days and days is something from the past. Right now if you see me painting you'll see that in two hours you can have something super nice looking. The problem is that the market has guided the clients to thinking that they need 100 different pots of color and a step by step and this is bullshit. If you are a real painter you can mix all of your colors from the primary colors, and not much more. Obviously I have many colors, because each color I have is because I need that specific density of the pigment or how it flows or whatever. You don't need to paint how the articles have told us how to paint in the past. I have been a part of this big lie in the past, because I was told to. I had to say it was painted with 90% of this color or whatever. In the past I couldn't avoid doing this because it was part of my job and my bosses forced me to do this. I tried to replicate my painting process in five pots because it helped those companies sell those pots, but now that I am a freelance I tell you the truth. It's not necessary to spend a whole year to paint a figure.
Tyler: You now teach high level miniature painting classes, how did that come around and can you tell us a bit about that?
Alfonso: I started almost unconsciously. I started giving classes in my local store. They gave me a chance to start practicing with some students. I grew up in a family where both of my parents were teachers. My father is a university teacher and my mother was a children's teacher, so I feel like I have learned two different ways of teaching. One is the serious way, where you apply all your knowledge and bring to the students many complex ideas, but then the way I explain it is more similar to my mother, because I have seen her teach a child since I was little. That's something fascinating because in the end to teach a child is one of the most difficult things I can imagine. The way is to simplify things and make the teaching like a game. This is something I try to do with my students and my classes are pretty successful to be fair. Some students have repeated the class two to four times. So it means I think I am doing something well and I am really proud of it.
It's not just the experience of teaching it but also the importance of learning through teaching. That is probably the biggest goal I have achieved. That during my travels and teaches I have learned a lot also, about myself, about how to react in front of my students, and how to discompose things in a way that everyone is able to understand it, and most important that everyone enjoys their time. In the end that is the most important thing. For me this is my work, but for most of them this is their hobby. So they have to enjoy it, there is no sense that they paint without joy. Without enjoying it there is nothing. It started like this, then I started giving classes all over Spain. The advertising was done by the clients, by word of mouth, and in the end I started getting a lot of interest in the classes. I went to a modeling camp for 15 days and I realized I could teach in another language and then I was living in Nottingham for a year working for Forge World. When I returned to Spain I thought why not force myself to teach in English and see what happened. I started in Liverpool and it was really successful and afterward every month I have had courses everywhere, all over the world. It has been something so natural and that's why I am really happy. It has also allowed me to meet great people.
Tyler: You seem to be experimenting with a bunch of different painting techniques on this bust. Most of these seem to be leaning heavily towards a more traditional two dimensional painting style, which looks fantastic by the way. How has your painting style evolved over time, and specifically since you have started working on this bust?
Alfonso: I came from the drawing side of things. I came from the classic fantasy illustrations, so I think that my inner feelings was that I was focused towards this way probably since the beginning. When I started working for Knight Models and we had to come up with this comic style for miniatures, no one had done something similar to this before. Now it's very common, but back at this time no one painted in this way. It means that me and Jose Manuel Palomares Nuñez had to develop our styles to represent a comic character in a miniature 3D figure. It came up naturally. I started trying to replicate this cover artists from the comic field and then after many years of experimenting I ended up having my style, something recognizable that many people tell me is really recognizable. How it has evolved is difficult to say. In the beginning it was more technical in the way we understand it in the miniature world. Which is wrong since we should be talking about how the miniature looks in the end instead of different techniques. The techniques I use are classical techniques, water color, glazing, grey scale, there are many techniques. I don't think the techniques are related to the final look. I think my final look is very two dimensional because I paint like I draw, I sculpt as I draw. I don't paint or sculpt something three dimensional, I see it as how I see many two dimensional drawings.
Tyler: You worked in the Forge World design studio for a brief period, sculpting models for their Horus Heresy range. Can you tell us a bit about that experience?
Alfonso: It was a great experience. It was not what I expected. I was hired as a model designer after showing a portfolio full of drawing, illustrations, concept art, sculpting, painting, everything, and they offered me the chance to be a model designer. After one year I learned a lot about new sculpting techniques, a lot about materials and processes because it is a very nice professional environment where you can learn a lot from people who are really, really talented like Simon Eagen or Steve Whitehead and many others. Many people that have taught me their processes, each one with a different approach, so I learned a lot in that period. In the end it ended up in a point where I had to split ways because I think I approached it more artistically and GW is more interested in production and repeating clichés that works really well for them. Which is something I respect a lot, and they are very successful because of that reason. I am not this kind of artist though who can work in a closed environment where you have to repeat designs again and again. Thats the main reason why I am not there, but I highly admire some of the artists that work there who have taught me to be a professional sculptor. I didn't paint anything there, I was drawing and sculpting and I learned a lot.
To create Space Marine armor in super sculpty clay is super hard, which is what they use, because it moves a lot and to make sharp edges is super difficult. Once you learn this you can do anything you want. In a technical aspect it's a very hard job, but you have any resource you need. This is one of the advantages of working at a huge company like GW. Also the experience of living in the UK also opened my mind a lot and I think it was the most important step that made me feel comfortable with they way I express my self in english even if it's not perfect. It gave me the confidence to stretch my self and go anywhere in the world. I am very grateful for GW for that opportunity and it's something I will never regret. It was also my first experience with living with my girlfriend who will be my wife shortly (they're married now!), so it was a really great experience. I have a lot of great memories.
Tyler: You have in fact done work for several companies, including Knight Models who have some terrific models. What type of work did all of this entail? Mostly painting or sculpting as well?
Alfonso: I mostly paint and design and direct, but I also sculpt. I have been a part of the whole process, from sketches at the very beginning, such as the Zombie Hunter and Legolas for Knight Models. Also all of the models I did at Forge World, because they let us start where we want and I have a whole sketch book from my time there. I have been a part of the whole process from this to art direction. I am also a sculptor so I can also understand their processes so I can talk the same language as them which is really great for a fluid conversation. I am not that type of art director that doesn't know about the process. I think I'm pretty good at knowing which fields can be improved, but always respecting the style and process of each artist.
The work I have done the most is painting. It is the most profitable because I have the most experience and I can do it really fast. Now I am much slower then I was four years ago because now I only paint for collectors and not for companies. So I am not under as much pressure as I was when I was painting for Knight Models or Scale 75, that we have a very short deadline. For example The Hulk, or Boromir were painted in two or three days, so you can imagine how stressful that was. I have also done graphic design for the backgrounds and the logos for the packaging. Anything related to something visual I have worked on it. I have tried very many different fields, but the one I feel most comfortable with is painting. It is the one I control much more, I will say in a master level, which is why I also teach it and explain it pretty well I think. But for example, in sculpting, I know I have the skills, and I think I can arrive at a very nice outcome, such as several for Scale 75, and Forge World. I have to recognize that my process in sculpting is not a clean process, it is a process of someone still learning. I consider myself a professional beginner, because I don't resolve the problems in the time needed, if I compare myself with the greatest names. I have sculpted with them and they are like machines. They can resolve any problem in a second. They can sculpt a 75mm in about five days while I need maybe one month. The other fields that I have been working, like drawing and graphic design, I am not as developed in. I have the skills, I enjoy making concept art, but I think that I need to grow up a lot in these fields. You know I think I am maybe not one of the greatest, but I think I am one of the more complete artists. I am very complete, I can do many different things.
Tyler: Can you talk a bit about what it was like taking the plunge into working in miniatures full time?
Alfonso: It was like jumping over a hill without wings basically. It's difficult, risky, fearful, scary, it's a challenge every day. Sometimes I feel like the luckiest guy in the world though, because I love what I do and I love my job. I am a passionate person and I live out of my feelings, and in my day to day I don't have such strong feelings as I am painting and sculpting. Some days I want to kill myself because nothing works, and some other days I feel like I am on top of the highest mountain because everything is so perfect and beautiful. It can be just a brush stroke that makes me smile for hours, so I don't know. It's difficult, I think it's one of the most difficult artistic jobs because it's not very well paid compared to other art fields. At the same time I think I have reached a point where people recognize me and treat me so well and respect me that I must be grateful to life, because this is a gift to be sure.
Tyler: At the moment you mostly work on purely display models such as busts and other large scale models, but do you still find time to game at all or is it all painting now?
Alfonso: I don't have any interest in gaming, not at all. I am so involved in my work and my routine is so weird compared to other people; one day I am in another country, and then I am in the middle of the week with nothing to do. Some days I end up painting at 3am. It's so chaotic that the only thing I want to do when I stop painting or sculpting is whatever that is not related to figures, sincerely. I guess that this is normal. I love to watch movies with my girlfriend, meet my best friends, football is my passion. This is what fills my life apart from figures.
I would like to thank Alfonso for taking the time to do this interview and bearing with me as I worked on putting it together. I apologize for any parts that seem like they may not flow, again, I was transcribing this from an audio. I would also like to thank my friend Nathan who helped me transcribe parts of it. You can follow Alfonso on Facebook here, and across various painting sites on the internet as Banshee. You can see his Cool Mini or Not gallery here.
Until next time,
Tyler M.
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