Creating a Warhammer squad competition entry - what to keep in mind? (Patreon)

Hey everyone - currently i am on vacation, but i wanted to share something while i am gone, to keep you busy! :D See you in a weeks time! 

So, heres my thoughts for how to create a squad competition entry - i learned a lot from my process of creating the Black Templar entry for Golden demon, that got me a silver demon. 

1) Personal interest :  Choose something that you like! As you are going to paint & assembly a squad (of at leasts 3 miniatures), you are going to spend a looot of hours on them - so make sure, that you have a real interest in the models - or else it will be a true pain! 

2) Unique poses :  Make sure that all the models have different dynamics/postures. You want every single model to have its own "character", & with that i mean, that the dynamic or motion of the model, is different from the others. This can take quite a long time to organize & sometimes needs conversion / customizing, but it is definatly worth it, as it will make the overall squad piece look way more interesting for the viewer. Imagine 5 similar space marines in a squad - its really not telling any specific story - with 5 different space marines, shooting & attacking in different directions, you can simply imagine a battle situation way more lively. Having an important character as a center piece, is useally also a great way to go. 

3) Directions:  this is pretty close to the purpose of the before mentioned topic - make sure that the models also have different perspective directions. As you can see in the photo of the Sons of horus squad, i have the main Praetor in the center, looking straight forward - on each sides of him i have 2 different directions, & the same for the two in the back. Just like the unique poses, this also tells a story about the dramatic battle setting that they are at. 

4) Base it on a warhammer artwork: This is something i have seen a lot of former Golden demon winners do - find a warhammer artwork, where there is a squad, & try to replicate it with your models. This will ofcourse use a lot of customizing, & is something that i personally wouldnt find time to do :D But i admire painters who have done it - just check out Andy Wardles blood angel squad entry, based on a warhammer artwork. ( Pin on Warhammer40K (pinterest.dk)) - See the warhammer artwork inspiration, its the last picture above. 

5) Similar light directions : In order to create a unique overall feeling for all the models, have the same light direction on all of them - as shown on the second picture, i assemblied the whole squad on a plinth, in their different positions, & took pictures of them, with my desk lamp in the angle where i want the light to hit them. I actually did this from 4 different angles - the front, the back & on each sides. The main, or the brightest light reflections, is going to be from the front & back - where i am going to paint each sides more muted. I did the same thing for the Emperors champion squad. The amount of light angles, ofcourse depends on the specific models - but for space marines, i think 4 light angles works fine. I know a lot of painters also use 3 angles, but i havent experienced enough with that yet. 

6) Bases: Create a unique setting for your models, with their bases. Specifically for Golden demon, ive heard it can be a good thing, that the bases has a reference to a known world in the warhammer universe, that has a relation to the specific faction (maybe the setting of their own home world or a specific battle in the warhammer story). I think the most important thing here, is that all the models in the squad has ofcourse the same invironment of the bases, but once again different shapes - just like the unique poses, you also want a variation of shapes & sizes of for example rocks, vegetation etc. on each base.

7) Plinth. A great way to present your squad is on a plinth - for the Black templars, the plinth was from Greenstuff World, that i found at my local hobby store. For the sons of horus, they are placed on a plinth from Taromodelmaker, that i can also highly recommended! Just make sure that the plinth isnt too big or too small for the squad - this also depends on the formation that your squad is in. 

8) More to be added, when i get more done on the Sons of horus squad :D