UK  : Hello everyone ❤️.
Here’s a bust of an elven rider, signed by Lucas Pina Penichet (spiramirabilis_miniatures). I’ve never published it on the Internet, even though I’ve produced a three-part step-by-step guide for the paper press.
Now that I’ve found the photos taken at the time, I’ll need to do some processing to make them publishable, or simply to make a new set (I’m not really happy with the ones I have, nor with the one I’m publishing).
As for the step-by-step, I’ll just have to translate the three parts and put the whole thing together before putting it on line. It may be some time before that happens, as I’ll probably be posting other things in the meantime, but that’s still to come.

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 FR : Bonjour tout le monde ❤️.
Voici un buste de cavalier elfique, signé de la main de Lucas Pina Penichet (spiramirabilis_miniatures). Il s’agit d’une réalisation que je n’ai jamais publiée sur internet, alors même que j’ai réalisé pour la presse papier un pas à pas en trois partie concernant sa réalisation.
Ayant retrouvé les photos prises à l’époque, il va me falloir un peu de traitement pour les rendre publiables ou tout simplement pour en refaire un nouveau set. (Je ne suis pas réellement satisfait de celles à ma disposition, ni de celle que je publie du coup.)
Quant au pas à pas, il me restera à traduire les trois parties et regrouper l’ensemble avant de le mettre en ligne. Ce ne sera peut-être pas pour tout de suite, je posterai sans doute d’autres choses entre temps, mais c’est à venir.

 UK  : So it’s time to get with the times. In the coming weeks it’s likely that many photos of my past work, and of course future ones, will be posted on Instagram.
This will undoubtedly be a platform that will enable me to post a lot of snapshots without having to go through the task of creating content via the site (which necessarily takes longer than taking and sharing a photo directly). In short, don’t hesitate to subscribe ^^.

 FR : Il est temps temps de se mettre à l’air moderne. Dans les semaines à venir il est fort probable que de nombreuses photos de mes travaux passés, et bien sûr des futurs soient postés sur Instagram.
Ce sera sans doute une plateforme qui pourra me permettre de poster pas mal d’instantanés sans passer par la tâche d’une création de contenu via le site (plus long à faire forcément qu’une photo prise et partagée directement). Bref, n’hésitez pas à aller y souscrire ^^.

FOLLOW : https://www.instagram.com/juliencasses.miniatures/

 UK : It’s been almost five years since my last post here. And the funny thing is… I’ve continued to write various articles and paint a few miniatures in that time.
So, even if these figures and articles aren’t up to the standard of my “Golden Demon quality” period, I thought it would be a shame not to publish them. The articles and galleries for these figures will arrive in the coming weeks.
In short, we’re blowing off some dust. It’s only a short step from there to saying that the desire to pick up the brushes awake…  maybe for something of quality.
However, I’m going to refrain from making any illusory promises about publication rates XD!

 FR : Cela fait presque cinq and depuis mon dernier message par ici. Et la chose un peu rigolote là dedans… c’est que j’ai continué de rédiger différents articles et de peindre quelques figurines durant ce laps de temps.
Alors, même si ces figurines et articles ne sont pas au niveau de ma période “qualité Golden Demon”, je me suis dit qu’il serait un peu dommage de ne pas les publier. Les articles et galeries de ces figurines arriveront dans les semaines qui viennent.
Bref, on souffle un peu sur la poussière. De là à dire que depuis quelques temps, l’envie de reprendre les pinceaux… pour quelque chose de qualitatif reviendrait peu à peu, il n’y a qu’un pas.
Je vais cependant m’abstenir de toute promesse illusoire quant à des rythmes de publication, autant éviter XD !

 UK :

 FR :

C’est tout simplement une tradition, mais c’est aussi l’occasion de profiter de quelques mots afin de vous souhaiter une excellente année 2020 et surtout de superbes sessions de peinture ou de sculpture !
Dire que ces dernières années n’aura pas vu ce site extrêmement actif est un euphémisme, bien que je ne sois pas rester totalement inactif pour autant. Plusieurs projets sont néanmoins en cours pour alimenter les pages de ce site, mais surtout de nombreux articles non diffusés n’ont toujours pas trouver domicile par ici.
En espérant donc pouvoir alimenter cet espace et continuer à partager cette passion commune.
Mes meilleurs vœux !

PS : Et afin de rester dans l’air du temps, une petite musique qui reste si peu en tête…

 UK :
For those wondering the next project i want to work on, it’ll not be the “Carnaval”. This diorama will never be finish, it’s a fact. Instead an undead project appears years ago with the new nagash minuature. I still dont know if the Undead God will be use but for the moment that’s the small teaser I wanted to publish ^^.

 FR :
Pour ceux se demandant sur quel futur projet je compte avancer, ce ne sera pas le “Carnaval”.
Cet immense diorama ne sera jamais fini, c’est un fait.
A la place un projet sur des morts-vivants ait apparu il y a quelques temps avec la sortie du nouveau Nagash. Je ne sais pas encore si le dieu des revenants sera utilisé mais voici le petit teaser que javais envie de publier ^^.

 UK :

The last time I wrote something here, was the 29th of April. 2015.
A lot of people could have think that I was dead, or alive. False ! I was both, like Schrödinger’s cat !
The reality is simple, if I didn’t publish something here, I was still painting miniature here and there, and writing a lot of differents articles, step by step, or chronicles for the french magazine Ravage.

Today, and within the impulse of different people (thanks to Maud and Thibaut in order), I “just” have to update the website with all the contents that was not published. Mostly by lazyness.
But the desire to use again the brushes in a more serious, or professional way redid is way. Future will tell

So today, I’ll simply conclude this article by the two next adding I planned to do :
- The galery of “The Greatest Enemy” diorama, I made in 2016 for the same theme Uk Golden Demon
- The step by step of this diaroma, narrating the different states of its realization.

Go !… I promise I’ll try to remove my second foot from the tomb that held me back !

 FR :

La dernière fois que quelque chose fut publié par ici, ce fut le 29 avril 2015.
On aura pu croire alors que j’étais mort, ou vivant. Faux ! J’étais les deux, tel le chat de Schrödinger !
Car si je ne publiais rien par ici, je n’ai pourtant eu de cesse de continuer à peindre par-ci, par-là, tout en rédigeant en continu différents articles, pas à pas, ou chroniques, pour le magazine Ravage.

Aujourd’hui, et sous l’impulsion de différentes personnes (merci Maud et Thibaut en priorité pour vos différents rappels), il ne me reste plus qu’à mettre le site à jour du contenu qui lui fut arraché, notamment par pur fainéantise.
L’envie de reprendre les pinceaux de manière plus sérieuse, voire en partie professionnelles, refait son nid, l’avenir nous dira de quoi il sera fait !

Aussi je terminerai par un petit avant goût des deux prochains ajouts à venir :
- La galerie de mon diorama “The Greatest Enemy” réalisé en 2016, à l’occasion du Golden Demon Anglais du même thème.
- Le pas à pas du diorama en lui-même, narrant les différentes étapes de sa réalisation.

Allez, promis, je vais tenter d’extirper mon second pied de la tombe qui me retenait !

UK TEXT :
Hello everyone ! A fast update concerning the Best of the last three months. I’m trying to write somes articles for the website as I really din’t find time for it lately.
Lot of work in real life, plus some commissions and projects to manage (masterclass, DVD with Skullminis etc.).
So I leave the place to the winners !

Texte FR :
Bonjour à tous ! Une mise à jour rapide, concernant les trois derniers vainqueurs des Best of the month. Je suis en train d’ébaucher quelques articles pour le site, vu que je n’ai pas eu tellement de temps pour l’alimenter dernièrement.
Pas mal de boulot dans la vie réelle, plus des commandes et des projets à superviser (figostages, DVD avec Skullminis etc.).
Je laisse donc la place aux vainqueurs !

Enrique Velasco (Emuse Studio) : Fulgrim Vs Ferrus Manus – Best of the Month : January 2015

Dmitry Fesechko – Righteous and Harmonious Fist – Best of the Month : February 2015

Jessica Rich – Danse Macabre – Best of the Month : March 2015

Again, choosing a “TOP 6″ or “TOP 4″ between the twelve “best of the month” miniatures was not easy.

But after some time, I decided to cut the number in half for a sort of “first cut”.

At the end of that round, this are the six projects that stays in my mind for the “Best of the year : 2014″.
There is no order by the way.

- Roman Lappat : Undead king of the Ocean

This bust has a very nice atmosphere. The colors, the harmony, the overall feeling and the “moss” effect are very well done.
More, it’s the ambiant that gives a really nice touch to that piece.

- David Waeselynck : Gurka the red

David’s bust is clearly one of the best, or maybe the best painted version of Gurka, at the moment, and in my humble opinion. The tones, the colors, the execution are just perfectly chosen and made. It’ld have been a crime to not keep that miniature into the finals.

- Maxime Pastourel : Kaptain Grot’nout

I love Maxime’s work. I love the crazyness in his style, but more he is a really good technician : both in sculpture, design, and painting. Maxime is a complete artist, and keep a crazy level of creativity, even in his “army” projects.
His Kaptain Grot’nout is just an exemple about how he maintains some vibrants and brights effects, even on a big, really big miniature. Final touches : conversions, humor, and fun. Perfect !

- Nakatan : Havilan Tuff

I loved this miniature at the moment I saw it. And there is a REALLY big amount of work. Full sculpt, totally designed, a lot of very nice ideas, a great painting, a very very nice overall effect, a big technique… a very impressive piece.

- Ben Komets & Matt Cexwish : Horus

It’s not a secret, Ben is one of my favorite artist. Maybe my “favorite”. The touches he gaves to his miniatures, his style, the attention of detail he has, the global vision, the methods he uses… I wish to be able to obtain just 10% of what he achieves.
On that Horus (base done by Matt Cexwish), he really brings out the essence of the character. When you look at this miniature, you just think “DAMNED ! THIS IS REALLY WHAT HORUS SHOULD LOOKS LIKE !”. The armor, the details, the textures, the face (THIS FACE !!!!), the atmosphere, the light, there is a dark and powerfull ambiant in this piece.
I’m really impress about how a single painting can inspire such feelings. Maybe it’s just because I love Ben’s work, and because I love GW’s background a lot, and even if Simon’s Egan sculpt is crazy, this painting is for me an astonishing moment of the year. More when the Painting Buddha videos allows to see the process of painting.

- Bohun : Giant Robot “?”

Bohun have A STYLE. And a lot of PATIENCE. Even if I think that making again and again very similar projects (lot if lines, lines, and well… painted lines on a miniature) is a sign of mental illness (lol, I’m joking of course), the result is always breathtaking.
Here, the lights, the global aspect, the finishes, there is a lot of things that conduce to a great miniature, and to a great enty in this final TOP 6 of the year.

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE

All this six miniatures are really awesome, and they have different approaches and styles.
To make a choice, the thing is to focus on little faults here and there, and try to forget all the good and crazy parts for a moment. Or just forget all of that, and be focus on the feeling that we can have with a miniature and her story.

- The Undead King :
The atmosphere and the colors are some very good choices. You can feel the environment of the character just by seing him.
But, the pure technique on the torso is not as good as others parts of the miniature. The face is great, but the “belly” or the shoulders, are not at the same level. BUT : the main effect is really impressive. And that is one of the most difficult and important thing to acheive when you paint a miniature.

- Gurka the red :
The painting is incredible, the light also, really, it’s difficult to find anything here. The purple cloth is just maybe too dark for my taste at some place, a little bit of highlight here and there could have worked, and at some spots, the sculpture of the beard could habe been, maybe, a little more precise. But at this point, it’s really searching for searching, nothing can be perfect, and for me, this painting, on this bust, is pretty close to perfection.

- Kaptain Grot’nout :
This is bright ! This is Orange ! Imagine a vehicule, that big, with some evils creatures on it, in your city, with that color ! You’ll not miss it, and when you’ll see the destruction it makes, you’ll fear it ! Here it’s just a matter of painting at some spots, BUT : this great miniature was made for an army. Yeah…. an army. Maxime plays with it. And ALL HIS ARMY IS PAINTED LIKE THAT. So what can be a “fault” here, is not one, because it was wanted. A big favorite.

- Havilan Turff :
Here it’s the sculpt that have some faults here and there… BUT it was one of the first attempt of full sculpt by Nakatan. Or maybe the first one (i don’t remember). And with this level of accomplishment, I’m sure a lot of us, me include, could be really jealous. At the end, it’s more the grey parts, like the jacket and the knee pads, that are a bit “simple” in terms of painting. The blue setting is maybe be also a little flat and a bit more of definition and contrast could have been nice. On the other side, the global result, the charism of the piece, her size, and the crazy space drawing are just insane. It’s clearly a piece that you cannot forget after seeing it.

- “?” Giant Robot :
Bohun is a master in his own style. But after watching some step by step he mades, and of course all the nice pictures he takes, I found the result maybe a bit repetitive and not particularly “technical”. It’s a nice airbrush base, lot of drawing and then some colors by airbrush or brushes here and there, some defition to clean and make the result readable, and “finish”. I don’t say that everyone could do this. NOT AT ALL. Even making those drawing is not that simple. You need to be very good with a brush, have a nice tool, and be very precise with it. Being precise at that level is really… really…. NOT THAT SIMPLE. More, being patient at this stage, to make lines and lines and lines and lines… not eveyrone could do it. It’s “madness” at some point. And I really cannot do it myself.
It’s just that, by decrypting the method, I don’t feel pretty enthousiast about it. The method itself, not the result. More when it is being repeat again and again on every projects.
BUT : and this is a big BUT : this is just a personnal painting feeling, as it’s not the way I’m painting myself, and perhaps also, not how I see painting. THIS CANNOT TAKE AWAY THE IMPACT, AND THE LEVEL OF THIS MINIATURE. It’s clearly a kind of Best of show miniature. Just because the level of patience and precision it takes is crazy, and because the overall result is really impressive. Not my cup of tea, but objectively very very well done and crazy. And of course, definitly one of the best miniatures of this year.

And…. HORUS : BEST MINIATURE OF THE YEAR 2014 : BEN KOMETS/MATT CEXWISH

It’s the emotional impact, both with the great sculpture of Simon Egan, and the painting of Ben and Matt, that lead me to choose it for the BEST OF THE YEAR : 2014.
The painting is also impressive. We have a black armor, but a vibrant one, and colored. The Gold are darks, malicious, the face is incredibly painted, smooth but with charism and attitude, the demonic and glowing eyes, the red OSL… subtle but that contributes to the overall effect.
Ben Komets has a unique style. The painting is technical, lights are well done and placed, the blendings are done, the colors are well chosen, and between the blendings, he keeps some nervous touches of painting and textures here and there. Everything contributes to an astonoshing result.
Here, Horus is clearly the vision that anybody have of him. Powerfull, evil, dark, charismatic, dangerous.
It’s not maybe the most incredible mini of the year. There is no big scenery, just the official base painted (very nicely) by Matt Cexwish. There is no extra compositon, just the miniature.
It’s not a big diorama, it’s not even the most technical painting of the year, it’s just a miniature that is perfectly done from A to Z, and that respect the essence of the character by the painting.
The way Ben makes it, with his brushes, brings to reality the essence of the character, and this is for me an impressive feat, that I don’t saw on all the numerous others versions of this miniature.
This miniature has LIFE. And that is the final goal in our hobby. The hardest to obtain.

It could have been Horus, it could have been his Jules Vernes project (that I don’t succeed to have any pictures at the right time for the Best of the Month category), but for me, Ben was this year the most impressive painter. You can follow his work on Painting Buddha. For Horus, and as I said in a previous article : GO CHECK THIS SERIES OF TUTORIALS !!!. It’s heaven in 720p. (Or 1080p if you subscribe to the Paiting Buddha academy)
Congrats Ben, Congrats Matt. And see you for the next best of the months…. and maybe why not for the Best of 2015.

But for the moment, again, congrats for this miniature full of life and character.

UK text :

Yep. We are in 2015 and here I am with the october, november and december winners. I’ll make it short, as I’m still pretty busy, and I just hope that the next ten days will allows me to post all I want to post on the website (Wip, finished miniature, tutorials, news etc…).
But for the moment :

- For october : Congratulations to Bohun ! After his cube, I found this giant robot pretty crazy and well done. A long work of patience and carefulness !
- For november : Who else instead of Ben Komets, Matt Cexwish and the Painting Buddha Team ? Their Horus the Warmaster is just…. absolutely crazy. But I think we’ll talk about it soon ^^.  But for the moment : GO CHECK THIS SERIES OF TUTORIALS !!!
- For december: It’s Miguel Matias with his wonderful painting of Papa Jambo, from Black Sailors. Of course the sculptjob is awesome, of course it helps to have a great miniature, but the painting is also really well done here !
Subtle, vibrant, colorful, a great miniature !

Congrats to them, and we’ll meet again in a very short time (next week) for the Best of the YEAR 2014 !
Stay tuned !
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Texte FR :

Eh oui. Nous sommes en 2015 et me voici avec les vainqueurs d’octobre, novembre et décembre 2014. Je vais donc faire court, je suis toujours un peu dans le rush en ce moment, j’espère juste que les dix prochains jours me permettront de mettre le site à jour (des Wips, figurines terminées, tutos, news etc… à poster).
Mais pour le moment :

- Pour octobre : Félicitations à Bohun ! Après son cube, je trouve son robot géant vraiment ding et bien réalisé. Des heures de patience et de méticulosité
- Pour novembre : Qui d’autres, hormis Ben Komets, Matt Cexwish et l’équipe Painting Buddha ? Leur Horus est juste…. totalement fou. Mais je pense qu’on en reparlera bientôt ^^. Pour le moment : ALLEZ JUSTE REGARDER CETTE SÉRIE DE TUTOS-VIDÉO !!!
- Pour décembre : C’est Miguel Matias et sa très belle peinture du Papa Jambo, de Black Sailors. Après, il est évident que la sculpture est saisissante, et que cela aide pour obtenir une belle figurine, mais la peinture est vraiment très bien réalisée ! Subtile, vibrante, colorée, une superbe pièce !

Bravo à eux ! Et nous nous reverrons très vite (semaine prochaine) pour le Best of de l’ANNÉE 2014 !
À bientôt !

BOHUN : “?” Giant Robot – Best of the Month : OCTOBER

Ben Komets/Matt Cexwish : Horus the warmaster – Best of the Month : NOVEMBER

MIGUEL MATIAS : Papa Jambo – Best of the Month : DECEMBER

UK text : Merry Xmas and a Happy new year to all of you !
I hope you’ll have some very nice moments with your families, friends and painting buddies !

I’m pretty busy right now but I’ve a lot to upload here : best of the month for november and december, best of the year, news painted miniatures (eh eh yes ), articles, and of course… tutorials !
But… for now, let’s enjoy family time and stay tuned !

Again, merry Xmas, and I hope you’ll have a great 2015 new year !

Julien.

———

Texte FR : Joyeux Noel et bonne année à chacun d’entre vous !
J’espère que vous passerez tous de très bon moments en famille, avec vos amis, et camarades de peinture !

J’ai pas mal de boulot en ce moment, mais j’ai aussi beaucoup d’ajouts à faire sur le site, les BOS du mois de novembre et décembre, celui de l’année 2014, des nouvelles figurines peintes (eh eh… et oui !), des articles, et bien sûr : DES TUTOS !!!
Mais pour le moment… il est encore temps de profiter de la famille et des amis !

Encore une fois, je vous souhaite un joyeux noël et une très bonne année 2015 à venir !

Julien.

Merry Xmas and a HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!