CryinMo's Tabletop Alchemy

This week I interview the awesome Kelsey Dionne of the Arcane Library. The Arcane Library is a publisher for best-selling Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition third-party content and printable card-based gaming aids. Kelsey is the writer of the Arcane Library’s D&D 5e adventures and it’s her writing chops and layout skills as pertaining specifically to D&D adventure modules that made me really want to chat with her about Dungeons and Dragons and her writing process. One of the things that impresses me about her adventures are the way they are graphically laid out and I would recommend downloading at least the free adventure from the website (Temple of the Basilisk Cult) so you can see what I see while we chat. During the interview we talk about her writing of course but we also talk about Dungeons and Dragons the game in general, how she runs it herself and my favorite section is probably when we discuss “why D&D” … air quotes … and a few topics relating to that like dungeon master advice and some D&D tips for low level players.

Bookmarks00:00:00 – Opening (News & Sundries)00:15:23 – Interview 01:15:19 – Hobby Progress01:19:44 – Section Charlie

In Section Charlie, where I highlight something or someone cool I’ve come across on the internet, I share an Instagram account soulbounddice, where artist Velouria creates custom hand-crafted polyhedral dice for tabletop games and collectors! https://www.instagram.com/soulbounddice/

SHOW NOTES

Mandolin Garth Nix Roald Dahl story collection “Skin” Blood And Snow Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana Encounter Building article Xanathar’s Guide To Everything Sly FlourishLightbox ExpoRachael Dunk Ahmed Aldoori YouTube ChannelAhmed Aldoori 3D Tracer Illustration (YouTube video)

Watch the YouTube version of the podcast which contains time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

Show Transcript (excluding interview content)

What can I do different this episode? I mean as far as the intro goes. What? We’re live? Seriously? No one tells me anything … 

Hello, and welcome to CryinMo’s Tabletop Alchemy. This is episode 18 and I am CryinMo.

All right so how are you guys doing this week? I hope everyone is safe and sound, I hope everyone is emotionally stable, and to be perfectly honest, I actually hope everyone is “hope-ful”. Well, maybe, you know, at least half full of hope. 

I had a text chat with a friend of mine this week who has been going through some pretty heavy stuff and she’s realized that she has to let some things go and life is going to be what it’s going to be. Almost through sheer exhaustion life is forcing her to understand that you can’t save everyone and that some people are never going to change, no matter how hard you try to help them. Change, that is. Why am I talking about this? To be honest, I’m not entirely sure.

This week’s episode is a pretty interesting conversation that did not go at all like I thought it was going to. The conversation I have with miniature painter and music producer MalevDaShinobi flows, kinda like music, from one topic to another and back and intertwines different threads and all in all I was totally surprised at the sort of depth we explored on topics that I thought were going to be fairly technical but ended up being more philosophical than anything else, all driven by Malev himself. Some broad highlights from our conversation are: discussing his music and how poetry and music and miniature painting all kind of flow together while trying to produce an emotional response in people; we talk about freelancing and making a living as a commission painter and how that feels relative to working a “9 to 5” type of gig and we talk about the psychological impact of viewing insanely good top-tier miniature painting works of art at contests like the Crystal Brush. All of that in addition to chatting about his paint style and his twitch streaming and tabletop gaming.

Bookmarks00:00:00 – Opening (News & Sundries)00:04:26 – Interview 01:17:30 – Hobby Progress01:20:23 – Section Charlie

In Section Charlie, where I highlight something or someone cool I’ve come across on the internet, I share the youtube channel The Crafsman SteadyCraftin. That’s right, no letter T in his YouTube name. This channel is great for kids as well as adults. This guy – and I don’t know who he is (you’ll understand that comment if you check him out) – he’s in the Bob Ross vein for me. He does crafts with casting resin and stop motion and other just strange little weird toys and things but the real draw for me – you guys’ve heard of ASMR? Like the legit ASMR, not the whole I’m-a-cute-girl-with-a-tight-shirt-rubbing-my-microhpone-with-a-feather-duster thing, like legit ASMR where someone with a particular voice or very particular quiet sounds can sort of calm your psyche? Well, if you haven’t, you can read up on that stuff. The Crafsman is like ASMR for my soul. I find some of his crafting techniques pretty informative but the whole reason to check out the Crafsman, for me anyway, is for THE CRAFSMAN himself. The more you watch of his stuff tho the more you’ll realize how genius the guy is.

SHOW NOTES

MalevMinis on InstagramMalevMinis on FacebookMalevDaShinobi on Facebook (music)

TheCrafsman on YouTube Some of my favorite videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgUXYpeC1tU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKRTrsV4yXY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOObM28s4vc

Saul Williams RelicBlade Sean Sutter on Instagrampaletton.comVinyl Digital on Facebook

Connect with me on Instagram, discover more content on Patreon and watch the YouTube versions of the podcast episodes which contain time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

Watch the YouTube version of the podcast which contains time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

This week I’ve gone all the way down under to chat with a gentleman about a table. Not just any table and not just any gentleman. He goes by BenSquig on Instagram and his gaming group is rad_heim – also on Instagram. And rad_heim is how I first discovered these guys and their crazy gaming table which when I encountered it was all about pirates and tropical island plateaus with jagged cliffs, half-submerged buildings, rope bridges everywhere and gibbets, tons of gibbets. Oh and skulls! A skull for every boy and girl I think. I mean, there’s a lot of skulls on this board. The pirate theme really caught my eye and the vast scale of what these guys do was just so inspiring! But once I started talking with Ben it became apparent pretty quickly that there was a lot more to their gaming and terrain and warbands than I initially thought – and even to the spokesman himself! Turns out he worked on White Dwarf for a while, the hobby magazine produced by Games Workshop! There’s lots of surprises in this one!

Bookmarks00:00:00 – Opening (News & Sundries)00:06:18 – Interview 01:02:28 – Hobby Progress01:06:13 – Section Charlie

In Section Charlie, where I highlight something or someone cool I’ve come across on the internet I shout out an Instagram account not necessarily directly inline with our tabletop stuff. It is directly associated with another interest of mine and maybe yours – it’s an instagram account belonging to a German college student who is bizarrely good at Lego creations! Seriously, just to feel good, grab a breath of fresh air and get out from under all the finely sculpted and cast plastic and resin and metal miniatures and other gaming stuff, head over to Instagram and check out the account jonaskramm. This guy designs all kinds of things in Lego, he recently designed a purchasable custom set for Bricklink.com – it’s an old west saloon and it’s wonderful – and he’s currently doing some kind of series of small vignettes all centered around Jurassic Park. He did some downright amazing MOCs inspired by Game Of Thrones and – you just have to go see his work, just go. It’s awesome. One of the things I really like about his stuff is that most of his MOCs are not too big and many of them are exquisitely small. His creativity makes me want to dig out the Lego we’ve got stashed all around the apartment in containers shoved under tables and desks and couches … https://www.instagram.com/jonaskramm/

SHOW NOTES

Rad_heim on InstagramBenSquig on InstagramRad_heim on YouTube

Victoria MiniaturesVictoria Lamb on Instagram

Connect with me on Instagram, discover more content on Patreon and watch the YouTube versions of the podcast episodes which contain time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

Watch the YouTube version of the podcast which contains time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

Show Transcript (not including actual interview)

Welcome to CryinMo’s Tabletop Alchemy! This is episode 16 and today I want to remind everyone that the color Magenta does not exist! Ponder that and consider what it means for our perspectives and philosophy on life and living! 

In this episode, I have a very special guest, he’s an artist of extraordinary talent. I met him briefly at San Diego Comic Con a few years ago where he had a pile of his sketch books at his table and I was able to just sort of stand there and flip through actual cracked and worn leather bound volumes of his work, some of it casual, some of it inked, some of it finished, all of it mind-blowingly cool. We have a great conversation about art and about his working habits, how he learned, what he does professionally and even some general stuff about loving the fantasy genre.

Bookmarks00:00:00 – Opening (News & Sundries)00:05:50 – Interview 01:16:39 – Hobby Progress01:20:34 – Section Charlie

In Section Charlie, where I highlight something or someone cool I’ve come across on the internet I was going to highlight a Facebook group – but I literally watched a YouTube video that I am going to shoutout because it was highly informative. To me anyway. And surprising! Now, fair warning, this 10 minute video about color, specifically about primary colors and how everything we’re taught in grade school is a lie, does have a certain amount of f-bombs, which is unfortunate only because I’d love for my nieces and nephews to be able to watch this but my sisters are most definitely NOT going to let them watch it. The YouTuber’s name is Echo Gillette and the name of the video is This is not BLUE (a lesson in color theory). Now, a lot of you out there probably know all the stuff she talks about in the video but I’ll bet there’s a few of you that have no idea. Like, say, how magenta is a color that actually does not exist. And how old style TV screens (the ones built with Red Green and Blue pixels) create Yellow with only Red and Green pixels. I just found the video highly informative, illustrative and engaging to watch. I suddenly have a whole new set of information with which to approach painting and I need all the help I can get! She talks about how the triadic color wheel is a social construct versus the real pigment color wheel of cyan magenta and yellow. Check it out here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVhA18_dmg0

SHOW NOTES

Daniel Landerman on InstagramDaniel Landerman on YouTubeDaniel Landerman on Twitch.tvDanieLanderman.comDanielDraws.art

Daniel’s inspirational artists:Mark GibbonsFrank FrazettaClaire WendlingIain MccaigAlfons MuchaJeffery Catherine JonesYoshitaka Amano

Some Art by Daniel Landerman

Connect with me on Instagram, discover more content on Patreon and watch the YouTube versions of the podcast episodes which contain time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

In this episode, I am super stoked to bring you a wonderful interview with a wonderful tabletop artist, this gentleman has perfect Rally English, he dreams in grim darkness and he hails from IronSleet … dot com. Also, he hails from Finland. Kari is his first name, I shall not butcher his last name out of respect for the man and his family. He’s a brutal force of a miniature painter, he’s crazy when it comes to building one-of-a-kind, totally immersive, nightmarish terrain and he’s a self-professed flagellant scourging himself at the alter of Nottingham – he’s a true Warhammer fan boy and we both mean that in the best of all possible ways!

Bookmarks00:00:00 – Opening (News & Sundries)00:04:29 – Interview 01:03:16 – Hobby Progress01:06:17 – Section Charlie

In Section Charlie, where I highlight something or someone cool I’ve come across on the internet I shout out YouTuber and Instagramer Platypus Scotsman. On Instagram that’s @platypusscotsman and on YouTube that’s Platypus Scotsman. I came across this gentleman in one of the facebook groups I shadow, I think Tabletop Crafters Guild, but he’d built this crazy Angor-wat inspired wall section with great big tree roots snaking all over it and I found his scatter terrain tutorials on YouTube. The tutorials are great and very clear to watch and his work is really well done! I love the way he achieves really natural looking nature – natural-looking nature? yeah I said that – and I meant it! One of the coolest videos is on making a frozen pond with wax! Very cool. But then I went to see if he was on instagram and boy, is he ever! He’s got some awesome miniatures on there, his paint work is excellent, he’s got a ton more terrain and stuff as well, so … go check him out!

SHOW NOTES

Kari on Instagram @KolttiIronsleet.comSpiky Rat Pack BlogIan MillerJohn Blanche

Connect with me on Instagram, discover more content on Patreon and watch the YouTube versions of the podcast episodes which contain time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

Watch the YouTube version of the podcast which contains time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

In this episode I interview my very good friend John Hoffman, the guy I went into the Hollywood special effects industry with and who still to this day manages to work in film and television as a model maker. He’s worked on films from James Cameron’s Titanic to the stop-motion Kubo and has even worked for Disney Imagineering! In this podcast episode he talks about various models he worked on in the last 20 years as well as his original Star Wars lightsaber prop and even some tips on how one might get into the commercial craftsmanship trade today.

Bookmarks00:00:00 – Opening (News & Sundries)00:03:02 – Interview 00:56:46 – Hobby Progress0:59:49 – Section Charlie

In Section Charlie, where I highlight something or someone cool I’ve come across on the internet I shout out the YouTube channel Plasmo – plastic modeler. This gentleman from Czechia is a master craftsman, model builder and painter, from WWII dioramas to fighter planes to even some sci-fi kits. His videos are meticulously shot and edited very cleanly, they are calming and just a joy to watch. You can learn plenty of tips and tricks, check him out at https://www.youtube.com/user/idaemon

SHOW NOTES

John Hoffman on Instagram: @talkaboutstarwars

Connect with me on Instagram, discover more content on Patreon and watch the YouTube versions of the podcast episodes which contain time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

Watch the YouTube version of the podcast which contains time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

In this episode I answer a question from one of my patrons – how do you get started in these hobbies when you are starting fresh, have no materials or resources? I offer simple tips for purchasing miniatures, paints, tools and where to get the best deals. Because it can be pretty daunting to try to get into a role playing game or miniatures skirmish game or tabletop wargame when you are literally brand new to the hobby.

In Section Charlie, where I highlight something or someone cool I’ve encountered on the Internet, I shout out the wonderful bonus_action Instagram account. Tim is a game master and homebrewer and illustrator and he creates magic items, traps, creatures and a slew of additional add-ons for Dungeon Masters and their homebrew games! Check him out at https://www.instagram.com/bonus_action.

SHOW NOTES

Bonus_Action on Instagram

Frostgrave D&D 5th edition free rules Warhammer 40k free rules Age of Sigmar free rules (Warhammer Fantasy) Rangers of Shadow DeepReddit Looking For Group subEbay miniature seller for Reaper minis (Pippd) Runehammer WizKids Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures Reaper Miniatures X-acto knife DickBlick.com Princeton Selects Winsor Newton Gold Sceptre II Hobby Lobby Master’s Touch Citadel paint Army Painter starter set Vallejo starter set Scale 75 metallics Army Painter shades P3 paint Badger Stynylrez Liquitex Flow-Aid Testors Dullcote Bloodbowl Shadespire (actually called Underworlds) Kill Team Warcry Moonstone Relicblade Necromunda Malifaux Guild Ball

In this episode I interview Steven Vu a.k.a. Houndstooth Miniature Painting. We have a long conversation about all kinds of cool and interesting things, from favorite movies to favorite painting techniques. We especially learn a lot about the creative business and work of running a high volume commission painting service.

In Section Charlie, where I highlight the P3 Paint Mixing Chart and the way it shows how to mix odd colors together to create shading for base tones and highlights.

SHOW NOTES

HoundstoothMinis linksHoundstoothMinis.com (portfolio site and commission information)InstagramTwitch.tvTwitterFacebook

Snapseed on Google PlaySnapseed on AppleHangar 18 Miniatures

Connect with me on Instagram, discover more content on Patreon and watch the YouTube versions of the podcast episodes which contain time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

Watch the YouTube version of the podcast which contains time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

In this episode I give some un-solicited advice to first-time Dungeon Masters (and Game Masters) to help you get through your first game and make it a success for both you and your players. Being a first-time DM myself, none of my tips are necessarily ones you should listen to, but they might be helpful all the same! I offer six tips to help run games for first-time players, covering topics like what size party you should start with; not sweating the rules; keeping the game moving; keeping description to a minimum; not bothering with player character depth at the beginning; and how you can (and should!) alter your plans for the game on the fly to avoid railroading players.

In Section Charlie, where I highlight someone or something cool I’ve found on the internet, I recommend the YouTube and Twitch streaming miniature painter Jack of Clubs Painting! This guy is awesome with both traditional brushes and airbrushes. His tutorials are specific and followable and his paint work is amazing. Check him out at the links below.

SHOW NOTES

Jack of Clubs Painting on YouTubeJack_of_Clubs_Painting on TwitchRunehammer on YouTubeThe Angry GM

Connect with me on Instagram, discover more content on Patreon and watch the YouTube versions of the podcast episodes which contain time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

Watch the YouTube version of the podcast which contains time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

https://youtu.be/5bkr8SvoBak

In this episode, I conduct my first interview with the awesome miniature painter Darcy Bono who I met on Instagram after coming across her amazing Games Workshop Beastmen! We talk shop for almost an hour, finding out how she got into the hobby, painting and commission work.

In Section Charlie, where I highlight someone or something cool I’ve found on the internet, I recommend the YouTube channel Obscurities In Miniature! These guys are awesome, collecting, opening and building miniatures from many different manufacturers from well-known studios like Games Workshop to really obscure companies like Durgin Paint Forge! This channel is a great way to find out about miniatures you’d probably never come across, from Kickstarters to Kingdom Death!

SHOW NOTES

Darcy Bono on InstagramObscurities In MiniatureWinsor Newton Series 7 Tales of Instahammer Durgin Paint Forge

Connect with me on Instagram, discover more content on Patreon and watch the YouTube versions of the podcast episodes which contain time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!

Watch the YouTube version of the podcast which contains time-lapse footage of working at the paint desk!