I'd have to google to find the names, but the early Eavy Metal painters did it for me. Seemed a time where the geekiness of the hobby was taking the erratic steps of a toddler learning to walk. Evolving from the historicals ranges, where bearded men in Real Ale and prog' rock t-shirts painted with oil paints and argued over the colour of the epaulettes of a napoleonic brigade.
Those early painters, playing with the water based paints, pushing what they could do. Adding stages between the suggested Base/Shade/Highlight. Making smooth transitions. The more arty knowing colours and using them evocatively. The Eavy Metal sections were aspirational content to learners. Not just tidy 3d illustrations, but often more arty creations.
The 90's "red period" with a focus on cleanliness and brightness was rather pushed on me (working for GW at the time). Taken a good while to return to less cartoony painting.
Since then, the folks that have pushed forward with lateral highlights and painterly effects like OSL have been inspiring. I'm left cold my NMM personally, favouring similar dramatic gradients but applied to the tones and amount of metallic sheen in TMM. Am similarly uninspired by airbrush work as more than a tool, a means to an end to block out colours, it's use as a blending tool actually makes me squirm a little but as a labour saving device it works a treat.
Well it's a brave thing you do, one man's meat etc....
Classic example is that I have never rated John Blanche's mini painting. The examples I've seen both in print and behind glass looked "scrappy" and half-hearted. Plus I'm not always appreciative of his work in 2D.
BUT I understand that I may well be alone in that view, so Hey Ho.
Newp, not alone. As an artist his style is open to that matter of taste thing. As an illustrator, less so. He sucks. Where the image is supposed to illustrate what something looks like, apparently everything looks like the same mess of feathers, high heels and ripped fishnets regardless of time and culture, all rendered in the same pee yellow, poo brown, blood red, and scratched black and white. He made Eldar look ugly, like punks. As a mini painter his work was more limited to the red and black choices.
Repetition and limited ability can be nice if you like what they're putting out. Status Quo's single song released under different names were alright, Oasis not so much if you didn't like that whiny monotone of a vocal. Blanche's painting would be fine if you liked that single song he kept painting.
