Custom Mini Model Horses

Need support and inspiration for your next customizing project? Join the  International Customizing Equine Event (ICEE) Facebook Group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/133596534164710 ) and challenge yourself this fall. Diana MacDonald, one of the administrators, shared that "The sign up will be your Artist Declaration (in the Facebook Album on the ICCE page) - description and photo/sketch, etc. You will then have 60 days to complete your project equine - don't forget to ask questions, give us updates with photos, etc. Share tips, tricks and ideas. Then once compete, where you feel there are no more major changes to make, then you upload your completion photos (in the appropriate album here). Your prize is your completed equine. No entry fees. No entry forms. But you can still hashtag what team you are on - country, state/province, name, type of project, etc."   It couldn't be easier!     My project is going to be a new hairdo for the Stock Horse Mare by Maggi...

       Everyone loves a beautiful model at a price that fits our pocketbook. It's quite common for a potential customer to ask the artist if they will take a lower price, or pay for postage, or both.      Let's do a little math to see if a hypothetical artist should take an offer that is lower than her asking price of $100 postage paid. To simplify the math, let's say the model is a repainted Breyer Stablemate (in bay) without any customizing. We'll look at the costs of the model, supplies, the time it takes to create the art, and the costs of doing business online as an individual not running a business. I'll use Michigan's 6% sales tax, 4.25 state income tax, and 12% federal income tax. Stablemate:                    $3.99 plus .24 tax = $4.23 Cost of the Stablemate (let's assume they didn't have to pay shipping) Prepping supplies: Files (Harbor Freight):     $6.99 + .42 ...

National Retro Vintage Month is a customizing challenge for artists working in a vintage style. For the month of August you can join Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig and others on Facebook as you work on your project. For me, this is a great time to break out a G1 Stablemate! I think I’ll work on a Maureen Love Standing Thoroughbred foal. Such a cutie! So to participate in NaReViMo, just follow these parameters: ~ Customize any model in the vintage custom style. ~ Use any methods and media, old or new. ~ Don’t copy any vintages or other people’s work. However, if you created a vintage custom in the past that you’d like to attempt again or it’s been destroyed and you’d like to recreate it, go for it. ~ You can just do a repaint, a repaint/hair, or a full blown repaint/remade/hair, it’s your choice. Sculpted manes and tails or original manes and tails are okay. ~ All participating models must be signed and dated for posterity. ~ All models must be created only within August as defined as August ...

I have been painting models since I was a teenager. I started with hand painting in acrylics and sometimes oils, but found my stride in college where I took an airbrushing class and made use of the airbrushing studio at school.  After college I moved to San Diego—a place with perfect weather if you want to airbrush outside most days of the year. Then I went back to school and the airbrushing studio for a second degree and many more custom minis. My move to Boise worked out well for my airbrushing in my garage much of the year, but the cold months weren’t so great. It was during this time that I became interested in pastels and packed my airbrush away. So long story short... I just got out my Badger airbrush after a ten year hiatus and a move to Michigan. And it still works! I, however, am a bit rusty and only managed to paint some base coats (and spill paint all over the garage floor.) Here’s a little pony I’ve been working on: Over the base coat, I’ve added a little Pan Pastel Gra...

NaMoPaiMo (National Model Painting Month) is here again! This challenge brings hobbyists together to paint models. The Facebook group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/234123470349077 ) is supportive and positive with lots of questions and answers about mediums, colors, and process. My project is going to be a Missouri Fox Trotter Stablemate (my first custom on this mold). I'm going to paint him buckskin tobiano. I was inspired by a horse I saw online. Sarah Brabbin shared her lovely photography on her website: https://sarahbrabbin.smugmug.com/MOVE-ME-FOLDER/Colours-folder/Dun-tabiano/ Good luck with your projects! I'll be rooting for you here in chilly Michigan (where the weather often gets in the way of my NaMoPaiMo process).  February is always challenging when it comes to weather: Primer on our first "warm" day in February A little bit on color on my gelding. Base color done in pastels White markings sketched in with Guesso... a little bit of an experiment. Using ...

My latest project is a Darley custom in fleabitten gray with a bloody shoulder. This mold is a pleasure to resculpt and paint—so many delicious details to highlight! My custom has a few changes to the legs, neck, face, mane and tail, but all are small in scope.  Aven Optiview 5D LED desk lamp My latest studio addition is a magnifying lamp because I am not as young as I was when I started customizing and neither are my eyeballs. I’ve used prescription glasses, reading glasses, head lamps, and my natural vision to work on models, but I thought I’d add another tool to my chest. I chose an Aven Optiview 5D LED desk lamp. It has a 4 inch lens which works well with minis. I like the enlarged view of the horses (about 225%) and feel that I have enough room to work underneath the lamp. Breyer Stablemate under my 5D magnifying lamp I’m painting the Darley custom fleabitten gray and the lamp is the perfect tool for the project. Flea bites are small on a real horse, and even more tiny on a mi...

I thought I'd share a bit of my process. I'm working in Pan Pastels. The model in question is a simple custom Morgan Stallion from the new standing Stablemate Warmblood mold. He has had some work done on his barrel and hindquarters. His mane and tail have been changed as well.  I prepped him with Rustoleum 2X primer in white and taped off some white markings with blue painters tape. Feel free to follow along and paint your own golden bay or liver chestnut.  A Pan Pastel Project Art Supplies Shopping list: A model with sanded seams and logo removed 400 Grit Sandpaper Masking or painters tape (optional) Rustolem 2X Primer Pan Pastels: 280.3 Orange Shade, 820.2 Neutral Grey Extra Dark (or other neutral grey), Layer 3: 740.3 Burnt Sienna Shade, 740.1 Burnt Sienna Extra Dark, 800.5 Black. Pan Pastel optional colors for shading mane, tail, and white markings: Optional fleshy pink pastel or paint for a pink nose or shading white markings. Krylon Matte, Testor's Dullcote, or other ...