Our judges had their work cut out for them scoring the amazing finalists in our 2017 Tabletop Gaming Painting Competition and needed a little extra time to complete their critiques.

But now it's time to see who our well deserved winners are, as well as to check out the runner ups…

The Judging Criteria

Our judging team used the criteria from the Crystal Brush painting competition run by CMON at Adepticon each year.

1) Technical Quality (Out of 10)

This includes all the skills used in constructing, painting, basing, and finishing the entry. An entry should exhibit the best technical work of which the entrant is capable.

• Preparation and construction. Visible mold lines, untrimmed flash, excess glue, grainy primer, and unfilled gaps detract from a model. Conversions and added details should blend convincingly with the original piece. There should be no wobbly parts or loose bits that fall off the entry with normal handling.
• Painting. A model can be painted many ways (from smooth blends to textured brushwork, from bright clean colors to monochrome, from realistic metallics to stylized NMM), but the painting should be competently and consistently executed within the chosen style(s). An entry that catches the eye at a distance should also look good on close examination. All individual figures in a unit should be painted to the same level as the leader.
• Presentation. Groundwork and scenic elements should be given the same attention to detail as the main figure. A well painted model should not be standing on poorly finished terrain. All areas of an entry that are meant to be seen should receive consideration and treatment.

2) Artistic Quality (Out of 10)

This includes all the aesthetic and creative decisions made in creating the work. An entry should demonstrate that the entrant has thought seriously about how best to model it.

• Painting. For example, does the color palette complement the subject of the entry? Do the style of painting and brushwork enhance the form and texture of the model’s surfaces? Does the entry use contrasts of color and value for emphasis?
• Composition and design. For example, does the entry have a focal point? Does it make use of color and form to draw the eye there? Does the posing of the model give it movement and life? Are colors and shapes repeated in a way that creates a sense of unity throughout the work?
• Presentation. For example, if the entry is a unit, do color, basing, pose, and details give it a cohesive feel? Do the groundwork and scenic elements help ‘frame’ a model and give it context, rather than just filling space? Are these elements modeled and painted in a style that is harmonious with the main figure(s)? Does a model intended to be viewed in the round have visual interest from all angles?
• General effect. This is hard to quantify. However, a good model has a certain ‘feel.’ Busts have expressive character and a look of life in their eyes. Weathered models look convincingly dirty or aged. Fire and light effects seem to really glow. Viewers feel an emotional response to the entry.

Single Figure Winner: Mai Zhou

Mai Zhou's Skaven Warlord was the clear judges' favourite on technical quality and also scored very highly on artisitic quality to take first place in the Single Figure category and also scored the highest overall across both competitions.

The dull non-metallic metal work on the armour contrasted brilliantly with the brighter steel of the sword and the gold focal points. The blending of the skin tones is fantastic and overall it is a very crisp and well composed miniature. Fantastic work Mai and a well deserved win!

Single Figure Runners Up: Claire van der Goes & Glen Burfield

Second equal went to a pair of Tzeentch Gaunt Summoners, Claire van der Goes on the left and Glen Burfield's on the right. Of the Games Workshop releases from the past year this particular miniature has been a favourite of high level painters around the world, as it rewards good technique and artistic ambition.

Both Claire's and Glen's entries feature fantastic bases, excellent colour composition and strong technical quality. Claire's entry had the slight artistic edge with the effect of the stones circling up from the ground and the free hand on the cloak, while Glen's smooth blending, cool colour tones and impressive bone effects gave him the slight technical edge.

Single Cavalry Figure/Monster/Ve­hicle Winner: Bill Hicks

Bill Hick's Onager Dunecrawler is the well deserved winner of the large model category. While there are a couple of small technical issues with the assembly, the modulation of the primary blue colour is flawless, the weathering is extremely well done without detracting from the finish and the basing ties the whole model together.

Runners Up: Chris Thomas & Benjamin Werkmeister

Chris Thomas' troll edged out Benjamin's Avatar by a single point to take second place. The skin tones and transitions on Chris' entry were very well done, as were the grime scales and hair. The base was nicely finished, but we did feel that it could have done with some more vegetation and some swamp water effects would really have tied the whole piece together.

Benjamin's Avatar had some well executed non-metallic metals, striking glow effects in the torso and a good overall clean finish and balance to the piece. You can almost feel the heat coming off it! The judges felt the base didn't quite complement the rest of the miniature, which was what allowed Chris to slip just ahead, but a great effort nevertheless.

And the participation prize goes to…

Thomas Carrett, who's lucky entry was his very nicely presented Skaven Screaming Bell, well done Thomas.

We will be contacting all our winners on Monday to arrange sending out your prizes.

Congratulations again to all our finalists and our podium winners. The quality levels of all the finalists were fantastic and there were many entries just 1 or 2 points away from the top spots, so well done everybody.

And thanks to everyone who took part in this competition, making it the biggest painting competition which we've run to date.