Competing in the Everchosen

So this Everchosen thing...

I don't know if I've mentioned it on the blog proper but I entered the Everchosen Global Painting competition back near the end of July, pretty much just because my housemate was entering and I myself didn't have anything particular to do that day.  I didn't vote for myself (because I didn't think my model was the best painted out of the entries) and I honestly thought this pretty neat Sloppity Bile

The Sloppity Bile Piper what I thought should have won.

Piper would win the store-level competition.

The Sloppity Bile Piper didn't win, but I did and I was shocked enough that my hands were shaking.  I admit to feeling like some kind of fraud or imposter because I honestly believed I should not have won.  Because my entry is not the most impressive in terms of painting techniques.

The feeling of being a fraud is likely because the last three painting competitions I entered were run by my local (non-Games Workshop) game store and only entrants who completed a model could vote.  Which means that people who are actual painters and familiar with the various techniques used are the ones doing the judging.  So for the most part you have your fellow competitors judging you on how well you executed a technique, which is how I myself think when voting in painting competitions.  Let me tell you, Columbus GA is home to some talented painters who deserve those wins with their impressive technical ability.  But my perspective ended up skewed since I placed 3rd in the first one and did not even break top five in the next two.  I was pretty used to not winning because there were people who are genuinely better at painting than I am who were competing alongside me.  I was very shocked by winning the store-level Everchosen competition as a consequence.  My housemate was pretty confident I'd win though.

All about that base.

The Everchosen competition had a pretty strict rule about base size; 60mm at the widest (which sadly excluded my Astreia Solbright model as it is 90mm at its widest).  The same gentleman who painted the Sloppity Bile Piper also entered a wicked cool Mortarian model into the Open category and it won that category.  I know I voted for it because the painting techniques and the base were quite impressive.  I'm fairly certain that if Mortarian had not exceeded the base size restriction, he would have won the Everchosen category pretty handily.  After all, Mortarian is a big and impressive model even when unpainted; the gentleman who entered this one made the model even better.

I wish I had a better photo of the Youngblood winner.

The Youngblood category (meaning entrants are 16 years old or younger) had just two entrants.  The young lady who entered a Stormcast Sequitor won that category, and I think it was because it was actually painted better than the (admittedly impressive) Imperial Knight.  I also voted for this one, largely because the painter had taken the time to give the model depth by adding shading.  While I admit the Imperial Knight is a cool model and that it takes a lot of work to get one done, I just felt like the Sequitor demonstrated better painting techniques.

Anyway, I saw some of the other store-level winners that will end up on the Everchosen site come August 17th and really I don't have much of a chance breaking the top 100.  There's seriously impressive stuff that was entered.  My model was painted to my personal tabletop standard, not any sort of serious competition level.  So in all honesty, I will probably faint if I'm somehow invited to the UK for the Everchosen award presentation (which would mean I'm among the top 3).  I'm not being pessimistic about my own skill, just admitting that there are far more skilled painters than me who've entered across the globe.

Something resembling my competition painting style.