Malhavoc Press

A Talk With Arcana Unearthed Sculptor John Winter

By Sue Weinlein Cook

When we asked John Winter, sculptor of the first figures in Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed miniatures line, to tell us a little about himself, this was his reply:

Name: John Winter
Age: Geezer
Eyes: Yes
Hair: Some
Cybernetic implants: "Classified"
Favorite sculptors: Brian Nelson and the Perry twins.
Favorite artists: J. A. M. Whistler and Mark Zug.
Personality: Mostly dull with moments of unnerving intensity.
Opinions: You betcha!
Most used sculpting tools: Mojo and Voodoo.
Art training: Studied art at L.A. Pierce College, but predominantly self-taught.
Languages: Gibberish (but is nearly fluent in his native tongue).

Fans know John's work from the miniatures he's produced for companies like Ral Partha, FASA, WizKids, Privateer Press, Iron Wind Metals, Agents of Gaming, and Wizards of the Coast. A professional sculptor since 1995, John won the 1999 Origins Award for Best Vehicle Miniature for the Babylon 5 space station from Agents of Gaming.

Lately, however, John has turned his attention from 'mechs and starships to wizards and warriors. "During the last couple of years it's been mostly fantasy work," he said. "Before that it was mostly machines and vehicles."

The shift to fantasy has been a pleasant change, he admitted. "It's a great relief to get to sculpt organic things as opposed to the strictly mechanical. That's the main difference. Both [genres] appeal to me in that they are full of exotic creatures and settings."

And for the last few weeks, John's focus has been the people of the Diamond Throne lands. "I'm just getting into the first figs," he said, including a litorian, giant, faen, sibeccai, and the special limited-edition Malhavoc the Magister, available only at the Gen Con game fair.

Of the group, so far he's happiest with the Malhavoc figure. "I like the results I'm getting in the drapery folds of his robes," he said. As an admirer of Mark Zug's artwork, it was also a treat to sculpt that figure from Mark's Malhavoc character study, used for his Arcana Unearthed cover painting. "Better than that," John said, "I'd like to own some of his original paintings!"

As he gets deeper into the Arcana Unearthed world, John said he enjoys the realism in the various races of humanoids-at least, as much realism as you can get in a high-fantasy setting. For instance, he pointed out, "The giants aren't too big or primitive. They stay within the limits of a more plausible reality. An eight- to nine-foot-tall person is not impossible and would be very intimidating in the flesh."

And he's pleased with the assortment of figures selected for the initial Arcana Unearthed releases. "I'd say human-type figures appeal to me more than monsters or even machines," he said. "But each thing has its own set of challenges."

For this new line of miniatures, John is sculpting based on the sketches of artists Sam Wood and Mark Zug, whose black-and-white and color work appears in the first Arcana Unearthed books. "The process of sculpting with epoxy requires a bit of preplanning. Having a sketch allows me to keep in mind where the sculpt is going and what I have to make allowances for," he explained. "Sketches also give me a much clearer understanding of what a client wants. It's far easier to change a sketch than to change a sculpt."

Once he has the sketch in hand, how long does it take to do an initial sculpt? "Um, I'm kind of afraid to think about it," he admitted. "Some things end up taking far longer to sculpt than others. If I kept track and found out that I only made about $1.50 an hour, I might upset myself."

But seriously, he continued, "I've done sculpts that took under two hours, and I've done sculpts that have taken over one hundred hours. An average human-type fig will take anywhere from ten to forty hours."

A veteran roleplayer, John knows what fans want in their fantasy figures. "Qualities that I like in miniatures are naturalism, character, and presence," he said. "If I capture these qualities in a sculpt, then I'm satisfied. By extension, I think that what any kind of artist/creative person responds to in their own work is what the audience will also respond to."

One thing's for sure, we're all eager to respond to the unveiling of the first Arcana Unearthed figures from Iron Wind Metals. Check back with us next month for some preview pictures of John's ongoing sculpts!