Better Know a Blogger: Part 39- De Silentio Umbrae

This week's Better Know a Blogger features Stats from De Silentio Umbrae.

I first became aware of Stats' blog during the awesome Monster March event. He had pledged to paint up his Glotkin model, and I took great joy in following his posts. As you can see from the end result, it was a series that was well worth following.

There is a ton of great posts on De Silentio Umbrae showcasing models for his Nurgle Daemon army. I love the style of his painting for this force, as it really brings out the decay and corrupted nature of the Nurgle Daemons.

Most recently, he has been working on models for a Stormcast Eternals army. Again, I really like the muted look of the colour scheme that he has gone for. Many Stormcast armies are very bright, featuring larger than life models in bright golds and blues. I think that the style that Stats has chosen is a really great contrast to some of those other armies, creating a very effective Stormcast that is quite different to what you normally see.

Not only do you get to check out some great painting on the blog, you will also find a wealth of tutorials, where Stats guides you through how to create the same types of models for your own army. This is a great place to learn about his process and to pick up a few tips along the way. If you haven't come across De Silentio Umbrae yet, be sure to check it out and give him a follow for some great content.

Here are Stats' answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

I started the hobby quite young, when I was thirteen years old or something similar. In my country, GW sold in the newsagents a kind weekly product about WHFB in collaboration with a famous publishing house, and in each number there was some miniatures, rules, background etc. I was shocked and I started with it. After some years, I took a long hiatus on the hobby, and I restarted three or four years ago.

2. What was the first model you ever bought/painted?

I suppose a mono pose plastic Bretonnian Bowman or a mono pose plastic Orc with sword. After that, like a kid, I bought some kits without sense: finally GW pulled out the new Dark Elves (with those pointy Cold One Knights, lovely) and my love for Evil Elves and Evil Eldar started.

3. What is your favourite aspect of gaming?

I’ve a quite weird attitude with the hobby: I do not play, neither collect: simply I paint what I want, and resell it. Only Dark Elves and Dark Eldar remain with me, I really love them despite I cannot find a proper and completely satisfying painting scheme for those. They are my biggest pain and biggest pleasure in the hobby (quite a Dark Eldar thing I suppose!).

4. Fondest memory in gaming?

I think when I drilled my finger with the GW drill: it was in the first part of my hobby life, when I was young. I remember the weird “..tock” (onomatopoeic sound) of the tip on the bone, and a marvellous splash of blood drawing a magnificent arch and blessing my Dark Elves in Khaine’s name (Ouch!- Mike).

5. What are you working on right now? 

I am painting the starter set of AoS, and working in the spare time to my Dark Elves warband based on the Assassins, my favourite characters of them, and also on a small warband of Dark Eldar, but fighting with their painting scheme is quite harsh.

6. When you are not conquering the tabletop, what do you do?

I stay with my beautiful girlfriend, I work with numbers, and play my guitar.

7. What would you say about your blog to someone who has never read it to draw them in? 

If you do not like bright, happy and showy painting schemes, you have to pass to see my work! If you hate dark, gory, dirty painting scheme, come and see if I can make you change your ideas!

8. What is your favourite article that you have written?

I have not one, but I really like to share how I paint my miniatures, trying to spread the verb of messy painting.

9. Which rule would you like to see changed or removed entirely?

I’m not a gamer, so I’d like to turn this question to you players, twisting it a bit: what would you paint if any rules don’t exist? Welcome in my approach to the hobby!

10. Which of your armies is your favourite?

My small warbands, despite they are unripe works: recently I sold a Nurgle army I painted for fun, and I must say I really loved it.

11. Secret wargamer or loud and proud?

Neither one, nor the other. I’m quite a solitary person, I don’t talk about me really often.

12. Any hobby tips or cheats to share? 

Yes! There are not good or bad techniques, but only a good or bad applications: you cannot imagine what you can do with not-thinned paints, ruined brushes, earth, sand, baking soda, seaweed, and so on. If you are curious, now you know where to search for someone that does those awful things.

13. Tournament or Casual?

I’m quite competitive, however I think I could not be a nice player.

14. Nintendo or Sega?

Not a gamer, but Game Boy was amazing.

15. Xbox or Playstation?

Again not a gamer, but I spent some times on Playstation.

16. McDonalds or Burger King? 

I try to avoid those kind of food, also because they left on my stomach a kind of brick. I love pizza, fish and sushi when I go out. Not together, you blasphemer!

17. Coke or Pepsi?

Sencha, Bancha and Kukicha!

Thanks to Stats for taking the time to answer my questions. Be sure to check out De Silentio Umbrae.

If you have a gaming blog and would like to take part in Better Know A Blogger, please get in touch at corrm@gmail.com