With all the D&D minis and terrain that we’re always putting on the table, we’re no strangers to miniature painting ourselves. You might remember Jazion’s old stone painting tutorial, from way back when she was muddling through terrain painting techniques and wanted a quick explanation to share with friends.
One of her first paint purchases was an old box of paints from the Army Painter; the colours were gorgeous but it had separated terribly while stored on shelves in a game store. It was a common problem, according to reviews online, but could be solved by a decent application of elbow grease.
In comparison, their new products have been stellar, with Speedpaints becoming a staple in many a painter’s arsenal, and the Warpaints Fanatic line revamping their core offering to become far more consistent.
We were more than a little curious about the company behind these paints, so off Nick went to have a little chat with them at Origins Game Fair!
Nick Porterfield: Hey everybody! Today, we are in the Army Painter booth with Caleb Wissenback and Kat Jackson. How are you guys doing today?
Kat Jackson: Doing great. How are you, Nick?
Caleb Wissenback: Good, good!
Kat, you previously worked with GW for many years and joined Army Painter about a year ago. What’s that transition been like for you?
Kat: My target audience is always the same on the art side of it, the paint side of it. So that transition was really easy. It’s just a matter of learning what people’s objectives are, where are we going, and what are we doing with the program. When I started with Army Painter, we didn’t have an events program. So it was from the ground up that we arrived at where we are today. As we launched a new product line, the Warpaints Fanatic line, we were also launching our new events program. So the two of them coming up together at Army Painter has been an incredibly exciting experience. It’s two completely new things for our company, and it’s been a blast.
It shows in Army Painter’s YouTube videos and coverage – they’re always so fun, and the reactions are always super positive.
Kat: What you see on videos of us is exactly who everybody is. They’re not pretending to put on anything for videos. That’s exactly who our crew is. They’re fantastic people. Fantastic, creative minds behind everything.
Caleb, when did you start working with Army Painter?
Caleb: I came in about six months ago. I came over from GW. I was doing all of their classes at the US Open and all of their convention stuff. So, transitioning over here, I’m doing a lot of classes with Army Painter, but the nice change is I’m doing a lot of demos like you’re seeing here at this booth. We get to sit down with a TV above us and show that boots-on-the-ground type thing where we get people to interact with the new product, the Fanatic paints, and paint with the speed paints here. I like that one-to-one interaction. It’s been great. And again, the team over here is a lot calmer. It’s more of a family.
A little different cadence if you will?
Caleb: Exactly!
Kat: It’s such a family. From the top down, it’s a family-owned company, and the experience is just that. It’s a family – All of us are. It’s so special.
You’ve both seen the launch of the Warpaints Fanatic line, which has been almost universally well received. Kat, you were around for the launch of Speedpaint 2.0 and while the first Speedpaint line was well-received, it wasn’t without some criticism. How did Army Painter respond internally to that feedback?
Kat: Our audience is asking us to do better for them, and we immediately tackled it. We turned around and gave them exactly what they were asking for. When we developed and put out the new Fanatic line, we answered the same thing. What does everybody want, and how can we give you the best version of that? So that what you’re doing with your projects is the best you can do.
Caleb: That’s literally the approach to everything that we do.
Make it better for everybody.
Kat: Exactly.
The Warpaints Fanatic launch used guerrilla marketing with surprise drops to YouTubers and painters that were extremely effective – Without even a single social media post, Army Painter created such a buzz in the community. What was it like getting to watch that unfold?
Kat: That’s not my department. With events, I can tell you how long we’ve been pushing it through there, but I’m not on the campaign side, so I experienced it like you guys did. I got sent the link to check it out and I saw it in almost real-time, just like everyone else did!
Getting to experience it right along with us is almost an even better answer! As painters, what’s your favorite product in the Fanatic line?
Caleb: I’m just grinning trying to think of my favorite. I’m so happy with the whole Fanatic line. Being a display competition painter, the paint range is so incredibly versatile. If I have one favorite paint, I’d say it’s sage green. It’s a color I haven’t seen before, and it’s found its way into a lot of my painting.
Kat: I like our metallics. Our metallics are so fun, dynamic, and different. It’s exciting to see people sit down and paint with them because they have the same experience I did. It’s always a “whoa, I wasn’t expecting that from a metallic.”
They’re painting like a paint but giving an entire metallic experience. It’s so fun. The other side of it is what we’re doing in events. We are releasing our Fanatics in the Triad system, so they come out with all six colors in a specific color run. It’s brilliant. It’s not so much about the product itself, but how we are getting it to people. Our Triad system is one of my favorite things we do.
Personal shout out to Brent from Goobertown Hobbies for the readable normal color names on the Speedpaint 2.0 and Warpaints Fanatic!
Caleb: Exactly! Haha!
Any hints about what’s coming next?
Kat: I can’t do that! But I can tell you this: keep an eye out. We do get to see what’s in the pipeline, and it’s extremely exciting.
From my personal experience, the way you guys pivoted during COVID and began producing hand sanitizer was such an amazing thing to see, and to see Army Painter always taking feedback in stride, never Army Painter VS The Customer, it makes you guys easy to root for. What would you like to say to your millions of supporters around the world?
Kat: You said exactly the message that’s important for me in my position, representing the company. I’m our voice here. You speak to the company through me. The thing I get to bring here is how much I love the company because they are about the people we serve. We are not selling to the public; we’re serving a community.
That’s a big difference and I think your fans recognize it.
Kat: That’s how we do everything. We serve our community.
Caleb: With the U.S. events team, definitely get out to some of these events. When you come out, stop by the booth, come talk to us, sit down, and try out the paints. Enjoy what we’re doing here because this is a really fun atmosphere. The excitement of being part of everything going on right now is so enjoyable. These events are awesome.
Kat: Caleb and I, for the last 10 years, personally, as artists with CK Studios, have been behind a paywall for most people to sit down and paint with. Whether we were teaching for Games Workshop or ourselves as our studio, it’s behind a paywall. Come play with us in the booth. You get free Caleb, Sam Lenz, and Adam Loper. We’re just two of a big team for the Army Painter events. We have an events Army.
Adam Loper, Sam Lenz, myself, Eric Locke, Phil Hall, Adam Abramowicz, and Thomas Coltau are all on the team. We will all be showing up at events. You might not get all of us, but you will always have at least one of us and me. So, come play with us!
I look forward to seeing you at Gen Con, and thank you so much for your time, guys.
If you’d like to learn more about The Army Painter and maybe check out the nearest stockist to you, toddle over to https://thearmypainter.com/ to take a look!
We can’t say we aren’t really interested in seeing what else they have in the pipeline, but our wallet can only take so much of a beating… it’s a good thing that collecting miniature painting supplies is a different hobby entirely from miniature painting. 😡
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