Artist Spotlight: Fausto Palumbo

 

It’s no secret that here at Frontier Wargaming we love miniature painting. Every day we find amazing artists who bring something special to the hobby and inspire us to keep on painting. Today we would like to introduce you to Fausto Palumbo also known as Abyssoul. An amazing artist who brought his unique dark fantasy take to a whole range of models. He’s will be judging our currently running MPC #004 painting contest.

About The Art

You don’t have to search far to see one of Faustos amazing works. If you visit abyssoul.com you will see box art painted by him. Fausto spends hours painting his models until he achieves something that meets his standards. That is the first thing that stands out about his work. Everything looks crisp and defined. The Non-Metallic Metal (NMM) looks like it came straight from a painting. But NMM is just the first thing that stands out. Whenever he tackles skin, be it a bust of fishermen or an eldritch sea horror, the results are always striking. With well-defined light and shadow and subtle color transitions that help bring his works to life.

Some of you might already know that Abyssoul painted a Manowar-inspired model for our painting challenge. An artist’s works can tell you a lot about the man behind the brush. However, It doesn’t answer all the questions. This is why we took some time to get to know him better with a small Interview

The Interview

– How would you describe what you do for people who might not know about you?
– I am Fausto “AbyssoulFP” Palumbo and I paint miniatures for way too many years!
In the daytime, I am a pastry chef, but at night I transform myself into a miniature painter and miniature producer. What’s better than working with your passion? Doing two works with your passion!
I won some prizes across the world over the years, but what really makes me proud of is my own miniature line. Taking care of every aspect and creating original stuff is what makes my heartbeat.

– What do you consider the beginning of your miniature painting/hobby journey? (painting and sculpting)
 – I am not a sculptor (well, I do some artistic stuff with chocolate but it’s a completely different kind of work) and I started painting and collecting miniatures when I was 13, because of The Lord of the Rings by Games Workshops.
I remember with pure joy painting my first miniatures with car paints (my uncle has coachwork) because I did not have enough money to buy the paints

– As I understand you’re doing box art for Abyssoul. Can you tell us a little bit more about it? What is Abyssoul?
 – I am not the box art painter for Abyssoul…I am Abyssoul!
After several years of wandering in this nerdy world (scale models, board games, and role-playing games), I decided to cross the bridge and give a different and original vision to what I love.
The first years of this complex project were dedicated to studying and developing rich know-how and structuring the different steps of the production process… and now I am finally ready to leave a mark in this world!
I decided to create a miniature line with an identity. Everything in Abyssoul has a strong recognizable mark, from the packaging to the miniature. Everything needs to be perfect and done at my best!
Once I 3d printed a single shield 10 times until it was 100% perfect

– How long does it take to create a model from concept art to the finished product?
– It really depends. Actually, I have a lot of stuff ready to be uploaded on the online store, but to give an idea, usually, it can take at least 6 months because you have to match all the different processes (drawing, sculpting, printing, casting, painting, distribution) and you need to keep in mind the waiting queue for each step and work in advance for it.

– Looking at Abyssoul catalog I notice a lot of fantasy sculpts. Where do you get ideas/inspiration for them?
– My main inspirations are video games, roleplay games, and historical stuff. I watch a lot of documentaries and play quite a good amount of RPGs and video games.

– Do you remember the first model you ever painted? What was it? Do you still have it?
 – It was Frodo Baggins, done with the car paints I wrote about before. yes, still have it, maybe there is a pic of him somewhere on the internet!

– Do you have a project that you particularly loved or hated working on? What was it?
– Well…the most honest reply I can tell you is Abyssoul. It is something really time-consuming, but Always really makes me proud of it.

– There are many ways to paint a model. Do you have a particular way you like to paint? (for example favorite techniques, approaches, tools)
– No! But Actually, I am discovering (Thanks to my bro/teacher Fabrizio Russo) the incredible world of oil painting. It’s an amazing journey and I am just at the starting point!

– When painting models for box art, do you paint them differently, or do you paint all of your models with the same approach?
– No, usually When I do box art I tend to do a clean paintwork, something that will enhance the sculpt work. I prefer to do work capable of raising the miniature than to do my own interpretation because maybe it will catch more attention than the miniature itself.
Maybe it’s wrong, maybe it’s right, but I like it in this way

– There’s one question that is unavoidable in our hobby. Did you ever mistake your paint cup for your drinking cup?
– No! But I fell asleep while painting (well, at 3 am it would be quite understandable  )

– While we’re on the topic. What would be your drink of choice while painting?
– Whisky, no doubt

– Last question, What would be your pieces of advice for miniature painters?
– Be curious and try to develop your own style.
Help the community and the community will help you.
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