THE ART OF... Volumes 16-18

Paper Upgrade is Funded! Now on to tutorials and Art Cards!
about 1 month ago – Sun, May 31, 2026 at 12:01:19 PM

Yesterday we passed the paper upgrade Stretch Goal. This is always a big one for me, as the feel of the 150gsm paper is what we've come to know and love in our books. Thank you all for helping us get here!

Our next Stretch Goal is just around the corner – Anastasia's tutorial PDF on how she works with negative spaces and uses black to tell her stories. Once we achieve that goal, we'll be on to unlocking the final set of Art Cards, this set featuring the colorful and heroic art of Steve Garcia! 

We have FIVE days remaining in this campaign, and we're excited to see how much we can add to these books in that time. Please continue to share the campaign with your friends and local painting groups. Every time you share our projects, you are helping immeasurably!

Cheers
Dave and THE ART OF... Team!

BREAKING NEWS! One FREE month of Miniature Art Academy!
about 1 month ago – Fri, May 29, 2026 at 06:10:37 AM

We’ve been talking with the team at the Miniature Art Academy* for a little while now and we’re VERY happy to announce that they have offered up a wonderful collaboration idea.

Every backer of the THE ART OF… Volumes 16-18 campaign who pledges at a level $35 or higher during the campaign period (ends Friday, June 5, 2026) will receive 1 month of free access the the Miniature Art Academy platform! That’s right, FREE access for a month! This wonderful opportunity will save you up to €47 (or approximately US$54)! 

The Term & Conditions are listed below, and you can see that we’ll be sending out the invitations to join this promotion after the payments with Kickstarter have been settled, which we expect to happen by July 1st, 2026. 

So, if you are already pledged at a level of $35 or more, you don’t have to do anything except sit back and wait (or tell your friends about this wonderful additional bonus, that would be helpful). 

Cheers
Dave and the THE ART OF… team and the Miniature Art Academy team!

* For those who haven’t heard of the Miniature Art Academy before, this is a wonderful and creative collaboration between some fantastic artists in Madrid, Spain. Founded by Alfonso Giraldes, the team now boasts half a dozen of the world’s most renowned miniatures painters and sculptors, including people like Borjammer and Victor Aguliar!

Here’s a link to their website to find out more:
https://www.miniatureartacademy.com/

Promotion Terms & Conditions

· This promotion includes 1 month of free access to the Miniature Art Academy platform.
· The free access is limited to one license per pledge at a level of $35 or higher.
· The promotion is personal and non-transferable.
· To activate the access, users will receive an activation email linked to the same email address used for the Kickstarter purchase. This email will be sent after all payments have been made to Kickstarter. This is expected to be by July 1st, 2026.
· The access must be activated within the promotional period indicated.
· Access codes/licenses can only be used once.
· This promotion cannot be combined with other active offers or discounts.
· The free access has no cash value and cannot be exchanged for money or other products.
· Miniature Art Academy reserves the right to cancel fraudulent codes or any abusive use of the promotion.
· Once the free period ends, the subscription will not renew automatically unless the user decides to subscribe to a paid plan.
· Users who activate the promotion will become registered users of the platform and may receive communications related to their account, platform updates, or renewal reminders, always in accordance with the current privacy policy.
· Users who do not activate the free access will NOT be added to the commercial mailing database of Miniature Art Academy.
· This promotion is subject to availability and may be modified or discontinued in future campaigns.
· The included access corresponds to the Academy and Artist plans of Banshee and Borjammer available on the platform during the promotional period.
· If you are a currently-subscribed student of the Academy, you may gift your free month to a friend by contacting [email protected]
· Activating the promotion implies acceptance of the platform’s terms and conditions.
· The coupon expires on December 31st, 2026.

Another Stretch Goal achieved, and two more revealed!
about 1 month ago – Sun, May 24, 2026 at 08:40:24 AM

We made it to the latest Stretch Goal overnight, and now the set of Six Artcards from Alfonso Giraldes are now available as an Add-on for just $10. These are perfect for plastering around the house, or simply adorning the walls of your painting area. 

Next up, we have one of my favorites, where we work towards another increase of quality for everyone! When we pass this Stretch Goal we'll be able to upgrade the paper weight to match the level for all of our existing books. The current 130gsm is great quality, but the 150gsm is a step above. 

After that we'll get a new PDF tutorial from Anastasia Loukrezi about how she uses black in her compositions, and how to treat it with the respect it deserves. 

Let's keep on going, and sharing with everyone who needs to see this campaign!  

Thank you all!

Cheers
Dave and The Art Of... Team

More Stretch Goals fall!
about 1 month ago – Tue, May 19, 2026 at 07:25:15 PM

In the day and a half since my last update, you've taken us past another TWO Stretch Goals! Thank you so much, and welcome to our new supporters!

All books will now have ribbon bookmarks AND every backer will receive a PDF tutorial from Steve Garcia on his use of Orange NMM!

Our next Stretch Goal is only about 55 backers away, and will unlock another set of wonderful artcards, this time featuring the art of Alfonso Giraldes, as a $10 Add-On. 

Let's keep sharing the campaign with friends and fellow painters, particularly in the Discord channels that our advertising can't reach. Every share is deeply appreciated!

Cheers
Dave and The Art Of... team!

First Stretch Goal down and the next revealed!
about 2 months ago – Sat, May 16, 2026 at 09:29:58 AM

Welcome to our newest supporters! 

We're excited to have you join us on this journey. 

This morning we achieved our first Stretch Goal and have unlocked the first set of six high-quality artcards. Anastasia's art will grace this set. I'm excited to see these come back from the printers later this year! 

What are these "Artcards" Dave?

Well, when we first kicked this whole thing off, I knew that folks (like myself) might also be interested in being able to hang art on their walls, either in smaller, individual frames or larger, group frames (like mine below). Miniatures art in a 2D format. So I found a great printer who could make these sets for me and each year we have created three sets of cards. In the photo below you can see some of the cards from Chris Suhre's set and Seyni N'diaye's set that hang in my dining room!

If you love the work of our artists, and you'd like to have some to put on your walls at a very reasonable price (just $10 per set), this is the way to do it.

The Next Goals

Next up are the popular ribbon bookmarks that we will be able to include in all the books for no additional cost, so everybody benefits!

After that we're on to the first of our exclusive PDF tutorials. Steve Garcia will be writing up a tutorial for us on painting a cool, sci-fi orange Non-Metallic Metal (NMM). Very cool indeed!

So, keep up the sharing of the campaign, It's important we put it in front of everyone who might be interested in it, so they have the opportunity to decide if they'll join us on this journey. 

Thank you all!

Dave and the TAO team.