The Veiled Lamp
Sebastian Archer!
The talented Australian sculptor and painter Sebastian Archer has set aside some time from his busy schedule of sculpting and producing amazing miniatures to write this article about how his miniature company “The Veiled Lamp” came about, his history in the industry and a little sneak peek into what’s coming next!
Q1: How long have you been painting miniatures?
I’ve been into miniatures for such a long time – almost my whole life! I was first introduced to minis and painting when I was only 10 yrs old: in what was the best Christmas ever I got the Warhammer box set (the one from the early 90s with the plastic goblins and elves), along with paints and brushes. Right from the start I loved the painting part best!
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In the late 2000’s I discovered Golden Demon and had fun participating in the painting competition scene. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel overseas to some big international competitions such as World Expo in Girona and Montreux, Monte San Savino in Italy, Crystal Brush at Adepticon in the USA and the Golden Demon UK. I was also very honoured to be a guest judge at World Expo 2011 and Monte San Savino 2011, as well as a regular judge at our Crystal Dragon competition here in Australia from 2015 onwards.
Q2: What made you get into sculpting miniatures?
My first forays into sculpting actually came as a way to make my painting competition entries more original and stand out from the crowd. In fact, my first full sculpt was an entry for the UK Golden Demon 2007 – a skaven miniature based on an old Adrian Smith artwork. I really enjoyed the different challenge sculpting provided, so moving into sculpting felt like a natural extension.
To teach myself more commercial-style sculpting I started a little project called Guild of Harmony – a range of fantasy themed miniatures – and I also worked as a freelance sculptor for various companies from 2010-2015. In 2015 my friend Peter and I started working on the steampunk game Twisted, with my main role being the lead sculptor for the 32mm miniature range as well as overseeing the character concept design.
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I find sculpting has a different thought process to painting. When painting you have complete freedom to interpret a miniature artistically with colour, but sculpture is a whole step back where you need to think about the complete physical design and treat every detail with attention. So in a way you have both more and less freedom than when painting. It’s quite different, and it is pretty great when you see someone paint something you have sculpted.
Q3: At what point in time did you decide you wanted to start your own miniatures line?
Veiled Lamp has been in my mind for quite some time, as I have been feeling the need to get creative with some larger-scale sculpting. My two big sculpting heroes are Romain VDB and Lucas Pina, who’ve both made incredible ranges of fantasy busts. So I’ve decided to follow their lead, break free of tabletop-mini sculpting, and try my hand at something more artistic.
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Because my interest is traditional hand sculpting rather than digital, I think the larger scale makes more sense as it allows me to bring more of my own style into the sculpture. I want to make the figures for Veiled Lamp strongly personal, and the larger size gives me more space to develop my own style and get to grips with the sculpture in a more in-depth way.
Q4: What was your decision making process and inspiration for Persephone being your opening miniature?
I have always found Ancient Greek mythology very thought-provoking. There is an intriguing emphasis on the way good and bad exist within all of us: even the Greek gods are flawed and plagued by human emotional turmoil.
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For the first Veiled Lamp sculpt I wanted to attempt a female face that was very expressive. I see many figures of women with very flat, boring or demure faces so I wanted to try something different! The myth of Persephone being drawn into the underworld felt like a great inspiration.
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It was quite a challenge to create such a dynamic expression for Persephone without losing the femininity of her face. I worked hard on it and learned a lot through the process – a lot of subtleties. Great fun!
Q5: Have you had any defining inspiration for your miniature journey whether it be painting or sculpting?
I’ve been thinking a lot about the best way to answer this question. Rather than talk about a specific piece or person who inspired me (there are many!), I thought it might be more relevant to discuss my interest in traditional hand sculpture in clay, as this is a defining creative element for me.
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The thing I like about hand sculpting is that it forces me to take risks: there’s no easy way to ctrl-z and undo, so this means I have to commit to what I’m sculpting. I also enjoy the way clay gives a much more organic feeling to a sculpture, compared to digital sculpting which can sometimes look a bit too perfectly smooth and sterile. When working with clay, often it will crack or move under the tool in an unpredictable way, creating an unintentional shape I can then build on and extend. This gives the resulting sculpture a less symmetrical, more ‘real’ feeling. I am really enjoying pushing myself and learning to let go and ‘ride the clay’ in this way.
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This is the whole point of Veiled Lamp: it’s an old name for The Hermit tarot card, which represents introspection as we seek for knowledge within. I feel like this perfectly encapsulates the journey I am on with my Veiled Lamp sculpting, as I uncover each new character step-by-step while working to develop and push my own sculpting.
Q6: What plans do you see for yourself and the Veiled Lamp for the future?
I am loving sculpting in this larger scale so I have lots of plans for Veiled Lamp! As it’s a completely personal project, I have complete creative freedom to explore many possibilities.
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I already have some really cool collaborations in the works with some other talented artists. For example, I am planning a series of busts based on Japanese yokai mixed with tarot cards, which will hopefully be something original and interesting! I hope I can continue to drive forward in creating my own sculpting style.
