About
Darkmessiah Bases was created and is run by me, John ‘Darkmessiah’ Harrison. I am a UK miniature, figurine and scale model painter and have been for around 8 years now. I am an active member of the UK and European painting community having tried to quite a few countries for various painting competitions and workshops.
My various travels actually inspired me to start teaching in the UK where I now both teach and organise workshops with some of the best painters in the world under the banner The Weekend Workshop. Through the Weekend Workshops I am very proud to have helped establish and build a strong and supportive community of painters within in the UK.
My own personal work can be found at Darkmessiah Creates, I tend to paint models from a range of different genres, however I do tend to favour more mechanical, robotic and armoured models.
How our products are created
All of the products that are for sale on the site at the moment have been created initially through a 3D modelling program. All of the plinths have had a 3D model created of them first, that gets sent off to a 3D printer who creates a resin print of it. Once I receive the print back I then spend a good few hours priming and sanding the print as it’s not entirely smooth. From there I create a silicone mould of the print and then create black resin casting from that mould! From start to finish the process can take a couple of weeks to finish.
The laser cut leaves in the store tend to be a little quicker to produce. After a couple of hours creating a 2D cutting file from reference material I take the cut down to my local laser cutter. I spend an hour or so testing and editing the design until I can get the consistent quality I want from it. From there I inspect each sheet to ensure all the cuts are nice and sharp, then I take them back to the studio, pack em up and hopefully ship them out!
Future Plans
The future of Darkmessiah Bases, for me at least, is a very exciting one! I have been creating and drafting ideas for this company now for the last two years. I have several more plinth designs already created, expect to see designs for busts, for sci fi and fantasy minis. More laser cut leaf sets have already been designed and ready for testing and further on down there will be a range of painting accessories, including brush holders, paint racks and miniature stands!
But for now the focus is on today and the hard work ahead!
