Warhammer’s fierce painting contest, the Golden Demon, is a battle of fine detail

polygon.com:

In late March, fans from around the world came together in northern Illinois for the 2022 Golden Demon, the world’s biggest Warhammer painting competition. It was the first Golden Demon held in nearly three years, and the first to be held in the United States in more than a decade.

The competition took place at AdeptiCon, one of the largest and longest-running wargaming conventions in the country. More than 500 different pieces were entered into the open competition, representing a backlog of models that simply haven’t been seen in public since the start of the pandemic.

In a crowded field of towering mechs and elaborate dioramas, the top-winning model was a single miniature of a lizardman that stood barely one-inch tall. The sculpt itself is cinematic, evoking the triumph of a hard-won victory or the cold-blooded rage of a warrior heading into battle. But the artistry on display was impressive. The shading on that little skink was immaculate, the blending of the light highlights into the dark shadows creamy, consistent, and smooth. Judges called it “literally perfect,” and it’s hard to disagree. The standing-room-only crowd on hand gave its painter, Gavin Garza, a thunderous round of applause.

Of course, the awarding of the Slayer Sword was just one small part of the five-day gaming festival. AdeptiCon included multiple tournaments and demos from Games Workshop, as well as companies like Atomic Mass Games, Corvus Belli, and Para Bellum.

But at the center of it all was a studious cohort of amateur and professional miniature painters doing their thing. Each one set up shop in public spaces, unfolded their custom lighting, wet down their palettes, and got to work — all while sharing tips and tricks. Visitors could easily