Dude the static pics of the diorama are so awesome but the rotating clip really sells the whole piece. Its so immersive and clean, and feels true to the SBGL art but unique to your own vision/interpretation. What a great piece man.

Be proud of what you acheived Jon. It might nto have been a winner in the judges eyes, it's one of the most inspiring pieces I've seen in a long time. Keep it up

I cannot believe how hydrated Daryll is. Good for him!

@Ninjon I would definitely like to see you do it again. You might not have won an award, but you continually inspire people here on your channel. I always watch your videos as soon as I see them pop up, and you really help me believe that I can grow and get better at this hobby. I think that’s worth more than any statue/award and nobody can take that from you. Cheers!

If you win, you're Andy Wardle. If you don't, you're everyone else. Your diorama is amazing with or without a Golden Demon win. Thanks for sharing!

I had the chance to see your diorama in the case, and it was stunning! Awesome work!

YES PLEASE DO IT AGAIN!!!! This year's videos have inspired me to start my own golden demon project (however I am giving myself more than till next year for it) and i think you should continue trying for that trophy for sure. maybe not diorama ok but any of the other categories would be a joy to watch for sure.

The diorama you made is stunning, Ninjon! I'm not saying you should do a piece for Golden Demon, but I'd absolutely encourage you to do something every year that you plug some serious hours into. From a selfish perspective, it's just awesome to get to see the product of that!

NinJon is by far my favorite painter. He gives me some hope to become better because he’s very humble about how he got where he’s at and is so relatable.

Congratulations, John! A finalist pin is a huge deal! You are an inspiration to me and though we’ve never met I’m proud of you!

I hate not seeing commended and finalists entries on the community site. I was looking for yours (and Vince's for the same reasons) because you shared your work on it and I really wanted to see it succeed. Plus I wanted to see the whole kit and caboodle. After I've finished the comment, I'll go back and watch the rotation a few more times- the change from light to twilight is really powerful. As for you doing it again? If you chose to do it I would watch. Only do it if you really want to do it. Your frustration with the metamechanics of the competition is palpable and the utter garbage with the breakage (GW: "it has been zero days since we pissed away hard earned good will") you talked about with Trovarian really, surprisingly pissed me off. I'd rather see you have joy losing a competition that is overseen with a generosity of heart than win a competition that is seen as a necessary cost of doing business by the owners.

Congrats, Jon. The whole piece is stellar, but I gotta say, that red armor in particular is something special. Really Really well done.

Hey Jon, we met breifly at Adepticon on Thursday by the GD cases. Thanks for accomodating my nervous fanboy-ing! You, Scott, and Vince's coverage of the event last year convinced me I needed to go this year, and I'm glad I did. It was epic to see all the pieces in the case, including yours! I thought your diorama was truly excellent - my only gripe was that it wasn't on a spinner so I could see the awesome lighting effects! I think if you enter next year, a cool piece could be a smaller diorama. I think a mistake newer painters make when constructing dioramas is having too much empty space that doesn't serve the piece. It could be an interesting experiment to go the opposite direction and try to get as much "big diorama energy" (atmosphere, dynamic action, etc.) onto as small of a base as possible. All killer no filler!

I love this diorama series and I encourage you try once more in the next year. This piece was fantastic and I'm sure that the next one will be amazing!

What I learned most from watchin hours upon hours of mini painting videos over the last few months since I got into painting is "don't judge yourself against others but rather against yourself from yesterday". And it's worked out pretty well for me so far. My Ork Killaboss was better than my first Hobgrots, my Lord Imperatant was better than my Vindictor, and the next thing I do is probably gonna be better because I learned from what I did so far and what you and other creators do. The difference is, I don't have to put that kind of pressure on myself, because I don't do it as a job or for competitions, I just do it to relax.

That 360-degree rotation at 12:57 really highlights how damn good your piece is, Jon! Watching the colors fade naturally into darkness and return is truly wonderful!

One little British newbie here! I’ve been following you for a good while now!! Your scene was amazing, from placement to lighting. And has encouraged me to make a start on my project of a chess board and pieces! I’m absolutely no good, but I try, and I have fun painting minis. That’s what I get from your videos, it’s to have fun, try your best and enjoy the learning process!! I really hope you try again next year, but for now I look forward to watching what ever you post! Thank you 😊

"Don't paint the boots". Man, this has saved me so much hassle! Thanks! For Golden Demon: definitely do it again! Seeing people with your skill level improve gives me hope that I'll eventually be able to improve enough to win a painting competition at some point (not necessarily GD 😅).

Absolutely, please do another video series about your next years entry. So much stuff in the miniature painting hobby is about the journey, about making mistakes, fixing them, or living with them. I would love to see another part of your painting journey!

I've considered doing a diorama for each of the dragons I'm using to learn this new level of painting. I learned a lot watching this series, from building to painting. YES, do it again!

Your initial construction of this diorama is what really got me into making more dynamic bases. You inspire many people and I hope you'll try again in the future!

Honestly would have been my pick to win the diorama category Jon. Your piece is just so much more cohesive and has a better story telling element to it than at least the pieces that won bronze and silver. Would definitely love to see a video series on whatever piece you do for next year. So to answer your question, yes you most definitely should enter next year. Keep on doing what you are doing man. Your channel has helped me grow as a painter who has only been in the hobby for just short of a year. So thank you for all you do.

I love the way it transitions on the turn table. Looks amazing. I wonder, could you do a spy vs spy themed min diorama, but actually cut the minis in half and have them coming at each other from "off screen"

Your work is fantastic. Your videos helped me get into the hobby. Your no BS approach, sarcasm and dry humor make it fun. I’ve purchased a few products that you tested… and I’ve actually been able to step up my painting. Been in the hobby for two years, and it gives me true joy. Keep it up.

I entered a painting competition a few months ago and I think the only reason I was able to do it at all was because I entered with no expectation of winning. For me, the competition was an invitation to push myself, do my best work, and donate my time to express my love for a hobby and my appreciation for the sculptors who were hosting the competition. I cannot imagine the stress of entering something on the scale of Golden Demon - the effort and dedication required to do so alone are monumental feats that put every participant in a position worthy of praise and adulation. Your work has inspired so many painters, Jon, myself among them - watching your channel is one of the primary reasons I started my painting journey just over a year ago and your work continues to inspire me every time I see a new video from you on my feed. Keep doing what you love - your passion is infectious.

That piece is really beautiful, the lighting is so nice on it. Really awesome piece. IDEA / SUGGESTION: I have an idea for a diorama you could do. It's a space Dwarf Mining / Drilling operation about to break through into a Necron Tomb, an Ork Fungal Nursery, or a small Tyrranid Hive, and whichever faction is on the other side of the wall from the dwarves could have several models waiting, or possibly a pre-emptive attack and some of them bursting out of different places. There's lots of interesting ideas that come to mind thinking about this kind of encounter.

Jon, you are a great source of inspiration. You paint according to your heart not the rules, the change of colour scheme front to back was brave and I think it makes for an amazing diorama. It is a beautiful piece of art and like all art the viewers interpretation differs. My only (amateur) opinion is that maybe it was a bit busy, my eyes could not focus on any single element which dilutes the skill of the job you did, similar to painting an army for 40K or painting a squad for Kill Team. That said I continue to learn from your content, along with the other greats of YT and then probably never use any of what I learned (although Miniac's make-up tutorial has proven useful and I watch every video on eyes repeatedly). My son is just getting into the hobby and you have been one of my first recommendations for newbies to watch, keep up the great work both on and off screen and never let it feel like a job. Also good luck for next year, better get started.

I think this calls for another drunk miniature painting with Scott to commiserate and drown your sorrows, I only recently found them and they are hilarious. Beautiful painting on your diorama, I always look forward to your videos

This is a stellar piece, an incredible achievement in and on itself, a milestone in your hobby journey, I feel like. Right now I am struggling with my own centerpiece, I am painting Morvenn Vahl to the highest standard I am capable off (which is not that high if I'm being honest) and today I feel like I've botched the face and will have to strip it and start anew. I spent all afternoon on just that head, it feels very discouraging that I am just not skilled enough to paint my vision onto that tiny piece of plastic. But I will persevere. I will watch a few tutorials on painting heads, on skintones, on female faces, strip the piece and start anew. Because every time I've felt like I couldn't accomplished a freehand, a new effect, an OSL, I've tried anyway, and to my surprise, most often than not, the results have been better than I could have hoped for. Not in small part because of all the painting videos I've consumed. My brain and eyes have been trained heavily, and I know the theories of many techniques, even if my hands aren't up to that level yet. I've painted very little in the last 15 years. But recently, and in a significant part thanks to you specifically, I've gathered friends at my table every wednesday for hobby sessions. Even if it's a struggle, even if I measure myself against people that have been painting for decades, I'm still good enough to paint pieces I'm proud to look at and show to others. Knowledgeable enough to guide new people and their starting steps into this hobby. Fortunate enough to have found inspiration in so many skilled, amazing artists. And determined enough to shake off my insecurities for one afternoon every week... and Slay the Gray.

Jon, that diorama is stunning. The composition, the lighting, the way it tells a story to the and evokes an emotional reaction from the viewer. There is a lot going on but that's not a bad thing in a diorama, surely? A piece intended for long term display. Your diorama works really well for that purpose. It grabs our attention straight away with it's strong, bold colours but it's the small, interesting details that mean we will keep finding something new to discover, another part of the story it's telling each time we return to it! Is that such a bad thing? You have created an artwork that has longevity. It's not necessarily the same thing as painting to meet the very specific requirements of the GW Golden Demon judges who seem to have a fairly narrow range of preferred artistic styles, with a few exceptions for certain outstanding highly distinctive individual artists, of course. That's just how it is. I'd encourage you to enter this diorama and future pieces too in a competition that focuses far more on artistic intent, I am sure that you will be far happier with how your work is received! Is following your inner artistic vision always going to win out over meeting what you think the Golden Demon judging team are looking for this year? If so, do you want to put yourself through that emotional turmoil? Only you know the answer! But if you find that your style drifts more and more away from GW's narrow stylistic range than you may well find yourself more and more frustrated by the judging process in years to come. It's an equation that I imagine all of you artists/painters that I admire so much must wrangle with :-) You probably know this inside. I know from your videos that you're a thoughtful person with enough life experience and self awareness to figure it all out without my well meaning advice! But sometimes it can help to have someone on the outside point things out too? Let go of any residual imposter syndrome. You have put your heart and soul into this diorama. With this diorama, you stopped being a painter of models and became an artist. Own that. Be proud of it.

Absolutely do an entry. One of my favourite models is Be'lakor and even though he's been out for some time, no one painted him for a competition as far as I am aware. There are some lovely schemes for him, a lot of NMM, OSL etc. If you use the OG base it also has potential and freedom. I saw someone make it into a river / fountain of blood, other make it into lava, magic lava, etc. I love the whole model and would love to see it painted to the absolute bonkers maximum :D

Dude, you had the balls to enter. That's enough. I've only won local painting comps, and even that was grueling. If you DO painting another one for Golden Demon, start NOW! LOL Enjoy the process, and as always.. Happy Painting!

Do it. Do it. Do it. *chanting* This piece is absolutely amazing and they did you dirty when a model was snapped off. I do wish that I could have seen much more of your process, but I totally understand why you didn't film it. The lighting technique is gorgeous and you should be proud of the work you did. Finalist is still HUGE. For your next entry, if you enter, pick something that 100% inspires you. Maybe work on a few different models at a time, for a few weeks, to decide which one you are enjoying more and then run with that particular model. I'm not at Golden Demon level by any means, but I find I get bored of a model easily and end up procrastinating until the last 2 weeks before a competition. I've only entered two local comps, but placed Bronze (Painted a Reaper Maal Drakkar as Tiamat) and then Gold (Bite the bullet miniatures - Locathah Chef). Seems to work out for me, but don't be like me. It's stressful af.

I love how your diorama goes from day/light to night/dark when you move around it!

I hope you don't feel too crushed and go for it next year. It was really interesting to follow your progress. I would love to hear what you learned from this experience doing this diorama. I think your painting was immaculate. I think the play with light and show is cool but doesn't read well in pictures. I would imagine it looks so much better in real life. My feedback would probably have been that the base feels bit flat to me. I would have maybe made the edges slanted down to so the zombies are lower and the main focus is on the vampire. Also maybe instead of having darkest the shadow behind I would have made the zombies around the edges be in shadow and then the shadow could have faded into light towards the raised middle rock so the vampire above would have been more in focus helping with the composition.

Mr. Ninjon, You are one of the funniest, entertaining miniature painter on the platform. You, Miniac and Vince have all taught us so much and no amount of thanks could ever amount to the knowledge you all provide. The amount of time that goes into painting, filming and editing is unmeasurable sometimes and I want you to know that some of us out here appreciate everything that you do. I very much would like to see the process of painting your entry as well as the recap you provided in this video for next years golden demon. Please talk Miniac and Vince to do the same, would love to get all your takes from the same year (if they are going to enter, wouldn't want them to feel obligated if they weren't planning on it). Keep it up, love the info you provide.

Your rotating view of the diorama is UNBELIEVABLE!. It shows the innovation and amazing understanding of light you have. As you said in your video, golden demon hasn't changed in 20 years! You can see this in the slayer sword winners piece. I'm not saying niels piece wasn't great, it's just boring almost. It's the same clean look that always wins. While it's beautifully painted it's not artistic. Jon your piece is inspiring and pushing artistic boundaries of mini painting. I love it!

@Jon Nina's, for future reference on large diorama builds, when handling a heavy base in one hand and a brush in the other, a great way to stabilize the model is to use a wrist brace on the hand holding the base. I find this actually helps a bunch! Good work on your entry!

I don't know if competition painting will ever be the thing for me but your passion for it comes through in every video you have made about it and it inspires me to keep working on the models I have, would love to see more videos in the future for adepticon and other events where you pull out all the stops

Maybe not golden demon but I'd love to see you paint for competitions in general, maybe one of the bigger european ones with more artistry. I wanna see "I haven't been painting very long but I pulled 2nd place at crystal brush" Ninjon. Always good to see the growth of ones art style and ability.

Hey bro! I was the big Asian guy that said hi in the registration line with the awkward fistbump/handshake. As an older gamer/hobbyist, I think what's important is you're helping to champion the community and unify gamers under one banner and perhaps several events. Cons are always busy and it's a shame we don't get more time for meaningful interaction. If I ever run into you and Scott (or honestly any KZfaqr), I'd like to buy you guys a beer and a burger. Keep up the great work!

Jon, one of the things I really liked about your entry, is the double light source, and how it made even the backs of the models enjoyable. It sounds kinda strange to describe, but as I watched the diorama spin, it feels like the mood of the piece greatly transitions. Creating this dynamic where every angle of it was really enjoyable. If you could go back in time, would you include that effect again, or just work on a single angle piece?

I would love to watch you paint another Golden Daemon run! You did an amazing job. Hopefully I get there one day.

I'm a bit biased but I've always been a fan of a good fungle queen or Zuggtmoy miniature. They both offer a good excuse to practice doing feminine facial features, which in my hobby experience have tended to look more akin to beginners drag makeup. Also I ended painting one where I referenced actual mushrooms and I really love how she came out. She had a train of sulfur shelves against a background of fly agaric and an old man of the woods crown, all rising from a lion's mane covered base. Probably one of my proudest minis

You should definitely do it again! I had a lot of fun watching you put together this diorama, and I think you should do it again next year.

Of course we'd love to see your painting process for next Golden Demon. As a Soulblights player, I really love your diorama. Just really spectacular

Your work was amazing and your ethos around ‘just giving it a go’ has absolutely inspired me to paint more and try new things. I’d love to see another golden demon series (include every single brush stroke next time!) 🙂

re @5:00 To quote Kratos "we can tolerate pain, but not bad tools" I found that having magnetized bases was super helpful in general. A random pencil case or metal wedge often helped me stay stable at what would otherwise have been an unpleasant angle.

If you want to paint for GD again I would love to see it, no mater how many or how few videos you split it up in. Its great content but only do it if you want to for yourself. As for what to paint, I would love to see you paint a single mini you really love, and really go full ball sack and push yourself with all the things you have learned over the years. Great work with the diorama Jon, it really turned out amazing in the end. Very cool entry!

Top 6 is a very good place to be at this kind of powerful entries. The scene of yours is great and i will say it again: you made a great piece of art!

Yes, do the 35 mm diorama just do what makes you happy. I enjoy watching paint and glad I am not the only one that enjoys this hobby.

The finalist pin is honestly really good, sure you didn't win but thats really not what's important, you managed to overcome your inner demon (haha) to put your work that is undoubtedly great into a competition, that is a pain in the butt as it is, i barely have the courage to try GBWC (gunpla comp) so you even doing this is huge. Like you said before, there will be people who love it, more than you can ever understand, I'm one of those people, your diorama was absolutely worthy of the pin, maybe some day i'll hit that stage but not rn, its still inspiring to see

Ninjon, your golden demon piece is such an inspiration. It motivated me to paint more. Every little leak on the podcast or Instagram of a zombie or wolf or skeleton was sweet and made me constantly checking for what the whole piece looked like. I swore you were taking gold! Anyway, what I’m getting at is definitely do golden demon content on the channel. It’s fun to see you push yourself full ballsack on a model every now and then.

Have you ever attempted an inspired paint job on a truely vintage mini? I only see painters doing models with hi detail, it would be nice to see painters doing a challenge on models with poorer quality detail and how you would approach them

You're such a great Guy (& Painter) Jon, be proud of your achievements! I don't think any of your *_Painting Skills_* really let this GD-Entry down......I think it was just a case of _Placement/Positioning_ of the Models, The Spooky-style trees being a bit Cartoon-ish......... _AND_ the _HEAD:_ The Head you chose to convert your Vampire-Boss-Queen-General with; it was just such a Milk toast, almost cliche Vamper design (again, you didn't sculpt it, not entirely ur fault) I think though you should take this as a stepping stone & keep reaching for those stars! Be well & looking forward to your next Work(s) & Vids;-) P.S. How did that EMPEROR vs. HORUS Diorama Win *GOLD!?* (When non of those Models, esp. the Emperor: we produced by GW? Are GW now allowing 3rd Party / 3D Rendered/Printed Models into the 'Golden Daemon' competition now (?) (* Anyone else find this a tad peculiar? Esp. since GW is so anaI about other companies even thinking about ape-ing off their Models / IP (?)

We absolutely need you to do this series again next year,Jon. As you said you can't handle another diorama I have already come up with an idea. Hear me out... Warlord Titan! 😏 Can't wait for more content

I loved the diorama. Undead are my jam and the lighting was spectacular on this. Do another Golden Demon if it moves you! If you do, we would love to see it documented. Do it as unedited streams with VODs available, it would be fun to have on while doing our own painting, especially those of us who do paint alone.

I loved the colour phasing as you span it. Loved the idea of the bright moon washing out the colour.

You did an amazing job Jon! You and Scott are what got me into painting mini's for my D&D game. You should enter Golden Demon again 100% and document it if you feel like it isnt taking away from the project for you. But, only enter if YOU want to enter, not because we want you to.

I was thinking about it for a week and here are my thoughts. Post Covid is a bad start if you want to win, because competition is super strong now. Top six is a big thing on it's own, this is actually great result and you should be proud! Quality of painting is THE MOST important thing in Golden Demon, composition and mood is secondary. I like your Diorama more than Benjamin's Diorama and yet I fully understand why he won Gold.

I would LOVE to see another series on Golden Demon - it’s super informative and inspirational!

You should consider taking your diorama to another competition that has a different (better) format for judging like World Model Expo! The way that Golden Demon limits their competition to three winners per category makes the competition too subjective for my liking. Love the diorama. It's been an enjoyable journey to follow you on!

Jon, as a fellow local & frequent visitor of The Source, I always stop at the little case that holds some of Scott & your's minis. I know you have the skills and the determination to get the demon. I full heartedly say to try again next year. Use the knowledge you got from the diorama to surpass what you've done and blow the competition out of the water in 2024.

Love the diorama. Great video as well. Painting such a huge piece, while taking the stress off painting each detail to an olympic level is an insane task. Very inspiring anyway. Maybe next time do a full underwater scene with a resin pour so nothing can be broken off? Love and respect.

Hell yeah!!! Go again. I love seeing you push it to the absolute max. Also you were so close this time round it would be insane not to try again!!! Win or lose you have an amazing piece there!! I for one, would not be bored by more steps showing the whole process.

I absolutely love how you did your OSL work, its really incredible. I'd also love to see you win one of these things. However, I would also make a recommendation that has helped many artists (including film and literature). Find some critics. If you surround yourself with friends, most will be too kind to deliver harsh truths for a competition. When you paint to compete, you are no longer painting what you want for yourself. You are now painting for 'customers' as it were and you need everything to fit into what your customer wants. What if someone told you, those bats don't stand out enough, the vampire hair flows up while the flag flows sideways, there are too many different colors on the zombies, that zombie wolf should have the rotted flesh/bone be more representative (to help reinforce it is undead),etc. Not saying there is anything wrong with what you did, your painting is absolutely incredible, just saying it always help to find a few people who push back, so you push forward in a way even they cant argue with. Also, dude, Space Marines. Purely the nature of the models and what they are inspires. So regardless if you want to pain them or not, they already have an edge up of feeling dramatic.

I almost don't know what to say. I think your diarama was amazing and is far above anything I'm ever likely to produce. I would love to see another golden demon entry from you in the future. I understand that it is hard to focus on painting the model when you have to also film it, but I think anything you could do to show us more of your process I would pay to see. The more muted parts of your diarama I think are particularly good, and your skill seems to shine thought there. Keep up the greate work!

Honestly id love for you to document your next entry but i think you should prioritize your painting. I think you can definitely win a Golden demon going full ballsack. Dont let having to show us the step by step bring you down.

Badass piece. I especially love the red armour, that's clean af. Also one of the few pieces I've seen with OSL where when I see it rotated, it still tricks my brain into thinking there's a light source moving around! Commiserations on not winning, but consider: if you've earned a badge from them (and I know this isn't your first) , Golden Demon officially consider you "up there". Knowing how many entries there are, that's no small feat. So yeah, absolutely go for it again.

Your first video on this diorama was one of your firsts that I saw! I am really glad that you got it finished up and into Golden Demon! It looks phenomenal

I'll watch all the golden demon series. Chategories? Squads, LOTR, Open, small scale. Those are the ones with less people, they all seem fun in they're own way, very different from the normal 40k, AoS types of models (Except squad/teams but you can paint necromunda or Blood Bowl). If I ever paint for a golden demon, ill pick one of those chategories

Oh yes please, I would like to learn more about painting a Golden Demon entry, the competition in general, Adepticon, and what booths are like there!

Win or lose, you have the satisfaction of knowing you put everything you had into that diorama (and those bats!). That piece is awesome. Congrats on making top six! Rarified air for most of us in the hobby.

Jon, long time fan of the channel. So to your question, yes, absolutely I hope you put in another entry. I recommend the duel category, a diorama of 2. ;) More importnant, is your contribution to the hobby community. Each week I eagerly wait for Friday's video, it is an important part of my weekly hobby time. Now if you consider how many people have ever painted a miniature because they saw a Golden Demon model and compare that to the more than two hundred thousand (I spelled that out for emphasis) people that watch your videos I think you have a sense of the impact you have to the hobby. And while there is no award for that level of contribution, people like you and Vince V - solid gold, baby, solid gold!

I’d love to see your process doing another entry next year. Absolutely love this diorama. Maybe a duel next time?

I'd like to see you paint another competition piece for golden demon! Your diorama is very inspiring!

I'd love another series like this. Forget the silly orks. The only mean green you need is Seraphon. Lizard on lizard(on lizard on lizards?!?) diorama

I’d love to see another golden demon video! I think your diorama was great, but can definitely appreciate why you wouldn’t want to do another one for the competition. Idea for second… how about something in the duel category? I’m a sucker for the horus heresy, so would love to see you try something like Sigismund vs Kharn!

Congratulations on putting so much effort into something that ultimately turned out amazing, it’s awesome to see the commitment you put into this piece and even if it’s not a diorama I am excited to see the next entry! Your painting skills are definitely high enough to take a win one day!

As a guy who is usually painting 1/2 1/6 he’s so right learning what looks good and what’s a waste of supplies is a huge part. And seeing a larger space as dynamic. You want to make sure everything is cohesive and as much as you try to do them separate having them to play off of during the process is vital.

Jon you did an incredible job with your diorama. Please please have another go at Golden Demon 2024!

I don't think you should. When Vince said in his video it was the last Golden Demon he was entering I was very happy for him. I was thinking of entering at Warhammer Fest 2023 and the truth?............ I didn't even start. I realised I didn't want to put 300 hrs into a model. I'd rather do what I do now which is create substandard work, but paint and give them as gifts to people. They are like "Wow. I love it. It's amazing." and seeing their smiles. They don't know it's substandard compared to GD entries😄but it's a personal gift from me to them. You have lots of subscribers, lots of paetrons, lots of people who watch your videos. You have people behind you and that is worth more than GD. That's a lot more valuable than sitting alone in a room with 5 trophies but very few people enjoying the content you're putting out.

Well done on completing it, it’s a truly stunning diorama and when it’s rotating in the video you really can see just how well you did with creating and selling that moonlight atmosphere. And yes I’d love to come on another GD painting journey with you, good luck for next year.

For what it's worth your diorama is fantastic. I'm entering my first golden demon next month....I've learned a huge amount...and I know it isn't going to win, but it looks pretty great and I'm proud of it. Be proud of your work :)

I have gotten so much better in the past year and a half because of you guys on here that has inspired me to keep trying and learning so many small tweaks to my painting.

Dooooode the blue monotones and lights on the rear is so clean and smooth the effect is palpable. Looks straight out of a cartoon.

Your diorama is absolutely amazing. Did some of the other painters/winners give you any input or feedback as to what you could do differently to have placed higher? Through the screen it's immaculate

I'd love to see GW do an artbook of each event. Photograph all the finalist entries, and do a good job of it ffs. Keep the current 3 winners per category system, but then put all the finalists and winners on the website. Hopefully with multiple views on the ones that need it. Then also put out a collectible artbook for the event. Eff codexes and battletomes, an artbook is something I'd actually buy bookwise from GW. I know it means some truly exceptional stuff doesn't get awards, but without that there is the risk of "Everyone gets a participation trophy!" which does lessen the impact of winning. I think it is also completely fine to realize that the winners might not line up with what our personal favorites are. GW needs to be OK with this, and the community needs to be OK with this. I also do think that getting your piece in the book, even if you didn't win a demon, would be amazing to most painters and might lessen the salt. Of course GW would need to get permission to feature people's models in the book, but if people don't want that, then they can choose not to enter.

There is no failure, only exceptionally good painting as far as i can see, so hellyeah to next year

It was pretty neat to see one of the ships we designed shown as a cut away during your video. Was a bit of a surprise with a rewind and check. (Its the log of a ship with spinning parts we call Chimera PathFinder, we did not pick a good name for SEO!) 09:41

Amazing piece of art mate. I hope you get back on the horse if it brings you joy and satisfaction. I personally think you should do a monster or some such. The dragon you did was stunning and really shows off your style.

I’d love to see you do a large model for a golden demon. Something like a great unclean one, a baneblade, or a mumakil from LOTR. Your diorama was awesome and you crushed it! Just because it’s not a winner in the judges eyes doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of a win. You can set a world record lap time in a race, but that doesn’t mean your competitors can’t set an even better record.

Hey Jon, have you given thought to competing in something like a historic competition, going out of your comfort zone by building a scale model tank diorama, something like that and seeing how that experience enriches your hobby?

Please do it again! Don’t give up, I am a new painter in the hobby and this video like others of your great videos are what inspired me to try my hand in this hobby, and hopefully to have a chance to one day even enter into the Golden Demon competition.

3 diorama ideas, anything from cursed city lore...( I know you just did undead) black coach chasing heros down a city street...number 2, crashed lizardmen temple ship in jungle with new models. Number 3, realm gate, through back...a few stormcast on one side and some chaos on the other...

A great diorama. And, yes, documenting a journey to your golden demon entry would be great.

I'd love to watch a fully documented, start to finish Golden Daemon Project!

Yes! Keep going! I watch your videos often and when I'm painting my own models I think back on an idea or technique you used and it inspires me to keep going even when I'm feeling down or discouraged

A "Making a Diorama on a Penny" video actually sounds kinda fun. How small can you go and still have it read as a diorama as opposed to a mini?

Yes, do it again! Your diorama is really cool :) Next? Goblins in the duel category? Or halflings in a treant for the LotR category?