Mike McVey

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Mike McVey
Mike McVey - Lucca Comics & Games 2018 01.jpg
At 2018 Lucca Comics & Games
Born
United Kingdom
Occupations
  • Game designer
  • Miniatures painter and sculptor

Michael McVey is an artist, miniatures sculptor and game designer who has worked primarily on miniature wargames.

Contents

Early life

Mike McVey was born in the United Kingdom and played Dungeons & Dragons in his youth. While on a family holiday in the early 1980s, he painted his first miniature, a caveman produced by Ral Partha. He soon came to realize that he enjoyed painting the fantasy miniatures used in the game more than playing the game. [1]

Career

McVey started his career in the metal game miniatures industry in 1987 with Games Workshop (GW), [2] : 289  where he worked as a miniatures painter at their Nottingham studio. [1] From there, McVey filled many other roles for the company: writing a series of books for GW about painting and modelling; writing the 'eavy Metal column for GW's house magazine White Dwarf ; making elaborate dioramas — he later called this "The happiest time in my whole career" — and designing several miniature ranges. [1]

At the end of 1999, McVey moved to the United States and joined Wizards of the Coast (WotC) as Art Director of their miniature lines. His work included developing miniatures for WotC's new edition of Chainmail , [2] : 289  as well as lines of D&D and Star Wars pre-painted miniatures. [1] McVey used his "Role Models" column in WotC's house magazine Dragon to give advice on how to paint miniatures. [2] : 290 

McVey then moved to Privateer Press in 2002 as a company partner, [3] [2] : 291  becoming their Miniatures Director. [1] McVey immediately helped the company develop the steampunk miniatures board game Warmachine , which subsequently won the Portent Choice Award for "Best non-Games Workshop Wargame of 2003". The citation read in part, "After criticism for his Games Workshop sculpts, Mike McVey has had a point to prove and has done so brilliantly with his contribution to this brilliant thought-out and well supported wargame." [4] Matt Williams of Privateer Press later commented that they had only been able to move Warmachine from an idea to reality after McVey joined their creative team, adding, "The biggest factor was finding Mike McVey. There's no way that Warmachine could be made without him. He's a brilliant sculptor who has the ability to do fantastic technical and straight line sculpting, perfectly suited for something like a steamjack." [5]

In 2007, McVey moved back to the UK as a freelance consultant, which included work on World of Warcraft miniatures. [1]

In 2009, McVey opened his own company, Studio McVey, [1] and in 2012, started to work in partnership with the Chinese miniatures company CMON.

Legacy

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hubbard, Jason (Spring 2010). "Interview with Mike McVey". Irregular. No. 4. pp. 37–42.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN   978-1-907702- 58-7.
  3. ↑ Orlygg (2016-08-26). "Realm of Chaos 80s: Citadel Colour: An Interview with Mike McVey". Realm of Chaos 80s. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  4. ↑ Tunney, Aaron (May 2004). "And the winner is...: Portent Choice Awards 2003 Round-up". Portent Oracle. No. 2. p. 20.
  5. ↑ Cook, Corbin (March 2003). "Game Company Interview: Warmachine". Fictional Reality. No. 11. p. 87.
  6. ↑ "Golem Painting Masterclass 2012". Portal. No. 24. June–July 2012. p. 39.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Brett (November 2010). "Interview: Adam Poots". Portal. No. 4. p. 20.
  8. ↑ Rutledge, Neil (2001). "Warhammer: Converting the Masses". The Citadel Journal. No. 45. p. 87.
  9. ↑ Gen Con 50: Celebrate Gaming History. Gen Con. 2017. p. 93.
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