Today we’d like to introduce you to Evan Lapka.
Hi Evan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started converting the whole of my childhood bedroom into urban warzones, African plains and ancient cities around the age of seven. My dad and I would build model airplane kits, and later, scale dioramas of tiny battlefields — beginning with the battle of Roarkes Drift. I’m pretty sure there’s still a scale replica we built together of the USS Lexington on top of a bookshelf, somewhere in my folks’ house. Whenever we’d visit museums, I would find myself absolutely transfixed by scale models of ancient pyramids, 20th century warships, oilrigs, etc. Anything that was tiny yet massive, intricate and jaw-dropping was right up my alley.
Fast forward 20 years, two careers, a few sports injuries and lifelong battle with depression (this led me to a newfound love for art therapy; hobbying and painting tiny, miniature soldiers.) Eventually, this grew into a full-time commission painting business; painting armies of hundreds of models for private collectors, competitive gamers and game companies. Eventually, I teamed up with Austin-based Imperial Terrain, where I helped build, paint and participate in a Kickstarter campaign. My portfolio ranges from architectural prototyping to 10′ x 10′ terrain boards and scale recreations of cities — to digitally sculpted, 3D printed and painted display figures, three dimensional landscapes and vignettes.
These days, I split my time between working in Special Education at a local high school, teaching painting workshops at CRAFT on the Eastside and painting passion projects via the occasional studio-work for local, homegrown, friggin’ awesome paint company: Turbo Dork. Painting miniatures, creating dioramas and building tiny worlds synthesizes my love of sculpting, painting, sketching and storytelling all in one. You can find me in PrintPress at 1207 E Cesar Chavez, probably painting something teeny tiny or you can find me online @ATXminis.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course not — no worth road traveling is smooth! I was in sales and marketing in the outdoor industry, in various capacities, for the better part of a decade when I decided to quit my day-job and focus on art full-time. Luckily I had a client base to rely on for steady commissions, but to be an artist in Austin in the 2010’s and 2020’s means working 70+ hour weeks in the studio, side-gigs, garbage health coverage and an ever-impending worry of where the next project will come from; even booking six months out. Then, COVID hit– luckily, for me, many of my clients were working from home, but my business shifted away from architectural projects with a renewed focus on armies, specifically Warhammer 40,000 armies. A couple of years and 1,000+ space marines later burn-out became real and it was time to transition this back into a passion project and step away from art as a full-time gig. Now, I split my time between teaching and art and I couldn’t be happier!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a totally fine, middle-of-the-road painter; where, I feel, I excel is in storytelling. Miniatures and dioramas are a 3 dimensional representations of a moment. My favorite thing about this art form is figuring out how to combine colors, sculpts, textures, building materials and organic elements together to tell a story through a snapshot. My best work revolves around cityscapes and scenes involving lots of human elements. The process starts with our designer sculpting models digitally in Zbrush or Blender, then the models are sliced in Lychee, checked in Preform and printed either in resin or PLA plastic via a 3D printer. From there, bases and platforms are built, organic elements like moss, dirt, sand, etc. are added and from there, I paint the entire piece by hand brush and airbrush. Single figures can take as little as 6 or 7 hours while large cityscapes and terrain boards can take months to years to complete. My art has taken me everywhere from Middle Earth to Mogadishu to Coruscant. All in all, I look at a potential project and if it sparks that “oooooh this is cool” flame inside my inner ten years old — its game on.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Diversify and don’t devalue yourself, even if incoming work is slows down.
I know a number of awesome, experienced, local artists that closed up shop and were forced to find other kinds of work during COVID. Those who were able to find new markets, new mediums or new applications for their craft have seemed to flourish during this time of economic uncertainty; whereas those that refuse to pivot or adapt have struggled.
In the same vein, I know many artists that have started to devalue themselves by charging less for their artwork for fear of a dwindling customer base. Beginning of the pandemic, I saw an influx of inquiries asking for deals, discounts, etc. seemingly attempting to take advantage of what many perceived as a struggling industry.
In response, I’ve tightened my schedule and fee-structure– ensuring that I only take on projects I really want to, and I’m actually being paid what my time is worth. To me, it’s important now– more than ever, that artists not undervalue themselves and charge what they actually feel they are worth. Even if it sounds counterintuitive– in my mind, it’s better to pick up a part-time job than it is to take on projects that don’t pay you what you’re worth. Passing up projects to focus on the ones that really matter is how I stay happy, healthy and avoid burnout.
Contact Info:
- Email: atxminis@gmail.com
- Website: ATXminis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atxminis/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atxminis
- Other: https://www.twitch.tv/atxminis
Image Credits:
Evan Lapka, Dave Lawson
