An Interview with the 2024 Winners of The Path of the Worthy

 

After the Award Ceremony for Path of the Worthy at Adepticon, we had a chance to sit down with two of our winners, Jason Gibeault (The Mighty, Dual) and Johnathan Ho (The Worthy, The Mighty—Squad). Read along as they share how they went from inspiration, to perspiration, and finally celebration of their outstanding achievements!

 

Congratulations on your epic achievement! Can you introduce yourselves?

Johnathan Ho: I am a project manager at a health technology company. Before that I was an Art Director and an Illustrator. I’ve been playing miniatures games since 2000. I started with larger scale war games and then eventually pivoted more towards smaller skirmish style games, which is what lead me to Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Jason Gibeault: I used to be a caretaker at a church, but now I am lucky enough to say that I’ve emerged from the pandemic able to paint full time as a studio. I used to run a commission business. Now I really focus on myself and growing as a painter. It’s a passion. I’m on my 30th year in miniatures gaming. It’s been quite the journey.

 

What made you want to enter The Path of the Worthy?

Johnathan Ho: I like the podium style judging system where everyone can place appropriately to their efforts so that everyone can go on their own journey. It’s not just about winning “Mighty” or “Worthy.” More people are able to feel that satisfaction for the work they’ve put in and sometimes I feel other competitions sometimes leave painters feeling punished for imperfections and they don’t focus on rewarding narrative or story telling as much as The Path of the Worthy seems to. It’s not just about the perfect brush stroke or the perfect highlight.

Jason Gibeault: The open system that AMG provides for the Worthy is, in my opinion, the best kind of system that you can integrate into for a painting competition. It allows a lot of people to be creative and expand their basic knowledge on painting and make something dynamic and unique. It’s Marvel which is exciting and inspiring to people. It feels fun and creative.

 

You’re both returning to the competition for the second year. What lessons did you take from your experience the previous year to help you succeed?

Jason Gibeault: Well Johnathan Ho… exists. (laughter) Sometimes there are those people out there who just turn things up to 11 and you are completely blindsided by their talent. But essentially, every painting competition asks you to be at your best. The first time you enter, you learn more about what the judges expect. I was able to use that reflection to learn, adapt, and upgrade for the next year.

Johnathan Ho: In my reflections on last year and in speaking to other people who were planning to re-enter the competition I got the sense that a lot of people planned to really step up their game. I had to do that as well! There was a push to tell better stories and to integrate more pieces into my entry.

 

How did you go about choosing your piece and planning it?

Jason Gibeault: I’m very nostalgic. When I realized that The Worthy would be happening around the same time as the re-release of the 1997 X-Men animated series, I knew I wanted to recreate a very iconic scene from the second episode where Wolverine is just tearing it up on a Sentinel and shouts “This one’s for you, Morph!” I had so much fun kitbashing and figuring out how to create something unique. That’s what makes this competition 100 worthy to do. Pun intended!

Johnathan Ho: I wasn’t 100% sure what I was going to do until I saw the Earth’s Mightiest Core Set. Once I did, I knew exactly what I was going to do. I had to do the Ultron scene. Last year Dallas told me that I would have to defend my title and that everyone would be coming for me. That’s where the idea for the title and concept came from – “All of you, against all of me.” It seemed appropriate.

 

Did everything go according to plan during execution? Were there changes you had to make?

Jason Gibeault: I really set up a normal plan and executed it. I used the last few weeks to better my piece and finesse.

Johnathan Ho: Nothing went off plan, but it was a lot more challenging to plan. I’d never done an extensive multi-piece diorama like this before. There were so many components and I had to map out the lighting on all of those elements via sketch beforehand.

 

How much time would estimate went into your project?

Jason Gibeault: My time management is very different compared to other painters because I am 50%+ colorblind. I have to paint a little bit, take photos, shift them to black and white, correct issues and ask for feedback from other painters. Sometimes things take me a little longer, but this took me about 120 hours.

Johnathan Ho: I’d say close to 300 for mine over over two months. I was putting in 3-4 hours on work days and a little longer over weekends. Once I had my plan and my references it was just about moving piece by piece through it.

 

How do you stay inspired during such a grueling process? Is it hard to just keep pressing through?

Jason Gibeault: I read comic books. There are so many dynamic scenes and I think about how I can realize them with what Atomic Mass Games has released.

Johnathan Ho: I trust the process. Especially for something like this squad entry there is just a super long “ugly” phase where you just hate everything about it. It’s about knowing that I will be able to hit the end result. I try to focus on small executable things and knock them out one at a time.

 

What would you want to impart to anyone who is beginning their path in competition?

Jason Gibeault: What I would tell other people is to only compare yourself to yesterday’s you. If you can be better than what you did yesterday, then you are doing your job. Don’t compare yourself to any social influencers or big names. You have to take this on on your own. It doesn’t matter how long it takes as long as you are taking steps forward. That’s why your windshield is bigger and the rear view mirror is smaller.

Johnathan Ho: Winning the medals and the trophies isn’t the focus. It’s all about learning. If you can learn one thing that makes you a better artist or even a better person, that’s what it’s all about.

Thank you so much to Jason and Johnathan for taking the time to share a piece of their journey with us and with the community. Unfortunately Sam Lenz (The Mighty, Single) was unable to attend the award ceremony and participate in this interview, but we wanted to congratulate all three of these best-in-category and best-in-show painters on their incredible achievements. We’re always very inspired by what everyone brings to this competition and we look forward to seeing you all bring your best to Adepticon 2025’s Path of the Worthy painting competition.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Games signing off!