Inside the Mind of a Champion: Two-Time Winner Johnathan Ho on the Path of the Worthy

As the Third Annual Path of the Worthy approaches, we had the privilege of speaking with Johnathan Ho, two-time winner of this prestigious competition. With past entries like “All of You Against Me” setting a high bar, Jonathan has become an inspiring figure in the community.

Here’s what he had to say about his journey, the competition, and what’s next:

You’ve won the Worthy two years in a row with some truly exceptional pieces. How did it feel to achieve that level of recognition, and what do you think made those entries truly exceptional?

It’s been an amazing feeling to have pieces (and I think a style) that are becoming immediately recognizable by the community.  

The “Spider-Man vs Doctor Octopus” piece is still one of those unique pieces that holds a really special place in my heart. The composition, narrative, and conversion/painting really come together to tell a unique story that I’m still trying to top. I’m particularly proud of the scratch-building work on Dr. Octopus’s tentacles, and the perspective of how the characters are displayed was pretty inspired (if I do say so myself!).

The “All of You Against All of Me (Avengers vs. Ultron)” was a really ambitious piece for me tackling a large number of characters interacting in a complex diorama, and what I loved about it was pushing the boundary of the “squad” category where it’s a large scale duel/battle as opposed to a single unified force like many other entries.

With the Third Annual Path of the Worthy on the horizon, what excites you most about this year’s event? Can you give us any cheeky hints about what you’re planning to enter this time around?

I’m always looking to push myself to try new things, and especially with these dioramas, tell really dynamic stories.  For my entry this year I’m really pushing myself in setting and ambiance, and while I’m not particularly fond of two-dimensional backdrops, my entry this year incorporates the idea of a backdrop in a three-dimensional way but hopefully still engaging the viewer to look at my piece from multiple angles to really capture all the details I’ve put into the piece.

My pieces from the previous two years have had a lot of rigid, mechanical pieces so my entry this year is going to be a lot more organic. Softer shapes and colors, and I’m hoping to really push my use of color to create a more integrated palette.

All I can really say (and hope) is that my entry this year is fit for a king.

What’s your process like when planning a competition piece? How do you go from concept to execution, and what inspires your ideas?

I usually approach a competition piece from one of two ways:

Find a story I want to tell, and then see what pieces I can use to fit that story. I’ve found a piece (or pieces) I really want to paint and then develop a story around them. 

It’s usually a fairly organic process and I bounce back and forth between different ideas before I settle on one. I probably spent a good 3-4 months brainstorming ideas before settling on what I wanted to enter for this year’s Path of the Worthy (and it doesn’t help that you guys keep coming up with some amazing miniatures!)

When it comes to actually building a piece, it’s a lot of testing and dryfitting to get pieces to work, and a lot of experimentation.  Sometimes you’ll start working on a part or parts that don’t quite fit, or aren’t working how you intended, so you have to take a couple steps back to redo a thing or approach it in a different way.  But the more iteration you can do in this concept and visualization phase, the stronger your piece will end up being (and the less course correction you’ll hopefully have to do once you’re further along in the work).

It’s the same thing with painting; I try to block in a sketch of the colors first to establish the color palette and values and keep it loose enough that I can correct/change things quickly before I pivot to refining and tightening everything back up. The hardest part of any project for me, is going through that “ugly” phase where nothing makes sense and I’m questioning everything about this piece until I hit that point in the refinement stage where it all comes together.

 

The Worthy is renowned for its sense of community. How has participating in this event inspired you as an artist and influenced your perspective on the hobby?

It’s funny because I’ve been pursuing the arts since I started drawing when I was four, and I made a go at a relatively successful career as an artist/director for over a decade before COVID said otherwise, so I don’t think participating in the Worthy has had a profound impact on my sense as an artist and my approach to the hobby.

I’ve always seen art as a collaborative effort, and win or lose, these competitions are really about a coming together of likeminded individuals, where we can show our work and both inspire and learn from others.  Winning is nice, but at the end of the day, it’s about your journey as an artist and just aspiring to do better today and tomorrow than you did yesterday.

I also believe that you can learn something from everybody, so I’ve always loved seeing the many different ways people approach story telling and expressing their artistry, and it’s a blessing to see everyone’s entries each year.

Where I think I’ve really grown is in the way I interact with the community at large. My hobby journey over the past few decades has always been about “what can I improve next” and “how can I grow/be better,” and I’ve always looked to the work of other more renown artists to inspire and motivate me and to see how I can dissect their works to improve my own. It’s honestly never occurred to me that at some point, I hit that threshold where my work does the same for others, and just actively acknowledging that has challenged me to examine how I interact with the community, to try to be more encouraging or instructive where I can.

Feedback is such an important part of The Worthy. What’s the most impactful advice you’ve received from judges or fellow painters, and how did it shape your approach?

“Paint your tufts!”  Dallas’s (AMG’s Creative Director) remark on my “Ultron vs. Avengers” piece, in combination with some helpful feedback from the community at large, helped point out notable flaws in the piece that I hadn’t even really considered flaws before, and made me give a strong think about areas that were lacking and how I could do better in the future (namely color palette and cohesion), and I’m really hoping those improvements will show in my piece for this year.

Looking back on the first two years of the Worthy, do you have a favorite moment or entry, either your own or someone else’s, that stands out as particularly special?

So, I remember standing in line the first year of the Worthy, waiting to submit my entries. I’ve got my piece in a rather nondescript carrying case so you couldn’t see my models. When I get up to the table and start pulling out my entries (and in particular the “Spider-Man vs. Doctor Octopus” piece) all I hear behind me is “Yo, what the heck, that’s amazing”. It was such a surreal moment because that was literally the first time anybody other than my wife had seen the piece, and that immediate reaction still gives me tingles.

What’s your advice for newcomers looking to make their mark in this year’s competition?

Don’t let comparison (to others) steal your joy.  We’re all on a journey as artists, and everybody’s journey looks different. We all take different paths, and encounter our own unique challenges. The only person worth comparing to is yourself, and as long as you are doing better than your past you, you’re on the right track.

 

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Good luck, Johnathan, and to all the participants preparing for this year’s competition!

Whether you’re a seasoned champion or stepping onto the Path of the Worthy for the first time, AdeptiCon 2025 is your chance to shine. We can’t wait to see what this year brings! See you soon.