We have some winners! For the last 5 days votes have been coming in to select winners in the Blood & Plunder Commander and Character categories and now we will be awarding the first two medals in the 2026 Great Pirate Paint Off.
Commander Winners
First thanks to all the painter who entered. We had 85 great entries and had to narrow to 8 for the final People’s Choice. And a huge congrats to all our 8 finalists:
- Jason R
- Erich G
- Joshua L
- Dylan D
- Julian N
- Ryan P
- Tanner F
- Tyler C
We had 132 people vote in this category to determine the winner. And now the top 3 entries!
3rd Place Commander – Henry Morgan by Julian N
With an impeccable style and amazing control, Julian N comes in third with his Henry Morgan. Julian does amazing work and has earned several medals in the contest before!
Second Place Commander – Pegleg Pirate by Erich G
This model has so much personality and Erich G did him justice! Look at the clean detail work on the binding around the hat brim. Excellent work!
1st Place Commander – Native Woodland Chief by Tanner F
Earning 49 of the 132 votes cast, Tanner F is our winner with his beautifully painted Native American Woodland Chief Commander.
That detail on the beadwork is amazing, and of course the amazing work on the skin. An excellent model and a worthy winner! Congratulations to Tanner F for winning the commander Category this year!
Character Winners
We had even more Character entries than Commanders, but for some reason less people voted for their favorites in the top 8. I guess the Commanders were at the top of the page and they didn’t scroll down far enough. But we still got 76 votes to decide the winners.
We had 109 entries in this category and competition was stiff. Congrats to our top contenders:
- Greg P
- Julian N
- Ben P
- Ryan P
- Kurtis F
- Oliver K
- Brent D
3rd Place Character – Unknown Scotsman by Ryan P
Coming in third place we have a great bit of kitbashing in addition to stellar painting. Ryan P has made an awesome model for the Unknown Scotsman that helped remove Blackbeard’s head from his shoulders.
There was a lot of Green Stuff involved in this model. Check out that tiny tartan work!
3rd Place Character – Sharpshooter by Julian N
Another awesome model from Julian! The iconic buccaneer model based on the Howard Pyle painting comes from the original Blood & Plunder Kickstarter project a full ten years ago! Amazing work from Julian.
The eyes and facial definition is top quality!
1st Place Character – Pirate Fiddler by Brent D
Come in first with a decisive majority of the people’s votes, we have the Pirate Fiddler, painted by Brent D!
That monkey just demands your vote! The clean lines on those pants, the pattern on the head piece, and the great shading on that happy monkey are all very impressive! Congratulations to Brent D for winning the top spot! Also, what a great framing and setting for the model. Looks really great.
Final Thoughts
Thank you everyone for participating as participants and judges in these two categories. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out all the entries in these categories by reviewing the Commander Gallery and Character Gallery. Great inspiration for your own painting!
We have Oak & Iron Ships and Terrain as our focus categories for February.
Congratulations to Brent and Tanner! They will be receiving medal prizes for their wins.
I just had to vote for the unknown Scotsman. That’s where I was born.
I love this competition. There have been many spectacular painting submissions that put my efforts to shame. I appreciate the craftsmanship and their steady hands.
Cheers
Richard