Painting Competition | Winner Announcement | The Winter Debt | October 2026
|
Christmas came early to Bestiarum this October and our community certainly made the most of it! This month's Monthly Painting Competition took us into the snow-covered woods of The Winter Debt, a collection inspired by eerie midwinter folklore, unsettling traditions and the creatures lurking just beyond the warmth of the hearth.
The Winter Debt gave our painters plenty to work with this month, with its eerie creatures and dark take on midwinter traditions. This month's entries showed just how much atmosphere can be created with a little snow, some clever lighting and a healthy dose of festive horror. We saw painters experimenting with colour theory, creating dramatic contrasts and building elaborate dioramas that brought these twisted winter tales to life.
As always, our Rookie and Veteran Leagues returned this month. The Rookie League winners were decided through community voting on our Discord server, while the Veteran League winner was selected by the Bestiarum Team.
Let's take a look at this month's winners!
Competition Results
Rookie League
We had three participants in the Rookie League this month, each bringing their own creative take on The Winter Debt. Congratulations to Zagy, Uvemode and Manoel!
Entry #1 - "Grelda, the Midwinter Hag" by Zagy
Our first Rookie League winner, Zagy, created a wonderfully atmospheric scene featuring Grelda, the Midwinter Hag, capturing the unsettling feeling of coming face to face with her in the woods after dark.
The lighting is undoubtedly one of the strongest features of this piece. Zagy made great use of object source lighting (OSL) here, with the lighting standing out against the muted greys of the surrounding forest. The bare branches, snowy ground and falling snow give the scene an eerie atmosphere, capturing just how frightening an encounter with Grelda would be.
This was Zagy's very first time participating in our Monthly Painting Competition, making the result all the more impressive. A fantastic debut!
Entry #2 - "Last Snowman Standing" by Uvemode
Our second Rookie League winner, Uvemode, took one of The Winter Debt's Snow Effigies and gave it a rather unfortunate opponent: the rising sun!
The warm oranges and yellows illuminate the snowman, contrasting beautifully with the cooler blue and purple tones of the ground beneath it. The soft transitions and glowing light give the miniature a colourful, almost cosy appearance, despite the rather unfortunate situation our snowman finds himself in.
Uvemode used this project to explore a new painting style, taking inspiration from Craftworld Studio and experimenting with colour theory and lighting. It's great to see that experimentation pay off in such a striking result, especially with a palette that brings so much warmth to an otherwise very chilly subject.
Excellent work, Uvemode!
Entry #3 - "Papa Pink, the Gormandizer" by Manoel
Our final Rookie League winner, Manoel, went in a rather different direction. He gave the Lord of the House a rather colourful makeover, presenting us with a wonderfully grotesque character affectionately named Papa Pink.
The rosy-purple skin tones contrast beautifully with the darker surroundings, while the smooth transitions give all that exposed flesh an almost disturbingly soft appearance. There's some lovely attention to detail in his drinking vessel, too, with a convincing wet look to the liquid.
It's an eye-catching and delightfully unpleasant interpretation of the Lord of the House, proving that even the most grotesque creatures can look rather fetching in pink.
Bestiarum Vote - Veteran League Winner
This month's Veteran League winner, selected by the Bestiarum Team, is Covenants with "I can build a snowman...."!
Covenants took the cheerful tradition of building snowmen and transformed it into a thoroughly disturbing scene of festive horror. Combining the Snow Effigies from The Winter Debt with the Offerings to the Beastmother terrain from our earlier Children of Baphomet release, he created a wonderfully grim graveyard diorama filled with sinister details.
The effigies seem almost gleeful as they build snowmen amid the aftermath of some terrible event, turning an innocent winter pastime into something deeply unsettling. The fresh white snow contrasts brilliantly with all the gore, while the bloodied bodies, gravestones and skulls add to the grim atmosphere. There's a great sense of movement and storytelling throughout the scene, with plenty of gruesome details to discover.
It's a wonderfully creative diorama that brings together miniatures from different releases into one cohesive narrative, blending Christmas cheer with Halloween horror. A very deserving Veteran League winner. Congratulations, Covenants!
A huge congratulations to all of this month's winners!
It has been fantastic seeing how our community interpreted The Winter Debt. From restrained, atmospheric lighting and eerie woodland encounters to vibrant colour experiments and elaborate horror dioramas, this month's entries really embraced the unsettling charm of the collection.
What stood out especially was the variety of approaches. Some painters focused on exploring new techniques and colour palettes, while others used their miniatures to tell entire stories. It's always brilliant to see how the same collection can inspire such different creative interpretations.
As always, our Rookie League winners each receive a digital product of their choice, while the Veteran League winner receives an STL Collection of choice, a special honorary title on our Discord server and a chance to paint an exclusive preview miniature before its official release.
Thank you to everyone who participated, voted and shared their creations with the community this month. We love seeing these miniatures come to life through your creativity and we're already looking forward to what you'll come up with next!
Veteran League Entries
Rookie League Entries
If you'd like to participate in next month's competition, make sure to join our Discord server, head on over to the Monthly Competition channel and check out the rules in the pinned messages!