William “BJ” Wright is an award-winning miniature painter and educator whose work blends technical precision with atmospheric storytelling. Since beginning his miniature-painting journey in 2017, BJ has earned recognition across both competitive and community spaces, including multiple first-place finishes in Tulsa Warhammer’s Armies on Parade: Age of Sigmar category and Best in Show honors at Soonercon 33. His work has also been recognized at ReaperCon, where he earned Silver Medals in both the Painter and Diorama categories before later achieving a Gold Medal in the Painter category in 2025.
While miniature painting became his creative focus later in life, BJ’s artistic roots began in childhood while spending weekends in his family’s ceramics shop. Influenced heavily by his father, a teacher, he developed not only a passion for creativity but also a love for sharing knowledge and helping others grow. That passion has led him to teach miniature-painting classes focused on techniques ranging from basing and environmental storytelling to color theory and display painting.
BJ strives to create an encouraging space where artists of all skill levels feel empowered to experiment, learn, and push beyond their comfort zones. He believes creativity grows through curiosity and persistence, often guided by the philosophy: “The ultimate expression of failure is not trying due to the fear of failure.”
Whether competing, teaching, or building immersive display pieces, BJ continues to explore new artistic challenges while contributing to the miniature painting community through education, collaboration, and a genuine enthusiasm for the hobby.
In this class you will learn to use techniques like sponging and dry brushing to create a weathered metallic effect. Items used for this class can be found on any make up counter. Hope you are comfortable making visits to Ulta. ????
This workshop is a ticketed event. Visit soonercon.com/workshops for more information and to RSVP for this event. Note: Some workshops incur an additional fee to attend.
Take your skin painting beyond traditional triads and learn how to build rich, realistic tones using underlying color theory. In this class, we’ll explore how subdermal undertones—purples, greens, reds, and yellows—can be used to “value sketch” the face before applying final skin tones. This approach, inspired by techniques from professional artists, helps create more dynamic results. Students will work on a bust to better understand how light, shadow, and color zones interact across the face. We’ll break down simplified “skin maps” to guide placement of shadows, midtones, and highlights, while also discussing how lighting conditions (such as directional or dramatic lighting) influence your choices. This class is ideal for painters looking to deepen their understanding of color and move beyond standard recipes. While the focus is on faces, these techniques can be applied to any exposed skin. All paints used are Pro Acryl, and will be provided. **Students are encouraged to bring their own brushes for detail work.**
This workshop is a ticketed event. Visit soonercon.com/workshops for more information and to RSVP for this event. Note: Some workshops incur an additional fee to attend.
In this beginner 90-minute class we'll learn to snap photos of our miniatures the best way possible using our phones. We'll talk about lighting, phone settings, and the bare minimum you might need. This will be a demonstration class with handouts provided. Bringing your own phone is encouraged for experimentation. However, we will NOT be covering the camera settings of each phone.
This workshop is a ticketed event. Visit soonercon.com/workshops for more information and to RSVP for this event. Note: Some workshops incur an additional fee to attend.