Hey guys! If you’re regulars to the site then you know that Wednesdays is usually the time where we put up some painting or modelling articles. Well, it’s become regular enough that we figure we should have a section up for it.
It might be some painted models, a painting tutorial or even a how-to guide for something totally random… but readers can rest assured that come Wednesday we will have some kind of painting, modelling or DIY related article for you to read, or at the very least have some pretty new pictures for you.
To commemorate this new section, I’m taking a bit of a stroll down my own personal painting memory lane…
If you’re a new painter, I’m sure you have been discouraged when you look at the fruits of their arduous labour and realise that the painters/gamers around are heads and shoulders above you. If you’re an experienced painter, I’m sure that you’ve been in the same spot before. It’s easy to tell someone that ‘practice makes perfect’, but it’s just as easy, if not easier to lose heart. After all, it’s so HARD sometimes, isn’t it?
And that’s why you should never repaint all of your miniatures. Sure, if you want to save money and/or you want your models to look the best that they can, but you should never repaint ALL of your models. Leave some models the way they were. Personally for me, once something is painted and based and varnished I don’t go over them again. I usually don’t have the time, but more importantly once they’re finished they hold too much sentimental value.
Let me explain how I just made such a giant leap in logic. A painted model is a snapshot in time of your own painting skills. If you’re a painter who is interested in increasing your own skills, it shows you how far more you have to go, but much more importantly it show you how far you have come.
For me, the one thing that usually makes me feel better is looking at my old models. I remember that I had tried 40k/fantasy oh-so-long ago (about 12 years ago) but given up because of how badly I thought I painted. I remember that I started painting Warmachine only 5 years ago. And most importantly, I remember how far I’ve come since then. The picture above is a timeline of how I’ve been painting over my entire life, and even the last one listed here has been about 6 months ago. I think I’m better now (if only slightly), and I realise that if I continue I will be even better in the future.
So keep your models. As horrible as they might look to you now, they will serve as a roadmap of where you’ve come in your years in painting. And I think they’re nostalgic. 🙂
