Very concise and honest encouragement -- as someone with crippling OCD, I routinely struggle with the daemon of unobtainable perfection (should absolutely be a named Tzeench Lord) when it comes to mini's. I think, often times, our expectation to spontaneously develop skill without the inevitable investment of learning is what defeats most people before they begin. When I think about the thousands of hours it will take, it seems daunting when doing that horrible life/work balance. I'm certainly more of a lurker, but your sincerity in these videos is so compelling to get me painting I thought I'd give a visible cheer.
Awesome, always glad to help. Perfection is a dragon one should avoid. I don't know a miniature painter anywhere in the world that has painted the perfect miniature, even the absolute best. In the end, it's art and not a math equation, there is no perfect, just an expression of what you were hoping to achieve. It's a lot of hours, there is no doubt, but you don't climb a mountain by jumping to the top. You just need to take one more step. Each step, each technique, that all builds upon itself. It's daunting, but it doesn't need to be. One little step, becomes one more, becomes a very long road you walk. :) We can all do it, if we walk together.
Your third point is very reminiscent of something I recently told my wife; her hobby is making chain mail jewelry and we were discussing various things when she brought up how frustrated she gets when something doesn't work out because she feels like she wasted time and materials. My response was something to the effect of: You didn't waste anything of you learned something from the experience whether that's what not to do next time or what might work better in times of materials, etc. The only time you really fail at something and waste time and materials is if you don't learn something from the process. In my opinion, this is the source of fear for people, not just in this hobby but in many different areas; they don't want to feel like they wasted time, effort and resources and if something doesn't go right (or they're worried about something not going right) they tend to default to feeling this way. Even if you fail and somehow manage to render whatever you're working on completely unsalvageable, you still tried and learned something, unlike the person who never tries at all.
I remember being so afraid to fail, that I put off ever trying to wet blend for a long time because I thought it was only something the 'pros' could manage to pull off. Then I had an idea for a model in my head that I wanted more than the fear I felt, so I gave it a go. I was so happy with how it came out. And I still am. I love that model so much because it was my first attempt at something that was beyond edge highlighting. FYI it's the previous lord of change model, but it's metal. I now have two with massively wet blended sets of wings. My entire Tzeentch army is wet blended in some way (including all 90 of my pink horrors) because it was something I wanted to get better at. But I wasn't immune to feeling afraid of new techniques. Once again it took a long time to attempt NNM. But again I tried it (both gold and silver) and I'm very happy with the results. My problem is I'm extremely self critical and my own harshest critic. My next goal is to attempt a full diorama and enter it into a painting competition. But I have a few things (not hobby related) to complete first.
Great examples of exactly what i am talking about. What I always say is I have never met anyone who has gotten good at a thing by not doing it. Try, fail, learn, and try again. After all, it's just a model. You will paint thousands in your life if you stick with this hobby - it's worth a little extra time on one for what you could learn for the thousands to come.
This video should show up in the first spot for people searching for "tips for miniature painting beginners". So much "awesome", I wish I could multi-like!
That was seriously inspiring. Thanks for everything you do, you’ve helped me along in ways both practical and philosophical in my own journey. Never stop!
This video really spoke to me-thanks for sharing. I have seen Matt use that hashtag, but then I think subconsciously well it's easy for him to be brave because he's amazing. Recently I painted up something that turned out way better than I expected, and in a moment of confidence I decided to try my hand at OSL which I had never really done. Mid way through glazing blue all over the front of my hard painted model I had a mini-panic attack as the fear rolled over me that I could "ruin" my cool paint job. I was pretty disappointed at first, but at that point I was committed, and in the end I think it turned out pretty cool and I even got some compliments at the hobby shop when I took him to play. It's far from perfect, but it felt real good.
Awesome, full credit to Matt, he inspired me too as I say in the vid. You had exactly the right idea, give it a shot, it can be scary, but you can always fix it (or not) - in the end, you risk nothing and it's one miniature, and if it works - you have a new technique to add to your repertoire for your whole life. Thanks for watching and commenting. :)
You cannot say that one can't open a black hole when he goes into a grocery store just because it never happened yet! 😃 Great video and inspiration, thanks!
Very timely video for me... I have always painted armies withe the idea of just getting them looking "good enough" for the table and having reached the point where I had all the techniques to do that I never really tried to get any better. I've been watching your videos for a while and tyring new things - I started using a wet pallet, I bought an airbrush, yesterday I spent about 4 hours just trying to get the skin tones right on a character model (following your painting female faces video) - my painting is definitely improving so thanks so much for taking the time to share some of the things you have learned.
I struggle with fibromyalgia which makes me feel tired and less able to concentrate and this results in me being *afraid* that I'll mess up, but listening to this I figure you are right. If I just wait until the good days then I won't be stepping forward, I'll just be coasting.
Never feel bad about the health challenges. That's tough and I can empathize. Recently, I did some nerve damage to my right arm, and it was very difficult for me to hold a brush for any more than a few minutes while I was recovering. But I kept painting, I just changes my projects, I painted for fun, I tried new things, new colors, did terrain, did projects that I could learn but weren't focused on technical precision. Never feel bad about working at your pace, and there are always ways to learn, grow and as long as you are having fun painting, you are doing it right. :)
2:36 love the backdrop you made here. Looks like you used and airbrush. There are many video's online of street artists making galaxies. I bet we can learn from them.
Thanks so much for this video. I have loads of minis standing around only primed (or not even that) and not laid a single brush stroke on them because I am a noob and are afraid of "ruining the mini." Will endeavour to be braver ;)
Glad to hear it. Any miniature with paint on it is better than a miniature without, 100% of the time. Remember, the only way you ever improve a thing is by doing that thing. :)
Vince Sir your painting journey as always is an inspiration. It's so true I've had so much fear holding me back and I just need to drop that shit. Thank you
Great Video: I believe what it stems from is that generally most mini painters are working on an army...that in the end they want uniform and looking good on the table and dont want to risk new things. So Once I got back into 40k I decided to start an army 100% out of my comfort zone and watched 100s of youtube videos on ORKS. There are so many ways to paint ork skin its insane, it wasnt for at least 10 test models that I began to develop my own mix of how to do it, which I am super proud of. I was also uncomfortable with yellow, so I did Bad Moons! Lol ...the problem now...that I have my process "down" is that I am painting 2000pts of these guys so I need to keep my meathod even though 6 months ago was my bleeding edge of skill...I surpased in a way, I reserve that for my Warlord which I am painting last. Army painting is the root of the issue. What I have done to overcome this now is to buy miscellaneous models just to paint, with no intention of gaming with...My Erebus from FW just came in and I have been taking lesson from a very good painter LilLegend studio which has helped me move up the skill latter dramatically. My long winded .02
I think that is a good point. What's funny is that it's rare you make changes so big that the army doesn't look cohesive. An army generally looks cohesive from 3-4 feet based on color alone. The detail and experimentation that usually happens is smaller or in the detail people don't notice. That being said, your method is perfect and much like my own. You push on those one offs and take it up for the next force.
Thanks Vince. Excellent view on things and that's certainly helped me put a perspective on the subject! I suffer from a serious lackage in the confidence department. I had been wanting to learn how those amazing folks did their minis so nice for a while but figured that was for real artists and I am just a hobby guy- beyond me altogether. Then I found Hobby Cheating while I was looking for a tutorial on weathering and battle damage and began watching more and more of the series and you explained the techniques in such a way I could take it in and apply them to my miniatures. At the risk of sounding like I am bragging which I most certainly I'm not, but I can see a vast improvement in my painting and I am still very much a beginner with these next step techniques. I am now always itching for an excuse to try out something new but still stay working on my army. I think the fear was down to confidence and the ruining thing was in reference to the hours already spent on the mini which now in hindsight is pretty lame! Excellent upload Vince, only wish I'd heard it back when I first started this amazing hobby. Thanks man.
That's awesome and I am very glad to hear. The truth is that I really don't have an artistic bone in my body so everything I have done is just me trying stuff, studying, experimenting and learning from that. Anyone can do this if you put in the time and lose the fear. :)
Great video, Vince! Once you do get over the anxiety hump, experimenting is certainly exciting and rewarding. I’m not a great painter/modeller by any means, but I’d like to think that I’ll eventually get better by “just doing it”. Also having fun along your journey is important too, so I try to reward myself with new paints, pigments, tools, etc. to try out new techniques.
That is the perfect attitude. Little challenges, little attempts, little experiments, little rewards. In the end, each little step becomes a long journey you have walked and hopefully - you have lots of fun on the way. That is exactly the goal always. :)
Glad to hear it. In the end, there is nothing to fear. It's just paint, they are just miniatures. The worst case is you paint it again, you can't ruin anything and only stand to gain. Best of luck and you can do it.
:) I've made an entire 10 year career from (successful) failures, so I can align with the "fail to succeed" mentality. Also, with my teaching experience, my most successful students have been the ones that fail regularly and understand why and how they failed.
It's pretty my time investment that holds me back.. for example I have the Shadespire Reavers all but done right now, I want to add some blood to their axes as I've never done that, but the axes already look nice and I don't want to have to paint them again if it goes wrong! I'll constantly push myself in general though!
Well that's exactly what I mean! Start with a few small blood streaks after you watch a few videos. A few little touches and streaks (I have a video myself, but there are many). Worst case, it's what? 5 minutes to cover it and go back to steel? That's a worthwhile 5 minute risk, because if you get something you like - then you have the confidence to do it for the rest of time. That's a small risk for a long reward. :) You can do it, I have faith.
Vince, I'm a fledgling painter who struggles incredibly with the wretched combination of piss-poor self-esteem and, paradoxically, unrealistic expectations of my own ability. After having watched your Warcolours videos I asked my wife for their 98-bottle base paint set for Christmas, and she delivered; however, I haven't painted in nearly two months because of the oppressive sense that I suck and am not improving--all of which I know is robbing me of the chance to grow. Yet still I feel paralyzed by this ridiculous fear. I just bought two new Kolinsky brushes and Scale 75's Sky & Ice Blue paint set, hoping to rekindle my passion. I'd really like to start getting over my irrational fears and actually improve my craft. I don't know if it is appropriate for me to ask, but would your Painters Motivating Painters group accept someone like me? I love your videos and deeply admire your work, and I feel like I really need a supportive community that can both encourage and challenge me along my journey. I guess it never hurts to ask. Thanks for your consideration.
100% we would love to have you. THe reality is, you will never improve something by not doing that thing. You wouldn't be good at brain surgery your first day, or fixing a car, or lifting weights. I would certainly encourage you to join up and share, receive feedback and keep painting. Here is the community: plus.google.com/u/0/communities/117252074374119760063
thanks vince, your videos are my main source of hobby skill upgrades. I'd like to put in a selfish request though, Show us how to paint a warm white armour please? I know you have white cloth, would love to see the technique for armour. thank you! :-)
Oh look who's suddenly promoting stoicism... Haha good job Vince, I hope this helps people develop further in painting and in other aspects of life. Now you just need to make an ergonomics video that encourages folks to take short breaks for push-ups, air-squats, and crunches.
Great words Vince! You know the only thing I haven't been able to find is how to do NMM Bronze so far which is odd since I would think I could find it with classical oil painting styles. Maybe they don't call it NMM but something else I don't know.
what about those of us who display their figures at figure shows and are told why did you paint a small figure because 32mm and slightly larger is consider to be very small and judges do not like judging them because they can not see the details and the great paint job or jobs ?
I have a personal hatred of metal miniatures, not a fear, just hatred. ;) That being said, the NMM is scary for all of us to be sure, it's really just a get into it and take a shot. Over time, it's one of those things that get's much easier.
Buy an airbrush and some simple green. ;) In all honesty, bad primes are one of the few things that are very tough to correct with paint. It's kind of the time you have to strip and start over because it will bleed through into other things. Now, depending on the primer and the flats of the figure, you can buff it out with some very high grit sand paper (like 800 or 1000).
Vince Venturella Or use it to practice your color scheme and buy a new one (Your mileage and wallet may vary). As someone who has a stormcast model that was used six or seven different times for trying new techniques before I painted him up straight, it really is hard to use acrylic model paint to screw up a figure (Unless you gob it on). Glues and solvents on the other hand can ruin things, but you have to really get loose with them and gob it on.
I'm guessing you used a rattle-can and sadly, I don't think there's a way to correct the problem on the miniature; stripping is the only solution I can think of. One great tip to help minimize the possibility of this happening in the future is to put your rattle-can in a bucket/container of warm water about fifteen minutes before using it; the warmth of the water will raise the temperature of the primer sufficiently to help keep it liquid during spraying and you can always put it back in the warm water in between sprays to heat it up again.
