Thread by @evilkipper, Well, as @kurishi already guessed the other day, some of my experiences [...]

Well, as @kurishi already guessed the other day, some of my experiences on twitter this week have made me a bit irate, and have lead to another Kipper Waffle (patent pending).

No, this isn’t about the next-gen console launches. Its about how we compare painting … and people.

I’m going to start by discussing something that raises its tired head over and over … that some painting techniques are “better” than others. That some techniques are cheating.

It's absolute nonsense. I have heard refrains of this over literally decades. When Citadel originally introduced their inks? It's cheating. It does shading for you. It's not proper layering. It’s not as “good”.

Using an airbrush? It's cheating. You get quick easy colours and coats and can do certain effects like OSL really easily. It's not as “good” as using a brush.

Using washes and shades? See inks. Except this time its cheating because you don’t have to work as hard to overcome the glossy ink effect that I had to use, and isn’t as “good”.

Drybrushing? Cheating. Its quick and easy and can look amazing. It's not as “good” as spending 12 months painstakingly getting the same effect by using a tiny brush to add little layers to get to the same point.

Contrast paints? Cheating. Shading and base coating at the same time? Well, its just not as “good” as painstakingly painting a miniature the old-fashioned way.

It's all absolute nonsense. There’s no such thing as a “better” technique. Nothing is cheating. Nothing is “good” or “bad” in itself.

What actually matters? Did you damn well have fun painting the model? And are you pleased with your own results?

Saying a random technique is cheating is something that really irritates me.

Doing things the hard way isn’t a sign of virtue. Getting fantastic end results for less effort so you can paint more minis? That’s not cheating! Thats brilliant!

Every technique is another tool in the tool box. And not every tool is ideal for the job in hand. Some work better better than others to achieve a particular effect. Some tools are more expensive than others and some people can’t afford them.

They aren’t cheating.

Heck, you don’t have to like every tool either. My edge highlighting tends to be a bit ropey, frankly. I tend to drybrush instead.

Doesn’t mean I’m cheating. Doesn’t mean the ‘Eavy Metal lads are with their edge highlights.

It’s all just tools. Its all about the end results.

This brings me nicely onto the next stage of the waffle. The actual tools we use.

This is another area that tasks me. It tasks me!

This is another area where I hear really pointless slights.

Some people love GW paints. Some people hate using them.

Some people love Vallejo paints. Or Instar, or Scale 75, or Army Painter.

You know what? That’s absolutely fine. People can enjoy painting with different paints. With different brushes. With different airbrush rigs.

Painting is about enjoying the process as much as the results, and both are very personal things. You can dislike stuff! That’s grand!

Telling other people their work is rubbish because they like a different brand paint? Or use a different brand brush?

That's absolutely abhorrent to me. Just because you don’t like a particular paint doesn’t make it “bad" in another painters hands.

Speaking for myself, I flit between ranges. A good white? I rather like Instar’s whites. A black? I love Vallejo’s gloss black primer with Stuart Semple’s Black 3.0 over the top. A green? I get GW’s Moot Green on every mini. General shade? AP Strong Tone!

If I asked any other painter on here the particular paints they favour, I’d almost certainly get slightly different answers. And none of them are wrong. None of them are bad.

Some painters will use paints they don’t actually like as much as others because that happens to be more available. It's all very well loving paint hand made by monks in tibet, but if you run out as a commission painter, you aren’t making money! Using what you have isn’t wrong!

What matters, if you aren’t already sick of this refrain, is did you enjoy painting a mini? And are you, not anyone else, happy with the results?

Now, the more attentive (and not fallen fast asleep during this rather epic waffle) may have noticed that I’ve actually subtly changed that refrain to make it clearer that the only person whose opinions matters about the results is you.

(Yes, if you paint on commission, the client’s opinion does rather matter. If you enter Golden Demon, the results are down to the judges. You still can’t do better than your best)

For one thing, you can’t easily compare two artists painting in different styles and say “this is better”.

Is a John Blanche mini better than a Darren Lathem mini?

The technique and style are so different that the best you could say is one is more to your taste, not better.

For another, you don’t know the circumstances behind the artist. If someone paints an “adequate tabletop level mini”, and has chronic health issues, poor eye sight and shaky hands?

In my eyes that’s a far more impressive achievement than winning several Golden Demon awards.

I work full time, raise kids and paint when I can. I’m lucky if I get more than a couple of hours a week.

I love painting. ’m older now, and my eyesight isn’t what it was. I don’t have the time to practice techniques for hours a day.

I am proud of every single mini I paint.

I love trying new techniques! I love trying new brushes! I love trying new paints. Trying different airbrushes!

I love seeing minis painted by people new to the hobby just as much as I enjoy seeing a Golden Demon winners latest work.

There’s nothing wrong with pushing your hobby to the max and working hard to improve, but there’s also nothing wrong with feeling you’ve hit your level and enjoying the process.

Everyone’s different. Everyones at a different point. And everyone who paints is still an artist.

Let's try really enjoying the positive aspects of the hobby we see. It might be fantastic colour choices. It might be perfect implementation of techniques. It might be glorious enthusiasm to get a mini out for a game.

Its all bloody brilliant!

On that note, I’m going to go into a quick #followfriday and mention some hobbyists who have been on the wrong end of a lot of this over the last week. I’m sure its happened to more of you, and I haven’t seen it, and I am truly sorry if it happened to you. We should be better.

I’m going to start with #FF @Kirioth, who is perpetually enthusiastic for GW minis, whose conversions are amazing, whose colour choices pop in a way that makes me totally jealous, and whose minis are frankly spectacular.

Apparently he cheats by dry brushing.

Balderdash, I say!

Next, #FF @TheForgeofMars does the most stunning Legio titans and not just in Adeptus Titanicus scale! Mind blowing quality and speed, and I know he’s won a Golden Demon pin, though he describes his work as “tabletop”.

It isn’t rubbish because he uses the wrong airbrush!

I’m also still appalled by some recent events. Judging people by their techniques, their tools or their finished miniatures is bad enough, but judging fellow hobbyists just by their origin is even worse.

I think #FF @kurishi is one of the very best of us on here. Her positivity constantly brightens my twitter experience. Her painting is always amazing to see, and her work on smaller scale tiny “plens” has been one of the highlights of my twitter year.

And #FF @ICantThinkEm is brilliant! Amazing grasp of technique, fantastic use of colour, enthusiasm, positivity, and, I think I have to mention, some absolutely fantastic nails to boot! :)

Absolutely terrific hobbyist and artist.

I’m going to leave my thread here and go back to dribbling over all the amazing minis and enthusiasm I see on here.

Just remember we all hobby differently, and come from different places. Celebrate that, don’t tear each other down. Huzzah!

(Oh, and I’ve been getting loads of replies and comments while waffling! I do apologise if I miss yours in the hubbub, but I’ll try to catch everyone!)

Latest Threads Unrolled: