My dude. 8 years sober myself. I spend my time alone now and this hobby has helped immensely. Got sick of video games so I hung it up. Kind of went hand in hand as I've been tattoo artist for 20+ years so I figured it was right up my alley.
Alex, thank you for opening up your brain to us. ANY community you’re a part of, knows how to JUST MOVE! I could listen to you explain paint all day brother. Your cinematography continues to blow my mind. You being you makes me want to be me. Thank you for that.
Love this. The painting miniatures world is so full of “the only way to” and “how you should be” hyperbole which restricts creativity and exploration. Thank you for explaining, provoking and encouraging us all to try
When I got into warhammer back in the 90s I had a friend, a few years older than me, who said "everyone's first painted mini is trash, it's like cooking breakfast, you make scrambled eggs before you get to french toast". Stuck with me for ages. Love that you address this.
I like to approach painting as a method of lying through a visual medium. My goal isn't to make something look genuinely good, that takes thousands of hours and hands steady enough to get a side gig as a brain surgeon, it is to deceive people into thinking it looks good. How I cackle to myself whenever someone is foolish enough to compliment the pigmented vomit I have slathered onto an innocent miniature in a monstrous parody of art. I am a con of biblical proportions, a master manipulator at work with colorful evil goo, the most dastardly equivocator in the realm and very humble too. Sometimes I even fool myself.
Alex, I could write more than a few paragraphs which would still fail to express how much I appreciated this video. I’ll just sum it up by wholeheartedly agreeing that “finding someone to share the moments” is at or near the top of the list. Thank you so much for sharing your moments with us.
Man, the section on washes/shades is super true. They're useful for so many things. I for the most part stopped using them outside of basing. Instead I use them to tint and unify or start the weathering processes on certain materials. I do similar things with contrast paints. Once the basic concept of the tool is understood, you can start to experiment and use them is other ways. The only time I ever use shade/washes as intended is over TMM. The community part is also really true. I'm trying to get my friends into showing off their work and progress. Regardless of the quality as compared to my own or the stuff they see online. I want them to feel proud of their work. It's part of them after all.
Great introspective! Whether you're new, intermediate, or award-winning, sometimes we get caught up in it all! My favorite bit of advice is what I call the 1-foot rule. When painting, we're often using magnifying glasses or putting the mini right up to our face. But when it's on the table, or on display? It's over a foot away. So if you put the mini down, or hold it at arm's-length, and it looks good? Then it looks good! Every art involves self-criticism of small details no one would notice (signers, painters, steel fabricators), and this helps us improve for next time. But don't forget that at the end of the day, you made a cool thing, and it's great to recognize that for yourself!
I loved the video, as usual! ❤ The video is definitely different than typical "start here" videos, but in a good way. Something else to share with new hobbyists is that some people never really find a "style". I have been in the hobby (off and on) for 40+ years, and I still have not decided how I want to paint. I just kind of put paint where I think it should go, like a paint-by-numbers. I have seen videos with undercoating with colour, or using a sketchy style. I cannot seem to get out of my head to use these new techniques. Having said all this, I enjoy the hobby immensely, and I try to do it 4+ times per week. The enjoyment factor usually outweighs the lack of confidence I have in my work.
Always keep your first mini. It's a special thing. Sadly, lost mine a few years ago but had it for 13 years. And not being able to see it leaves a bit of a longing, of a time before learning technique and just going off what I could imagine.
I still have mine and it's so special to me. Really helps when I'm down on myself and I love using it to show new painters that their model is great "look at this first guy I painted you're already better than where I started" that sort of thing.
Beautiful video and message. Exciting to see an honest dialogue about the hobby! My advice for getting into mini painting- ask your mom/dad/brother/sister/friend to teach you. Watch the UA-cam tutorials, but I got my start sitting at an old ping pong table in the basement watching my dad apply basic washes and highlights to the old metal Lord of the Rings minis. That’s where the real knowledge, experience, and community is built! 🔥👨🏻🎨🔥
I found this video on accident because I was searching for beginner mini painting videos. I felt lost and overwhelmed with the amount of minis there were to print and paint. I have all these advanced supplies, expensive brushes, and tools and yet I never paint. Every time I start and make a mistake I stop and put it down. I'm too overwhelmed with perfection seeing all the perfect minis online. I watched all those other beginner painting videos and this was the first one that actually made me feel like I could actually do it. It was refreshing to hear that it's ok to fail and learn and keep getting better. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and making this video. It really did inspire me and it brought a sense of peace and fun back why I wanted to paint minis to begin with, to relax and enjoy myself.
Hobby thinking for folks new to painting, or perhaps emerging from the GW bubble to paint and play with different models and different games, outside the perceived doctrine of GW taught painting. There's nothing more worthwhile, rarer and more valuable than a vid that get's us thinking about how we can enjoy our hobby time more by exploring/thinking it through and reaping the benefits of good ideas
Well, that's different. I like it. Less a 'how to do it' and more a 'how to approach it'. The first one is highly available all over youtube - the second one is now here. Thanks for that.
Loved your video. I'm deep into the "analysis paralysis" and find myself looking at hundred of hours of video and painting close to none. It could sound paradoxal but I think your words will help, I feel it, I feel...lighter ? So thank you very much
Thank you once again Alex! Your videos always invite the kind of reflection and creative contemplation that put me in my preferred zone for painting. And I love how those look! I've seen a lot of red+white JSA; I love how you balanced those out with the yellow & gray, and the end result is an overall "earthiness" while they are, of course, very far indeed from Earth! What's that planet JSA & Pan-O are now fighting on again?
I actually just started painting my first minis this week; so this video was inmensly useful. It feels good to hear someone I admire say that we all start small. I'll keep on searching for the things that keep me painting :)
I loved this video. Of any of the “beginner” videos for miniature painting, this one is probably the most unique from all of them. I’ve been painting for 3years now and still consider myself a beginner, and watching these videos helps remind me that it doesn’t really matter if I’m painting to award winning standards yet. I still have fun doing it and am constantly improving no matter what I choose to do.
Another glorious video! Exactly the sort of start to paint video I had no idea we needed! Will be sending it round to some friends I am, ahem, gently encouraging to start the painting hobby
Painting (and my approach to it) has taught me so much about my own strengths and limitations. This video has so much great advice and if I could remember it more often I’d paint more often and learn more quickly. I love the idea that experience is the opportunity to fail more often. I’ll keep trying to fail upwards. Some of the minis I’m Most proud of were painted unconventionally with low light angles with only two colours against a lot of the convention. Thanks for the advice.
Sir, you continue to create some of the most thought-provoking, inspiring, and entertaining content in this space. I always get excited when the little notification pops up and says you've dropped another video. Thank you for your continued wisdom, wicked sense of humour, and alternate takes on the format! One day, I hope I can meet you just to shake your hand 😊
Great beginner video! Really what I needed to hear after returning to the hobby after years of being away. You’ve reminded me that good art takes time and effort, and it is okay to fail along the journey. Thanks!
An amazing video as usual! Your videos are like hobby mindfulness...and this is possibly the best hobby channel. Im a design and sculpture teacher and we will shortly have a Corvus Belli digital sculpture artist teaching us their process! Can't wait!!
I have next to zero sculpting experience, but I'd love to see that! Coincidentally my 3-year old and I did our first little polymer clay bake thing last night. Was my first time touching the stuff but my wife made lots of things as a kid, apparently. Good times were had by all.
@@52Miniatures It was really interesting! Perhaps some content in the future could be centered around the scupture artists. They are a bit like the unsung heroes of miniature games and I don't remember seeing hobby content about that. Thank you!
@@mrgatsby6443 I have a few videos with short talks to sculptors, when I've been able to get hold of them, if I'm painting something they have made. Honestly, a lot of that kind of stuff takes a lot of time to do well, and a video with an interview in it usually does terribly for some reason, so I've stopped. It's like people are here for the painting and anything else upsets the status quo
@@52Miniatures It must be the tiranny of the algorithm. It is already amazing that your channel keeps growing having innovative and creative perspectives. If I can help with anything as a Spanish arts and design professor like, for instance, talk to Corvus Belli in Spanish or something, or contacting Sergio Calvo...let me know!
I'm finding myself falling into the trap of watching videos instead of actually painting too many times these days. And yet it's great fun to experiment with new techniques or colors or paints to find something that works for me. I recently read "Every tool's a hammer" by Adam Savage and was reminded how important it is to actually make things vs just thinking about making things. Now off to watch another video!
Those look great. I just finished my JSA and painted them in a very similar theme. You videos are always my go to in order to break the paralysis of not painting that I sometimes run into. I kind of got over watching too many videos a while ago and now am at the have to many unpainted minis and projects that sometimes cause a screeching halt in my hobby. I painted all the Sandtrap JSA, which I found extremely fun to paint (and I bought them based on part on you previous Infinity video, but had been quietly stalking the line for a while) but then got paralyzed after doing only 3 of the included Pan Oceana figs. Anyway, watching one of your videos always manages to jump start me. Thanks!
I'm looking forward to the Pan O minis. Not quite sure how I'll tackle them but I think something simple again. So I can get on with playing the missions.
“Threatful yoga moves” 😂 Love the way you put things dude, love your channel. I do believe I’ll pick up my brush and actually paint some of my combat patrol I’ve had assembled for just about a year now and been too afraid to “ruin”. Thank you for that.
Thanks, yeah unfortunately filming at home is not really possible because of what it implies to the other people around me. But I had to stay at home for this period so I did what I could
Really excellent video, my favorite youtube, Van Neistat, equates this concept to the road from Innocence to Experience. We all want to foster that childlike joy with whatever we work on yet also want the experience to do something well. The journey from Innocence to Experience comes with trial and error yet still be rooted in the joy for the hobby.
So refreshing. When I was a kid there was no UA-cam, there was barely Internet, and I painted instinctively without worrying about techniques or paint brands. I found out many years later that I was using actual techniques (feathering, wet blending...) without even knowing it! Point is: paint, enjoy, and you'll get better eventually.
Loved every second of this video, especially the tabletop-ready miniatures at the end, ready to go. With the very dry and subtle jokes dotted in between. Thanks Alex
Thank you! I have been into Warhammer for many years, struggling to get my armies painted. I am a people pleaser, putting the needs of others before my own, I struggle to be unapologetically me, & have been painting things as they are expected to be. I know I should not worry what others think about the way I paint my miniatures, but now that I am using the bright and colourful paints I have always wanted to, the painting side of the hobby is much more enjoyable.
I can't believe It took me 3 years of youtube hobby oriented content to finally find you. You are a deeply inspiring creator ! And as a vieographer myself (I made a living out of it but the "pro" label feels off), the cinematography of your work is just as great as the stories you tell =) listening to a calm voice while learning about a brand new way to look at minis, paints, techniques is a treat ! Your channel is unique and motivates me to go back to my workshop =)
Took me over a year to create a custom color scheme for my Tyranid army, but the thing is that I never gave up and kept on painting different schemes until I found the one that I loved.
Getting back into mini painting as an adult was so much easier than when I was a teen because of all the videos and beginners guides, and sticking with painting was so much harder because of all the video and beginners guides. Love to see a video reminding me to just enjoy the process - the painting bit is my actual hobby, not the churning out models for insta. Thanks!
Something I really love about the hobby, which makes me feel the time and money are really a great investment, is the time of night when wondering about colour schemes for a new force displaces the anxieties and worries which appear around three in the morning, and how some really small, miniature troops manage to push back the often (but not always) inflated worries about work and life and other stuff for a while, and sometimes hold them off until I fall asleep again. Magic video today, thanks very much for that. I just love the relaxed content you provide.
15:51 my reaction was, wow those look great. Great bit of motivation and insight in this video. Thank you for making it. Just get some experience by making mistakes.
i consider mysefl a "professional" minipainter, i won at competitions, i painted minis for money and i guess i got stuck at Get Gud mindset. I cannot let go and paint miniature in "tabletop" ready standard. Now i am in a middle of another 80+ hour long killteam project with full nmm eldars and sometimis i feel that i am wearing off, that i am working for result and not enjoying process of getting there. Thanks for your videos and sharing a way you feel about hobby, it is hobby afterall. I have ordered another miniature game starter box to play with my dad where i want to ultimately have fun all the way down while doing hobby. Lets see how it will went.
I am doing well, thank you. 🙏 In this moment I’m pissed off about UA-cam :) but that comes with the territory I guess. Kitbashing a mini to get over it.
still the best advise i have heard. Want to get better at something? then do it. practice, practice some more. and when your done practicing, keep practicing, because your always gonna learn something new. I used to run academies for gw, and we would teach the basics over a six week course. I took that training and help with teaching the basics. how to care for your brush being a big one. but i found the best way to help, was to just sit there and paint with people. they will ask questions and it was fun for all involved, which makes it so they will want to keep doing it. I also told everyone to keep thier first model so in 5 years they could see thier skill improvement.
One thing I recently started with is painting some miniatures using cheap acrylic pens with brush tips. I do it on the couch while pretending to be company for my wife, rather than sitting hours upon hours in the cellar, where my hobby room is. With a bit of training and a few sets of those pens that allow for a wide colour palette, one can get moderately decent results that can be further elevated later with some washes or drybrush highlights.
Awesome video, like always! UA-cam is saturated with "the best way" or "the ultimate guide for". The hobby is like cooking, there is no one way to cook chicken. There are 100 of recipes and no just one perfect one. You take the recipe and add or discard what we want to use. Sometimes we had forgotten the real meaning of the word hobby.... a "pastime to enjoy relaxation". Everything has become a competitive way to see things (golden deamon criteria). Don't get me wrong, is good to improve in what we like, but in a enjoyable way, not adding more pressure and frustration to the hobby. A good friend and fellow model builder told me something that has become my golden rule.... "build what you like the way you like it" don't let others dictates what you like. So, the only thing that is important for me is that I'm enjoying what I'm working on. I like to watch UA-cam videos as reference for a technique, but I will adjust it to my like and needs. Thanks again!!!!
"Paint like no one is watching." That's some excellent advice. At the end of the day, one's own opinion is the only one that truly matters. Also, I'd just like to say I love that one of the books you were perusing for inspiration was Hieronymus Bosch!
Great video! And I love that you're working with the anime-cyberpunk vibes of Infinity. I definitely agree that that initial approach to the idea of technique and theory when all you wanna do is make a squad playable looks super intimidating to new painters. But oh boy the point where I had a handle on the theory and then immediately used that to do the most out-of-pocket colour schemes I could think of was so thrilling!
Thank you, that was great. I've been painting a Pirate themes Orcs & Goblins army of an upcoming tournament, and I've been feeling a bit constrained by the timeframe and having to work on the same "thing", even though everything is vastly different. I've become a bit frustrated, and that's all on me - in fact I am doing the thing I want and love on a regular basis. My biggest take away from this was practicing some gratitude, I definitely need to take a step back sometimes and see the bigger picture
@@52Miniatures for The Old World. It's been loads of fun! Just finished a goblin wolf chariot that's actually a bit of a pirate shipwreck that's been strapped to the back of a crab toy I "liberated" from my son. He helped me with painting the crab, so I think I have his blessing now haha
"You might just ruin it but that's why we have so many miniatures" is such a great way to put it. Im new but I feel like I've made a lot of progress in a short time by just grabbing cheap minis that seem fun and trying weird things on them, then taking what works into my Warhammer army. I made some frankly horrific paint jobs as a result, but also some genuinely really good ones too. Id also say that if you have a Warhammer store in your town, go in at the beginning of the month they'll give you a free mini, so that's a free fcuk up each month!
A really insightful and well presented video. Couldn't come at a better time... It's really helped me switch perspectives, these are the things I really need to hear. Does it matter if it's the right colour or too vibrant or a, particular shade? It really doesn't... It's your work when all is said and done... So who are you trying to impress, or what? It should, be, an individual undertaking rather than who can closest colour match something that's, been done 100 times, before. A certain wise old Ork... Or was, it, a, goblin 🤔 was once heard uttering something about inlearning all, you have learned. I think that's a good approach. Thank you for that.
I’ve just been discussing your several ways to paint yellow with a friend I have unashamedly got into the hobby. I’ve got some years of painting on him, and this video is perfect to try and explain my exact point! He’s first models are much better than mine, and he is already attempting techniques I have not tried or don’t want the effect of. But it’s all about doing it. That’s what matters. And company. That’s good too.
@@52Miniatures I think I should be thanking you. There’s really something about your reflective view point. It’s just what I need. And makes excellent company.
"Welcome to what many see as Nerdsville and I see as enlightenment." - I can relate to this statement on so many levels. I'm in "the zone" when painting miniatures, usually with a dog at my feet and a cat chilling on the desk nearby. That time is my time to let my subconscious mind do it's thing while I concentrate on painting models.
I've been painting since the late '90s, so would consider myself an average or intermediate painter. But I enjoy your videos, and still watch through an entire video on beginning to paint. Well done!
Very enjoyable video. And a little bit of catharsis as I am at a time in my life where I do not have time at the end of the day to paint right now. Craving a time when I get a couple of hours before bed again to sit at the hobby desk!
Check out Infinity Operation Sandtrap here: store.corvusbelli.com/en/infinity/wargame/miniatures/operation-sandtrap
The best painting advice I ever got was - if you want to get better at painting - just paint.
Absolutely! Good to keep in mind!
Yep ❤
Thanks guys and hi Roman!
@@52Miniatures :) Wishing you tons of happy painting! I am a silent fan of your channel :)
@@ROMANLAPPATMINIATUREART Well I'm a silent fan of yours so all is good.
Started painting six months ago to quit drinking. Enlightenment indeed
All the power to you!
My dude. 8 years sober myself. I spend my time alone now and this hobby has helped immensely. Got sick of video games so I hung it up. Kind of went hand in hand as I've been tattoo artist for 20+ years so I figured it was right up my alley.
@McVilla1N We are not alone. I'm a "retired" tattoo artist. Got a little too antisocial for it. Eight years gives me hope, thanks!
Worked for me still sober 38 years
@@billpiochlll1300 Great work!
Alex, thank you for opening up your brain to us. ANY community you’re a part of, knows how to JUST MOVE! I could listen to you explain paint all day brother.
Your cinematography continues to blow my mind. You being you makes me want to be me. Thank you for that.
Thanks Dave! I'm glad you saw the video. It's doing quite poorly so if you get the chance to share it, please do. Hope your well!
Love this. The painting miniatures world is so full of “the only way to” and “how you should be” hyperbole which restricts creativity and exploration. Thank you for explaining, provoking and encouraging us all to try
When I got into warhammer back in the 90s I had a friend, a few years older than me, who said "everyone's first painted mini is trash, it's like cooking breakfast, you make scrambled eggs before you get to french toast". Stuck with me for ages. Love that you address this.
“Paint like no one was watching”. That’s the best advise I ever heard.
Practice makes perfect, the more you paint the more you improve. 👍
Can confirm this is also good for painters who have been painting a while but life and indecision has got in the way of. Lovely stuff.
Thanks Jamie!
I enjoyed this TEDTalk.
Glad to hear it
I like to approach painting as a method of lying through a visual medium.
My goal isn't to make something look genuinely good, that takes thousands of hours and hands steady enough to get a side gig as a brain surgeon, it is to deceive people into thinking it looks good.
How I cackle to myself whenever someone is foolish enough to compliment the pigmented vomit I have slathered onto an innocent miniature in a monstrous parody of art.
I am a con of biblical proportions, a master manipulator at work with colorful evil goo, the most dastardly equivocator in the realm and very humble too.
Sometimes I even fool myself.
I think this can work as an overall life approach 😂
Alex, I could write more than a few paragraphs which would still fail to express how much I appreciated this video. I’ll just sum it up by wholeheartedly agreeing that “finding someone to share the moments” is at or near the top of the list. Thank you so much for sharing your moments with us.
Thank you Mark, I hope you are doing well. I do look in on your planes every now and again.
Man, the section on washes/shades is super true. They're useful for so many things. I for the most part stopped using them outside of basing. Instead I use them to tint and unify or start the weathering processes on certain materials. I do similar things with contrast paints. Once the basic concept of the tool is understood, you can start to experiment and use them is other ways. The only time I ever use shade/washes as intended is over TMM.
The community part is also really true. I'm trying to get my friends into showing off their work and progress. Regardless of the quality as compared to my own or the stuff they see online. I want them to feel proud of their work. It's part of them after all.
Great introspective! Whether you're new, intermediate, or award-winning, sometimes we get caught up in it all!
My favorite bit of advice is what I call the 1-foot rule. When painting, we're often using magnifying glasses or putting the mini right up to our face. But when it's on the table, or on display? It's over a foot away. So if you put the mini down, or hold it at arm's-length, and it looks good? Then it looks good! Every art involves self-criticism of small details no one would notice (signers, painters, steel fabricators), and this helps us improve for next time. But don't forget that at the end of the day, you made a cool thing, and it's great to recognize that for yourself!
I loved the video, as usual! ❤ The video is definitely different than typical "start here" videos, but in a good way.
Something else to share with new hobbyists is that some people never really find a "style". I have been in the hobby (off and on) for 40+ years, and I still have not decided how I want to paint. I just kind of put paint where I think it should go, like a paint-by-numbers. I have seen videos with undercoating with colour, or using a sketchy style. I cannot seem to get out of my head to use these new techniques.
Having said all this, I enjoy the hobby immensely, and I try to do it 4+ times per week. The enjoyment factor usually outweighs the lack of confidence I have in my work.
Always keep your first mini. It's a special thing. Sadly, lost mine a few years ago but had it for 13 years. And not being able to see it leaves a bit of a longing, of a time before learning technique and just going off what I could imagine.
I still have mine and it's so special to me. Really helps when I'm down on myself and I love using it to show new painters that their model is great "look at this first guy I painted you're already better than where I started" that sort of thing.
Fantastic video! The humour is again, spot on 😊
Thank you, I appreciate it CH 🙏
6:27 -- Exactly what I need to hear and take to heart. And I DO have too many minis to be so fussed about it if one goes wonky.
Beautiful video and message. Exciting to see an honest dialogue about the hobby!
My advice for getting into mini painting- ask your mom/dad/brother/sister/friend to teach you. Watch the UA-cam tutorials, but I got my start sitting at an old ping pong table in the basement watching my dad apply basic washes and highlights to the old metal Lord of the Rings minis. That’s where the real knowledge, experience, and community is built! 🔥👨🏻🎨🔥
I found this video on accident because I was searching for beginner mini painting videos. I felt lost and overwhelmed with the amount of minis there were to print and paint. I have all these advanced supplies, expensive brushes, and tools and yet I never paint. Every time I start and make a mistake I stop and put it down. I'm too overwhelmed with perfection seeing all the perfect minis online. I watched all those other beginner painting videos and this was the first one that actually made me feel like I could actually do it. It was refreshing to hear that it's ok to fail and learn and keep getting better. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and making this video. It really did inspire me and it brought a sense of peace and fun back why I wanted to paint minis to begin with, to relax and enjoy myself.
I’m glad to hear this and appreciate that you wrote the comment
Hobby thinking for folks new to painting, or perhaps emerging from the GW bubble to paint and play with different models and different games, outside the perceived doctrine of GW taught painting.
There's nothing more worthwhile, rarer and more valuable than a vid that get's us thinking about how we can enjoy our hobby time more by exploring/thinking it through and reaping the benefits of good ideas
Thanks Phil!
Well, that's different. I like it. Less a 'how to do it' and more a 'how to approach it'. The first one is highly available all over youtube - the second one is now here. Thanks for that.
Thank you Bea!
Always an encouragement watching your content Alex! I'm painting again!! Thank you!
Thanks C!
Loved your video. I'm deep into the "analysis paralysis" and find myself looking at hundred of hours of video and painting close to none. It could sound paradoxal but I think your words will help, I feel it, I feel...lighter ? So thank you very much
Worth making the video just for this, thank you for sharing. Good luck 💜
I hear this…
Subscribed when I spotted the collection of Pratchett books...
Trial by books. Welcome to the channel
Thank you once again Alex! Your videos always invite the kind of reflection and creative contemplation that put me in my preferred zone for painting. And I love how those look! I've seen a lot of red+white JSA; I love how you balanced those out with the yellow & gray, and the end result is an overall "earthiness" while they are, of course, very far indeed from Earth! What's that planet JSA & Pan-O are now fighting on again?
I've got no idea where they are fighting. I just pay attention to the fluffy bits and not the facts :)
I actually just started painting my first minis this week; so this video was inmensly useful. It feels good to hear someone I admire say that we all start small. I'll keep on searching for the things that keep me painting :)
I loved this video. Of any of the “beginner” videos for miniature painting, this one is probably the most unique from all of them. I’ve been painting for 3years now and still consider myself a beginner, and watching these videos helps remind me that it doesn’t really matter if I’m painting to award winning standards yet. I still have fun doing it and am constantly improving no matter what I choose to do.
Another glorious video! Exactly the sort of start to paint video I had no idea we needed! Will be sending it round to some friends I am, ahem, gently encouraging to start the painting hobby
hot damn this was a good video. this man has the smarts, you should listen to him.
Thanks!
Thank you kindly Niklas!
Your content is always so thoughtful. Also I need your mic.
Painting (and my approach to it) has taught me so much about my own strengths and limitations.
This video has so much great advice and if I could remember it more often I’d paint more often and learn more quickly.
I love the idea that experience is the opportunity to fail more often. I’ll keep trying to fail upwards.
Some of the minis I’m
Most proud of were painted unconventionally with low light angles with only two colours against a lot of the convention.
Thanks for the advice.
Sir, you continue to create some of the most thought-provoking, inspiring, and entertaining content in this space.
I always get excited when the little notification pops up and says you've dropped another video.
Thank you for your continued wisdom, wicked sense of humour, and alternate takes on the format! One day, I hope I can meet you just to shake your hand 😊
Well thank you dearly FZ!
Great beginner video! Really what I needed to hear after returning to the hobby after years of being away. You’ve reminded me that good art takes time and effort, and it is okay to fail along the journey. Thanks!
Thank you the Mr. Miyagi of miniature painting ! Excellent guide full of true and tested advices ! Would recommend without a second thought 👌 !
Wax on! Wax off!
An amazing video as usual! Your videos are like hobby mindfulness...and this is possibly the best hobby channel.
Im a design and sculpture teacher and we will shortly have a Corvus Belli digital sculpture artist teaching us their process! Can't wait!!
I have next to zero sculpting experience, but I'd love to see that! Coincidentally my 3-year old and I did our first little polymer clay bake thing last night. Was my first time touching the stuff but my wife made lots of things as a kid, apparently. Good times were had by all.
Wow, sounds cool!
@@52Miniatures It was really interesting! Perhaps some content in the future could be centered around the scupture artists. They are a bit like the unsung heroes of miniature games and I don't remember seeing hobby content about that. Thank you!
@@mrgatsby6443 I have a few videos with short talks to sculptors, when I've been able to get hold of them, if I'm painting something they have made. Honestly, a lot of that kind of stuff takes a lot of time to do well, and a video with an interview in it usually does terribly for some reason, so I've stopped. It's like people are here for the painting and anything else upsets the status quo
@@52Miniatures It must be the tiranny of the algorithm. It is already amazing that your channel keeps growing having innovative and creative perspectives. If I can help with anything as a Spanish arts and design professor like, for instance, talk to Corvus Belli in Spanish or something, or contacting Sergio Calvo...let me know!
I'm finding myself falling into the trap of watching videos instead of actually painting too many times these days. And yet it's great fun to experiment with new techniques or colors or paints to find something that works for me. I recently read "Every tool's a hammer" by Adam Savage and was reminded how important it is to actually make things vs just thinking about making things. Now off to watch another video!
Those look great. I just finished my JSA and painted them in a very similar theme. You videos are always my go to in order to break the paralysis of not painting that I sometimes run into. I kind of got over watching too many videos a while ago and now am at the have to many unpainted minis and projects that sometimes cause a screeching halt in my hobby. I painted all the Sandtrap JSA, which I found extremely fun to paint (and I bought them based on part on you previous Infinity video, but had been quietly stalking the line for a while) but then got paralyzed after doing only 3 of the included Pan Oceana figs. Anyway, watching one of your videos always manages to jump start me. Thanks!
I'm looking forward to the Pan O minis. Not quite sure how I'll tackle them but I think something simple again. So I can get on with playing the missions.
Great advice. Also, now I'm inspired to grab that starter set. JSA is so cool. 😄
They are! I'm going to get started on the other faction in a bit
Another quite exceptional hobby video Alex, always enjoy these more general hobby philosophy videos you create.
“Threatful yoga moves” 😂
Love the way you put things dude, love your channel. I do believe I’ll pick up my brush and actually paint some of my combat patrol I’ve had assembled for just about a year now and been too afraid to “ruin”. Thank you for that.
Great to hear! Thanks TB
The videos filmed in your home are so much more inviting than the studio. I'm one of your earliest subscribers, so this vid makes me feel nostalgic.
Thanks, yeah unfortunately filming at home is not really possible because of what it implies to the other people around me. But I had to stay at home for this period so I did what I could
A great reminder Alex
This was as useful to a 'veteran' painter as a beginner. Many things to take away here :) great video, Alex!
Thanks Blue 💙
Really excellent video, my favorite youtube, Van Neistat, equates this concept to the road from Innocence to Experience. We all want to foster that childlike joy with whatever we work on yet also want the experience to do something well. The journey from Innocence to Experience comes with trial and error yet still be rooted in the joy for the hobby.
This is so true! All of it! We must paint how and for what we love! Thank you for the reminder that not everything is a painting competition :)
So refreshing.
When I was a kid there was no UA-cam, there was barely Internet, and I painted instinctively without worrying about techniques or paint brands.
I found out many years later that I was using actual techniques (feathering, wet blending...) without even knowing it! Point is: paint, enjoy, and you'll get better eventually.
Great video! Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic video as always. You've quickly become my favourite content creater!
I appreciate it E1, thank you
Alex, man. I get so excited whenever one of your videos shows up on my home page or play next.
Glad to hear it!
This is the video everyone needs, not just beginners. Thanks man
Thanks you. The video has absolutely crashed, so looks like not many will see it but thank you, I appreciate it.
@@52Miniaturesoh no! Everyone who paints needs to see this
Loved every second of this video, especially the tabletop-ready miniatures at the end, ready to go. With the very dry and subtle jokes dotted in between. Thanks Alex
Glad you enjoyed it!
“Threatening yoga moves” 🤣 But by far, “paint like no one is watching,” is maybe the single best advice ever uttered. Superb video, Alex.
Thank you humbly Lucas
I think this will be a good video to watch from time to time when we're all overthinking (or underthinking, or not thinking at all).
Thank you! I have been into Warhammer for many years, struggling to get my armies painted. I am a people pleaser, putting the needs of others before my own, I struggle to be unapologetically me, & have been painting things as they are expected to be. I know I should not worry what others think about the way I paint my miniatures, but now that I am using the bright and colourful paints I have always wanted to, the painting side of the hobby is much more enjoyable.
I’m glad to hear you found the colours! :)
I can't believe It took me 3 years of youtube hobby oriented content to finally find you. You are a deeply inspiring creator ! And as a vieographer myself (I made a living out of it but the "pro" label feels off), the cinematography of your work is just as great as the stories you tell =) listening to a calm voice while learning about a brand new way to look at minis, paints, techniques is a treat ! Your channel is unique and motivates me to go back to my workshop =)
I appreciate it H, thank you. Welcome to the channel
Took me over a year to create a custom color scheme for my Tyranid army, but the thing is that I never gave up and kept on painting different schemes until I found the one that I loved.
this is a fantastic video - as someone getting back in to painting after 30 years, you elaborate perfectly what the goal is and should be
Great to hear
I always love your videos, and not simply for the crafting. Your line, "experience is time spent failing" really struck me. Thank you
I appreciate it C
Getting back into mini painting as an adult was so much easier than when I was a teen because of all the videos and beginners guides, and sticking with painting was so much harder because of all the video and beginners guides. Love to see a video reminding me to just enjoy the process - the painting bit is my actual hobby, not the churning out models for insta. Thanks!
The tufts. Its all about the Tufts!
Indeed!
Thanks
Thanks for the donation!! I appreciate it.
Most welcome 🙂 @@52Miniatures
Something I really love about the hobby, which makes me feel the time and money are really a great investment, is the time of night when wondering about colour schemes for a new force displaces the anxieties and worries which appear around three in the morning, and how some really small, miniature troops manage to push back the often (but not always) inflated worries about work and life and other stuff for a while, and sometimes hold them off until I fall asleep again. Magic video today, thanks very much for that. I just love the relaxed content you provide.
Wonderful, wonderful stuff!
Thank you kindly for sharing!👍😎
'paint like no-one's watching' - great video! makes me inspired to experiment
Great vid Alex. I always appreciate the humour in your videos and the down to earth way you look at our hobby. Top job. And nice minis too x
Thanks Fluffy Badger!
@@52Miniatures And you know that name is going to stick now! Thanks Alex 🤣
15:51 my reaction was, wow those look great. Great bit of motivation and insight in this video. Thank you for making it. Just get some experience by making mistakes.
Reminded me of the Pontifical Swiss Guard. Just needed alternating blue stripes.
True! Some blue would have been nice!
Great video, the paint scheme looks really good. I am looking forward to Sandtrap and finally getting into Infinity. Thanks!
Great! Thanks Brian
"You need experience, which means failing" - That really resonated with me. Great video.
i consider mysefl a "professional" minipainter, i won at competitions, i painted minis for money and i guess i got stuck at Get Gud mindset. I cannot let go and paint miniature in "tabletop" ready standard. Now i am in a middle of another 80+ hour long killteam project with full nmm eldars and sometimis i feel that i am wearing off, that i am working for result and not enjoying process of getting there.
Thanks for your videos and sharing a way you feel about hobby, it is hobby afterall. I have ordered another miniature game starter box to play with my dad where i want to ultimately have fun all the way down while doing hobby. Lets see how it will went.
I hope you have fun with your dad!
Just a fantastic and mindful video rammed full of gentle encouragement and guidance - thanks 52! Hoping you're all very well 😊
I am doing well, thank you. 🙏 In this moment I’m pissed off about UA-cam :) but that comes with the territory I guess. Kitbashing a mini to get over it.
still the best advise i have heard. Want to get better at something? then do it. practice, practice some more. and when your done practicing, keep practicing, because your always gonna learn something new. I used to run academies for gw, and we would teach the basics over a six week course. I took that training and help with teaching the basics. how to care for your brush being a big one. but i found the best way to help, was to just sit there and paint with people. they will ask questions and it was fun for all involved, which makes it so they will want to keep doing it. I also told everyone to keep thier first model so in 5 years they could see thier skill improvement.
One thing I recently started with is painting some miniatures using cheap acrylic pens with brush tips. I do it on the couch while pretending to be company for my wife, rather than sitting hours upon hours in the cellar, where my hobby room is.
With a bit of training and a few sets of those pens that allow for a wide colour palette, one can get moderately decent results that can be further elevated later with some washes or drybrush highlights.
Awesome video, like always! UA-cam is saturated with "the best way" or "the ultimate guide for". The hobby is like cooking, there is no one way to cook chicken. There are 100 of recipes and no just one perfect one. You take the recipe and add or discard what we want to use. Sometimes we had forgotten the real meaning of the word hobby.... a "pastime to enjoy relaxation". Everything has become a competitive way to see things (golden deamon criteria). Don't get me wrong, is good to improve in what we like, but in a enjoyable way, not adding more pressure and frustration to the hobby. A good friend and fellow model builder told me something that has become my golden rule.... "build what you like the way you like it" don't let others dictates what you like. So, the only thing that is important for me is that I'm enjoying what I'm working on. I like to watch UA-cam videos as reference for a technique, but I will adjust it to my like and needs. Thanks again!!!!
"Paint like no one is watching." That's some excellent advice. At the end of the day, one's own opinion is the only one that truly matters. Also, I'd just like to say I love that one of the books you were perusing for inspiration was Hieronymus Bosch!
Cheers Alex !
What a breath of fresh air this video was!
The miniatures look good. Thanks for the reminder to just enjoy painting.
Great video Alex! This is EXACTLY what I needed to get painting. Thank you so much! ❤
You are so welcome!
Great video! And I love that you're working with the anime-cyberpunk vibes of Infinity. I definitely agree that that initial approach to the idea of technique and theory when all you wanna do is make a squad playable looks super intimidating to new painters. But oh boy the point where I had a handle on the theory and then immediately used that to do the most out-of-pocket colour schemes I could think of was so thrilling!
It is indeed a balance of both worlds. I’m glad you liked the video.
Loved your color scheme and final result.
Thank you, that was great. I've been painting a Pirate themes Orcs & Goblins army of an upcoming tournament, and I've been feeling a bit constrained by the timeframe and having to work on the same "thing", even though everything is vastly different. I've become a bit frustrated, and that's all on me - in fact I am doing the thing I want and love on a regular basis. My biggest take away from this was practicing some gratitude, I definitely need to take a step back sometimes and see the bigger picture
I like the sound of a pirate orc and goblin army. For a particular game?
@@52Miniatures for The Old World. It's been loads of fun! Just finished a goblin wolf chariot that's actually a bit of a pirate shipwreck that's been strapped to the back of a crab toy I "liberated" from my son. He helped me with painting the crab, so I think I have his blessing now haha
"You might just ruin it but that's why we have so many miniatures" is such a great way to put it.
Im new but I feel like I've made a lot of progress in a short time by just grabbing cheap minis that seem fun and trying weird things on them, then taking what works into my Warhammer army. I made some frankly horrific paint jobs as a result, but also some genuinely really good ones too.
Id also say that if you have a Warhammer store in your town, go in at the beginning of the month they'll give you a free mini, so that's a free fcuk up each month!
Great work man, beautifully shot as always and love the colorscheme on the minis. 🙏
Thanks man! I Appreciate it as always
A really insightful and well presented video. Couldn't come at a better time... It's really helped me switch perspectives, these are the things I really need to hear. Does it matter if it's the right colour or too vibrant or a, particular shade? It really doesn't... It's your work when all is said and done... So who are you trying to impress, or what? It should, be, an individual undertaking rather than who can closest colour match something that's, been done 100 times, before.
A certain wise old Ork... Or was, it, a, goblin 🤔 was once heard uttering something about inlearning all, you have learned.
I think that's a good approach. Thank you for that.
I appreciate it TB, thank you
wow man what a great video! I love your fresh take on the hobby
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve just been discussing your several ways to paint yellow with a friend I have unashamedly got into the hobby. I’ve got some years of painting on him, and this video is perfect to try and explain my exact point! He’s first models are much better than mine, and he is already attempting techniques I have not tried or don’t want the effect of. But it’s all about doing it. That’s what matters. And company. That’s good too.
Great to hear PG, thank you
@@52Miniatures I think I should be thanking you. There’s really something about your reflective view point. It’s just what I need. And makes excellent company.
"Welcome to what many see as Nerdsville and I see as enlightenment." - I can relate to this statement on so many levels.
I'm in "the zone" when painting miniatures, usually with a dog at my feet and a cat chilling on the desk nearby. That time is my time to let my subconscious mind do it's thing while I concentrate on painting models.
This is actually brilliant. Thank you for this.
Thank you!
I've been painting since the late '90s, so would consider myself an average or intermediate painter. But I enjoy your videos, and still watch through an entire video on beginning to paint. Well done!
Awesome, thank you!
Good hobby philosophy Alex. As usual, the minis came out great. 👍🏼
Thank you kindly!
Great video and lovely reminder. Thanks!
Thanks Victor I appreciate it 🙏
Thank you very much for your kind words, they truly moved me
I appreciate it Rick
This is really good! More Corvus Belli content! :)
Like and share the video! It'll help! I'm an Infinity fan myself.
Indeed! Thanks you two
Very eye-opening perspective, another great video! Thanks Mr. FiftyTwo.
My pleasure!
Very enjoyable video. And a little bit of catharsis as I am at a time in my life where I do not have time at the end of the day to paint right now. Craving a time when I get a couple of hours before bed again to sit at the hobby desk!
Of everything I've ever built, Infinity models were by leagues the hardest to assemble. Such fine detail and connection points.
Thank you for this. Always a great reminder to just get out and paint
My pleasure Edward, thank you 🙏
"Threatful Yoga moves....." 😂😂😂😂Amazing as always!