The Only Way to Fail in Your Hobby
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- People are very concerned with failure in their hobby, whether it's tabletop wargaming miniatures or any other creative hobby - and that needs to stop.
I'm now a partner on Twitch! Painting minis and terrain every Friday morning and Monday night, and sometime taking paint breaks (video games). Follow me: / tabletopminions
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Uncle Atom: The philosopher king of wargaming.
Fezlosopher?
Truth
@@PMMagro
LOL 🤣 😅 🤣
He is the best at it.
Has the crown and everything
I would add one thing that is not a failure but not mentioned. Mental health. If you have something like depression and you want to paint, build, etc, but can't (depression is evil) you have not failed. You tried and depression (or whatever) stopped you. Keep trying and you are succeeding. This comes from both personal experience and my partner, whom deals with very bad depression at times.
Thank you, I needed to hear this, I often find myself mentally beating myself up for not getting any painting done, but I suffer from depression and have adhd, and that combination is rough for getting progress in a hobby done. I need to recognize that its not always just me being lazy that causes this.
@@OnyxWren I have been going through this very thing for a few weeks now. Sometimes I will just look at the instructions and decide what part to work on next, it's Nagash, tons of parts. Sometimes I will only managed to clip out 1 piece. Might even get it cleaned up, who knows. These tiny accomplishments, even just looking at pieces, has helped a lot in a lot of different ways. The struggle is hard
I am definitely somewhere along one of those spectrums that realised it some time ago. ^ this is a valuable message. In military terms they say 'know your role'. In hobby terms it should be 'enjoy your role'. I'm a slow ass display painter. When I paint to a time frame, I dont enjoy it. When I paint to make something I like to look at, I enjoy the process. Uncle Atom ain't wrong kids.
“Enjoy your role” is a really good idea. Thanks for watching!
Hi! Today is the day I am finally going to travel to Games Workshop and start my AoS journey! Nervous and excited 😁
Good luck
Which army are you collecting?
@@Sticklander I've decided to go for Beasts of Chaos, really like the look of them
@@Sam501UK Great choice! They're a really fun army to paint with some interesting models.
Should see if there are any independent hobby shops in your area
You have to be the most charismatic hobbyist I have witnessed so far.
Sometimes things interfere with our goals, do not equate temporary set backs with failure.
This is a very great way to look at it and I thank you for that wisdom
7:19 almost made me cry it was so on the nose. I largely don't believe in failure but just over a decade ago I failed in my artistic aspirations.
"You can fail in your hobby. And the way that you fail in your hobby is that you have the passion and you have the interest and you enjoy doing it but something, whatever it might be, stops you from doing it and you let that thing stop you."
Absolute truth, Atom. Absolute goddamn truth.
Me: I'm gonna stop sleeping so I can hobby some more
My brain: Wait, That's ilegal!
Bad you. Sleep is important. Also if you slept enough you are faster at hobbying and you can do more.
@@beerenmusli8220 Cocain would be more efficent you have no need to sleep you can focus on your hobby but be carefull if you take too much you fail cause you can die from cocain BRUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
One important thing I've learned, don't pressure yourself when painting an army. In my local area, almost nobody has a painted army and that's ok. I was always concerned with this, but eventually I learned to relax and just paint what I wanted. After 8 months of just painting when I felt like it, I had a 2,000 point Space Marine army finished. Some armies are much more time consuming to paint, and can take even longer. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
I've been stuck for so long wanting my minis to look perfect. This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you
Uncle Adam says its gunna be alright.😎
I've been drawn into Warhammer by the Conquest collection magazine that's currently running in Germany. I've started painting a few months prior to improve my tabletop roleplaying games, and when I saw that Warhammer magazine, I jumped onto it as well.
It's been going for 10 months now and I haven't once played a game. I'm just reading the lore, building and painting. I still have a mild interest to play the game one day, but it's not a priority for me. Painting is great to do for an hour or so in the evening with a podcast in the ear, to get the stress of the day out. I love it. And with the Warhammer minis, I have stuff I don't necessarily care about too much for them to look "perfect", so I can get some practice in. And I'm okay with that :)
And even then, I find that I enjoy building more than painting, interestingly enough.
Cheers, bruv. I’ve just started painting my first army, the Adeptus Astartes of the Raven Guard, and this really helps.
Welcome to the ravenspire, sir :D
Believe everyone needs to watch this video. Insightful and encouraging words.
As someone who has been putting off painting to the point where I have almost cleared my backlog of models, I needed this. I used to love painting, but as I am getting back into the hobby after a long break the thing I've been the most afraid of doing is painting. "What if I'm not as good as I was? I forgot all of those techniques I tried so hard to learn. Are my paints still good?" Have all kept me from painting. Tomorrow I'll finally paint.
How did it go?
@@mrheisenberg83 It went well! I did some color experiments for my Custodes. I want to paint them rose gold/burgundy and I was able to get the burgundy I wanted but the rose gold is elluding me. My nervousness disappeared once I had the brush in hand. Even if I don't have any newly finished models, at least I'm making progress
Been into the 40k lore for a while now. Just a few weeks ago I took the plunge and bought a bunch of the minis and supplies to paint them. I honestly love it, but recently I've begun a new exercise/meal program and I've kinda run out of extra time and energy to do it :/
It's still so much fun
The change in diet and exercise often takes a toll to begin with. Just have to ride it out for a few weeks.
I too needed to change my meal program and it takes time. There are two kinds advice I can give you that worked for me: try to paint every day no matter how long. Even if you think "I don't have time": you have 5-10 minutes somewhere in your day (like you watched this video). Just put paint on a modell for 5-10 minutes. Most of the difficulties are in our head. Now there are some of them who are real (like Adam sad: work, family etc.) but I am sure that you can get 5-10 minutes. The other one is also very important: prepare your painting space as well as possible so if you want to start you can just start. I pushed this to the extreme where even the water is already in my cup so I don't have to get up and get some. Since I have my exams and work and rarely any space in my head even small obstacles like these can really get to you. It is best if you can just start without doing anything different before. Hope that helps!
I started in the hobby when I was 14 or so, and my dad suggested I use his old enamel paints. I quickly learned that was a mistake, and my minis looked awful. I accidentally chose a glossy red, and the paint was so thick it globbed up all the detail. Classic case of a young painter starting out. The difference is that even after I switched to Acrylics and got good painting technique, I was too scared to paint my models "wrong" and so my army stayed grey for years. I failed at my hobby. Don't do what I did. Even globby enamels looked better than grey. Now I'm getting round to doing my guys up properly, and the only reason they're still grey is because of all the gaps I have to fill with green stuff.
I have a kind-of, maybe counterpoint. Maybe just a rephrasing. Here 'tis: Not recognising you are doing something you enjoy, because you're always thinking of other things you want to be doing as well. I'm decidedly middle-aged at this point, and it took me most of my life, and still a lot of self-talk to this day, to remind myself that if I'm doing what I enjoy, I don't have to let thoughts of not doing something else ruin that. It's okay to play a video game even if you paint fewer models. It's okay to switch to a side project even if it slows down progress on your army. Every hobby goal is self-imposed, and imposing goals that ruin enjoyment of the time I've spent doing things I really do enjoy doing has been a major challenge for me.
Im painting a bust right now - a dwarf with a fez. Finished the fez yesterday and Now i tought about making the fez like uncle atoms. Got damn it.
*god damn it
Probably not going to play my first game of 40k until next year at the earliest due to covid and the fact I have a ton of unopened models, but I really like building (including magnetizing which some people seem to hate even when you do it), I really like painting, and the game sounds pretty cool too. Overall it's given me something new to look forward to and be passionate about during a time when I would otherwise be in a really bad state. This is a hobby that even if I leave it at some point for whatever reason, I see myself coming back to it again and again.
Bother GW to realease some solo games. Its not perfect but its a way to play during these times.
I got into miniature painting and playing AoS from your videos. It’s been great during this pandemic
I think it’s important to have hobbies like this because it involves the real world and not just the cyberspace
I have almost half a century in wargaming, and have found out over that time is to play multiple games. Currently I am doing Battletech, Malufaux, Napoleonics, Ancients, Naval world war one and two, American Civil War, Wammahordes, and Starfleet Battles. I play with four different groups here in my home city and two in a city about an hour away. Variety adds spice to this hobby, my most recent addition is a 28 mm World War 2 Marine platoon assembled primed and base colored.
Wow! You have way more storage space than me = )
50 years of commanding and what has that war done for the good of the people the good for your troops primed with the blood of black.
@@carson9974 I would respond if your post made a point, but as I read it you are simply spouting nonsense.
Anyone else notice that uncle Adams miniature advice is also just amazing life advice?
Yes, Uncle Atom is quite the philosopher.
I think the only exception to this is if you stop doing a thing you love to do another thing you love even more. Like, I'm spending way less time playing videogames now, because I'm enjoying model stuff more, but that's hardly a failure.
Thanks for the video and the great advice! I'm the guy that loves to build and paint but never plays. Maybe someday, but heck, I'm nearly 60 years old. Currently working on Space Hulk Terminators from the box set. Hoping to play this awesome board game when finished!
Hit a pretty low point with my depression this last month, and this was very encouraging and enough to inspire me to pull out the paints again. It was a temporary failure and a setback, but not a total defeat. It hit pretty hard, but I felt as though you were the coach in the corner, and your words inspired me to keep moving forward, only quitters lose, and I wanted to say thanks for this 🙂👍🏻
Great and positive advice in these strange times. Thank you Uncle Atom!
I remember when I got into the hobby, just 4 years ago, saw a GW store while on vacations. Walked in cause the mini's looked cool, walked out with a AoS starter set! Hooked with the story, loved the models, fond a local store where they played AoS and where excited about the Generals Handbook. Love the game!!! I've since expanded into 40k, Frostgrave, Warcry, KillTeam, Warhammer Quest!
As someone really unsure if I want to jump into this community and hobby, your videos are really cool and informative of the hobby. Thank you Atom. You're making excited and boosting my confidence to getting into the Warhammer hobby
While the community is different in each person's location overall it's just a bunch of geeks and nerds who want to have fun and enjoy it with others who want to do the same for the most part. Some expectations may apply.
But as far as the online community goes, they all seem to be very open and supportive to everyone who is interested in joining and helpful to everyone, both new and established alike.
You will definitely bumb into people who aren't that much of delight, or are even outright bad for the community...
But that is exactly same in everything. There are just people who can't take their McDonalds tray to the collection point, 'cose "it's not like they have to" and such.
But overall the peeps are understanding and supportive. Just extend the same courtesy (up to a point of course) back to some of the weirder hobbiest, which you will also find, and you're golden.
Life is too short in general to concentrate on the a-holes, so if you encounter them, take note, but move on. There are many good people there to be found as well.
This is way too real a definition of failing at hobby to me, I have too many things I love and want to do (paint, game, music) that I never seem to be able to find the time to do even though I have plenty of free time after work. Thanks for this kick in the butt Atom, hopefully I can sit down and think about why that is and how to stop failing.
This is an incredibly profound thought. That just untangled some of my sticky thinking. Thank you
Thank you Atom. I have been in and out of wargaming numerous times. I love the hobby, but the difficulty of doing the hobby due to storage space has been a major influence. However, I'm going to see what I can do to participate. One thing I could do is try using a smaller scale of miniatures.
Great video as always, but I think you missed a couple common 'failure points' which are a bit more complicated than lack of time. Social pressure, like people telling you your hobby is dumb, and money. I think these are common issues that could do with being addressed.
Clever way to mask mental health tricks as a wargaming channel 😂 This channel rocks, dude. Been into warhammer for 18yrs now.
Fantastic inspiring video. Some of my neighbors are ignorant passive aggressive morons complaining the minute they see someone having fun and always trying to relate it to some issue like too much noise or some fake religious reason. Yet its always they who are the ones slamming doors, yelling at the top their lungs at all hours of the day or being overly judgmental due to being snobs. I have learned the best thing to do is just to enjoy ones self which is a whole lot better then giving in trying to be considerate and getting angry because there is no satisfying these depressive no life types.
Thanks for the excellent video Tabletop Minions and no i will not fail having fun :) oh and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Awesome social commentary, thanks! And that, is why I have a dedicated hobby desk - so that when I have some time, I can just carry on with it, without spending time on setting everything up. Not being able to hobby for a while can feel like failure, but luckily it always comes back somehow, and then all is well again!
Thanks for the vid! I couldn't but help notice your enamel pin (pa-chow). Are they available?
Spot on. Personally I believe my biggest fail at the hobby is failing to properly manage my time, I end up trying to cut corners which more usually than not result in loosing even more hobby time.
"Any kind of forward movement that you make in the hobby that you enjoy is never failure."
- Uncle Atom
Here is a topic, what to do when you can no longer paint as well as you used to? Be that through health, aging, motivation, time commitments ect? Its quite a demotivate to battle to paint to 50% of what you could 10 years ago.
Pick a couple of models you like.
Get something to strip the models.
Try different schemes and find what you like the look of.
Do a couple of models in that scheme.
Do a couple more.
Great video as always, Uncle... Guy With the Fez. Motivating as always!
It always amazes me how much philosophy and life advices there are within this hobby :)
Thanks for this video, I am having a hard time with the things that you talk stopping me to spend hobby time and this video really open my eyes.
This. Great life advice, and something I needed to hear today. Thank you for this
Wise words. As I always say, it is a matter of priorities. If the hobby is a priority, you'll find time.
More fine words on a Friday. Thank you 🙏
As a motorcyclist I'm aware of the idea that it's the journey that matters, not necessarily the destination. I use that in my gaming. I don't win very often but it's the playing that has to be enjoyable for me, regardless of whether I win or not.
I will now also apply this to my painting and stop worrying about what the end result will be
Thanks again and stay safe
You’re right, I wasn’t expecting that answer. I thought you were going to talk about losing your first 100 games before your first win. Great advice. This is definitely something that I need to remember.
I’m having trouble getting the confidence to paint my little ppl afraid I’ll mess them up:(
I’m good at dioramas though:)
Can't always strip them man. I have painted a bunch of models that are terrible just getting in. Already stripped a few and did them again. Much better.
So long as you thin your paints you'll be able to put a dozen coats down without gunking up the details, and even then you can always strip them. Don't stress, give it a go! You might surprise yourself.
I started 40k and really minatures in general a couple months ago, what I did before I even bought my first model was that I bought little green army men and painted those until I liked the look of them. You won't get the same details, but if you spend $3 on 30 or more army men and you paint them all, you're probably going to end up with some that you like the look of. And then once you do start painting 3 models that cost $30 or more, they'll probably look better too. And even after you get good, the army men can still be used as a tool to try new paints and techniques before you use them on other models.
If you love the figures too much - buy or 3d-print a few characters with the same amount of details that you do not love equally much and paint on them until they look like clowns.
If you have problems with acrylics (like me) - try oils, 50% the same, 50% the opposite. Check Zatcaskagoon Miniatures on YT for grim dark, oil painting. I am making the jump today.
All art takes practice and patience. Just accept it, learn from it, move on and come back in a year, strip the model and repaint it when you got better. Might actually be fun to save a model each year for comparison. There is more to painting then waving aroung a brush, maybe you should search on techniques for acrylics , minifigures or learn more about color theory?
You cannot mess up that which you create. You are the boss and you decide what they should turn out to be and how much work you want to put into them. What's "good enough"; what's "prefect"; what's "garbage"? That's all up to 'the boss' to decide (and you are the boss). Don't be an a-hole boss, cut your 'employee' some slack and just encourage them. You will be happier for it.
To get myself to paint everyday (i'll become stagnent otherwise) i made myself the promise to paint everyday under the monicker "a layer of paint a day reduces the pile of shame" and so far it works
The man with the fez is totally right!
Thanks for that video.
Uncle Atom: There is only one way to fail at your hobby
me: great, this will be a nice feel-good video
also me: is actually failing at my hobby
Thanks for this video! Sometimes you have to remember this.
I just started panting and it's beautiful see this video exactly when my journey is starting.
Executive dysfunction is a bastard. :(
I have no problems with losing a game on the table top (40K, Blood Bowl, Space Hulk etc) as long as I have fun doing so. In the past I have played a few people who only goal is to win at all costs and with to dominate you and take glee in doing so, these are the people who have over the years meant I lost a little love for the games. Until I play someone who is in it just for the fun of the game and I get it back again.
I understand but you have to play people and kind of talk to them outside of the games to see how they really like to play. And i mean a conversation between games or before or after a game. Most are shoved in WAAC play because it’s all they know. Try to push for narrative game and see who bites. I have a handful of people i thought were WAAC players ended being filthy casuals like myself. But everyone in the community had the WAAC mindset so they adapted it.
Some very good points there :) Thank you for another great motivational speech
Thanks for the advice, definitely helps out a new hobbyist
If you pause at 0:00 Atom looks, menacing.
This is such a great life video thank you Coach
The only way to fail is no time for hobby:) and small kids
I'm a little worried. I really struggle with both perfectionism and procrastination, and I make point of really planning out all my paint schemes and processes, but I find that my apprehension and perfectionism is preventing me from trying important techniques. For example, I'd rather make a luke-warm decently painted model and not risk techniques like wetblending or edge highlighting because i don't have confidence in my skills, and I'm intimidated by the idea of having to repaint or strip my models once they are not fresh plastic. Because of this apprehension, I'm writing off cool things that i see when i look at models because i think "I could never do something like that, I should just not even try". For example, I have a bunch of skorpekhs and i'm like "how tf am I gonna do these blades? I can't possibly finish these models and be happy with them!". 😢It's paralyzing and I find myself doing other things with spare time instead of making hobby progress.
Just try a new technique on one model. But remember that it will take some time before you master that technique. So long as you're doing thin layers of paint and not loosing details on the model, just paint over it again. IMO, you only really need to strip a model of painting once you're loosing details.
Remember that you're never going to grow without putting some effort into to doing something.
Practice on something you doing care about. Buy some cheap plastic army men, prime them, and practice wet blending or whatever techniques you want on them. Or buy some eBay rescues and work on those. Or even just prime up some scraps of plastic packaging or plastic spoons to practice blending on. If it makes you nervous, and I understand if it does, practice on things that aren’t your miniatures. Thanks for watching!
Last time i was this early uncle atom didn't have the fez
It's the other way around: the fez has Uncle Atom.
Very wise words.
100% true
I have failed at model painting, I’ve never got beyond tabletop standard. I’ve failed at generalship, I sit at 50:50 in most of the games I play. I have failed at focusing on just one game and becoming excellent. But...
I have amazing adventures in LotR, Spacehulk, At43, Imperial Assault, Warhammer, Black Seas, Saga, Bushido, Steamwars, En-Garde, Hordes, Kill Team, X-Wing, Battlefeet Gothic, Elder Scrolls, Warzone, Flames of War, Ragnarok, Warband, Confrontation, Cruel Seas, FoG, Aliens, Wings of War, Warmaster and ASoIaF and some more I’ve forgotten...
I’ve come to realise that my success is not in painting and winning, but in putting together a great table with armies that pass the 2 foot test and enjoying the story of gutsy charges, last stands (I have a lot of them), a well executed plan and a poor plan well executed.
I suppose I’m a success at the story on the table and in my head.
I would say for myself, the biggest barrier to getting started is coming back and getting blown away by everything new. With WH40k in particular, I stopped playing and doing anything with the hobby back in 2013, during 6th Ed. Mostly it was disgruntlement over the rising prices.
Recently, my interest has rebounded, and I've been watching vids like these and checking up on GW and FW's websites to look at things. And I'm blown away...We're at 9th edition now, with all these extra things, where did the time go? Names have changed, Mechanics have changed, I don't even know what Kill Teams is, or a lot of the other stuff. A friend told me Space Marines are all primarily Primaris now, so the majority of my old models are obsolete. There are cards now? And GW puts out new 'dexes every month? It;s very overwhelming, and I quite frankly dont even know where to start. It feels like I'm a noob all over again.
I have 2 kids, work full time, and my wife works weekends at a hospital. I plan a SINGLE model/project for my weekend nights. If I can do one single project weekly I feel like I am succeeding in my hobby.
I have just started my first warhammer army. KHARADRONS. And I was sure I would like only strategic playing (therefore i have picie KO (and of course because they look dope af)), but i was afraid i would jot find anyone to play. I live in not the biggest Town, and now when studying is online i qm out of my countrys capitall- and in there i would have much more opirtunities to play.
But strangeley enough, although i just suck at painting, i am enjoying making new minatures and painting tme SOOO much. I hope i will get bether, but evęn if ido not i would still enjoy it probably
So that's it... Even Uncle Atom told me that I'm failure 😭
Ok, joking here, doesn't feel as failing even if I don't have time right now for hobby ;)
I have watched Starcraft for years. Never once played the game and don't even understand everything that is going on... but I love the experience. I had never painted anything just for fun, but this month I picked up some minis and jumped into the hobby. Loving the modeling but don't think I will play a real game... it all happens in layers....
When I was young, my folks bought me clay to play with. They got me some toys too. But there were allways times they couldn't get me more toys, but they COULD get me more clay.
Years pass.
I'm now in my 40's, and you know what? I got sick of video games and went in search of a new hobby. I found this hobby. I have bought some minis. I've built and painted. But you know what?
I can sculpt my own mini's too.
No my stuff is not as good as gw, or any other pro sculptor for that matter, I let my skill sit undeveloped for over two and a half decades. Ofcourse I'm no pro.
But when I found the hobby I have learned all I can about all aspects of it. I have collected the tools to make, build, sculpt and paint whatever I can imagine.
As I watch this I'm painting a lizard man I sculpted out of greenstuff and fimo. He has a shoulder pad and duel wields some janky swords.
You know what? It makes me happy.
Your right Adam.
Love the lore. Love the gaming. LOVE the building. Hate painting. Guess what I get the most shit over.... Thanks for putting this into words for me!
Thanks Adam. I find your work inspirational both in and out of the painting/playing miniature.
I'm huge into scale RC airplanes as well and a lot of your pep talks carry over. Comparing my work to Top Gun masters is silly. I keep doing a little better in each build and take what I learn along the way. I have found that I have gotten much faster and more efficiently. But most importantly I'm having so much fun.
Due to the pandemic I have not played a game with miniatures since last January so I lost the drive to build and paint. I have my first game scheduled next week and now I want to jump right back in and start painting up a new Kill Team.
Thanks again for all your great content
-Matt
Stay safe, I know WI is going through a rough time right now.
I used to care about high quality paint jobs on my minis but here I am 20 years later and I just quickly paint them to look decent for the table. A quick base paint, some highlights, then a wash, clear coat, done. LOL I dont base my minis, I just paint the bases with a black satin finish. I hate seeing a based mini with rocks and grass inside a dungeon or castle for example. So I like black.
God danm this speaks to me. I just got in recently due to covid giving me more free time than I know what to do with. Started making an ork homebrew but quickly started to persue a homebrew idea I have been sitting on for a while. 3rd party stuff wasn't cutting it, got a 3d printer. As I listen to this video, I am almost done modelling a truckk. It's front end is based on the Canadian (not Cadian) C15TA while the rear is an American M2a1 halftrack. When I first had real success with my 3d printed stuff, I eagerly posted it on r/orks.
I've stopped posting on r/orks a while ago, looking at the stuff other people can kitbash together with far less money spent is just demotivating.
I've got a squad of destroyers to put together. At times I might have multiple troops to put together. At no point have I thought I'm failing, it's my 1 hour at the end of a day to relax. If I get burnt out, I'll pack it up and put it to the side and give myself a week. I'm just getting back into my 8 year old Necron army, but at no point did I consider myself "failing"
I'm one of them "don't much care for painting" -types and being local store's 40k-evening helper, event and small scale tournament organizer, I try to cultivate a community where there is really no de facto "wrong way to hobby".
I help organize campaigns and leagues where we give points and prizes to people who paint, encouraging even the more seldom painters to do it (heck, even I get to painting occasionally due to them [still the running joke is that I keep watch over events all about painting and am at the same time one of the laziest painters we have]).
But I think one of the biggest reasons why people are giving up and saying that they are "failing at hobbying" is simply GW (being one of the biggest in this market) telling us pretty straight that...
"If you don't paint, you're doing it wrong."
They have had at least one article where they straight sais that it was okay to bully others if they had not finished basing their minis, even if they had actually painted them.
And giving outright victory points for painted armies is really sending the wrong kind of message to people. It's not that you should paint and it would look great if you did.
No!
You paint, or you lose points. But take heart, you can still play even games with the other... Not saying losers, but... People who have "excuses to not hobby".
I have personally promised even that if I ever was to be near having a fully painted army, that I will out of sheer spite leave a single weapon from the army unpainted, thus rendering me not "worthy" of the extra 10pt. And I will allow my opponent to gain it, no questions, if they have themselves a fully painted army. But in my books, if they won just because of that, I will only recognize their victory by the merit of painting points. I will not recognize their victory as whole, for if they had lost to me without those exta 10pt, then they did not win the game. They just won the system.
Still overall. Paint your minis. They will look better, trust me. Yes, even the "melty cowmen" like certain Tuber called his earliests. Never start comparing yourself to others to put you down, but for something to strive towards. And don't let others do it for you either. You do what you can do, and that failing, you can usually hire someone to do it anyway. Sure it costs more, but this ain't a cheap hobby to begin with. XD
I've been a professional (means commodification!) artist and illustrator for 20+ years. Gaming as a hobby since 1984. Commissioned work is the hardest. Creatively we can end up commissioning ourselves, as in the pressure mentioned in this video. We have a culture of achievement we compare ourselves to others, this is dangerous for things we should enjoy the process from. In every case sometimes the process is difficult and challenging. However, with time as an important factor it's the ability to look back after 6 months at any achievement and you're always satisfied with the 'work' you produce. Sure, you could have done things 'better', but it's done, it's finished, it's in the past, and the sense of accomplishment and completion is real. The creative process is a massive part of the hobby, and it's a minefield, but the rewards are as much a part of defeating it's challenges as defeating your opponents on the tabletop. Welcome to the world of artists and illustrators, actors, directors, story writers, musicians and every UA-cam presenter. These stumbling blocks you're experiencing are what these workers cope with on every project. It's acclimatization, practice and perseverance.
I painted 40 models in the first part of this year. I've taken a bit of a break but could pick it up where I left off at any time. I only really play Gaslands these days anyway, so I feel very little pressure to paint my 40k and AoS minis sitting half complete on the shelf above my workspace, admonishing me daily;" paint us!" It's a long winter in my neck of the woods, plenty of time to get to them! In the meantime, I will continue as a " Hobby butterfly" lazily, and erratically getting to where ever it is I'm going!
Thanks for another thought provoking video Atom!
Tings that come to mind while watching this video, which rises very good points.
This is not a hobby for instant gratification.
You only grow when you move out of your comfort zone.
Personal enjoyment and motivation is key.
Don't overload yourself with goals and time-frames, work to your own schedule.
Regards of how big or small, progress is progress, and you should be proud of that.
If you have 3 jobs and 4 kids, sell one of the kids - you won't need the third job, you'll have more spare time and you can probably net some cash for more miniatures! =) (just kidding)
I really needed this, honestly. I got back into Warhammer again after a long hiatus. I had also been back into Magic for the last several years, but I plain stopped enjoying magic lately. I don't enjoy deck building, I don't even enjoy playing anymore. But I was having fun kit bashing my way through a death watch kill team, have a few friends that love to play "for the fluff" and I've always loved painting minis and models. I've been considering just selling off my magic stuff other than a few decks I'm sentimental about and using that to have more kits to mess around with. But I was hesitant. Worried that I was failing on a hobby I once loved and now almost hated. But if I'm not enjoying it, it's not a hobby anymore. If I'm not enjoying it, there's no shame in moving on from it. SO thanks, Uncle Atom, for some needed sage advice.
7:28 so true! For me, it was taking on commission work for painting. Absolutely ruined my desire to paint again and I didn't touch minis as a hobby for about 6 years. This was after loving the hobby, winning competitions, playing regularly... it just forced something I had loved, to eventually become subconsciously linked with high stress and constant deadlines to where a purely leisure activity ripped me out of the comforts of leisure.
Am... testing the hobby waters again, and found this channel. 🤞
Acknowledging that I don't have to play the game is what has gotten me back into this hobby. I didn't like feeling like I needed to buy and paint certain models that didn't necessarily interest me just because I felt I needed them strategically. When I did play, I found myself frustrated and not really having fun. I've never been crazy about battle strategy and spatial relations are not my strong suit. So I put it all aside.
For Christmas, my brother gave me an Adeptas Sororitas Exorcist-- my first 40k model. This is the first model I've painted just because it was cool and I wanted to. I've had so much fun with it that it has me looking back on my incomplete models and wanting to paint them. It's so freeing to paint for the sheer fun of it. I've decided I'm only going to paint what I find fun to paint. I see a lot of crazy vehicles in my future!
This time last year, I absolutely hated painting. Now I'm getting to the point where, yeah I probably don't enjoy it as much as the modelling side of making the models or writing up fluffy and narrative driven armies to play on tabletop, but I've come to find it pretty therapeutic. The best thing I can honestly recommend from the way I learnt to paint models (though I must add, I do have an art background like Atom mentioned in this video) is to pick up, or convert some models, even if they're not something you can field as part of your army, but for something you really like the look/lore of, for me that was Inq28, and the Blanchitsu movement, which allowed me to just play with the paint on the model, rather then worrying about getting things to the perceived 'tabletop standard' and my painting models has significantly improved having done a dozen or so, and become more enjoyable as a result. Also if you have a small group of close buddies in the hobby, share your work with them. I've quite recently gone from thinking I was a terrible painter because I don't have the patience for the (Admittedly fantastic looking) 'Eavy Metal style of pristine edge highlighting and my tendency to go for minimalist highlighting and realistic looking grunged up and battle worn models, to my gaming group seeing some of my models on the table and thinking I'm one of the strongest painters of the group, which is utterly humbling, and I've still got an absolute tonne to learn.
So yeah, TL;DR, If you can, pick up some cheap brushes your not worried about and a model or two you like the look of, even if you can't field said model in a game, and just have a play around without worrying about batch painting or getting the model on the table. Also Watch video tutorials on techniques you like the look of, often then not they're far more simple then they look! Hope this helps someone out there that was in the same position I was this time last year :)
This is fantastic Unc. One thing I realized awhile ago is I enjoy skirmish games way more than full out 40k (as an example). The only failure was on my wallet, but not a single regret! It helped me become a better modeler, kit basher, etc. thanks for another great video! In the vast darkness of the universe- there is no failure.
I am definitely in the category of loves to paint and build more then gaming. However, I would love to game. The current "situation" in the US has put ALL my gaming and socializing on hold for the foreseeable future, and I am okay with that. It gives me more time to paint and build.
I got into Wargaming when i was about 14.At school we had a Wargame Club that met on a Saturday,i would go past the classroom to hear the rattle of dice and heated debates over Cataphracts and Slingers.One day my interest was piqued and i went in.I ended up playing a Wild West RPG game and that was it i was hooked,that was back in 1974 and i am still proudly a Wargamer Hobbyist.
Great advice.
Thanks a lot.
I think the hard part in this hobby can be to not let the bad parts take away the joy from the bits you do like.
Finding a way to 'cheat' your way through the 'not fun' parts may be the way to solve this.
Never let anyone tell you that your cheats/shortcuts are bad when they allow you to focus on the things you do enjoy.
Things like 'contrast paints' may have helped solve the problem for those of us who don't like to paint.
Single piece / easy-build options give options to those who don't like building.
If only games had pre-painted / pre-assembled minis as a 3rd option ...
So far, I've found that I love building and painting. However, grad school means that I only find time to enjoy the hobby once every 3 weeks, give or take. Sometimes this makes me sad because I feel like I'm not investing the time I "should" into the hobby. This video made me feel really good about where I'm at. I feel alot more comfortable with my pace now!
For years I never enjoyed the hobby. I hated playing because I'm not a very strategic person. I hated painting and tried to paint in the quickest way possible. I have no artistic skill and so I just get stressed. But my friends only played 40k or Epic so if I wanted to hang out with them I had to play.
What I like is the story some minis evoke. I've always loved RPGs and using minis from all over the place to put on the table in an encounter is where I find the joy. A cool mini can set off the imagination.
I enjoy hobbying and wargaming so much (and maybe even a little bit of the lore. Just enough so that I can add a little narrative to the games) but having two small kids and working full time during crazy lockdown times has made it hard. I try to find a little time to at least do one thing to help my hobby move forward every night.
Some nights I only have 10 minutes, that's fine! I can use that to wash brushes or clean out my wet palette so it's ready to go next time I do have a bigger block of time. Sometimes I just tidy up my hobby desk. Sometimes I re-organize my paints.
The little things add up so that when you do find that big block you get tons of stuff done. The last big block I had I finished two models in because everything was ready to go from all the little things I'd done.
great advice as always :) i took your "Why Don't You Just Start?" video to heart, and did just that: went out, got some miniatures i liked and started building and painting again, met some new people and even joined a club recently
Talking about the working together with a buddy bit around 4:00 - I absolutely love converting and I'm a decent painter but put much less time aside for it. One of my buddies is a phenomenal painter but can't work with fiddly bits to make cool characters. So I made him a full command squad for his Space Marines with a chapter master and he painted them all up beautifully, came out even better that I imagined.
My primary focus of gaming has always been the game. I used to pay people to assemble and paint my stuff, and we had a Golden Demon Slayer Sword winner in town who painted commission. I was single, had extra money, and had the best looking armies in town. I learned to paint, could do a yeoman's job, but was never that good. Which is fine. I am happy enough with battle quality paint jobs. Fast forward 25 years and I am returning to 40k for the first time since then. My eyes are much older, and I have arthritis in many places, including my hands. So what I can put on the table these days is a far cry from what I used to put on, even things I painted myself. While this is a de-motivator, the focus always has to be on the goal, which for me is the game. I admit I would be pretty depressed if my goal was painting, because not only is it hard to do, the results just are not what I used to be able to do, and certainly not what I used to play with. It is still a little prone to procrastination, because it is so hard, but I chip away at it.
My failure is "painter's block". I was so excited to pick up Idoneth Deepkin because I could finally paint something in crazy bright colors but then I could never decide on a color scheme so they've sat assembled in a case for the last year or so. That first mini is always the hardest.
I started painting 40k figures not too long ago and have been looking at guides on youtube. Of course the videos that jump out have some amazingly painted minis which and despite rational judgement I think I started comparing a bit and focusing on what I did wrong too much. Af it is something I have to do and succeed at and not a hobby one should enjoy at all. Thank you for your video. i need that. I hope to have fun painting my Necrons in a simple, but cool way I like.
This video, and the "just start" video really helped me get back into the hobby in a much healthier way. I tend to be perfectionistic and hate losing to folks who game the meta and run soulless, nonsensical, hypercompetitive lists.
Getting into the "hobbying" side of things, starting new with an army that I truly like, looking at the hobby as something that I can put genuine time, effort and enjoyment into instead of feeling like a model-producing robot -- that made all the difference.