Miniatures

written by Caitlin Belley

I've always really loved fantasy. I'd stay up late at night reading Harry Potter by flash light and watching the Lord of the Rings movies on repeat. Art has also been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. Miniature painting is the perfect blend of these passions for me.

Being a bit neurospicy, my brain is a pretty busy and chaotic place. When I'm miniature painting, my brain is quiet. I'm not impacted by the stress of everyday life, I'm just focused on these tiny little details.

I think miniature painting has managed to hold my attention because there is so much freedom and creativity in the hobby. It's not just about painting, there's scene building and the ability to try working with so many different types of materials. Texture pastes, LEDs, resins, all fair game!

Some of my favorite miniature dioramas that I've built were made from stuff I've found in my yard. A fallen tree, some cool vines, rocks. It is always a bit funny to paint a rock to look like a rock.

One thing that's really surprised me about miniature painting was how supportive the community is. I live in a small town and I have two small children so all my painting is done at home. I'm not really able to join a group at a local games store at this point. There is a very active community on social media and I've met some really lovely people who have helped me to grow as a hobbyist. One time I was stuck on a piece that had gems stones. I just couldn't visualize how the light would interact with them and someone actually made a video for me to walk me through that step.

Getting started in miniature painting isn't complicated. I'd recommend starting by finding some miniatures you like the look of. They're pretty easy to find online or in a local game store and come in a wide variety of price range. Different companies also sell starter paint sets or just grab colors you enjoy. I didn't initially start out with a wet pallette. That took me some time to discover.

At first I used pallette paper from a craft store. I still don't use fancy brushes. You can get pretty far with a cheap set if you clean them. There are so many content creators who have step by step tutorials and product reviews. I have learned so much from just having painting videos playing in the background while I paint.

I have really found this hobby to be immensely satisfying. You can progress quickly as a painter if you take the time to practice. I'll never strip the paint off my first miniatures because its awesome to have that reminder of how far youve come. If you do take the hobby plunge, reach out! I always love helping a new painter.