It's a really fun creative hobby with a low skill floor and very high skill ceiling that also happens to create playing pieces that enhance games, and gets you away from screens. It's just cool! 😄
Kate Holden
A reason I find posting pics of my minis a bit more satisfying lately is that as a mostly digital artist, any art I post, I know it's at risk of being scraped or just outright stolen, and that anyone who looks at it will have to scrutinise it like we all do art now, "is this AI?"
A lot of mini painters really don't think of themselves as "artists", even though they are making creative choices about colour or pose or decorative elements, sometimes with a narrative in mind, and executing with technical skill to render different materials at scale.
And minis are also a bit like a "Draw this in your style" meme. We're going to see a ton of jump pack chaplains this year from the new box, but each one will be a little different, even the ones painted as the same Space Marine chapter.
It feels quite inclusive (at least on a skill level. Obviously, I know cost is an issue for many people!) Because a lot of people would feel too intimidated to take part in a drawing challenge, but they'll put paint on a mini, viewing it more like "colouring in".
A mini, though, is a physical thing. You can't fake it, and if somebody wanted to try to copy your scheme (and people definitely did with my Stormcast that placed in Armies on Parade, I even saw a tutorial on how to! hahaha), they're not going to perfectly copy your style or skill.
Part of the fun of a new Warhammer launch box is knowing a bunch of your mates and hobbyists you follow will all be doing their take on the exact same monopose minis, maybe with just a little kitbashing, but mostly distinguished just by how they paint.
