I've been doing miniature painting as a hobby, but the reactions I get to my projects is making me want to quit.

[Ya Boi]

I've been painting miniatures since high school when I first got into Warhammer 40k. I don't put as much effort or money into it as other people, I started off using paints from Michaels and I only recently switched to Vallejo, but I still felt like I could make some good models.

A while back I posted some Sisters of Battle models I painted to resemble characters from Touhou Project in the Touhou subreddit. I was nervous about posting it but I was hoping people would like it. However, the only comment I got after an hour was "Thin your paints. For the sake of your minis, thin your paints." For context, thinning your paints is when you use water to dilute the paint to make it less thick. So in a way, he was saying my minis were painted badly. This hurt not only because of that, but because I did try to thin my paints, but I knew that if I said that it would only make things worse. So I deleted the post soon after. I admit they may not have been the best since I used paints from Michaels and the photos I took didn't look the best, but I still hurt having that be the first comment.

Recently I tried posting some Helldiver miniatures I got to the Helldivers subreddit. These guys were painted with Vallejo paint, which is a popular brand for miniature painting, and I thinned my paints the best I could. However, after a day it only got 36 upvotes and half of the 5 comments were people telling me to thin my paints. The others were me saying where I got the models from, a bot response, and some guy saying either he or I could make a living selling them on eBay (I really don't know what he was saying). This stung even harder since it felt like I was doing what I needed to do and it still wasn't good enough. One of the negative comments did say they still looked cool, but it didn't make me feel better, so I deleted that post as well.

Now I'm not sure what to do. It feels like every time I try to share my models I get dumped on and get told they aren't good. The worst part is that those posts weren't even in miniature painting subreddits. I'm trying to improve my painting skills, I'm learning how to use washes and started using a homemade wet pallet, but I feel doubtful that anythings going to improve. I also feel like I'm not doing things right. Today I tried to thin my paints like how the people in the YouTube tutorials do it, but it felt like the paint didn't come out as well. So now I'm stuck feeling like I'm not good enough and nothing I do will come out good.

I'm really not sure what to do. I want to paint, but it feels pointless if no one can see what I make or if whenever I show off what I make I get negative criticism.

 

[Jumpinbare]

I would have expected you needed to use paint thinner rather than water. Are they latex paints?

Are you doing this for your own enjoyment, or as a way to make income. If enjoyment, then what other people think is worthless. If to make money, then do some more research on how much to thin, brush technique, etc.

 

[velociraptor]

So now I'm stuck feeling like I'm not good enough and nothing I do will come out good.

Are you painting miniatures for the enjoyment of others, or yourself? I regularly get savaged in photography forums because there is always someone who doesn't like some aspect of what I share. One fellow commented that I would have had better dynamic range in one image if I had used a late-model camera and not one from 2004. Well, okay, but this was a post to a vintage digital camera forum where images from old digicams are de rigueur. Don't waste your time on these people as life is too short. Paint another miniature and thin the paint however you like it best.

 

[Atrapa Almas]

I also paint miniatures, and getting some likes and support is always welcome. That said it is not healthy to let others decide your hobbies. If you like painting do paint, if you like miniature games there are many of them. Some of them are designed to play solo. GW games are expensive too. On the other hand its easy to find people to play GW games, so its a good way to do social gaming stuff.

You can post here your miniature picture and I will give you a like. I can also give you a honest feedback about how you paint if you happen to be interested in that.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I don't know anything about miniature painting. However, I understand your feelings.

Putting something you made out there for others to see and judge is always risky, and you should consider why you do that. It would be a real shame if people's reactions took the joy about your miniature painting from you. Maybe reconsider posting about it for a while?

I used to write a lot of fanfiction, now sadly I don't do it much anymore (no real reason, I just lacked the time). In my teens, I had a few continuing fanfiction stories which I had posted on a website. I remember how nervous I was about my stories, and after posting new chapters, I waited for comments to see what people would say. I mostly got positive feedback, but, knowing myself, negative feedback would have hit me very hard back then.
I also posted another very short story a few years ago, and I was disappointed when it received no comments at all.
There were stories I only wrote for myself, and those few stories I wrote for my anonymous audience. The feelings were completely different. With the first one, I could put anything I wanted in there, also personal things, since I only wrote it for myself, and if I lost the storyline or got a new idea, I could just stop the story. With the second one, I considered what people might want to read, and I usually got stressed out after a while because I got tangled up in the story and hadn't thought them out until the end.

What I mean is: Doing something, like art, for yourself, for the joy of it, OR putting it out there for people to judge, criticize or even buy, are two very different things.

There will always be people who say negative things. People have their opinions. One person suggesting you do something differently does not mean that your art is bad. It means that that one person suggested you do something differently.

I hope this comment makes sense. I feel like it's a bit messy. I hope that you can clarify your feelings about your artistic hobby and don't lose the joy about it over some comments.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

One thing about many of our special interests: They are for us. Not other people. Don't seek approval, interest, or validation from others. Even with my wife, she has at best, tolerated my many special interests over the years. She doesn't see the point in all the time, money, and energy put into them. She's told me so, but this is something I need, not want. In this case, as much as I love her and appreciate what she has to say, I have to politely ignore her. I have to keep my mind active or I will go nuts from boredom.

 

[Aspychata]

When l do my special interests, they are just for me. l don't really care what others think. If validation is important, then you should find another special interest that guarantees validation l guess.

 

[TBRS1]

There is a weird thing that happens when one shows one's work to other "expert craftsmen."

Sometimes, in an attempt to show "authority" (i.e.: to support their ego), the expert critics will be ridiculously overly critical, picking out flaws that aren't really there, and gleefully pointing them out, in public.

Other times, though, the critics are trying to help by point out some things that really can be improved.

It's kind of up to the individual to consider which of these two things is happening.

If you are happy with your work, and determine that the criticism is unfair, ignore it. As a craftsperson, this is a common experience you're gonna have.

Try showing your work to people who aren't claiming to have artistic authority. These people will likely be highly impressed .

Definitely don't quit, though. Don't let anybody ruin your pleasure.

 

[Aspychata]

The funny thing about artists is that many of them were discovered after they died and were gone for quite some time. There are writers that were "discovered" years later. So l wouldn't be so tied up in validation from others, l would ccontinue to check other miniature artists, check out ideas for miniature art, and expand my thinking. It's quite an interesting skill.

 

[Judge]

Ouch. Competitive mentalities and events...figure painting and plastic modelling. Something I know well from the past. Also something I eventually figured out to be utterly socially toxic.

In a situation where I came to surmise that reflected 20% skill and artistry, and 80% of what I can only call, "Lord Of The Flies" (predators). Referring of course to the book and the movie.

If you enjoy painting your figures and get a certain satisfaction in doing so, leave it at that.

The second you go out and seek feedback for them, especially through organized and competitive events, expect to be showered in negativity whether you are really good or really bad. A social dynamic that IMO is especially painful for we on the spectrum.

Love the hobby, but keep it to yourself. In the meantime, practice on thinning down the coarsely pigmented acrylic paints (Folk Art,Ceramcoat, Apple Barrel) to more of a fluid than a gel. Use the ghastly expensive but finely pigmented paints like Vallejo or Tamiya for faces and hands where a smooth texture counts. The rest you should be able to get by with the more coarsely pigmented paints just fine.

This is something I did about a dozen years ago. Note the figure, delicately painted entirely with those cheap and coarsely pigmented paints:

 

[Misty Avich]

Receiving negative reviews from people can be very anxiety-inducing for people with RSD. When posting your hobbies or interests on a forum specifically based on your hobby or interest, it's inevitable that there will be haters.
However, some criticism is okay. For example, if people are well-meaning and are just giving you tips on how to improve (which doesn't necessarily mean they're saying your work is crap, they're just trying to help) then I don't see it as criticism really.

It's more when people say nasty things with the intention of bullying or putting you down, is what I cannot handle, even if I knew that there will be some people who will say those things. I think it's because I feel humiliated or embarrassed whenever I'm shown up with criticism or personal attacks online when there's no need for it.

Like if I published my stories that are non-fictional memoirs about my life, I worry that haters are going to call my character a psychopath or a weirdo or something, even though there's nothing that suggests I'm a psychopath or weirdo in my books but in their eyes I might be "wrong". With RSD it's sometimes difficult to differentiate between people saying things to upset you and people saying things because to them it really is what they say. I'm all for people giving their opinions, and I love hearing people's opinions, but I think saying some soul-destroying hateful things about harmless people is not exactly an opinion, it's just downright meanness.

 

[Ya Boi]

I also paint miniatures, and getting some likes and support is always welcome. That said it is not healthy to let others decide your hobbies. If you like painting do paint, if you like miniature games there are many of them. Some of them are designed to play solo. GW games are expensive too. On the other hand its easy to find people to play GW games, so its a good way to do social gaming stuff.

You can post here your miniature picture and I will give you a like. I can also give you a honest feedback about how you paint if you happen to be interested in that.

Thank you so much. Here are the Helldivers I painted. The white and orange ones were painted with folk art brand paint I got from Michaels, all the other ones are painted with Vallejo. The white emblems on their chests are the biggest problem I have with them, as it's hard to tell what their emblems are supposed to be, and is the big thing I want to change. I also didn't use any shades, but I want to try adding some.

Also, the reason the sniper rifle looks so weird is because the original barrel broke and vanished, so I replaced with a Space Marine sniper rifle barrel.

 

[Atrapa Almas]

Thanks for sharing. Your miniatures are painted as we all started to paint: Newbie level. They are ok to play games and have fun.

You dont need to thin your paints. You may want (or not) to keep learning to paint, which is a different hobbie than playing. It has a long learning curve and its time consuming. There is a lot to learn like taking care of your brushes, fine motor skills to paint detailed parts, blending colours, light, shades... So its important that you are honest with yourself and decide if you want to invest into painting learning or are more a gamer who wants their minis to look ok in the table.

If you are more a player than a painter I would recomend techniques that dont need much accuracy like drybrush and contrastlike paints (like Vallejo Xpress and Speedpaints from armypainter). Here you have an english YouTube channel that is focused exactly on that, being good enought. The channel has a list about painting in that way:

Good'Nuff Gaming

If you actually want to learn painting the focus is different. You need fine motor skills to put the paint exactly where it goes. For that your brush must be sharp, the paint must be thin enough but not too thin, and you cant be in a hurry to finish. Once you can apply every colour where it goes, you move into avanced techniques like blending colours, lights, shadows, etc. There are many YouTube channels on how to paint well, and also on the basis. This is a good video on the basis to painting well:

Im on a basic-average level myself and not sure if I want to invest more time on each mini than I actually do. Some days I am more in player mode and want my minis to be already painted and some other days I look at my minis and wish I had painted them with more care.

Hope it helps.

 

[Judge]

I also didn't use any shades, but I want to try adding some.

That's probably your biggest challenge with figure painting. To advance from painting completely opaque colors to shading everything in accordance with a single direction of sunlight.

Not all that complex for a uniform or clothing, but when it comes to the human face and hands, it's not easy to master, though I still chuckle at presentations claiming to the contrary. Of course the smaller the scale, the more challenging it can be to provide such details in color. Why I prefer to work with figures no smaller than 54mm or 1/35 scale.

I still recall coming into contact with a man considered to be another "Grand Master" of figure painting named Terry Worster many years ago. At a Bay Area Military Miniatures competition, he was at a table demonstrating the basics of figure painting. Where he had a figure primed in white, where he's use a thin black "wash" all over the figure just to make all the inner creases and outer edges stand out in both light and shadows. He laughed, pointing out that without doing this he could hardly see all those details. Not a bad way to start.

One thing I've always appreciated was the ability to use water to lightly blend colors that are shaded. But the trick is that you have to do it quickly, given how fast acrylics dry compared to oils. Something to be vary mindful of with acrylics. It's when they begin to dry and you keep doing brush strokes with acrylics that can spoil the surface of anything you're painting.

(I've always hated the smell of turpentine and thinner, but they allow for superior blending of colors without drying so quickly.) The choice to use oils is always there...especially given their availability at stores like Michaels. But yes, oils aren't cheap either.

Another technique to learn is in painting objects not related to the human form or clothing. More commonly referred to as "dry-brushing". A technique done quite well given those thicker pigments. Where you take a relatively "bushy" brush and dip it deep into the bottle of paint to reach the thickest of its pigment. Then carefully wipe most of it off , and lightly brush it over an object to quickly give it highlights in accordance with complex shapes. Though in my own case I rarely use this technique on figures, but use it a lot on the surface of armored fighting vehicles, like in the second photo of my earlier post. Where you can see multiple objects like the tank hull and treads all quite liberally dry-brushed, giving the appearance of worn surfaces.

Then again there are some decent and comprehensive online articles on such specific techniques to consider. Here's another one that seems to focus in particular on the 25mm figures. Providing visuals to match the text of what is being conveyed:

Tips & Advice for Painting Shading and Highlighting on Miniatures

 

[Rodafina]

So cool. How about letting us see some more of your work?

What do you love about painting miniatures @Ya Boi?

 

[Captain Caveman]

I've been painting miniatures since high school when I first got into Warhammer 40k. I don't put as much effort or money into it as other people, I started off using paints from Michaels and I only recently switched to Vallejo, but I still felt like I could make some good models.

A while back I posted some Sisters of Battle models I painted to resemble characters from Touhou Project in the Touhou subreddit. I was nervous about posting it but I was hoping people would like it. However, the only comment I got after an hour was "Thin your paints. For the sake of your minis, thin your paints." For context, thinning your paints is when you use water to dilute the paint to make it less thick. So in a way, he was saying my minis were painted badly. This hurt not only because of that, but because I did try to thin my paints, but I knew that if I said that it would only make things worse. So I deleted the post soon after. I admit they may not have been the best since I used paints from Michaels and the photos I took didn't look the best, but I still hurt having that be the first comment.

Recently I tried posting some Helldiver miniatures I got to the Helldivers subreddit. These guys were painted with Vallejo paint, which is a popular brand for miniature painting, and I thinned my paints the best I could. However, after a day it only got 36 upvotes and half of the 5 comments were people telling me to thin my paints. The others were me saying where I got the models from, a bot response, and some guy saying either he or I could make a living selling them on eBay (I really don't know what he was saying). This stung even harder since it felt like I was doing what I needed to do and it still wasn't good enough. One of the negative comments did say they still looked cool, but it didn't make me feel better, so I deleted that post as well.

Now I'm not sure what to do. It feels like every time I try to share my models I get dumped on and get told they aren't good. The worst part is that those posts weren't even in miniature painting subreddits. I'm trying to improve my painting skills, I'm learning how to use washes and started using a homemade wet pallet, but I feel doubtful that anythings going to improve. I also feel like I'm not doing things right. Today I tried to thin my paints like how the people in the YouTube tutorials do it, but it felt like the paint didn't come out as well. So now I'm stuck feeling like I'm not good enough and nothing I do will come out good.

I'm really not sure what to do. I want to paint, but it feels pointless if no one can see what I make or if whenever I show off what I make I get negative criticism.

I need to share something which you might find useful.

I am into model railways and I have nearly always been into the hobby ever since I can remember! Now as I have matured in the hobby, I have developed my own style.
Now my style is not always what other modellers in the hobby do, and they make suggestions, and I know their suggestions are made in kindness. Occasionally a suggestion is useful and I can use it, but in general it is not used as I enjoy doing my own thing. (I to make suggestions to others as well and they can be taken as advice or ignored... After all... It is not compulsary and we learn to do what we like and develop our own rather unique ways!)
Now I like to brushpaint my locos and what they pull, and unusually I love gloss paints for the locos and the coaches, but the waggons I usually paint in matt. Yet the majority of modellers will paint in matt, and most modellers will spray paint for a professional finish.
Now I like what I make. I love the look of them. I do not want to copy everyone else, and you should not either.
Yes, we all learn from each other, and certainly it will be the case that someone somewhere will always do something better! BUT, it is NOT about that. It is about doing what we do and enjoying it!

So do your own thing and enjoy it! Share and ignore those who would do things differently. It is after all your work and your style!

I hope this helps?

 

[Wolfiedog]

At least it was constructive criticism.
Be glad someone took the time to write it out.
That says something.
Remember, critics are mostly made up of talentless, jealous people who have produced nothing.

 

[FilterFreq]

I'm really not sure what to do. I want to paint, but it feels pointless if no one can see what I make or if whenever I show off what I make I get negative criticism.

One thing you may come to learn as an artist is that every critic is secretly trying to help you.

I know, it sounds crazy, especially when our egos get involved. But when people say things like this, they're trying to bring out the potential they know you have. They're not saying, "This is crap" (that gets us nowhere, and most people avoid pointless words like this nowadays anyway), and the truth hurts the most -- but when it breaks us down, it allows us to rebuild and create even better artwork.

The process is extremely difficult, and beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. Some might say that the goal isn't simply to please everyone, but to strike a balance between our own tastes and those which we inherit from our peers, our mentors, and our fans. You can't please them all -- but they've all got a valuable lesson that you can either learn from and grow alongside, or disregard and remain tied to your ego. There's really no wrong answer.

The #1 reason (IMO) artists stop growing is because they stop listening to the lessons they can learn from those around them, turn inward, grow bitter, and never come out of their shell. I get this feeling you're better than them though, so you've got nothing to worry about! In art, the opposition is the way.

 

[FilterFreq]

Also, one more thing to note...

The more you work on art and show it to others, the more you'll start to get lukewarm to warm responses instead of just cold ones. Even though it'll be the the luck of the draw at times (either you had a 'happy accident' or a pleasant person crossed your path), that can often be enough to realize that not everyone thinks your art needs improvement, and to remember that the ratio will balance out as you gain more experience.

External validation is a great tool to improve your artwork and grow as an artist, but remember that it's only one facet to what you make. At the end of the day, you have the final say in how you make things, and your taste trumps everyone else's, because it's your thing. That alone makes the journey worth it to me, and I hope you'll be able to say the same as well one day.

I've been review-bombed like crazy (even having a magazine write a slam article against me) for about 15 years, and now I get love notes from people telling me how much they love what I do. When it rains, it pours.

 

[Italianbratxoxo]

I don't know anything about miniature painting. However, I understand your feelings.

Putting something you made out there for others to see and judge is always risky, and you should consider why you do that. It would be a real shame if people's reactions took the joy about your miniature painting from you. Maybe reconsider posting about it for a while?

I used to write a lot of fanfiction, now sadly I don't do it much anymore (no real reason, I just lacked the time). In my teens, I had a few continuing fanfiction stories which I had posted on a website. I remember how nervous I was about my stories, and after posting new chapters, I waited for comments to see what people would say. I mostly got positive feedback, but, knowing myself, negative feedback would have hit me very hard back then.
I also posted another very short story a few years ago, and I was disappointed when it received no comments at all.
There were stories I only wrote for myself, and those few stories I wrote for my anonymous audience. The feelings were completely different. With the first one, I could put anything I wanted in there, also personal things, since I only wrote it for myself, and if I lost the storyline or got a new idea, I could just stop the story. With the second one, I considered what people might want to read, and I usually got stressed out after a while because I got tangled up in the story and hadn't thought them out until the end.

What I mean is: Doing something, like art, for yourself, for the joy of it, OR putting it out there for people to judge, criticize or even buy, are two very different things.

There will always be people who say negative things. People have their opinions. One person suggesting you do something differently does not mean that your art is bad. It means that that one person suggested you do something differently.

I hope this comment makes sense. I feel like it's a bit messy. I hope that you can clarify your feelings about your artistic hobby and don't lose the joy about it over some comments.

I used to write fanfiction too. People would call it weird and strange and it made me feel bad. I hardly write fanfiction these days. I mostly keep it to myself.