Life in miniature

By Brenden Bobby
Reader Columnist

I was always an artsy kid with a flair for the fantastic. I distinctly remember being singled out and shamed in front of the whole class in the third grade for “doodling too many monsters.” If only third-grade Brenden would’ve known that a fantasy drama about dragons would one day redefine television and storytelling at large.

My first earnest foray into painting in miniature started earlier this year. A couple of YouTube videos, some cheap Apple Barrel paints and one poor Wererat miniature later, and I was hooked.

As the pages fell from the calendar, I swapped my Apple Barrel paints for Vallejo, expanded my desk and purchased lighting, and eventually procured a travel case to carry my paints from place to place. I watched more videos, I talked to more creators, I buckled down and sank hours into a very fun and rewarding hobby, and it’s finally starting to show.

A peek at the author’s studio and workspace. Courtesy photo.

Painting in miniature does a lot of interesting things to your brain, and working in three dimensions does a lot more. This hobby is the perfect intersection for beginners and experts alike, with a shallower learning curve than traditional painting but a limitless skill ceiling that will ensure you’re still learning new things 20 years into it.

Admittedly, the hobby isn’t all unicorns and rainbows. It can be expensive once you factor in the cost of paints, brushes, cleaning supplies and secondary materials like substrate and flocking for bases and terrain, not to mention the miniatures themselves or a 3-D printer if you wish to make your own. Any hobby is expensive though — even something as simple as hiking starts to add up when you add up the cost of supplies and gear as your skill level climbs.

You might think this hobby is just for nerds like me, likely gathered around a table somewhere arguing about which fantasy character is related to which dragon. That couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Painting in miniature is a very old hobby and one that predates the sci-fi and fantasy genres of entertainment by decades, if not centuries. Model building is a very closely related craft that employs identical techniques and disciplines, as well as many of the same supplies. Building dioramas for display is the ultimate challenge for a miniature painter, folding the art of terrain building, model building and miniature painting into one project. Whether that diorama is showcasing Ultramarines holding off Tyranid swarms on Macragge, or actual marines storming the beaches of Iwo Jima, is completely up to you.

The vast number of subjects that can be covered in this hobby allow for people of all ages and backgrounds to gather together and learn from each other. The techniques used to paint a convincing metal tank can be applied just as effectively to a suit of armor or even the iron gate of a tiny Victorian house.

Painting and art in general has proven to help increase your focus as well as combat the effects of dementia. Painting in miniature will also help you keep and strengthen control of your hands and fingers while teaching you breathing techniques to control shakes and shivers, which will help with any number of other tasks in life that require use of your hands.

If you’ve thought about trying to get into model building, or maybe you’ve painted for years and are looking to network with some other people in the hobby space, you should check out the library’s Mini Painting hangouts. 

Even if you’ve never picked up a brush a day in your life but would like to give it a try, the group has supplies on hand and a wealth of knowledge to get you started.