http://www.puttyandpaint.com/projects/1133
I love the monkey on his shoulder. It's almost liked I picked this piece to be a perfect visual analogy for the topic #obviouswink. This miniature is painted better than I can paint. There I said it. *Deep Breaths* I am in the middle of painting the best miniature I have ever painted, but it's not as nice as this. The smooth blends, the character in the face, plus it has a monkey so it obviously wins. Minis like this are a pleasure to look at. I can be nitpicky if I want. Maybe the monkey attracts too much attention away from the pirate face. Maybe the metals could be more crisp. Maybe the basing could be a little more interesting. But that's just being nitpicky. What do I do with all these feelings of inadequacy that I have upon viewing nice work? I dunno, let's move to the next one.
Life Lesson Number 2. You will never get better if you don't try.
"Marauder Champion" by Nadezhda "River" Reka
http://www.puttyandpaint.com/projects/1178
Well Expletive. *Very Deep Breath* *Deep Breath* I own this miniature. I have painted this miniature. I have tried to paint better while painting this specific miniature, and mine's on snow basing too. *runs off to burn brushes* Nadezhda has painted an evocative, cohesive and just plain awesome piece here. The snow basing is so effective, and allows even hints of color to pop. I feel a little cold looking at this miniature, and my house is 80+ degrees right now. (I don't know the Celsius conversion, it's warm!) I really can't be nitpicky. I can be subjective and say maybe I don't like the green tint on the skin, but it contrasts so nicely with the rest of the mini that's like saying, maybe another miniature would be better here. It's just plain childish and immature to be that subjective. Hmm, maybe that's a little like feeling that you should give up because somebody is better than you? *runs off to put brush fire out*
Life Lesson Number 3. Try anyway.
"Battle Sister" by Gautier "Graphigaut" Giroud
http://www.puttyandpaint.com/projects/1056
*Silent Screams* I own this miniature. I have painted in twice. I have converted it once. I painted it to the best of my ability both times. It's almost like Gautier thought, hmm if only there was a different miniature here, this piece would be better. THEN HE SCULPTED A DIFFERENT MINIATURE!! Gahh.
Allright to borrow from the Global Icon, time for some "Real Talk" tm We all have limitations. For some people it is literally holding a brush. Remember that. Some people have the same desire to paint convert and hobby as you do, and cannot hold a brush. For most of us it's time. So little time between Attack on Titan, the Flash, and reading Warhammer blogs that we just don't have enough time to devote to a project like this. For me, I don't want to spend this much time on a mini. I'd rather paint an army instead. So here comes the real question. Is this a hobby to you? Or is it a competition? Oh, this applies to tournament and games too. If you cannot stand not being the best you should probably see a counselor. For the rest of us, it's a hobby. And a hobbyist wins by hobbying. Not by winning. Simply by striving to do. So why look at things like these? Why torture myself daily looking at pictures of beautiful miniatures I know I will never be able to recreate? Because I can appreciate. I can appreciate how much effort has gone into this conversion. I literally think about my failed attempts to sculpt a clean edge on armour, paint thin enough to freehand, and layer well enough to pull off non-metallic metal. To me this is hobbying. Looking at what's possible, and maybe one day doing the best I possibly can. That's a hobby. Trying to do something spectacular, even if it's only to the best of our ability. To fail to appreciate what you have done because someone else has done better is the definition of insanity. There will always be someone better than you, but you will never get better if you don't try, so try anyway.