Needless to say, I've been in a mad dash to get everything prepped for Adepticon. What with working as much overtime as I have been lately, attempting to keep the blog up (I know that we're well behind schedule in updates, but it can't be helped at this time), prepping for a work trip this weekend and into half of next week… Painting has taken a backseat to everything else.
And then a few things happened...
This year I was on a Team with CVinton and OSt from Dark Future Games, and my good friend Doug here back home. We were going to bring our Technicolor Necrons.
"But wait, Tim, you said 'were going to bring…', what happened?"
A truly diverse train of events, really, is all I can say to keep people's private lives private. I don't want to dwell on it too much because people's lives and responsibilities come first, and the hobby comes second. Any time that someone thinks this is reversed needs to have a reality check.
Heck, I still have quite a bit of army to finish painting though!!! Even a month out, I have quite a bit left. I still wasn't too worried about my army though, because I was/am painting the army to a tabletop level. I'm not saying I'm just slapping paint on to a 3-color minimum, but I refuse to stress out about something that honestly, I just want to have some fun with. I want the army to look good while I push it around the board, not win a Golden Demon with it. However, that does not mean that I don't have two very specific goals in mind for my growth as a painter, while working on this army. How can I grow as a hobbyist while only working to a tabletop standard? I'm glad you asked...
Goal #1: Remember that this is a Hobby, Not a Job
That's right, I said it. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not wanting to just throw pieces of crap down on the table, but I'm done stressing out about what is supposed to be a relaxing and fun past time for me. By the time I leave for Vegas on Sunday (did I mention I'm flying to Vegas for work on Sunday?), I will have finished 20 Necron Immortals, with only having started this past Sunday. 20 Immortals…in a week. That is huge for me. I always agonize over the tiniest detail or slip of the brush. This is a lesson, not in speed-painting, but in letting go of perfection and just enjoying the act of painting again.
Expect a post focused purely on that tenant, it's been eye-opening for me.
Goal #2: Restrict Myself to a Limited Palette of Colors
Do you realize how hard this is for me? Oh sure, I've tried this in the past and have started with a limited palette of paint pots on my table, but inevitably I end up with 20-30 pots once everything is all said and done. This time? I am forcing myself to paint with only the colors in the palette I've chosen for the figures. Heck, the bases won't even be a huge departure from the palette, only adding one or two for brick detail and the odd metallic pop. I'm hoping this exercise in restraint will help me become accustomed to using a limited color palette to it's fullest and re-teach me that I don't have to paint with every color of the rainbow. I knew this back in art school, I know it for my graphic design, but I struggle with it in my figure painting. It's time to change that.
Also expect a post on that topic as well…
Scattered throughout this article you've gotten a glimpse of the 1000 points of Necrons I was prepping for the trip. Now though, I'll be bringing my Grey Knights to get in a few pick-up games with if I have the opportunity to. I'm bringing my Centurions to play in Saturday night's Combat Patrol, and I'll also be hanging out around the 'Con, providing coverage here and exploring the possibilities of other games. I want to catch an Infinity Demo, the X-Wing Demo…
So I still feel pretty good about this year's Adeption. How about you, are you ready?
- Tim