Back, after a brief hiatus...

** Don't worry, this isn't meant to be a grumble piece.  Actually, the opposite!

After a brief hiatus of 2 months of having nothing to paint, (cuz I painted ALL THE THINGS) and not gaming either (cuz the fun/effort ratio was way off), I recently had a bit of an epiphany, and have started to step back into the hobby.



What sort of self discovery?  I discovered just how therapeutic assembling and painting can be, when you just want to shut your mind off, and focus on creating something.  Basically, for 2 months, I lacked any kind of creative outlet and stress relief.  Needless to say, these last few months weren't pleasant.  I had always thought of myself as a gamer 1st, and a hobbyist 2nd.  I painted, because I HATE unpainted models!  AND, I think that "gamer first" attitude even affected my painting.  I rushed things so I could get them pushed onto the table.  Don't get me wrong, I think my previous work turned out fine, but I really wanna know: can I do better?  I think painting wise, I plateaued, because frankly it was "good enough" and I didn't care.

I also discovered, that maybe I'm not that much of a gamer after all.  I didn't miss having to pack up all my junk, including a giant crate terrain, and drive 30 minutes to the shop... just to set up, get in a game, and then drive back home, usually at midnight.  Maybe it was boredom with the games I was playing?  Even at home, not once did I crack out any of my solo games, or set up the gaming table for lazy-Sunday match in my Nerd Lair.  If gaming was more important to me than the hobby side, why was I not at least playing SOMETHING?

I found myself missing the hobby more and more, but the games themselves, not at all.  So, I decided to switch it up.  Maybe, I focus almost exclusively on the hobby side, and get actual games in as an afterthought....

So, when I thought about it: out of all the minis I've painted in the past, which ones were my favorites?  Which were the most fun to build AND paint?  The answer was easy: GW.  Sure, they are hella expensive, no denying that, but if your only desire is paint fun models, then the value outweighs a lot of the competition.  (not ALL competition, but a lot.)  As an added bonus, seeing as 40k is so popular in my area, should I desire to get a game in, I think I would have a much easier time doing so. As a matter of fact, after mentioning on facebook that I was thinking about getting back into painting, and working with GW models, a friend and neighbor shot back, "do a 40k army, a bunch of us play Mondays at my place..."


Cool models to really push my painting limits on: CHECK.
Cutting down a drive to get a game in from 30 minutes to 3 minutes: CHECK.
... SOLD.

Kujo's work.  I hope to paint 1/2 as good one day

So, after watching a ton of tutorial videos on YouTube, by Kujo Painting, I set up a wet-pallet for the first time ever, and I'm going to push myself to figure out how to wet-blend and work in glazes.  As an added bonus, since I'm not in a rush to get something completed, I'll be able to put in the time and effort, and paint to the best of my (hopefully newfound) abilities.  I hopped in to the OTHER shop, the one 5 minutes from house, not the GOOD one that is 30 minutes away, and picked up the older Eldar "Start Collecting" box.  My reasoning being that back in the day when I played Eldar in 3rd/4th ed, you couldn't find a farseer on bike model, AND I had always wanted a fireprism back then but never got around to buying one.

So yeah, I'm diving back into the hobby side, and at least "dipping my toes in the water" to gaming, and I'm already excited to be doing so!  Now comes the tricky part.... deciding on a craftworld to play!



Thanks for sticking with me through the hiatus, hopefully this means more regular updates on painting progress in the future...  As always, Until next time.

  -WuhSawBe-