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I posted this on Facebook, and thought to post it here too.



"I want to share this for all the new artists out there who might get discouraged by the amazing artwork other miniature artists are posting.

It takes a lot of time, patience and practice to get where we are. Keep at the hobbies you're passionate about. Don't give up. In time, you can be putting out masterclass works too. Only you choose how much time you put into a project. If YOU're happy with how your miniatures look with a quick base coat and wash, then that's all that matters!

My Mountain King was a 5 month on/off project because I wanted to put that amount of effort in to it. When I paint minis for my Dungeons and Dragons group, I don't put near the same amount of effort as when I work on my Hordebloods.

The below photo shows an Eldar Guardian I painted back in the early/mid 90's. That's almost 20 years ago.

If you're having fun, then you're winning at the hobby side.

The last thing I'd ever want, from someone looking at one of my creations, is for them to become discouraged by their own skills. I want you to be inspired by my art and push forward on the unending path that is our hobby. In the meantime, what you're creating today is still art and is a representation of who you are."

I don't write many journals here, because most of what I want to say, I do so on my website: www.wargamingtradecraft.com/

But this is a topic I want to bring to light because it's bugged me for a while and I think there are a ton of artists out there who deserve proper recognition. Deviant Art can be a great art community, but currently there's no section specifically for miniature artists. I usually use "Traditional Art -> Painting" but that puts my minis next to all sorts of 2D paintings. It just doesn't fit. The miniature category under Artisan Crafts is also a dicey fit because it's focused on stuff you make with your hands, not painting. Another poor fit. Lets face it, our hobby is huge and there are artists all over the world creating beautiful works on what I like to refer to as "3D Canvass". Having our own category would help experienced and new artists share their work and be browsed. It would also remove miniatures from categories where they don't really fit, cleaning up the experience of other DA users.

The suggestion thread is here: support.deviantart.com/entries…

I would appreciate all you can do to LIKE the suggestion and leave a comment but also to tweet this, share it on Facebook or post on your own sites. Lets get some recognition for what we do.

Thanks,

Just wanted to make note that I've done some redesigning of my site, www.wargamingtradecraft.com which cleans up the layout some and offers better Facebook meshing. (Though still fleshing a few things out.)

Just a notice to anyone who might be interested, Warmachine Tactics, a video game Kickstarter from Privateer Press, is in it's last 10 hours. I'd strongly recommend buying in to this funded game and tell all your friends!