Am I a painter or a gamer? The answer to that question changes depending on when I’m asked. I really enjoy both sides of the hobby and when I saw this post from Gareson it got me thinking about the balance between painting and gaming. This year I’ve been trying to get more games played as I realised I have a lot of miniatures that despite being fully painted have seen little tabletop time.
That said, I really enjoy painting and that is probably shown by this image taken from the Collection Manager on Forward Kommander –
That’s 247 miniatures for Warmachine and Hordes, of which 11 are unpainted and 11 are proxies (my Circle force). It’d be tricky to do, but it’d be great to have some statistics on the amount of tabletop time my different miniatures have seen. That’d give some idea of the balance between how long they took to paint and how much game value they brought. Not that it really matters as I find painting to be rewarding in itself.
If I had to give up gaming tomorrow would I still paint? The answer is probably yes. I guess I’m a painter who likes to play games (but ask me again next week as the answer may have changed!).
Owen
I think it can be safely said that I’m a gamer rather than a painter. Unless winning games is a required part of the classification in which case I’m getting a new hobby.
@Peter Nah, it’s all about the playing. Some of the most fun games I’ve had I’ve been on the losing side. Your Flames of War US army is nearly painted, right?!
I’ve always been more of a gamer than a painter. Never painted a model just to paint it – always to get it on the table.
That said – I do like to get armies painted (mostly at least) before puting them on the table and 25 yrs of practice means my painting isn’t bad either. Which is nice.
@Kurt I try not to field unpainted miniatures to the point where I’d rather have a slightly uncompetitive army that is fully painted than one that isn’t! I also regularly paint minis that I’m not sure I’ll use. The proxied Circle stuff is a good example of that. I’ll find a purpose for those miniatures (probably in a campaign), but I’m painting them just because I like painting! It’s sad, very sad.
I’m a gamer who wishes he had the drive to be a painter. 🙂 I’m trying to change my ways, but it’s been almost two weeks since I picked up a brush with bad intentions… I’ll have to change that tonight.
I think once I get enough points with colour on them I’ll force myself to play only fully painted. That should drive me more.
@Subhedgehog I’ve said it before, but grabbing the camera to photograph a newly painted mini and writing a blog post about it is a great motivator. I’ll keep an eye on your blog for more painted Khador. I like your Marauder.
I’m definitely a gamer over being a painter. I’m trying to get more stuff painted though. I really do like how a fully painted army looks, but if I have spare time with friends, I’d rather play than paint.
I’ve had to set myself deadlines or enter tourneys that require painted models (Gen Con hardcore). It worked great for me.
Another thing I’m trying to do is have a blog and post pictures from when I do paint. It has inspired a friend to start the hobby, so that’s something. However, the site’s called nonpainters.com for a reason. 🙂
@KoldunLord Tournaments make for great motivation. Nothing like a hard deadline and the desire to have a fully painted army do what it does best… smash face!
A great post… I really don’t know what to answer to this!
I am a gamer. Anyone who knows me knows this 😛
That is true Clay, very true! I’ve just (patiently) cleaned, assembled and primed a Ravagore (the one I picked up in Orlando) – I must be a painter!