Everyone admires the really well done miniatures. The photographs of some of the best are awe-inspiring. Some people even enter theirs in contests, and take so much time and effort to paint and model their competition pieces they turn their creations into miniature works of art. These labors of love (or competition) both invoke awe and in some, the general feeling of never being able to match it.
Why not?
Do you think anyone is born with the capacity to paint and model miniatures? That some cosmic twist of fate made them miniatures experts at birth? What is it that makes these people so adept at creating such mind-blowing miniatures in all their glorious detail?
None of these qualities are out of your reach. Persistence is tough but no one is ever denied the opportunity to keep going. You can choose to give up or follow through to the end. And it will take you lots of time and effort to finally get to the point you can create a miniature like the ones you see in the catalogs, but you can get there.
Knowledge can be gained from a book or off the net if you simply search for it. Nowadays, you can even buy books on how to paint miniatures from your local wargaming shop. Personally, I wish they had been around sooner, as it would have saved me some trouble. Then, once you know what it is you have to practice, you simply do it until your skills are mastered.
My first miniatures weren't all that great either. My first Dwarf looked like the victim of a drive-by paintballing. Yes, it was frustrating, irritating, and dispiriting. It took me a long time to even find the proper information to study but eventually I got it right. Yes, if a person has talent and some imagination they can get to where they want to be that much faster, but it's not the bottom line.
To paint awe-inspiring miniatures is a skill. Skills can be learned and then honed to mastery. Skills are something within everyone's reach. Skills you can learn and then apply if you only continue trying. So don't give up because you can't do it instantly. Sooner or later you'll master the skills it takes to make beautiful miniatures, and make your own little works of art.
Ryan Ambrose is the webmaster of The Short and Fuzzy Gallery, a miniatures painting and modeling site. The articles section can be viewed directly from here. Copyright 2006 Ryan Ambrose.