My first post - just a stupid question

[Dragonsreach]

Johnboyjjb:

I\'ve learned that you don\'t tell people without an example handy. It\'s easier to say I do this and point to a figure than to try and explain it.

Too true.
Friends:- are all into the hobby in one form or another.
Colleagues: appreciate the work (one or two of the girls want Foundry Berserkers painting to upset their partners) I\'m also painting a Biggles like figure as one is a Flying Airtcraft modeller!
Family go Huh; or That\'s great! ( I have a 26 year old neice who wants to get back into painting orcs/orks once her daughter is out of the chewing everything phase {She\'s 2.5+ } She also resemble\'s Jennifer Haley, my niece that is!)
My wife used to say HOW MUCH? But now sits and views Coolmini with me from home and at her work, voting on quite a few. I\'m trying subtly to get her to start to paint, but I\'m frightened that she\'ll beat the S**t out of me at it, and win a Golden Deamon at her first entry.

As an aside has any once else ever get picked on by a Born-again Christian for their hobby?
I once did, being seen carrying a copy of Dragon Magazine during my lunchtime. Very strange attitude, I found myself facing the accusation of being a Devil worshipper. (Red Rag to Bull time!) I managed to put up a very strong defense about stereotypes, bigotry and ignorance, but it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.

Over here in the UK there isn\'t the stigma attached to D&D but thee is still a suspicion of anyone who wants to play \"Make Believe\". In fact my parents once refered to:- \" a bunch of idiots who dress up as Robin Hood and prance around in a wood\" unitil I explained that they were Live Action Role Players who did what I play with Miniatures.
Hmmmn. Deathly silence, then quick change of subject!

 

[airhead]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach
Johnboyjjb:

...has any once else ever get picked on by a Born-again Christian for their hobby?
I once did, being seen carrying a copy of Dragon Magazine during my lunchtime. Very strange attitude, I found myself facing the accusation of being a Devil worshipper. (Red Rag to Bull time!) I managed to put up a very strong defense about stereotypes, bigotry and ignorance, but it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth...[/i]

Very bad in the late 70\'s & early 80\'s. Still some of it around. After showing my preacher what we were up to, I did get a group allowed to use the church\'s youth lounge on friday nights (they had those big tables). We just had to clean up behind us. I haven\'t had much of it recently and I am very involved in a baptist church. (go figure).

Oh, my wife painted a few figs and quite handily beat the snot out of me when it came to painting faces. I think it was the amount of practice she had.lol

 

[DennisMech]

You get the whole devil worshiping thing more if you draw chaos symbols on you and wear shirts that say \"let the glalaxy burn\"
The D&D club I\'m in doesn\'t allow daemons and cultist and darker stuff like that because of what parents and such might think. However my friend and I might start are own club with a much darker light.

 

[smokey]

Personally, to each their own...

Originally posted by supervike
He said \"HUNDREDS?\" and gave me a very \'what a waste of time, money, and effort\' look.

It really is a waste of time, effort, and money, but damn, I love it so... lollol

I\'ve showed my stuff to some people I know that usually just look at the minis in the case and go \"Wow, you\'ve got a lot of this stuff.\" Then I tell them that I have as much invested in this hobby as most of them have invested in aftermarket parts for their rice-burning cars. (no offense intended to you \"ricers\" out there, just not my thing.) Then they kinda understand.

Supervike~ Nothing YOU enjoy is ever a waste of time, money, or effort to YOU. To each their own.

Mom: Squints, puts on glasses, then says \"Hmmm. How long did this take you?\"

Sis: Doesn\'t get it at all, so I don\'t bring it up, neither does she.

Friends: What are those? My minis keep me company....lol

Smokey

 

[smokey]

Satanic? No. Violent, maybe...

I\'ve gotten comments on the ferry (i live in one of 3 states that has \'em, and until recently had to ride it everyday.) my friends and I would get barged in on by people when we\'d discuss what tau weapons will \"kill marines.\" I suppose my names on the Homeland Security list now. oh well.

Try as we might to explain it to these people \"No, it\'s not an inherently violent game, it just simulates combat by using dice.\" they would never quite get it. multiple times I\'ve ended up getting off the ferry after spending the whole ride explaining to them about the game, and doing very little strategic discussion with my friends. Grrrrr:flame:

Smokey

 

[Sand Rat]

Dragonsreach - As an aside has any once else ever get picked on by a Born-again Christian for their hobby?

Having been raised in Waco, Texas (long before the FBI held their Bar B Que there) I have taken much grief for (not in any order) - Gaming, dancing, reading Sci-Fi, not being Christian, not being Baptist, not being born again, watching TV, not watching the right TV, breathing to loud, and so forth. In my experience, the born again are about the narrow mindest group of people it has been my experience to have interacted with in my 37 years on this planet.

 

[finn17]

I resemble that remark!!!!

Originally posted by steelcult
In my experience, the born again are about the narrow mindest group of people it has been my experience to have interacted with in my 37 years on this planet.

Speaking as a born-again atheist with a very wide mind, I suggest you choose you choose your words more carefully

 

[Sand Rat]

Originally posted by finn17

Originally posted by steelcult
In my experience, the born again are about the narrow mindest group of people it has been my experience to have interacted with in my 37 years on this planet.

Speaking as a born-again atheist with a very wide mind, I suggest you choose you choose your words more carefully

Sorry - did not mean to offend the born again of other persuasions :innocent:

 

[dauber22]

I definately hear you, Steelcult. However, I\'ve found zealots and evangelicals of all stripes, not just Christian, are all quite annoying - anyone who\'s bent on changing or reforming MY life. Why people just can\'t be content living THEIR OWN life, is beyond me.

 

[smokey]

Originally posted by dauber22
Why people just can\'t be content living THEIR OWN life, is beyond me.

Because it\'s easier for them to see your problems when they ignore their own.

Smokey

 

[Cerridwyn1st]

Look for? Found, more like...

Originally posted by wiccanpony
:]hummmmm..what family and friends think about my hobby. At my age I don’t care what they think, “it’s my personal wicked little vice”..so there!
It keeps me off the streets and out of the bars, looking for younger men.lol

Look for one, Wicca? I found one - just got married in July. He\'s 28, I\'m 42.

And since I was painting already when we met, he knew what he was getting into.

As far as my kid is concerned, he plays D&D so I have to make sure my mini\'s don\'t wind up living at his buddy\'s place. I\'ve gotten painting commissions from his friends.

For anyone else, it is easier to just show them a fig. That usually wow\'s them, even if they don\'t really understand it.

I usually get, \"How do you paint something that tiny? Look, it even has EYES!\"

Answer: magnifying glass and REALLY SMALL brushes.

 

[DennisMech]

I\'m really tired of people just being wowed by how small something is, and not any of the other techniques or color choices or anything. But I suppose that\'s where people\'s amusement with having their name on rice comes from.

Oh, and on a side note, this smiley looks nothing like it\'s trying to say \"wow\" :wow: looks more like it\'s playing fish.

 

[dauber22]

Originally posted by DennisMech
I\'m really tired of people just being wowed by how small something is, and not any of the other techniques or color choices or anything. But I suppose that\'s where people\'s amusement with having their name on rice comes from.

Yeah, well, expecting the general public to recognize techniques and color choices, etc is really asking a bit much. That\'s really \"specialized knowledge\" which can best be appreciated by those indoctrinated into the hobby. And it\'s certainly not unique to mini-painting. Almost any artist or creative person can attest to that.

Take music for example. A musician can pour his heart and soul in to a piece, orture himslef for hours getting it just right. And what does he get?
\"I give it a 6, because its got a good beat and, uh, you can dance to it.\"

 

[Taer]

Aside from the greatly annoying quips of \"oh, how cute!\" my family really doesn\'t care. Some of my female friends though think it is a little strange, but they get over that quickly, and virtually all my guy friends either still paint or used to, so the definatly don\'t care. :bouncy:

 

[quillfrog]

after reading this entire thread, i had to jump in...

having just starting painting and not really into gaming (warhammer? what\'s that? (teasing)) and belonging to the coffin dodgers (though only a junior member - whew!) no one really knows what i\'m doing...

my girlfriend is awesome about it--we call them the \"little guys\" as in \"hey, babe, i\'m off to the little guy store.\" and, bonus, has no interest herself in painting. she also likes it because i can sit with her in her studio (graphic design student--a \"real\" artist ha ha) and we can be enveloped in our own things yet still together.

my family, well, we\'ll see...guess what they\'re getting for christmas this year!!!

 

[Strongbad]

Originally posted by DennisMech
I\'m really tired of people just being wowed by how small something is, and not any of the other techniques or color choices or anything. But I suppose that\'s where people\'s amusement with having their name on rice comes from.

Oh, and on a side note, this smiley looks nothing like it\'s trying to say \"wow\" :wow: looks more like it\'s playing fish.

I agree but you have to understand that mini collecters look at models very differently from mum\'s friends

 

[Dragonsreach]

Smokey:

Because it\'s easier for them to see your problems when they ignore their own.

. Too true. It\'s easier to point out someone else\'s fault\'s than identify your own.
As someone who follows their own path, I try to respect everyone elses faith. Bujt it\'s the narrow minded bigotry of those who see only one side to a coin that starts off the \"Bolshy\" side to my nature.

As to explaining the hobby to someone from out side- Uphill struggle sometimes! Once had said to me \"But it\'s all about violence and killing\" My reply kindly pointed out that the books she was reading was about the horror of the human & spirit world. (Stephen King).

Anyhow I\'m happy to be a painter/gamer and if anyone wants an arguement about how I spend my time & money........It\'s my time and money!

 

[yrret]

Looked at sideways

What do your friends say when you spend hours looking at the mini\'s of someone else?

My wife frequently stands behind me and says \"Why aren\'t you painting instead of looking?\"

BTW Because they are little, and people, I always called em pipples. Little pipples.
BTW2
Now my friends all ask \"How many people went to your website yesterday?\" (because I won\'t shut up about it)

Terry
http://ElectricOcean.com
\"Mini News and Updates\"

 

[Wren]

As Seen on TV...

I guess I\'m pretty lucky - my husband is very supportive of my having taken up this hobby recently, and the parents and friends I\'ve had an opportunity to show my work to so far seem impressed/supportive (although as mentioned by others, the wow factor is about gee that\'s small, not anything artistic, but I think there are a lot of nuances to this that aren\'t likely to be readily apparent to the casual observer.)

I saw some of the attitudes mentioned here reflected on a recent episode of a new TV series, Joan of Arcadia. The college-age son in the family is dealing with paraplegia following a car accident, and rejects his father\'s attempt to get him into wheelchair sports, and goes home where his mom finds him painting up a figure. (Looked to be a military swordsman with testors paint kit, including crummy brush.) And I thought cool, my hobby on TV. Then a few scenes later he\'s working on a plane and dad is berating him for playing with kids stuff.

Despite this moment, Joan is a pretty good show, I\'ve been pleasantly surprised. I\'m waiting for it to be cancelled - I like it, and the critics like it, that\'s always the kiss of death. ;->