Creating deserves company
Revisting "Making Together"
With another wave of COVID woes, and so much heartache and strife out there, it seems as if “back to normal” won’t be happening anytime soon, if ever again. But there is always hope. And a small bit of it can be found in the company of others. So don’t get locked in, even if we remain “locked down.” Join with a friend, either in person or virtually, and make something together. It will remind you there is light and joy to be had, even in the darkest and saddest of times. ~JRC
Making Together
Creating with others is pure joy
First published April 26, 2021, as a subscriber-only story
Saturday night, my son and I stayed up late painting. We make together all the time, so doing so was nothing new. But this weekend was special. Instead of working in my shop or at his craft desk, we decided to spread out on the kitchen table.
Our goal was to paint Dungeons & Dragons miniatures, something neither of us had done before. Excited about this new craft, we conspired to stay up "all night" painting. The table ended up being the perfect stage for this elaborate sustained-making campaign.
I've done many different arts and crafts over the years but never painted role-playing games (RPGs) miniatures. I didn't have an opportunity to play RPGs as a kid, so I never got into the maker side of the hobby either. But I always wanted to try my hand at it, and when my son expressed interest in learning D&D, I jumped at the chance to paint a few “minis” with him.
Although I hadn’t worked on minis before, I did build a lot of kit models as a kid. And I know my way around a paint set and brushes. So taking these skills and applying them to a new form was straightforward. We did have to tool up with some new materials, though.
Most RPG enthusiasts use a different kind of paint than model plane, rocket, and car builders (we used enamel paint for the latter). But with a short inquiry online and some expert input from a couple of veteran minis enthusiasts (thanks, Dave and Scott), we understood what we needed. A morning trip to a local gaming shop followed, and then off to the hobby store. By 12:30 PM, we had all we needed. Well, except for lunch.
After a detour to In-N-Out Burger, we returned home with a handful of minis to paint and fifteen bottles of high-quality modeler's acrylic paint. Our mini-painting event was on, and we were ready to go.
The evening was spectacular. I put on some fun music, we turned on a few bright lights, and spread a painter's cloth on the table. As I had expected, my son jumped in and did an excellent job right out of the gate. Me? I did pretty well, too, once I retrieved my magnifying visor from the shop. Boy, are those minis ever small!
The pizza arrived around 7:30 PM, and we took a break, sitting around the table eating slices and surveying our progress. We talked about D&D, painting, and went over the idea of a wash.* My son loves this technique and gets excited about the instant gratification it brings.
*A "wash" is a thin coat of diluted paint applied to darken an object and bring out character by depositing pigment in the recesses. It's basically a quick way to make something look more detailed and extra "real."
Determined to stay at it, we painted for hours. But as the evening wore on, it became harder and harder to keep our eyes trained on the details. And around 1:00 AM, it came: a long yawn from my son that signaled the evening paint-a-thon was over. With teeth hurriedly brushed, off to bed we went.
Both of us were asleep before we even hit the pillows.
My son already has plans to invite a few buddies for a post-pandemic minis painting sleepover. He's very excited about it, and so am I. It'll be cool to have a few other kids around, learning, laughing, and creating together at the kitchen table. Extra paint and supplies will be needed, of course. And more pizza for sure.
The pure joy of creating with others - it doesn't get much better.
Until next time.
JRC
PS: Yes, we had burgers and pizza on the same day. But like I said, it was a special event. :-)