MeinMMO editor Caro was made aware of another hobby through Dungeons & Dragons, which has captivated her since its inception. She now shares what she has learned after a year of painting her miniatures – and where she still struggles to find her right path.
Exactly one year ago, in February 2025, I decided to stop staring at the figurines in my local tabletop store and finally give them a bit of life myself. I previously reported during the Christmas season how I fell in love with this hobby and what my regular workflow looks like when I dedicate my time to painting the heroes.
This month, I realized that I can celebrate a sort of one-year anniversary since starting one of my new favorite hobbies, because that was exactly when I painted my first miniature that was included in the starter set, namely a simple but slick knight.
And what can I say – it became really cool. The first knight just got the ball rolling, evolving into one of my favorite evening activities. In this first year, I have dedicated myself to various miniatures, feeling frustrated, excited, demotivated, and inspired – but I am still ready to keep going and improve.
In the first year of learning, I already came across strong tips and tools that could help me and eventually allowed me to achieve better results. I would like to present these insights to you in this article and show what I have learned in a year.
In the trailer for the fourth campaign of Critical Role, some miniatures can also be seen:
Small miniatures forgive mistakes much better than larger ones
This tip was given to me right when I purchased my starter set at my trusted store. I was already motivated before I could even start. I wanted to paint dragons, a huge kraken, a giant worm that would eventually play a key role in our D&D campaign.
The seller advised me to at least start with small projects, like the knight included in the starter set. Mistakes always happen, especially at the beginning, but with smaller figures, they are significantly less relevant than with big monsters, where every flaw stands out much faster.
I listened to these words, or at least somewhat. The knight was my first miniature, but afterward, I immediately bought a far larger monstrosity that I just found too cool to leave behind “boring humanoids”.
I still have a soft spot for the kraken because it is simply a cool model with its “okay” paint job without real highlights or layers. However, I regret not having kept this model for my improved skills.
Maybe I will revise the kraken in the future, but I am currently trying to stick to focusing on smaller miniatures while still learning the basics.
