Why do we paint?

Why do we paint?

I took a few minutes tonight, (well quite a few more than a few, to be honest) to paint up a statue for Rumbleslam. It was my first time trying to paint anything resembling marble, and while I wasn't entirely successful I did get a result I'm satisfied with. But during the process I got to thinking, why is it we paint?

It wasn't entirely an idle question either. While I'm very enthusiastic about Rumbleslam, I've not yet played a game of it. I've spent hours though painting, assembling, and preparing crews and a wrestling ring and now scenery (which is wildly unnecessary for the core game) for a game I've not yet played, that's not regularly played in my area, and for which I have vanishingly little time. So the question came to mind, why am I doing this?

From what I understand, the wargaming hobby breaks down into several camps.

• Folks who collect miniatures and play with them grey, and very rarely if ever paint.
• Folks who collect and paint, but rarely ever play.
• Folks who buy and do neither.
• And folks that engage only with the lore and stories around the games, but don't participate in the games themselves.

And I realized, painting is part of what I do. It's a way to relax, it's a way to feel good about creating something with my hands, and it's a way of engaging with a hobby that I don't have as much time for as I once did. So my paint jobs are quick and simple, designed for impact rather than spending hours perfecting a result. But I paint and collect what I want to paint and collect. I won't be following through with other games or IPs that I'm not interested in. Unless I'm genuinely enthusiastic, I don't have time for it. But the things that bring me joy, I do have time for.

Keep your eye out for more aspirational content from me, such as a fleet of space ships for Dropfleet Commander, an ornery crew of gremlins for Malifaux, or superheroes for Marvel Crisis Protocol!

The Rumbleslam statue pictured in this article is a gaming piece from the Tables, Ladders and Chairs expansion. A fully playable addition to the ring, it adds verticality and spectacle to the wild wrestling championship, and the idea grips my imagination wonderfully.