I’m trying out a new method of painting Imperial Fists for WH40k. Ideally I want something relatively easy that looks good on the table. This was phase 1 of the testing process to establish a general look. Black primer, then brown covering the primer but leaving some of the black, then followed that up with a nice wihite covering up most of the brown, and then went with a yellow to get those gradients you see there.
I'm almost finished with it now, and this has been one of those rare projects where absolutely nothing has gone wrong. Everything, and I mean everything, I had planned out has worked without a hitch. I even tried a few new things and they worked like a charm. As I was staring at the nearly completed model admiring my work, it suddenly dawned on me that it didn't really look all that good. It bummed me out a bit.
But a few minutes later I asked myself an honest question. If someone else had painted this, would I think it looked bad? No. If someone showed up to a game with this model I'd compliment them on it. So what happened? Imposter syndrome. For whatever reason, I simply couldn't accept that I've done a good job on the model so far. And for just a little bit, my enthusiasm in the project was hampered. After all, if the model doesn't look good then why bother going through the effort of completing the snowy, icy base I had planned?
Very often we're much more critical of ourselves than we are of other people. We're often our own worst enemy. Odds are very good your miniature doesn't look as bad as you think it does. Probably. I mean sometimes they really
do look that bad. But that's okay. Your painted miniature looks better than an unpainted miniature. Maybe you're a beginner and you're still learning. Maybe you're a pretty good painter and you had a bad day. Don't be so hard on yourself.