The Okay Network is dedicated to the idea that it’s okay to be okay! Whether you’re painting a mini or running your first game of Dungeons and Dragons (or your hundredth), it’s okay to not be perfect. Just relax, take a deep breath, and do it. You have permission to be okay.

The Okay Philosophy

Perfect is the enemy of done.

Keep this in mind if you are afraid of starting a project because you think it won’t be as good as you think it should be. Nothing will ever turn out the way you see it in your head, so just enjoy the journey.

An okay finished mini is better than a perfect unfinished mini.

There’s something to be said for quantity over quality in this hobby. A dozen okay but finished goblins menacing your players will look better than one perfect goblin and eleven unfinished goblins. Likewise, an okay but finished Cryx army will look better on the table than a perfect warcaster and half-painted warjacks.

Keep it simple, stupid.

Limiting your color palette and planning your figure ahead will significantly reduce the time you spend agonizing over color choices and can keep you from getting bogged down in small details. It’s okay to use the same color for every accessory. Not every figure has to be a rainbow of variety. In fact, it will help each figure look more cohesive, which is important when painting members of the same army. It took me a long time to learn this one.

Me

I’ve been painting minis since 1995. The first mini I ever painted was a fimir from the HeroQuest boardgame, and I’ve been painting ever since.

I’ve never won a contest, or painted anything professionally, but that’s okay. I enjoy it, and my minis are fun to see on the table. At twenty-three years into the hobby, I’m still learning and growing as a painter.

Links

You’ll see a lot of links to Amazon when I mention certain products. That’s for two reasons: one, I want to make it easy for you to put together a shopping list, and two, I’m part of the Amazon Affiliate program, so I’ll get a portion of any sales made when you click through on a product I list, which will in turn help keep the Okay Network running. While I may not have used them myself in every case, I definitely want to make everyone aware of them, so it’s a win-win.