January 2021 “First of the Year” Painting Challenge

It has been awhile since I’ve done a painting challenge and thought it might be fun to do a challenge where you share a picture of the first miniature you completely finish for 2021. We aren’t interested in completing squads, mobs or other collections this time. The focus is to start 2021 off right by showcasing everyone’s first miniature fruits of the year.

Rules of the Challenge

  • The model can be a work in progress but must be completed sometime in January 2021.
  • Your model must be based unless you aren’t planning on basing it later. 
  • A tank, cavalry, chariot, dinosaur or some other miniature with rider(s) counts as one miniature for this challenge.
  • A stand with multiple miniatures counts as one miniature so long as all of the models are affixed to the same base. This excludes dioramas, but you can certainly post a miniature for a diorama so long as it is the first miniature you complete in 2021.
  • You can enter miniatures you are working on for other painting challenges.
  • The challenge closes on January 31, 2021 at midnight (your local time).  If you can’t get your picture posted by that date, it is fine.  Just post it as soon as you can. The best way to let me know you’ve put up a picture is to either link your post back to this one or leave a comment here.
  • Questions and/or ideas?  Let me know in the comments.

Some ideas from past challenges include a mighty dragon, painted by David from Scent of a Gamer

or perhaps an Imperial Knight if you are feeling particularly ambitious like the one painted by Thomas of Dragon’s Den Games?

If you aren’t in the mood or have time for a knight or giant, green dragon perhaps something a bit smaller, but still great, like the miniatures from challenges past in this little slide show. Remember any single miniature is fair game, even a status marker and the like if you so choose.

As for me, I’m hoping to finally finish my eternal work in progress, Frank’s Pig Demon. I got pretty far along before I stalled once again. There are a bunch of minor things I need to do, but finishing the demon’s clothing is the last major piece left. I’ll probably keep the basing fairly simple in line with what Frank told me he wanted.

63 responses to “January 2021 “First of the Year” Painting Challenge”

    • Well done, I like them both. Like I said on your blog, I particularly like your choice of colors for the robes on the plague physician and the fellow with the pink pants and pistol reminds me of some fun television from my childhood.

      For the challenge there can only be one “First” … which one did you complete first, even if only by a few seconds? 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • You can put a link in your green knight post back to my “January 2021 ‘First of the Year’ Painting Challenge,” which will send a pingback notification to my post and I’ll know from that to include your pictures.

      Alternately, you can send the pictures to annsimmaterium@gmail.com if you’d prefer.

      Liked by 1 person

  1. […] First up and most significantly, I finished the Super Mutant Master. He is one of the leaders/elite models for the faction in Fallout and he is a real bruiser. Based on his stat card, it looks like he is going to hit in melee close to 90% of the time which is brutal! I love the sculpt and I’d have to say his hat gives him a lot of character. He also has a great dynamic pose. I think I made a bad choice by painting his cloth the orangish brown. It blends in too much with the other drab colors on this model when he should be the one your eye is drawn to. At least the rest of the mini came out pretty well and with him finished, I’ve finished the box of Super Mutants! Another great accomplishment and I will have to look into buying some more super mutants since I’ve enjoyed painting them so much. Since I don’t think I’ll get anything else impressive finished this month, I’m entering this in Ann’s First of the Year Painting Challenge. […]

    Liked by 1 person

  2. […] Whilst the last model was built exactly as the designer intended this one has been given a few tweaks as I tried to play up the strangeness that comes from being part of a Tzeentchian cabal. He’s also the first miniature that I completed in 2021, so he’s my contribution to the “First of the Year” challenge currently being run by Ann’s Immaterium. […]

    Liked by 1 person

    • I have noticed there hasn’t been anything going on with painting challenges for awhile now, at least in the places I usually look for them so I thought I’d start the year with something pretty easy. To use your words, am hoping to see what damage I can do to that pig demon. Would like to get it out of my life and back into Frank’s life and move on to the next thing, which is painting a gnome for another friend. I wonder if I ought to do a February challenge (for Valentine’s Day) where one paints a miniature for someone else? It could like mine, for a friend, or a paid commission or whatever — anything so that when it is done it’ll be going to someone else.

      I’m glad you liked what I did with your diorama pictures. I thought you did a very nice job and wanted to do the best I could with the pictures you were kind enough to share.

      Liked by 2 people

  3. Count me in! I have no idea what I’ll paint but I’m sure I can turn something up for next month 🙂 I also look forward to you getting that pig demon done. What a great sculpt and you don’t have too far left to go on it now too!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Hehe, I’m looking forward to getting the demon done too, thank you! I’ve had it so long that poor Frank forgot that I still had it, though I did warn him when I said I’d paint it for him it could “take a year or two.” I’m glad to see that I’m not disappointing him though I’m probably not exactly exceeding his expectations either. 😐

      I like the sculpt too, though I don’t like how the trident is in front of its face. Otherwise for something that belongs with a board game (I have no idea what one) I think it is a very nice piece.

      Am looking forward to seeing what you decide to paint. I’ve poked around your blog a little so far and I have to say you are a very good painter.

      Liked by 3 people

      • It looks like the mini is a decent size and it definitely has some nice details so it was always going to take a bit of time. I think it might be from Rising Sun, an Asian-inspired board game. A lot of the minis from that game look fun to paint to me 🙂 And thanks for the nice words on painting as well!

        Liked by 2 people

        • Thank you, I agree, it seems to be from that game. Good to know where it is from. Yes, they do look like they’d be fun to paint, I agree. Yeah, the miniature is proving to be a lot of work and is certainly a more ambitious miniature than the ones I usually do. It has been fun to paint, though I’m glad I’m on the last 20% or so of it now.

          I wonder if the board game itself is fun and lives up to the quality of the miniatures?

          Liked by 1 person

          • Medium to large sized miniatures go that way for me. They’re fun to start but in the middle, it starts to drag as I get to a point where I just want them done. Hopefully you’re able to knock out that last 20%! I wonder if the game is fun too. It has a great theme but that doesn’t mean a lot necessarily. In fact, that is always the trick with board games. You want to buy board games that have miniatures you will want to paint but also that are fun to play. Hopefully, it ends up being fun for you and/or your husband when you play it 🙂

            Liked by 1 person

    • Nice, that’ll go good with the Aztecs you’ve already done. I wouldn’t mind some Santa’s elves coming to my house and clandestinely finishing up some of my work for me!

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Nice! I’ll look forward to seeing what you paint. I’m really planning on finally getting the demon done. I’ll be interested to see what kind of challenge are you planning on running when you announce it. 🙂 Although I follow your blog, for some reason I’m not receiving updates, though I recently did start a folder in my bookmarks for non-Word Press sites (like yours) I’d like to keep up with.

    Liked by 4 people

    • Well, I’ve been working away on the pig demon but once again I’m not going to get it done for my challenge, though I have hopes (probably vain but we’ll see) of getting it done by the end of February but being honest I think Frank’s Pig Demon will only get done when I accept that it will never be finished and that is best to accept that the work will continue forever … only then will I be able to come to peace with the piece and make an end to it. (There has to be some sort of philosophic truth in there somewhere.)

      In the meantime, I do hope to get the gnome done for both your challenge and the Fembruary challenge, and I busted out an old, metal guy with a double barrel shotgun, that I found a few years ago in a game store bit box, to finish for January so at least I have something completed for my own challenge. I don’t want to fail to complete anything at all for my challenge. It has happened before and it makes me a little sad.

      Liked by 1 person

The Immaterium craves your comments!