Using Conventions to Grow the Miniature Painting Hobby

In-person events are a valuable opportunity to spread the joy of miniature painting! In this video I show off some experimental on-stage shows from Too Many Games Expo, and I also report on the massive success of the Paint and Take event :-) Min painting is one of the best hobbies ever invented, and I'm always game to figure out new ways to spread the good word at conventions and beyond.
Live events require a different strategy and skillset from filming and curating internet videos, so I'm trying to figure out what works and what doesn't! :-)
Big thanks to the following folks:
Too Many Games Expo for inviting me and expanding their tabletop events.
Trans Atlantis Games for supplying Two Thin Coats paint and running the paint and take event.
Beldolor Studios and Slapshot Showdown for donating miniatures!
Goblins and Growlers (Amber and Alain) for painting onstage!
Party of One Podcast (Jeff Stormer) for painting onstage!
Micah (volunteer from snapships) and Mike (creator of Slapshot Showdown) for welcoming me onto the alternative wargames panel.
The Classic Gaming Brothers (front row champions)
Everyone who hung out with me at the event! It was a great time :-)
More Goobertown:
Patreon / goobertownhobbies
Instagram / goobertown_hobbies
Twitch / goobertown_hobbies
Twitter / gthobbies
Paint Bravely The Podcast- on your podcast app and / @paintbravelythepodcast
The Twenty Sided Realms Podcast tsrpodcast.lib...
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Disclosure: Too Many Games covered my travel expenses in order to appear at the event.

[@robkilcollins310]

Blows my mind, Brent. I remember playing Warcraft 2 with you in your house on the McNamee road.. What a nostalgia high. You introduced me to a whole world i didnt know existed. Im so happy to see you doing/sharing what you love.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

hahahahaha, you're in this video!!! an old picture of us playing SWCCG, it looks like you were winning with ground troops on hoth, but I had some star destroyers in orbit...

[@Adamantos-Elean]

He's a SJW genetic dead end, please don't encourage his illness.

[@robkilcollins310]

I think you were the only one of us who could see more than one turn ahead... lol thanks for always taking it easy on me!

[@eBayMiniatureRescues]

ONE OF US ONE OF US

[@MarcusBriggle-go5be]

Been excited about this since the podcast episode 😂

[@widgetwolftv6730]

more of us, more of us!

[@bloodberrytart]

i’m the one in the center on that panel and i had such a great time painting my first mini! He lives on top of my thermostat now, and some day i’ll use him in a game ❤

[@FrogWizard224]

My favorite thing about this channel is being made aware of obscure miniature games. I am so excited for fantasy hockey.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

wait till you see the werewolf goalie!! :-)

[@terrencemiltner1005]

Yeah all over that Discord now. This might be a game that my wife will play as it combines here affections for horror and hockey.

[@mindlasher]

I always get so psyched when I see my friend's work unexpectedly on media. Thank you for sharing Brent

[@jamfjord]

The transferable skills thing was the biggest surprise for me; our last rental, the walls, doors, window frames, just about everything was flawless by the time I was done (and better than when we moved in). 100% thanks to 'The Hobby' 😊 Great talk, a lot of excellent points and stuff to think about, for someone who's been in the hobby for a short while and as points to make to someone else who asks about it.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

Hehehe congrats on your fixit skills!! :-)

[@barsey74]

You are a great ambassador for the hobby Brent. A balanced, well reasoned explanation of the craft and motivation to jump right in. I am not much of a game player but have embraced the building and painting zen of the hobby.

[@JPGotrokkits]

Nice work Brent, as usual. I've been running paint and takes for the last three years, its quite rewarding! You touched on a lot of points that I make with participants. Tell a story about your figure, choose interesting colors, dont give up, etc. But especially making the analogy about it being not really different than a coloring book, I found that it helps set people's minds at ease, and helps them "Paint bravely"! Also my IG feed is about 85% mini/gaming content, 10% cats, 10% music

[@GoobertownHobbies]

Hehehee, good work keeping your IG clean! paint and takes are so dang important, keep goin keep goin! :-)

[@narlee2014]

Great job helping grow this! You’re a great ambassador for miniature painting! I’m still here for the fishing videos🏆🎣

[@monsterdenminis8219]

Nice presentation! Thanks for including my work. I hope your effort to introduce more people to the hobby was fruitful.

[@tommingerST]

Great talk, thank you very much. I am in this hobby for about 27 years of my almost 38 year-life, but I re-appreciated it again with you making these points. I wish you all the best!

[@HobbiesWithHaddock]

Awesome that you are taking the time to introduce people to the hobby! You did a great job tailoring your talk to folks at this con

[@jamfjord]

"you can't spend three days cooking chicken... what are you gonna do with all that chicken?" 🤣🤣

[@GoobertownHobbies]

nobody has a good answer for that question! :-)

[@jamfjord]

@@GoobertownHobbies I didn't. And believe me, I tried.

[@fredericapanon207]

​@GoobertownHobbies if you have a house, set up tables in your backyard and invite people to eat at $15/head. That chicken will disappear, assuming that you did a decent job of cooking it.

[@LouieLowe]

The thing thats perfect about wargames is there are so many hobbies wrapped into one. We get the game itself, the art of painting the art of sculpting, lore and world building. You arent just getting into war hammer per se but whatever you want to make it.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

100%! :-)

[@Nerdygoddess]

Thanks for keeping me company while hand sewing, and reminding me that I really need to locate my minis after the move...

[@kurugger]

It was awesome meeting you at the convention even if I was a little starstruck having you, Bob, and Ian right across from our booth. You aren't kidding about the Paint and Take being busy and it was great seeing so many new people try out painting all weekend.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

Heck yeah! Thanks for being a great neighbor, we'll do it again someday :-)

[@Sep141]

I remember at origins last year my whole family did the paint and take there... 5 months later my dad got me a painting kit and here we are, 6 months later im painting for most of my evening :D it really is the gateway drug

[@GoobertownHobbies]

That's awesome!!! The paint and takes are no joke :-)

[@JPGotrokkits]

Are you in Ohio? There are a lot of conventions in the off season, and I run a lot of paint and take events, hope to see you some time!

[@Sep141]

@@JPGotrokkits Im up in Osh, but if you're there next year ill probably be as well :D

[@JPGotrokkits]

@Sep141 I'm usually at Origins, with Sea Dog Game Studios. If you're in Osh Kosh (b'gosh) do you ever go to TMX?

[@evankarsjens3896]

+1 for getting minis you painted yourself on the game table. It's a fun and soothing process to prep them, and revealing the new monsters to my DnD players on game night is a good feeling.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

Heck yeah!! :-)

[@garylee4315]

Glad you got to do this. Looks like fun, your presentation was interesting. Happy for each one of those attendees your booth benefitted.

[@WuthrandfromAriadna]

That was awesome even for someone with 20+ years of miniature painting. Thank you Brent

[@GoobertownHobbies]

hey thanks for checking it out 🙂

[@richardmarriott-smith9517]

I really enjoyed this video. The presentation / Ted Talk you gave was excellent. Thanks for making it available to all. You seem to have become a “Roving Ambassador” for the hobby of miniature painting. I don’t think there could be a better choice for this role. Thanks for all you do to promote the hobby. Thanks also for pushing, cajoling and persuading the companies that produce products for the hobby to improve these products or come out with new and improved ones.

[@Warjaming]

Fun video, I hope it got some new mini fans :) The more of us the merrier! The only thing I would have done is point people towards some other inexpensive miniature games they might enjoy. Painting minis is fun and I love it, buuuut I am painting them to play a game with, without the game, I wouldn't have gotten into the minis. In my case, it was OPR, but there are lots of cheap mini games that might be the just the trick to suck 'em in.

[@sebastiantrost6409]

Always happy when Arcadia Quest gets some attention. One of my favorite games ❤

[@GoobertownHobbies]

the minis are so fun! :-)

[@Christian_from_Copenhagen]

I painted all the bad guy minis, but we got stuck on the heroes once I tried to get my girlfriend into painting with me (she did not like it at all). This was a good reminder to finish painting so we can get some games in!

[@blackguardunlimeted]

love it, I really enjoyed this long video !

[@ricebrown1]

You had me at "vampires playing hockey."

[@gregoryhall4062]

Thanks for some awesome and unique content!

[@jammywesty91]

From one ex-teacher to another, you absolutely smashed this - excellent job. You broke a quarter-mil subscribers too! You've earned it dude 😎

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

Nice one Brent 👍

[@HeraldWitte]

Thank you Brent for spreading The Hobby. Personally I just love painting wonderful miniatures. But who knows maybe I'll run into some gaming friends who will drag me in a game.

[@HCerberusH]

To this day, the black and white artworks from the warcraft 2 manual are some of my all time favorite.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

I totally understand! :-)

[@muppethitman]

What an awesome presentation, loved seeing those Twenty Sided Realms minis up there. Bring TSR podcast back 😉

[@Tyso7784]

I just got into Painting miniatures and found your channel. I really appreciate you and your videos! My dog loves your cats too

[@jasonbabiarz491]

Was great to meet you at toomanygames, hope to see you back next year. Still going to call you the Bob Ross of mini painting

[@socko47]

Gosh, I live near Philadelphia and never heard of this convention!

[@phillgreen]

I had to miss TooManyGames this year to take my kid up to U of Maine. I hope you will come back next year. Incidentally, there was a big RelicBlade event at RedCap's Corner in Philadelphia on the Sunday of the convention. I think you would have enjoyed checking it out. I know I would have enjoyed playing in it! Maybe next year!

[@SPACENOMADMALEV]

That was really enjoyable to listen to while I splash up some models. Thanks Brent!

[@r.f.-videopriveesfamiliale3839]

Congratulations Brent ! speaking in public is Hard, and you performed well. Have a great day !

[@harazhangf5782]

Really cool hearing you talk about the hobby. I wish I could have been there.

[@piptarou]

Magic the Gathering: a gateway drug. On a side note, my small semi-local convention had a paint camp with tole paints like American Craft and Apple Barrel, a new girl started her first mini.. a bust. The work she did with crappy paints! She is super into makeup so she was able to transfer those skills over (with some lingo translation from me). The friends I made over that weekend and I crated a Discord server where we occasionally hang out and paint :)

[@JoeDaly983]

Thanks for sharing this experience in all its detail Brent! :)

[@monkeyanimefan]

I had an amazing time at these events. I can't wait for the next one!

[@GoobertownHobbies]

that's great to hear! we'll do it again someday :-)

[@jonbauml225]

Great job. I'm sure you got a lot of new recruits

[@GoobertownHobbies]

Oh yeah, gotta keep recruiting! :-)

[@DingoPaints]

Good job Brent.

[@JakeMcaulay]

thanks for that how to paint your first mini vid was what i used to paint my first ork when i returned to hobby in 2017

[@JakeMcaulay]

2019*

[@JadeCatMinis]

Nice! I literally have Arcadia Quest on my paint desk right now! I'm almost finished with the 12 heros. Only 5 more bosses to finish and that game is completely finished!

[@GoobertownHobbies]

Awesome! The minis are great, so much expression. I figured the large heads would make them good for on-stage painting, but I've really gotta make some time to paint a few for myself. That dwarf barbarian is calling to me...

[@JadeCatMinis]

@@GoobertownHobbies I think the one I liked paint the most was the big ogre. So far that model has the best paint job of the bunch. I do wish the minis had a bit cleaner detail but I've used them as practice minis. I've tried out slapchop, drybrushing and some really chunky layering. The best part is they don't have to be perfect and once I finish them I'll have a complete game with fully painted minis. Hopefully my kids will grow into the game and we can have fun playing together. My oldest is 7 and my youngest turns 5 at the end of the month. The game is a bit over their heads for now but in a couple of years maybe I'll have some gaming buddies.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

@@JadeCatMinis Nice! I hope they grow into the best gaming buddies 🙂

[@Christian_from_Copenhagen]

This is perfect timing! I'm teaching at an international summer school for the first time (13-17 year old kids), and I just received a huge box of painting supplies and the Deadzone starter set while we're 3D-printing fantasy minis and terrain for One Page Rules. Your key points about the hobby will definitely go up on the whiteboard for all the 200+ students to see! PS. I just posted pictures of the two pages I wrote and the 3D-printed minis we're making if anyone's curious at r/minipainting on Reddit.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

outstanding! best of luck with your classes, I'm rooting for ya :-)

[@Christian_from_Copenhagen]

@@GoobertownHobbies Thanks a lot, I'm going to hang your quote about being a renaissance person on the door today before our first session :) I also contacted Army Painter and just got a reply offering to send some stuff for free, so it's an exciting moment!

[@GoobertownHobbies]

@@Christian_from_Copenhagen outstanding!!! :-)

[@Christian_from_Copenhagen]

@@GoobertownHobbies Check out r/minipainting, it was a huge success! 50+ students trying it for the first time :)

[@Darognarr]

Man, that video was awesome!

[@markg.3171]

That was a nice one

[@tzera_rhuon]

The only incentive I needed to begin painting was opening a board-game and seeing the hideous default lime-green minis 😬

[@GoobertownHobbies]

hehehe, that's some good motivation right there!

[@natewatts195]

I was at a Wedding that weekend otherwise I would’ve gone. I’ll put it on the calendar for next year. This is my kind of place.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

my best wishes to the happy couple... and hopefully you can make it next year! :-)

[@ryanunderwood9090]

Man, I'm actually upset I didn't make it out this year!

[@maurobevilacqua70]

Greetings from Italy. Happy painting 🖌️

[@GoobertownHobbies]

happy painting to you as well :-)

[@matthewtaylor-h6q]

Man what a great video and an excellent presentation Not sure if you look at the comments in the older videos but did they do painting classes being the paint and take at TMG? I works love to go to some that have classes, went to NOVA with my friends for a day for my first ever convention and I’d love to go to more but I’m having trouble finding some around me, I live about an hour north of New York City, so I’m sure there have to be some in the area just haven’t had a ton of luck finding them yet

[@GoobertownHobbies]

Tmg doesn't have painting classes... yet. Nova has MUCH more for painters to do- I'm glad you got to see it! :-) hopefully we can get some of these more "generic nerd" conventions like tmg to include more and more painting!

[@matthewtaylor-h6q]

@@GoobertownHobbies yea I really want to go back to nova next year but Labor Day is a tough weekend, it’s my anniversary, should have planned better 😂😂😂 Would for sure go back tho for more than just a few hours on Saturday would have loved to take some classes there Def agree the more broad cons become it’s great for people to find new interests that cross with what they are into, but even a paint and take is a great first step!

[@takura187]

That planet kosmos font is everywhere lol

[@Mara999]

Warcraft 2 is indeed a great source for inspiration. :)

[@funwithmadness]

My suggestion for a live painting event: cage death match! :)

[@GoobertownHobbies]

We'll get next level Kenny boucher to be the announcer! :-)

[@bizmalarky7216]

I wish I had known about this beforehand

[@GoobertownHobbies]

The convention happens every year... hopefully the tabletop hall is even bigger next time (or at least more filled with cool stuff 😎)

[@LB_adventurer]

I thought you did a great job on stage. Suggestion: When giving the "TED" talks... remove hobby specific jargon like "STL file" and replace it with "digital file" so that layman understand the talk easier. BTW the Convention Croc is one of my all time fav models, he's adorable.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

good call, thanks! :-)

[@LB_adventurer]

@@GoobertownHobbies big fan, you make the hobby fun. Thank you

[@OkieDokieCreations]

I clicked on this video to get Bert Mabers glamorshots. Either way great video and PowerPoint!

[@GoobertownHobbies]

oh yeah, we gotta get Mabers onstage! :-)

[@classicgamingbrothers]

Great to get to hang out with you!

[@GoobertownHobbies]

Heck yeah! Hope your helmet made it home OK :-)

[@sethwpierce]

​@@GoobertownHobbies - It is secured in the vault.

[@classicgamingbrothers]

@@GoobertownHobbies It survived the trip! Seth has been wearing it non-stop.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

@@classicgamingbrothers I don't doubt it! :-)

[@Lycrauss]

Who is that magnificent dwarf at 5:22 and where can i get him?

[@Jaberwalkie]

Question from a beginner that has only painted 28mm models how do you support your unbased large models for painting. I have tried hot glue, tacky putty, and apca glue to try and hold them in place to no success. I have resigned myself to just holding the model in working on, but the repeated handling it rubbing the paint off leading to constant touch ups. Any advice would be welcome. Thank you in advance

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

18:05 "The hobby is almost..." sorry, missed the next bit, I just turned on the spray booth extractor fan

[@HighBeanz]

"Seduce" 😭

[@wolpumba4099]

*Summary* ## How to Recruit Painters at Conventions - A Miniature Painting Summary: *In-Person Events:* * *(**0:00**)* *Target-Rich Environment:* Conventions are full of potential miniature painters who haven't tried it yet. * *(**1:46**)* *Paint and Take:* Extremely successful. Provided free minis & paints, and drew constant crowds. Proved to be a great "gateway drug" into the hobby. * *(**3:00**)* *On-Stage Shows:* Experimental but promising. Included TED Talk-style presentation about the benefits of miniature painting, panel discussion about alternative war games, and live mini painting demonstrations with audience participation. * *(**3:42**)* *Challenges:* Ambient noise, camera/screen placement issues made demonstrations difficult to see clearly. * *(**4:55**)* *Solutions:* Improved AV setup for future events. *Why Miniature Painting is Great:* * *(**7:44**)* *Accessible:* Low barrier to entry for all ages & physical abilities. * *(**7:44**)* *Creative & Relaxing:* Allows for artistic expression & stress reduction. * *(**7:44**)* *Productive & Collectible:* Creates tangible pieces of art & builds collections. * *(**19:18**)* *Connects to Other Hobbies:* Overlaps with gaming, art, modeling, etc. * *(**18:31**)* *Flexible & Social:* Adapts to different schedules, budgets, & social preferences. *Recruiting New Painters:* * *(**24:29**)* *Highlight Affordability:* Emphasize low cost of entry compared to other hobbies. * *(**9:00**)* *Connect to Existing Interests:* Showcase miniatures related to popular IPs & fandoms. * *(**16:00**)* *Demonstrate Simplicity:* Paint and Takes are crucial for first-time painters. * *(**46:21**)* *Promote Community:* Emphasize social aspects & potential for new friendships. * *(**48:31**)* *Show Long-Term Appeal:* Painting offers lifelong enjoyment & collections don’t become obsolete. *Brent’s Experience:* * *(**29:12**)* Went from card games to Warhammer in his youth. * *(**45:01**)* Believes painting teaches color theory & can even translate to better fashion choices. * *(**36:59**)* Inspired by art styles in video games like Warcraft, Rome: Total War, and XCOM. * *(**46:28**)* Thrilled by the current "Golden Age of Nerd Hobbies" and the growing popularity of miniature painting. I used Google Gemini 1.5 Pro to summarize the transcript. Cost (if I didn't use the free tier): $0.1110 Time: 24.61 seconds Input tokens: 28701 Output tokens: 1001

[@drewo8209]

Dude what? I'm in philly why didn't the algorithm show me any of this? But I get ads for things I don't want or need? I'm bummed.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

philly has a couple of good conventions! Look into pax unplugged also ( I haven't been yet myself, but someday, someday! )

[@drewo8209]

@@GoobertownHobbies PAX is cool but can be overwhelming for me. This seemed chill and wouldve been cool to meet the legend himself. Great vid dude.

[@johnnnysilverhand9819]

Xcom essentially inspired the new killteam

[@terrencemiltner1005]

Did they send you home with one of those sweet sweet gaming chairs?

[@GoobertownHobbies]

hehehehehe, hopefully some of the convention volunteers were able to snag those :-)

[@Isteak80]

Wait did i hear Snapships

[@GoobertownHobbies]

indeed! :-)

[@bartekwwa]

I utterly love your content Brent, but this... is... just... LAY-ZEEEE. :(

[@GoobertownHobbies]

I thought people might be interested in seeing something new! I'll put more star wipes in next time ;-) 🌟

[@Filthyanimal9]

Such a fun event! Looks like it was a hit!

[@theanimaster]

That’s quite the unique surname there, Mr. Amberger … I’ve never seen it (and I work with all U.S. states) and even my autocorrect doesn’t recognize it. 😅 But dang, that is one tough crowd.