I am not one for New Years Resolutions so instead i’m creating a list of 2021 Hobby goals. Since I know that the next year will inevitably come with a few curveballs as well as a few known changes such as a new addition to the family June 2021, I am unable to attempt to change my behavior every day of the year with a resolution. So instead I am setting goals for 2021 i’m going to break into 3 categories: Painting, Printing and the Blog along with a final Other bucket. Below are the goals for 2021 in each category. This is definitely a list which will take time to focus on but I think it is absolutely accomplishable.
Painting
- Paint an average of 4 days a week
- Have greater than 183 hobby days (more days than not)
- Create 12 different bases for miniatures
- Paint to completion at least 24 models (regardless of size)
- 4 deep dives to paint techniques or methods/recipes of painting
Painting can include modeling, terrain crafting, basing etc. I have some very doable goals for this category as I believe it to be my weakest of all 3. Overall my painting is my least confident area and I am slow to complete models due to needing significantly more knowledge and practice in the area. I also am counting hobby days instead of a hobby streak due to the incoming baby. Knowing that I cannot continue a streak in the hospital and with a newborn i’m instead focusing on total hobby days for the year and will attempt to always beat previous hobby streaks. For the deep dives to paint techniques I am going to attempt to grow my skill in a technique or practice as many different methods people paint things such as bone. By practicing different ways others achieve a goal perhaps i’ll discover my own preferred system or different ways to accomplish things. I am not counting terrain as completion for models but do end up painting terrain and scatter quite a bit, perhaps more than miniatures which I should fix.
3D Printing
- 6 mega projects completed
- In-depth study of supports for FDM
- Learn how to support resin
- Inventory 3D printing/tabletop collection
- Develop a deeper understanding of print settings
3D printing is my largest strength for several of these goals I’m already well on the way of completing. The largest difficulty will be to document, photograph and write up my work onto the blog to document my progress. As a way to mitigate that I am starting a rule that I cannot start printing for that work week without writing up what I’ve printed the last week. The largest area of weakness is the mentality, strategy and settings for for supports for FDM and resin printing. The 6 “mega projects” will consist of either 100% printing of a kickstarter or a large scale ambitious project. These projects I’m definitely super excited about but not limited to.
Blog
- Weekly update write ups (Mondays)
- Weekly Page addition to site (Fridays)
- Complete Digital Catalog of what I have made
- Complete Beginners write ups to 3D printing
- Get 25 Followers to Blog
The Blog will keep me honest about my goals. With the mentality to create a historical and educational location of my projects, this will hopefully be a great place to see my personal growth and one day help others with their own goals and projects. At least perhaps inspiration. The largest thing I need to focus on is my weekly write ups and additions. I must be consistent in this and this will be without a doubt the most time sensitive of the entire collection of my annual goals. The weekly updates will be blog posts and page additions to provide depth to the site. Every weekday I am hoping to add bits of my projects such as printed sets and later link to a “Mega Project” page upon completion. The page additions will contain information that are more indepth such as learning write ups, introductions to the hobby etc. This will have more of a universal application and not time sensitive so will be located on a page on the site. The goal of the blog this year is to also improve navigation, usability and user experience.
Other
- Improve photographing of projects/miniatures
- Try 2 new tabletop top games
- Monster Cards for each monster in collection
- Read/Listen to 5 books
- Play a video game to completion
Last but not least is my Other category. These things can relate to my hobbying but are not restricted to it. Overall I would like to improve photographing my miniatures and terrain as well as learn more about what goes into taking better miniature photographs. Also I desire to branch out and grow in more games and interests. I know for certain that Frostgrave is a game I intend to try as I have the book but have yet to play it. Perhaps i’ll branch out into wargames or sci-fi, who knows, but i’m excited about the future. Also of course my imagination is also fueled by some of my other favorite mediums books and video games, can’t forget some of those.
Overall 2021 is already looking like a full year but by chipping away at it. I believe that I can reach my goals. Follow along and find out.