I got a nice box of mini painting supplies and a selection of minis for Christmas, but was torn on where to start - knowing that my first couple of efforts would be poor.

My sixteen year old had gotten a set of small props - two barrels, a crate, a small treasure chest - as part of some D&D stuff he got as a gift. They were cast a glossy black, and as you can see, the texture on them is....something.

But he offered them to me to paint as a way to break in the basics of how to use the various brushes, how to thin, how to wash, etc. His position was that no matter how badly I did, they were just little props and would HAVE to be better than plain black.

So, here we are. My plan was to use various shades of brown, darker at the bottom, lighter on the top. My bottommost section didn't turn out the shade I wanted. The texture was godawful to paint. I struggled getting the consistency I wanted (too thick, then too thin). I had to touch up way too much (getting gray on the brown areas and vice versa).

But I feel like the shading and highlights aren't just awful. It's a perfectly serviceable barrel, anyway.

C&C is welcomed!