Many of us are visual learners. You can learn so much from watching a video on painting model horses that an article just doesn't quite compare. It helps techniques click when you can see it in real-time. Which is why I'm so grateful to other hobbyists who took the time out of their day to make video tutorials, and why I make my own. And, since it's NaMoPaiMo time, I've collected some of my favorite tutorials from YouTube, along with a few of mine, just for painting model horses. Maybe there's something in here you'd like to try on your 2020 NaMoPaiMo horse?

I don't normally have this many awesome projects in my studio at once, but due to circumstances, I have some time that I am taking advantage of. It's also the perfect time to get ready for NaMoPaiMo and painting my mini resin collection.

Today's NaMoPaiMo post talks about prepping and priming your horses for next month's National Model Painting Month. The video covers seven tips to make prepping easier and more fun, as well as how to work in the cold for those in the northern hemisphere. In today's blog post, I'll also cover tools, supplies and how to troubleshoot common primer issues.

An overview of my three official horses from National Model Painting Month 2017, 2018 and 2019 with progress footage showing how I created them. ​

A visual story of how I transformed the old Breyer Lady Phase into a floating trot Criollo mare.

#NaMoPaiMo is National Model Painting Month, an international painting challenge in February between model horse hobbyists. It was founded and is run by Jennifer Buxton and is a fun online (and sometimes in-person) gathering of sharing progress, tips and fun.

Now in its second year, I will be participating again with another stablemate custom. I've chosen a Breyer G1 Thoroughbred mare who I am transforming into an Arabian mare. My January month will be spent finishing her sculpting and prepping her for next month's painting.

While I'm at it, I thought I'd walk you through her major changes, which I also thought would be a great insight for those wanting to know how to make stablemate customs.

After the prior article on craftsmanship, I thought it would be great to have a super short and illustrated look into why craftsmanship is so important to prepping. 

Before I sprayed my NaMoPaiMo mare with primer, I honestly thought this girl was super smooth. But look! The first coat of primer showed that I couldn't have been more wrong. While not bad for the first pass of primer, clearly she needs more sanding, especially around the areas where I added epoxy.