So very true.
12 Likes
To me the âartâ of it is getting it to turn out like you wanted.
10 Likes
To me âpiece of artâ means a high level of accuracy and painting work.
I donât consider my finished models as piece of arts, but I am satisfied when I obtain a good result.
3 Likes
I dont consider my models pieces of art,but I have seen pleny of ones that definitely are in my eyes.
In general though,when it comes to Arts and Crafts,i think most people would consider model building âCraftsâ
4 Likes
I think building models is art, as it elicits a response from the viewer (either âwowâ or âyuckâ) and it is the culmination of a talented personâs work.
The model goes on a shelf when itâs done though - building models is more about the journey than the destination.
9 Likes
I believe there is a site titled as art in models? I go to somany I get confussed!
\
2 Likes
There certainly exists the âArt of Modeling.â I might consider some of my scratch built models as possible artworks. I suspect any modeler worth his/her salt must have a certain degree of âartistic understanding and abilityâ to create a convincing model.
5 Likes
Lots of people call me an old artâŚ
3 Likes
I consider it a form of art. Regardless of your ability, it is your artistic expression that goes into the build and especially into paint.
4 Likes
A work of art? Perhaps, but reality belongs to the builder. Have fun, enjoy YOUR art, and smile. You are your judge. As Stan Lee would say, âNuff said!â
4 Likes
To me it can be artistic or a craft according to your skill level and motives for building. But all in all, it is a hobby that is crafty with the ability to be an art form in miniature physical form. It all depends on the individual. Me⌠I do it for fun, enjoyment and stress relief. But unfortunately life is keeping me from doing something I enjoy. I consider myself average skilled. But some whose models and dioramas I have seen on Kitmaker are artists. Happy Holidays and peace to all.
Phil
4 Likes
SoâŚwhat is the difference between art and craft? if I chain saw a bear from a stump is it craft or sculpting? If I use a torch to color the bears coat is that art? We tend to think of art as an oil painting hanging in a museum. Fine art. Anything else is on that slope sliding to nonart, what ever that is.
2 Likes
Well, my favorite part is the statementâŚ.âWhat matters is not what others think of your model, but what you think of it. And how much you enjoyed making itâ.
1 Like
There is a 2021 thread that discusses this, but I think the original post turned into a derailed rant and maybe a flamewar as no one has resurrected it since.
I consider the sculptor of kits and figures as the artist because modelers are confined to what the sculptor has created. Most modelers do not deviate from the instructions or how the kit is assembled and looks. While modelers can customize the decals and paint job, modelers will not glue on a LEGO man, a tea cup, a plastic flower, or a paintbrush to their kits and call it âart.â We modelers are often confined to realism when we model and that is why model kit building is not âfree artâ per se, but modeling can be interpreted as a form of arts and crafts.
What is the problem with built model kits and even old unassembled model kits? Built model kits are still fragileâŚthey break. Iâve been asked a few times if my model kits are worth anything. They have personal value, but I cannot see myself selling them or shipping them because if one piece breaks, the buyer will complain and want a refund. Most built kits end up in the trash at the end of our lives because theyâre just too fragile to transport and require storage to keep the mold and dust away. (And most viewers want the built kit freeâŚmany decline because they know itâs my taste and not theirsâŚand that is how I like it. My built kits show my skills, talent, tastes, preferences, and patience, not theirs. They may try to build model kits, but often times they donât have the patience to fiddle with such tiny parts to complete one; they donât see model building as fun, enjoyable, and rewarding. And if they buy very cheap and poor quality kits, they donât see the value of modelbuilding, not to mention digital art has replaced model kits in most movies).
As for unassembled kits, LEGOs have more worth because theyâre robust. There are countless unbuilt kits for sale on eBay, and even if extremely rare, no one wants to buy because the technology and looks of newer kits are so much better, even resin kits.
My opinionâŚmodel kit building is a form of art that is limited to what the sculptor has created for you (unless you kitbash and scratchbuild), but if you want to be more creative, buy LEGO kits instead to build whatever you want with plastic bricks and pieces. I consider LEGOs model kits that donât require glue, painting, weathering, and decals. I grew up building LEGOs and then I transitioned to model kits because I didnât want some kid down the block building the same LEGO thing. I wanted more custom than LEGOs and I wanted more realism than LEGOs could offer me.
Caveat: There are some sculptors in the world who do not like it when you ask them to sculpt and make kits unless youâre willing to pay thousands of dollars to hire them for commission. The best you can do is post on the yearly âWish Listâ for future kits. Fortunately, 3D printing and ETSY has opened the door for more custom kits that can be printed to your liking than plastic and resin can offer.
1 Like
Velvet Painting By Numbers is considered art in a technical sense by many isnât it?
That seems the sort of âartâ most relatable to model building and painting. Painted saw blades also come to mind as they also have a following.
The definition of âartâ really seems so flexible as be be virtually meaningless for practical purposes.
I much prefer to think of model building & painting as a craft. The artsy-fartys thoughts like my hobbyroom being an âart studioâ make me want to vomit 
1 Like
What is art?
Letâs assume, for the sake of discussion, that assembling and painting a model designed by someone else according to the instructions (painting by numbers) is âmerelyâ craft. The designer of that model might be an artist (sculpting an original figure from ideas in his brain) or simply a skilled tradesman doing a 3D-scan of a statue or living person and scaling & tweaking it to be 3D-printable. Inventing a Warhammer tank could be art but rescaling an existing tank to some model scale is a skilled tradesmans work.
Is âoriginalityâ a mandatory requirement?
Would a âstill lifeâ be considered art? Is it art only if it is done by an acknowledged artist?
What about a painted portrait? Isnât that basically someone copying an existing âdesignâ onto canvas?
Look-see and paint? It takes skill to do it but isnât it also a form of âpainting by numbersâ?
When an acknowledged artist paints a portrait of a customer sitting in front of him isnât that simply a skilled craftsman using his skills to perform a job? More or less the same as 3D-scanning and 3D-printing a statue or person.
Art or simple copying of an existing âobjectâ?
Added originality?
Art?
Making some kind of statement, sending the viewer a message?
Is this more artistic than any of the above? Triggering emotions and thoughts in the viewer?
2 Likes
I think this scratch built Pz III J is art.. @Whitney_Foreman created it. Itâs one my favorites and I say that sincerely.
It isnât a âpaint by numbersâ scale model kit thatâs off the shelf, itâs an original composition.
3 Likes
âWhat is artâ and âArt for artâs sakeâ. I went through two years of art school for photography as an older adult. I finally concluded that everyone in the art world keeps themselves occupied and employed by the bantering about of unexpurgated bullsh!t. Itâs a pretentious contest to see who can express the same old argument (What is art) in new and different ways. Itâs all a farce. I quit because I just couldnât take the artsy-fartsys anymore. Building and painting a model is a lot more artistic than âFound Artâ, a very popular form, which is mounting found trash to a board and deeming it art. Go figure. If a single red dot on a huge canvas is art, and Iâve seen them, then applying a camo pattern to a built model is certainly art.
2 Likes
I know what I do in the hobby is art, but hopefully not âArtâ. So-called Art, made by recognised Artists, is actually all about the sales pitch/confidence trick whereby a pile of junk can be sold to gullible rich fools for silly money because they are too proud and fragile to admit they canât see why the rubbish is anything more than rubbish. Those of us that can clearly see through the Emperorâs New Clothes are free to appreciate true art in the form of builds that transform mere parts and paint into a scale rendition of real-world scenes and objects!
Besides, Lenny of Vinci was only copying a real-world object when he painted that woman with the âIâm holding in a fartâ smileâŚ
2 Likes
Now that last one is DEFINITELY art!
2 Likes