Learning a Hobby From Scratch
For years, I’ve been a fan of the creative DIY culture, but I’ve always been on the sidelines watching other people create amazing things.
The Maverex Workshop is my real-time log of changing that.
My goal is to document the entire journey of learning new hobbies like miniature painting, 3D printing, and more. I’m starting from absolute zero and sharing every success, every failure, and every lesson learned along the way.
What I Explore Here
Miniature Painting:
I plan to unbox my first paint kit and document it.
Then I will look into learning more advanced techniques through YouTube.
I will share every step-by-step process I take for every model I paint so you can see my failures and successes firsthand.
3D Printing:
My adventure into the world of resin and filament printing, where I’ll be learning how to create custom figures, terrain for my games, and props from my favourite movies.
I’ve never touched a 3D Printer before. I don’t think I’ve even seen one in person. I’m really excited to reach this point of the journey.
Honest Reviews:
Instead of fluff, you’ll get my real-world, hands-on experience with the tools and gear I use on this journey, all from a complete beginner’s perspective.
Diorama & Terrain Crafting:
Every hero needs a world to inhabit 😋
So, I’ll be exploring the art of building immersive scenes, detailed dioramas, and epic battlefields for my miniatures using both DIY techniques and cool kits.
Prop Making & Cosplay:
Another area I’ve never looked into before.
I’ll be learning to build the iconic props, helmets, and armour from my favourite movies and video games. It will be a deep dive into the materials and techniques needed to bring fantasy gear into the real world.
I might even make something to wear to Comic-Con one day! (I’m picturing it will be Dr. Doom first 😆)
Collectible Showcasing:
Of course, this is also a space for celebrating the art of the collectible.
Here I’ll showcase my amazing toys. Action figures, Miniatures, and even LEGO creations!
Kitbashing, Mash-Ups, & Customizing:
In addition, we’ll be taking models and figures to the next level.
I’ll be learning the art of kitbashing—combining parts from different kits to create truly unique, personalized characters and vehicles.
Drawing & Sketching:
I’ll also cover the foundation of all creation.
Follow along as I practice the fundamentals of sketching and inking, learning to draw my favorite characters from comics and manga as I develop the skills to design my own projects.
Web Design:
It’s important to know that the website itself is one of the core projects of The Maverex Workshop. I’m learning web design right alongside miniature painting and sketching.
This entire site is built on WordPress, and I’m using the Elementor page builder to design everything from the homepage to the articles.
It’s been a true trial-by-fire, involving everything from solving catastrophic theme conflicts to figuring out the basics of SEO and affiliate marketing. I’m also using tools like Canva to create graphics and manage the social media presence.
Essentially, as I learn more about how to be a better content creator, I’ll be sharing those lessons right here, alongside all the hobby content.
Video Editing:
Another key skill I’m tackling for the workshop is video editing.
Right now, the videos you see are simple, one-take shots from my phone, but I plan to evolve them into much more. The journey will involve finding and learning a good, beginner-friendly video editor, figuring out how to add background music safely (without getting copyright strikes), and learning the basics of pacing and cinematography to make the showcase videos more dynamic.
From simple YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels to eventually creating full-length video articles for the main YouTube channel, I’ll be sharing every a-ha moment and frustrating setback as I try to add “amateur videographer” to the workshop’s list of skills.
How-To’s:
Every “how-to” guide you find on this site comes with a very important disclaimer: I’m probably doing it for the first time, too. The tutorials here aren’t coming from an expert who has mastered the craft; they’re coming from a fellow beginner who is documenting the process in real-time.
My goal is to create honest, no-filter guides that show the real steps, the unexpected problems, and the actual results a beginner can expect to achieve, whether it’s building a DIY photo box or figuring out how to paint a miniature.
Game Design:
The long-term, “mountain to climb” goal for this workshop is to document a journey into the world of independent game design.
I plan to start from the beginning, building a strong foundation in the necessary math—like vectors and trigonometry—and then diving into the fundamentals of C++ within the Unreal Engine.
The first major project will be a 2D, top-down, party-based RPG. And like everything else on this site, I’ll share the entire learning process, from the first line of code to the final, playable game, documenting all the bugs, breakthroughs, and brutal learning curves along the way.
Graphic Design:
To bring all these different projects to life, I’ll also be documenting my journey into the world of digital and graphic design. This is the skill that acts as the glue for everything else in the workshop.
I’ll be sharing my process as I learn my way around essential software like Adobe Photoshop for creating website graphics, editing my miniature photos, and designing textures. The bigger goal is to take my sketch art and learn Blender, translating those 2D concepts into fully realized 3D models.
Ultimately, these skills will all converge in my game design project, where I’ll have to tackle everything from character sprites and environmental textures to the user interface, likely within the Unreal Engine. It’s an ambitious path, but it’s the key to turning ideas into finished projects.
Writing, World Building, and Fan Script:
Beyond the visual arts, a core part of this workshop will be a dive into the crafts of Writing, World-Building, and Scripting. A great character is more than just a cool design; they need a story and a world to inhabit.
I’ll be sharing my process for developing original concepts, creating believable worlds with their own histories, and even trying my hand at writing fan scripts for existing universes. This is the narrative engine that will fuel the art, giving purpose to the characters I sketch and a backstory to the models I’ll eventually create.
Map Design:
A world isn’t truly real until you can see it on a map. That’s why another crucial part of my journey will be learning the art of cartography. I’ll be exploring some of the most popular map-making software available to hobbyists to find what works best for a beginner.
The plan is to start with powerful, user-friendly tools like Wonderdraft and Inkarnate to learn the fundamentals of creating continents and regions. As my skills develop, I’m also interested in tackling the legendary but notoriously complex Campaign Cartographer from ProFantasy to see if I can master its professional-level toolset. The ultimate goal is to create detailed, believable maps for the worlds I’m building, bringing them to life one continent, city, and dungeon at a time.
Experimenting with AI Programs:
Finally, this workshop will also be a space for experimenting with the new frontier of creativity: artificial intelligence.
From using AI to generate inspirational concept art for a miniature, to seeing how it can help write code for a game. I’ll be exploring these emerging technologies as another tool in the modern creator’s toolkit.
Miniature painting, sketching, 3D printing, and even AI—it’s all part of the same journey. This is The Maverex Workshop, and I’m just getting started.