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One of my favorite parts of running this website is the chance I get to meet new and interesting people, often people who I have admired for a long time. Such is the case with today’s guest, Dave from MS Paints. MS Paints is a wargaming hobby YouTube channel which is not only good because Dave is charismatic and a good filmmaker and a good hobbyist, but the “MS” in the name “MS Paints” stands for “Multiple Sclerosis”, a condition Dave has.

This really intrigues me, for several reasons. One, my mom has MS, so I know a little bit about what this debilitating neurological disorder can do–I know how it can disrupt motor control and speech and cause seizures. And yet, in spite of it all, Dave has a channel where he not only does a hobby, but a miniature hobby–a hobby that requires him to have fairly steady hands. This is impressive to me.

I’m also interested in that because of the fact that I am also a disabled miniature wargamer. I’ve written elsewhere about how I suffer from schizophrenia (and a handful of other mental illnesses).

So I was eager for the chance to talk to Dave and get his perspective on things, both hobby and disability, and he was gracious enough to respond to me.

Robison: What originally got you into the hobby, and what games to you primarily play now?

Dave: I had a childhood phase like so many do, and i remember having big ideas but being a kid, and being a kid that wasn’t especially good at anything most of my stuff was hot trash. The adult phase started a few years ago – playing some Total War Warhammer, and it gave me an itch i needed to scratch. Went deep in with Lizardmen – and really haven’t stopped since. I don’t get chance to play much – MS Paints is a lot of work, and juggling that with many other things i don’t really get to play. Painting is the thing i do to chill out so mostly do that. HeroQuest, Dragon Rampant, Warhammer Underworlds, Magic The Gathering and the Star Trek CCG by Decipher are my go to games really. Nice and short!

R: Your YouTube channel, MS Paints, is named that way because you have Multiple Sclerosis. How has this illness affected your ability to hobby, and is there any aspects of MS that you think make you a better/wiser/more enjoyable miniature hobbyist and gamer?

D: Yeah i think i’m the wiser for it. At least my outlook on life has changed. I used to chase a big dream, and learned everything i needed to do to do that job, but something wasn’t working – not entirely sure i ever figured out what. But i suppose it’s just life. You can try as hard as fuck and do most of it right but still fail at the goal. I used to get pretty down about it but now i don’t so much. As long as you keep going you’re beating a diagnosis and a hand that’s dealt. Which is the broad stroke of it.

In finer points i’d say i have simpler pleasures now. I’m not especially competitive anymore, as i don’t really have anything to prove. Respect to anyone that wakes up every day, gets kicked in the nuts (or other reproductive organs) by a lasting condition and still manages to do something.

I’m usually happy if i’ve problem solved something or learned something new, which thankfully with my job and the youtube channel i get to do that. I paint free from self judgement. Not free from self critique – i think awareness is valuable to a creative. But judging yourself based on something you’ve made that you’re not happy with? That went out the window a little while ago.

Physically the illness hasn’t affected me too much. Headaches and migraines can kill the painting vibe at times, and some days my hands don’t wanna play ball, but i try to paint how i imagine my limitations will dictate in 10 years time, and that’s very freeing. Doesn’t sound like it should be freeing, sure. But helps me think ahead – and gives some reassurance i’ll be alright.

R: Do you feel any pressure to represent the disabled community as a whole in wargaming, or do you feel content in your own experiences?

D: Yes and no. I feel like because i have the platform, and i have some experience, and i can make a decent looking video that i should use that positively, and i think i do, but there’s oh-so-much to learn about other people. I wouldn’t dare to presume to represent someone with a condition i didn’t understand, and i wouldn’t even go as far as to assume what it’s like to have something closer to home like Parkinsons for instance.

But i think folks are pulling the representation from it. This sounds pretty ego-wanky but i get a lot of messages from people in the hobby saying the channel has helped them get back into the hobby despite their various additional needs. Completely unrelated illnesses to mine most of the time. But the important thing is they’re taking something from it and empowering themselves.

If i have any kind of goal in terms of representation i think it’s the pride and empowerment. Illnesses can take those away, so if i can be open about my condition but function well – then i think that’s enough.

R: What makes you most optimistic about the hobby right now?

D: All the good stuff. The social, the business, the technology, the creative. It’s all advancing so fast and empowering creatives with professional tools at consumer usability levels. I know the saying is that ‘everyone has a book in them.’ It’s not necessarily a good book, but everyone has the capacity to take a crack at these things, and the tools are easier than ever to learn. Oh, and the people. The people are great.

R: What makes you most pessimistic about the hobby right now?

D: Also the people. Usually only centered around established brand sub cultures, but i’ve yet to meet anyone who’s a dick while playing Dragon Rampant. So that’s good.

R: What inspired you to turn your hobby journey into a YouTube channel, and what do you enjoy more–the hobby side or the video side?

D: The first lockdown hit, my work wasn’t going well. Most of my film contacts that were my bread and butter had vanished into the ether and i was pretty directionless. My company had just finished shooting a promotion for Amazon and we had the post production to do during covid, along with some government handouts to businesses. Basically on paper i was fed and watered for a year, and for the first time i had free time and room to think.

I picked up a camera – a GoPro more specifically and started learning to make videos. Filming, editing, constructing a video, thumnails, titles, all that stuff. Working for a film company there’s a lot of toys lying around but i worked up through progressively more complicated cameras and editing tools. It’s been an incredible journey when i put my piece-to-camera shots side by side from the first to most recent video.

And understanding the changes in myself, coming to terms with essentially being a time bomb of poor health. I figured i could put all this together somehow and the idea for MS Paints came about.

I see the process as one whole thing, rather than different sides. I’d say i enjoy seeing things come together in the edit the most, but every part of the process is fun. Its knackering – truly, to the core, exhausting. But it’s rewarding. Trying new things to learn about not just the painting, but storytelling and making videos is at the forefront. Being able to understand what my colleuges are talking about on shoots and being an camera operator in a professional sense has been the best accomplishment for myself i think.

R: Is there anything that the health and safety frog would like to say?

D: Oh man. What doesn’t he have to say?

The Doctor is his favourite Star Trek character, but he’s a total mark for Ferengi comedy. Brett screwed Brett. Hulk Hogan is a fraud and should never step into the business again. There should be a true widescreen release of Babylon 5 alongside a new series, not just the original broadcasts upscaled. Lego videogames should be a platform for mass social commentary.

R: What is the one thing that you want people to get out of your YouTube channel, above all else?

D: A lot of the stuff i do isn’t specifically geared toward folks with additional needs. I’m sure that’ll change as my condition changes. Currently it’s easy techniques i’ve learned. But it’s getting those techniques in front of people through the lens of ‘you can do this.’ I think a lot of the time videos get too anal and specific on details and it’s alienated. I like to think i demystify things a little.

R: Thank you so much for your time. Are there any questions I haven’t asked that you’d like to answer? Final thoughts?

D: I have a question for you in fact! If you could see me doing one video, what would it be?

R: Oh wow, I guess turnabout is fair play. I am impressed both by your larger scenery (such as in your most recent video posted below) but also in your ability to paint miniatures. What I think I’d love to see from you is a video where you combined both: made a dragon in his craggy lair, or made a swamp creature in his boggy swamp. Something that’s both terrain and miniature.

Anyway, thanks so much to Dave from MS Paints. You can follow him here:

YouTube

Instagram