MALCon 2026 miniature painting station draws crowds, becomes event highlight

MALCon 2026 filled the Milton Branch of the Fulton County Library System with more people, more activity and a louder creative buzz than the event had seen before, and the Miniature Painting Paint & Take station emerged as one of the clearest crowd magnets. The library said attendance climbed 12.51% over 2025, while participation across panels, workshops, demos and hands-on creative spaces rose 30.28%, turning the April 11 convention into a record-setting day for the library’s homegrown fandom celebration.

Inside that broader surge, the miniature painting area kept drawing steady traffic. The library’s recap singled out the Paint & Take station for strong growth and constant activity, with attendees of all ages sitting down to work with paint, texture and miniatures. That mix of a low-cost entry point and immediate, hands-on participation is exactly what can pull new painters into the hobby, especially in a setting where the materials are already laid out and the barrier to trying the craft is low.

The setup was deliberately beginner-friendly. The event listing said painting supplies and one miniature figure per person were provided, with supplies limited, and local professional miniature painter Elizabeth Beckley ran the Miniature Paint and Take area. That gave the station both structure and credibility: first-timers could pick up a brush without needing their own kit, while Beckley offered tips and tricks from her experience in the hobby.

MALCon’s growth also shows why the station fit so well in this environment. The convention first debuted in the fall of 2019, returned in 2025 after years of interruption and drew nearly 900 people, then expanded again this year at the Milton Branch. The library has framed MALCon as inspired by DragonCon, MomoCon and Anime Weekend Atlanta, but the programming mix is distinctly local, bringing together writers, gamers, artists and families under one roof. ASIFA-South said the 2026 event included role-play game demos, art and literary panels, stop-motion workshops, TRPG panels, costuming panels and miniature paint-and-take programming.

That broader mix helped the miniature table stand out rather than disappear into the schedule. For miniature painting, MALCon 2026 made a practical case that a library convention can do more than host fandom programming on the side. It can become a place where new painters start, veterans linger and a simple paint-and-take table becomes one of the day’s busiest stops.