Tabletop Painting Competition

The Tabletop Painting Competition once again returns!
The Painting Competition is designed for people to have fun and celebrate the painting skill of our members or even (if you're like me) just provide an excuse to slowly shrink that pile of shame. Although there will be a winner, it is a friendly competition and members are encouraged to discuss and share tips to help everyone improve and enjoy the process.
Each competition runs a theme which may help provide inspiration when choosing a model to paint. Themes are completely optional and no preference will be given either way in the judging.
In this competition the theme is "Criminal".

In the run up to the Competition you can paint whatever model you like, be it Wargs, Borgs, RPGs or even CCGs and Larp if you can. All you need is a currently unpainted (or only primed) model and the will to paint! To reiterate, this is more about having fun and learning from each other, so please feel free to participate even if you don't have much confidence in your skills.

What are the core rules of the competition?

You must paint an unpainted model. If the model is primed (even with a zenithal or coloured primer) that is okay. In the case of prepainted models (such as X-Wing or Armada) that's okay, however please paint a significant portion of the model.
The model must be fully painted by the day of the competition. None of the bare plastic can be showing, if it has a base that is not transparent it must be painted. (If the base is prepainted the model can be submitted but the base will be ignored)
The model must have at least three separate colours. All models must have a minimum of three colours on them (this includes the base).
The model must be a single "unit". You're more than welcome to paint a model of any size or shape or a group of such, but the submission must be a cohesive set.
The model cannot be terrain. This is to make the job of judging the models easier as terrain often requires slightly different skills and techniques.
There are two tiers to enter into, Novice and Intermediate. These will have separate winners to make sure that nobody is intimidated from trying out.

Novice Tier - For people with little to no experience painting models whatsoever, if you're wanting to give painting a try or get around to painting that army you've had for aeons you're welcome to here. (If you have extensive experience doing physical painting, please sign up for Intermediate)
Intermediate Tier - For those who do have experience with painting or even do it professionally, you can put your all (or as much as you're comfortable) into a passion project.
There will be a separate Discord server for logging your entries, but it will also include places for asking for advice and giving updates if you'd like to.
( https://discord.gg/VpWwBc2XhU )
I will judge the competition in person at Tabletop Weekend, I like all kinds of models and styles in painting so don't feel restricted to the classic high-contrast method often seen in Golden Demon or just painting Warhammer miniatures.

Officially, the Competition will start on 20/01/24 and end on 4/03/24, which is the final week of wargames (Monday Week 9). However you're free to start whenever you want, don't feel like you're obligated to start straight away!
To make an entry:

Take a picture of your unpainted model with a piece of paper with your Discord Username and the current date
Upload it to the aforementioned server or DM me (drukin57) with the name of the model and what tier you'd like to enter into
The winner will receive a special place in the Newsletter and much praise from their peers.