Today I’m sharing a dirty, quick iPhone shot of my current painting project; some Grey Hunters. But I’d like to talk about the psychology of painting after the jump.
Have you ever been so hyped to start a new army, you rush out splurge a load of cash, get home all excited and start building a couple of models, then you take a break and that’s it. You don’t return to them, in fact the longer you leave it the more annoyed you get with yourself.Eventually you put them away and add them to the growing pile of plastic you hide away from plain sight.
I’ve been there and it can be really daunting starting a new army. Overloading yourself with a tonne of work isn’t good. I use to do it. I use to paint armies in 1500pts chunks. Mass batch painting would see an army painted in around 5 weeks. I would always feel the pile was getting bigger, the painting was mediocre because I was rushing it and cutting corners.
I think it was Stahly’s painting, work ethic and approach that really resonated with me. Slow, steady, really accurate painting. Enjoy every moment. It turned my hobby around and for the past couple of years my Army of the Imperium has been steadily growing and painted to the best of of my ability.
The other thing that really helps with staying motivated is to not buy too much. I’m a sucker for a boxed game so my Army of the Imperium is made up from marines from Dark Vengeance, Stormclaw, Deathwatch Overkill etc. But occasionally I’ll buy a treat unit out of the blue like a Baal Predator or an Imperial Knight (or two).
Another big part to hanging in there and finishing an army, is it gets easier. I feel like I’m flying now painting these Grey Hunters. With the Wolf Guard Battle Leader, Wolf Guard Terminators and Blood Claws complete, I only have these Grey Hunters, five Wolf Guard in Power Armour and Ragnar Blackmane left to paint. Then I might treat myself to a Space Wolf Dreadnought.
This convoluted rambling is my long-winded way of saying I’m happy and content with painting at the moment. Which is great… apart from I’m suppose to be learning 3D modelling and printing.
What methods do you use to keep yourself painting through the mountains of plastic you own? Or have you given up and just hidden all your unpainted models in the cupboard?
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Its been a while since i have posted here, always following but this time i want to remove some dust from the keyboard!
Personally i feel that state of mind when you are distracted and can't focus with painting models, sometime. Its really the thing i hate the most.
Lately for personal problems and less time i've had a big trouble even at focusing on a single thing. Thanks god, now i have friends whit more similar interest around, that encourages me, and ask me for help at workin' in a laboratory for scenics and terrainsand that is a great help for morale!
LOL but i can't stop buy plastic soldiers at all, too much cool models lately, i need a straight jacket! HELP!!! 😉
I believe i'm the emperor of WIP pics on my Instagram profile.
Whatever, the important thing is to keep pushin'
I was actually wondering, do you always put on all (or most) of your basecoats before you start adding highlights? Or do you sometimes paint one part base to last highlight and then start at an other part of the model? Just wondering. 😉
Think you are off to a great start with those Grey Hunters =)
For me, I only paint when i feel for it. Never force creativity :>
Back in the days I too had a lot of figures in various boxes just laying around (and i still do) but it´s been a long time since i bought anything new; i want to finish what i own before adding more. What I have I will finish in my time when I feel for it the right mood is there.
Having tons of stuff laying around gets more to my nervs and add pressure than joy I think. Besides, new figures are seldom that far away; either order online from FW/GW or a 15 minute walk to the local game-store for me :>
/leffegnu
Glad that you found your way 🙂
Sadly I'm still there, buying a lot of stuff, assembling few, trying to paint one model then I'm displeased with the result (only painted like 20 models over 10+ years of hobby). Any suggestions how should I proceed?
Kris
Hi! i know it's difficult to find motivation when you are displeased with the result, but everybody has to start somewhere, so don't try to paint your models perfectly but instead do your best, learn from your mistakes, and you'll improve your painting eventually. Hope that helps!
Playing Kill Team, Heralds of Ruin, helped me a lot. It's a small number of models required, but can be very diverse in what you take. After one or two test models, I'll print the team, and because of the different models it doesn't get boring and you have a complete army quite quickly. That way I painted more during the last year (around 30) than the five years prior. And now I could expand the models to squads, using what I learned, or start another, completely different Kill Team.