Mercius Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 I used to be the same way. Reaperbryan said it best though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flow Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Reaperbryan does have a solid point; it's more about the journey and not the end. That said, it does still help to simplify other aspects of your life in order to make that journey run a bit smoother. Just creating a little workspace for yourself can help immensely. I had a cluttered old desk by my computer desk that held a TV and other random junk that I'd toss on it. I ended up donating the old TV (realized I never watch TV while on the computer anyway) and cleared off the desk, and now it's my little miniature corner. That, plus using a wet palette, has helped a ton. I can literally sit down and paint a bit if I only have ten minutes to spare. Being able to leap right into painting with little fuss really does help stepping into and out of painting very easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laoke Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Speaking as someone who's not got a dedicated space set up for painting yet (and likely won't for a little time), organisation helps a lot. I paint to relax, and to keep my hands busy. So it's less on a schedule and more 'Oh, I feel like painting now, what do I have on the go?' I've got my figures prepped and stored in my toolkit, my paint brushes are in dremelled-out slots in the lid. My paints, paper, & wet pallete are in the toolkit as well. This fits on top of a corner cabinet, and I put both my angle-lamps on top of the tool kit & the ultrasonic cleaner off to the side: all are stored plugged into power. There's also a squeeze bottle of clean water that I keep with the kit. When I want to get started, it's a 5 minute job to Move a sheet of newspaper onto the table - this will be replaced by a hobby mat soon Put the lamps in place at the upper corners of the painting surface Full a plastic cup and two plastic shotglasses with clean water Pull out the figure tray and put it off to the side Grab my brushes from the lid Put my wet pallete on the paper, open it, and start remixing paints / painting Breaking down, I can fit standard sized figures inside my toolkit easily which means less issues with dust settling on the figures between sessions. In addition, not finishing the figure off in one hit means I can review what I've done so far and experiment with colors a bit. It all collapses down into a toolkit, 2 lamps, an ultrasonic cleaner, and a 1 litre squeeze bottle of water, which is easy to store. It helps that one of the things that relaxes me is cleaning. So making sure that the kit is packed away securely and everything is clean and ready to go next time is actually a good thing for me. All I need to do now is to buy a lab-coat to paint in and I'll be a perfectly sane mad scientist painter. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buglips*the*goblin Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I often don't. Same is true with everyone - and this is probably why my style over time has graduated to "simple but serviceable" as opposed to really pushing the limits. When I do find time, I can get things done and they still look okay. Sometimes it means I pop out a Bones Ogre in an hour. Sometimes it's spread out over a week. But the Ogre gets done. It's only the really big, complicated ones (Takhisis) that this doesn't work so well on - because picking at it means it's going to take a long time. Although, if I painted her like I paint Bones she'd be out in a week. Kaladrax, once I have his individual paint set assembled, will be quick like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintminion Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 ReaperBryan is spot on, it's a process, a journey. All I do is strive to push myself each project. Get yourself a tool/crafting box or some storage box that allows you to have everything there and ready to plop on the table and open it up for working. It should not take you 30 minutes to set up for painting. It should take you 5 :-) Make believe you have to be mobile with it, and then when you find other folk to paint with or a shop you can paint at, you just grab and go! It really should be fun, above all else. Experiment. Play. Like the colors you are using, and the excitement of seeing how it all comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dispatchdave Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I agree with getting a mobile set up, even if you are n't going to tote it around. It's a nice way to keep everything together and ready for when you are. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadcubed Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Welcome Unruly and congratulations on getting a kickstarter bones set! :) I completely understand the completionist mind set. However, perhaps you could change the completion goal to simply having a nice hour of hobby time once per day. If it rolls over to longer ok. But make your goals something other than finish the miniature. As people have shown above there are paint station solutions but actually an open top box can serve. Just pop it on the table, jar of water, paint brushes out and the paint you're using and you're off! Personally I have dedicated spaces. I even do micro sessions where I grab literally 5-10 just doing a bit of cutting or filing or removing flash. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwyksilver Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 As for the Bones shipment, you don't have to paint them all at once either. Most people are going to be working on those for YEARS to come. And some people will just completely forget they even got them until YEARS later while looking for THAT mini, will uncover the box on the back of a shelf and go... Holy crap! That's where they went! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atramagus Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 abandon the idea that you have to finish the model to have enjoyed yourself. Paint the cloak today. tomorrow, do the skin. the next day, hit the armor. then the next part. then go back over something with another level of highlighting and shading. Take your time, enjoy the process. It's a hobby - it's as much about enjoying the DOING as the HAVING, so don't be so focused on finished. That will suddenly free up your time, and lower your paint-related stress levels. This. I started working the the L2PK2 yesterday, and got to the point where I added eyes. This is the first time I ever did whites and pupils on a mini, and it actually turned out well on both of them. I'm still no great artist, but I was ecstatic that they came out looking good. That definitely put a spring in my step, even though I still have a lot of work to go on them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dispatchdave Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 There's nothing like accomplishing something you thought was absolutely impossible, even if you don't do it perfectly. I felt the same way the first time I successfully had eyes that pointed in the same direction.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unruly Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 Well, over the next few weeks I'm going to be doing some much-needed, 3-years-in-the-making, Spring cleaning. Hopefully I can get rid of enough crap to let me put together a small, dedicated painting area somewhere. Then I'll just need to get a small table or desk to set everything up on. As for storage, I've started to get that taken care of. I already had a Reaper paint caddy, but I bought a couple Plano storage containers to throw my brushes, painting accessories, some minis, and a bunch more paint in. I might buy another two or three storage containers in the relatively near future if I have the money, since I have a strong suspicion that my Bones order will fill the two I just bought. With any luck I'll have things sorted before my Bones arrive, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm a bit of a hoarder, and I'm finally getting rid of a lot of crap that should have been tossed out when I moved 3 years ago. And then, I still don't know if I'll be able to get out of the completionist mindset for painting so that I can just paint in small bursts. We'll have to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerJeff Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 (edited) This hobby is my "off" time. I shut down my brain, (the thinking side), and let the creative side go nuts. I've figured out a way to get time with my kids in this way as they like to build and paint models with me as well. I usually dont get to paint till late evening, but even an hour yields results. Just paint when you can, and try to make it a habit. Instead of surfing the web or plopping down in front of the boob-tube, hop into your painting chair! :) Edited March 28, 2013 by EngineerJeff 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redambrosia Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I'm a bit of a hoarder, and I'm finally getting rid of a lot of crap that should have been tossed out when I moved 3 years ago. And then, I still don't know if I'll be able to get out of the completionist mindset for painting so that I can just paint in small bursts. We'll have to see. I used to be like that. I had a lot of stuff, which was all cool stuff, but stuff I never used. Over a course of time I realized a) that it was not contributing anything to my life to have it cluttering things up, and b) I really didn't want to end up like my dad, with a garage full of stuff which hadn't been gone through in 20+ years. Now I try to regularly get rid of stuff if I don't use it or display it. Though it's a lil harder to judge recently because of my teeny tiny apartment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeGolfJ3 Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 Besides having a dedicated location where I "hobby", I recently purchased a Masterson wet palette. I can go for days with having the paints I am using at the ready without much trouble. The paint does need a little rejuvenation, which I do with "magic wash" or "gunk". So, now I am ready to go even when I only have 30 minutes to sit-down and paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimreaper71 Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 unemployment gave me all the time in the world. Had to keep my mind busy so I didn't get depressed so pick up the brush after years of not painting 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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