Army Painting without Burnout (Advice Wanted)

[Brianuk]

All of the above. I like to mix up units with side projects in different genres, so you don't feel like you are spending your spare time on a second job painting red coats and chainmail. 

 

I also go for simple paint schemes for as many minis as possible, working up from a coloured primer and an ink wash. So Skeletons, armoured orcs or dwarves, space soldiers, what have you but something you can spray to start with. 

 

The other thing I like is to take a colour and apply it to the batch until it runs out. This is particularly effective when you have a group that aren't in uniform but need a unified scheme. Take reddy brown and do 8 gloves and 5 pouches. Then take grey brown, etc. Stop when it gets boring but over time you will turn back to a project and realise that if you do one or two more colours they are all base coated. 

 

I also limit highlights. This can make my minis look darker but you save a lot of time by leaving some areas shaded but not highlighted, then just making sure that the face and hands in particular are highlighted, along with any feature around the neck and shoulders. 

 

Final tip is to pick one or two things per mini that you like and make sure those are bright and highlighted as you want them. So the teeth necklace, belt buckle, mouse on the shoulder, whatever catches your eye, make sure you haven't just painted in brown. 

 

Finally if in doubt, paint it  grey on scifi and moderns, and brown on fantasy and medieval. 

[MoonglowMinis]

Rereading all this wonderful advice as I struggle with a similar but different problem.  Instead of getting stuck painting the same detail on several small minis, I'm stuck painting several small details on two big minis.

Been working on a pair of purple worms, Goremaw and a D&D prepaint.  And the number of tiny spikes has fried my brain and I haven't touched them in weeks, or any mini for that matter.  Think I need to get better at working on a different mini when I'm burned out.  Because more disappointing than not making progress on a project, is not painting anything at all.  Though it has been nice to focus on other hobbies for a bit.  But I also feel guilty when I'm barely getting through my current collection and have 500ish more coming in a few weeks.

 

Have to remind myself that the minis still make me happy even if they never get painted and the painted ones just make me extra happy!

[Inarah]

4 hours ago, MoonglowMinis said:

Been working on a pair of purple worms, Goremaw and a D&D prepaint.  And the number of tiny spikes has fried my brain and I haven't touched them in weeks, or any mini for that matter. 

 

Try to not look at it as a huge overwhelming task.  Break it down into smaller tasks.  Set a timer for 5 minutes, or 15 minutes, something super short, and only do that.  Then you can walk away having accomplished something, and the job next time is smaller by that much.  No obligation to do any more today. 

 

[MoonglowMinis]

This is one of my favorite threads.  Everyone is so helpful and supportive.  Managed to jump back into painting this weekend.  Made some progress on my worm and knocked out a few little guys.  Thanks for the encouragement!

[MediocrePainter]

thats good to hear! Also my recent tactic is to do something easy after i have done something difficult. I painted a difficult knight afterwards i just painted some easy spiders, which look presentable even with just a small effort.

 

Also tactical Breaks are ok. Yesterday i decided not to paint and just played warhammer Total war 2. That Was enjoyable and today ifeel more motivated to Do something miniature related. Keep going while taking Breaks and switching between difficult and easy to paint miniatures.

[Dan S]

Depending to what standard you want your miniatures to be painted, The Army Painter do a quick shade dip for speed painting, that was really popular and revolutionary when it was released.  You just block in your chosen colour scheme with simple base coats, and then dip the miniature into the solution, shake off the excess and voila!  You wont win any painting awards with them, but you will get a passable tabletop standard miniature in minutes.  At this point you can either leave the mini's as they are or go back and finish off with some small detailing and highlights.

 

I have never used the stuff myself, I only really paint single miniatures nowadays and because I enjoy the process of painting, however I have a friend who plays wargames and he swears by the stuff, it takes a lot of the tedium out of painting large scale armies when all you want is a table top quality army ready to play and it is a huge time saver.

 

If you do go this route, be aware that the dip is very glossy, and so you will probably need to go over them with a matt varnish once finished. 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Dan S

[MoonglowMinis]

On 7/16/2021 at 6:40 AM, Dan S said:

Depending to what standard you want your miniatures to be painted, The Army Painter do a quick shade dip for speed painting, that was really popular and revolutionary when it was released.  You just block in your chosen colour scheme with simple base coats, and then dip the miniature into the solution, shake off the excess and voila!  You wont win any painting awards with them, but you will get a passable tabletop standard miniature in minutes.  At this point you can either leave the mini's as they are or go back and finish off with some small detailing and highlights.

 

I have never used the stuff myself, I only really paint single miniatures nowadays and because I enjoy the process of painting, however I have a friend who plays wargames and he swears by the stuff, it takes a lot of the tedium out of painting large scale armies when all you want is a table top quality army ready to play and it is a huge time saver.

 

If you do go this route, be aware that the dip is very glossy, and so you will probably need to go over them with a matt varnish once finished. 

 

Thanks. At this point I'm not really fond of the dip method. I tend to be a layer-er.  I'm less looking for methods to speed up my painting (as I enjoy having my paintjobs reflect my highest quality) and more looking for ways to not drive myself crazy when my efforts inevitably take forever.  

Granted I do try to utilize some time saving tips - zenithal prime, airbrush base coat, washes and drybrushes for details like fur. Recently been playing more with wet-blending as my confidence has improved.  It's incredible how much time you can save by doing it right.

I guess to some degree I enjoy the process, it's just hard keeping my focus and repetitive steps kill the joy for me.  ... one more row of spikes on that cursed worm.

[dwarvenranger]

Slow and steady wins the race (says the dwarf). Personally since having my second child I just don't have time to do much painting, my last set of Anhurians took 6 months to finish. And somedays like you say you're just not feeling it. On those days I just put down a couple of drops of paint and tell myself to just get through this much painting today (and hopefully the family gives me enough time to do so).