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Motivation to paint


Brother Gabe

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So its finally vacation after a whole year of waiting, and i decided i have put off painting for too long. So now i am working on a pack of blood claws, but its like painting them is torture. I can't get motivated enough to paint them for more than an hour before i just give up and go do something else, like video games or reading.

I'm wondering how some of you guys manage to paint whole armies without giving up. And also what you guys do when you don't feel like painting but you know you have to.

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My advice would be you've got to really love your army. Read up on the fluff, play some games, get back into that hunnymoon feeling where it excites you again and you have all these ideas about where you want to go with it.

 

I personally don't let myself make anything until I've finished painting the previous project and that's always kept me going as well.

 

Finally, while you're painting have some music, an audiobook, or TV program on in the background. It makes it so much less intense and before you know it hours have gone by.

My advice is to get excited and then do it in spurts. Try to find some other armies online or IRL that are painted around your level, go re-read some SW fluff, get "in the mood".

 

Then go and paint a bloodclaw.

 

Then go grab something to eat, talk to your significant other, check the BnC, or play a videogame.

 

Then go and paint a bloodclaw.

 

Rinse and repeat.

I paint while parts are still on the sprue, except for the most added detail. So no gluing till painted, meaning that I cant use the models till they are at least mostly done. Now if you want to have bigger games, you need those models. What better motivation is there when the love for painting than not being able to use them cause they are not painted?

Easy, you don't need to be motivated, you just need to do it :)

 

It seems you obviously want them to be painted and by messing around and taking it in dribs and drabs you are effectively reducing your own motivation. Your reward (having a fully painted squad / army / whatever) is too distant compared to your current work ability. So you have two options, either reduce your goals to more readily achievable ones (i.e. just get them all cleaned and assembled, get them undercoated and based, get the base coat down, do the ink washes etc) so that you can feel you are making progress or just accept the fact that its hard work and slog through it. One good day will probably get them done and then you don't have it hanging over you all summer.

 

Wanting to be motivated can easily become a negative thing, you dont want to do the work so you use lack of motivation as an excuse not to do it, in effect you end up rewarding yourself for being unmotivated making lack of motivation more likely in future. But it seems you DO want to have them painted, so you are motivated, your brain is just faking a lack of motivation to avoid putting in the effort.

 

Theres a great motto I heard somewhere, some army training or some sort I think, can't really remember but it just goes "You don't have to like it, you just have to do it". If you have no motivation, then consider the fact that you are practicing your mental toughness while you paint, and if you have good mental toughness it will carry you just as far as motivation ever will. So just look at your lack of motivation as a bonus, it allows you to practice another valuable life skill while you paint for free :D

My buddy told me he and his friends play that if you use models that are not based or painted they suffer minuses in combat (-1 Weapon Skill or -1 Ballistic skill or both if still plastic or metal). After he mentioned that I said I would play that way too. Now my whole army is painted and if I end up wanting to use a new model it gets finished fast.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I suffer from a perfection complex and I want every model perfect, but I want to win more! :) So now I have a decently painted army (in my book "sub par" but still good) and I tell you it's pretty cool to have all your models painted when playing.

 

For me motivation comes from outside factors. Look for something like that to motivate you and enjoy...

 

P.S. Playing with painted models is more fun!!!

indeed, painting with painted models really gives you a nice happy warm feeling inside

 

or was that drinking ale?

 

anyway, it' so much more rewarding to play against a painted army, and to play with it

and if that's not enough, do it to make your brothers at the fang proud

you could even make a log of them here, or join in in our contests

For me, the way I did it was to make up simple basic colour schemes that can be done easily, with as few colours as possible. I cannot tolerate having to have 40 paints to do a single squad of marines. The simple scheme allowed me to get them to Tabletop quality, then I could add some nice details on at leisure.

 

Besides, use this motivation. That you can field half decent looking models, painted to an ok standard you have set, when your opponent's army is currently languishing in primer city ( Ive played, as I think most of us have at some point, with just primed models, and Ill admit, you do feel a little bit dirty :) )

I know what you mean at times I just don't have it in me to start a project. So what I do is put pressure on myself by submitting a army list to a tournement of some kind and in the list I have a new model that I want to give a try such as a new HQ or WG, Dread,.... Since I have to have it done by that time to make my legal I give myself motivation through urgency, kinda like inviting people over and getting the rush/energy to clean up before your guests arrive.

 

 

Audio books is a great way to focus for hours a day, doing some modeling and reading a good book, taking down the ol' two birds with one stone trick.

 

 

WG Vrox.

Hey brother, we all have felt like that at times and if you re-read some of the posts above there are some great ideas to help you get motivated.

 

Here's a couple more. First, don't compare your models to anyone elses- this can be a real hammer blow to getting your own done. Painting takes time and practice and we all started somewhere. So go for base colours for a squad just to get them on the table then detail them later. Second, give yourself the rule of 'if it's not painted, it can't play'. Soon enough you will be painting more even if it isn't to the standard you want. Third, make other things as well. I usually knock up a bit of scenery, a special character or a tank or something and use it as a reward for getting a squad painted

 

Remember, for the Wolves we have to field at least one squad of Grey Hunters and the minimum squad size is six marines. That is a very achievable number to paint even in one sitting and the result is a playable unit. It's a great start to your army and also gives you the chance to practice your colour scheme and painting techniques. And if all goes wrong it is only six marines that need stripping and not a squad of fifteen Bloodclaws

 

Lastly bit of advice, start a w.i.p thread here or on the main board and post your progress. There are very few people who will knock your efforts and the vast majority of people will give you honest and helpful hints and tips

 

And if none of the above give you the needed motivation, remember this. It's all for Russ

 

Take it easy and look forward to seeing your minis

 

DGC

indeed, painting with painted models really gives you a nice happy warm feeling inside

 

or was that drinking ale?

 

anyway, it' so much more rewarding to play against a painted army, and to play with it

and if that's not enough, do it to make your brothers at the fang proud

you could even make a log of them here, or join in in our contests

 

I think someone is a little drunk! I tend to listen to music. A couple of weeks ago I decided to finish the majority of my infantry (71 models) They had all been sprayed but I needed to paint them all. Managed to do it in a week due to the lack of college and. I find task such as painting difficult as I suffer from dyspraxia and have to motivate myself, I did that by reasoning in September I'm moving out and will be near a GW that enforces painted models only, therefore they need to be painted sharpish.

 

So any news when the next pack expansion is meant to be?

indeed, painting with painted models really gives you a nice happy warm feeling inside

 

or was that drinking ale?

 

anyway, it' so much more rewarding to play against a painted army, and to play with it

and if that's not enough, do it to make your brothers at the fang proud

you could even make a log of them here, or join in in our contests

 

I think someone is a little drunk! I tend to listen to music. A couple of weeks ago I decided to finish the majority of my infantry (71 models) They had all been sprayed but I needed to paint them all. Managed to do it in a week due to the lack of college and. I find task such as painting difficult as I suffer from dyspraxia and have to motivate myself, I did that by reasoning in September I'm moving out and will be near a GW that enforces painted models only, therefore they need to be painted sharpish.

 

So any news when the next pack expansion is meant to be?

 

 

mwhahaha, what was i thinking=p

ment playing with painted models

that ale went faster to my head then i thought=p

I think what demotivates me the most from painting is just not having an organized painting area.

 

I set my models to be painted on my gaming table and my box of paints on the floor. Soon my corner of the table is cluttered and I set everything down. My greatest need right now is to paint my vehicles but its such a daunting task and takes up so much space i dont know where to start.

 

Currently though I have been steadily painting my infantry. I go downstairs and turn on the radio. I can paint one or two models rather quickly and go back up and do a chore and spend time with my family. I return to the cave a couple times a day and do maybe two more.

 

On my days off I can complete a squad in about a week. I do enjoy it but I just cant sit there for hours on end. But there are those weeks when I just dont have the time. I just need to organize.

 

CM

1. Build more wolves or build a different army

2. read SW novels

3. Read SW rumors and understand when the dex is out you will want your army painted(this is my current strongest motivator)

4. Don't have the entire pack or other packs/units in sight when painting. It may get depressing....even if it means not doing "factory painting".

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