Marine Errant Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Hi guys, I find myself in the position of painting burnout :huh: I have been unable to work up the enthusiasm to paint anything for the last two months........... This may be down to the massive amount of figures I have to paint, or just one of those things that happens. So I ask you all, has this ever happened to any of you and, if so, how did you deal with it? Cheers :P Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorFish Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Sometimes a break is what you need. I'm about to get into painting again after a couple of months off where I've been busy with other things. To keep things fresh I try to keep several projects on the go at the same time so I can work on whatever suits my mood. This naturally works best if these projects require different approaches/methods/colours/etc so different model types and best of all armies works well. I have Marine, Guard and Dark Eldar projects currently :) To get back into painting from a break requires a kick start to your motivation so try to find something that you really want to paint up (or the classic of a game that needs new models painted). As a fanatical tread head for me that's a nice shiny tank! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075096 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Deadlines! Give your self a set target and get painting. A few ways to do this is enter painting competitions like E Tenebrae Lux here on BnC or in real life at hobby stores or gaming clubs or get your self entered into a few tournaments. Even if you're not a gaming god a competitive gaming setting can boost your interest and give you that enthusiasm that you need for painting. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075249 Share on other sites More sharing options...
striker8 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I run into burn out rather frequently, comissions are really bad for destroying the will to paint. My ussual cure is take a short break, don't even think about painting for a few days, a week, what ever works for you. Then when you feel like you might be in the mood to try again, go and put everything you want to paint except for one unit/character/vehicle in a box or drawer so the mass of stuff is out of sight and by the time you have it all put away but what you are going to work on next call it a day. WHen you return for the next painting session you'll find that the mental trick of not seeing the mass of stuff you have to do will make working on one thing at a time easier and quicker and you'll find you will work through the mass before you realize it. For those stubborn times when nothing seems to get the motivation going having something totaly different to paint can kick start things. I play multiple different games so there is always something that catches my eye and working on that get's me moving. The same thing applies to what I call one off's, mini's for games I don't but I really like the mini can get the creative juice flowing. Rewarding your self between units and such is also a good trick to keep things moving. Paint something to finish and then you get a game for it, or a nice dinner, a movie, something that makes you feel good about finishing. The real key though is not having massive amounts of stuff sitting out where you will mentaly overwhelm yourself every time you see it. Instead all you see is what you are working on and can focus on getting that done. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075343 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacinda Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Sometimes it is just because there is so much to do it is hard to figure out where to start. Take small steps. If you put everything together before you paint, pick out 3 models and just paint the legs. And go from there. If you do the partial assemply, pick out 3 backpacks and 3 sets of shoulder pads to paint. Maybe the next step would be to paint the arms and weapons. The trick for me is to just pick out a small portion and work on that instead of looking at needing to paint the whole model. This is also why I tend to have a lot of bases read to go with no figures to mount :D Anyway, just break it down to small tasks. The smaller the better. Just focus on the smaller goal and get that one thing done before thinking about the next step. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075361 Share on other sites More sharing options...
puck Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I had the same problem for the last few months, what worked for me was inviting some friends over and having a group painting session. Everyone exchanging ideas and discussing the game really helped. Then we went to a bar afterwards. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075373 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShinyRhino Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I hit the same wall every so often, and have found it's often due to painting too much of one thing, or planning out too large of a project. I'm now trying to keep things to 5-man projects. Finish 5 Marines of a given unit before moving on to another unit type. Another option is to build one Marine of each armor type in your army: a Terminator, a power-armored Marine, and a Scout. Paint them in little 3-model batches. The variety between the different body makeups helps keep you varied and interested. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075380 Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain sox Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I hit the same wall every so often, and have found it's often due to painting too much of one thing, or planning out too large of a project. I'm now trying to keep things to 5-man projects. Finish 5 Marines of a given unit before moving on to another unit type. Another option is to build one Marine of each armor type in your army: a Terminator, a power-armored Marine, and a Scout. Paint them in little 3-model batches. The variety between the different body makeups helps keep you varied and interested. This! I'll take it a bit further by having a reward to do: ie a vehicle, or possibly building a converted character or something. Place the models you are not working with away, out of sight, out of mind. When you look over your entire collection, and see how much is not painted, well, it's daunting and discouraging. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075433 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sons of the Forge Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I suffer from this extremely at the best of times. Usually I cant bare to paint even one single miniture. Which is why my collection has stalled and why I now play Deathwatch RPG 1 mini far more easier to paint then an entire army. Its why I only have one army to a good standard and my poorly painted fantasy one in the attic. I could never complete a horde or massive number of miniture army. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075529 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowHaunt Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 For myself, I rotate between different aspects of the hobby, and find that as I lose interest in one, I drift quickly to a different one. So, I have a series of fan-fiction about my Captain, starting when he was a Sergeant, that I work on sometimes, and I have my array of interesting and strange lists, and I have my modeling and painting. But, above all, remind yourself it's a hobby. It's supposed to be something you enjoy. If you aren't enjoying it, do something else for a bit! When you're ready to enjoy it again, it'll all still be there. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075642 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyaenidae Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 I still am suffering from a severe case of burnout at this point, from a combination of setting too many goals, too many deadlines, a hectic household (child #5 is on the way in a month), and an insane work schedule. I've had to force myself to shutdown for a bit, cease production on all my projects, and settle on a mini a week, depending on what is inspiring me at the time. No other way around it, unless I want to start painting poor-quality mini's (which I refuse to do). Some MW3 or Space Marine from time to time has been helping too, letting the 'creative' side of my brain take a break. I'll usually play a round or two while my washes are drying. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075649 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MordentHex Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 I usually just spend a day or two surfing the Internet looking at other peoples cool paint jobs or reading somewhere about new rumors and such. If that does not work, i just flip through my old copies of the game and look for inspiration. If all of that fails, I go out and get drunk with my friends. After a good boozing and hangover my body and mind usually totally reboot and im fresh and ready to go. (this may just be an excuse to go out and drink) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075751 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminatorinhell Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 I'm currently feeling a bit burnt out from painting marines so I might try to paint some filthy Tau for a change in atmosphere. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3075792 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marine Errant Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Hi all, Well, thanks for all the advice. Some real sound ideas there. Since I can't face the idea of painting my IG horde any more, and am overdosed on blue and white with my marines I have bought the Kurt Hellborg figure for WHFB to paint as a change. :lol: Who knows, this may be the start of yet another new army :lol: One point of advice that a few of you made on which I wholeheartedly agree is the hiding of all the unpainted minis!!!! I never really thought about it before but looking at piles and piles, and boxes and boxes, of unpainted figures was soul destroying. All hidden away now so, with a little flagellation and prayer to the Emperor, I am hoping to advance yet again with my painting :P Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3076523 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eetion Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 I'm so glad you asked this. Iv definately been experiencing the same problem. Less so to burn out but more due to the times and stresses of an 8 month pregnant wife and child. I do large batches when I do paint. But its slow going. Maybe I should try smaller batches. That and I also have a few gothic ships to do for a bit of variety. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3076590 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Nihm Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Paint with friends. I don't get any painting done when I don't paint with friends. :) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3077447 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShinyRhino Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 One point of advice that a few of you made on which I wholeheartedly agree is the hiding of all the unpainted minis!!!! I never really thought about it before but looking at piles and piles, and boxes and boxes, of unpainted figures was soul destroying. All hidden away now so, with a little flagellation and prayer to the Emperor, I am hoping to advance yet again with my painting <_< That was indeed good advice. Thinking back, I did the same thing a while ago. I used to have bitz, models, and bases all scattered around my desk, and it made the work daunting. I'd finish a Marine, and see 15 more in line on the desk! Now I just have one model I'm paitning, another I'm working on assembling, and one or two spare tankparts to which I'll apply paint while waiting for the main project to dry. Simpler, more organized, and much less intimidating. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3077570 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Morgan Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I suffered with this for 6 years! With the birth of my first son and then the arrival of a second son, painting was out of the question. I turned to converting my collection of SM and slowly built up an army of marines and vehicles. Hopefully, you won't take this length of time out from painting. I got back into painting a few months ago and am really enjoying the hobby again. After spending a few months on my Imperial Outpost, I want to start painting at least one of my Land Raider conversions before building a Fortress of Redemption. I have no order of painting and think this is the right way to do it. Paint what you feel like, when you feel like. I do agree that you need to hide your extra troops as previously been suggested. If I brought all of my unpainted SM and vehicles down from the attic and all the cupboards in the house (20 years of collecting SM means A LOT of unpainted figures!!). Sometimes, after a heavy day at work and dealing with 2 young children, I only have about 2 hours of life time befoe I collapse into unconsciousness - so just take one day at a time. I wish you all the best and just immerse your self in the hobby when you can. Regards, Brother Morgan. :P Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3077714 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mactire Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 enter one of the painting challenges its the only way i get anything done. also agree with putting the rest out of sight, what im doing at the moment is putting the squad/pack and paints needed on the gw painting tray and ignoring everything else also get strict with buying new stuff until you finish up what you have this can be good motivation if theres a new model you really want. just my two cents :) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3077967 Share on other sites More sharing options...
culix Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Excellent thread! Thanks for posting this Errant, and thanks to everyone for all of the great ideas here. Painting with friends and only painting what inspires you are great tips. I also like concentrating on one squad at a time as it feels less daunting. I find that keeping a few finished, well painted models or pictures of awesome models nearby really helps inspire me to paint. I continually trawl the WIP and Hall of Honour forums to bask in people's great work. I also recommend keeping a log! It's easy and built into B&C. My log and pictures really help because then I can go back and see "oh yeah, 2 weeks ago I didn't have that done. I've made progress! :)" Like striker I find that agreeing to play games really motivates me - I have to have that mini assembled because I want to put it on the table! (though my group is pretty lax and we don't have to field painted or finished models, so YMMV there) Take small steps ... pick out 3 models and just paint the legs. And go from there. Amen! When I'm feeling down about my progress I pick one goal for myself to focus on for the night - often something small. e.g. "I'm going to remove the mold lines on these two arms tonight" or "I'm going to paint one layer on this sorcerer's gloves". A small goal means I can usually finish in in the next 10-15 minutes, so it doesn't take that long, but it gives me something positive to concentrate and look back on. For the next few days I can say "heck yeah, his gloves are brown, I made progress :)", and that's really encouraging. Plus, many small steps add up, and if you do one small thing every day or every week, soon you've got a model glued together or a squad basecoated. This is a bit of a self-plug, but iamfanboy wrote a very nice article called "Quantity has a Quality all its own (How to paint 2000 points in 30 days)" that has some nice tips on painting faster and staying enthused. I'm biased because I copy-edited it into an article for the Librarium here, hopefully for inclusion when the Librarium gets back up. One part of his advice could boil down to: "seeing your army in color on the table is very inspiring, so use these tips to paint quickly and stay inspired" :) This thread is so good we should almost turn it into a Librarium article itself :P Maybe I'll have a look through the Librarium and old PCA threads and see if anyone has already done that. Oh and that makes me think of one last tip - get some moral support and encouragement from your fellow addicts ;) Exactly like you've done by creating this thread. Feel free to let us know how you do ;) Good luck! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3079018 Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorFish Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 I also vouch for the deadline/challenge method. My sig has a list of my glories and failures (green: penalty projects) in meeting painting deadlines so whenever I post on the B&C there's a little reminder to try and expand the list. My shiny new project: a Stormtalon! :teehee: Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3080665 Share on other sites More sharing options...
facmanpob Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Last summer I didn't paint for 4 months after the birth of my second child, and couldn't get back into it once the initial chaos had calmed down, so I set myself a painting challenge..... 1 point for painting a model, 1 point for basing it, 2 points for a character or large model (such as a Terminator) 5 points for a vehicle.... At the start of each month I would look at my schedule and say "This month I am going to score 20 points...." or " This month I will score more than 30 points...". Gradually I found that the number of points I was scoring steadily increased month on month! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3081128 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razblood Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Got to 2000 points of White Armoured Marines and burnt out midway through the next 500 points :lol: I tried to just take a break but I could feel their accusing little gazes, chagrined at my weakness :P So I started painting the AOBR Warboss just as something different, It's a struggle getting past the burnout but I think I may just make it :( Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3083031 Share on other sites More sharing options...
warsmith Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I too am suffering from major painting burn out. I've not acutally finished a model in almsot 2 years, the last models I co,pleted were for a commission which I thoroughly enjoyed and yet have been unable to find the energy to paint since. I've half started many projects since and have been an active lurker on the forums, keeping a folder with inspiring pictures on my laptop and an ideas book with me for when inspiration strikes. Its been so bad for me that I have even sold off all my painted armies and trades/sold away significant parts of my unbuilt/in planning stages forces. I'm finding it completely and unbelievably hard to deal with if I'm completely honest. I'm 28 and for most of my childhood and adult life I have been severely bullied, leading to an extreme case of insecurity, depression and loss of self esteem. I've also recently become a father to two children. Due to my being bullied and self esteem issues paintng/hobby has always been extremely important to me as its been the only thing in my life whihc I know I can have complete control over and also know that whatever I am doing with it, be it a different to norm paint scheme or a detailed conversion, is correct and cannot be criticized in any way - this has been a major positive and boost in my life and something which has probably been much needed and extremely important. I am also finding that lack of support for the hobby from family members makes it much harder to find the motivation to work on anything (though I'm sure we've all had the ''but you are XX years old ans still playing toy soldiers!'' arguement before). In the past I used to paint to deadlines - I worked for GW for 3 years and had the time of my life and regret having been made redundant. Also a local club used to run a doubles tournament in the first few months of a new year, requiring 750-1000 points and a singles tournament towards the fall of the year (1500+). This always enabled me to have a goal to work towards and is something I dont have now as I have moved away. I'm trying to counter that now and work on a force for each system which I play (40k/WFB/LOTR) and am finding it an extreemly daunting prospect. I've always painted to the highest standard I can and also have converted my forces massively, something I still wish to do and I know its going to take me forever to get forces tabletop ready once again. I've started helping out with a local school club on a quasi-regualr basis but have had to put it on hold since my second child has been born but hope to get back to it again. I've decided to use the summer months to get myself into painting shape as it were. I plan to build a new workstation in my shed and get myself completely sorted enough to be able to leave a project out and be able to work on it whenever time allows, I also plan on sorting out a blog for my progress. I've begun with getting my LOTR force sorted and have been using the last few weeks to soource and trade the metal uruk hai models I need. Regards Dan Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3085859 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhg033 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 currenlty in kind of the oppsite situation - i really want to paint but just dont have the time at the moment. back on topic: my ways of dealing with burnout taking a break for a couple of weeks but maybe reading thngs like horus heresy/playing DoW or space marine for inspiration try something challenging and different - since excaping the clutches of 2nd edition chaos i've pretty much been a lifelong Dark angles player despite trying to dable with other armies. this lead to a very limited paiting palette so i would, and still do, paint other schemes/models that i'm less confortable doing. this is currently taking the shape of a 1500pts C:SM flesh tearer army (always had issues painting red and it ending up lighter than i like or pink) and some Orks (more green i know but its a different style f green and different to painting armour) working on terrain - less so these days as i dont have hte space to store it. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/253431-painting-burnout-and-how-to-deal-with-it/#findComment-3086222 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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