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shakey hand syndrome


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hi all, 

 

just after a bit of advice.....

 

I've recently got back into the hobby and i've been trying to get back to my old painting standard.  The problem is, I've developed a shakey hand!

 

I'm fine with the undercoat and washing....but I'm finding the detail really difficult.   I've tried the vices and pinning the mini onto a cork, but I can't seem to find a fix that works.

 

Does anyone else have a similar problem?  If so, how do you get around it?

 

Cheers!

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Pin the mini to a nice fat cork or an old paint pot (with poster tac, not pinning though....) it will feel better handling it that way. Get your elbows on a table and push your wrists together to paint detail. Thats how I do it anyway. :D And believe it or not, just practicing painting detail makes you better at it, as you start to find techniques that work despite any shakes etc that your hands make, you'll figure out a way naturally to aid yourself. As long as you get comfy and support your hands, you'll figure it out. Good luck dude. :)

I do better in the mornings.  By the end of he day the tremors are too bad to do any sort of staying betwen the lines.

 

I have my work table set kind of high.  This way my arms rest against the edge of the desktop just below my wrists.  I usually have the models pined to a wine cork and sometimes I hold the cork so that it is touching the desktop.  It also helps if my hands are touching each other.  Even if it is just my little finger on the brush hamd extended to touch my other hand or the cork, it helps me a lot.

 

But then there are days (and weeks) that I just can not paint at all.  It's just part of getting older.

I do better in the mornings.  By the end of he day the tremors are too bad to do any sort of staying betwen the lines.

 

I have my work table set kind of high.  This way my arms rest against the edge of the desktop just below my wrists.  I usually have the models pined to a wine cork and sometimes I hold the cork so that it is touching the desktop.  It also helps if my hands are touching each other.  Even if it is just my little finger on the brush hamd extended to touch my other hand or the cork, it helps me a lot.

 

But then there are days (and weeks) that I just can not paint at all.  It's just part of getting older.

I feel for ya.  I have similar issues with hand shaking myself.  I find using my pinky to steady helps alot.  Now to just get my failing vision a prop :(

thanks for the advice guys - it is appreciated! :)

 

I do suffer with high blood pressure which doesn't help.  In fact, that's the main reason I got back into it as i used to find it really relaxing and I needed to find a way to calm myself down!  So coffee, tea etc are rarities in my diet!

 

I'll give it a go supporting my hands & elbows to see if that works - cheers again!

This may be a little hard to envision, but this is what I do.  I hold the model in one hand, and the paint brush with the other obviously.  As I'm painting, the butt of my palms are pressed together to limit the shakes.

 

This is what I do. I make sure the insides of my wrists are touching.

 

Works for me regardless of sugar/caffeine intake.

I've actually started having the same problem, just recently started painting again, only difference is since a couple of months I have to take some medication which has a bit of a side effect that makes my hands shake.

 

To counter this I basically have my palms pressed together now, mini on a cork though I often take the entire mini in my hand if I only need to do some small detail and rest my wrists on the table aswell. Also make sure your posture is relaxed, I noticed being hunched over a table will add more stress after a while (and make my back hurt ofc), adjustable seat etc.

 

Other than that I guess its practise with it and also gaining the confidence to make that perfect swift swipe across the miniature

What a great topic!

If there's no caffiene in your diet and you're well-rested, I would recommend looking at other things to add or subtract. My hands get shaky depending on what I eat, i.e. if I have a meatless salad for lunch, I find myself with low blood sugar and a little shaky in the hours before dinner. A decent cheeseburger with its carbs and protein tends to solve that. But it has to be relatively complex carbs & protein, if I snack on something sugary like candy or dried fruit the shakes get worse. I also stay hydrated.

Also, when my hands are shaky I find that painting detail as quickly as possible helps to keep the lines straight. Sometimes being less careful makes it easier.

cheers guys.

 

Unfortunately, I won't have chance to put these ideas into practice until the weekend.  Luckily, My DA army is well and truely in the WIP stage.

 

I have 60 tatical marines to paint (along with the tanks, termies, ravenwing, dreadnoughts, characters etc!) and so far, only 20 or 30 are sprayed, based and washed ready for the detail.  As I'm still getting back in the saddle, I'll get the rest to the same point before I even start to look at the detail bits.

 

At least then I'll get used to having a brush in my hand again :)

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