Painting and Me

[Schlitzaf]

So I’ve been in the hobby for years (over a decade now), and while I initially joined for gaming reasons. Nowadays during 6th-7th, I grew to love the conversion/building third of the hobby. With my creation recently of Pegasus Knights as Deathriders, being one of the more recent examples of that love in action. However as anyone whose look at my army in the BT Forum, my army painting....leaves much to be desired with significant portions of my Units only half finished or in Grey Men Zone. I just cannot bring myself to enjoy painting.

 

Sitting down and staring trying to do the fine details, and skin tone oh the skin tone. I cannot even muster the motivation to try. With converting it’s like a hunt to find the perfect piece and it’s awesome. Sometimes you even get a mediocre outcome so you have cut things apart and try again. Or leave as is to use for army filler. For models? Painting? Have the perfect model and one wrong sneeze everything ruined. Or perhaps you found a magic color with mixing then you forget. Even from the not lucky side of it, sitting their and doing a Model. It’s mind numbing boring for me. Sense I’ll get one hour in barely finish 4-5 models but have go back the next day because I missed something. While building something I might do only one model every hour maybe two, perhaps more if it’s gotten down to being an assembly line process.

 

I feel like I accomplished something, so my brothers (and sisters), distant cousins and estranged uncles and aunts, how can I solve my absolute despair/dislike of painting? Any hints, ideas I could use?

[Shockmaster]

I find listening to something engaging while painting helps me to keep going when I am lacking that motivation to paint, my current choice is podcasts of various kinds.

[Silas7]

I try to paint while sitting in the living room binge watching something on netflix with my sister.

[M@verik115]

Yeah I also just put on some youtube in the background while painting and it helps a lot. 
Also dont let perfection ruin it. Anyone who has seen my painting will know that I go for simplistic realism very similar to forgeworld. Its actually easier to paint than what GW advocates, believe it or not. No highlighting, no gradual tones etc. Just use more realistic colours, paint over blacks and metallics and weather. 
Its fast, looks great and its easy to do. 

As for flesh tones, they are actually easy. 
My method is as follows:

Prime black
Paint the first layer depending on the skin colour (the richest tanned or caucasian colour for white guys, dark brown for black guys or  a rich tan for indian.)
When it dries either wash it with nuln oil or earth shade, depending on if you want a dirty grimy look or a more pronounced, but cleaner shade. 
Then do a very fine highlight of a bright colour than you used as your base. Dont go overboard here. Very very fine.
No need to do eyes, mouths etc as this method accentuates it and it looks great even upon close inspection and on the board it looks brilliant.

[Kinstryfe]

For some people, they just never enjoy painting. Even people who love painting find it a slog now and then. Part of it is finding models and paints that you like, and that will help. I also agree that having something else going on like tv or music can help.

 

An example on finding the right models, back in school we had a guy in our gaming group who was a horrible horrible painter. He painted mostly Empire for whfb, and then some Brettonians. They were horrible. Then he tried some beastmen, and chaos warriors, and finally Chaos Marines. They were fabulous. It turns out that he was just horrid at painting humans, but was awesome at furs and armours.

 

Another thing to try with assembly, you may want to check for deals on stuff secondhand. I hate hate hate building tanks. I'll build Infantry all day every day, but vehicles I can't stand. I'm lucky to have a shop nearby with a thriving business in used models, which are usually cheaper and already assembled. My 6 Land Raiders were all bought preassembled, as were 5/6 drop pods and more Rhinos and Predators than I can count right now. May help a bit with your dislike of assembly.

[Schlitzaf]

For some people, they just never enjoy painting. Even people who love painting find it a slog now and then. Part of it is finding models and paints that you like, and that will help. I also agree that having something else going on like tv or music can help.

 

An example on finding the right models, back in school we had a guy in our gaming group who was a horrible horrible painter. He painted mostly Empire for whfb, and then some Brettonians. They were horrible. Then he tried some beastmen, and chaos warriors, and finally Chaos Marines. They were fabulous. It turns out that he was just horrid at painting humans, but was awesome at furs and armours.

 

Another thing to try with assembly, you may want to check for deals on stuff secondhand. I hate hate hate building tanks. I'll build Infantry all day every day, but vehicles I can't stand. I'm lucky to have a shop nearby with a thriving business in used models, which are usually cheaper and already assembled. My 6 Land Raiders were all bought preassembled, as were 5/6 drop pods and more Rhinos and Predators than I can count right now. May help a bit with your dislike of assembly.

I Love converting just wanted to be clear on that. Is half the hobby for me

[Wrath of Bruinen]

One thing you might find helpful is to set yourself a deadline. I find getting things painted for a tournament or other event is a huge motivator

[Warpmiss]

I think I am in the opposite situation to you. I started collecting models last year because I saw some I liked and I wanted to paint them. I barely play the actual game and while I want to that converting some stuff I dread that I will make a mess.

 

Even so, I don't really paint very often but when I do I have tons of fun. First I prepare which models and paints I am going to use and try to keep my table/painting station just for those things so I don't feel I am working in a cramped space. Second, prepare something you'd like to listen to while painting. That depends on my mood on the given day but I usually just open YouTube and listen to podcasts, people ranting about random stuff, or videos I have already watched but I know I'd find it funny to just listen to the audio.  

 

A deadline, like TheWeepingAngel suggested, is also a great idea, I painted more during the Call of Chaos challenge than the rest  of the year :P

[Fire Golem]

I'm in the same boat as you, and I'm only just admitting it to myself - I don't enjoy painting. I have very few painted models, I need to sort it out.

[Atrus]

How do you usually paint? Do you batch paint?

I cant stamd batch painting. Painting the same colour on 10 models over and over drives me insane and is the gast track to not wanting to paint. I find it easier to completely paint a single model at a time. Also listening to black library audiobooks.

[Major_Gilbear]

I wonder if your lack of interest in paint is down to a few things, with frustration being the main one. If you start something (anything) knowing that you aren't going to acheive the result you want (or a result that you're happy with), it is pretty difficult to willingly spend much time on it, and it's easy to get disheartened quickly and/or feel that time drags on.

 

In such cases, and with reference to painting specifically, I would suggest doing some tests/investigation work to find a suitable solution. Get some old models (cheap tat off eBay is ideal), and do some tests of different techniques to get a feel for something that you are comfortable attempting on your army as a whole. I'd suggest that aiming for something modest is probably key here, with very basic techniques and colour schemes being key. I'd also suggest that you consider painting models in sub-assemblies, and using coloured sprays and washes to get the bulk of the models done. Avoid drybrushing and edge highlighting, and try and choose models/parts that will help to avoid you getting bogged down painting them (so helmets rather than bare heads for example).

 

Since you're painting Black Templars, I'll use those as an example. They have a simple stark scheme of black and white. However, black and white are tricky to paint as they represent the extremes of your tonal range. In your case though, this can be used to your advantage, as they each can cut out at least one stage of painting for you. I'm also going to assume that you want to acheive a simple tabletop standard, and are happy to batch-paint at least handful of models at a time. Given this, I suggest something like the following:

 

Assemble your models, leaving off the shoulder pads and any other parts that are going to be all/mostly white. Leave the bases off for now, and put a pin in each model's foot so that you can hold it whilst painting and then attach it to the base later.

 

Spray the main parts of the models grey or dark grey.

 

- Apply a black wash all over, and let it dry.

 

- Pick out any metallic bits in a bright silver.

 

- Apply a second black wash all over (including the silver), and let it dry.

 

 

Spray the shoulder pads and tabards white.

 

- Brush gloss varnish onto the pads and tabards, and let it dry.

 

- Use a pale grey wash (Vallejo do something suitable here) all over the pads, and wipe the excess off with your finger or a clean damp rag whilst it's still wet. Let this dry.

 

- Use a sepia wash all over the tabards, and wipe the excess off with your finger or a clean damp rag whilst it's still wet. Let this dry.

 

Spray the weapons silver.

 

- Apply a wash that's a half-half mix of blue and black all over the weapons, and let it dry.

 

Apply a suitable texture to your bases (sand and glue, or a texture paste, or whatever).

 

- When dry, spray a suitable colour (brown or tan are good).

 

- Apply a brown wash (Army Painter Strong Tone is often ideal, and is cheap), and let this dry.

 

Finish assembling the models to completion. If you want, you can pick out any details in a single colour - like red for lenses and purity seals for example.

 

 

That will give you a simple and tabletop-ready paint job. It scales well (the more you spray in one go, the quicker overall progress is), and it can be done in a pretty mechanical way whilst watching some TV or listening to some music or an audiobook. Since the models are done in sub-assemblies, you generally don't even have to spend much time being neat, and you can use a big brush for almost everything. You may want to experiment with how many models you batch-paint at each stage too - for example, spraying is easy for 20-30 models, but you may want to drop down to applying washes to just 5-7 models at a time for the following stages.

 

What you will (hopefully) find is that the satisfaction of finishing models - even to an acceptable basic and usable standard - is actually very rewarding. So even if you don't really like painting, and you don't feel you are very good at it, breaking the process down into simple and easy-to-manage steps lets you get it done quickly, and the idea of getting stuff painted will seem like less of barrier. In fact, once you start finishing things reasonably fast, you may even start to change how you feel about painting and decide to spend a bit longer on additional details for the occasional miniature.

[totgeboren]

Follow painting guides on the web. GW does some rather good ones, but the one that really got me to enjoy painting was Sorastros painting series.

It really helps if you own or have access to any of the models he uses for his tutorials. A friend of mine got Descent 2ed, and I tried painting some of the heroes and monsters following Sorastros youtube videos.
My painting jumped up from.... average... to something I am often quite proud of. I spend waaay more time painting now that the results truly feel like they are worth the effort. :)

[Trevak Dal]

I listen to either Painkiller Already or Joe Rogan's podcast, sometimes I put on comedy on Pandora. I haven't painted in a while, but I too find it more fun to assemble and model stuff than to paint it.

[Zodd1888]

Biggest thing for me is expectations on painting. I know it's going to take me forever, and it'll look terrible. I'll then show my wife and she'll compliment me ln something that's been painted already.

 

I get my biggest boost from normies. Showing the average pleb a 1.25" high painted mini is crazy to them. They can't imagine the effort and patience, which helps me build those values internally.

[Shockmaster]

Something else that helped me be more motivated to paint is accepting that I am happy with my painting as is.

 

I used to get bogged down with the idea I was expected to keep learning new techniques and improving as a painter, which as someone who does not love painting meant that I would easily be put off the entire project the minute someone started telling me extra things I should do to my finished models.

 

Then one day I just decided that I was happy with my neat more simple table top standard painting and that I should stop worrying about improving, if I like my finished work then that is all that matters, don't feel you need to try matching some of the amazing painting you see online or in other peoples armies. 

Edited January 24, 2018 by Shockmaster

[Kinstryfe]

Some other random ideas I thought of, since you like the converting aspect (me too!).

 

Try setting yourself mini-goals to build up your army that you have to meet before you reward yourself with a more fun model. There's a reason I've seen dozens of marine armies with a painted Captain, Librarian, Chaplain, 5 Tactical Marines, and a bunch of undercoated other models.

 

Try a few different types of Batch Painting, and see if something appeals to you. I've done big batches for my Imperial Guard, and while I didn't enjoy it, it was effective and I got them to tabletop quality. If I'd been trying to paint 200 Guardsmen with Lasguns one by one, it never would have happened. Likewise on my Ultramarines, I've found that with about the same effort I can put into painting one terminator, I can paint 2-5 at the same time. So my 1st Company troops are pretty much being painted in pairs or more and it feels like as much effort as painting one off models. Maybe see if you can find a sweet spot that will let you paint more but feel the same.

 

Break up your painting now and then with one-off models to refine your skills. Painting really isn't so much a single skill as a wide collection of very specific skills you use in tandem. Ink washes behave differently than paint washes which act differently than glazes. The red-orange-yellow spectrum of pigments tends to behave differently than greens-blues-purples. Every now and then I paint something different just to practice with a color. I've been painting a lot of blue Ultras, so am slowly painting Blood Angels in different types of red, guardsmen in black, some primaris in purple, and some white and yellow marines for a friend, just to break up the monotony and keep my color theory fresh in my head.

 

Just some more ideas, but hopefully something in there that someone can use.

[Schlitzaf]

Just so you guys even if not responding, I am reading! Thanks for these ideas

[Firepower]

I'm sorry but there is terrible advice here.

 

Everything must be perfect.  Everything!  If you don't spend two hours trying to get a pupil on to that bear head, you're doing the hobby wrong.  You are required by all standards of decency to hate every model the moment you finish it, because you took a picture that blows it up to 2000% its actual size and can now see where the one edge highlight on the underside of your Neophyte's crotch guard is three molecules too wide.  Tanks must be painted entirely with a 000 brush because anything bigger will only make your mistakes bigger, too.  Actually, scratch that, mistakes build character.  And rage.  Rage helps you become a better painter.  If looking at your brushes doesn't fill you with ominous dread and cause blood to leak out of your ears, your standards are not high enough to call yourself a gamer.  

 

I follow these standards, and the lovely men in white coats have treated me splendidly.  I get to paint all I want in my padded cell now.  Of course the straight jacket makes it a bit hard, but if I bang my head against the wall enough I can smear enough snot around to draw a nurgling.  It's like violent finger painting with slightly more unhinged screaming.

 

Or, you could be a total loser, follow all the advice like setting reasonable goals, listening to something entertaining while you paint, and deciding on an achievable standard of quality, and actually have fun with your hobby.  Where's the fun in having fun?

 

Now if you'll excuse me, the voices have promised to reveal the One True Purple Recipe if I just chew my own nose off...

[Mileposter]

For setting expectations, something that really works for me is having what I call the 'sacrifice model'. The first model I work on in a project (read: army) is that sacrifice. Usually it's a troop model, some usually easily missed figure on the battlefield. Because - for me - while I have in mind the color schemes and edge techniques I want to use, the application of them may give me different ideas. I may not like how this shade comes out, or I may want to test this other technique now that I've seen how X thing dries. The same thing doesn't always come out the same way on all models.

 

So I accept that the first model is likely going to die. But, in return for that sacrifice, I know exactly how I'm going to get the bits to work on the rest of the army. Helps loads with confidence!

[NiceGuyAdi]

You are required by all standards of decency to hate every model the moment you finish it, because you took a picture that blows it up to 2000% its actual size

 

I can only assume you are in the cell next to mine. This is an attitude I’d love to shed both in my hobby and work life.

[Firepower]

 

You are required by all standards of decency to hate every model the moment you finish it, because you took a picture that blows it up to 2000% its actual size

I can only assume you are in the cell next to mine. This is an attitude I’d love to shed both in my hobby and work life.

 

 

Howdy neighbor!

 

Have you seen my nose?  I seem to have lost it...somehow...

[Dosjetka]

 Have you seen my nose?

I have it!

 

 

Schlitzaf: From your various topics and posts you seem like someone who enjoys playing Warhammer 40'000. Someone suggested setting yourself deadlines such as tournaments and I think that's your best bet. Find a tournament that you'd like to participate in and make sure every single one of your models is painted and based to a basic standard by then. Even if the standard isn't very high, you'll have a fully-painted army that you can be proud of! :tu:

[Claws and Effect]

I don't have much useful advice, except this: Have a dedicated brush for reds. For some reason red pigment will NOT come out of brushes.

[Major_Gilbear]

I don't have much useful advice, except this: Have a dedicated brush for reds. For some reason red pigment will NOT come out of brushes.

Use brush soap - it not only keeps your brushes in good condituon for longer, but also gets a remarkable amount of old paint out of even "clean" brushes. ;)

[Warpmiss]

I've been using AK Interactive's Paint Stripper to clean my brushes. That thing works like a charm with just a couple of drops for each brush (it has to be some kind of dark magic!!).

 

https://ak-interactive.com/product/ak186/