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2022 Monthly Painting Challenge - September


Shock & Awe

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Holy man alive, it's September already! 

That means we have four months left to soldier through before 2022 is done and dusted. Time flies when you are slaying grey plastic.

If you are new to the challenge and what to know the ins and outs - Everything you need to know for the Challenge is right HERE.

For all our regular contributors, make sure you've submitted your SS counts for the previous months in the Google Form. 

For our Masterclass topic: 

Inspiration

One of our regular contributors @OctaBit brought up a really great topic in August about tackling burnout, which many of us provided some great advice for. To be honest, I think that is something all of us have battled at one point or another. The question then is where do you go to to get reinspired to paint? 

This topic can be about either: 

1 - when you first build your mini and start thinking about how to paint it, do you have a process for determining how you'll approach it? What do you use for inspiration there?

2 - when you did hit the inevitable burn out, what things do you use to get reinspired to paint? 

This might be rehashing a lot of what many of you already said last month, so feel free to skip it, but I think it's a really worthwhile conversation because it's something every hobbiest battles at some point. 

Have a great month!

- Shock & Awe

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Including my submission for City Nights I managed 131 stones over August. For September I'll be looking to paint up the final elements of the Savage Keyword (Euripedes2+Kaltgeists) put the finishing touches to the last Bearly Together, hopefully get Hinamatsu painted to finish my neverborn Versatiles and then any other work will be dependant on some models I may be recieving. Probably going to involve starting Chimera or putting some work into the Lucius keywords though.

Something I have been meaning to ask though @Shock & Awe not sure if this is the case for anyone else but for a few months whenever I go to submit my stones I have been finding that the Username field on the form has been retitled to the "Shock & Awe" field 😅

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2 hours ago, TimH said:

Something I have been meaning to ask though @Shock & Awe not sure if this is the case for anyone else but for a few months whenever I go to submit my stones I have been finding that the Username field on the form has been retitled to the "Shock & Awe" field 😅

Stupid me, I thought that was Google recognizing my account and just ignored it! 
 

I fixed! So sorry about that! 

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Big month, this! Just got a tiny puppy, so any geekery will be taking a back seat for a while.. should be motivated to get back to it once I can, though!
After a summer off, I'll also be back to ramming English down students' throats for a living, so that'll eat into my time too (less spamming models I've painted far more quickly than expected, yay for everyone else!).  It may be a mulligan month...

On the plus side, I only have one mini left to paint, but he's (they're!) a big one,  so even if it takes ages I can get myself an early Malifaux Christmas present to celebrate finishing all my (Malifaux) toys once it's done...

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Demi reporting in after a hearthy mulligan in August...

I'm trying to finish up my August minis, so Bunraku 3 and Kunoichi 1. Due to autumn kicking in and thus, most of my work-life projects spring into overdrive (and weekendly overtime...) I most probably won't be able to finish much in autumn, so I might have to drop out of the challenge. #reallifesucks

Discussion part:

Starting from the back: 2. I am feeling a little burning out myself, despite the peaks of inspiration the forum brings me - the painting feels more like a chore now rather than something that makes me happy. It's hard to sit to it, however, after I started painting, it usually works itself and I'll get a boost to work on a model for a couple hours. Also, since I mostly use mixed paints from a limited palette I own, getting that shade I needed on the first try is always a huge emotional lift. :D

1. I am working on a schedule for my Pile of Shame, so what I am painting next is never a question (given half of said pile is owned by partner yours truly, who either has explicite ideas or just wants the box art to the T). When I am given a free hand, I am trying to sneak some sort of authenticity into my pieces: for the Wastrels, I went through a ton of Wild West pictures; for the Qi and Gong crew, I spent some time researching Japanese kimonos, kabuki theatre culture, textile patterns and their meanings, etc. I am trying to put effort into the self-built bases as well (like creating little Japanese toys scattered around Chiyo's base, which I think I did not publish just yet...). I demand near perfection from myself and I want each piece to be a standalone little "story" on the board. Once the mind-work is done, it just needs to be done! I usually build the figure and then paint it, however, I have recently started to partially assemble a figure and glue it on the go once the pieces obstructed by other pieces are already done. This way, all shadows are correctly cast.

Reading all this back, now I see why I am so damn slow with a pledge of 2 figures... :D

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When it comes to this months topic, I find both options relates to eachother so closely in my case, that I can't actually answer one without the other.

To work past burn-out I need inspiration and a project I WANT to paint. I find that keeping a sort of journal to track progression and get responses from my peers as well as seeing what others do is essential to get this inspiration. (I use THIS THREAD, Instagram and FB for this).

When I get into a slouch I set aside whatever I was working on to find that ONE project I WANT to paint. Once I got that model painted and hopefully get some positive responses I've "got the engine running", and it's far easier to do other projects that I might not be that eager to paint, but need for playing. (I don't necessarily need positive responses from others if I manage to impress myself, but I find that much harder) After a while I'll be back into a slouch and once again I need to look for inspiration to find the ONE project I WANT to paint. And so the wheel turns...

I usually use the "downtime" to actually play games, and I try to play painted (not quite there yet, but I'm getting closer). Having a grey plastic model among my painted ones do tend to give some motivation to painting it, even if I might cosider that particular model a chore to paint, but as long as it gets the engine running it doesn't matter.

(Jeez, I feel like an old teperamental car now...)

And lastly, I'm a competitive person, so competitions really get me going, even though I'm doomed for a Slouch after)

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When I feel that painting burnout is near I try to change waht I am doing - swap Malifaux minis to Marvel Crisis Protocol or to another setting, stop current project and just hang out for a few days, also playing Malifaux can help me to get some inspiration to paint, thats not something unique, but I hope it can be helpful :) 

Also painted first mini of september on this weekend - Intrepid Emissary, wanted to make it Monument-likelarge.68AFF712-CF6B-4752-9D20-C2D13E9D0F69.jpeg.b3b4bb44ca397a0baccaaa35abcb30ef.jpeglarge.896338DC-359F-4A68-8FD5-C50BFC1B1F44.jpeg.f976254264f69ad69ac7d50664a2f07c.jpeglarge.711F76D5-D210-4AEA-87D4-32157B4964FD.jpeg.b83e3d879f112dcc14652319d3cde535.jpeg  

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Hi,

i will paint Explorers titles if and when thewy become available, or start Frontier if they do not.

Motivation is so/so, always getting blocked before finishing bigger projects ;)

so have fun in Septembre, and try to remember the Soulstone Reporting Form :D

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Thanks for using the conversation as the monthly topic @Shock & Awe. It's a good thing to talk about and it's something that affects most of us at some point in our painting careers. For anyone who hasn't looked at last months topic TimH, Gheist, wobbly_goggy, and Kogan Style all had some really good advice, and it helped me get out of the painting slump I was in. Thanks folks!

 

As for this month, and the topic, they kind of go hand in hand for me. The thing that really inspires me is making progress in the hobby. Nothing feels better than setting a goal for yourself and then being able to achieve it. Recently I've started working on three projects in order to give myself some variety and to give myself specific goals to achieve. The main goal with all of the projects is to have something to improve upon, with clear goals so I can show myself that I'm making progress in the hobby. Back during the pandemic I took a couple months to just work on painting skin tones. After focusing on it I went from just doing a skin tone and a wash to really understanding a lot of the different facets of what makes painting skin work. Afterwards I was able to look at that progress and have a sense of accomplishment, that fueled my painting for awhile, and got me to experiment with other techniques. Unfortunately a few of these projects involve non-Wyrd models...

For the first project and for the Wyrd side of things, this month I'm working on my Qi and Gong keyword. I mentioned them earlier into the challenge as a crew I picked up to work on to practice my free hand. The other thing I want to work on is painting cloaks and dresses, especially shading in the folds. I've started working on one of the Geishas and was going to post a picture of it, however last night I was trying to give her some eyebrows and end up making them comically thick. So I'll hold off until she gets a waxing session.  

The second project involves sculpting. It's something that I've wanted to do for awhile and it's gotten me to look at planning projects in a different way. The idea is to take one of the mega-gargants from AoS and convert it to look like a tomb kings/egyptian mummified giant. I really want to go all out with the setup and make the model a mini-diorama. I've been trying to sketch out various ideas and really plan out everything before getting too deep into it. Also if anyone has any experience with sculpting I would really appreciate advice.

The third project is to work on another AoS army, my hedonites. Originally it was a covid project, but eventually got shelved for a number of reasons. The goal with this project is to practice and refine technique. I've planned out all the colors and techniques at this point so it's one less hurdle to tackle when picking up a model. The models however give me a lot of opportunity to practice painting skin, leather, and the textured shading I like to use for cloth. I'll post a few pic below, plus my Qi and Gong that are prepped and ready to go.

 

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Nearly halfway through the month already, and I haven't painted anything since first half of last month. Seems a bit ironic considering this months topic... 🤣

I'll have to do something about this...

To get some motivation I'm going to ask YOU people what YOU would like to see me paint from the following options:

  1. Insidious madness
  2. Coppelius
  3. Bandersnatch
  4. Widow weaver
  5. Daydream
  6. Lord Chompy bits
  7. Insomniac
  8. Serena Bowman

 

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Hi there this month I will FINALLY paint the 2 scavengers i've been meaning to paint since July 🤣

About the inspiration topic, for a while now I've been deciding on a style/theme/palette for the whole crew, and then i go for it, i find it easier to approach the next model of the same band then.  And also if i spend a lot of time thinking on a style that would suit every mini in the band, i end up hypeing myself to paint them.

To avoid burnout (or just bc that's how I am, don't know) most of the time i add a lot of variation in my projects, minis form diferent games, painting in different styles, bustst, dioramas..., the wyrd painting contests HELP A LOT with that.  Dropping everything and give 101% on a mini or diorama with a closed theme is fun!  And forces me to think of a cool idea and try new stuff.

Said that, sometimes the burnout is inevitable, in my case the rare occasions it came, was from having a lot of projects/ideas and zero time, and trying to find some time, but then not knowing where to start, bc i knew i would not have time to finish whatever I started.  What i did then was when i had a bit of time, use it to put some order on my hobby space, or clean it a bit.

 

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@Hawkoon I vote for either 6 or 8, both of them are intrigueing models with tiny details you can get lost in. :D

A public service question: how do modifications count (if they do at all)? I am preparing early for the next competition with a concept I actually have been cradling a while, and it requires some heavy modification of the figures. Do these count, or should it be eventually counted towards the month when they are actually painted?

I am almost done with my bunrakus, expect a picture soon when I'm released from the sweet caress of IRL work.

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1 hour ago, DemiMurgos said:

 

A public service question: how do modifications count (if they do at all)? I am preparing early for the next competition with a concept I actually have been cradling a while, and it requires some heavy modification of the figures. Do these count, or should it be eventually counted towards the month when they are actually painted?

As I understand it, things count the month you finish painting them. 

 

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@Hawkoon I vote for either Serena or the Bandersnatch - those are both in my backlog and I’d love to see what you do with them. 
 

@DemiMurgos if you are talking about just this monthly competition, you can feel free to mod it to your heart’s content - go nuts! 
but by the current rules, whatever the base model is determines your stone count, and the model only counts in whatever month YOU determine it to be “complete” 

are you asking if the modifications somehow count? Or just timing of when you can claim the stones for it? 

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15 hours ago, Shock & Awe said:

@Hawkoon I vote for either Serena or the Bandersnatch - those are both in my backlog and I’d love to see what you do with them. 
 

@DemiMurgos if you are talking about just this monthly competition, you can feel free to mod it to your heart’s content - go nuts! 
but by the current rules, whatever the base model is determines your stone count, and the model only counts in whatever month YOU determine it to be “complete” 

are you asking if the modifications somehow count? Or just timing of when you can claim the stones for it? 

Trying to mosey as many stones as possible to be completely honest. :D I'll exclude them until they can be revealed then.

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On 9/12/2022 at 11:23 AM, Hawkoon said:

Nearly halfway through the month already, and I haven't painted anything since first half of last month. Seems a bit ironic considering this months topic... 🤣

I'll have to do something about this...

To get some motivation I'm going to ask YOU people what YOU would like to see me paint from the following options:

  1. Insidious madness
  2. Coppelius
  3. Bandersnatch
  4. Widow weaver
  5. Daydream
  6. Lord Chompy bits
  7. Insomniac
  8. Serena Bowman

 

I Vote for 2 :D

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Great discussion topic this month! When it comes to choosing what I want to do with a mini before I start, I generally go with a common colour pallet for the models in that army/crew so that I have a similar theme running through. Honestly I have found the secret to avoiding burnout is to lower my standards 🙃. I enjoy playing malifaux as much as painting and would ideally spend my hobby time 50/50, and what I was finding (especially with playing games like 40k) was that I would spend a whole week painting a new unit, be excited to use it at my next game, and then it would get shot off the table before I had a chance to do anything with it. It's disheartening. I think defining a difference for myself between a table-ready finish and a mini where I've really tried to push the boat out, learn a new technique or do something special is important to keep momentum going and expectations in check.

So here is the start of a new project, ready for when the title box comes out later this month! Like most of the stuff I paint nowadays, I wanted to spend no more than 2-3 hours on each mini, so I'm working mainly using contrast paints with a single,simple highlight. The rest of the crew is built and primed, so we'll see where we get to this month!

large.20220914_223550.jpg.6331efef9e9eec044625f926a28f6e00.jpg

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