How do you stay motivated

[mriverakc]

Recently, I have not been feeling like painting. I have painted begrudgingly. I have mountains of miniatures and feel like I am never going to finish. What do you do to keep yourself motivated?

[greenstuff_gav]

having several projects on the go (but not too many!) at once helps me, plus when picking a faction, include lotsa minis you like; before painting one of hte ones you want to, paint one or two ones you aren't so fond of

plus hide the Lead Mountain© away; i've got 2 drawers in my chest of drawers of Stuff To Do

i find having music on the go on one PC and a DVD on the other PC helps my motivation... several things going on at once helps me focus

[Peterdita]

few things that work for me:

1) Stop painting for a week.

2) Paint a mini totaly out of your norm. Fantasy or something.

3) do a speedpaint. Give yourself 2-5 hours or whatever and paint the mini in that time no matter what. I find this lets me relax and not be so self critical and have some fun.

4) try sculpting

5) build some terrain

[demonherald]

clean up....

get rid of all half finished unfinished unstarted projects.. sort and organise the collection and pick out pieces that really grab you as you go along.

clean the paints out and replace any needed .. same with brushes and all other equipment .. It's amazing how different it feels to sit at a desk that is cleaned of all older stuff with just the piece you want to do there...cleann mixing pallettes clean water pot new models and a new positioning of light etc.

other than that just chill out. There are more important things in life than painting take time out and enoy them.. I play with the little one and his star wars toys as well as just get out switch off and not look at anything mini related it comes eventually.....

[DangerousBeans]

I agree with GG, paint the ones you're not so keen on first. Save the goodies for "rewards".

I usually make a night/day of it. Stick on a DVD (I prefer brain fodder, like a sitcom) take breaks and set yourself a target. I once sat for two days filled with a cold, watched a series and a half of Frasier and painted an entire Hell Dorado company (and I'm still proud of them)! Best sick days ever! I don't advocate making yourself ill though.

Try to stick to paint schemes you enjoy painting and can accomplish well. All my cryx and infinity stuff is painted is purple, ivory and silver because for some reason I can paint these colours better than most, which means they look good, which makes me happy and paint more.

I also flat out refuse to use unpainted models, except in rare circumstances (like the Hordes FT). It's tempting sometimes to break but stick to it. You'll feel rewarded when you do get around to painting and kicking ass with it!

I used to never paint anything, but now I've got a fully painted 2500pts Cryx, everything for HD demons, everything for Infinity nomads and (nearly) everything for ressers and arcanists.

The irony here is of course that I'm procrastinating from painting right now! Hence the long reply. Right Bete, you're getting finished tonight if it kills me....

[Wombats]

Make it easy for yourself...

I have a tray of the Warhammer unit I'm painting at the moment sitting by the TV so while I'm watching a dialogue heavy show like The Wire I can crank through them.

And don't make it an obligation, paint what you feel like.

Painting up Raspy was brilliant, I'd still be slogging through 100 Sisters of Battle if I hadn't just gone and painted what I want.

[n0signal]

My advice is to paint whatever inspires you at the time. Often, if I'm having trouble motivating myself painting, it's because I'm really in the mood to paint something different but I'm just trying to continue on a model because I want it finished and out the way.

Case in point, I'm having trouble motivating myself at the moment to finish painting my Silurids because I'm finding them quite dull to paint. I really wanna start painting my new Leveticus Crew, but I can't because they're currently lost in the UK postal system along with their 30mm resin bases... so instead I'm trying to get these Silurids finished. My heart's not in it, it's taking twice as long as it should and I'm procrastinating more.

If however, my Leveticus stuff was here, I could probably paint one model in the scheme I have in mind, and then return to painting the Silurids with more vigour and enthusiasm. :loco:

[dgraz]

I don't think that there are too many of us without mountains of stuff to finish. Don't let that bug you. I have pretty limited time so I have to focus on only one or two game systems at a time (I only play one or two games a week) so I switch the systems every few months - when I switch the system, I switch to painting models for that system. As time goes by, my mind is coming up with things that might look cool on the stuff I'm not using so when I go back to them I'm all psyched to go.

It's kind of like Peterdita's suggesstion of painting something out of your norm.

[Jens]

I agree with Demonherald - a nice and tidy place when painting makes a real difference and good equipment too (and if you're careful with the brushes they'll last ages anyhow).

And as many others suggested - I really like painting different types of miniatures. For instance I love the HD and Infinity miniatures with all their tiny details - however it is really exhausting and I couldn't paint them in a row. After that something such as a Ron&Bones or Malifaux miniatures are a real treat and vice versa. And try to force you finish a miniature - usually the last 20% will make a huge difference in the overall visual apprearance for the good and it gives some satisfaction. I once painted a troop of 10 miniatures and I'd paint first all pants... all shirts etc. - it felt horrible even though it was likely faster since I wouldn't have to remix colors much.

Another thing that works wonders - invite some friends, have some good food and start painting. And it's the best way to persuade others to try out a new game such as Malifaux I recruited so to speak 3 players that way.

Edited January 16, 2010 by Jens

[lawrence]

I paint in front of my PC and normally watch something like Lost, Heroes, 24 etc...something with cliff hangers at the end of each episode.

I only allow myself to watch these while I paint - so normally I'm dying to get some painting done in order to find out what happens!

Works pretty well!

[nightgaunt98c]

I really don't enjoy paainting at all. I find it a neccessary evil associated with mini games. I have mini's that have gone unpainted for at least three years. Motivation is not my strong point, but I find it easier to paint with someone. Get with a friend and paint together.

[Greenlock]

I don't, honestly. I can't paint well unless I already am motivated. If I have to paint something I'll just speedpaint it up and feel terrible about it. Painting is just more fun if you feel like it.

[DeafNala]

Partly it's a matter of LOVE, partly bloody mindedness, & partly a lack of an adequate social life. :squint:

[DangerousBeans]

Partly it's a matter of LOVE, partly bloody mindedness, & partly a lack of an adequate social life. :squint:

Seconded. I usually look at my life getting in the way of my painting, not the other way around. It's probably a bad thing!

[Rathnard]

I enjoy painting - it's a relatively brainless and relaxing diversion from my work.

That said, what tends to help me get things *finished* is tournaments - a hard deadline that gives me something to aim towards.

Failing that, I've always been fond of the idea of challenging a similarly unmotivated friend to a paint-off, with each of you trying to get a given army finished over a period of time.

P.S. ******.

[HeaDHunTeRfs]

I always turn on the radio and see painting as something to relax (like waking with the dog) I also read something, or work on my RPG campaign when the paint is drying... This is why I'm such a freaking slow painter...

I really hate painting with a deadline (like a tournament) I usally have to finisch 10 models in the last week, and they always look like crap!

This is probably a bad technique when you're playing an Ork army, but the result stands!

[Massaen]

I switch up the painting - I have 2 40K armies for 2 seperate tournies on the go as well as my Resser crew on the go. I have also made a deal with myself that i can't buy any more Malifaux until all the current minis are painted... i have 9 out of 60 to go and i want teddy!!!

[Fool]

Partly it's a matter of LOVE, partly bloody mindedness, & partly a lack of an adequate social life. :squint:

Seconded. I usually look at my life getting in the way of my painting, not the other way around. It's probably a bad thing!

I am in both of these camps.

I stay motivated by painting different factions. I am almost done with the guild, but am painting Neverborn right now for a break.

[ork56]

Partly it's a matter of LOVE, partly bloody mindedness, & partly a lack of an adequate social life. :squint:

this is true - but people see an adequate social life in many ways; true I dont go to the pub every night(week) or football games, but I do see friends for gaming and online chat, its just a different choice

mind you the missus just came in and asked if the 'exile' wanted a cup of tea - wife, 2 kids and dog all in front room, I'm in the back painting.

back OT I keep switching around what I am painting to keep the interest up. eg, currently painting some Khador before painting some more Mali, or maybe my Confrontation Daikinee will be next. I will only know when I get there.

[Pipeline]

when im not motivated to paint, i sit down for 1 hour with a podcast and paint something

its a good amount of time to get something done without seeming like you spent a big chunk of your day

my biggest motivation at present is having gone to a few tournaments with unpainted models. playing blood bowl and malifaux is great because you dont have 100+ dudes to paint.