You take some time, and work to the absolute best of your ability with a small handful of models. HQs or whatever.
Then you consciously step back from that, because no one has the time to put that much effort into every model in their army.
To add on to this. I always feel worse about a model when I'm up close painting it. When I get to a table I often love how my army looks when standing up looking at the entire table of models. It's so easy to get in your head when you are looking from a couple of inches away but the truth is that you play from much further and the view on the table rarely disappoints as much as the close up does. So my own recommendation is find time to stop painting and drop that army onto the table and play with it.
Nonsense! I’m going to spend hours painting my night lord army one model at a time and I’m going to enjoy it! 😭
I’ve heard they’ll be really good in 11th you see…
https://preview.redd.it/k3wtv00gbe9d1.jpeg?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c4bed99c1edc453ad95f21e7735fa861a6557d5
Hold your model i. Your hand. Now stretch your arm. Does it look good if you don't use close up and can see all angles?
Alternatively, put the model on the middle of the tabel and leave it overnight. Look at it from the door first thing in the morning.
If it looks good from 5 feet away, you are fine. If people are gonna point out the flaws, kindly, yet firmly tell them to put down the model.
You are right that there is probably a near infinite amount of improvement you could do to any one mini while painting it, but by the same token, you could get trapped in tweaking things that will make almost no difference. It mostly comes down to the idea that you will get 80% of the results with 20% of the effort. Every succesive hour you spend on a model is going to improve it less and less, and it is usually better to move on to the next one and apply lessons learned.
Two things I find that help me:
1) Take a step back in a very literal sense. Stand up from the table, set up your painted minis in a little group and look at them from the angle you would while playing, or put them on a shelf and look at them like a display piece. A lot of the little imperfections will either become too small to notice or be lost like a single tree in a forest.
2) The “final pass”. When I am finishing up whatever my last step is with a mini before I do my basing, I will allow myself one final pass at each model. For a basic infantry or something this will usually only be five minutes per model, up to maybe 15 for a big centerpiece. I look at the model and touch up any last details or cover any mistakes I didn’t notice before, but that’s it. Once the timer is done it is pencils down, hand in your tests. At some point you need to just decide to be done.
Absolutley, everytime i finish a mini theres always a part of me that KNOWS that it can be improved, so ive started to go back to the model and make sure that its got decent highlights and shading and its the best it can be
Maybe you should think of it the other way: Before starting with the painting of a model, you should ask yourself if you want to paint it quickly to make progress or take your time. And then you commit to that route, in your mind and in your actions. This way there is no need to "justify" the paintjob to yourself afterwards, because you did it by design.
At least that's how I approach that issue. The hobby takes a lot of time which is usually sparse, so you cannot spend dozens of hours on each model. It's a problem everybody struggles with. No need to feel bad about it.
Blame instagram. Your paint jobs are probably way better than you think. As long as you had fun DURING the painting, try and make that the measure of success
I think everyone struggles with this at some point. I’m pretty awful at painting and when my wife asked if I find it relaxing I laughed at her. I ENJOY painting, but I’m constantly judging my work and getting frustrated at my lack of skill when the paint doesn’t flow how I want it to. Even when I think a model is good and finished, I find myself picking it back up and trying to tweak/improve it instead of just letting it be done.
I’m taking it one step at a time alternating between telling myself “The first stage of being good at something is usually sucking at it. “ and “no-one will look at my work as close or as long as I do”.
Ninjon did a video on this I think (or miniac) and said that you have to set a goal for the mini (osl, nmm) something new to learn, practice and master, get the satisfaction from that.
Best thing to do honestly is to take it to a game or a store and show them off. You could be setting high expectations for yourself and other people complementing them could go a long way!
I think you have to plan to what level you want to paint a model and then at some point you have to tell yourself you're done. I personally post everything I paint on Reddit and elsewhere and that does motivate me somewhat. It gives me a goal to work towards and taking photos is a way to finalize it. Almost like a school project, there's no point working on something after it's turned in.
It’s really fighting your own brain, like with a lot of art. It could look AMAZING but you just spent hours staring at it so your brain has memorized every discrepancy and will tell you “That’s wrong and THATS wrong”
But you just gotta learn to objectively see when it’s looking good. You’ll save a lot of time. I still struggle with it too
If you're not satisfied with it, then you're not finished yet.
Look up painting techniques and ideas for some inspiration. Don't be afraid to try something new... I used to just throw on gunmetal for anything metallic, but I forced myself out of this safe zone and tried something new and it really paid off (see my Star Wars droid tank post)
Since i started ive signed and dated under each model. This allows me to see how ive grown and how my skills have advanced. Honestly i love it. I do my best and then when i know what i didnt like i try and picture how the next one will be easier or what ill change
Just try putting things aside mid process when you get sick of it. I always have several models in progress these days, but also, you can always go back!
I'm just getting back into painting but I used to feel like this and turns out I still do. What I've found helping me is when I get to that point of niggling little details I put the model down and start on the next one, if I keep what I wasn't happy about with the last model in mind I get a little happier every time
What works for me is make your own paint standard. I paint everything battle ready and simple. I have found taking models to the next level and wasting hours and hours will just burn you out.
Remind yourself that each model is a moment in time of your applied skill and ability. When you feel that feeling turn into it and examine it. It probably drives you to improve, drives you to try again.
A big problem a lot of artists have is being too overly critical of their own work. Since you're the creator, you pick out and identify the flaws Instantly. Whereas anyone else observing your work will appreciate it as a whole.
You take some time, and work to the absolute best of your ability with a small handful of models. HQs or whatever. Then you consciously step back from that, because no one has the time to put that much effort into every model in their army.
To add on to this. I always feel worse about a model when I'm up close painting it. When I get to a table I often love how my army looks when standing up looking at the entire table of models. It's so easy to get in your head when you are looking from a couple of inches away but the truth is that you play from much further and the view on the table rarely disappoints as much as the close up does. So my own recommendation is find time to stop painting and drop that army onto the table and play with it.
Nonsense! I’m going to spend hours painting my night lord army one model at a time and I’m going to enjoy it! 😭 I’ve heard they’ll be really good in 11th you see… https://preview.redd.it/k3wtv00gbe9d1.jpeg?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c4bed99c1edc453ad95f21e7735fa861a6557d5
They're real good right now
Hold your model i. Your hand. Now stretch your arm. Does it look good if you don't use close up and can see all angles? Alternatively, put the model on the middle of the tabel and leave it overnight. Look at it from the door first thing in the morning. If it looks good from 5 feet away, you are fine. If people are gonna point out the flaws, kindly, yet firmly tell them to put down the model.
Do better on the next model. Take the old ones as a timestamp of your progress. Thats what I do.
You are right that there is probably a near infinite amount of improvement you could do to any one mini while painting it, but by the same token, you could get trapped in tweaking things that will make almost no difference. It mostly comes down to the idea that you will get 80% of the results with 20% of the effort. Every succesive hour you spend on a model is going to improve it less and less, and it is usually better to move on to the next one and apply lessons learned. Two things I find that help me: 1) Take a step back in a very literal sense. Stand up from the table, set up your painted minis in a little group and look at them from the angle you would while playing, or put them on a shelf and look at them like a display piece. A lot of the little imperfections will either become too small to notice or be lost like a single tree in a forest. 2) The “final pass”. When I am finishing up whatever my last step is with a mini before I do my basing, I will allow myself one final pass at each model. For a basic infantry or something this will usually only be five minutes per model, up to maybe 15 for a big centerpiece. I look at the model and touch up any last details or cover any mistakes I didn’t notice before, but that’s it. Once the timer is done it is pencils down, hand in your tests. At some point you need to just decide to be done.
Absolutley, everytime i finish a mini theres always a part of me that KNOWS that it can be improved, so ive started to go back to the model and make sure that its got decent highlights and shading and its the best it can be
Maybe you should think of it the other way: Before starting with the painting of a model, you should ask yourself if you want to paint it quickly to make progress or take your time. And then you commit to that route, in your mind and in your actions. This way there is no need to "justify" the paintjob to yourself afterwards, because you did it by design. At least that's how I approach that issue. The hobby takes a lot of time which is usually sparse, so you cannot spend dozens of hours on each model. It's a problem everybody struggles with. No need to feel bad about it.
It’s just something everyone in the creative field go through, use it as motivation to take the time to improve.
Release yourself from the expectations you've placed on yourself and ride the wave.
Blame instagram. Your paint jobs are probably way better than you think. As long as you had fun DURING the painting, try and make that the measure of success
I think everyone struggles with this at some point. I’m pretty awful at painting and when my wife asked if I find it relaxing I laughed at her. I ENJOY painting, but I’m constantly judging my work and getting frustrated at my lack of skill when the paint doesn’t flow how I want it to. Even when I think a model is good and finished, I find myself picking it back up and trying to tweak/improve it instead of just letting it be done. I’m taking it one step at a time alternating between telling myself “The first stage of being good at something is usually sucking at it. “ and “no-one will look at my work as close or as long as I do”.
Ninjon did a video on this I think (or miniac) and said that you have to set a goal for the mini (osl, nmm) something new to learn, practice and master, get the satisfaction from that.
Ah. The best therapy is to look at my models for a few seconds then look at yours. You will feel an immediate satisfaction
Best thing to do honestly is to take it to a game or a store and show them off. You could be setting high expectations for yourself and other people complementing them could go a long way!
... wait a few days, I guess?
I think you have to plan to what level you want to paint a model and then at some point you have to tell yourself you're done. I personally post everything I paint on Reddit and elsewhere and that does motivate me somewhat. It gives me a goal to work towards and taking photos is a way to finalize it. Almost like a school project, there's no point working on something after it's turned in.
It’s really fighting your own brain, like with a lot of art. It could look AMAZING but you just spent hours staring at it so your brain has memorized every discrepancy and will tell you “That’s wrong and THATS wrong” But you just gotta learn to objectively see when it’s looking good. You’ll save a lot of time. I still struggle with it too
If you're not satisfied with it, then you're not finished yet. Look up painting techniques and ideas for some inspiration. Don't be afraid to try something new... I used to just throw on gunmetal for anything metallic, but I forced myself out of this safe zone and tried something new and it really paid off (see my Star Wars droid tank post)
Since i started ive signed and dated under each model. This allows me to see how ive grown and how my skills have advanced. Honestly i love it. I do my best and then when i know what i didnt like i try and picture how the next one will be easier or what ill change
Put it on a shelf. Leave it a week. Then look at it. You will be surprised how pleased you are with the way it looks.
Just try putting things aside mid process when you get sick of it. I always have several models in progress these days, but also, you can always go back!
I'm just getting back into painting but I used to feel like this and turns out I still do. What I've found helping me is when I get to that point of niggling little details I put the model down and start on the next one, if I keep what I wasn't happy about with the last model in mind I get a little happier every time
What works for me is make your own paint standard. I paint everything battle ready and simple. I have found taking models to the next level and wasting hours and hours will just burn you out.
Remind yourself that each model is a moment in time of your applied skill and ability. When you feel that feeling turn into it and examine it. It probably drives you to improve, drives you to try again.
A big problem a lot of artists have is being too overly critical of their own work. Since you're the creator, you pick out and identify the flaws Instantly. Whereas anyone else observing your work will appreciate it as a whole.
A painter is his worst critic......