I paint every mini like it's my last!

[lloydKeymaster 17736xp 5]

I paint every mini like it’s my last! – I don’t think I have a that will do rightly mode,  think this is why I’m painting the same army 4 years later lol

What about you lot, do you paint each mini to your highest standard or do you go a more get them on the table FAST route?

Oh and that highest standard keeps changing thus taking even longer lol.

[sundancer 42985xp 0]

Usually I keep batch-painting to a tabletop standard to get things on the table but special models (aka characters or things I have some deeper connection to) get a little more love.

I probably be better at it but I lack patience and I know if something takes too long I loose interest and then things start to drag… as is evident with all my open projects here on OTT XD

[danlee 22443xp 0]

It varies from project to project. For the Adeptus Mechanics force I did at the 40k weekend I picked a quick contrast paint paint scheme so I could complete the force in two days. For my Kingdom Death Monster I knew there would be relatively few boutique models, so I went with more detailed layering. Occasionally I like to throw in a one-off model and try out a new technique or push an existing technique further.

[blinky465 17028xp 0]

I still struggle to get my minis out at a reasonable rate. But I’ve found that painting three or four at a time helps. And contrast paint. But not just slap it on and call it done – I still do all the edge highlighting and faces (faces are important for me). But having three or four on the go means that when there are little niggling things on the undersides of arms and under the feet(?!) etc. instead of spending hours and hours perfecting one mini, I put it down and move on to the next.

All this means is by the time I get around to the first mini again, I’ve forgotten what I needed to “touch up” or what I wanted to add to it, so just focus on getting the important stuff done.

[flatbattery 8265xp 0]

I mostly paint one at a time as batch painting drives me nuts. I start going for my best, but often descend into cutting corners towards the end as I get impatient. I’m slowly getting better at staying on target so maybe a return to batch painting for cannon fodder may get a look in soon.

 

[orlandothetechnicolouredParticipant 4380xp 0]

I paint slowly, and try and do my best for all of them (unless I really don’t like it, then it’s faster)

If I don’t like the end result it makes painting drudgery no matter how much faster It is

[scribbs 14509xp 0]

I’m somewhere between the two extremes. I don’t have a fast and dirty, get it ready asap for the table mode. Mainly because rushing the painting feels like it is missing the point, but partly because I haven’t developed an effective painting style for that type of turnaround.

I tend to try and be as good as I can manage, but will shrug off small mistakes without going back to correct them. I don’t want to take forever painting each model, so I settle at a level of imperfection that I can live with.

[caledor2 4273xp 1]

Well this is an interesting question.

Sometimes I have projects that I want to do faster, to a tabletop standard but when I start painting I mostly go back to trying the best I can with the result that it takes a lot longer.

The only solution to this is to do basecoats and a wash and then stop with the mind set of returning later to finish them off.

With the result of not finishing them or falling back in trying to do the best I can.

[onlyonepinman 18062xp 1]

At the start of the year I decide that I was going to set a target to paint the entirety of the Star Saga kickstarter pledge which amounts to around 132 miniatures in total – a not insignificant amount.  It was pretty obvious that painting each one of those like it was going into some kind of tournament really wasn’t the answer.  So I split the models into two types, characters and minions.  Minions are being speed painted using contrast paints, drybrushing and finished with brown washes (or in the case of some particularly bright, gribbly aliens purple wash).  The character models, bad and good guys, while not likely to be winning any competitions any time soon, are being painted with more care and attention because they’re the focal points.

If I were to paint a full army of something I would take exactly the same approach.  I would work out a presentable method for speed painting a basic colour scheme for minions and then do an advanced scheme with the same colour palette for characters

You need to look at what you’re painting and why you’re painting it. If you’re painting an army, is it so you can play with it or is it so you can win a painting competition (i.e. Armies on Parade)? Then you have to make a decision of quality vs speed/time, you will always sacrifice one for the other so you have to find the compromise that gets you the results you need. For armies, if you want to get them to the table, you will want to shift towards speed and so you have to probably have to accept a drop quality.

[ced1106Participant 6224xp 1]

Keep painting a mini until I realize that if I mess with it further, I’ll cause a major screw-up. 😛

I look at painting as one never-ending queue. ): At the same time, every time I paint a miniature, I know I’m getting better when painting the *next* miniature.

BTW, I’m even at the point where, if I don’t back a KS (eg. Zombicide), I’ve already put the unbought retail base game at the end of my queue, even I will only buy it at a deep discount on sale. I mean, what’s the difference between putting a set of miniatures you’ll never paint at the end of your paint queue, and not buying them in the first place?

Don’t even get me started on the closetful of boardgames that I’ve bought and haven’t played yet, either… 😀

[conceptwho 899xp 1]

I’m the same. I’m always looking to improve and better my skills. Plus I’m a perfectionist but occasionally I do just make a sacrifice and call it done which is what I’ve been doing in my latest project ‘Start with the end in mind’

[blinky465 17028xp 1]

@scribbs – what is your secret? Can you show us the way to this nirvana of enlightenment? 😉

[sundancer 42985xp 0]

what is your secret? Can you show us the way to this nirvana of enlightenment? ?

 

I’m pretty sure it’s drugs! Must be! If not he should do a patreon and teach it! 😉

[scribbs 14509xp 1]

Ha ha, that me laugh. But I suppose I can share a few thoughts about how I approach my hobby that help with reaching a level of contentment.

Firstly, I paint in small bursts, sessions of 30 mins to an hour, but regularly (almost daily). This has built a mindset of having a target to achieve when I sit down to paint, and practice has made me very aware of what I can achieve in a given timeframe. Looking at what’s on my desk as an example, I’ve got a dozen 18mm Napoleonic Highlanders. Yesterday’s aim was to add the yellow lines to the kilts and highlight the facings. Todays will be to highlight anything white. By trying to finish something within a narrowish window of time, it encourages walking away when you’ve got to a point that is ‘acceptable’. Conversely, I don’t try to cram too much into the time I have. I’m not going to paint 20 models in an hour, so I don’t try.

I’m always looking at the bigger picture of what I want to achieve. If I want a finished army by a certain point, it’s unlikely to happen if I lavish each model with all my attention. Again, it helps to encourage a mindset of putting a model down when it’s acceptable in order to reach the ultimate goal.

I enjoy painting, and I use it as a way to relax and destress. If I find I’m getting frustrated by trying to finish something to a standard that is a struggle, I’ve missed the point of why I picked up a paint brush. That’s not to say I won’t challenge myself by trying to improve, but I’m accepting of my failure to paint a perfect model.

[horus500 11505xp 0]

I don’t have the time or the willpower to spend that much time on a mini. They get 2 hours if they have GW level detail, most historicals get 45 minutes. I never strip old models and never repaint. I will touch up damaged mini but that is it.

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