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Hi guys!

Over the years I've been in the hobby, 12+ years, I haven't actually gotten alot of stuff done.

Lately, I've gotten more done in the last 2 months than I have in the last year or so.

On the various forums I've frequented over the years I've seen quite alot of calls for "how do you stay motivated to paint/model"-threads.

So, I thought I'd share a few tips with you. Now, these are alle quite subjective, as to what works for me, but I thought that if everybody tried to pitch in, we might actually be able to do a good, all-covered article about this.

Firstly, as I'm quite a believer in the fact that everyones situation is a bit different, I thought I'd tell you a bit about me. (this may, or may not be important as to why this has worked for me, depending on what school of thought you belong to).

I'm 27 (soon 28) years old, and I live in a small town, in a 3 room+kitchen apartment, with my girlfriend, 2 cats and some fish.

I've studied economics, cnc programming and operation, been in the military, and studied to become a teacher for the last 3.5 years (I'm on a hiatus for a year untill I do my last year), and I'm currently working with homeless and addicts at a shelter.
Hence, I've become fairly good at the whole "motivation and what motivates" bit. I also have a rather full life, so I know it's sometimes hard to fit hobby work in, without angering the significant other.

Firstly, try to avoid having your hobby take time from your girl. I cannot stress this enugh, you want her to be understanding about it, and want you to take the time to chill with your models.
I did this by explaining how painting and modeling gives me peace of mind (which I need for my chaotic work), and helps me relaxe, just as she likes getting a good massage, going to aerobics or chilling out in the sauna afterwards.

Don't expect to be able to sit 5 hours in one go/day or week. This will usually lead to (for me, other people can take more, but it's individual) painters/modellers burnout.
It's a scientificly proved FACT that the average person, can keep his or her focus for about 40 minutes. for me, it takes about 10 minutes to get into it, and 10 minutes to clean up/put things away, so I aim for 1 hour sessions.
Why sit longer when you churn out your best work the first hour? isn't it better to use that hour, every other day than to force yourself down to produce mediocre work 5-6 hours straight, once a week?

I looked over what I did during a day, besides work, and found that I spend a worrying amount of time either in front of the computer, surfing, or on the couch, watching the telly. (we're talking 4-5 hours a day here.maybe 3.5 or 4 of those by the tv..)
This was worrying, as I usually only follow 2 tv shows (basicly 2 hours/week). I tried to cut of one hour of that time each day, for hobbywork.

Usually, we cooked dinner, watched it and sat down by the telly, now I help my GF clean up, do the dishes, and go paint/model for an hour or so whilst she watches one of her shows, takes a bath, a walk or whatever.
Sitting in front of the telly is rarely what I'd call quality time anyway, especially if it's just watching rubbish to pass time.

In my beginning hobby years, I tended to buy WAY more than I had time to paint. This lead to me spending alot of money on the hobby, and the fact that I'm about to sell of an entire 1.5k tyranid army, whose models haven't even left their boxes.
I hope to get about half of what I spent on these back. basicly, this is a major waste of money.
Now, I've decided to paint up what I have, and if I don't want to paint it, sell it, before I buy any new models.
This has lead to two major things, one, is that my hobby expenses have gone down, alot... And secondly, I find it easier to keep motivated, if you actually see your "to do"-pile grow smaller for every bit I paint.

This leads me to another thing. We have cats. After finding one of my guardsmen in the cat-litter chewed up badly, I came to the conclusion that cats can jump, and shelves aren't safe. So, I made a display shelf covered by glass in one of my Ikea bookshelves in our work room (I plan to build another in the adjoining shelf). Besides keeping my miniatures safe, it had an unexpected bonus. Not only did I see my "to do"- pile lessening, I also see my army growing, everytime I walk into our study.

Our lovely cats have also lead to another unexpected benefit. I can't leave my projects on my desk. This means, that I had to find a way of getting started quickly, and putting things away without too much fuss. (paint stations are great for this, just put it on the top shelf when done, and voila). This also meant that I didn't get guilt tripped by my latest project everytime I entered the study, removing the "I must paint so I can clean up this mess"-feelings. It also lead to my GF not having nervous breakdowns due to me littering the entire apartment with half-finished projects and paint pots. Organization is another big thing here. I have 9 plastic boxes in the shelf (with lids, they hold about 10-15litres each), one with spray bottles, one with tools (airbrush, saw, files, drills etc), one with building materials (plasticard, wire, cork etc) and one with bitz for each of the armies I'm keeping. (who am I kidding... it's Orks and gobbos for fantasy, then theres IG parts that will be salvaged for my orks, Eldar bits to be salvaged by my orks, marine parts that will be salvaged by my orks, and one with some of the nids I'll be selling). Everything witin easy access. I keep the paints I don't use too often, along with some brushes in my mega paint set case (the old one), the paints I usually use and the brushes on my paint station.

Painting (to me) and the hobby at large is about relaxation, not a chore. keep it easily accesable if you have some time to spare, or feel a sudden urge, you shouldn't have to spend half the time you have by getting your stuff together. just take out your paint station, do that highlight, then simply lift it back. THAT's how easy it should be, and how I keep motivated.

So, what are your thoughts on this? how do you keep motivated/active in the hobby??

//Calle

Well i stay motivated by imagining the looks on peoples faces when i show them my new models . Oh and by thinking that im expanding my army with every model

I !ALWAYS! get motivated when I read some old white dwarf articles about my army (IG at the moment) with a nice cup of -insert favourite drink here-.

My motivation is drawn from a few places...the first being the idea that im constantly expanding my army, the next is the fact that I like doing something where I ultimately have something to show for the time ive invested....I dont get that satisfaction from video games. finally, I work at a bank and hate listening to whiny, complaining clients all day bitch about nickels and dimes, I then leave that nightmare and go to college, then I get home and play with my 4 yr old who is full of energy, by the time evening rolls around, I just want a little me time. I find painting to be a very relaxing thing and I need that in my life...so its something I look foward to all day