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Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is the place for this (if that is the case may the mods be gentle), but I'm currently wondering am I at a point where I should consider hiring a commission painter.

Like my current situation is that since transitioning from a broke college student to someone with somewhat decent pay (low level IT drone), I'm finding that I don't have the time or energy to get down to painting and when I do it generally leads to me driving myself up the wall as I have a very set ideal for my painting and if it's not met the work is basically treated as trash. However getting stuff the way I want it is a huge source of pride for me, with (to my level) a well painted model or group being a nice achievement.

But I'm finding now without the structure and stress of college, the painting side of the hobby has lost much of it's therapeutic effect for me and is often now just a huge source of stress and becomes almost a ritual of self deprecation.

And as I've a little more cash to spare I tend to impulse buy things for 40/30K as the lore has delighted me since I was 6 or 7 years old. So as a result of this I have a growing pile of shame resin & plastic that I keep adding to under some delusion that the next purchase will be the one I'll have a breakthrough with and get painted all the way.

So with all of this in mind I'm thinking the only way to get through it is to start getting stuff painted instead of buying when the impulse grabs me, however this then feeds back into the whole shame thing and I don't know if I'd be happy with the end results even if they were amazing as I didn't do it.

Sorry for the rant and my gakky rambling sentence structure.

Please help me think around this.

I know the feeling and trust me you have no idea how big a pile of shame I have as it spreads over multiple systems/terrain/projects.

I start painting out of necessity for gaming and then stop and start another project out of inspiration and stop and move on to another. Result I have like 12-15 on-going projects and I don't know what to do anymore.

Trying to discipline myself so tonight, big cleanup. I grab one project and I am not touching anything else until it is finished (even the parts that suck to do). If it means I miss a tournament. feth it. I am finishing it and moving on to the next because right now it is ridiculous. I need structure to get traction and get moving.

I suggest something similar. Start small and move on from there.

Do as I do.

I do the majority of my stuff myself. More often than not, I'm not that happy with my work, from time to time I create something that I like, even on the next day.
But without doing that, I'd never improve. The improvement itself is VERY satisfactory if you take an old model and compare it with your newer works.
Expensive or downright complicated models I do send out to a commission studio since painting a Knight would tax my patience too far.

Do a lil' commission for something. Like the 4 Assassins from the Execution force. They don't break the look of your army and you can find pretty easily if you like it without wasting much money and/or models.

 Thairne wrote:
Do as I do.

I do the majority of my stuff myself. More often than not, I'm not that happy with my work, from time to time I create something that I like, even on the next day.
But without doing that, I'd never improve. The improvement itself is VERY satisfactory if you take an old model and compare it with your newer works.
Expensive or downright complicated models I do send out to a commission studio since painting a Knight would tax my patience too far.

Do a lil' commission for something. Like the 4 Assassins from the Execution force. They don't break the look of your army and you can find pretty easily if you like it without wasting much money and/or models.

This is pretty accurate to my experience, but I actually tend to get really engaged by character models and tanks and spend a good while on them, while the troops are just me wanting to be elsewhere.

However I will say, me trying to freehand stripes for things that are too curved for proper masking is something that's stalled me for a good while. :C

If you've got the money to spare and fair amount of unpainted troops, you could always look into getting them commission painted.If you want the army but don't have time it's a nice solution.

I get this way about the infantry. Best way I have found around it is to primer-basecoat-major details-blackwash the infantry. Major details, as in helmet and shoulderpads/weapon(That's it, don't overdo it). Simple, table ready minis. If I want to paint them more in the future, I can, and if I dont I dont have to think about them anymore.

I recommend multitasking. For the most part painting can be done whilst learning something or reading thanks to youtube.

I always paint with an interesting audiobook playing or learning things via youtube videos. I've 'read' dozens of books this way, and it makes me feel a little less guilty about the many hours time spent working on plastic models...

Also, if there are any Warhammer-themed youtube channels you enjoy, I find these particularly motivating as you're seeing the awesome hobby results a bit of painting effort can yield!

Like what DoomMouse said, do some multitasking. Painting is usually the time I 'watch' videos - even though my eyeballs are not looking at the screen most of the time. Unless it's a film that I really really want to watch, then I figure its acceptable loss.

Further, I'd advise working on multiple projects at once. It may seem chaotic, it may even slow progress in the short haul, but I find taking a break between projects to be refreshing. Though, I would have to say, that sometimes pushing yourself with a hobby is necessary - just not all the time.

As far as the pile of shame goes, I bet mine is bigger. Though, I imagine at one time or another, many in the hobby amass such a surplus.

Hopefully you may overlook the religious association of what I'm about to say, but there's a book in the bible that seems to hit things spot on:

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

I'll add this in context with the thread - for grins:

A time to collect models,
and a time to glue them,
A time to wonder what to paint,
and a time to paint them regardless.
A time to enjoy projects,
and a time to grind through them.

If you are considering going the commission painter route might I recommend listening to this episode of The Independent Characters.

http://theindependentcharacters.com/blog/?p=3405

I too have had a "pile of shame" and have used some commission paint work to get out from under it. (at least partially).

I have been very happy with the results.

Hi all,

Thanks for all the great advice, I think I'm going down the route of some getting some commission work done on a side project to see how it goes and in the meantime I'm gonna try get a shadowsword done while blasting through Bojack Horseman on netflix.

Wish me luck!

I'm a little surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet.

Step 1: Stop buying models. They will be there when you finish what you have. There is a time and a place, it is not at the bottom of your pile of shame. You can make a reward system to encourage yourself if you can't avoid the plastic crack. Paint 3 units (boxes of models), buy 1.

Step 2: Airbrush or colored base coats, washes, details, and fine details. Set a minimum for your models. 3 coats of paint per color. You can always come back and add detail later. However, I find that if you base, wash, and detail a model it is usually more than sufficient. When I say base wash detail lets use metal as an example. Base leadbelcher, wash nuln oil, detail chainmail or drybrush necron compound. That will cover 80%+ of your metal needs.

Step 3: Buy some GW painting guides if they cover the army or color scheme you like. The new paint guides are great and easy to follow for new painters. Sometimes seeing it done first and mimicking the technique is the best way to go.

Step 4: Practice.

Step 5: And I am dealing with this now. Sell off what you don't need/will never get to. Us multi-army players can be honest....there is one army that you could do without. For me, its my old fantasy lizardmen. The only reason I'm hanging on to them is because I know when my son comes of age and I ask him what army he likes he will say the one that I sold for chump change. Then I will buy back and rebuild what I have already built at a greater cost and more time. Still pretty far-fetched tho

Meh just do what you feel is right. If you don't want to paint don't paint. Your work is only going tol suffer. Then there will be this one magical day you do get to paint and want to and it will feel awesome. Basically don't force it.

Some other good tips in here. Also I am not the kind of guy who can multi task. I have to do one thing to perfection over and over. If I try and watch a movie and learn or paint and learn it goes bad. I end up focusing on one or the other.

Then again I am a focused individual in life with a lot of discipline. My backlog consists of only my Tau Commander, one box of Firewarriors (old cast) and one box of Pathfinders. Which will be done in time for next year's big order along with the DW models I'm ordering in. I can paint about 750 dollars (cad) per year give or take. Try find out the amount you can paint and then stick to it. Also if you have a backlog just work on one thing. Have discipline not to buy stuff on impulse. I buy my loads of 40k in bulk and get large deals and work through the year. People think I'm crazy when I get home with all the boxes and money spent, but when I don't spend anything else for an entire year barring the occasional game or movie it really shows. The downside of this? I am very inflexible painting wise. If some new model comes out I don't buy it. My Orruk and Beasclaw raider army I was planning might have to wait to be started until 2018. Since 2017 is going to be another big FW Tau (for me) year and possibly if GW releases any models for us since it will be going on two years by the end of 2017.

Also in case you haven't noticed I have a plan and stick to it.

Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless, like water. ~ Bruce Lee.

I actually have sat down since and worked out a trello.com list of things to do/ a general inventory so I can now try get everything manageable.

However in the same time period I have lost my painting room - which is kinda a good thing cos I'm now going to have to set up time and space to work on a single thing without a load of other things giving me the eye.

I just activate my super-asian mode and batch-paint a bunch of models at once at the expense of my health.

then I totally forget why I did it and buy a bunch of discount models and the process starts all over again.

 MechaEmperor7000 wrote:
I just activate my super-asian mode and batch-paint a bunch of models at once at the expense of my health.

then I totally forget why I did it and buy a bunch of discount models and the process starts all over again.

That's nice at least, irish-mode just allows you to feel an inordinate amount of guilt about things. That and a huge buff to begrudgery.

I am not sure if this will help?
I start by painting minatures basic colours , as neat as I can.Just to get them some table time.(I do not play with grey plastic on principal.)

Then when I have my force painted for gaming.I play some games, and any unit that does well in a game gets a bit more time on my painting table .

I sort of reward units good in game performance with a bit more time and effort painting them.

This works for me, but it may not be a solution for everyone.
(I am not good at painting by any stretch of the imagination, but the more you paint the better you get.Start by focusing on being as neat as you can, then go from there.)

I have a big shame pile as I buy a lot of stuff. I recently had the (in)famous saying of "Hey everyone, I am starting a new army!", for the millionth time.

My pile is huge, and try to sell off stuff. I am a bit of a hoarder though, so I can justify keeping certain stuff for myself.

I find the painting really less boring when you paint with a friend. A friend regularly comes to my house (as me having a dedicated Mancave) and we paint miniatures for an evening. He paints his Eldar, I whatever army I started, and it really helps as you support each other.

Ofourse a fast painting Technique helps for solo-painting sessions. With the Washes, painting is faster than ever. Great results in a fraction of the time.

What works for me: I only buy new models when I almost finished the previous ones I bought. So every 1-2 weeks I have new painted models hitting the tabletop, and I buy a new box at the same time.
That's the only way for me not to feel overwhelmed. If a particular project starts to be boring (too many dudes that look almost the same), I can just finish the squad I'm working on and move to something else. That helps a lot, because I'm never stuck with a bunch of models I don't really want to paint.

I used to have a pile of gray shame (a small one by most standards, but one that would still discourage me). I sold everything (was pretty tough), and started fresh with my new resolution. So far I managed to stay on track (boxed games are kind of a problem though, they have too many models for me to handle easily). It's really refreshing to buy something new most weekends, and know it will be on the table fully painted very quickly.

Kanban your hobby life.

Have a giant pile of sprues? Not allowed to buy until you get one painted and "done".

Also, I find participation in tourneys and events that require painting tends to "inspire" me to paint more.

If you aren't familiar with what the above poster means by "Kanban your hobby life."

Check here:

http://theindependentcharacters.com/blog/?p=3392