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So lately, between college, gym, and home life, I have not been able to find the patience or time to paint. I think though, that this has to do with the environment I am in. Usually when I get some freetime, I look at my models, then I look at my 360 and play it. If I go anywhere else in the house, I am still distracted by the fact that I have something that I can get quicker satisfaction from. I get a lot of satisfaction when I finish a model by flocking it. Oh do I love that. But I just have the hardest time doing it at home.

What pre-painting rituals do you do? Where do you go to paint? What do you put on in the backround when you paint?

Ivan

I just paint at my desk in my bedroom. But I make sure everything I could conceivably need is just an arm's reach away. Cause I know if I stand up to get / look for something chances are I'm not gonna sit back down =p I also listen to music to put me in the mood. And I avoid looking at my codices because what starts as looking for painting references inevitably turns into list building =p

First, I put on the military channel. Then I pour myself a glass of whiskey or vodka and get to it.

I paint at Starbucks or a coffee shop. I adore painting, and it is easier for me to paint away from home. It is relaxing to me. I also put on my shows at night after my son is asleep and paint in front of the TV.

loranafaeriequeen wrote:I paint at Starbucks or a coffee shop. I adore painting, and it is easier for me to paint away from home. It is relaxing to me. I also put on my shows at night after my son is asleep and paint in front of the TV.

Don't you get weird looks though?

By far the best way for me to to "get in the mood" is to take a bag of bits that need painting along to my local GW, usually on days im at uni.

If i am home however it takes me a bit more motivation to paint, normally having everything on the desk ready helps. I then stick on my playlist called "Favs" with shuffle enabled and get to work.

Note: Music can be replaced by sound coming from a movie playing in the background.

Don't you get weird looks though?
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Weird, a little. More people are interested and ask a lot of questions. The most curious population group seems to be older women, ages 50 and above. They are fascinated by it. I'm 32 years old and married myself, so it's just another odd hobby like knitting. I feel a little more comfortable there than in a gaming shop most of the time simply because in the gaming shop I'm surrounded by 14 year old boys playing Naruto.

I look at the models painted in the codex, and then paint to a little mozart.

I just get in from work make my self a coffee and start painting. Painting is how i de stress after work so Its always something I look forward to. I always do at least an hour when i get in more if the mood takes me and i have nothing else planned.

Sometimes i get bit bored when i am doing lots of the same unit so i break it up with some assembling other minatures.

That said i dont like the assembling part of the hobby so while my painting is done in the quite at my desk i do the assembling downstares in lounge the were there are more people around.

Step one: plug in MP# player
Step two: paint
Step three: profit

Music is definitely key for a successful painting-session.

I only paint at home and often late at night. At those hours I can no longer play guitar and Xbox Live gets practically unplayable (laggy and spongy americans, damn you ), so there's not much else to do but paint.

In the study, with some music, on my paint station.

//Calle

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/324930.page

I put on my music, find a unit or model i like then get to work, simple

Like Coyotebreaks, painting is my winding down/de-stressing activity after work... My wife works weekday evenings, so as soon as I put my daughter to bed I break out the paints etc and get a couple hours in (in peace!)... Plus since it's really the only chance I get to paint, it serves as motivation too... As does the finished model!

Background sounds - Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music!

Yeah motivation always helps when painting models

For me it is hardest part to just get started. So it is easiest for me to just force myself paint. After I've started I don't want to stop until I've reached headache.

And it is always nice to make a good plan of what you are going to do before you start working. So you won't get frustrated at your workbench and end up just thinking "what am I going to do next." So find the state of mind and think about your plans and goals in your mind or draw even some sketches. And after you have a clear image of your plans then start working! That is how you reach the goal.

To Xenon;

That sounds like a paragraph i a hobby bible, make a hobby bible.

Simple. When I have Uni work to do, I suddenly find my self doing a lot of painting!

I usually put on some music and just go for it, but i find myself better notivated by the following circumstances:

Away from home (school, coffe shop, your workplace or some fairly busy place, the weird looks are totally worth the progress you make, naturally youll be stamped "NERD" forever after if you choose the wrong spot)
When listening to certain music (epic music helps, like Rhapsody of Fire)
After just finishing an episode of some tv show/anime and letting it loop on the computer (stuff like "Lucky Star" or House" works especially well for some reason)
Turning on a movie youve seen a thousand times and just listening to it (just dont be lured into watching the film by the epic moments, a certain "you shall not pass" the other day completely deactivated my paintbrush progress for the rest of the movie)
Paint with a friend (depends on friend and his mood too, naturally. Me and a pal tried to paint some stuff the other day, but instead we wound up immersing ourselves in fighting games)
Get some ulterior motive for painting (im painting as if my life depended on it right now, caus im GONNA win a certain competition)

I have a myriad of hobbies, so I flit from one to the other like a fickle butterfly. Right now I'm heavily back into 40k, both minis and terrain. A few weeks ago I was back into video gaming, playing a lot of Xbox and SNES games. Before that I put weeks into re-organising my comic book collection. Before that I went about filling the gaps and organising my Transformers.

It's cyclical; it means once the appeal starts wearing off from one thing, I jump heavily into the other like I've missed it all this time, and I get back in with some zeal. Once it becomes a chore I fire up the Saturn for a bit of SFIII and that becomes my obsession for a few weeks.

See that new computer game that just came out? Dont buy it.
See that new comic? Dont buy it.
See that TV show thats on at the moment? Turn it off.

Turn on some music (tv can be bad, its a distraction) and paint baby, PAINT!!

If you do play a game or something, only do it for an hour. I keep a clock near me. Very handy.

Edit: For music, I like Internet radio. Always something new to listen too.

I just painted at Mcdonald's a while ago.

Well, all I ever did in college was draw and paint because I was an art student so I can paint anytime, anywhere as log as I'm comfortable. Usually though, I always need someone to talk to while painting, because if I think of what I'm doing too hard I mes things up, and having a conversation with someone just puts me in the right amount of concentration needed.

my friendly local gamesworkshop of course (only 7km away (not sarcasm))

I think im just the opposite of you. I also have a job, family, college, and gym. When I get home, I look at my PS3 and it encourages me to paint instead. I love painting, so my motivation is always there....I typically think about it all day . When I paint, I am usually listening to my ipod or my stereo, or I will put a movie in, one ive seen many times before, so im not distracted by it, I just listen to it as I paint. I think these typs of things while you paint calm your nerves. I just paint at my desk, nowhere special really...then again...I dont get distracted when im painting, usually I get distracted when im not painting (because im thinking about painting!). The only time I have trouble focusing is when I go on vacation or havent had the chance to paint in 4 or 5 days....then my focus isnt there and I have to force it, after about an hour im back into the swing of things though.

you might think about getting some of your friends together who play and you can paint with them. Or go down to your local GW store...you wont have any problems getting motivated there. If the 360 is such a distraction, do your painting somewhere that the 360 isnt (in another room or outside of your house if its that much of a distraction)

best of luck!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
finally, when i paint, I dont listen to buttrock, metal, anything hardcore. Same goes with the movies, Im not sitting there watching action or war films....I listen to classical music like motzart or vivaldi, maybe some various indie, moby, led zeppelin III, Hendrix, or something that maybe reminds of the game and sounds mystical (i know that sounds cheesy). I usually like watching comedies or drama...the Big Lebowski, Blow, Shawshank Redemption, stuff like that

I get distracted when painting home ALOT. Here let me make a list:

-parents asking questions
-cats at best fighting in my room and at worst eating my miniatures
-friends calling
-tv sounds

not alot eh? Well they happen very often
and I get distracted easily. Not that I hate them but I dont like them while painting at home (dont get me wrong).

Element206 wrote:I think im just the opposite of you. I also have a job, family, college, and gym. When I get home, I look at my PS3 and it encourages me to paint instead. I love painting, so my motivation is always there....I typically think about it all day . When I paint, I am usually listening to my ipod or my stereo, or I will put a movie in, one ive seen many times before, so im not distracted by it, I just listen to it as I paint. I think these typs of things while you paint calm your nerves. I just paint at my desk, nowhere special really...then again...I dont get distracted when im painting, usually I get distracted when im not painting (because im thinking about painting!). The only time I have trouble focusing is when I go on vacation or havent had the chance to paint in 4 or 5 days....then my focus isnt there and I have to force it, after about an hour im back into the swing of things though.

you might think about getting some of your friends together who play and you can paint with them. Or go down to your local GW store...you wont have any problems getting motivated there. If the 360 is such a distraction, do your painting somewhere that the 360 isnt (in another room or outside of your house if its that much of a distraction)

best of luck!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
finally, when i paint, I dont listen to buttrock, metal, anything hardcore. Same goes with the movies, Im not sitting there watching action or war films....I listen to classical music like motzart or vivaldi, maybe some various indie, moby, led zeppelin III, Hendrix, or something that maybe reminds of the game and sounds mystical (i know that sounds cheesy). I usually like watching comedies or drama...the Big Lebowski, Blow, Shawshank Redemption, stuff like that

lol... high 5 to that... except that i don't have a family (by that i mean wife and kids) and a job... but i do think about painting heaps!! and i mean HEAPS

i guess sometimes i do get really lazy and just not paint... but i find that looking a great pictures of models (ie really really REALLY good models) really gets me fired up cause i'll just end up going "wow!!!... that looks like some real cool painting scheme/technique or any modelling thingy" that'll just get me all fired up wanting to try it out... =)

I paint in front of the TV, watching a show on predatory animals while I paint my Tyranids. If I paint Eldar I watch a show on ancient civilizations.

I got myself a nice 8ft solid pine kitchen top, gave it legs and put it in my spare room, got my computer in there, shelving around, full music system, and all things inspirational to me, be they paintings, statues, etc.

Ill put on my favourite chillout music or something like dragons den on the computer, along side that i CONSTANTLY keep blog sites up looking at other peoples work, either looking for new techniques or ideas or assisting with my own experience, it keeps the creative blood flowing!

I honestly only paint when I really have to which means I have absolutly no models to build, am unable to do any conversions I have planned or have written all the fluff/background story I can think of. You can tell how much I love painting I think the only time I really like to paint is when I've gotten a new model that I have never painted before.

When I do paint it's on my drafting table which convieniantly can be adjusted to lay flat.

loranafaeriequeen wrote:Don't you get weird looks though?
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Weird, a little. More people are interested and ask a lot of questions. The most curious population group seems to be older women, ages 50 and above. They are fascinated by it. I'm 32 years old and married myself, so it's just another odd hobby like knitting. I feel a little more comfortable there than in a gaming shop most of the time simply because in the gaming shop I'm surrounded by 14 year old boys playing Naruto.

That's an interesting idea. I draw a lot when I'm out, and it certainly does make it a lot easier to focus. It's also way more interesting and productive than pretending to read a news paper like other people. I have thought about doing with painting too, but it always seemed too inconvenient... What do you do about mixing colours and washing your brushes and stuff?