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listening to music or watching a film. the film depends on what you are painting so when I paint tyranids i watch alien films. or for orks I watch films with orcs in.

Mr Nobody wrote: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.

haha, nice. Do you watch the History Channels volume of the third reich when you paint ultramarines??? Blue dictating bitches!

Hah. Other way round with me, I have to get motivated to not paint!

The easiest way for me to get motivated to paint is with a deadline within sight. I get most of my best and most productive painting done while under some sort of deadline.

I wake up an hour or two before my wife, go to my home office (ok... game room), turn on a tv series on netflix, then go to it. It's a really pleasant way to start the day and it motivates me to wake up extra early. Maybe it's because of my ADD or methodology, but I don't have any trouble watching TV and painting at the same time.

I paint in my room. The only thing I do is that I limit my painting days to avoid boredom setting in. So I paint on saturdays,sundays and wednesdays. I tend to watch films, rather I listen to them as background noise although I tend to get wrapped up in the painting and 'blank' out the sound also. What gets me painting is when I've been pondering a new colour scheme and when my brain works out the fine detail I paint.Also if I find a range of figures that inspire me, such as the Ion Era range by Alternative Armies in Scotland; their figures are magic! Don't know how old you are but I'm 45! At my age computer games are not enough to feed my imagination, I only get that from reading,painting and music.

First: eat. If you get hungry...you'll get sidetracked. Next: get something to drink...with caffeine. Third, well lighted area with little traffic. Fourth: Get all supplies: Water for brushes, paints, paper towel, etc. Finally, sit down and get to it. Music optional.

When we bought our new house, my wife "allowed" for me to convert one of the spare bedrooms into a mancave, (games/hobby room), so that she will not have to look at the mess of GW stuff everywhere.
After supper (and quality time spent with my wife), most nights, I will retire to said mancave, beer in hand and switch on the TV for background noise.
I then consult my GW to do list, (make a to do list with a priority of work to it). If I am feeling exceptionally unispired that day, I leave it alone,( or chip away at my WIP gametable). Better to do nothing than to do it half-heartedly.
If my work area is too cluttered or messy I will tidy it up.
I find it easier to focus on a project if my paints are all lined up in order and I have a clean space to work.

Oh god, I could NOT paint as a destressing tool. I have so many thousand ideas for painting and modeling I usually never get around to painting them. But a nice little fold out desk from walmart, some music in the background(has to be a very variety filled list with everything from killswitch to Jack Johnson to Tupac to marvin gaye. Allows me to change tempos and paces etc. Also, a clean room I have generally turns into a wreck once I start painting because I ravage drawers in search of various pieces I placed in this and that box.

some people have so many mini's (looking at all of you!!) that it can be disheartening and you go and do something else. If this is the case, put them in a box under the bed (or similar) out of site. Pick something to complete and dont go back to the box. Once done. you're aloud to go to the big box of mini's and pick something new. Its like Xmas all over again.

Lots of ideas I would like to try. In particular, the walmart foldout desk in particular.

I find that chewing tobacco/cigarettes make painting more meditative but thats not good. Well, the mouth/lung cancer.

Definitely a chill out thing for me, a great way to switch off. Monday nights I paint at the FLGS. Two of the dudes there are commission painters so I can pick up plenty of tips. Otherwise, its when I have an hour and want to switch off for a while. Parked in front of the fish tank in the back room so the fish can watch me paint.

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?
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I make sure i bring my own paint cup and napkins. i also make sure i bring paper to cover the tables with. i'm very paranoid about people thinking i will make a mess or be disruptive.

Mancave FTW! These days I retreat to the basement when the wife's gone to bed or not around. Turn on some sports for background and put my nose to the grindstone.

My painting table used to be in the computer room, which was all kinds of bad. When the internet and all its many wonders are one little push across the room in a wheely office chair, not much gets done

Yep, that used to be me too hungryp, now I also work in my basement. I have some pretty cool terrain since projects in the works since the switch...

OoieGoie wrote:some people have so many mini's (looking at all of you!!) that it can be disheartening and you go and do something else. If this is the case, put them in a box under the bed (or similar) out of site. Pick something to complete and dont go back to the box. Once done. you're aloud to go to the big box of mini's and pick something new. Its like Xmas all over again.

I wish I had a bunch of unpainted minis just lying around everywhere....but thats not the case with me. Not having everything I want is a main driver for me to keep painting what I have. I think when you first get a new model or minis you have never assembled before, it rejuvenates your interest. Besides, I am way to lazy to buy a bunch of things and then try to assemble them (removing flash/mold lines, glueing, deciding on base materials), that would suck the life right out of me! I prefer buying a few things a month, and then focusing on 1 sqd or vehicle at a time.