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I don't know why but I haven't painted in weeks, so far I've painted about 10 models total and I was really enjoying it but overnight all my passion disappeared. I have a half painted Ork Freebooter waiting to be finished but I just can't be bothered.

What do you guys do when you lose your passion? Does it ever come back? I spent a lot of money getting started on the hobby so I don't really want to give up completely.

Tell your self how awesome it will look when your done

Thats the only way I can do it

Just like writers block or any other kind of depression with some activity you do, there's only one way to overcome it.

By overcoming it.

Learn to just sit the feth down and paint, regardless of your interest in doing so.


The longer you put the painting off, the higher the pile of unfinished stuff will seem, the lower your chance of overcoming your block will be.



Get your act together and paint, don't complain.


Be a man!

It's just a phase man, I get it all the time due to my inherit lazyness.

I find that when I hit one of those walls (unfortunately all the time) that reading some good fluff or just forcing myself into it is usually more than enough. Also settings goals is always useful

Last I'm not sure this is the place to discuss this? Perhaps in general discussions or something similar will get more replys?

Yeah, totally posted in the wrong section, if a MOD could move the thread that would be great.

I only enjoy painting when I need a specific unit painted for a tourney.

Besides that I CBF.

One of the BIGGEST things that makes me lose interest in painting is having a messy workstation filled with boxes of new stuff. Clean up your station and pack away everything except your current project. Works wonders for me!

It comes and goes in waves for me. Unfortunately, those waves of enthusiasm don't always coincide with when I actually have time to do anything. So I can often have some time but feel totally apathetic; conversely, I can be busy yet have a hankering to do some hobbying.

That is a tough one. Unless you have a commission that needs doing, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Enthusiasm comes and goes. How about re-connecting with why you started painting in the first place? If you paint to play, play a few games. Do you have any models that you've always wanted to paint, but you just haven't had the time / money / resources? My advice, just this once, go spoil yourself and get that model.

When I feel painters malaise, I normally go and sculpt something, and vise versa when I get fed up of sculpting. Try a different discipline.

Reading new painting techniques really inspires me. Learning and applying colour theory really invigorated my drive to paint. There is a whole host of cool articles on this site and on coolmini. Get inspired by seeing other peoples inspiring work.

LilLoser

As it was said earlier in the thread I clear my desk of any unpainted minis and leave my painted ones up for inspiration and motivation. However, I am at a stale spot in my painting as well and thought I would look through the gallery here for some inspiration.

It all depends on the person. I find that if I take a break from it i enjoy painting later. I lost interest in painting my models for over a month. but then a friend asked if he could paint and I just could not stop after that! (Come to think of it, cant really say the last time I did anything difficult around the house.. )

When I lose motivation, I look at everything I have painted, post it on dakka and Deviant Art, and read all the positive feedback, then surf Dakka's p&m showcase threads and Blog threads for other's great works and that motivates me to become something better, I have come a long way, from a noob painter to an amateur of mediocre. And I couldn't of done it without Dakka to be honest, it provides alot more then some give it credit.

I only really paint when I need to for a tourney.

My solution; enter lots of tourneys, and force myself to paint more!

*edit*

And a huge factor I always forget, do something else whilst painting! Have some 'passive' music in the background, or half-watch a TV program.

Seriously, makes it much easier when it's not the sole focus.

I will be blunt with you.

I have created the a tiny paint station adjacent to the toilet (I always drop the lid....). I don't know what else to tell you. Sometimes you just get bored as hell of painting the same thing, other times its... just... youre sick and tired of it and theres better things to do in that same time... hence....when on the toilet...................... you might as well do something productive... just.... dont make a mess.

poda_t wrote:I will be blunt with you.

I have created the a tiny paint station adjacent to the toilet (I always drop the lid....). I don't know what else to tell you. Sometimes you just get bored as hell of painting the same thing, other times its... just... youre sick and tired of it and theres better things to do in that same time... hence....when on the toilet...................... you might as well do something productive... just.... dont make a mess.

Toilet paint station?

That is so very awesome and awful at the same time...
Part of me wants one... part of me thinks the wife would kill me. Also if I was single I don't think I could pull off explaining that.

Dakka? I love you guys.

Rabid Ferret wrote:

poda_t wrote:I will be blunt with you.

I have created the a tiny paint station adjacent to the toilet (I always drop the lid....). I don't know what else to tell you. Sometimes you just get bored as hell of painting the same thing, other times its... just... youre sick and tired of it and theres better things to do in that same time... hence....when on the toilet...................... you might as well do something productive... just.... dont make a mess.

Toilet paint station?

That is so very awesome and awful at the same time...
Part of me wants one... part of me thinks the wife would kill me. Also if I was single I don't think I could pull off explaining that.

Dakka? I love you guys.

I get a model done every morning

I find that when I force myself to paint and I don't want to, the result I get is not as good as it could be. When I don't feel like painting I don't paint, simple as that. It is a hobby anyway and you should be enjoying it. However when I don't feel like painting I'm usually doing other things hobby related. There are some things you can do that can make painting more enjoyable, like listening to music or some Black Library audio books.

I find you paint better when you really want to paint. Thus, I only paint when I really want to paint. It means that it'll take me forever to get anything done, but it also ensures that the things I paint look their best.

Tournies are also a decent motivator.

Tournies are a HUGE motivator...

I hardly ever paint anything. Sometimes you are completely motivated and feel like painting everything all day long, and sometimes you just don't. It happens. The motivation will return, don't worry too much about it.
When I lose motivation to paint but still want to get something done eventually I simply don't paint for a while but play games instead or look at pictures of beautifully finished models. That brings the inspiration and motivation back really quickly.

Lots of good advice here. What works for me.

1) Background stimulation. I've got a bit of ADD (diagnosed) so having a familiar DVD on in the background helps me focus on painting.

2) Organized paint station. I have a tray that I paint from in the living room. It only has the paints and models I am currently using on it.

3) Gaming discipline. This is harder to do when it seems like everyone has bare plastic on the table, but I refuse to put an unpainted model down, so just thinking of how cool it would be to play a new unit is often enough to get me painting.

4) Speed painting methods. This is not for everyone, but for me I've settled into a nice method using spray colored primers and brush dip to quickly paint models up to a standard that I like without spending a ton of time on them.

5) Online Kudos. A bit attention-seeking perhaps, but it works for me. Posting something online and getting just a couple words of encouragement can be a great motivator. It's even better when you can also post to a local site and get feedback from your gaming buddies.

6) Mix up your gaming life. I play several games with my gaming group, so it keeps me changing what I'm painting. One week it might be a warband for Song Of Blades and Heroes, the next, a unit of Sci-fi troopers, then some spaceships, etc, etc...

Good luck, hopefully you'll be painting again soon.

Playing games helps. After a tournament, game night, or event
I'm usually pretty charged up to sit down and get to work.

Usually I just put the models down for a few days and don't paint and eventually the painting bug comes back to me and I start again. Playing games helps as I actually get to see models on the table doing what they should be doing. I also find that forcing myself to paint leads to unhappy results as I just want to be finished and don't take the time to hit the details.

Take a break, play some games then have at it again.

I try to keep motivated by only painting a bit at a time. I'll paint for 15 minutes then look around on the internet for a while then paint again.

That way when I'm looking at a unit that needs painted I don't feel like I have to sit there for hours on end painting away. It make take a while to get i done but it doesn't feel like such a chore either.

poda_t wrote:

Rabid Ferret wrote:

poda_t wrote:I will be blunt with you.

I have created the a tiny paint station adjacent to the toilet (I always drop the lid....). I don't know what else to tell you. Sometimes you just get bored as hell of painting the same thing, other times its... just... youre sick and tired of it and theres better things to do in that same time... hence....when on the toilet...................... you might as well do something productive... just.... dont make a mess.

Toilet paint station?

That is so very awesome and awful at the same time...
Part of me wants one... part of me thinks the wife would kill me. Also if I was single I don't think I could pull off explaining that.

Dakka? I love you guys.

I get a model done every morning

Well, it usually take me about an hour or two to paint a basic table top model..... Maybe some more fiber in your diet??


I find when I get the 'painting blues' and I do often because I am a fickle person. I just paint something different or model something or convert something or destroy something in a fit of brilliance.....What where we talking about again? GW sucks....alright im back on board =o]

tuathal1 wrote:As it was said earlier in the thread I clear my desk of any unpainted minis and leave my painted ones up for inspiration and motivation.

I agree with what Tuathal says here. If I can see many unpainted models, I can get overwhelmed and not want to do anything.

I only put out one model at a time, unless I'm feeling motivated to speed paint a small squad of 5-10 at a time.

When you lose the urge to paint, maybe put it away for a few days and play a video game or something else with your hobby time. Sometimes, you just need a break.

Also, when I play games and have unpainted miniatures, I get the drive to start painting again so that I have more painted up the next game.

The biggest thing that I find when I start having a 'painting block' is to change it up.

You'd be amazed how much more motivated you can be if you just take a break from painting one particular kind of thing and do something totally off the wall.

Having varied projects on the go helps. I can flit between making organic Tyranids, painting organic Tyranids, making Mad Max Orks and painting Mad Max Orks. There's usually one of the above that appeals to me, though to be fair I tend to sculpt faster than I paint and the box of unfinished paint jobs tends to fill and overflow...

I've had that happen a couple of times, but usually after a long stretch of painting, like prepping for a tournament. I've gone as long as 3 months without picking up a brush after a tournament.

I'd switch units for characters, try a vehicle maybe. Maybe paint something different.

I also find that browsing P&M blogs, finished products, C'MON, etc also helps get the creativity flowing.

I dont understand how one cannot love painting. Just watching it all come together and then seeing the finished product is enough for me