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I find that I shake regularly when trying to paint, and was wondering what tips you guys may have to help so that my eyes don't turn out splodges and can actually try painting some details for once. I have tried keeping elbows tucked into my body which someone once advised but doesn't work that much. I have tried eating before I paint, kept hydrated, tried relaxing to music and none of those seem to do the trick. Any help appreciated.

Try sucking on a sweet while painting.

If I ever start to get the shakes I sniff some more blow.

JK

I actually put my hand on the model using my palm and brush with my thumb and first finger. It helps.

try to rest your arms on the desk or table and put your wrists together.

what also might help is to use a "tool" to hold your mini, like a wine bottle cork or even a "helping hands"

Where is your paintbrush hand? I paint with the bottom side (pinky and side of hand) resting on the table to help isolate my hand from my arm's movements, as do the same with the hand holding the model...past that I'm not sure what else one could do.

Most people have problems with shaking to one degree or another.

Try not to hold the model in the air while painting. Old it down against a flat surface.

Also get some magnifiers, they make a hue difference. You can get a magnifying visor for less than 20$ at most hobby shops.

i get the mad shakes, all you need do is take in a large breath before applying the paint, sounds stupid but works

well i would cut down on the Caffeine and booze for starters.
If it is a medical condition,you can buy you a painters vise.They usually have magnifi=ing glasses mounted on them.

When I get the shakes, I have to either put the model on the table, or find a way to suspend it, and then I literally hold my painting hand with my other hand. Works wonders.

Shaking hands can be caused by a lot of things. Most peoples hands shake to some degree or another. The body has a couple of unconcious functions. Your hands twitching and shaking is one of them. Another one is breathing. But breathing can also be conscious. So a good way to lessen one of the uncouncious functions is to get your mind and body to focus on another.

So focus on breathing slowly and steadily in through your nose and out through your mouth. Also try to open your hands for 10 seconds and then clench them for 10 seconds. Not super hard, but just enough to stretch the muscles out a bit.

Also I'm not a doctor and sometimes shaking hands could be related to other symptoms. So in general I hope these tips may help you or someone else, but by no means are a guarantee.

Thanks for the responses so far guys. I shall test them out as soon as I can. Highly doubt that it is anything medical, shakes aren't that severe.

I lean the model slightly on the table and have my pinky on the model as a sort of stand. But usually putting the model down in an angle helps a great lot.

Putting a little less paint on or at least trying to get the paint in the tip of the brush (by e.g. Whiping the brush once after dipping it into paint). When you lean your hand on the table and hold the model in an angle with your other hand it gives some grip as well.

Also just putting on a line and trying to make it thinner with a correction line might give you what you want.

S.

I get the shakes/pump after working out chest,bicieps, forearms. I damn near cripple myself doing massive amount of body squats in order so I have to paint

What I've found to work is REALLY cold water. Take the coldest shower you can and hold ice cubes. It always sharpens your mind for better detailing. Also don't drink energy drinks. Those will just make your jittery.

I'll usually take 5 minutes to relax and watch tv or something, and drink a cold soda (pop for you odd people )

Else fails, I sit cross-legged sometimes, and set my hands against my knee. For you? I suggest setting your hands against the side or top of your work surface (table, etc).

The bulk of my method has already been mentioned (bracing, etc.), but I also tend to paint lines and details using short, overlapping strokes. The brush tip makes a small, almost circular motion (somewhat flattened, to reduce unnecessary movement), touching the model only briefly at the lowest point in the orbit.

The reason is twofold: First, it gets my hand into a rhythm, which smooths out the motion. Second, it keeps the brush moving quickly without also making the line progress quickly, meaning that I retain tight control of where I'm putting paint (slow line progress) while minimizing the unwanted sideways travel that hand shaking would transfer to the brush (short, rapid strokes).

That said, I also try not to paint superfine details if I'm especially shaky. While it's pretty much a constant, some times are always better/worse than others. Food, drink, rest, etc. can and will affect my condition, obviously, but there are some inexplicable "off" times where I simply have to accept that I'm better off waiting it out.

I find that having a beer or so before painting helps lessen my shaking. Whether that implies that it helps keep me steady or it implies I drink too much, it's hard to say, but it works for me and my personal circumstances.

For really small, hard to reach stuff like eyes, in addition to the above, I also plant both elbows on the table and keep the bottoms of both hands in contact with each other by keeping my pinkies touching. The movement from most shakes at that point is minimized.

I get the shakes too, especially if I decide to paint after the gym. Taking slow deep breaths and exhaling slowly helps steady for me Hope that helps