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...That is always disappointed by my painting. When I finish I figure I'm happy, but if I look at it a week or so after finishing it I'm just...dissatisfied. For example, I just finished this Tohaa model for Infinity:



And while I like it at first, now I think it just looks flat and bland and uninteresting. I mean, the OSL looks good, but everything else leaves me cold. I suppose this is a good thing - if I was happy with my skills, I'd never try to get better. Dissatisfaction keeps me driven to get better, but it can be really discouraging as well.

of course, there's also the chance I'm just weird.

~Tim?

I guess you have the easiest way to measure as a commission painter. Are people giving you money? Are they doing it more than once? There ya go.

 Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:
...That is always disappointed by my painting. When I finish I figure I'm happy, but if I look at it a week or so after finishing it I'm just...dissatisfied. For example, I just finished this Tohaa model for Infinity:



And while I like it at first, now I think it just looks flat and bland and uninteresting. I mean, the OSL looks good, but everything else leaves me cold. I suppose this is a good thing - if I was happy with my skills, I'd never try to get better. Dissatisfaction keeps me driven to get better, but it can be really discouraging as well.

of course, there's also the chance I'm just weird.

~Tim?

My years as an artist, I found I am never happy. You always strive to be better. It's actually a normal feeling. Builds ambitions to be better at your next paint etc.

I feel that way all the time, Trying to paint my moderators for Infinity at the moment, They've been stripped twice and have never made it past a basecoat.

For me, it's my main blocker with the hobby, whenever I sit down to paint, the first thought that comes into my mind is 'why bother, you're not good enough to get the result you desire' and it kind of puts me off starting. I guess the problem is I give up instead of striving to achieve.

But then again I've always had issues with my brain writing contracts my hands can't possibly fulfil.

I'm no where near as skilled as you, but yeah, I often paint something and think "that's awesome!" and then decide a week later I don't like it.

That's why I've started so many armies that I haven't finished... it takes more than a week to paint an army

I am usually pretty happy with my painting. I know I could be better, and will often try new techniques to improve. I'm no where near as talented as some of the folks whose figures I see here or on LAF, but I also know that for the amount of effort and time I put in, my results are good enough for me.

Would I like to be a lot better? Sure, but I just don;t have the time to dedicate to it. This is a hobby, and though I like to improve, I do it for fun. If I can't be happy with my results it wouldn't be fun.

Relax, just look at the pictures of guys who're much worse at painting (me for example). Then you can feel much more satisfied with what you do

i feel the same way, but each figure i do i get better driving me to paint better every time, the gap between i first started and now is huge

I think most artists feel this way. I mean all artists, not just painters (musicians etc). I don't consider myself a good a good painter, but Ive learned to let it go or i will never get anything done. I would rather have an completed average looking army than a good looking partially / non painted army that i keep stripping and repainting. Besides, there is a lot to learn from failure. Probably more than success (though i couldn't swear to that as i haven't considered any of my work a success as of yet.

I suppose you gotta be at least a little dissatisfied with your work in order to want to improve?

You have a very ambient highlight style, have you considered doing your highlights to all come as if hit by a directional light source instead of an ambient one?

 whalemusic360 wrote:
I guess you have the easiest way to measure as a commission painter. Are people giving you money? Are they doing it more than once? There ya go.

Oh, yeah. People seem to really like the work I do on Infinity figures, and always come back to me for more work. So obviously other people like my work more than I do.

Thanks for the replies, guys. They're very encouraging/helpful.

~Tim?

i really hate finishing a mini...
no matter how good the paintjob is, the photography will never do it justice...
showing a new mini off to the world is like saying, "hey, look how awesome i think my paintjob is.", but all i see are the things i should have done better...
it is a good motivator to improve on the next mini...

usually, by the time i finish a mini, i'm so sick of looking at the damn thing that i never want to see it again...
a year or so later, after the anguish has worn off, i can look back and be proud of what i achieved...
the flip side of this is that if you are constantly improving, you look back at older paintjobs and think, "these are crap!"...

it's a neverending cycle...

cheers
jah

Wow. Now I really feel better, Jah. You're one of my all-time favorite painters - I'd LOVE to be as good as you. It's comforting to know that even masters like you have the same insecurities as us journeymen.

~Tim?

I've always been like this with all forms of art I have worked in. I only see the mistakes I made and can't enjoy it at all and being OCD they drive me crazy.

In fact when I haven't seen some particular paint job or drawing or whatever for any length of time, I've noticed that in my mind it becomes worse and worse and then when I look at it again in person I realize it wasn't as bad as it had become in my mind.

But maybe I'm completely crazy lol.

The above model is very good. If you wanted it better I would sugest making the contrast orange colour more exstrem and less muddeled. What makes your model pop is the contrast colours of orange and light blue.

I used to be good but 15 years of Live Steel Combat had beat the crap out of my fingers and now my quality has droped over the past few years.
That fist model is how I used to be able to paint. Now I put out 1 great model out of 10 and the rest are all done with tricks like washes and dry brushing to hide my lowering quality from myself.