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OoieGoie wrote:Edit: In the last week or two Iv been fed up with my Guardians. To break the habit I started experimenting with blending, using mediums, highlights, shadows etc. Anything to make the painting more fun. You dont get nearly as much done but you learn heaps and the mini's turn out pretty good if things work in your favor (sometimes not so much). Has made me paint a little more and its not so much a "job" anymore.

If painting is becoming a "Job", try to do something different. Even if its just tattoos on your Orks arm or a bit of blue in your space marines hair. Do blending on a weapon. Its good stuff.

Absolutely the best advice.

I usually have at least four projects going at once and flip back and forth -- never doing the same thing for longer than an hour or maybe two. I will assemble some infantry, then paint a vehicle for a while, then if I'm still at it, work on a conversion, then paint infantry or whatever.

It also helps if you can switch between more than one army. Or even between fantasy and sci-fi. I know some people advocate factory-style assembly line for efficiency, but I get bogged down by the monotony. If it's not fun -- I'm not going to do it. I like painting and modeling -- its not a means to an end for me. The army will get done when it gets done. Although I've never had an army actually get done anyway -- always buying something new.

If you're worried about playing with unpainted models -- you can always paint color blocks of a simpler scheme over white primer (one quick coat of evenly applied color looks good en masse), but not seal the model. When you get ready to paint the model for real, you can either drop another thin coat of white primer over the temporary color scheme (if you've changed your mind) or actually just finish what you started. I can block out a squad of ten infantry in an hour and feel comfortable with putting them on the table. This way I can take my time and paint the way I like -- obsess over every tiny detail. I might spend 4-10 hours on a tactical marine or a dire avenger, but I don't care because that's what makes me happy.