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Major mojo loss. Do I need to hang up my brushes for a bit?  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut



UK

Hi Dakkanauts,

I've hit the wall and my painting mojo has just vanished, this sucks as I am much more a painter than a gamer. I think the recent rot set in last year so I switched from historicals and fantasy stuff over to 40k for a bit of a change. Now that just isn't inspiring me to pick up my brushes even though I'm currently really enjoying the fleshed out backstory that the Black Library books provide.

Do I switch back? Do I take a break? I know many of you have been through this as I have before. I don't want to turn my back on the hobby as I have done in the past and take a cold turkey break because I don't want my skills to get rusty, as I am happy with how I paint.

Any suggestions, anything at all that can help me ride this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone,

Ace
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut




Denver CO

A pause isn't a bad thing. I took a month off this year and came back to painting with fresh enthusiasm. If you are in a rut try painting something different, maybe a vehicle or a build a piece of terrain. If the pile is just looking to large clean, prep and prime a bunch of models. It's an easy way to get a lot done without the effort of a full paint job and when you feel inspired again you'll have a lot of the grunt work done on a bunch of figs.
   
Made in us
Grovelin' Grot





Chicago, IL

You could try switching back to historicals or move to terrain if there is something there which interests you and catches your eye.

A piece of advice I heard a while ago when taking a break is have a plan to return. As in: I will not be painting for the next two weeks but on the 7th of August I will pick up a brush again and get back into it. That way you don't drift off and lose everything.
   
Made in kr
Inquisitorial Keeper of the Xenobanks






your mind

I find that packing my stuff and cleaning hardcore then rearranging my room gets mega clean start.
Inevitably I end up planning a space for painting and from there actions easily fall in place.
Only time this fails is when I have a deadline close.
Then I just have to wait.
But a clean start in a new situation will do it every time.

   
Made in us
Blackclad Wayfarer





Philadelphia

I burned out from mini painting nearly an army a month through college...

I got into terrain, casting, and scratch building in a different scale. A change of scale revitalized the game for me.

   
Made in us
Powerful Phoenix Lord





Definitely stop and do something else for a while (as long as a few months if you need to).
   
Made in se
Pulsating Possessed Space Marine of Slaanesh




 jeff white wrote:
I find that packing my stuff and cleaning hardcore then rearranging my room gets mega clean start.
Inevitably I end up planning a space for painting and from there actions easily fall in place.
Only time this fails is when I have a deadline close.
Then I just have to wait.
But a clean start in a new situation will do it every time.


This is me also, cleaning up and reorganizing my stuff and packing away stuff that i wont use makes it easier for my brain to comprehend stuff so it isnt as daunting to paint some.
   
Made in us
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Houston, TX

It's a hobby- take a break. Play some video games, watch some movies and, after I while, I bet you start seeing things that interest you.

The good news is that if you have been painting a while, you have probably made new neural pathways so you can't really forget it, and breaks can actually help reinforce those, though you will not be at the top of your game if you take a long enough sabbatical.

-James
 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut



UK

Thanks guys, I think I'm going to have a go at scratch building a flyer of some sort. I've done a lot of what has been suggested already, but maybe reorganising my study could help. To be honest, it's been on the back burner since we moved to this house last year. Had a daughter in between so she and my little boy have taken a lot of time but, having read your awesome and helpful (I really mean it too) responses it's made me realise that one of the underlying issues is that I don't like my painting space right now.

Thank you, all of you, you looked at my situation with fresh eyes and that really helped! This has been getting me down, but I'll implement some changes and see what occurs!

   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

It sounds like you want to keep painting, but having a hard time.

Do you know the cure for writer's block? Stop staring at a blank page and start writing.,, anything.

Sounds like you maybe in a similar place with painting.

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut



UK

I do Easy. I love painting, it's the one thing that centres me and is as good as meditating!

I think you hit the nail on the head matey, I'm going to select a random mini and paint the jingo out of it!
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




On a surly Warboar, leading the Waaagh!

Burn out happens to everybody in this hobby at some point. It's only natural. A break is not a bad idea. I've personally always been reinvigorated by signing up for and playing in a tournament. Seeing other beautifully painted armies and being around others really recharges my "Waaaaaaaagh".
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Get yourself along to a Forbidden Planet or other non-wargaming model type shop.

Have a good browse through the kits they offer, see if there's anything that tickles your fancy. Could be a simple kit you want to repaint, could be a large project to really push your skills.

   
Made in ca
Grumpy Longbeard





Canada

Start a terrain project.

Nightstalkers Dwarfs
GASLANDS!
Holy Roman Empire  
   
Made in au
Unstoppable Bloodthirster of Khorne





Melbourne .au

Get someone in your life (friend/partner/parent/cousin/child/etc) to look through your collection (or go with you to a FLGS) and select a model for you to paint (ideally for them). Then paint it to completion in a day, or a weekend - and touch nothing else until it's done.

It's worth doing that every so often as a palette cleanser.

I personally get my wife to look through all of the half-finished crap on my desk (literally hundreds of models) and select something in the same way from time to time, or I select a few (like 4-6) things that have been sitting around half-painted forever, and ask her to choose two for me to just fething finish.


   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Something else that has helped me is to get together with fellow painters and paint socially. That really helps keep projects going for me. Painting does not need to be in isolation.

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in us
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Houston, TX

Also, consider painting things other than miniatures or other scales. It will provide new challenges and teach you new approaches and techniques. If you haven't already, I would also recommend expanding out into sketching and drawing.

-James
 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut



UK

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Mucho appreciated.
   
Made in gb
Blood-Drenched Death Company Marine





United Kingdom

Paint something different doesn't just have to mean models from other ranges.

My marines are all superclean, crisp edge highlights whereas my Malifaux stuff is more soft blends and layering oriented. Also with my marines being black armour based (Deathwatch and Crimson Tears) Malifaux gives me an opportunity to paint with a much wider range of colours.

   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut



UK

I've decided to start revisiting old and incomplete projects, so that could be my 15mm Spring and Autumn period Chinese army for DBA or continuing with my Bacchus 6mm AWI or the 1/72 WW2 stuff or the myriad plastic and vac form aircraft kits I have in pretty much every scale from 1/144 to 1/24...

I really like the idea of painting socially, it's something I have never done and really should investigate...

Maybe I'll start a painting showcase/blog thing here...

Thanks everyone,

Viv
   
 
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