What to do when your inspiration and expectations exceed your results. How do you keep going?

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**bebopdrums2424**

San76 wrote:
HI Andy,

looks like you are getting lots of good advice, which is nice to see.

i did think of one more thing which is - have you tried lightening your purple with ushabti (bleached bone) instead of white? i think this might give you a closer tone to the highlight colour in your first inspirational pic? sadly, im at work and cant test it for you but maybe mix a little on your palette and see?

San, you master you...This is good advice here, andy! Personally speaking, i almost never use white to lighten something unless i mean it. At least not white alone. And its reserved only for the most extreme of highlights. Though, i will say, experimenting is cool. Purple is a fun color to paint because it can be warm with reds and pinks, or cool with whites. The only limit is your imagination.

PS san, thanks for the plug mate, you make me blush

**andywalker07**

Silly me, I meant warlock purple. Warlock purple is the vallejo equivalent. And warlock purple is screamer pink on the GW conversion chart. Pink - purple is what I was looking for I want bright rather than subdued. Unsure what to edge highlight with though. Thanks guys.

**The Grumpy Eldar**

andywalker07 wrote:
Silly me, I meant warlock purple. Warlock purple is the vallejo equivalent. And warlock purple is screamer pink on the GW conversion chart. Pink - purple is what I was looking for I want bright rather than subdued. Unsure what to edge highlight with though. Thanks guys.

Highlighting Screamer Pink? Why not go Genestealer Purple for a edge highlight and then Slaanesh Grey or another lighter color over that again?
Or Emperors Children as edge highlight and then top that with Palid Wych Flesh or Ulthuan Grey.

**Imnewherewheresthebathroom**

Looks good man. Just keep at it.

**Shenloanne**

Andy,

I like using xerxeus with varying levels of space wolves grey to work up highlights. I'll even add some lucius lilaic into it.

On getting better, on pushing yourself, what I do is keep my first deathwing terminator on the table with me during painting, alongside my deathwing knight master and remember well the words of Prof Henry Jones snr.

"May he whom illuminated this....illuminate me".

I also like to think that every time I paint in the eyes of a marine they are given life, consider what point your model comes to life under your hands. It's very inspirational.

**chromedog**

What do I do when my execution does not live up to expectation?

Lower my expectations.

There's only so much time I have for hobbying. If I want to get stuff on the board to play with, it has to be painted. I could either spend a crapload on having it painted for me, or spend a long time doing a great job on them myself - or a small amount of time doing an ok job.

The only reason I paint is so that I can play with my mandollies on the tabletop. I don't paint to win awards, I sure as hell don't paint in order to enter competitions for painting. I'm more a builder/gamer than a painter.

**andywalker07**

I certainly understand people who are happy to settle for an OK and are more interested in playing but for me the two are every bit as important. I think I would still enjoy this hobby if the game element didn't exist but I'm still eager to try it.

**carlos13th**

My expectations have never exceeded my results only because I know my painting is pretty bad and don't expect much. Thats not to say I am not striving to improve.

**Forgemaster Argos**

I don't believe it has been suggested, but keep the first model you ever paint. It's great to show progress over time and new techniques yOu'vedeveloped. I actually just stripped my first model for repainting. I've gotten to a point where I feel comfortable giving Ancient Pyrus (my first dreadnought) an upgrade to venerable. The first clumsy attempt I made shapes all my other paint schemes and I believe I'm finally at the level where my painting is sufficient to do him honor by making him my centerpiece.

Perhaps you should do the same and when you feel you're up to it , strip that paint and pull out all the stops.

FM Argos

**Capamaru**

andywalker07 wrote:

I really appreciate the feedback guys, thanks. Mcmaniak , UnCool & Nevelon; You are all right and I need way more practice and possibly to strip minis that I really don't like, I'll try and remember this when I'm being over critical and trying hopelessly to achieve the flawless jobs you see online.

Evarieuda, I like your idea of a blog this might help me track my progress, thanks for the suggestion.

Chiefbigredman; Thanks for the compliment, it means a lot considering you painted that awesome rat ogre, it's so bright and vivid, exactly what I want.

And San 76: You've effortlessly stated what my biggest problem is with my guys and that is that they simply don't pop. I like the purple marines because they really stand out and the colours jump at you. I don't know what colours to use to achieve this though. There doesn't seem to be anything in GW range that matches except screamer pink but I'm worried that my guys will look like barbie dolls. I was thinking; xereus base, dark wash, xereus recoat leaving darkest recesses, then do a smaller coat of xereus & Screamer pink 50:50 then pure screamer edge highlight but what to use for extreme edge, light pink? Do I then do tips with white? Also should I use warlock purple by Vallejo this looks comparable? I've been trying to find a detailed guide everywhere but what I do find is often difficult to understand.
Also I had considered that the scorpion brass was too dark, should I just highlight over and what with? Shining Gold?

I could live with the smaller flaws and areas where I've slipped up until I get better but it's the overall feel of the mini that's causing me annoyance
So many questions...... but they're getting closer

You minis are on the right track and the results you produce for a beginner are above average. I feel your frustration cause a couple of years ago I bought an airbrush and I was right were you are now. The whole thing seemed like a nightmare considering I paint a lot of years and I felt the need to strip all things I painted.... but I didn't. I kept moving forward painting more and through the trail of "hideous" and "not so good" results I could see the dim light of improvement.

Now to the advice part

.
Internet is your friend, no really things like youtube and forums weren't around 20 years ago and you had only one method trial and error, all alone!!. Now the learning curve is much steeper since there are so many people out there who publish the "how to" on the web and are willing to help you get started. Watching videos of people producing amazing paintjobs shouldn't make you feel bad but instead they should motivate you more and more. Try analyzing and deciphering their methods and techniques and then apply them as much as you can on your minis adding one piece at a time.

Keep trying and all out of nowhere better results will come up

**leroy233**

Those models look great, they would look good on most gaming tables and as mentioned a painted army goes a long way to the improve the enjoyment and feel of a game. From what I have seen around in GW shops these would be in the better half of painted stuff.

I too had a problem with wanting too much too fast from my painting skill, but i had since learned to live with the fact i'll never win any trophies but if im pleased with the results, thats good enough for me.

You should enjoy the painting side of the hobby whatever level and gaining new skills and improving is part of the hobby too.

Keep it up.

**Peasant**

The models you have shown are quite good.
Many have already said the true answer. Practice.
Here is my 2 cents..
Get a color wheel. That will help you find proper color and shade that you are looking for. Read as well as watching someone do it on you tube. Most of those people are highly skilled. Put it as a goal to reach, but don't expect it over night. Many have been painting for well over 10 years.. Read about color theory and contrast. Surprisingly some of your shades and highlights will seem to make zero sense when you first see them.
I would suggest starting with basic techniques first. Start with a 3 color process. Base, wash and highlight. Get to where you like the look, then expand from there. Lining the edges will generate great results but you won't be great the first time you pick up a brush and is not the only way to achieve a great looking model. Look at John Blanches work. He definitely does not have the cleanest painting skill but the vision and character that he creates with his style stands out amongst many.
Find a techinique that you are comfortable with first. Painting your models is an art. There isn't a lot of right and wrong.
. Experiment on extra bits, prime them and paint those rather than your models.
Keep a written log.
What color you based with, highlighted etc..Write the order you do it all because switching orders, base, highlight, wash, highlight vs. base, highlight, highlight, wash (for example) will create different results.
Build your confidence by starting simple and finishing a model that you are happy with.
You'll get there because you have already started asking questions and looking to achieve more.

**madtankbloke**

'Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm'
Winston Churchill

When you first start painting, its easy to get disheartened when you compare your own painting efforts to those of others, but if you use that as an incentive to improve you have already won the first battle.
The best advice i was given when i first started was K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) If you try to do too much too quickly, miniatures tend to end up in quite a state.
Pick a limited palette of colours, and try to keep the stages your miniatures go through to a minimum, often basecoat > Wash > Highlights will suffice at first. once you have mastered that, and are comfortable doing it, you can experiment with other techniques, adding more highlights, doing the shading first rather than a wash and so forth.

Take your time, and what you will end up with is a miniature that is well painted using simple techniques, and something you can replicate easily. You probably wont want to finish there, and you can up your game by adding more steps to your painting, like gems, eyes, adding numerals and writing, patterns on cloaks and so forth.

The most important thing, imo, is to K.I.S.S. and master a single technique at a time before moving on to another.

And, if you are utterly disgusted with your efforts, there is always a pot of dettol (or your paint stripper of choice) as the last resort. Keep striving to improve, but never strive too hard too quickly