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How? Lower my standards? Simplify paint Schemes? I've no idea, any help?
I'll list All I know:

1. Batch paint in groups of 5 or 10 dependent

2. Dry brushing is your friend

3. Washes are liquid Talent

4. Keep your drinking water and brush water in different kinds of cups

5. Keep your brushes in Decent condition, no paint on the metal bit, not leaving in water, NEVER bristle down

Always try to improve with every miniature you do.
Look out causes and prevent that from happening again.
Get an airbrush.
Care for a tidy and clean workplace.
Use Gloss Coat as a safe point. Very easy to clean up mistakes.
Get some head magnifyers. I found the worst offender for a bad looking mini is over the line painting and not painting the small sides and edges.
Don't keep a heap of unpainted models in sight.

And, most important of all: look at your miniature and notice what has improved. Keep an old one around and compare them for the progress you made.

Today I will finish a new Predator. When I place him next to the first rhino I did about a year ago, the difference will, I hope, be tremendous.

 Brennonjw wrote:


4. Keep your drinking water and brush water in different kinds of cups

This does not help, I have dipped my brushes into a glass of Port Wine before.... (Drank it anyway lol) but one thing I find is make what you're painting personal, I name my Champions (Squad Leaders) and base their model on the personality with some simple conversions or stances and then design the unit they lead around that it helps from getting bored.

But if you're doing hordes then cheat as much as possible, such as with nids you can prime in white and just wash the whole model with Serphim Sephia to makes then the light skin colour you see for Hive fleet Kraken and then just base the carpaces and claws red, wash them and if you feel the needs dry brush will save you so much time and still look good... Keep things simple but feel free to get more creative with special characters.

Also plan a battle on a set date and aim to have certain things painted by that time.

Actually, there is something to be said for lowering your standards or at least, being realistic about what you can achieve. Jervis wrote one of his WD columns on the subject some time ago and it was one of the few times that I have agreed with him but the crux of it is that not everyone can paint to a Golden Daemon standard, not everyone will be able to paint to a GD standard. Not only that but painting a reasonably sized army to a Golden Daemon standard is not something undertaken lightly and it is very easy to put yourself off just by the sheer daunting nature of spending that much time painting miniatures.

For myself, some time ago I realised that painting is not really my milieu. I don't really have the artistic aptitude nor the time required to devote to it. For years, I used to get really down about not being able to finish things to my satisfaction but once I had made peace with myself about the quality of finish that I was willing to accept, it became easier to accept that I could choose between a high standard but that never gets finished or finished armies to a reasonable standard. It wasn't really a hard decision to make. These days, when I start painting a force, I look for ease of technique and speed. I find being able to paint something to a decent standard quickly and easily helps keep my motivation up. Of course, with a young family and an oft demanding job, finding the time is another story...

Look for ways to maximise efficiency. Try to avoid cracking out the same paint three times during the painting of general troops.

Do just a little bit almost every day. With troops I do 8-10 at a time. I try to do just one step each day when I get home from work. Undercoat ten troops, paint ten swords or guns, do ten bases, ten eyes and teeth etc. There's no point trying to do ten models from go to whoa in one session and doing one troop at a time is an incredible waste of time.

 filbert wrote:
Actually, there is something to be said for lowering your standards or at least, being realistic about what you can achieve.

Agreed. I had a huge spike in productivity when I realized that laboring over each and every Ork boy wasn't getting me anywhere. From arm's length, I could get roughly equivalent results in about half the time - the increased productivity spurred me on. I'm still a sluggish and sporadic painter - in fact, I haven't put brush to model in quite some time (other projects took over) - but it's still worth considering.

That said, everyone is different. The very fact that some people have instead recommended giving each new model your all supports this. Changing things up and trying different methods is the only way to know what will work, for you.

Search for other threads, too - "motivation" in the P&M forum should net you more than a few threads on the subject. You're far from the first Dakkanaut, let alone hobbyist, to have had issues with motivation and productivity.

Put your unpainted figures away/leave them in the case. All those unpainted guys staring at you can be daunting.

Play regularly and always try to put more painted figs on the table than you did last game. Trying to finish painting an army before playing w/ it will burn you out.

Remember, an army painted to a nice quality is a hundred times better than an unpainted army with one or two pieces painted to high quality.

Don't punish yourself for not painting fast enough. This is a hobby, you do it for fun.

Most importantly: I find I get more painting done if I go to my LGS and hang out at a table and paint. The lighting is better, I have less distractions, and people will stop by to look and talk and say what a nice job I am doing. That helps a lot.