Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Do you listen to music while you paint? Or are you to preoccupied with either painting or some other secondary activity. Or, I must ask, do you do nothing at all except paint ( I envy you). If you do listen to music, what sort of things do you listen to? Is it what you usually prefer in music, or something different entirely? For some reason I like to listen to cheesy love ballads like stuff from Toto and Chicago. Its very relaxing.

I generally either put on TV shows that I've seen before, but have lots of dialogue (West Wing, Firefly, and Reno 911 are favorites of mine) or I listen to whatever album is doing it for me this week. Lately it's been the Editors and Fountains of Wayne.

Usually what I listen to is "Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy!!!! I want plaint aliens too!!!"

I love my rugrats, but they're not condusive to actually building and painting models.

I put on DVDs. Gladiator, 13th Warrior, 300, LotR, etc.

I am painting Orks right now, so I like to have the sounds of gunfire, been watching/listening to Saving Pvt Ryan, Black Hawk Down and Full Metal Jacket.

KiMonarrez wrote:Usually what I listen to is "Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy!!!! I want plaint aliens too!!!"

I love my rugrats, but they're not condusive to actually building and painting models.

Ha ha, I only get to paint when my little one is sleeping.

I always (95% of the time) listen to music. What bands depends on my mood and what I'm tired of or haven't heard in a while. Lately I've been listening to a lot of led zeppelin while I paint and it seems to increase my productivity quite a bit. Could be coincidence.

Wayfarer wrote:I always (95% of the time) listen to music.

Ditto, not just while painting either. I'm always listening to music. Mostly punk (Zounds, DCOI, Krum Bums), but often when I need to concentrate I'll put on Shpongle.

-Leo037

Audio books.

I tend to put on a DVD I've already seen - often stand-up comedy shows.

Normally I turn on Discovery. sooo Dirty Jobs, MythBusters, Surviorman, or how its made. If its Thursdays Its Kitchen Nightmare with Chef Ramseys on BBC. I use to watch alot of Law and Order while I painted but after literally watch svu seasson 3- current about twice and CI from season 3 to 7 about twice I got a little bored with it haha. Discovery has been kinda blah lately since none of there normally shows have had a new episode in a while and im sick of re-runs, though next week new dirty jobs starts, and on monday even.

I will also watch Cartoons with the kid(tm). Though that has gotten much rougher lately since he is perffering hanna montanna and Drake and josh type stuff over Billy and mandy and transformers. Its kinda funny he actually spends more time watching me paint that the tv, which is fine watching is one of the best ways to learn most of the simple painting techniques. I hope to eventually get him painting well enough so I can get him to paint base coats on goblins for me. The fiance could do it but she actually realized it was not fun after about the 10th one haha. she won't help me with GW stuff anymore but begs to help with the Privateer Press stuff.

But back on topic basicly I watch tv and paint, not really a big music person.

malfred wrote:Audio books.

Not a bad idea.

I generally listen to music, have been picking a band or genre I haven't heard much of past the commercial hits - NIN, Nirvana, Cake, Presidents of the USA, Hideous 80's Party Hits - and letting Imeem! take me around. Been good to be exposed to music I missed out on for various reasons.

But then I listened to the NCAA men's final on Monday and it was a lot of fun, got more into the game than I expected and pepped up the painting. Which is good, because painting my defiler is pretty depressing due to its hugeness and detailedness :S

- Salvage

I pop my iPod in the dock and listen to mostly podcasts (Dragon's Landing Inn, Fear the Boot, D6 Generation - go Dakka).

If I'm doing something tricky, I go to Bach. Primarily Glenn Gould piano works like the Well Tempered Klavier and Goldberg Variations. To paraphrase one of Michael Crichton's characters, I listen to Bach "in the hope that, if not his genius, than at least his precision will become my own."

Edit: typos

The screams of my victims chained to the walls in the basement.

Or the wife's reality TV shows in the background, they sound about the same.

Normaly i try to listen to music. I cant really watch a movie cause of the where my desk is to paint and where the TV is.

I like to listen to a broad range of music when i am assembling and doing the base coat such as As I lay dying(which all orks should play when they go to war!! ), Nofx, My chemical rommance, Deftones, Boy sets fire.

But when it comes to the more detailed work i have to have classical on. Bethoven, mozart, chopin. It seems to make me more relaxed and able to concentrate

Music is the one thing I never listen to. In the past, it's been various DVDs, mostly movies with good dialog or that I've seen manymany times before, or TV shows, especially Joss Whedon stuff. Over the last year or so, I've been trying to do more audiobooks, as I don't get distracted looking up at the screen for especially visual scenes.

When I do have a movie on, I often theme my choice to what I'm working on. Aliens if I'm working on my Space Hulk minis, Black Hawk Down/Saving Private Ryan/Zulu if I'm working on IG, The Smurfs and the Magic Flute if I'm working on Ultramarines.

Okay, I'm kidding about that last one. I would NEVER own Ultramarines.

I used to listen to audio books, but now I mostly listen to podcasts. I subscribe to quite a few related to war gaming, vid gaming, and my work industry.

i usually listen to my wife complain about me spending too much time painting..... if I'm home alone i usually watch/listen to things on my DVR and try to catch up on shows.

I listen to the sweet sounds of del tha funkey homosapien with a sprinkling of AIR and cannibal ox.

cant go wrong with Nightwish either

music-wise, it's hip-hop(mostly french stuff) and reggae...
i move around a lot, so i don't always have a t.v., but i love to listen to dvd commentaries while i paint...

the podcast thing sounds interestin'...i've never tried that...i'll have to check 'em out...

cheers
jah

Ok... first, check the screen name,

That's right, it's there for a reason. I'm usually watching hockey when I paint. Though now that it's playoff season chances are I'll be watching more than I'm painting. In the offseason, it's Sox or Pats games. When none of the above are available, I leave my mac on iTunes and set it to random. Though if I'm painting a special character I'll put something appropriate on like the LOTR soundtrack for a fantasy mini, or metallica for a 40k model.

I can't watch a movie while painting unless it's something I've seen a million times (TMNT, SW, LOTR come to mind). If it's a new movie I need to pay attention to it.

Hmmm, dvd commentaries, there's an idea....

The only ones I've really paid attention to are Total Recall and Conan... AHnold is PRICELESS commentary. He basically provides a play-by-play of the movie, "this is where I shoot my gun, yah!"

I keep wanting to listen to the Kevin Smith commentaries, but always end up watching the movie instead. Snootchie Bootchies!!

I used to watch The Office and Arrested Development when painting. Now that Netflix has unlimited online hours I've started watching all sorts of movies and shows. Little Britain has been pretty enjoyable, and old Doctor Who episodes are good too.

Dvd movie commentary tracks or just music (from my big pile of metal albums and hd with gigs of music) work fine for me when painting.

Personally, I just have the TV running in the background.

When I am painting I generally am at my desk, so it is either the radio (there is a good rock station I can get out of Philly) or a combination of Bach, Tchaicovsky, a giant MP3 cd of things from Flogging Molly to Lords of Acid and KMFDM, or of late a lot of Corvus Corax.
Otherwise, most modeling gets done in the living room, where I either put in a movie I have seen a lot, or John and Kate Plus 8 or What Not to Wear, since TLc is about the only cable channel we get. Depends on what my wife is doing mostly.

glowgos wrote:cant go wrong with Nightwish either

Preach on brother. I’m usually listening to some form of Scandinavian Symphonic Metal or another. Nightwish is my favorite but After Forever, Epica, Within Temptation, Lordi, Sonata Arctica, Delian, Axxis, Therion, and Apocalyptica all get plenty of play time. The Conan soundtracks are also a prime choice.

I drown out the voice of my money conscience by one of the following:

1. TV series. Right now I'm halfway through Adventures of Brisco County Jr. I did most of my troops while watching Odyssey 5 and Space: Above and Beyond.
2. podcasts. Left, Right and Center, SolidSteel and WeFunk FTW.
3. set iTunes to play one of my colored playlists. Blue and green most of the time, but red and orange every third or fourth session

I try to paint outside if the weather is nice, but lately Atlanta's 2300+ pollen counts have made that a bit... impossible.

Inside, I need background sounds to paint to.

My music box (124 gigs and counting, give or take a few megs) or Pandora. I'd recommend checking that out if you haven't, it's pretty amazing, and I only need to divert attention every few hours to 'thumbs up' a new favorite, or 'thumbs down' something sour. It's great. I don't really listen to different styles for different painting projects, I just listen to everything. One day it'll be thrash metal, the next it's Etta James and Muddy Waters. Lately I've been getting into some of the great drummers, so I've been painting alongside everybody from Buddy Rich to John Bonham.

Now, modeling is a different story. When I'm chopping together ork boys and wonky vehicle conversions, the tv takes the stage and matches the creative vibe. The Mad Max series is a staple. Nothing beats working on an ork KoS watching post-apocalyptic gangers fly around on dune buggies and machinegun-toting big rigs. In the same vein, any solid car chase movie works. 'Bullitt' is the reigning champion, I still need to model up a 'Boss McQueen' nob. (Dark Highland Green wuns go fasta!) Runner-ups like 'Ronin' and any version of 'The Italian Job' work too. Might sound a bit nuts, but it totally gets my head in the right place to cobble together some gnarly conversions.

I can give you my EXACT playlist for when I'm painting.
Jason Hawes+Grant Wilson's Beyond Reality Radio when I'm painting my VC.

When painting my IG, a freakin' day and a half long playlist of Dropkick Murphy/Flogging Molly.

Makes painting fun

The DVD commentary thing is a great idea. Hadn't thought of that one.

A lot of times I don't listen to anything. I find the quiet relaxing. Sometimes I'll have the TV playing in the background, or I'll turn on music.

The problem with me listening to music while painting, is that I'm a very critical listener. A lot of times I'll find myself sitting there, not painting, because I'm trying to analyze a certain part in my head. It's easy for it to become a distraction for me, and I listen to music all the time. I don't really do "background music," especially if it's music I like, because after a while I start focusing all my attention on it. But sometimes I do listen while painting.