Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: nozza_uk on February 01, 2022, 03:59:22 PM
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Didn't do any gaming in January as my opponents either had holidays, work or Covid at some point. So I spent my hobby time getting on with painting and managed to paint 52 figures.
After such a good start I now feel completely unmotivated to pick up a paint brush.
Is it just me or does anyone else find that their hobby mojo rises and falls?
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I think it is something which we all go through from time to time.
Been making up plastic figures mostly,from various game ranges at the moment.The Last argument of Kings being the most recent lot.
At least you have got some figures painted which is more than me ;).
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I feel you. I was doing really well with those old Warzone models but lately I've felt like I don't have the time to set aside to paint. When that happens, I try to work on things like prep and assembly, or I read up on rules, or I work on scenarios, or I blather on about stuff tangential to the topic in places like this ;D
If all else fails, I switch to a video game for a while. Eventually I will get tired of the less physically tangible achievements and go back to minis.
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A wise friend told me years ago, 'Some days
the paint won't flow. When that happens do
not try & force it, just do something else'
I read a book, watch a film, listen to some music or
even just start sorting through the Lead Mountain.
The urge to paint/model always comes back. It
sometimes takes a while, but it does return.
Not often doing the same thing, but it is always
something that I want to do.
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I agree with has.been. Sometimes I don't feel like painting so I tidy up my workspace or take an inventory of stuff I have done or stuff that is in my pile of shame (that quite often inspires me to paint). I also like to make terrain so sometimes I will do that instead, even if it is just building something simple or experimenting with a new technique.
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My thoughts echo those of has.been and codsticker.
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My thoughts echo Grumpy Gnome, Codsticker and has.been - well put.
as with all things it comes and goes, but will always come back.
been sorting through old stuff, the mountain etc, because work been so draining again.
Even been watching episodes of "the old country" with Jack Hargreaves on the you tube... seriously did not realise how much of that I watched when I was a kid, lots of memories of things past at moment.
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Same here - if you don't feel like painting, there's lots of other hobby stuff you can do instead - cleaning mouldlines, assembling or priming figures, putty work, scenery, basing, tidying up, etc. Even if none of that catches your fancy either, just do something else you enjoy and circle back from time to time to see if you suddenly feel like picking it up again. As the others said, it'll come back to you! :)
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Another approach is to give yourself a time limit. "I'm not feeling it, but I'll splash something simple on a couple of figures then go do something else".
If the two figures are a chore and you're not happy, stop and switch. Today is not a painting day, but at least you moved a project on, even if just a little bit.
However, sometimes just getting started lures the mojo back, and two figures becomes three, then four...
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Thanks for all the replies.
Glad it's not just me that goes through this.
I do have time to paint, I just don't have the urge. As some have suggested, I spent some time instead re-reading rules and developing scenarios (whether they get played is another question lol). Also, delved back into Stellaris which might be a mistake!
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Nozza, I find it a funny part of the hobby that some people I know paint hundreds of figures but rarely game! I find painting boring, however the incentive was an upcoming game, I used to belong to a small gaming group and never had a problem painting. When that group moved on, without the prospect of a game, I just find painting a chore.
Personally I would rather now, play something like Stellaris, instant gaming satisfaction rather than spend endless hours painting figures that might just sit in a box.
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If I’m not in a painting mood, I like to plan scenarios and games that may or may not get played. Then I’ll write a preamble up as a story with photos and test the patience of fellow LAFers by posting it all here, usually on the Pulp board. Invariably, I’ll find I’m a figure or two short for what is planned and before you know it, I’m painting them and a few others as well.
Doug
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Most definitely. After painting a bunch of figures or getting a line of figures done I can burn out.
All I want to do is set up games and play. It has been a month or more since I painted and now
I am getting the itch to buy some more figures and start painting.
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It's a hobby, not a job.
When I don't feel like painting (which can happen for months at a time), I do peripheral stuff. I organize my painting desk, I sell off old unwanted models, I take inventory of stuff, plan projects, clean up my spray paint cans and inventory them....etc.
Basically I do all kinds of "upkeep" stuff that makes it easier when I do get back to painting. I also do a lot of game design so I split my hobby time between my computer and notebooks...and then my painting desk. If I don't want to paint, I go and work on a game. If I get tired of working on a game, I go and paint, etc.
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It's a hobby, not a job.
Bingo!
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It's a hobby, not a job.
Unless your hobby is also your job! :o
I find the hardest part is starting, once you start it all goes much easier. Typically, this is the hurdle that many folks can not get over. The second hurdle is not being too fussed about the output, because any output is better than where you started; with nothing. You can always keep improving the output as you go.
So, in my book the best way to start writing rules, is to start writing. The best way to get stuff painted, is to just start painting. The best way to get your army assembled, just start assembling. The best way to get photos posted, set-up and start taking photos.
Once you start the doing, it is much easier to keep it going.
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I have a kind of rule with myself that I spend 30 minutes a day doing hobby. Sometimes i spend it cleaning up, sometimes on painting and sometimes on assembling/priming miniatures. Sometimes I only spend 30 minutes other times it turns into hours. Depending on mojo and actual time available.
I find that once I get into a streak it really helps with the motivation. 30 minutes spent hobbying is still better than none. Even if it is just cleaning your hobby area.
And I try to have several small'ish projects on deck so that I can switch to whatever takes my fancy.
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Once you start the doing, it is much easier to keep it going.
Also very true.
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I find that once I get into a streak it really helps with the motivation. 30 minutes spent hobbying is still better than none. Even if it is just cleaning your hobby area.
I find it is really habit forming. Once I get in the habit of sitting down at the hobby desk after dinner, I find myself wandering that unconsciously after a while.
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I hit a ‘lack of interest’ in painting figures in late fall 2021 and I usually put out around 60 figures a month for myself and friends.
After a couple of weeks of being distracted by tv and YouTube, I decided to paint something entirely different, and I really enjoyed it.
This gave me back my desire/need to paint so I always have 4 or 5 figures on the paint table that are different to the majority.
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I tried starting a painting club within our local club last year and setting a monthly painting quota and some months a stretch goal. Worked a treat and painted around 1500 figures last year - but I also had a couple of 'goose egg' months and another month with only 4 figures finished. But having a long-term goal brought me back to task. Off to a good start in 2022, 133 figures in January. Others in the group had much more modest goals but, as a group, we added over 2400 painted figures to our collections last year. Rule was you could only count figures you painted yourself to be kept in your personal collection. And had to publicly post progress every month in comparison to goal. At least three of us had breakthrough years painting more figures in a year than we ever had before.
So, having a long-term set goal can certainly keep up the motivation.
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Thanks for all the suggestions on here.
Following some of the advice, I managed to paint 9 figures this week. Doesn't sound like much, but it's a 900% increase on the previous weeks.
I think I've identified why my mojo has suffered. The various UK lockdowns afforded my a chance to seriously reduce my lead mountain to the stage where it's now a mole hill. However, what's left to paint is the stuff I've continually put off. I need to find some enthusiasm to paint what remains.
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However, what's left to paint is the stuff I've continually put off. I need to find some enthusiasm to paint what remains.
Or, if you really don't have enthusiasm for it, sell it or trade it for something you fancy more. As Elbows says, it's a hobby not a job, and if those models are not something you want or are going to enjoy painting, why force it? :)
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Didn't do any gaming in January as my opponents either had holidays, work or Covid at some point. So I spent my hobby time getting on with painting and managed to paint 52 figures.
After such a good start I now feel completely unmotivated to pick up a paint brush.
Is it just me or does anyone else find that their hobby mojo rises and falls?
Look up Atomic Habits - Just paint for literally 2 minutes every day, at a set time and it will become very easy - and then automatic!
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I tried starting a painting club within our local club last year
Painting socially or with a small group is also really great! It helps me a lot, even if my small group is mostly via Zoom at the moment.
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I normally only paint between 100-250 figures a year. 2021 though I finished painting nothing. Health issues, etc sucked my motivation out. But I built & stocked 3 fish tanks and purged a lot of my unused gaming book collection during the year.
I have 3 groups of painted figures in progress this month and plans to paint a Star Wars Legion force over the next few months. It definitely ebbs and flows for me.
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Mine is all fits & starts & depends on muse which sometimes as all have said is fickle.
But when I don't feel like doing anything I prime/undercoat models or whole armies / squads. That way they'll be ready when needed.
Obviously you have to plan on the colour scheme so as to prime in white, grey or black or sometimes red or terracotta .
Z
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Unfortunately I have FAR to many of those primed and based minis sitting awaiting a brush!
Great advice on here. Personally, nothing motivates like escalation. Try and get in some games, then motivate by adding better and more kick ass stuff to the table.
As has also been said, go with the flow. If something leaks your interest, go with it for so long as it lasts. Ok, I’m the first to admit, I have rather a few unfinished projects because if it, but every now and then, I get an urge to go back and add to them.
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Also.... I always try to discover ways to paint quickly... i know easier said then done, and I don't mean dipping ... that absolutely does nothing for me.
I try painting 10 minis at a time, 1 colour the whole 10 at a time. Using washes, contrast , zenithal spray.. or whatever tickles my fancy... it may seem daunting & boring but it works for me.
Progress urges me to work... just staring at models doesn't. ( and I stare at my lead mountain frequently ) ;) :D :D :D
Z
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I hit a bit of a slump myself in December and January. Just couldn't really get motivated by any of it. Ended up spending time on other interests for a bit then took tentative steps back into it the past few weeks. Been finding motivation for my usual ongoing projects lacking so picked up something completely different and just started working through it. I've no finished that so test will be if next time I sit at the painting desk am I ready for my old projects again..
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I'm sort off out of my slump.
Mixing it up on a weekly basis. Last week I put together an MDF kit, this week I'm working on half a dozen dwarfs. More importantly, I'm not feeling bad about not doing any hobby work and I feel (mentally) better for it.
Also, I'm actually finishing off some long overdue projects - which in turn contributes to a positive mental attitude!
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Good on yer! :)
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As every else has said, we all go through this. I'm finding terrain much more rewarding than figures at the moment, so that's what I'm working on when I get a chance. Mixing things up definitely helps.
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Yep; mojo comes and goes, it's a fact of life I've come to terms with long ago. You have to, or otherwise you'll soon burn out completely. The hard part is not beating yourself up over not being productive.
I tend to paint every mini I start to the best of my abilities, which means that progress is quite slow. But I can live with this.
My personal problem with not getting any painting done, is not as much lack of mojo, as a lack of energy. I blame it on me getting older, and jobs becoming ever more demanding. Also, being a parent certainly is draining too!
When I was still flying solo, I could basically paint every night of the week. Not to say I did, but I could. This gave me a lot of freedom, and not painting one night because I wanted to go out, or watch a movie, or even just lounge and do nothing was not a big deal; plenty of evenings to do so when the mood struck.
But then I got into a (new) relationship, got married, and eventually became a father, and each of these steps, as incremental as they were, siphoned off available time to paint. To the current point where missing the one night a week I have available for painting (next to actually gaming, RPG-night, the gym, quality time with the wife and daughter, social commitments etc) has a huge impact on my output.
Because all of a sudden, it completely destroys my output when I don't feel like picking up a brush on that one night I actually have the opportunity to. As a consequence, I almost feel guilty for not painting at that time, because I tend to set goals for myself in regards to my yearly painting output, which get hit hard if I don't regularly paint.
See; I want to paint 100 28mm miniatures (or equivalent) per year (in 2021, I made this number for the very first time! Yay me :D ).
I also found that I'm not as much feeling guilty about not being productive, as that I regularly find myself slightly irritated with the fact. Often, my lack of painting is caused by me being thoroughly exhausted after a long day of working, making dinner, doing the dishes, and then working through the loooong bedtime ritual of the little lady ::) And by the end of this, I'm finally free to do what I want, but I'm too tired to do anything but sit and watch a series or a movie (but often there's too little time in the evening to watch a full length one).
So I used to be able to paint whenever I fancied, but now, with so much other commitments, the stars must align just right for me to be able to get some painting time in. And even then I can get frustrated because I can't get enough done in one sitting. And this can also completely kill my mojo.
But eventually I found that re-arranging the lead mountain, tidying up my gaming room, prepping projects, or even just planning hypothetical projects during those energy-sparse evenings have their merit as well, and can actually be satisfying too.
Forcing yourself to do something productive and hobby related each day, even if it's just 10 minutes or half an hour doing the things above also helps feeling good about the hobby in the long run. Sometimes I just stand for 5 minutes looking at my display cabinets, thinking of how to expand the collection(s) within, and even those moments are valuable!
The important part has been repeated over and over in this thread, and it very much holds true; it's just a hobby and don't beat yourself up over not being able to perfectly make use of the allotted time. Just enjoy those moments when it all comes together :)
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Bit of a ramble I'm afraid as I've been giving this quite a lot of thought over the past few days.
I've had plenty of motivation to build and paint; I find that so long as I don't have a massive queue of miniatures to paint then I'm pretty motivated all the time and love jumping between figures and terrain.
If I get a huge pile to paint though then I definitely get stressed and lose the will to get anything done pretty quickly.
As I tend to paint single figures as well as I can and am happy for the larger groups of enemy grunts to be less perfect, this allows me to consider a group of 5 minions as a single figure.
So, as an example, at present I have 8 Burrows and Badgers miniatures to paint as characters and a box of 20 Skaven, 15 to paint as zombies and 5 as civilians.
This, to my way of thinking, gives me a total of 12 items to paint which presents no stress at all. If the number increases much above 20 items I tend to fixate on getting stuff done as quickly as possible, more interested in what's next than what I'm actually painting.
However, I have been totally lacking in motivation for playing either of the 2 solo campaigns I've recently started, one fantasy and one sci fi, although I've been more than happy to play any of the board games I own, either in groups or solo and to play at the club against others.
The conclusion I have reached is that I tend to do a blow by blow account and pics to post on here, and/or Facebook, which completely ruins the flow of the story whist playing, and takes a fair bit of effort afterwards just to post.
I am going to change up this by returning to what I used to do, play my game, get immersed in the story, maybe take a few pics and write a brief summary of the story details and direction by hand, in a book, for me to reflect on as the tale unfolds.
Posting online is to be restricted to my building and painting, both to share with anyone interested and to keep a record of my projects in one place.
I'll try to remember to call back in a couple of months to let you know if this was a complete failure, a raging success, or something in between.
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I actually thought your ramble was eloquent and echoed how I feel too.
I've had plenty of motivation to build and paint; I find that so long as I don't have a massive queue of miniatures to paint then I'm pretty motivated all the time and love jumping between figures and terrain.
If I get a huge pile to paint though then I definitely get stressed and lose the will to get anything done pretty quickly.
This, to my way of thinking, gives me a total of 12 items to paint which presents no stress at all. If the number increases much above 20 items I tend to fixate on getting stuff done as quickly as possible, more interested in what's next than what I'm actually painting.
Your three comments above hit the nail on the head for me.
I find the days are long gone where I could spend a week painting a figure and I'm at the point where if it looks ok on the table then I happy. As a result, I try to breakdown my lead mountain hillock to groups of no more than 5 - 10 to keep my enthusiasm up. Also, with life beginning to return to some form of normality, I'm feeling ok if a week goes by without any hobby activity (I'm assume ordering doesn't count ;) ).
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Is it just me or does anyone else find that their hobby mojo rises and falls?
Mine rises and falls like a rollercoaster. High highs and low lows over a very short space of time, but sometimes things get so low I just get right off and don't come back for a year or more.
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Managed to pick up Covid on a trip to the office and man I do not want to roll a dice, let alone pick up a paint brush at the moment!
My hobby mojo is so far gone, I think it must off this planet. :o
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Get well soon.
Speaking from experience, I can indeed attest that being down with the sickness is hell on your mojo...
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It will be a sign of recovery when you start thinking of the hobby again.
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I have a kind of rule with myself that I spend 30 minutes a day doing hobby. Sometimes i spend it cleaning up, sometimes on painting and sometimes on assembling/priming miniatures. Sometimes I only spend 30 minutes other times it turns into hours. Depending on mojo and actual time available.
I find that once I get into a streak it really helps with the motivation. 30 minutes spent hobbying is still better than none. Even if it is just cleaning your hobby area.
And I try to have several small'ish projects on deck so that I can switch to whatever takes my fancy.
This is great advice. Another way to get motivation up is to "cheat" and achieve things easy. Using contrast style paints to quickly paint up a lizardman or whatever is a great way to feel you accomplished something. It's only 20 minutes or painting but you get a finished piece ready for the table. A few of those and you have a warband and you start to snowball quickly. Doesn't take much investment but it builds up to feel like you did something way bigger than it's parts.
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Do not think about it - just put something on to watch - pick up a brush and just start painting. Before you know it you will be painting like the rest of us again. You can do it we believe in you.
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I find it tough to paint minis without the impetus of an upcoming game for which the figure or unit will be used. I can dive into a big terrain project and often get it finished rather quickly, but minis take more mental effort for me.
I do agree with folks here who say, just start painting.
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Got some figures cleaned of mould lines Yesterday then onto bases.Today was the turn of some 15mm MDF buildings from Dragonfrog.Three Orc huts and two Dwarf buildings.Nice little kits.
Now to see what Tomorrow will bring.
Been digging through boxes the past few Days and found some nice miniatures hidden away.Nice to have options of what to go for next.
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I've had a lot of real-life chaos getting in my way lately, but I did treat myself to a Warpath Asterian Strike Force because I finally got brought on permanently at my job. I've assembled the whole thing, minus a few heat-treatment issues with restic models. Even used a few 3D-printed bases.
On a side note, if you need robot sentries/security drones/generic bad guy troops, the Asterian Marionettes are great. You'll have enough arms and drone bits left over for kitbashing, too.
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Anyone suffered recently due to the heatwave?
I found painting suffered as the paint dried very, very quickly. On the plus side, PVA dried very quickly!
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Been quite productive knocking out mdf kits the past few days.
Painting on the other hand is not happening at all.I really need to start painting the stuff i have made-up.
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I've been...on/off a bit lately, but working on a secret project, and spending more hobby time cranking on rules than actual minis/painting, etc. Trying to get some games actually finished and released vs. just playing my games at 85% for years on end :-[
I have made it over a few hurdles though - mainly models I desperately did not want to paint (but need for games), so that's always a win.
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Yes, heat has impacted my painting speed lately.
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This year of the Lord 2022 I hadn't painted anything until mid-February, when I caught The Disease. But just after painting a single figure, I got hired for a new job in which they had several urgent deadlines to deal with, so the hobby time went out of the window.
Now I'm on holidays with time to paint, but the mediterranean heat dries the paint right on the wet pallette. Man, I can't catch a break.
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It's not the heat, but the humidity...
Seriously; when it's hot in the (southern) Netherlands, it's also moist, even during this long dry spell. Not Texas hot and humid, but still. Also, our houses are not built for this kind of sustained weather, and very few have airconditioning, so there's that.
I can stand the heat, no problem, but the fact that sweat covers my body top to bottom 24/7, and brushes slip form my grip because of it, means that my productivity has dropped considerably. Also; heat induced lethargy ::)
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I'm actually fired up for getting back into painting again after taking a complete break since March.
I often find my interest in painting seems to rekindle toward the end of the summer and the beginning of autumn.
But I'm going to have to wait a little while until my imminent house-move (due to happen next week) is complete!
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When it gets too hot to paint I switch from painting to building terrain or (plastic) figures. A few years ago I started anticipating on high temperatures by setting stuff (terrain materials, boxes of plastic figures) aside to keep going when it is too hot for painting.
I don't have a space for using spray paint indoors so I base my figures with spray paint outside. Since the temperature range for successful spray paint use is limited. I primarily base my figures in autumn and spring (not too hot, not too cold).
T.
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Got to say, I've currently got my mojo back. I've found switching between figures and scenery has massively helped my productivity, when I get fed up with one, I switch to the other.
I'm finally painting bits I bought from Ainsty and Black Cat Bases over 10 years ago!
Having some fun too! lol
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FbbP4sDXwAIgWzk?format=jpg&name=large)
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Spinal Tap nailed it for me - I set myself painting targets I want to achieve (actually just like Daeothar’s 100 28mm minis painted) but in my case it served to demoralise me and turn what should be fun into a chore.
So one of the steps I now embrace is ‘good enough’ when it comes to completing a paint job! :D I also had the happy realisation that by reorganising my hordes after the above failure I was able to free up a bunch of painted units that could be repurposed for the ones I gave up on! Happy circumstance in my case, but def touches on what others have said - that reorg and planning/ prep can be just as satisfying for some.
But I would still like to hit 100… 75 done… *Gets sucked back in* o_o o_o o_o o_o