yes, not because I don't think I can't do better if I put more effort in, but because I've reached a level I'm comfortable with, where the time/irritation to acceptable look of the minis equation has reached my perfect balance.
so whatever war film I've recently watched seems to determine where I paint next.As someone who has traditionally* been a massive butterfly, I usually found the best way was to keep on track with a project was a constant drip stream of inspiration related material - audiobooks, video games and movies. Obviously, this can be somewhat limiting, and partners/housemates may not appreciate the constant stream of WW2/ACW/Roman/Vietnam/Whatever. Mix it up with stuff that doesn't have much playability lol (If you're a weirdo like me who seems to pick out the most niche of subjects, there can be very little fodder for tis approach)
.... but to paint to a level where I was comfortable with the end result,
Been painting since the early eighties. Mostly scale model kits, until I found an RTB01 box one day, and that's what got me into miniatures. But only with the advent of Hero Quest and Space Crusade a year or so later, was I properly introduced to miniature painting. In fact, I didn't believe that the minis on the sides of those game boxes were actually painted; I thought they must have been photoshopped (avant la lettre), since nobody could paint that detailed! Well, not with Revell and Humbrol enamels, no.
Because those were the paints I had been using for all my painting up till then. In fact, I resisted crossing over to acrylics for several years (my RTB01 and MB games minis were all painted with enamels :D ), but eventually I caved.
And I was amazed at the enormous advances my painting showed once I got used to the new medium.
The next step was getting acquainted with other painters on online forums, and influenced by them, I went and bought my first good Winsor & Newton brush at the local art store. And again, I surprised myself with the huge improvement these made in my painting. I had been using the GW standard brushes that came with the paint sets I had bought before and cheap ones I had left over from my model kit years.
And it's the next period that really saw my painting skyrocket. I got better and better and in 2006, I flew over to the UK for Games Day. I entered the Golden Daemons with three entries, and became a finalist with all three! And even though these were my best work at the time, they were also 'just' gaming miniatures, intended to be used on the tabletop. I planned to return the next year, with purpose-painted minis (to be serious contenders), but then I met my later-to-be wife, and money set aside for GD 2007 became money set aside for a vacation together, and I have not participated again.
This was the time when I was able to paint Latin litanies on the rims of space marine shoulder pads, the time when I layered power swords with a whopping 40+ minute layers to achieve perfect colour transitions, the time I achieved somewhat mastery of non-metallic metal painting, and much more.
But my productivity was ever so slow. Painting to those standards, and I went for perfection on every mini I took the brush to, made my progress glacial. And since my ambitions to achieve painting god status had sort of been put on hold, I eventually decided to put quantity over quality, and started to paint gaming armies, since that had become the true purpose of my painting now.
The result was that I had to turn down my painting levels considerably, as painting to the best possible standard is sort of ingrained into me. So by lowering the standard, I could be satisfied with the results, even though they were not as good as the ones I achieved in the 'golden years'.
I've been doing that for about a decade now, and I can confidently say that my output volume, when compared to before, is astronomical. In fact, the bottleneck these days is time available, instead of my own abilities.
This does mean that I'm not as skilled as I used to be anymore. In fact, I know from experience that a prolonged period of not painting results in having to 'get back into it' when I pick up a brush again.
And then there are the physiological challenges. I have to face it; I'm getting older... ::)
There has been a period that my hands were constantly cramping up, to the point where I could not paint for more than 30 minutes or so. I was told it might be arthritis, but when we bought new mattresses and pillows some time later, the issue was completely gone overnight (literally in that case)! Turns out the old mattress and pillow caused circulation problems, with those hands as a result. I've not had that issue again, but it did mean my painting abilities took a bit of dive. Both because of the painful hands, and the fact I simply painted less because of them and lost some skill points because of that.
Also I've had my eyes lasered since then. I went from -6 in both eyes to 0, so finally glasses/contacts free. But the downside is a slight amount of lens flare in situations of high contrast (bad when driving at night, but also when painting minis) and a slight decrease in contrast resolution. And admitting to the inevitable decline, I now sneakily use some off the shelf reading glasses when painting, and So I can confidently say that I will probably not achieve the detail level of litanies on shoulder pad rims again.
Then there is the issue of being able to hyper-focus back then. I was diagnosed with ADD at a late age (35), and was prescribed medication for that. This did absolute wonders for my career, but also meant that I was not able to really get sucked into my painting anymore. I used to be able to sit and toil on the minutest detail for hours on end (completely forgetting about everything else around me), but that focus is now permanently gone. I've long since built down the meds and don't take them anymore now, but prolonged use actually results in changes in neural pathways that are permanent (which was the entire reason for the prescription in the first place, obviously).
So I am under no impression that I will be able to surpass the painting levels I once used to achieve. Best case, I will eventually be able to match those levels again, or come close to them.
TLDR: my painting used to be great, now it's OK...
Aside from being an interesting read, you write very well.
Perhaps you might consider submitting an article to one of the mags re : your painting experiences, you would hold attention.
https://www.wargamesillustrated.net/contributions/
https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/wss-submissions/
Go on, and let us know when it's published lol
Also, my skill always varied even within a single miniature - most effort is spent on the face and chest, which is where a viewer's attention focuses, while other parts of a mini may be simpler or less tight in their application.
Well, failing eyesight is not helping. In my case it is just the normal worsening which comes with age, and over the counter +1,5s amends mot problems. But I think my results are not as good asthey used to be.
On the other hand I have come to realize I do not care as much any longer to strive for perfection. I have mellowed with age and I am fairly content with the level I am at now. :)