Painting blocks

[archangel1]

Just curious, what things put bumps in your painting production lines? My biggest slowdowns come when I have to create a colour scheme.  I'm fine if I'm given an actual uniform guide or something similar to follow but, ask me to paint a fantasy scheme or such and it's 'Duh'! I'm not good at pulling a 'look' out of thin air.  I'm a good copier but a bad originator.
Anybody else experience something similar, or totally different, for that matter?

[matakishi]

Deciding on colours is the biggest time waster for me too.

[JollyBob]

Having more than five miniatures of a given type will stop me dead. Block paiting uniforms just takes all the wind out of my sails. I've been getting better at it recently, but it still makes me look for something "easier" to do. This is why I can't finish armies.

And horses.

Hate painting horses for some reason. Its no more difficult or time consuming than a foot figure, but still...

[Malamute]

Having more than five miniatures of a given type will stop me dead. Block paiting uniforms just takes all the wind out of my sails. I've been getting better at it recently, but it still makes me look for something "easier" to do. This is why I can't finish armies.

And horses.

Hate painting horses for some reason. Its no more difficult or time consuming than a foot figure, but still...

Totally agree. I hate block painting groups of figures.

[Captain Blood]

Having more than five miniatures of a given type will stop me dead. Block paiting uniforms just takes all the wind out of my sails. I've been getting better at it recently, but it still makes me look for something "easier" to do. This is why I can't finish armies.

And horses.

Hate painting horses for some reason. Its no more difficult or time consuming than a foot figure, but still...

Totally agree. I hate block painting groups of figures.

Oh God yes.. I tend to do 4 -6 figures at a time these days. 10 or 20 at a time is just utterly soul-destroying.

Strangely, picking colour schemes is something I find very painless - indeed quite enjoyable...

[Calimero]

I used to be blocked in my painting when come the time to choose the colors to put on a figure that is not dress in uniform. I find a way to go thru this problem though.

I prime a large group of figures (around 15 or 20). I then take a paint bottle out of my paint box and "let the color choose the figure it want to go on" from that group and were it could go on that figure. For example, I choose a Buff color from the paint box and look at my group of primed figures and ask myself were can I put this color? That way I can paint the same color for the hat of a figures, a shirt on an other and pant on a third one. I repeat the process with an other color and so on until all the principle areas of the figures are painted. This way I’m not blocked for a long time and it give the group a kind of "fit together" look.

[Orctrader]

Just curious, what things put bumps in your painting production lines?

This damned heat.     I haven't painted anything for almost a week.

So working on my Website instead.     Launch the update after LPL - as it will include my Lost World stuff I don't want to show the other photos until round 10 ends.

Not much else stops the production.  But then I'm really quite slow anyway.

When painting groups, I never have had more than 7 on the go.  If I need to paint more, I split them.  For example my WW1 Sikhs.  7 were finished and entered in the LPL.  The other 5 were then started.  Completed just before the temperature rose.  When it cools down I'll be able to varnish them and finish off the bases.

[Bugsda]

Researching uniforms, especially Napoleonic.

The kiss of death to fast painting and someone always point out the inevitable mistake 

[Danny the Chimp]

Just curious, what things put bumps in your painting production lines?

The only things that stop me from painting are children, only picked up a brush twice in the last 6 months... On those occassions for a whole 20 minutes a time! Supprisingly I haven't finished much so far this year.

For some reason twins in the house seem to make everything else seem like a distant dream, painting, hobbies, relaxing, sleep...

[Argonor]

Researching uniforms, especially Napoleonic.

The kiss of death to fast painting and someone always point out the inevitable mistake 

Which is non-existant, as almost no-one ever wore a regulation uniform 

[Onebigriver]

Tricky painting schemes stop me. I've had Hasslefree's Dionne in long coat sat on the shelf since March.  I've wanted to get a PVC and leather look to her clothing and not had the courage to go ahead and paint her. I've enjoyed the research though....

[Bako]

10 or 20 at a time is just utterly soul-destroying.

Strangely, picking colour schemes is something I find very painless - indeed quite enjoyable...

Totally agree. Always, "ooh that'd look nice somewhere," and, "the more variation the merrier! They can't all be the same skin colour!"

Though for me it's mostly laziness combined with my unfortunate capacity for being a jack of all trades. I like to do too many different things meaning there's less time per day for all my hobbies. And researching uniforms are also a pain in the arse. My google-fu often gives out when I'm looking for colour pictures of old stuff.

[Mancha]

I used to consider my biggest problem to be coming up with color schemes.  (Now I have additional problems.  )  I've bought some fantasy art books to serve as inspiration, most notably Spectrum books, which show the best in science fiction and fantasy art from over the year:

[dodge]

so far its finding something I actually feel like painting have loads just don't fancy them at moment, mood is changing a bit,

but have some Chronopia sons of chronos which I haven't completed because I can't decide on the loin cloth thingys

dodge

[Argonor]

As far as colour-choice concerns, I usually decide on the overall scheme for a mini before starting out. I THEN waste a lot of time experimenting to get the chosen colours right, mixing paints for the layering, and so on...