Burnout and How to Defeat It!
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- It happens to the best of us eventually! Just before jumping back on to some regular content, here's a little bit of waffle and a few pointers on how you can try dodging one of the most common afflictions in our hobby: the dreaded burnout!
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Sorastro, that guy does his own music, has a very calming voice, and to top it off is just spot on!
You are one of my favorite mini painting channels on UA-cam!!
Wow, thank you! Very kind of you to say. :)
Excellent topic discussion, i'm currently in a "funk" or "burnout"...in the past I found that playing the game, finished or not, helps cause it motivates you once you see all your unpainted stuff on the board, but remember the GAME is fun. I LOVE to paint, I honestly do. However even a huge painter gets burned out. I especially liked your comments on "if you aren't feeling it, walk away". This is super important, even if you AREN'T burnt out. It can lead to sloppy work, which leads to disappointment, which leads to resentment, which in turn goes into rebuying the model or freaking out and trying to scrub the model. This is a hobby, its fun, not a grind. Even when im asked to paint a entire army for someone else, I break it up into small 5 model groups and try to finish each of these models within a certain time period...say...two weeks. These small wins of finishing these models does help motivate you further.
Valuable video.
This is part of the reason I really like skirmish games. Right now I'm painting a 7 point figure who's part of a 50 point list. Very easy to get those little victories as you say, when I only need to get 1 guy done to finish a "unit" as opposed to 10 or 20. Even so, I've got a row of 9 figures now that I've painted during this year as "just for fun" here 'n there. None for a game I play. It's really quite refreshing.
You've got some good ones already. If it were my list I'd add Vince Venturella. His Hobby Cheating videos are amazing if you're looking to take a step or two forward.
It's part of what I think GW's really got right with the likes of Shadespire and Necromunda making a comeback. The ability for someone to buy in with a minimum of fuss and mess means it's far more likely they'll give something a shot and hopefully enjoy it, versus sinking into an army they're going to turn out to dislike. Fingers crossed we keep seeing support for them!
Very helpful video. My approach to fighting painting burnout is to rearrange my display cabinet of finished models. By handling and redisplaying stuff I finished, I eventually end up generating interest in working on the stuff waiting on my workbench. I also muck about my library and read up on stuff related to the project I'm experiencing burnout on. It helps regenerate my painting mojo. Thanks!
Now that's one I hadn't considered! It does help a lot, now you mention it, to spend some time looking over past successes. It's encouraging to know that you can do it when you might feel a little frazzled around the edges. Great suggestion! Maybe it's about time I invested in a display cabinet of some kind... :D
Thanks so much. I really think I needed this today. Totally in a funk. I normally enjoy all aspects of modeling/painting and when I’m not doing commissions; I actually find painting relaxing! Thanks again, I’ll try some videos/other projects. Great channel.
I really find the biggest step to getting out of that rut is to find something else, just for myself, and to paint for the sake of it. Just to enjoy having something in my hands that I'm doing for no reason other than to enjoy it. Going from 'work mode' to remembering why I enjoy all this in the first place can be difficult - taking yourself out of that mental space takes a bit of work, some days! - but ultimately this is all for us.
Very true! Much appreciate your posts/great ideas / you do excellent work. Thanks again. Enjoy your week!
Great advice, the way I combat it is I paint one model, then I start batch painting putting all the models I'm not painting away. I leave the painted model out in view so I can see what I am capable of painting. It's a method I've tried and loved, before I know it I've painted 6 models in a few hours, rinse and repeat, except leaving all painted models out to see so you can slowly see them build up.
Hey Sonic Sledgehammer Studio. Burnout and How to Defeat It! Thank you for the pep talk :D Good info. Take care and have a wonderful day. Excellent videos. Peace & Joy :D
Some good tips there man. I think my “burnout” problem is that I have soooooo many projects on the go at the same time haha. It’s fun but daunting at the same time.
Sometimes it helps to make up a list and focus on something specific, try to stop the 'hobby butterfly' effect. Sometimes that's just what you need! It does depend from person to person what works best; I like a little variety to keep me entertained, but I know that's not always best for everyone.
Looking forward to seeing the Chaos Cultists video! Got a few sitting around, looking for an excuse to get them painted up. Cheers.
I have been a dyed in the wool historical modeler and I found myself burning out on the hobby. I started a scratch build sci-fi tank and since then I have become more interested in the historical side of modeling. Sometimes a little change makes a big difference. Thanks for the advice on this tutorial.
It's part of what drew me to historical miniatures, as well. It'd been so long painting Space Marines and the like that I wanted something a bit more grounded, and since getting involved with a broader variety of miniatures it's introduced me to whole new communities, and some tips and tricks that one group possesses which could help the other!
Would love to see a video of the cultist, they look absolutely splendid for such a short time of work.
I'm going to HAVE to do a video with the cultists! People seem really keen on them. They're honestly some of the simplest stuff on the table - just a base spray, some single colours and then a grungy wash. I'll save the details for a video, I guess! ;D
Omg, can't wait to see it ! :D
To add another way, I like to paint with a friend of mine for an hour or two before we play a game. That way I can usually get stuff finished.
That's a great idea if you can make the time for it. :D A buddy and I used to do weekly paint jam sessions where we'd hang out, put on some Floyd and just bash on the paintbrushes for a couple hours. Painting as a social event works remarkably well if you can swing it!
Thanks! That was fifteen minutes well spent. Love the cultists.
Just want to say that your videos are my favorite when it comes to seeing how these minis can be painted. I've pretty much seen all the major players on UA-cam and your simple but effective steps are the best (especially since I want to game with my minis quickly but also want to make them look good!).You've done so many videos that I don't feel in any way that you've left us hanging. Just work on whatever you like and at your own pace. Again, thanks!
It's been interesting to find a niche along the way. When I got started it was mostly concerning basic techniques for buddies overseas who wanted to see how I was doing things, but it dawned on me there's a spot there for 'good-but-not-perfect' on the table. A lot of us stumble over the tiniest detail, holding up perfection as our standard... and it's just not going to fly when you're getting started, right? The way that I see it, the only person you need to impress with your stuff is yourself first and foremost. If you're happy, that's a win!
I had burnout for several months and then lack of motivation for the next few. I had a whole load of boxes with different Space Marine Chapters in, a couple of squads here and there, nothing cohesive.
Then, suddenly I just got a huge surge of focus. 6 weeks later I had a whole Battle Company 120 infantry, 9 Tanks all painted, all based.
TL:DR - It comes back. :) Great Vid.
Cracking stuff! :D I'd love to see what you ended up with. There's nothing quite as striking as a full Company laid out on the table for sheer wow factor.
Glad I came around watching your channel, uploads like this are needed too, thanks!
I suffer burnout a lot too. Happens with my bowling, even. That's why I take an occasional short break instead of forcing myself out of that burnout. It just passes that I return to my passion, like nothing happened prior. :)
Good tips, yeah I made a video with how I avoid burnout not long ago :D
It seems like it's going around! Summer's a bugger for us painting types, maybe. XD
I’d like to add that maybe instead of “Burnout” that for me, painting has become sort of “Overwhelming”! I’m about a year in to painting Miniatures. Recently got into Aos (Because I bought Warhammer Quest Silver Tower/Shadows over Hammerhal). Not even finished those sets yet, I went and bought Storm Strike AND Tempast of Souls! Man, I’m looking at all this and it’s just overwhelming to me, to get this all painted. I’m only about 50% done with Silver tower - and this stuff really is time consuming. So I look to find tutorials, most of which are fairly involved with the paint scheme. Then I recently found this channel to find some really good painting tips/tutorials that won’t take forever to do and look super Great!! So that has helped a lot as I’m about to start my Nighthaunts, including the M Banshees! Good point also to kind of take baby steps and maybe switch things up a bit, which is why I’m moving towards the Nighthaunts (instead of finishing Silver Tower).
That's actually a really good suggestion! I've been trawling through Amazon and the like now looking for something that'd be useful for displaying a few miniatures - I could put the Guard army out and save a couple of cases worth of space for storage, that'd be something! ;D
A lot of my burnout and frustration happens because I have inexperience choosing colour schemes. I also often find myself experimenting a lot, which is time consuming and draining, because I lack the knowledge to solve some particular challenge. Your videos help a lot because I can copy your colour schemes and learn from them. I also now use a wet palette after seeing your video and besides keeping the paint from drying it has saved me hours opening, closing and shaking pots (not in that order). Another victory in my mind. Hope to see a vid on the cultists, they look the real thing!
Nothing quite beats experience! It can be daunting trying out new colour schemes or choices for layering, since it'll obviously mean either buying a new paint or having a shot at mixing something, which is its own challenge. For all I talk about just giving something a try, even I stumble when it comes to trying something new on occasion, which is why it took me forever to finally put together a wet palette! Keep at it, though, and you'll get where you want to be. :D
Burnout or demotivation is something we can get stressed about because we think we should just be able to carry on regardless. Being aware of the stress burnout can cause will enable you to walk away earlier. Don't worry about it do something else for a bit then return when you ready. Don't stress is the important bit. :)
Trying to put your head down and just charge through it might be a necessity for some of us at work, unfortunately, but when it comes to a hobby - anything that we should find relaxing - it's far better to just take a breather! When you miss it, it's time to come back. :)
What a coincidence, my spouse and me has the exact same anniversaries as you two, d-day for both getting together and the wedding :D
Primo Victoria !
Great advice! I only play skirmish games and board games so I usually change the game that I am painting when the burnout looms ahead. Looking forward to the cultist painting video! They are also extremely fun to convert!
Being able to jump around between projects that're interesting in the moment is a good way of avoiding the worst of it, for real! :D
Just be careful that you don't end up with a lot of unfinished projects ;)
Great vid. I'm going through a burnout period at the moment too. I was halfway through recording a video for this week and a small hitch crushed my spirit. So I'm taking a week completely off to recharge, rest up, and not worry so that I'm fresh for next week.
It's a real bugger when a normally minor thing knocks you back so hard, right? That's the worst thing about being burnt out in that way. Good on you for taking the better choice and having a breather when you need it rather than trying to grapple through and resenting the whole process!
Good info, been suffering from painting burnout for a couple months now. I think my big issue was that I assembled an entire army and now it just sits there an taunts me and I just get overwhelmed with the idea of painting all of those minis.
Think I need to move them away where I don't see them and get back to just painting a half squad at a time.
It's funny, but it's something that's actually really helped me as well. I've got a couple of cabinets (yeah that's a stupid amount of plastic) where I store stuff I've got, and just not SEEING it seems to help a lot with the problem of the overwhelming mountain. Out of sight, out of mind!
Good advice as ever! Poor choice of Tea Cup :D
I needed something a little bigger at the time! ;D
My big problem is that I never feel like anything is done, so I need someone to tell me to stop fiddling with everything and call it done. Makes it hard to call something 'finished' when I can't decide what 'finished' means
Now that's one I know all too well! I always find it's difficult to set what I want the standard to be in an army, so that first miniature that gets painted for the army is usually to settle a colour scheme, but it's highlighted and finished off like I'd want a leader to look, and then he looks weird in the rest of the squad... bleh! It happens. ;D Just takes a bit of practice, I guess!
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio
I hop armies as a result of never getting past the first few models of a project, and I've had to tell myself to just stop being so indecisive, and came up with a colour scheme for my Primaris army, made a check list for each type of unit, and I'm only allowed to go overboard with details on squad leaders now.
I'm gonna finish that Primaris army with Guard allies, then finish Nids...
Thanks for the great videos keep up the inspirational stuff
good way of dealing with burn out
Cool video. Putting together my first army and I wanna get to playing. Have a big group that plays every Saturday and I dont have an army.
So I keep fighting through to finish so I can play.
It's good to have a goal, but it can seem daunting when you're getting started. Try finishing a squad at a time and playing a smaller game with folks to get into the swing of things. It'll help keep you motivated painting, and as well you'll learn the rules and the ways in which your basic units can excel even more quickly when you're forced to start with the simple stuff. :D
Painted up 60 imperial guard 9 years ago with the wife and got burned out so bad that we just started to paint again a few weeks ago lol having fun again tho
They're an interesting challenge to paint en masse, let's say... ;D
I tend to paint a squad a time but sometimes I just loose motivation for example painting 30 tactical marines i do 10 and I'm chuffed i see 20 more and arghhh so I break it into ten and say ill do 5 today 5 tomorrow and try to discipline myself but on the whole I enjoy painting find it relaxing.
But work burns me out do a very physical job and sometimes I'm so shattered i can't be bothered to do a thing at all.
She stormed the beaches of your heart on D-Day. :{D
Well, she's German... so the storming went in rather a different direction! ;D
I am feeling this way about my knight, its going to be very difficult and without sub assemblies too
I think it happens to the best of us eventually. The thing to consider is just letting something lie for a little bit; when you miss it, head back to it. No point trying to force what you're not feeling.
Sweet commentary.
I am finding that scenery is becoming my palette cleanser in between slogging through Black Legion, Death Guard & too many poxwalkers/cultists.
Great video bud! Btw which GW store did you used to work at??
I always struggle with scenery, for some odd reason. It feels like I'm not painting 'something' if it's not for an army!
I was in Gloucester and Cheltenham back in the day, around 2004-2008 if I'm remembering correctly.
Sonic Sledgehammer Studio it is you! As a teenager I used to go visit my sister in Cheltenham & always popped into the store there, I thought I recognised the voice!
Ha! Small world. :D It's not as if my voice doesn't carry in person, either...
As I tell me boys all the time “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”.
It does rather depend on finding a supermarket that stocks real elephant, rather than Imitation Creamed Elephant in a can. ;D
Nice video, what do you think about GW pulling the old metal models from the webstore?
Podcasts and audio books get me through!
Those Cultists are fantastic, what colors did you use for the brown coats its very striking.
Thanks! I started from a spray of Fur Brown from Army Painter, but you could also use Mournfang Brown if you've got it handy. I then did a quick overbrush of Golfag Brown, then after a brown wash highlighted roughly with some Deathclaw Brown. It's got a nice, dirty orange-ish sort of finish, I like it quite a bit too!
Feeding like that at the moment.......lol
It gets all of us eventually, it seems. It'll pass, though, I'm sure. :)
Anything with a gas motor 5 year burn out...
I can't disagree more: only Our Lord and Saviour Coffee can save painting.
Edit: the hobby tips were great though, just, my god, Tea ?
Unfortunately, this weak, fleshy vessel doesn't react terribly well to large doses of caffeine... I could get through a painting session with the aid of a large coffee, but we'd be doing things like 'How I Paint Dazzle Camo' and 'Removing Paint from Carpet'. ;D
The Flesh is Weak!!
It certainly is some days!