Whenever I paint minis, it feels like I'm way slower than most people say it should take, even when I'm not using any advanced techniques. How do I get faster?
#how do I get faster?
tropic wraith
ornate prawn
Practice with purpose. The better you get at a technique the faster you'll get naturally.
proud umbra
experience and not compareing yourself to someone in a youtube video
ornate prawn
Also what Wolkvar said. The only comparison you should make is against yourself. Are you better than you were last week? Last month? Last year? If yes, then keep on doing what you do.
The end result is what matters. If you paint slower than other people to better results then I fail to see the issue.
sonic zodiac
Practice and experience. If you are like me, a lot of time is wasted hemming and hawing over colors, or just thinking about the workflow. Or overworking areas that don't really show that much. Practice really cuts that down, from getting more familiar with your tools to just building better brush control as you paint
grave hamlet
Yeah just adding another vote for what Jatbi said, learning which corners you can cut and not really affect the end result has been very big for me
oak igloo
There is no proper time to finish minis.
It's a hobby you go at the pace you're confortable with.
As many said, practice will make your hand faster and surer ( is that a word?).
I find doing small batches more efficient than big ones.
It took me a year and a half to do an 82 minis plus around 30 extra.
But I learned a lot and I know the next hundred will not only take a fraction of that time, they will also look much better!
Keeping having fun is the key.
ebon falcon
Start with your lightest color when base coating and work towards your darkest. You can be sloppy at first then clean up your edges with the darker colors.
umbral ermine
all of the above. Also do the larger areas of colour first, especially if they are metallic or you use drybrushing. Then you can paint over any sloppiness without having to do things twice.
tulip hawk
I've felt this way before. I find a random mini and paint it as quickly as I can rushing. Then I compare what went well and what looked terrible going so quickly. That helped me set my own pace and determine how long I should be spending on certain areas of the mini. Ultimately, you can spend as much time as you want and it's okay. There is no concrete time frame to complete and miniature afterall
tropic wraith
thanks guys!
sage mortar
Another point - dont "fix" faults as you make them. Fix them at the completion of each step. E.g. if i was painting a mini red, yellow, green as the colours of different parts. I dont: paint red - then fix mistakes, only then paint yellow, fix mistakes etc. I paint yellow, then red, then green. Only at the end do i fix mistakes.
Also with more years of experience your mistakes are so minor and you get VERY quick at applying techneques you are comfortable with. So you spend less time "frustrated" at, for instance, painting eyes. I used to have to paint eyes 3-4 takes to get it correct. Now it's almost perfect each time.
Also you are developing your patience with years of experience. You enjoy the process more, can relax more, as you paint. It becomes zen. If you are zen, who cares if it's 4 hours VS 6 hours.