Motivation is something that most of us struggle with at some point, whether it’s at work, the motivation to exercise or to paint our miniature figures.
Creative hobbies, like historical miniature painting, should be relaxing, enjoyable, and even fun. The idea of painting shouldn’t be stressful or daunting. But sometimes, as with everything else in life, the motivation to paint leaves us.
Motivation can be even harder to find if you don’t consider yourself a painter, and only paint your figures so that they are ready for battles and events.
If you are struggling to find the motivation to sit and paint, or you find that you keep putting it off, and your figures are growing dusty on your shelf, here are some tips to help you to improve your painting motivation.
Don’t Force Yourself
If you don’t want to paint, don’t paint.
Over time, you might want to find some motivation again, but short term, trying to force yourself will only make things worse. You’ll start to resent painting miniatures and getting back into it will become harder.
You’ll probably also find that your work isn’t as detailed or impressive if you are forcing yourself to paint when you don’t really want to.
A short break won’t hurt. If you desperately need something painting, commission a miniature project or hire a professional miniature painter. If not, play with unpainted figures for a while, will it really hurt?
Try Something New to Improve Painting Motivation
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut with a long-term hobby, even if it’s something that you love like miniature painting.
If you’ve lost motivation or even interest, why not try something new?
This could be painting in a different way, trying new colour schemes or materials, painting figures from a new game, era, or franchise, or painting scenery instead of people.
Sometimes, it just means leaving that project that needs finishing and painting those new figures that you can’t wait to get your hands on. Go where your motivation, and enthusiasm take you.
Really Embrace a Project
Instead of just painting, really immerse yourself in the project.
If you’ve got figures from a board game to paint, really learn about the game, spend time playing and talking about it.
If you are painting historical figures, really get stuck into the history, learning more about the battles, the politics, and the people involved.
Paint Something
Sometimes the best way to get over any kind of creative block is to just do something. Don’t worry about the results, just sit down and paint something instead of putting it off or wasting time trying to find the right project to get your teeth into.
Try Sticking to a Schedule
This one won’t work for everyone, and a schedule certainly won’t be easy to stick to if you’ve got a full-time job and other commitments, and painting is just a hobby.
But, if you can a schedule can help. Set aside an hour to paint and you are more likely to stick to it.
Paint What You Want to Paint
There are no rules. You don’t have to paint historical miniatures because you always have. You don’t have to paint sci-fi figures just because that’s what you’ve been working on. Paint what you feel like when motivation is low, even if that means painting something entirely different.
Don’t Stress About Perfection
A period of low motivation is not the time to worry about finer details and perfection. Just let yourself enjoy the process, even going back to basics instead of trying to improve your skills.
Start Sharing Your Work
Sharing your work on social media, or even on your own blog is a great way to get more from it. People will like your photos and pay you compliments, you’ll learn from other painters, and you might get a bit of a confidence boost, which always helps with motivation.