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Finding Time to Paint


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Like many people who enjoy this hobby, one of the major issues I have is finding time to paint. These are usually down to working late, having to do some household job, and more recently having a small child to look after.

So what tips and tricks do people have to fit in some hobby time each week?

Cheers

 

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I also have a small child and here's how I do it. My wife takes care of him on the day I go out for gaming. The rest of the week, she goes for a run right after he goes to bed. That gives me about 60-90 minutes where I can't be too loud anyways so I paint. Gives me some quiet time to wind down and there isn't a ton else I can do at that time. 

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1 hour ago, Thor0298 said:

I also have a small child and here's how I do it. My wife takes care of him on the day I go out for gaming. The rest of the week, she goes for a run right after he goes to bed. That gives me about 60-90 minutes where I can't be too loud anyways so I paint. Gives me some quiet time to wind down and there isn't a ton else I can do at that time. 

Mines three months old and seems to hate being asleep during the day! So I'm guessing when they get older it gets a bit easier but also depends on what your partner is up to.

 

1 hour ago, Boiling Point said:

We have a group of us (Generally 3 to 4) that meet weekly to paint. Having that extra person or people there gives you some encouragement to keep going, and a chance to discuss AOS.

I tend to find it very distracting talking while painting, so that would have the opposite effect for me as I would either get little painted or be very quiet :D 

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2 hours ago, Thor0298 said:

I also have a small child and here's how I do it. My wife takes care of him on the day I go out for gaming. The rest of the week, she goes for a run right after he goes to bed. That gives me about 60-90 minutes where I can't be too loud anyways so I paint. Gives me some quiet time to wind down and there isn't a ton else I can do at that time. 

This is pretty much me too! I game one evening a week, she runs for three evenings, so these are painting nights. Sometimes if I wanna paint longer, I run here a bath for when she gets back. That way she jumps straight in the bath, happy with my efforts and I get another couple of hours painting in and a few husband points in the bank!

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I paint most nights once the kids have gone to bed, usually manage a couple of hours at least 4 nights a week with 1 night out gaming as well. 

I also maintain a to-do list of models = generally sorted by how quickly I want to field them so I try not to let the list get stale. 

 

Every now an again I have a week where I mass build and spray week, getting as much as possible prepped and if I have time breaking out the airbrush to get some base coats down to speed up the painting. Having a box of pre-primed/basecoated stuff really helps if you're struggling with a group of minis or just need a break.

 

G

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I have always found it extremely useful to have an area that is just for painting, so that I can have all my stuff out ready for painting without having to worry about unpacking everything and repacking it all again! This also helps with motivation too, as it isnt such a pain to get to painting as all your stuff is already out!

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1 hour ago, DeadlySarcasm said:

I have always found it extremely useful to have an area that is just for painting, so that I can have all my stuff out ready for painting without having to worry about unpacking everything and repacking it all again! This also helps with motivation too, as it isnt such a pain to get to painting as all your stuff is already out!

Yes I find that to be my main problem. It's quite hard to get in "the zone" with painting and get a good production line going when I'm just doing It on the dining room table. Having a proper work station/geek room is a great motivator. 

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Hey Gaz,

I'm a fairly productive painter and there are a few contributing factors.

1. I love to paint, so always try to make time for it. It's what I do to unwind after a stressful day

2. My wife tends to be out 2-3 nights a week at various activities and I'm home with the kids, after they've gone to bed (this becomes a thing after some time) I paint.

3. My wife is usually knackered well before I am, so will be in bed by 10 most nights, I can happily cope with less sleep so often get an hour or so in after she's gone to bed.

4. I can generally work from home 1-2 days a week.  This saves me 1 hr of travel time each way that I can convert part of into painting time (the rest goes on kids stuff till they're out the door or back in).

5. Work conference calls where you can be on mute are pure painting gold.

 

I know some other people like to do an hour in the morning before their family awake, that doesn't really work for me though, tried it in the past and found I ended up getting half way down the stairs before a 3 year old would shout out that he was awake!

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4 minutes ago, Dave Fraser said:

Hey Gaz,

I'm a fairly productive painter and there are a few contributing factors.

1. I love to paint, so always try to make time for it. It's what I do to unwind after a stressful day

2. My wife tends to be out 2-3 nights a week at various activities and I'm home with the kids, after they've gone to bed (this becomes a thing after some time) I paint.

3. My wife is usually knackered well before I am, so will be in bed by 10 most nights, I can happily cope with less sleep so often get an hour or so in after she's gone to bed.

4. I can generally work from home 1-2 days a week.  This saves me 1 hr of travel time each way that I can convert part of into painting time (the rest goes on kids stuff till they're out the door or back in).

5. Work conference calls where you can be on mute are pure painting gold.

 

I know some other people like to do an hour in the morning before their family awake, that doesn't really work for me though, tried it in the past and found I ended up getting half way down the stairs before a 3 year old would shout out that he was awake!

Thanks Dave. You do know you are my painting hero as I'm always amazed at the stuff you churn out. I think I should be able to do most of those except number 5 as I usually have to do all the talking! I suspect I might be trying to run before I can walk as my small child is still working out the world (three months now!) and seems to hate going to sleep during the day.

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Yeah I found I got some paint time when on paternity leave (2 weeks for me) but then it went away for a while but now they both consistently go to bed about 7-8pm I have my evenings.

One other thing I didn't mention was having a permanent paint station.  I always have my paints, brushes etc set up ready to go, so I don't waste time I would spend painting getting stuff out or tidying it away.  Obviously not possible if space is a premium but if you're able keep an area dedicated to it.

Also I've not talked about painting around Ciara (wife) because she hates the sound of a brush on a water pot or seeing me brush lick, so I'm not able to paint in the same room as her.  But if you're wife is more amicable than mine to painting then you can always paint whilst watching TV with her, as I'm guessing you find yourselves sat with baby in the evenings at the moment and if anything like us you'll be churning through films/boxsets!

 

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I got zero paint time as I was helping my wife out with her Florist Shop as our son was born just before Valentines Day and Mother's Day wasn't long after! I don't know how she did it!!!

I have a paint station and can paint in the same room as Laura but it's only for short periods as she doesn't like it when I'm not talking to her :D (I need to concentrate while painting)

 

I think this would be a good subject for a podcaster to pick up or get you on their show ;) 

 

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I got back into the hobby with AoS, and it was also when I started a new role at my job. 

I work largely from home in a remote part of the world, and there is pretty well nothing to do outside for most of the year. So, tons of time to paint.

I'm not sure I could keep up my painting speed if I went back to a regular work-life balance in a more interesting place to live.

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What works for me (ish; because I get real lazy with painting):

  • Have the models, paints, brushes, wet palette permanently out - preferably so you can sit down and start straight away
  • Set a timer for 20-30 mins before or after dinner
  • Put a podcast on

That way for you get multiple half an hour sessions in a week and slowly but surely you make real progress.

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So the intention was to do some painting over the weekend, and nothing happened. Saturday became Daddy/Son day as my wife had to go and do some work and Sunday was spent me being a bit ill.

So the plan is to do a bit tonight whilst my wife watches the soaps. As I need to get some models finished for the Blood Bowl event, I'm very tempted now to just complete the base colours (just the shoes) and then reach for my tin of Army Painter...:$ It's a shame as I wanted to try and paint the models in the usual way, but I kind of suspect I'm not going to get time

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Well painting is a thing i do only 7 month's a year. Its just to make some break to not getting boored. Normally i do while i have nightshift. The good thing is my Boss said als long als my work is done and im bot sleeping he dont care what else i do. ?

Bringing my Laptop running Podcasts or battreps while painting is also a good way to keep me motivated.

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