The importance of ergonomics

Avelorn

Sven Jonsson
I have heard a few people that complain that their back/neck hurts when they paint for several hours. Mine used to do the same until I came up with a good idea.

The idea is to get the mini closer to your face so you don\'t have to bend your neck. I don\'t have an adjustable chair so I filled a tube with hockey pucks which I use as a support while painting. It is also very important to sit with your back straight. There are probably much more clever ideas out there. But mine looks like this (my GF is painting):

stand.jpg


(I did that ork stuff on the tube years ago.. honestly!!)

Just to remind you all of the utter importance of this, I\'ve done a diagram which illustrate the most probable result from using two different approaches of sitting in a chair.

destiny3.jpg



Any questions? ;)
 

supervike

Super Moderator
well illustrated!!

That gives me serious chuckles...

lollollol

I think taking a 5 minute stretch break is important too, but I hardly think you\'ll end up in Hell if you don\'t.:rolleyes:

edit: I think you are using too much blue paint in the first drawing....
 

Ritual

New member
I understand the idea with the support to raise the mini closer to your eyes, but I have a hard time following the causality in the illustration. It\'s not clear to me how a hurting back is correlated to ending up in hell. Also I don\'t really understand what happens after you\'ve won the slayer sword. ???;)
 

Avelorn

Sven Jonsson
Originally posted by Ritual
I understand the idea with the support to raise the mini closer to your eyes, but I have a hard time following the causality in the illustration. It\'s not clear to me how a hurting back is correlated to ending up in hell. Also I don\'t really understand what happens after you\'ve won the slayer sword. ???;)

look, it\'s perfectly simple!!

Subject no. 1
He paint minis but his back hurts --> he stops painting and throws his brushes and minis away --> he needs money and release of his anger and robs an old lady --> he gets tormented by demons in hell

Subject no.2
He paints mini without hurting his back --> he wins the slayer sword --> he gets elected for pope --> he get\'s the biggest house in heaven.

You clearly haven\'t studied causality to the degree that I have!

;)

@the blue paint on the brush.
Yes that was his other problem.. he might not have made it even if he would have sat correctly. *sigh* oh.. crule world! the sorrow.. the sorrow..
 

dauber22

New member
Well, I thought your illustration was perfectly clear! :D
And a great idea. And, around here, with the National Hockey League on lock-out, pucks should be readily available and cheap! :D
 

Ritual

New member
Ok, thanks for the explanation. You know, causality is a rather complicated issue that is often neglected so it\'s important to get things in the right perspective. I never realised how even the smallest decisions in life can get such dramatic consequences. lol
 

dauber22

New member
Originally posted by Ritual
I never realised how even the smallest decisions in life can get such dramatic consequences. lol

Quite obviously you never had much interaction with \"Old Skool\" Catholic Nuns while growing up lol lol lol They were quite good at \"pointing out\" this idea - frequently while emphasizing their point with a nice, thick wooden ruler. :eek:
 

Ritual

New member
Nah, religion is not that big over here (except in certain places). You know, in the 16th century our king Gustav Vasa collected church bells, metal crosses and other relics from all the churches and made guns out of it. We have a long tradition of keeping our distance to religion... lol
 

Equus

New member
Beautiful art, but the colors and flesh tone seem a little flat. I\'ll give you bonus points for the humor though. :D

Had me laughing over here. And it\'s a good idea to boot.
 

philologus

Subgenius
I like the device you have constructed. I tried something similar but can\'t paint with the mini that far away. I hold my work up to my face and try to sit straight up. The problem I have is that I have to extend my painting light all the way up and that places my head directly under the lamp which regularly achieves temperatures like the surface of Venus.

Strained back or roasted scalp? Ars longa, vita brevis.
 

Avelorn

Sven Jonsson
@Dauber22: Nothing like the old-school nuns.. mm.. rulers.. spanking.. you got me all nostagic over here.. ;)

@Ritual: Vasa.. distance to religion? You\'re definately bordering on heretics, my friend. I think you can expect a purging visit from a few of the more progressive nuns. (or was it aggressive.. I always seem to mix those two words up) lol

@Philogous: What kind of lamp are you using? Using a fluorescent lamp.. or a low-energy bulb helps. I have another one too. a 60W daylight bulb that almost dries my paint before I\'ve been able to get it on my mini.
 

Ritual

New member
Originally posted by Avelorn
@Ritual: Vasa.. distance to religion? You\'re definately bordering on heretics, my friend. I think you can expect a purging visit from a few of the more progressive nuns. (or was it aggressive.. I always seem to mix those two words up) lol
Let them come! :D I always thought Purgatory was the most interesting looking place according to the Divine Comedy. lol
 

Einion

New member
Hehe, got a good laugh out of the cartoon, thanks for that :D

On the serious side, good posture is important if you paint for long periods and this sort of setup is a good idea for steadying the work for detail painting. I\'ve made temporary supports on the desk like this from boxes occasionally but generally I rest one or both elbows on the armrests of my old office chair to help steady my hands.

Einion
 
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