Why do you paint?

[wiccanpony]

Originally posted by uberdark
i paint for the adoration of the multitudes of fans i bring to my cause.

i paint for the little man.

i paint for the women who are astounded by my prowess with a brush.

but most importantly, i paint so that i can sell my miniatures for tons of dollars by claiming that they are \"pro-painted\"

that is why i paint........ thank you all....

*waits for applause*

still waiting.......

and waiting.................


damn it........ walks away with shoulders down.

the Amish still love you as does Squiggy lol

 

[No Such Agency]

Originally posted by airhead
So many of my minis are nothing more than paint by number kits - flesh = fleshtones, armor = metal, cape = blue, etc. Every now and then, I feel I can tell a story with one of my minis.

I find that happening more and more lately. It doesn\'t necessarily mean better paint jobs, just more interesting additions/conversions, and usually more elaborate basing.

I paint because it\'s fun! I know this because when it\'s not feeling fun... I don\'t paint.

 

[lizcam]

Originally posted by uberdark
i paint for the adoration of the multitudes of fans i bring to my cause.

i paint for the little man.

i paint for the women who are astounded by my prowess with a brush.

but most importantly, i paint so that i can sell my miniatures for tons of dollars by claiming that they are \"pro-painted\"

that is why i paint........ thank you all....

*waits for applause*

still waiting.......

and waiting.................


damn it........ walks away with shoulders down.

You are my hero, Ubie. You are a painting god. There is no one who can equal you






Quick, Donna! He\'s not looking. Shoot the tranc gun in his ass. I\'ll catch him when he falls.................

 

[Joek]

Since coming back into the hobby this year, I\'ve just found it to be one of the most relaxing (yet absorbing!) pastimes going. It\'s great to spend a bit of time (mostly in 30 min sessions really) after a long slog at work and just do something creative.

And the \'creative\' bit is another reason. I\'ve always spent far too much time buggering about with video-games, internet and other stuff, and whilst I still do all of that, I just love the fact that I\'ve added a pastime which I get to see a tangible, physical result of the effort I put in!

It\'s also the only hobby that I\'ve done which I actively post about on forums and I find it remarkable how many like-minded (and genuinely helpful) folk there are who give encouragement to what you do.

Whilst I\'m sure very few people know me yet on here (and elsewhere), I found it great to chat to at least a few people at GD and had more to talk about than just the show itself! It was lovely to put at least a few faces onto the posts I read

I suppose last of all, I do it because every time I finish a piece, I always see things to improve upon, but also see myself improving with each one. There\'s not many hobbies that offer that!

 

[wiccanpony]

Originally posted by lizcam

Originally posted by uberdark
i paint for the adoration of the multitudes of fans i bring to my cause.

i paint for the little man.

i paint for the women who are astounded by my prowess with a brush.

but most importantly, i paint so that i can sell my miniatures for tons of dollars by claiming that they are \"pro-painted\"

that is why i paint........ thank you all....

*waits for applause*

still waiting.......

and waiting.................


damn it........ walks away with shoulders down.

You are my hero, Ubie. You are a painting god. There is no one who can equal you






Quick, Donna! He\'s not looking. Shoot the tranc gun in his ass. I\'ll catch him when he falls.................

:twisted:
taking aim on right butt cheek, looking down rifle scope, holding breath.. slow squeeze on trigger........Bang!!

 

[bodiscool]

@ matty1001,It\'s cheaper than a smack addiction.
i started painting whilst trying to break a 10 year addiction to \"smak\" addiction it gave me a focus spmething to channel my energy into. i was 17 wen became an addict and 27 wen i got clean.alltho in that time i picked up 6 demons lol
i stopped painting 7 years ago maybe to prove to myself i didnt need a cruch.
2 months ago i picked up my brushes again
why do i paint? because finishing a mini gives me a better high than drugs creating something im proud of knowing i commited my time and energy to it drives me and makes me want to better myself

 

[DIablofollower]

This is actually a very itneresting question and one that has made me think hard about why I actually paint. Well, lets see.....

I started painting when I was abouut 12, so over ten years ago. Then I was painting for the gaming aspect. But as soon as I found CMON (about 4 years ago), I realized how these minis can be transformed into amazing looking pieces of art, not just figures used for gaming.

I guess I paint mainly for the self satisfaction that after I am done with a particular figure, I can say \"Wow, I actually did that!\" Also seeing the truely beautifully painted minis, I paint to learn as much as I can and hopefully one day excel at it. The final reason is that it is just my way of kicking back and relaxing. After a long day of classes, there is no better way for me to relax.

Come and think of it though, I guess there is one more reason. As I was growing up, and to this day even; I have always been very interested in the fantasy worlds some examples being the one created by Tolkienb and other great fantasy authors. Painting allows me to come as close to making that a reality as I possibly can. Lets me create my own fantasy worlds and helps me indulge myself in it so much more. I am also a huge history geek and student of archaeology so naturally I am drawn to the hobby since there is a large historical aspect. Cheers guys.

 

[matty1001]

Originally posted by bodiscool
@ matty1001,It\'s cheaper than a smack addiction.
i started painting whilst trying to break a 10 year addiction to \"smak\" addiction it gave me a focus spmething to channel my energy into. i was 17 wen became an addict and 27 wen i got clean.alltho in that time i picked up 6 demons lol
i stopped painting 7 years ago maybe to prove to myself i didnt need a cruch.
2 months ago i picked up my brushes again
why do i paint? because finishing a mini gives me a better high than drugs creating something im proud of knowing i commited my time and energy to it drives me and makes me want to better myself

Nice one! :beer:

 

[Gilvan Blight]

Escapism. Reality isn\'t so great, work is a pain in more places then just the A$$, and though I love her, a screaming baby, can fray ones nerves. When I sit to paint, I tune out everything but that little guy in my hands and the tools surrounding me that I will use to bring him to life.

Slightly less Zen reasons: Painted minis look so much better on the gaming table. I\'m pretty much the only one in the group that paints, so I get all the ooohs and ahhs. Nothing beats seeing the players expressions when you put down a fully painted main baddie in a RPG (the ooohs and ahhs are usually replaced by \"ohs\" and \"shits)! Lastly; it\'s a proven fact that painted minis appease the dice gods and make you roll better.

 

[boristfrog]

I\'m pretty new to this hobby - last summer I realised that painting was actually kinda fun. It was the first model I had painted for no reason other than improving my painting skills and it was enjoyable!
Since then people have been very nice to me and encouraged me with my painting. Now when I paint it\'s often very relaxing and peaceful - but sometimes it\'s a bit stressful and I have dreams about colour schemes. I\'m never happy with anything I finish because I know although I did my best it\'s just not very good - but then I\'m like that with everything.
It does my confidence a lot of good to get critiques from people who paint and that\'s something I realise that I need - especially people pointing out what\'s wrong. I\'m a programmer - so like other\'s have mentioned on here, no one really notices what I do until it breaks.
I find programming very creative though - I make something out of nothing and have always loved it. With painting what I have done is very public which is very different.
I want to get better. I read as much as I can. I don\'t know why I want to be better but I do. I\'d like to be really pleased with my work one day.

 

[donga666]

OCD

(Obsessive, Compulsive, Dissorder)

Either that or the dogs won\'t let me stop!









It keeps me sane!

:innocent:

 

[Dedwrekka]

My top three answers:

Because if I\'m going to sit at my computer all day looking at figurines, I might as well justify it as \"research on technique\".

Because if they\'re going to require it for me to play my army (or just to avoid the bitching about unpainted armies), I might as well learn to paint it well.

Because I need an excuse for showing up in formation with red streaks and splotches all over my hands.

 

[evil tendencies]

Originally posted by Dedwrekka
Because I need an excuse for showing up in formation with red streaks and splotches all over my hands.

My students always knew when I spent a weekend painting, because I\'d have primer black fingernails on Monday morning.

 

[Hinton]

Originally posted by BarstoolProphet
I\'ve not yet gotten an agent or editor to accept any of my writings. I continue to work on that, as well. I don\'t have enough money for Vanity Press publishing. Or anywhere near enough knowledge of how to get people to carry my works if I did.
But if you really like my writing, I could share a few of my short stories.

It can be hard to get published and sometimes it might come when you least expect it.

I tried for years to get short stories I had written published in magazines. I\'d send them off and wait, only to get the usual form letters of rejection. After two stories that I had written wound up doing very well in some writing contests (one took first place; the other first runner-up), I tried submitting those. Again, they were rejected; although the some of the editors were kind enough to say that they liked my writing, the story just really didn\'t fit what they were looking for.

Eventually I just kind of gave up and resigned myself to the fact that my writing would probably never be published. I kept writing because I like to - as I mentioned in an earlier post, it\'s one of the two creative outlets I have that I\'m kind of good at - I just didn\'t send any of the stories out.

It was just by chance that I wound up writing for Wyrd Miniatures; I certainly wasn\'t trying to get signed on as a writer. I just posted some of my work and then wrote a story using the Wyrd characters. The stories really impressed the powers-that-be over there and they asked me to sign on as a writer. Since then, I\'ve had several short stories published in the two issues of the Wyrd ezine, with more stories and other writing projects on the way.

So keep writing and try posting your work on various places online. You never know who might be reading it and decide that your stories and style of writing are exactly what they are looking for.

 

[PegaZus]

Originally posted by donga666
OCD

(Obsessive, Compulsive, Dissorder)

No, no, no! It\'s CDO!

Must alphabetize the acronyms....
... must alphabetize...

 

[Infidel Castro]

I paint to keep friends online

 

[Amazon warrior]

Why do I paint? The minis tell me I must! And they\'re so pretty, how can I deny them?

Really, I like having a hobby that I can point to stuff and say \"I did that\", even if it\'s not very good. You can\'t really do that with, for example, computer games. I like trying new things to see whether they\'ll work, and I enjoy seeing how I improve with time. The creative aspect helps keep me calm, too.

There\'s also a certain element of approval-garnering in there too that I\'d like to deny and can\'t. Mind you, I do enjoy painting minis for other people. Unfortunately, only 2 real-life people I know would appreciate a painted mini. I\'ve started entering competitions because of the challenge it presents in terms of meeting deadlines and it forces me to paint to guidelines and styles that I otherwise might not consider. You frequently get good feed-back from online competitions, too.

 

[airhead]

I paint because the womens find it so sexy - they cannot resist me when I\'m painting. The smell of non-toxic acrylic paints drives them wild.

**wakes up from nice dream **

 

[PegaZus]

Ooo.... just found this at Psychology Today during my daily readings. Read it from the perspective of a mini-painter/sculpture and it gets eerie:

The Creative Personality
Ten paradoxical traits of the creative personality

 

[airhead]

Perhaps the most difficult thing for creative individuals to bear is the sense of loss and emptiness they experience when, for some reason, they cannot work. This is especially painful when a person feels his or her creativity drying out.

So true.

But the willingness to take risks, to break with the safety of tradition, is also necessary. The economist George Stigler is very emphatic in this regard: \"I\'d say one of the most common failures of able people is a lack of nerve. They\'ll play safe games. In innovation, you have to play a less safe game, if it\'s going to be interesting. It\'s not predictable that it\'ll go well.\"

This is the major difference between the amature artist and the professional. I cannot afford the risk of stepping out on my own, I have a mortgage and kids in college. (not to mention that I don\'t paint that well.)