A BEGINNERS JOURNEY: PART 2
A beginner's encounter with paint procrastination
Paint procrastination? What are you talking about? Why would anyone procrastinate with their hobby? It doesn’t make any sense…
This was me, in the pre-painting stage of my models! Oh my, how naive I was. Paint procrastination, as we all know, or will come to know, is the simple inability to pick up the brush due to an overwhelming urge to do just about anything else. And it doesn’t make any sense! Why would you put off something which you literally chose to do and enjoy doing in the first place? Here are my frustrated newbie thoughts on the matter…
Okay, so the first time I experienced this weird blockage of productivity with my hobbying was with a project I’ve just finished: Ylthari’s Guardians. Four models. That’s it. Not a 2000 point army, not a daunting signature piece. Just four little models. I have persevered for months with the blighters! And somehow, plodding along was the only way I seemed to get through the paint job.
I refuse to believe that I couldn’t get them done due to task aversion. I personally picked the models because I thought they were so cool! Were the vines a little spindly to prime and base coat? Maybe. Could this have set up my expectations for an annoying paint job? Quite possibly… But I know how much I love to look proudly at a finished model, especially when I love the design of the model so much in the first place. Task aversion was not my reason.
So what, then? Someone suggested to me indecision. Had I fully decided on the colour scheme? Did I actually like the scheme I’d started with? To be fair, the answer to both of these questions was no. I used my first guardian as a colour experiment, the result being a messy make-do paint job which didn’t build much enthusiasm for replication on the other three models. Additionally, I tried a new paint technique for the first time. Of course, this is what you want to be doing as a new painter! Trial and error, right? But perhaps I shouldn’t have tried it for the first time on a model I had such high expectations for!
In this sense, it seems like not only was indecision at work in causing my procrastination but also inconfidence. It was demotivating seeing imperfections through my painting. It shouldn’t have been, because I know I’m a beginner, but it was. My expectations were far too high and consequently it pushed me away from the hobby! But y’know what? It’s a strength to be mindful of my reasoning for putting the hobby on the back burner for the past few weeks.
It’s interesting to stop and actually think: why do I not feel like hobbying? There are definitely underlying reasons behind this, quite like there are for procrastination of any kind. I guess what’s important, if you want to remain consistent and gain fulfillment from your hobbying, is to be mindful of such reasons, don’t force anything, and be kind to yourself and your progress!
Regards,
A fellow new painter, battling the frustrations of paint procrastination.