Is it finished?

planetFigure

Help Support planetFigure:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mikec55

PlanetFigure Supporter
Joined
Oct 7, 2003
Messages
562
Location
Portage, Ind
This question is geared more toward the more experienced painters, especially the ones who've won awards & recognition in contests across Europe & the USA. I won't mention any names for fear of leaving any names off the list, but we all know who they are.

Whenever you finish a figure, are you 100% satisfied that you've done absolutely everything possible to make that figure the best it can be? Or is there an aspect of it that you know could've been improved, whether it be the cleaning, assembly, or painting? Whenever you guys post pictures here, to me they look perfect but are you completely satisfied?

I've been painting for only about 5 or 6 years & with each figure I see a little improvement over the previous figure, which is a good thing. But still, I see something that could've been better. I know it's all part of the learning curve but I was wondering if there'll come a time when that curve begins to flatline.

Thanks. Mike
 
Hi Mike

Never be happy with a figure, just pleased you have improved on this one compared to the last one. If your completely Happy then you will never improve. What I have learnt to do is paint a figure, to what you think is a good quality and finish, a week later go back to it and fine detail it, you know nicks in the leather, scar on the face, sweat on the forehead, it all adds up.

Its like a never ending Vinyl Record with the grove going from the middle to the outside, the more you go round the process, the faster you become, the larger the knowledge base, the better the experience and skill......

Build your ability, it always pays off....

Dave
 
After 36 years of painting figures I have not reached my potential. None of my figures are perfect and I can always see many mistakes and things about a figure I know I can do better with. I quite often go to my showcase and look for a color I have done and think to myself....how can I do this color better than before.

I am always learning, whether it be someone who has been painting longer than myself or from someone who has just started. I never ever hesitate to ask questions about how someone did this.....or what their technique may be for achieving a color.

I found a technique I really like on my figures that many judges at the shows look down on.........but I don't paint for them.....I always paint for myself and how I want a figure to look.

I have a good friend who has only been painting 5 years or so and can paint circles around me and I always pick his brain about how he did this.....or painted that.

The day I paint my perfect figure.......will be my last figure......and look for another hobby.

I consider myself a mediocre painter and I always am looking to improve on each figure.
 
Hi Guy,

Just looked at the gallery-Wish I could be that Mediocre! I think I'm one month older than you, so time is really running out! but I'll keep trying to catch up.

Tecumsea
 
Hi Guy,
I think I'm one month older than you, so time is really running out! but I'll keep trying to catch up.
Tecumsea

I look at it the other way..."Time is just starting".......I've made my best advances in painting since I retired and don't have "work" get in the way anymore.

My best advice to anyone and alot of friends have heard me say this...."slow down....take your time with each figure"........"When you think you are finished ask yourself......What else can I do to bring out more detail?"
 
I'm not much of an award winner but I read an article by the great Bob Knee where he said he never knew when to quit and that his wife usually had to tell him when the piece was done.
 
I know when I'm finished with a figure, but I'm rarely even 90% satisfied with the result and never 100% satisfied. There's always something one could do to improve a given piece. If I've painted to the best of my ability at that time, that usually does it for me. That doesn't mean that I won't try something new on the next figure to see if I can make it more lifelike, or dramatic.
 
Perhaps this is why I take so long to finish a figure...I spend weeks looking at them to try and decide if there's any improvment to make and like the others, I am always convinced I could have done more. I'd say the best thing to do is to try and find some area that you have improved on from the last time and be satisfied tha you're making progress. After all, the joy of this hobby is more about the journey than the destination.
 
Wise words Glenn. Like most of the people who have responded to this thread, I've been modelling for several decades and I still feel as if my best work is ahead of me, and I always try to make each figure better than the last one. I don't always succeed, but that's the beauty of our hobby and what keeps me interested.

I don't paint for judges or to win show awards (although I have a few), I paint to satisfy myself, and no one else. Invariably, the figures that have won awards are the one's I'm least happy with, weird heh?

I find that after several weeks of working on a particular figure I get bored with it and put it aside for a few days or weeks and start work on another one. After an appropriate interval, I then return to the original figure and look at it again. I immediately spot mistakes or areas of painting that require more attention, and so I attempt to fix them.
This isn't a very efficient way of doing things, but it does allow you time to look at your figure with a pair of "fresh eyes", and see things that you may not have seen before.

Sometimes I've actually decided to strip off all the paint and start painting the figure all over again, because I wasn't happy with the job I've done.

As Guy said, the day I paint the perfect figure is the day I paint my last figure. It is that constant pursuit of excellence and perfection that keeps us striving to improve and learn from other modellers.

My greatest personal challenge has been to conquer my impatience and learn to take my time. When I first started figure modelling back in the 1980's, I could knock out a reasonable Verlinden 120mm figure in 2 days. 30 years on and now it takes me the same amount of time just to paint a pair of eyes.

Mike, in answer to your question, I do think you can "flat line" in terms of your painting standards are concerned. I've found that this tends to happen when I lose interest in the figure I'm working on, or when my interest in figure modelling starts to wane. I find a trip to my local hobby shop and a bit of retail therapy via Empire Hobbies can often fix that problem.

The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy your hobby.
 
My thanks to all for your insightful replies.

With each figure I finish, I see improvement as well as shortcomings, which is pretty much the nature of painting. I guess "100% satisfied" was a bad choice of words because I didn't mean to imply that perfection is the goal. If that were the case, my hobby would be assembling jigsaw puzzles.

Tony hit the nail on the head because I've always been curious if some of the award winning figures might've had some small flaw (for lack of a better word) that the painter hoped would go unnoticed. I know that when I see them posted on the internet, it's hard to believe that there might be room for improvement.

Thanks again.

Mike
 
There are many many times when I'll walk upstairs having just finished what up until then I thought was a fairly decent effort, looked at my wife (the ever so patient one) with glazed eyes, shook my head, and uttered a barely inaudible "sh*t, it's all sh*t". She nods her head, asks me if I'm ready to throw it in the trash pile then politely goes on about her business. She knows that I am my own worst critique and that in a day or so I'll once again walk upstairs after another session and proclaim, "That's it, it's done, it's done, I'm not doing anything else to it." And of course it seems like it never is. I guess I just come to a point where I'll look at the piece, put my hands up, stand up and say, "Ok, on to the next project and let's see what I can do different and pehaps better the next time. Progress not perfection.

John
 
Oh, what gems in this thread!!

My Favourite has to be

"Progress, not Perfection"

And the curve for learning never flatlines; it might plateau for a while, but never flatline.

As for a figure, I think its more about the subtlety and distinctions learnt as we practice our craft.

And most of us are our own hardest critic.

cheers
 
John-

You're right. I've gone through the same phases as you with each figure- from sh*t all the way to, it's as done as I can make it, move on.

Also, I agree with Janus. 'Progress not perfection' is definitely a keeper. I think I'll tape that one to my optivisor every time I sit down.

Mike
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top