"New Year Resolutions for Painters" Topic

What are your top New Year's resolutions for 2016, miniatures painters?

Paint more minis in general? Paint better? Reorganize your painting area or process? Change your brand of paints? Adopt a new painting style? Improve at painting [your choice here!]? Paint up a unit you've always desired? Paint up a unit you dislike but need? Paint easier models? Paint more difficult models? Paint in a different scale than usual? Learn a new technique? Paint more tartans?

I've only ever stuck to one New Year's resolution – don't make any more of them.

Finish up my unpainted SYW minis

Probably a crazy promise given how many I have but there we are

Just keep on painting and avoid month long gaps.

Don't die until you get all your figures painted

try and do one colour a day.. it's amazing how even small incremental steps add up. Finish before starting another project…

Get started painting SOMETHING.

I'm still painting this years projects. No new plans.

I've been painting 2 colours a day on my own figures recently (I am also painting stuff for my toy soldier company Imperial Miniatures and finishing off a couple of bits for others) and it does get things done…

Mike

No big plans. The important thing is to buy less and paint more. Been able to largely stick with that in 2015.

Trying to paint more than ever.
Which is not a lot for me, I'm a slow painter.

My best year yet has 260 figs (28mm) in 2014, but I buy at least double that amount each year.

Last year, my resolution was to achieve an average of 10 new painted figs a week, so that I might expect to number over 500 new figs for the tabletop per year, which would open up all sorts of new gaming potential. I'm not sure if I managed this because I failed to keep a count as I went (critical error!). I did paint a lot of things, but in more irregular shifts and the focus was scattered all over the place in terms of periods and armies. So it's hard to notice a huge change in any one game or event. But I know I succeeded in beefing up a lot of armies and made it possible for me to stage games purely on my own resources rather than always rely on co-contributors.

Complete the Spanish American war 25mm skirmish project I've been working on since summer.

Finish what I have already started before starting something else. So that needs me to finish a whole bunch of ECW 2mm horse, mounted dragoons and horse holders. Some 6mm early ww2 armour I got two years ago and some 6mm vikings I got three years ago. Mmm but I really really really want more dark age Scots and welsh and strathclyde welsh and dal ratians and …and… and…exits stage left muttering darkly!

Congratulations Piper – these things are no good without subsequent assessment. So, let's see what I pledged last year:

1a) Paint more.

1b) Finish those fantasy bandits, finish those undead Spanish marines and finish those ghost elves, as well as a couple of other projects.

2) Rather than buy less, buy nothing. I managed it in 2013, but 2014 was a pitiful failure.

3) Join the local club.

1a) was a clear pass because 3) was a pass (and the best thing I did all year). Everything in 1b) moved forward at least marginally, but those projects seem to be millstones around my neck. 2) was the catastrophic failure one might expect.

So, my resolutions for 2016 are:

1) Finish projects which are 90% finished: fantasy bandits, undead Spanish marines, ghost elves, the last 5 zombies for that regiment, the last mummies, and those Kings of War characters.

2) Don't start assembling any new projects until 1) is done.

3) Before making a purchases, think carefully or wait until the desire fades.