"How Long Can You Paint?" Topic

How long can you paint minis before you need to take a break?

I painted a unit of 16 Front Rank SYW French dragoons with their horses. I painted for 22 hours straight until the figures were done.
Never again.

Hour or two. That if I balance between block painting, washes, dry brushing, and detail painting. If I stick to belts, I Can usually only do 15 minutes before my eyes stop focusing.

Same here, an hour or two.

Block painting, a max of an hour or so…

Fiddly stuff, 20-40 minutes tops!

Usually about 2 hours without taking a long break.

I typically paint for a half hour to 2 hours, yet have been known to paint for half a day.

I paint 2-3 colors at a time. So time varies.

An hour, tops. More frequently 20-30 minutes.

2 hours max. I never get more than an hour at a time though.

Painting is only half the problem. I find de-flashing 15mm figures difficult after a short period struggling to hold the figure in one hand, and the scalpel I use for scraping/paring in the other, without getting cramp in my fingers, or cutting them (modellers occupational hazard, I know)

About 2 hours, less if the figures are in boring poses, more if I'm in a groove – which occasionally gets me into a 6 hour spurt

I put a good talking book on the kindle and I can paint all day, just the odd break to take the dogs out.

~2 hours though less if I find my technique is causing more touchups than it is worth. Then it is time to call it a day and find something else to do.

2 Hours max then break.

An hour or two.

About 20 minutes – I have problems with my hands that prevent longer sessions. I could paint all day were it not for this.

Typically I'll spend between 30min and an hour. Then I rest my eyes by doing something that doesn't require focusing very close for a few minutes to half-an-hour. Then repeat. Resting eyes and wrists (CTS) allows me to be more productive than if I went for too long without a break then being forced to quit for the day.

To tell the truth, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is of more concern than eyestrain. I used to paint until I literally couldn't hold the brush, but that's just being stupid so I don't do that anymore.

About 4 hours max at one sitting with the occasional eye strain break in between.

No more than 2 hours.
Peter
board2deathterrain.com

About 30 mins though I have recently done over an hour at a stretch (and lived to regret it).

Nothing to do with the painting itself but a combination of RSI in the upper body and a dodgy lower back.

I really should stick to about 20min sessions with similar breaks between but I just get sidetracked too easily if I have to find something else to do for 20mins when I need to paint.

Not as long as I could back in the 80s.

An hour or so in one stretch, but I often paint for a lot longer over the course of a day (with breaks in between).

About 4 to 6 hours if I am really motivated.

30-45 minutes is all my back can handle at one time.

My max is about 8 hours, a more normal period would be about 4 hours.

One hour, then a break.

I usually paint 30-45 minutes, take a short break of 15 minutes or so, and then get back to it. I can repeat this for 3-4 hours at a time.

A couple of hours and my eyes start going out of focus; time to stop.

About 15 minutes until the arthritis kicks in.

40 minutes. My life is broken up into 40 minute chunks. Once the time is up, I do something different. I learned this trick from someone I used to work with in Dundee.

About 30 seconds, but a bit longer if they call a time out. Halftime would be more productive, except they show the highlights.

30 minutes before needing to stretch for a minute or two. maybe two hours before needing to take an actual break.

An hour or so, by two hours the quality has dropped to an unacceptable level…

All day (~10 hours), but I am also parallel processing listening to sports, talking to SWMBO, on the phone, snacking, eating, and the occasional bathroom break.

Rarely get such an opportunity.

An hour or two as well.

4 hours … make a cup of coffee then go again …

If I'm doing smaller batches and need to clean and change a lot, then the coffee breaks are more frequent (but I often get so lost in the painting that the coffee goes cold)

Phil

same as above 1-2 hours…

I just did 90 mins. And now have coffee.

Db

With two kids, a wife, a job, and all the other obligations, I'm lucky to make it 5 minutes without interruption!

Like MacSparty, breaks are usually imposed on me so if I can get anything from 10 mins to 2 hours I usually take it while I can.

30-40 min. I stand when I paint and that's about as long as I can. Mostly though that is about as much free time for painting as i get.

As with most of the responses, 2 hours seems to be my longest sitting time before I need to get up and stretch. It's not so much my eyes as it is my back. However, I will go into marathon mode if after a normal painting session I find myself real close to finishing. On such occasions I have been known to dig in and lose track of time!!!

It is totally dependent on how medicated I am. Sometimes I am done before I am done setting up the painting station. Sometimes I am done when my wife tells me that I have been painting too long and need to move around a while before my back seizes up. Maybe I will try using a timer to let y'all know.

Also about two hours. I also think I need to step away and reassess my work after a break, with fresh eyes.

1-2 hours max, rarely get that much time. Usually 1/2 to 1 hour.

20 low and 40 high Generally. Once in a while I have a marathon of over an hour.

An hour or so and then a break – given 4 kids, 3 grandkids and a job I rarely get more than a couple of hours in

about 3 hours before the eyes lose focus, the back aches and the bladder screams for release.

With wife, family, dog, and friends? I will never find out.