Painting drought

[ashmie]

Can't get the motivation. Really worried that I'm losing interest in painting, games and now even RPGs! Have I had too much of a good thing maybe? I need to either force myself to recover the hobby bug or just not stress about it.

[job]

Can't get the motivation. Really worried that I'm losing interest in painting, games and now even RPGs! Have I had too much of a good thing maybe? I need to either force myself to recover the hobby bug or just not stress about it.

Seems, like you shouldn't worry about it. Usually this thing just comes in spurts. Just today I came over with a fever to paint my Napoleonics again. Probably you'll get a similar sudden urge in the middle of an inspiring movie, book or whatever makes you love the hobby. That and maybe the weather becoming colder.

Anyway, bicycling, exercising, reading, movie watching and whatever you might do in your free time is probably also a good use of your time, too.

[Primarch]

If you have to force yourself to do something, it's not really a hobby, but a chore.
Do what you feel like doing and don't stress it if you aren't in the mood. As Job says, some reading or a movie may help inspire you. Don't worry about getting minis finished, just chip away at them a bit. Set up a painting area with your paints, brushes and a handful of minis. Put some tunes on, open a beer, get comfy and see if the muse appears. At the very least you get to drink a beer and listen to some music.
Oh, and don't worry about your level of interest in gaming. Worrying is never a worthwhile use of your time. We all have high points and lows, motivation waxes and wanes. Gaming will always be around somewhere, it can wait. Badruck has taken time away to do more cycling, family or work takes priority for a lot of us. I've been gaming a lot less for the past year due to house related stuff. At the end of the day, your next game is just a phone call, PM or email away. Whether you arrange it next weekend or next year isn't as important as being happy with your life.

[me_in_japan]

Totally agree with j and p. Paiting should only ever be for fun, and that means when you feel like it. Don't sweat it. Watch a movie, read a book, maybe even browse around the Internet looking at mini sites and see if that sparks your interest. (And if it doesn't, that's fine. Only do it if you're enjoying it.) There are lots of things to do out there, and we all drift to and fro in our interests over time.

Incidentally, I don't know if you saw my thread about Infinity, but if you fancy I'd welcome a bit of assistance playtesting once the box arrives. If you feel like it, like

[Lovejoy]

Yeah, what they said.

There's no need to feel pressured, it's a hobby you do for fun. If you aren't feeling it at the moment, well, the gobboes and tentacled things will still be waiting in the cupboard for later. No big deal.

[ashmie]

Great advice again chaps. Thanks for the support and your kindness.
My son is just taking a nap, could this be my chance.

-Edit-

The spell is broken.

[Lovejoy]

Talabheim is a nice scheme with fun background I think. Looking nice.

[me_in_japan]

hooray! Paint on plastic - a joy to see

[ashmie]

So, having not painted anything since October and only painted about 12 minis this year and perhaps only played a grand total of 7 wargames (not bad) 4 of 40k, 1 Bolt Action, 2 Dredd I'm starting to wonder where this hobby is leading. Or am I at the end of the road? Case in point, today was a perfect example. I had planned to go to Nagoya for a fun day of gaming but when it came to it, true to form, I had to stay at home because I had family priorities. All well and good. I managed to take care of them for most part of the day and get a viewing of the battle of 5 armies in later, which was awesome by the way! Very pleased with how it turned out.
Back on point, it's been about 10 years now since I rediscovered the hobby back in winter 2004 and I feel like I'm at an ending point. When I think back to how I used to relish painting and couldn't get away from the brushes and paints. The prospect of actually getting a battle in back then 2004 - 2012 was even more exciting. Maybe it's because I had more room, or an awesome shed but I just can't get excited now about plastic or metal minis or even pushing models around a grass mat. It's been this way ever since just before my son was born. Whether it's the sobering reality and responsibility that fatherhood brings unexpectedly or what I don't know. I definitely don't dislike the hobby, I love it, but I can't be excited like I used to and often with gaming there can be a lot of stress with geek fights online, playing right, painting right, keeping players happy. No trouble on here in recent years, it's been very civil but these are things I'm noticing from gamers in general, we are a picky and whingy bunch at times. Organising events! Hats off to Prim, he has the patience of a god on this one. I could manage about 3 years before it sent me doolally.
I think a lot of it is to do with knowing how much time and money I have spent on the hobby that stops me from getting hooked again.
This is not a regret post, I have a genuine love of the hobby but I'm concerned that perhaps I have overdone it and lost the spark. People say, or it's just a game and it's supposed to be fun. This is true, in an ideal world. But as wargamers I think most of us would agree that is nonsense. It's more than that as it becomes a hobsession that takes up a big part of our lives.
Really this general feeling seems to be stemming towards all gaming in general whether it's RPG tabletop or video games, Lovecraft geekery. There is just this tragic feeling of having overdone something and outgrown the fun.
These days I much prefer to see how other people are painting on here or hear tell of other games that people have played than actually want to game myself. I seem to be happy with watching movies and reading. It's becoming a very solitary life but I'm actually enjoying that pace. I think a lot of it's to do with working 6 days a week, having no paint area set up and having no further space for toys, unless they are my sons.

With all this in mind I'm thinking of taking a more relaxed approach to gaming from next year. Don't feel obliged to collect, paint or play anything. That way it can be a passtime rather than my hobby and I don't have to get obsessed or stressed when I think about how I should be painting or gaming. Most of my friends in Japan, I think all of them actually, are gamers. So there is something to be said for the strong bond we have for games. Whenever people e mail me to meet up it's usually about gaming. This is cool but I'd much rather just have a beer or hang out these days. Perhaps I need to make time for some social mates to just shoot the shit. I've been so busy with hobby stuff I haven't even made time for anything outside of those circles.

Hmm. I'm interested to see what the new year will bring. I can't force the interest but I sincerely hope I will get inspiration again. If not for painting then for something new and creative. Otherwise it's just work work work. And you know what that makes Jack.
Thanks for reading. This has been a stream of consciousness 2014. Or a brain belch.

[Lovejoy]

Well, you've been in this headspace before I think. As the posts above say, there's nothing that you *have* to do, paint or don't paint, play or don't play. No need to flog everything or conversely, worry about keeping it. If you have time get a game in, if not, no worries. Go with the flow and other cliches.
I'm still managing alright for gaming time since fatherhood, it was mainly work if anything which has affected it. Having said that, we are planning to have another kiddywink sooner rather than later, so I reckon late this year or early next, I might have to be on a bit of a gaming hiatus. Just intentions, that's not code to say my wife is expecting.