Hey, y'all,
this is a personal reflection on my joy of having a lot of miniature projects in
Work in Progress (WiP) status.
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| Some goblins (15mm and 28mm) patiently waiting to receive some color! |
Before I get into this, let me start with a
small look back. I love reading - so much that I basically made reading (and writing) my job. A long time ago, I thought that it was a great thing to finish books, even to force through books that I did not particularly enjoy or liked. And I made myself feel bad if I didn't finish a book. I thought that if I finished books it would somehow be of value in and of itself. At some point, though, I realized that this thinking put barriers to my reading, since in order to minimize the "suffering" I only started reading books I was sufficiently likely to finish, or even re-read books I had liked before rather than starting a new one I was unsure about. Something in me always rebelled against this thinking, and at some point I decided to read only what I liked and not be feel "bad" when I put a book away after 20, 30 or 100 pages. Or to put it in Marie Kondo's words:
if it doesn't spark joy, I say thank you and goodbye! Since then I started a LOT of books of which I finished maybe 10%. But those that I finished I really enjoyed.
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| Really looking forward to painting these two! |
Fast forward to today and the same basically applies to
my approach to miniature painting. I remember that in the beginning, I was very anxious to start only figures I was sufficiently likely to finish. But that quickly changed and I started a large number of projects, some of them I finished at some point - mainly those I painted as presents for friends or those I wanted to take to competitions/exhibitions. But a lot of them are still in some more or less advanced WiP status. Most are based and primed, others I started painting but for some reason I didn't feel like proceeding, or I lost interest in the mini, or I was just not in the mood for painting at all and when the mood came back, some other project was more interesting. I am sure that I will pick up some of those WiP projects at some time, but I am also sure that I will never finish some others, and
that's fine. I enjoyed "playing" with them when I did, and if their time never comes, so be it.
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| Some 1/72 projects whose time has not yet come. |
If I tried to come up with some kind of an explanation, I would say that it's because I particularly enjoy the conceptual aspect of our hobby. I have so many ideas for stories I want to tell in miniature, for vignettes and small dioramas I want to create, techniques I want to try and materials I want to use. And whenever I see a mini I like I usually have something in mind that I want build with it. Sometimes I even think that I like the
idea of putting together a miniature, conceptualizing and building a base, and painting the mini, a slight bit more than actually doing it (here I am just a little kidding... ;-)). Another part of the issue is that sometimes, I just want to build bases, to play with different materials and compositions and do not want to paint. So, a lot of WIPs are just finished bases with fitting minis, both of which have never seen any paint other than primer from the rattle-can.
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Two 1/72 guys on the flanks, a silvery Hasslefree lady in the back,
and my single most favorite 28mm mini of them all in the front. |
Don't get me wrong. I realize that it's very important to finish stuff and that one shouldn't get lost in a myriad of projects - if one's job, livelihood or personal relationship depend on it. And even in the hobby world it is
greatly rewarding to finish something. And: it's of course especially important to keep commitments made to others. However, for the hobby stuff I strictly do for myself, I enjoy the liberty to develop new ideas and to work on that project that calls me the most at that particular moment in time. This is my hobby, my spare time, my autonomy - which I value above all. And while, of course, it's nicer to show finished stuff to your friends than primed WiPs and one (usually) takes finished minis to competitions/exhibitions,
a look into the WIP section of my miniature cabinet really sparks joy for me!
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| "Pile of Shame" - Not for me! |
How do you approach this?
Do you have a lot of WiPs? Or do you only have one project at a time that you work through from start to finish? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
All best, D.
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Hallo Roman,
danke für den Artikel! Ich empfinde Deine Einstellung persönlich als sehr beneidenswert; mir geht es insofern ähnlich, als dass mein Kopf übersprießt vor Ideen (was nicht nur für dieses Hobby, sondern leider auch für alle anderen Interessensgebiere gilt) die ich meistens, wissend dass die Zeit für alles nie ausreicht, nach ein paar Skizzen und Notizen zur Klarwerdung wegsortiere.
Fange ich ein Projekt wirklich an, vereinnahmt es meine Gedanken jedoch so arg, dass ich ständig an dessen Fertigstellung und die nächsten Schritte denken muss. Mehrere parallel laufende Figuren machenmich extrem unruhig und führen meistens dazu, dass ich die Projekte nur um des Abschluss willens zügig und übereilt "fertig mache" anstatt mit Muße und Geduld an einer Sache zu bleiben.
Nicht falsch verstehen...damit komme ich ganz gut zurecht und musste nur lernen, dass ich mich für eine Sache entscheiden muss um mir den Spaß nicht selbst zu verderben...
Hi Paul-Friedrich,
Danke für Deinen Kommentar. Ja, das ist jeder anders. Manche mögen den Prozess, andere freuen sich v.a. über das Endergebnis. Solange es Spaß macht passt's doch.
Gruß, D.
I have a few WIP ongoing. A lot of it depends on what I feel like doing, my inspiration levels etc. If I am not "feeling" a certain model I avoid painting it since I won't enjoy it and the odds of getting frustrated, making mistakes and being frustrated with the whole endeavour is not worth it.
Thanks, Patrick, for your comment! I totally feel you concerning the "feel" of a certain project.
Best, D.
@Paul
Ich hab da eine ähnliche Einstellung wie David, der diesen guten Artikel geschrieben hat. Ich verlier mich manchmal schon in der Menge der WIPs, aber dann sortier ich irgendwann aus und mache manche Projekte nicht fertig. Fühle mich sehr frei dabei und so kann ich die Muse direkt auf das lenken auf was ich gerade Lust habe. Das führt bei mir meist zu einem guten Fortschritt, der sich nicht wie abarbeiten anfühlt sondern eher wie "einfach nur malen" ...
Danke für den tollen Artikel, David!
@ Roman: Gern. Ich dachte mir schon, dass wir da ähnlich ticken. Und: schön, dass Dir der Artikel gefallen hat.
Mit zu viele WIPs verzettel ich mich nur. Am liebsten konzentriee ich mich auf ganz wenige Projekte. Möglichst ein Hauptprojekt und 1-2 Nebenprojekte.
Da ich mich malerisch immer noch sehr stark entwickle fällt es mir auch sehr schwer alte Projekte wieder aufzugreifen, da sich mein Stil meist deutlich verändert hat.
Meine Ideen schreibe ich auf, dann habe ich sie parat wenn ich etwas Neues anfangen möchte. Falls mich nicht sowieso schon wieder etwas gepackt hat.
Wichtig ist es zu wissen, wie man tickt und seinen Frieden damit zu machen. Ich habe ständig Lust eine Armee zu bemalen oder ein neues System anzufangen. Aber ich weiß aus Erfahrung, dass mir der Anfang viel Spaß macht, mir es auf Dauer zu aber eintönig wird (Hut ab, für jeden der das durchziehen kann).
Ich freue mich dann, dass mir die Ideen niemals ausgehen werden und vertiefe mich wieder in mein Hauptprojekt.
Ansonsten geht es mir wie dir: es ist meine Freizeit und mein Hobby. Die Zeit verbringe ich ausschließlich so, wie es mir Spaß macht.
@ Desaturatedred Odin: Danke für Deine Gedanken. Deinen Satz
"Wichtig ist es zu wissen, wie man tickt und seinen Frieden damit zu machen."
finde ich sehr wichtig! Ich denke, nicht nur im Hobby, sondern insgesamt im Leben ist das ein wichtiger Schritt zum Glück :)
LG, D.
I always have 3 or 4 WIPs going at any one time. My reason for it is if I glue/paint a section and have to wait, if I waslk away from my table I'm wasting time. So I will pick up another to work on. This way all my idle time is now replaced by building or painting.
I really appreciate and enjoy your view on this. Thank you. I have some minis I started painting >25 years ago. Then for some time this hobby lay dormant for me. After I started painting again it always bugged me that I didn't finish the minis then. Today I would approach the painting in a totally different manner. I regularly felt bad when I saw the minis.
This is the perfect start to rethink my point of view and enjoy the minis as they are.
Thank you David.
@ Kevin: yeah, that's another benefit of having a number of WiPs! Thanks for sharing.
@ Christoph: really glad the article resonates and you found it useful. Let's talk soon.
Sry, ich hatte nicht darauf geachtet, wer den Artikel geschrieben hat...