Have you hit a Painting Plateau?

Typically when you have been painting for several years you may find that the standard of your paint-jobs starts to stagnate at around the same level.

Often the way we measure progress is determined by the quality of the finished piece however we need to give thought towards other ways we can measure our progress, especially when we think we have plateaued and are starting to feel disheartened by it.

Hitting a plateau as an artist is something many of us face, but have you actually plateaued? Below are some of my ideas that suggest otherwise which can also be applied to progression in a more broader sense.

Output

How many models do you finish painting each month? If you had previously averaged finishing 3 models but now are completing 7 or more then I would say you have made progress.

This could suggest that you have increased your creative capacity for painting allowing you to complete more work before needing a break.

You could also be procrastinating less because sitting down to paint and entering your creative state is achieved with less resistance.

Time is spent actually painting instead of staring at a blank miniature pondering what colours you will someday paint it.

Speed

The eightieth soldier you painted on Tuesday may look exactly the same as your fifth soldier you painted 18 months ago. However you may not realise that you could be completing these in a faster and smarter fashion.

I’ve had to paint over 100 skeletons for my Vampire Counts army and I remember my first 5 took about 2 hours each to complete. Now I can paint 5 in around 4 hours or less to the same standard.
You may discover that you make fewer mistakes which translate to time-saved not having to go back and re-paint things.

I found that the speed I was developing also transferred into other units I was painting as I learned to systematise by breaking down the steps needed to complete each model.

Every time I sit down to paint, I already have a plan in my head for which steps I want to complete this session. Eventually I started a painting journal which I believe is essential for someone who wants to paint routinely.

Diversity

Progress in terms of skill diversity is also overlooked. There’s room to grow horizontally in terms of how many different styles of miniatures you can paint. Painting different races/species/sizes requires a richer understanding of colour and painting techniques.

The majority of my work over the years has been with human and undead miniatures. Only recently have I started to move towards painting Orcs, Elves and large monsters. Other types include painting terrain, busts and large scale miniatures.

Painting a diverse range of miniatures with different colour palettes is a great way to stretch your comfort zone, maybe you have already been doing this and don’t realise how far you have come.

An amateur only knows one way to do something, a technician will know 3-4 ways and someone who has achieved mastery will know of at least 7 ways.

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Be well.

~James