When I flicked through my notebook one thing I realised was that I had pasted a lot of pictures into the book but hadn't actually made many notes. Of course I need reference material but most of this comes from books or online and isn't easily transferred to a notebook. What was missing were details of which colour palettes I used and what blends I opted for when painting highlights or shading. In short my painting notebook lacked pretty much any information required to paint a given figure to the same 'formula' as a previous model.
I'm in the process of working on a new batch of Lehr Gepanzerte Panzergrenediers (I'm expanding my existing platoon to Company level) so before I got started I pulled out the first Panzergrenadier Platoon I painted back in June 2010. I quickly realised how much my 'style' of painting has developed and changed since then (I didn't use ink washes for a start).Clearly I am not going to be able to achieve a consistent look across all the platoons in my new Company and I will need to do quite a bit of work on the existing models to bring them up to standard. I also need to do some work putting down on paper the colour palette I use so that subsequent units have a consistent quality. I'll just have to notch this up as another important lesson learned the hard way!
Lee, any chance of some close ups of the old vs. new figs? I'd be curious to see the differences.
ReplyDeleteI haven't finished the 'new figures' yet but when I do I'll post a comparison shot.
DeleteThat is a good idea. Back when I painted it was mostly fantasy orcs so consistency was actually avoided at all costs.
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually one for lists, except this one! I always write down what colours I've used for what regt. It always comes in handy to refer back to.
ReplyDeleteI have some lists of colours but what I didn't do was note down when I deviate from them. So for example I used German Feildgray as my base then highlighted with a blend of Fieldgrey and Green Grey for the highlight...but in what proportion? 1:1, 2:1? An elementary mistake but in my defence I was still very much learning back then and was focused on finishing the unit not scribbling in a notebook.
Deleteyeah, right cry baby... Do it like the rest of us men.
ReplyDeleteSell off on ebay the previous models and redo them with the new lot! :-)
Damn right I'm a cry baby! And as for selling of my old mini's...shudder! Lol.
DeleteMaybe use blogging as your Notebook. Blog your colours, your steps etc. That way you can just look back at the blog post and you can ditch that old school notebook. :)
ReplyDeletecheers
Know what you mean...I have the same problems...
ReplyDeleteI make notes to. I always start painting one sprue of a set and then I go on with the next set. After a while when you want to paint some more, the notes are very useful!
ReplyDeleteAnd sometimes I put up the colour palette on my blog together with the post. (;-) The Kiwi)
Greetings
Peter
http://peterscave.blogspot.com/
I just need to be a bit more disciplined about making my notes. I've long recognised the need to speed up my painting but at the same time I have lost sight of the need to slow down (and take notes) occasionally.
DeleteI applaud your effort to even keep a painting notebook. I've tried several times before but always get so caught up in the actual painting of the miniature that I forget to record important information. My notebook basically looks like this: small notebook with the title "Painting Notebook" written on the outside with blank pages on the inside. Ha!
ReplyDeleteAs far as consistency goes, while I can understand that it's important for wargamers to have consistency within armies, troops, etc..., I find it interesting and entertaining to watch a painters growth, style, and theme change over the course of a painting career by noticing the differences from one project to the next. One of the best miniature photos I have ever seen was a lineup of miniatures done over a six year period by the same painter. You could see his painter's journey through the differences and similarities from one figure to the next. Of course, if the changes were major, I'm sure a collection of themed minis such as an army would look quite unnatural.
Anyhow, good luck with the notebook endeavor!
I started my blog
ReplyDeletehttp://miniatyrmannen.blogspot.se/
mostly to keep track of colours used, as i consistently missplaced all my notes on colours used. So now I mention all (the major) paints I have used for a figure/AFV or whatever. Good reminf´der for me, and seems to be popular.
Joakim
aka
The Miniatuers Man
I have keep a hobby journal for almost ten years. The problem I have is my "ohh shiney" syndrome where I work on something for a month or so and then move onto something else. So when I need to find a complete list of steps I have to look back through two or more journals to find the complete scheme.
ReplyDeleteColKG