Hey guys,
yesterday was one of the most important day in my painting career... during a quite normal painting day at Roman´s place we discovered a very special mistake in my painting-technique... it´s about how to use your hands while you´re painting.
Well, of course you use one hand to hold your brush and the other to hold you miniature... but have you ever thought about their positions while painting? To be honest, it´s very hard to explain (even in German) what I mean, so sorry if I´m using the strange explanations ;) I think I just get started, so hopefully you will all understand what I´m talking about...
I´m painting miniatures for about 10 years now and so I have some very deep rooted habits.. one of them was (till yesterday) to lean my forearms (and often the socket too) on the table to get stability while working with my brush on the miniature... I don´t know where this habit came from, but I always painted like this... it gave me the feeling of security and, as I said, stability while painting...
Well, yesterday I had some big problems with my miniature... as you see the saracen has a lot of cloth and so even more cuttlings/tuckings (which ois the right word?). I was getting crazy because it was not possible to reach all of them properly with the brush, no matter how often I turned the mini... after some time Roman realized the problem: with leaning my forearms on the table I lose about 70 percent of my "arm-hands´s" mobility and flexibility. So in other words, while being fixed to the table I could only use a few of all "the possible angles and dimensions" of a miniature... it felt like if I I could only paint four different angles all the time...
You can belive me, it was not very easy to realize this point, especially as Roman asked me to lean back and to use my arms/hands freely while painting and without the familiar "stable" unterground... it took a lot of time for him to convince me just to even try this, because it felt so wrong at the beginning. We started by doing some excercises in "feeling your hands": slowly chafe your hands and by this try to explore and to feel them... get a feeling for them... know how they act if you move them... I know this sounds a little bit strange and belive me, it felt like this... but after this excercise it was a lot more easier to change my hand-positions (and to trust them). With this combination I got a new feeling of painting and a complete new understanding of the miniature, I saw new dimensions... I could turn the miniature in so new different ways and help the brush to reach its destination... damned... this is so hard to explain... probably I just show you what I have done:
Step 1) put the elbow of the "miniature-holding-arm" on your chair´s armrest
Step 2) lean your arms on your belly/ribs and relax them... your hands should make contact
Step 3) lean back, take your miniature and try to turn it freely while only using your hand and your wirst... your forearm should still rest on your belly/ribs and the elbow on the armrest
Step 4) now take your brush and start testing your new flexibility while using your hands and wirst. Your forearms should still relax on your belly/ribs. Take your time and get used to the "new way"
Step 5) I realized that your have more control with your brush, if your fingers have contact while painting and the miniature (if it has a bigger socket) rests on your breast
Well... I don´t have any idea if this is something new for you... for me it surely was... I never realized how limited I was in the last years and that this little change in holding my hands makes such a difference. Of course it´s pretty strange to have this new "visions/views" of your miniature. I surely have to adept my painting-technique quite a lot... but it´s all worth the (little) needs...It feels like a dam in my mind has broken and new possibilities are flooding my brain...
On little advice: look for your breathing! I you concentrate to much, you will breath the wrong way and have no control about your brush. Just get used to the new style of using your hands (without color) and then start to think yout your breathing... breath slowly and you will relax. You will really feel it when the miniature rests on your breast and moves slowly to your natural movements... It tooks some time at the beginning but it will work out quickly... yesterday evening I could feel my heartbeat while I was hlolding the miniature.... really strange, but somehow also very calming...
I am really curious about where this new path will take me...
Regards,
Peter
The next time I paint I'll try to see where I stand...
ReplyDeleteIf I use the table to get stability than I will try to correct me.
Thanks apes ! :)
Good to see this written down - it was my pleasure to maybe help you with that idea. I love the way you described what you changed in your use of the hands - I still miss something for me it feels - I remember doing some hardcore hand feeling exercises in the dark of the night on my balcony ... you have 2 of them, let them feel eachother, let them move, let them dance, make them friends, a unit together with everything else ... maybe, I will make a little video addition to this good article - many thanks Peter for your time and effort you've put in this. Let painting guide you from now :)
ReplyDeleteFirst when I started painting it was the same with me because at the local hobby store they taught me to lean my arms on the table.It was okay at first but then came the problems.Usually there were a lot of us at the painting classes at the hobby shop and some of the guys just kept on moving and thus kicking the table. You can imagine that while you try to paint the eye of the mini and someone BAMM kicks the table you are leaning on.So after a few of these incidents I developed the same style as written here in the article.
ReplyDeleteOnly there is one difference.I don't rest my hands on my ribs but I lean my forearms against each other for stability.
Also one of my friend have a very unique style because he can only paint while he is lying on his stomach on the bed.He can't paint the same quality while sitting next to a table.
I do the exact same thing. I knew it was a bad habit. Something my dad said when I was younger. But didn't realise just how limiting it was. Thankyou for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt was really overdue.....Thanks!!! As always picking those simple things that make painting a JOY!!!
ReplyDeleteI´m happy that it helps some of you guys ;) just don´t give up, even when it´s quite hard to adapt your painting technique ;)
ReplyDelete@Roman: I edit some of these informations in the text :) thanks for your help!
haha, i always thought it is strange to lean back and get e relaxing sitting position while painting
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice article!
Heh, I always used this specific position. It is good not only for manipulating miniatures but it is much steadier then resting elbows on the deck AND I can see everything more clearly... (as my eyes are not that good as they were 10 years ago).
ReplyDeletevery good article :)
ReplyDeleterealized that position lately myself too, very better painting and my back is more relaxed though.
Hi, I cannot see the pics from the pc...
ReplyDeleteHi, I just checked back with the links and pics ... and I can see them, well ... I keep an eye on it. Thanks for your help!
ReplyDeleteGreat instructions and very usefull.
ReplyDeleteGroßartig :)
I am also not able to see the pics, but it may be because I am on my phone. I too have been painting for many years (25+, off and on) and have been stuck at the same level for the last several years. Part of it is because my vision is not as sharp as it used to be, but I think this article may help because in addition to giving more hand freedom, this style will also give me more flexibility in looking at the mini. Another reason I am "stuck to my table" is the lighting- how do you adjust for good lighting if you are leaning away? Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteWell, we use the lamps arm to bring it in a good position again. If your lamps arm are not long enough or have a bad angle, readjust this issue.
ReplyDelete