This miniature hobby gets you into so many hobbies. Wargaming, Painting, alchemy, photography, interior decoration, organization, time management, ECT ECT
During the pandemic my employer disbursed a stipend to improve our “ home work space”. I got an office chair that dubs as my hobby seat. It has made a massive difference in comfort. Totally agree with that as a foundation for happy hobby times. Suggestion for a later video: storage and display options for miniatures where the family doesn’t necessarily agree that this is normal house decor :p. Things like shelves, cases etc. beyond the magnetic plastic bin. Thanks!
My hobby space has 4 wheels, storage for a paint briefcase and a couple of model cases, a tray that attaches to the steering wheel and a dashboard to display my work 💪👌👍😊
Great advice, I live by the concept that you put the things you use the most closest to you and the least farthest away or hardest to reach. I would also like to add that it's good to evolve your hobbies space. About every 6 to 12 months I re-evaluate my hobby space and how I am using it. I look for things that are irritating me and find ways to eliminate the irritations. Finally I recommend having a glass surface for your table top. With a simple razor I can get super glue and paint and just about anything else I spill on it off of the table top and clean it up. I can also see the stuff in the drawer underneath of the tabletop in case I need to be reminded of what I've put in it. And if you have a 3D printer you should look into using the gridfinity organizers. Those allow me to keep my drawers very neat and tidy but I can quickly reshuffle things and move them from drawer to drawer around between drawers. This makes it a lot easier to re-evaluate my space every so often.
I got into this hobby, very late in life. I always just played tabletop games and stuff like that and never really paid too much attention to miniature painting or terrain painting. But I have to say in a few months I’ve been subscribed to your channel, you’ve really up to my game! Thanks so much for all the stuff that you do for the community.
You mentioned it a few times but I don't think you emphasised it enough. The 'clean up step' at the end of a project or day or painting or whatever. Putting away the paints you used, storing the models, sanity checking the state of brushes, wiping down surfaces, replacing water/paper towels/wet palette sheets/etc. You see some hobby spaces with dozens of paints and models all over the place, hair dryers and cables taking up half the space, etc. Each project compounding the clutter until that big desk ends up with a small 6 inch 'working area' surrounded by the spreading chaos.
Also want to say to all that organization takes time and can be frustrating, even overwhelming at times. And of course you'd rather be painting! But set goals and work on it in stages. You'll get there, or at least be on your way!!
Preach Brother Vince!!! I upgraded to a sit to stand and a good Herman Miller chair (free from work!) and I find it to be the best thing I own for my hobby! Im in MN and my hobby space is my basement so I have plenty of room (I am aware how lucky I am!) but the desk and chair are prolly the most important items I own!!!!
The tip about keeping things in reach is so important. There's nothing worse than having to turn your house upside down for one specific tool and losing time you could be painting! It's not mentioned in the video but something I noticed that I like about your setup - most things are VISIBLE. I have ADHD and thus my memory is pretty bad. I've found that having things set out on open shelves or displays is necessary for me to know where they are and be able to access them easily. If I have to store something in a bin or a drawer, it's gotta be clear plastic so I can see inside! "Out of sight, out of mind" and all that, LOL.
I too have that issue, and have had great success by not only keeping things visible, but keeping them in open "containers" (bins with no lids) *with labels on them*. Like, "open glue" "unopened glue", "skulls", "daler rowney inks", etc. This not only helps avoid stuff creeping outward as it gets pushed out from putting other things back, but it reduces the executive function load of putting stuff back; it becomes easier and more automatic to put it back in its designated container than to remember where it's supposed to be or find a place for it that "makes sense". I tried this in the past marking places with tape, but I've found any sort of physical barrier helps massively; the cheapest, flimsiest bins you can get are great, you just need a "wall" they'll bump into when you push them out of the way. Being able to pick up a bin and fish around with it is an added bonus! Can't recommend this enough for us ADHD people.
My wife and I moved to a different city recently and bought a house. The house had two must-haves; a separate driveway for our RV and a place for me and my lifelong hobby. We got both. My workplace/den/man-cave/CIC (old navy) contains my modeling desk, storage shelves, reference library, laptop and jigsaw-puzzle table. And of course, several glass-fronted display cases for my treasures, models and figures and a plastic bonsai tree.
Questions on MySpace? Lol. Always wondered what your painting area looked like. I essentially have mine organized the same way and my friends hate me for it which I'll never understand. Nothing beats a well-organized and clean work area with everything within easy reach.
Love the emphasis on posture. If people can afford it, I find having a variable-height sit-stand desk amazing for maintaining good posture. If ever I feel the need to bend down, to get closer to a miniature etc, I can just raise the desk height to maintain my posture and keep resting my elbows or arms on the table as needed. Especially if, like me, the desk doubles as a computer desk; the height I keep it at for proper posture while typing or gaming is drastically different for the comfy height for assembling and painting minis.
Of all the workspace changes I've made, lighting and chair are definitely the biggest impact - honestly just a cheap light off Amazon is great; mine is a ring LED with a magnifying glass in the center and at like $60 it works WONDERS
Good for you with the light - magnifying glass in setup like that doesn't work for me at all and I would never recommend it; it's definitely something to try first before buying
@@Elfhelmthe magnifier was included in EVERY ring light at that price point - I can see how it wouldn't work for a lot of people; Jon's sexy specs are better if magnification is desired. I will say, I never expected to use it, but then I tried to put eyeliner on Yvraine...
Facilities guy here with a protip about chairs: vendors like Herman Miller (MillerKnoll, now) have truly excellent warranty systems. If you break an Aeron under warranty, they'll replace it basically no questions asked (this may be slightly different for a regular consumer, but it's how our commercial relationship works). And I'm sure you're like, "yeah, that's fine dude, but why do I care?" Because they take those broken chairs, refurb them, and sell them to people at like half price. If you want an Aeron and you're just some guy trying to save a couple hundred bucks on his hobby, find your local dealer and call them. Tell them you want a refurbished Aeron. I've bought triple digit refurbished Aerons at work and I've had exactly one with an issue (which they also replaced under warranty... with a brand new one). You may have to go physically pick it up from them (none of my furniture vendors do drop shipping), so bear that in mind. But it's likely still worth it to you. And don't buy the $100 task chairs. You'll keep replacing them. Just don't.
I can't steess enough how a good chair is important. I bought an used Herman Miller model Mirra and have been using it for office and hobby for almost 10 years and the chair is impeccable.
never thought of a small rack for current projects makes more sense than the foot print I have with them just occupying empty space. you can get pen racks to keep brushes side ways
One thing I've found works really well for me rather than the nail polish racks - tried those, didn't work - is pegboards. I just went with the lazy option through ikea. Similar to the vertical nail polish racks, but with more options - a basket to hold a bunch of painting handles, little tubs of cork, grit, basing, whatever, other baskets with all my building materials - glues, knives, nippers, files, etc etc. Turned a rather shallow but wide desk into something with a lot of options, so I have both oils and acyrlic tools, cleaning materials, paints, etc in different areas. Found it works super well for me.
@@dwpowell Yeah, I just use the racks from ikea. They were cheap and hold a mix of 34 vallejo/pro acyrl bottles each. I combined 18 layers of nail polish racks into 4 pegboard shelves, taking up like 10.5" by 4" on my desk, the rest is just height. Really helpful.
My place gets dusty so easy. I dust and vacume my desk every week give or take. Its nice to be able to clear my desk quickly so I can whipe it down. Haveing tools in cups or anything rather then just spread out. Quicker to clean is nice.
My hobby space is also my kitchen table. My goal for this summer is to finish my current project, pack everything up and take a break from painting to be able to do other stuff. Like having breakfast without first moving the paint booth out of the way...
Besides the Herman Miller and Steelcase brands it’s so hard to tell online what might actually be a good chair and what is a bad knockoff. Finding a place to go and test some out is so helpful!
Hey Vince, recent fan, I love all of your Hobby Cheating videos and have really boosted the level of my painting by watching and learning from you. Thank you so much for recording and putting all of these out there. I've not been able to get through the backlog yet but it seems like you have a video to discuss everything, and the playlists really help a new fan like me. I wish you all the luck and hope things are going well.
Great advice! I can't stress enough myself how important a good chair is. The more i took the hobby seriously the more time i invested optimizing my hobby space. For me personal the most important part about it is feeling good working there. Of course theres a lot of corolation with productivity but in the end i just want to enjoy my time being there as much as possibly - especially since the hobby is my moment of calm in this turbulent world we live in.
I’m in the process of renovating and I am building myself a dedicated painting space! Going to have my paints on the walls all in arms reach and visually identifiable. Nice well lit area with room to make some mess but everything has a place to live so it’s at least a bit tidy and methodical. I can’t wait to have a spot where whatever I’m working on just sitting there able to be picked up and painted whenever I want. No more needing to set up and pack up. It’s still a couple months away but boy am I excited.
This is so wonderful. My hobby space is super non optimal. If you had a competition I could show you how bad it is - when my children got diagnosed I turned my deluxe amazing office hobby space into a sensory play room for all them. Now I paint at a bar with a stool and an old broken lamp for lighting.
@@VinceVenturella you know what. When I get my room again and finally get all this, it’ll be super worth it and super sweet. And I’ll be used to garbage lighting so it’ll only be better from every angle :)
Small tip regarding the chair : you can often find Aeron chairs or equivalent from other brands on the second hand market. Often when offices close or refurbish you'll find lots of them. It's worth fishing for them. Other than that, once again, a great and very informative video Vince. Thank you so much for the time, effort and attention you are putting in putting together these!
Feels good when I watch a video from you and have already done most of what you have suggested (I need to organize in a bad way). Makes me feel like I might actually know what I'm doing lol
I just got a new, adjustable light for my hobby space and it makes a world of difference. As for Majestic 13; I just got my physical copy a few days ago and I love it! I really love the XCOM video games and Majestic 13 provides that same feeling in spades. Bravo!
Any chance you do a video one day with some close ups of your painted mini cabinets? Would love to see some shots of your armies, if you ever feel like making that video. Thanks Vince! Great video as always
Chair is a great call - had a secretlabs chair and it destroyed my back, sold it for a secondhand steelcase - such an improvement - and surprisingly cheap on the second hand if willing to do some cleanup/restoration
Love this video! I eschew your value judgments about being disorganized, sir! :) Having a disorganized workshop is hardly the collapse of society ;) It's true that forcing organization can create repeatable success with any skill level which is why boot camps do it. But that can cause a shitload of stress :) Organization is a neuro style thing and people (especially adults) are best served being (dis)organized in the way that works for their brain. Compared to Vince I'm a minimalist, but John Blanche has 10 paints, 2 inkwashes and 6 brushes in some old cigar boxes with a strip of greenstuff. My goal is to eventually paint full armies with a crow quill, vial of blood and a cube of dried PVA
Great vid Vince. Time for a revamp of my space. And I'm looking forward to the vid on photography - I've watched a lot and tried a lot, but haven't figured out getting my whole mini in focus
One of my goals for the summer is to finally get a hobby space setup. I currently paint on the same table we game, and one often prevents the other from happening as often as I would like.
I have been slowly building an entire room out as a craft/gaming room and I cannot express how much joy it gives me to have a space to sit and paint and I built it with mostly scrap left over.
If you can't afford a great chair like a (used) Aeron, saddle stools made for spas. You can get them for $30-$100 They encourage sitting up straight and keep your core engaged. I agree with all this stuff and try to practice it on a smaller scale. I love that paint brush drying rack. Time to head to the CNC cutter at the library!
I just redid my entire hobby space this week.. The improved organization definitely makes me want to paint more. I need a better lighting solution, but I'm quite pleased with the upgrade. A comfy organized space is a huge win
Solid advice, and perfectly timed. My current space is completely overrun with paints, basing stuff, etc, so needs a rebuild. This video was perfect. Cheers!
Fabulous video as always! I suppose another thing that can make a difference is a desk at the right height too. I am near sighted, so I tend to want to paint up close to my face. Desks for me are too low and I would end up hunched over my object to be painted. But inversely because of that, I scrunch up in my chair and start spending a large amount of my body to force rigidity to stabilize the object and brush and hand and arms and so on to steady myself near my face with out the table/desk. Which for me that has always resulted in muscle cramps and stiffness. I think I would need a desk that I could raise up to elbow height for painting. But I am not sure.
If you brace your elbows against your rib cage and stabilize your hands by holding the heels of both hands together (or both hands against your miniature holder), I find that you can avoid most of that large-muscle tension and back pain. Further, by not bracing your hands/elbows on your desk, when somebody bumps your desk while you are painting, you don't have any problems. The biggest issue with that is that you need to bring your light up to where it illuminates your workpiece well. I'd recommend a swing arm of some sort.
I recently returned to painting after 10+ years away . In that time iv had 3 more kids , so lost my hobby room, chair, desk ect . I'm now hobbying on the end of the bed with a small lamp , a bad back and reduced eyesight but I'm more at peace than iv been in 10 years.
Adam Savage refers to having things he needs regularly closest and things he needs less regularly further as orders of retrievability. So, closest is first order of retrievability etc.
A bit off topic for the video, but, after I've picked my mid tones for my paintjobs, I always struggle in deciding how high I should go with my highlights, and how low to go in my shadows. I usually go with a nice universal highlight and shadow (e.g. Sunny skin tone and Payne's Grey). I appreciate that the more reflective the material the higher/lower it should go, at least compared to less reflective materials for that particular paint job, but then I worry my more "flat" textures then won't have enough contrast in them for that paint job. I guess my question is, to maximise my colour contrast, how big of a jump should I be aiming for between my lowest lows, mid-tones and highlights? An example, right now, I'm working on a little red skinned kobold. I've got hull red (VMC) for the lows, Abomination Gore (AP) for the mids, and going into a Bold Pyrrole Red (PA) for the highlights. However, I feel I can't see the contrast/definition in his muscles too well. It probably doesn't help the thing is tiny, but I'm thinking I could try to run a contrast of Black Leather (S75), Hull Red, Abomination Gore, Bold Pyrrole Red, and Sunny Skin tone. That's probably not realistic for such a tiny model to try for five colours, so let's say just Black Leather to Bold Pyrrole Red to Sunny Skin tone.
It’s always tough, there is no one answer sadly, my general answer is go twice as far as you think you should and that’s a good start. For example, in that case, I would certainly go into the sunny skin tone for small highlights.
@@VinceVenturella That's all I needed to hear, I thought I should push it further. Thanks, Vince, for that, and the incredible work you've put in. You've helped me, and countless others on our painting journeys. Not just with technique, but also with larger life lessons.
For Aeron chairs and similar look for used office furniture, especially resellers online. I've bought 3 Aerons over the years for various purposes - all three are still in use - for under $500 shipped from Madison Seating. (Of course with inflation, who knows. I see some at Madison Seating for $499.) Right now, with a lot of offices in the US not opening back up used Aerons should be plentiful.
Vince, I was painting up my Saurus Warriors and realized I had never painted up a drum before. Looking around, I couldn't find a guide to any sort of drumskin. If you're searching for Hobby Cheating ideas perhaps a video on stretched animal hodes found in wargaming and scale models?
Your work area looks similar to mine. My only addition big is a good 5.1 sound system, running off my computer that has 465 gigs of music. Yes, for most people that's overkill. My children and grandchildren call me an "audiophile" and they're right. I can build a playlist to fit the mood of what I'm painting and lose an entire morning or afternoon. My other addition is a cupholder for my coffee that I spilled once, and only once.
Coming from a culinary background. I use the phrase mies en plas" Aka French for everything in its place to organize my hobby station. I think my next big upgrade will be the modular hobby workstation from hobby zone as it's designed for our hobby, and it can be customized to your own needs.
Great video. I was hoping for an outside view of how you sit and work at your desk. I have my wrist on the table and find myself hunching over to get closer to the miniature... Maybe we can see that in another video
Hi Vince. Thank you for all your great videos! I really appreciate your clear methodology that you infuse into your instructions. I had a question about your spray booth. I didn't see if it was vented or if you have some sort of apparatus to help get rid of potential fumes. Is this even necessary? I'm brand new to airbrushing (thank you for those helpful videos) but getting your recommendations (and area prep necessary, i.e. keep your booth x feet away from your PC, buy a plastic matt to protect your carpet, you should or shouldn't use a mask with acrylics and this brand or style is what you'd recommend and so on) would be really helpful. Thanks!
My booth has an air filter in back, it just blows against the wall, but the air is passing through a HEPA filter to catch the detritus. You should wear a mask, it's non-toxic paint, but breathing particulates is generally bad. :)
All lessons I’ve learned the hard way since my discovery of Warhammer destroyed my life (good stuff here; take heed, kids..). Only took 25 years. WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU 25 YEARS AGO?!?
Have you spoken about magnification in a video? I've been playing with a set of glasses but I'm tempted to try a magnifying lamp as well just because I'm not sold on the focal length of the glasses I find I prefer to have my miniature at a bit further of a distance ergonomically when I'm painting.
Where I struggle, I keep putting more and more models on the desk. I keep my models between garage and display cabinet. My painting desk is in dinning area. I have a desk with great large drawer, a small drawer and cabinet door. 4x drawer unit and I have a ikea skadis hanging off a door. Airbrush in garage. But I just keep pilling more and more models on my painting desk and get less and less space on the painting desk lol. Currently I have warbringer titan legs I was building, baneblade I'm actively painting. My 7 yo's angron, a tyranid harpy and 2 other display pieces for a friend. There's also likely few smaller pieces I keep as a reference for finished models.
I have wall shelves behind me that have a my minis lined up in order of painting progress. It get them out of the way and is also a boost to see progress while I try to mentally dig myself out of the Valley of Despair.
As someone who has a very hard time sitting still or down even during a movie - would you think a standing desk could be a wise Investment? I have been thinking it would help me a lot lately so this is perfect timing on this video!
I'd say even be careful of chairs around the 100 dollar price point, I wanted to spend around 100 but when I went to office max and big box stores and sat in the 100 dollar chairs they were very uncomfortable. I got a net back office chair just over 200 and you would think it's a thousand dollar chair compared to the 100 dollar one I sat in. I would definitely try some out before you buy online, sight unseen.
As always an excellent video! I like how you don't specify buy the affiliate link brands below. Not that I have an issue with affiliate links, but when channels make videos that only list things they have links to it makes me wonder if they are trying to help me or their wallet. Could you do a modern video of how to paint blonde hair, or all hair in general? Your existing one was done fairly early on and the action wasn't in frame all of the time.
Thanks for video Vince. I was also wondering what you think about the hight of the desk, and whether you have recommendations? I’m at the point where I think a slightly taller desk is needed, as I struggle not to hunch with my elbows on the desk while painting.
Vince, where does your airbrush ventilation booth vent to? If it goes back into the room, do you feel like it captures a lot of the fumes? Thanks for this video and all your great content.
One quick question about lighting. You spoke about brightness and colour. Ok. Colour at 5000K is clear and simple - but what do you consider bright for your primary painting light? How many Lumens, at say, 1 foot?
how much do you invest into air circulation? This is always my concern. Airbrushing is one thing. Now that resin is a thing, I find myself straying away from workflow and focusing on how I can safely remove the particulates during the sanding stage.
Not sure of this counts as part of the hobby space but I personally can't paint at all without wearable magnifying lenses to help lessen the strain on my eyes.
The main reason I don't airbrush more is because I don't have the room to leave the booth up all the time. Plus the bloody cats would get their hair in it. I'd love a secluded space (mine is in the corner of our frontroom) to paint but my wife and kids would hate it because I'd never see them 😂
Hi Vince, i'm trying to get into figure and fantasy figure panting (i mostly did armour and planes until now). Should i start off small (32mm) and move up (1:10 busts)? Or do you think working on something big is easier? I've got a big collection of tools and paints from the other projects, so i'm comfortable with airbrushing. Thanks!
All size figures have their own unique challenges, I don’t know one is holistically easier than another. My advice would be to try some of each scale and see what suits you in particular.
Great timing, I have been considering doing some rearranging and rethinking of my hobby space. I got plenty of room and a lot of stuff to work with, but the exact setup feels like it needs some work. The biggest issue I have is distractions. The internet is full of so many of them, so having any sort of computer on near me feels like tempting fate, but my computer desk and hobby desk are the same. Do you do anything to stop distractions and lack of focus? Would splitting up the digital and analog be a worthy solve, or is there perhaps a better way?
It’s hard, the digital is meant to distract us. It’s been built to do so. You have to know yourself, there isn’t a single answer here. If you are the type of person that can resist, then just start that practice. You could always set a reward plan, one hour painting, 15 minutes of distractions and set a cadence. So In the end, you’ll have to find the option for you.
Hey Vince can I ask about your posture while painting? Do you brace your elbows against the desk or the computer chair? I always default to gollum posture while physically painting... probably why I like airbrushing so much 😅
Question i am in the midst of painting a Necromunda Delaque Piscean Spektor. It has an exposed brain and lungs. My question is how would you paint something like that to display standard? What colors would you use? And since a living brain has a LOT of veins on it, should i try and paint those or will it make the brain look (for lack of better word) to busy/cluttered?
Transitions between a deeper purple into a pinky color with pastel highlights. I honestly can't think of a time I've painted an exposed brain. In that scale, you wouldn't see the veins, so unless you feel you can really make them razor (and I mean razor) thin, I would skip it.
This part isn't much of a question but I recently listened to the TUP episodes that you and Uncle Atom were on talking about your games and development process and your guys work ethic is absolutely bonkers and you are both super inspiring to me. Now my question is my set up is a nook of my Fiance's work space but I want to optimize it a bit more so I can set up my little airbrush area and start pushing myself to learn how to use it. Do you have any recommendations for small spaces and setting up multiples "stations" ?
@@VinceVenturella understandable. was always curious about that cuz every one says synthetic brushes always tend to curl at the end do you think it would help at all?
Vince, you handsome devil. I’m currently planning an entire hobby room - the timing of this video couldn’t be better. Thanks!
best looking devil on youtube!
"prior planning prevents poor performance" added a new motto to my life
This miniature hobby gets you into so many hobbies. Wargaming, Painting, alchemy, photography, interior decoration, organization, time management, ECT ECT
During the pandemic my employer disbursed a stipend to improve our “ home work space”.
I got an office chair that dubs as my hobby seat. It has made a massive difference in comfort. Totally agree with that as a foundation for happy hobby times.
Suggestion for a later video: storage and display options for miniatures where the family doesn’t necessarily agree that this is normal house decor :p. Things like shelves, cases etc. beyond the magnetic plastic bin. Thanks!
Great tips, a hobby space is key to consitency. Even if it is just a portable one you pull out from under the bed.
Absolutely!
My hobby space has 4 wheels, storage for a paint briefcase and a couple of model cases, a tray that attaches to the steering wheel and a dashboard to display my work 💪👌👍😊
Great advice, I live by the concept that you put the things you use the most closest to you and the least farthest away or hardest to reach. I would also like to add that it's good to evolve your hobbies space. About every 6 to 12 months I re-evaluate my hobby space and how I am using it. I look for things that are irritating me and find ways to eliminate the irritations. Finally I recommend having a glass surface for your table top. With a simple razor I can get super glue and paint and just about anything else I spill on it off of the table top and clean it up. I can also see the stuff in the drawer underneath of the tabletop in case I need to be reminded of what I've put in it. And if you have a 3D printer you should look into using the gridfinity organizers. Those allow me to keep my drawers very neat and tidy but I can quickly reshuffle things and move them from drawer to drawer around between drawers. This makes it a lot easier to re-evaluate my space every so often.
I got into this hobby, very late in life. I always just played tabletop games and stuff like that and never really paid too much attention to miniature painting or terrain painting. But I have to say in a few months I’ve been subscribed to your channel, you’ve really up to my game! Thanks so much for all the stuff that you do for the community.
You mentioned it a few times but I don't think you emphasised it enough.
The 'clean up step' at the end of a project or day or painting or whatever. Putting away the paints you used, storing the models, sanity checking the state of brushes, wiping down surfaces, replacing water/paper towels/wet palette sheets/etc.
You see some hobby spaces with dozens of paints and models all over the place, hair dryers and cables taking up half the space, etc. Each project compounding the clutter until that big desk ends up with a small 6 inch 'working area' surrounded by the spreading chaos.
Vince! You are a cornerstone of the miniatures painting universe! This is a sold foundational piece, you are a machine!
Also want to say to all that organization takes time and can be frustrating, even overwhelming at times. And of course you'd rather be painting! But set goals and work on it in stages. You'll get there, or at least be on your way!!
Preach Brother Vince!!! I upgraded to a sit to stand and a good Herman Miller chair (free from work!) and I find it to be the best thing I own for my hobby! Im in MN and my hobby space is my basement so I have plenty of room (I am aware how lucky I am!) but the desk and chair are prolly the most important items I own!!!!
It makes a huge difference, doesn’t it?
The tip about keeping things in reach is so important. There's nothing worse than having to turn your house upside down for one specific tool and losing time you could be painting!
It's not mentioned in the video but something I noticed that I like about your setup - most things are VISIBLE. I have ADHD and thus my memory is pretty bad. I've found that having things set out on open shelves or displays is necessary for me to know where they are and be able to access them easily. If I have to store something in a bin or a drawer, it's gotta be clear plastic so I can see inside! "Out of sight, out of mind" and all that, LOL.
Great piece of advice!
I too have that issue, and have had great success by not only keeping things visible, but keeping them in open "containers" (bins with no lids) *with labels on them*. Like, "open glue" "unopened glue", "skulls", "daler rowney inks", etc. This not only helps avoid stuff creeping outward as it gets pushed out from putting other things back, but it reduces the executive function load of putting stuff back; it becomes easier and more automatic to put it back in its designated container than to remember where it's supposed to be or find a place for it that "makes sense". I tried this in the past marking places with tape, but I've found any sort of physical barrier helps massively; the cheapest, flimsiest bins you can get are great, you just need a "wall" they'll bump into when you push them out of the way. Being able to pick up a bin and fish around with it is an added bonus! Can't recommend this enough for us ADHD people.
My wife and I moved to a different city recently and bought a house. The house had two must-haves; a separate driveway for our RV and a place for me and my lifelong hobby. We got both. My workplace/den/man-cave/CIC (old navy) contains my modeling desk, storage shelves, reference library, laptop and jigsaw-puzzle table. And of course, several glass-fronted display cases for my treasures, models and figures and a plastic bonsai tree.
Questions on MySpace? Lol. Always wondered what your painting area looked like. I essentially have mine organized the same way and my friends hate me for it which I'll never understand. Nothing beats a well-organized and clean work area with everything within easy reach.
Love the emphasis on posture. If people can afford it, I find having a variable-height sit-stand desk amazing for maintaining good posture. If ever I feel the need to bend down, to get closer to a miniature etc, I can just raise the desk height to maintain my posture and keep resting my elbows or arms on the table as needed. Especially if, like me, the desk doubles as a computer desk; the height I keep it at for proper posture while typing or gaming is drastically different for the comfy height for assembling and painting minis.
Of all the workspace changes I've made, lighting and chair are definitely the biggest impact - honestly just a cheap light off Amazon is great; mine is a ring LED with a magnifying glass in the center and at like $60 it works WONDERS
Good for you with the light - magnifying glass in setup like that doesn't work for me at all and I would never recommend it; it's definitely something to try first before buying
@@Elfhelmthe magnifier was included in EVERY ring light at that price point - I can see how it wouldn't work for a lot of people; Jon's sexy specs are better if magnification is desired. I will say, I never expected to use it, but then I tried to put eyeliner on Yvraine...
Facilities guy here with a protip about chairs: vendors like Herman Miller (MillerKnoll, now) have truly excellent warranty systems. If you break an Aeron under warranty, they'll replace it basically no questions asked (this may be slightly different for a regular consumer, but it's how our commercial relationship works). And I'm sure you're like, "yeah, that's fine dude, but why do I care?"
Because they take those broken chairs, refurb them, and sell them to people at like half price. If you want an Aeron and you're just some guy trying to save a couple hundred bucks on his hobby, find your local dealer and call them. Tell them you want a refurbished Aeron. I've bought triple digit refurbished Aerons at work and I've had exactly one with an issue (which they also replaced under warranty... with a brand new one).
You may have to go physically pick it up from them (none of my furniture vendors do drop shipping), so bear that in mind. But it's likely still worth it to you.
And don't buy the $100 task chairs. You'll keep replacing them. Just don't.
I can't steess enough how a good chair is important. I bought an used Herman Miller model Mirra and have been using it for office and hobby for almost 10 years and the chair is impeccable.
never thought of a small rack for current projects makes more sense than the foot print I have with them just occupying empty space. you can get pen racks to keep brushes side ways
One thing I've found works really well for me rather than the nail polish racks - tried those, didn't work - is pegboards.
I just went with the lazy option through ikea. Similar to the vertical nail polish racks, but with more options - a basket to hold a bunch of painting handles, little tubs of cork, grit, basing, whatever, other baskets with all my building materials - glues, knives, nippers, files, etc etc.
Turned a rather shallow but wide desk into something with a lot of options, so I have both oils and acyrlic tools, cleaning materials, paints, etc in different areas. Found it works super well for me.
I was thinking about this the other day. Do you have paint racks/storage on the pegboard? If so what do you use?
@@dwpowell Yeah, I just use the racks from ikea. They were cheap and hold a mix of 34 vallejo/pro acyrl bottles each. I combined 18 layers of nail polish racks into 4 pegboard shelves, taking up like 10.5" by 4" on my desk, the rest is just height. Really helpful.
Thank you! I had never thought of nail polish racks for my paints! The perfect non expensive solution!!!
Happy to help!
My place gets dusty so easy. I dust and vacume my desk every week give or take. Its nice to be able to clear my desk quickly so I can whipe it down. Haveing tools in cups or anything rather then just spread out. Quicker to clean is nice.
My hobby space is also my kitchen table. My goal for this summer is to finish my current project, pack everything up and take a break from painting to be able to do other stuff. Like having breakfast without first moving the paint booth out of the way...
Besides the Herman Miller and Steelcase brands it’s so hard to tell online what might actually be a good chair and what is a bad knockoff. Finding a place to go and test some out is so helpful!
Mine was recommended by a physiotherapist!
Hey Vince, recent fan, I love all of your Hobby Cheating videos and have really boosted the level of my painting by watching and learning from you. Thank you so much for recording and putting all of these out there. I've not been able to get through the backlog yet but it seems like you have a video to discuss everything, and the playlists really help a new fan like me. I wish you all the luck and hope things are going well.
Thank you! That's wonderful to hear and very glad to have you along on the hobby journey.
Great advice! I can't stress enough myself how important a good chair is.
The more i took the hobby seriously the more time i invested optimizing my hobby space.
For me personal the most important part about it is feeling good working there. Of course theres a lot of corolation with productivity but in the end i just want to enjoy my time being there as much as possibly - especially since the hobby is my moment of calm in this turbulent world we live in.
Thanks Vince, for the tips and tricks I always appreciate it!
My pleasure!
Sage advice, all of which has been implimented already, but I'm glad you covered this. My desk has become a painting battlestation.
I’m in the process of renovating and I am building myself a dedicated painting space! Going to have my paints on the walls all in arms reach and visually identifiable. Nice well lit area with room to make some mess but everything has a place to live so it’s at least a bit tidy and methodical. I can’t wait to have a spot where whatever I’m working on just sitting there able to be picked up and painted whenever I want. No more needing to set up and pack up. It’s still a couple months away but boy am I excited.
This is so wonderful. My hobby space is super non optimal. If you had a competition I could show you how bad it is - when my children got diagnosed I turned my deluxe amazing office hobby space into a sensory play room for all them. Now I paint at a bar with a stool and an old broken lamp for lighting.
Ouch.
@@VinceVenturella you know what. When I get my room again and finally get all this, it’ll be super worth it and super sweet. And I’ll be used to garbage lighting so it’ll only be better from every angle :)
Small tip regarding the chair : you can often find Aeron chairs or equivalent from other brands on the second hand market. Often when offices close or refurbish you'll find lots of them. It's worth fishing for them.
Other than that, once again, a great and very informative video Vince.
Thank you so much for the time, effort and attention you are putting in putting together these!
Good tip!
Feels good when I watch a video from you and have already done most of what you have suggested (I need to organize in a bad way). Makes me feel like I might actually know what I'm doing lol
I just got a new, adjustable light for my hobby space and it makes a world of difference. As for Majestic 13; I just got my physical copy a few days ago and I love it! I really love the XCOM video games and Majestic 13 provides that same feeling in spades. Bravo!
Great to hear!
Logical video, and I completely agree with the order of priority that you chose. A good chair is critical!
I look forward to your photographing miniatures video.
Any chance you do a video one day with some close ups of your painted mini cabinets? Would love to see some shots of your armies, if you ever feel like making that video. Thanks Vince! Great video as always
Chair is a great call - had a secretlabs chair and it destroyed my back, sold it for a secondhand steelcase - such an improvement - and surprisingly cheap on the second hand if willing to do some cleanup/restoration
Love this video! I eschew your value judgments about being disorganized, sir! :) Having a disorganized workshop is hardly the collapse of society ;)
It's true that forcing organization can create repeatable success with any skill level which is why boot camps do it. But that can cause a shitload of stress :) Organization is a neuro style thing and people (especially adults) are best served being (dis)organized in the way that works for their brain.
Compared to Vince I'm a minimalist, but John Blanche has 10 paints, 2 inkwashes and 6 brushes in some old cigar boxes with a strip of greenstuff.
My goal is to eventually paint full armies with a crow quill, vial of blood and a cube of dried PVA
An air purifier helps with particles and dust as well
Amazing advice and these things are not talked about enough. I recently organized my painting space and it's so much easier to start painting.
Glad it was helpful!
Great vid Vince. Time for a revamp of my space. And I'm looking forward to the vid on photography - I've watched a lot and tried a lot, but haven't figured out getting my whole mini in focus
One of my goals for the summer is to finally get a hobby space setup.
I currently paint on the same table we game, and one often prevents the other from happening as often as I would like.
I have been slowly building an entire room out as a craft/gaming room and I cannot express how much joy it gives me to have a space to sit and paint and I built it with mostly scrap left over.
You don't know how much i needed this , thank you
If you can't afford a great chair like a (used) Aeron, saddle stools made for spas. You can get them for $30-$100 They encourage sitting up straight and keep your core engaged.
I agree with all this stuff and try to practice it on a smaller scale. I love that paint brush drying rack. Time to head to the CNC cutter at the library!
As always, lots of great tips and ideas packed into a short but fun video. Thanks !
Glad you enjoyed it!
I just redid my entire hobby space this week.. The improved organization definitely makes me want to paint more. I need a better lighting solution, but I'm quite pleased with the upgrade. A comfy organized space is a huge win
Solid advice, and perfectly timed. My current space is completely overrun with paints, basing stuff, etc, so needs a rebuild. This video was perfect. Cheers!
You can do it!
Fabulous video as always! I suppose another thing that can make a difference is a desk at the right height too. I am near sighted, so I tend to want to paint up close to my face. Desks for me are too low and I would end up hunched over my object to be painted. But inversely because of that, I scrunch up in my chair and start spending a large amount of my body to force rigidity to stabilize the object and brush and hand and arms and so on to steady myself near my face with out the table/desk. Which for me that has always resulted in muscle cramps and stiffness. I think I would need a desk that I could raise up to elbow height for painting. But I am not sure.
If you brace your elbows against your rib cage and stabilize your hands by holding the heels of both hands together (or both hands against your miniature holder), I find that you can avoid most of that large-muscle tension and back pain. Further, by not bracing your hands/elbows on your desk, when somebody bumps your desk while you are painting, you don't have any problems.
The biggest issue with that is that you need to bring your light up to where it illuminates your workpiece well. I'd recommend a swing arm of some sort.
I recently returned to painting after 10+ years away . In that time iv had 3 more kids , so lost my hobby room, chair, desk ect . I'm now hobbying on the end of the bed with a small lamp , a bad back and reduced eyesight but I'm more at peace than iv been in 10 years.
Excellent Summery!!!
Adam Savage refers to having things he needs regularly closest and things he needs less regularly further as orders of retrievability. So, closest is first order of retrievability etc.
A bit off topic for the video, but, after I've picked my mid tones for my paintjobs, I always struggle in deciding how high I should go with my highlights, and how low to go in my shadows. I usually go with a nice universal highlight and shadow (e.g. Sunny skin tone and Payne's Grey).
I appreciate that the more reflective the material the higher/lower it should go, at least compared to less reflective materials for that particular paint job, but then I worry my more "flat" textures then won't have enough contrast in them for that paint job.
I guess my question is, to maximise my colour contrast, how big of a jump should I be aiming for between my lowest lows, mid-tones and highlights? An example, right now, I'm working on a little red skinned kobold. I've got hull red (VMC) for the lows, Abomination Gore (AP) for the mids, and going into a Bold Pyrrole Red (PA) for the highlights.
However, I feel I can't see the contrast/definition in his muscles too well. It probably doesn't help the thing is tiny, but I'm thinking I could try to run a contrast of Black Leather (S75), Hull Red, Abomination Gore, Bold Pyrrole Red, and Sunny Skin tone. That's probably not realistic for such a tiny model to try for five colours, so let's say just Black Leather to Bold Pyrrole Red to Sunny Skin tone.
It’s always tough, there is no one answer sadly, my general answer is go twice as far as you think you should and that’s a good start. For example, in that case, I would certainly go into the sunny skin tone for small highlights.
@@VinceVenturella That's all I needed to hear, I thought I should push it further. Thanks, Vince, for that, and the incredible work you've put in. You've helped me, and countless others on our painting journeys. Not just with technique, but also with larger life lessons.
For Aeron chairs and similar look for used office furniture, especially resellers online. I've bought 3 Aerons over the years for various purposes - all three are still in use - for under $500 shipped from Madison Seating. (Of course with inflation, who knows. I see some at Madison Seating for $499.) Right now, with a lot of offices in the US not opening back up used Aerons should be plentiful.
More and more convinced Vince is spying on me as I currently convert a section of garage to hobby space. 😉
Vince, I was painting up my Saurus Warriors and realized I had never painted up a drum before. Looking around, I couldn't find a guide to any sort of drumskin.
If you're searching for Hobby Cheating ideas perhaps a video on stretched animal hodes found in wargaming and scale models?
I just moved house and this is a good time to invest some time in a new hobby space
Your work area looks similar to mine. My only addition big is a good 5.1 sound system, running off my computer that has 465 gigs of music. Yes, for most people that's overkill. My children and grandchildren call me an "audiophile" and they're right. I can build a playlist to fit the mood of what I'm painting and lose an entire morning or afternoon. My other addition is a cupholder for my coffee that I spilled once, and only once.
Coming from a culinary background. I use the phrase mies en plas" Aka French for everything in its place to organize my hobby station. I think my next big upgrade will be the modular hobby workstation from hobby zone as it's designed for our hobby, and it can be customized to your own needs.
Absolutely, I know Mies en Plas, I grey up in restaurants and I couldn't agree more.
Great video. I was hoping for an outside view of how you sit and work at your desk. I have my wrist on the table and find myself hunching over to get closer to the miniature... Maybe we can see that in another video
Great idea.
Good video, I think I have put off doing hobby work because my home space is rather disorganised at the moment.
Hi Vince. Thank you for all your great videos! I really appreciate your clear methodology that you infuse into your instructions. I had a question about your spray booth. I didn't see if it was vented or if you have some sort of apparatus to help get rid of potential fumes. Is this even necessary? I'm brand new to airbrushing (thank you for those helpful videos) but getting your recommendations (and area prep necessary, i.e. keep your booth x feet away from your PC, buy a plastic matt to protect your carpet, you should or shouldn't use a mask with acrylics and this brand or style is what you'd recommend and so on) would be really helpful. Thanks!
My booth has an air filter in back, it just blows against the wall, but the air is passing through a HEPA filter to catch the detritus. You should wear a mask, it's non-toxic paint, but breathing particulates is generally bad. :)
@@VinceVenturella Thank you for the reply!
Great video, lots of valuable information. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Good recommendations, thanks!
My pleasure!
Another home run Vince.
A good office chair is the way to go!
In addition to light temperature, you should also look for a high CRI bulb. For truest color, 5000K temp and 90 or higher CRI is best.
All lessons I’ve learned the hard way since my discovery of Warhammer destroyed my life (good stuff here; take heed, kids..). Only took 25 years. WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU 25 YEARS AGO?!?
Have you spoken about magnification in a video? I've been playing with a set of glasses but I'm tempted to try a magnifying lamp as well just because I'm not sold on the focal length of the glasses I find I prefer to have my miniature at a bit further of a distance ergonomically when I'm painting.
I have a little headset magnifiers. THey are 3x and I like them.
Where I struggle, I keep putting more and more models on the desk. I keep my models between garage and display cabinet. My painting desk is in dinning area. I have a desk with great large drawer, a small drawer and cabinet door. 4x drawer unit and I have a ikea skadis hanging off a door. Airbrush in garage. But I just keep pilling more and more models on my painting desk and get less and less space on the painting desk lol.
Currently I have warbringer titan legs I was building, baneblade I'm actively painting. My 7 yo's angron, a tyranid harpy and 2 other display pieces for a friend. There's also likely few smaller pieces I keep as a reference for finished models.
I have wall shelves behind me that have a my minis lined up in order of painting progress. It get them out of the way and is also a boost to see progress while I try to mentally dig myself out of the Valley of Despair.
That’s a lot of projects. :)
@@VinceVenturella busy household that's for sure! A titan will take time, only working on the baneblade as far as painting goes atm.
Super helpful hobby info, thanks man!
You bet!
Did not expect a Hobbesian argument for orderly desk layout 😂
As someone who has a very hard time sitting still or down even during a movie - would you think a standing desk could be a wise
Investment? I have been thinking it would help me a lot lately so this is perfect timing on this video!
I know several great painters that use standing desks and they love them.
‘My desk is where I live; I’m sure it’s where I’ll die’ - Vinncy V. hobby Hero
I'd say even be careful of chairs around the 100 dollar price point, I wanted to spend around 100 but when I went to office max and big box stores and sat in the 100 dollar chairs they were very uncomfortable. I got a net back office chair just over 200 and you would think it's a thousand dollar chair compared to the 100 dollar one I sat in. I would definitely try some out before you buy online, sight unseen.
Some good, solid suggestions there.
Glad you like them!
Well done sir.
As always an excellent video! I like how you don't specify buy the affiliate link brands below. Not that I have an issue with affiliate links, but when channels make videos that only list things they have links to it makes me wonder if they are trying to help me or their wallet.
Could you do a modern video of how to paint blonde hair, or all hair in general? Your existing one was done fairly early on and the action wasn't in frame all of the time.
Glad it was helpful! You're not going to have wait too long on that at all. ;)
Very good vidéo ;Thank' s a lot
Hey Vince - Great video, thanks for sharing regards Liam
Glad you enjoyed it
I dunno Vince, I like running around like a lunatic constantly... It's definitely more fun hehe!! :D
Fair enough!
Thanks for video Vince. I was also wondering what you think about the hight of the desk, and whether you have recommendations? I’m at the point where I think a slightly taller desk is needed, as I struggle not to hunch with my elbows on the desk while painting.
Definitely, you want to be able to comfortably brace your elbows on the desk when necessary, working higher is often better.
@@VinceVenturella thanks Vince.
When I'm told to clean my room: 😴
When Vince tells me to clean my room: 🫡
What is the organizer at 11:11? The one with varnishes and airbrush cleaner in it.
Just a generic makeup organizer I found on Amazon.
“My desk is where I live, it’s probably where I’ll die.” 😂😂
I love the idea of having a rack for what you are actively using.
Hey Vince, have you tried out red grass creative lamp?
Haven’t tried it yet.
@@VinceVenturella I've ordered one myself, looking forward to giving it a crack.
Vince, where does your airbrush ventilation booth vent to? If it goes back into the room, do you feel like it captures a lot of the fumes? Thanks for this video and all your great content.
Yeah, just against the wall, and yes, it’s going through a HEPA filter. I do wear a mask when airbrushing, so that also helps.
Flow is real
One quick question about lighting. You spoke about brightness and colour. Ok. Colour at 5000K is clear and simple - but what do you consider bright for your primary painting light? How many Lumens, at say, 1 foot?
I don't really have an answer there, the archtitect drafting light I have don't list lumens, but I am running them on the brightest settings.
Ok, thanks. No problem.
how much do you invest into air circulation? This is always my concern. Airbrushing is one thing. Now that resin is a thing, I find myself straying away from workflow and focusing on how I can safely remove the particulates during the sanding stage.
Probably less than I should. But I have a mask if I'm doing something nasty and an air purifier in the room.
Not sure of this counts as part of the hobby space but I personally can't paint at all without wearable magnifying lenses to help lessen the strain on my eyes.
The main reason I don't airbrush more is because I don't have the room to leave the booth up all the time. Plus the bloody cats would get their hair in it. I'd love a secluded space (mine is in the corner of our frontroom) to paint but my wife and kids would hate it because I'd never see them 😂
Great stuff friend 👏 👍
Thank you! Cheers!
Hi Vince, i'm trying to get into figure and fantasy figure panting (i mostly did armour and planes until now). Should i start off small (32mm) and move up (1:10 busts)? Or do you think working on something big is easier? I've got a big collection of tools and paints from the other projects, so i'm comfortable with airbrushing. Thanks!
All size figures have their own unique challenges, I don’t know one is holistically easier than another. My advice would be to try some of each scale and see what suits you in particular.
Great timing, I have been considering doing some rearranging and rethinking of my hobby space. I got plenty of room and a lot of stuff to work with, but the exact setup feels like it needs some work. The biggest issue I have is distractions. The internet is full of so many of them, so having any sort of computer on near me feels like tempting fate, but my computer desk and hobby desk are the same.
Do you do anything to stop distractions and lack of focus? Would splitting up the digital and analog be a worthy solve, or is there perhaps a better way?
It’s hard, the digital is meant to distract us. It’s been built to do so. You have to know yourself, there isn’t a single answer here. If you are the type of person that can resist, then just start that practice. You could always set a reward plan, one hour painting, 15 minutes of distractions and set a cadence. So
In the end, you’ll have to find the option for you.
@@VinceVenturella I appreciate the feedback. Will try out a few things. Timers to keep track of the hours might be a good place to start...
Hey Vince can I ask about your posture while painting? Do you brace your elbows against the desk or the computer chair? I always default to gollum posture while physically painting... probably why I like airbrushing so much 😅
I move around a lot honestly, it's not a single position, I try to brace and lock for detail work, but otherwise shift often.
Question i am in the midst of painting a Necromunda Delaque Piscean Spektor.
It has an exposed brain and lungs.
My question is how would you paint something like that to display standard?
What colors would you use?
And since a living brain has a LOT of veins on it, should i try and paint those or will it make the brain look (for lack of better word) to busy/cluttered?
Transitions between a deeper purple into a pinky color with pastel highlights. I honestly can't think of a time I've painted an exposed brain. In that scale, you wouldn't see the veins, so unless you feel you can really make them razor (and I mean razor) thin, I would skip it.
This part isn't much of a question but I recently listened to the TUP episodes that you and Uncle Atom were on talking about your games and development process and your guys work ethic is absolutely bonkers and you are both super inspiring to me. Now my question is my set up is a nook of my Fiance's work space but I want to optimize it a bit more so I can set up my little airbrush area and start pushing myself to learn how to use it. Do you have any recommendations for small spaces and setting up multiples "stations" ?
Having things that can fold up and away, like the airbrush booth can fold up, the paint rack and so on.
why dont you store brushes with the bristles facing down? wouldnt gravity kinda help keep the bristles straight?
Just a pain to do so and since I clean them thoroughly after usage, it doesn't cause any issue. :)
@@VinceVenturella understandable. was always curious about that cuz every one says synthetic brushes always tend to curl at the end do you think it would help at all?