Making your break creative
This video from Midwinter Minis popped up recently:
It’s a nice conversational video, as long as you like that sort of thing. In this case, I liked it a lot.
What caught me though was Guy talking about what he does when he wants a break from painting and modelling. Drawing, which is what he does for most of the video, is one such break. Computer games are another. What struck me though was that even when he’s taking a break from being creative, he just being creative on something else.
It made me think about what I do when I’m not painting. I hate to admit it, but the social media death scroll has sucked me in more than once. That’s effectively doing nothing for as long as you scroll. However, there’s other ways I take a break too.
Sometimes its just cataloguing, looking ahead to what miniatures could go on the next tray, or sorting through my collection of Magic cards – a never-ending process.
What this video promoted me to do was make a quick list of all the creative (and relaxing) things I could be doing. From painting to modelling, to reading a book or playing computer games. Without getting too harsh on myself, I think I need to seek more creative things to do when I’m not really doing anything. I’ve never been a visual artist, but I used to enjoy writing short stories, something I would like to get back to. These days I mostly write blog articles, as you may have noticed!
Reading books or playing computer games have to be better than staring at a screen for an hour or more of scrolling through nonsense. More of those things – there! I’ve made a New year’s resolution already!
Scent of a Gamer 
I highly encourage you to read a book. Any book.
As one of the leading experts in Bookology, I can guarantee that your life will be better if you read more books. Bikini clad babes will throw themselves all over you. Mustacheiod Italian gentlemen will beg you to take their imported sports cars off their hands. Children will throng around you, singing merry songs in praise. Yes, this is my life every day and it can be yours too!
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I think, Bookstooge, that based on your comment above, I’m reading the wrong sort of books! 🙂 Seriously though, I have to agree with your first sentence! And if the bikini-clad babes can manage to get past my wife, I can give them some nice miniature figures to paint!
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Possibly, you need to strut more and unbutton your shirt to show all your manly chest hair. And stogies. You have to smoke big fat stogies. Also, read some of the Mack Bolan/Executioner books by Don Pendleton. That should do it. If none of that works for you, we’ll have to get a professional involved. And I charge $100 an hour!
Glad you’ve got a plan though. Those mini’s aren’t going to paint themselves. No matter how much you all might wish it.
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These are the exact reasons I started book blogging.
Nevermind the fact I can’t drive and my kiddo already sings songs about me.
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Depending on just how “spy’y” you really are, the mustachioed italian gentlemen might offer to drive for you!
Never underestimate the Power of Books!
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Dave, I still work on your advice from a while back about not having any “zero days” so even if I’m not painting I can be sorting, preparing stuff or researching! 🙂 I mix my reading between fiction and military history and that work well for me!
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I still re-read that article every so often myself, and it sounds like you have a great mix!
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That’s a good idea, great resolution! I try to alternate my time between building/painting minis with writing short stories (or if I’m too wiped maybe just organising notes for an upcoming story), and then I’ll maybe have two nights out of seven to play video games.
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Sounds like a good approach, Steve!
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You’ve made a great point about the social media death scroll, that’s a slippery slope
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Anything is better than the social media worm hole.
It’s an easy trap to fall into though.
Definitely going to have to work on that myself. Maybe setting a social media timer that reminds to turn it off would be a good counter measure?
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Great post Dave. My number one preferred other past time is reading books but since this crazy year has resulted in working from home my prime reading time (the commute on the train) has been totally curtailed. So now I just take my daughter ‘exploring’ in the woods behind the house (she’s young enough to still want to spend time with me 😉) and write army reviews and tactics articles for a long dead game on my favourite forum.
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Getting outdoors is great. I find I get a lot of ideas from simply being on a walk.
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This is a really interesting idea. I think there can be value in scrolling through social media if it is hobby related. I spend a decent amount of time seeing what work others have done and thinking about my own work in that way. I would also say that other things like video games, movies, books, and TV shows can inspire you to want to paint miniatures of a particular type or genre. I experience that quite often and will ride the wave of inspiration, if possible, when that occurs.
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I think if you’re getting inspiration from it or it’s crossing over into other creative areas the. It’s all good
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