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Can’t stop my hands shaking when painting


Axineton

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I’m ok doing the undercoats and a base layer or two but once I start doing smaller areas i.e. sidearms or grenades attached to belts or even eyes etc, my hands start shaking and going mental! I’m not to worried at the moment cos I’m just practicing getting down the basics of painting etc but I don’t want this getting in my head and then me end up quitting the hobby because of it.

 

Is it just because I’m basically a noob that hasn’t painted for 20 plus years and I got to get used to the miniatures again?

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Everyone has this problem to one degree or another.

 

First, painting in a comfortable position is a must. It reduces overall stress on your body and allows you to relax.

 

Second, avoid painting when you're hopped up on sugar and caffeine. Painting when you've just downed three Red Bulls and a Mountain Dew is a Bad Idea.

 

Third, brace your hands/arms when painting. Position elbows, forearms, wrists against each other and/or against stationary objects such as table edges, etc. This will help you to keep things more steady. If you're able to lock your minis into a stationary vice or other holder that you don't have to hold with your off hand, you can rest your painting arm against your other arm. Something I often do is press my pinky finger into the hand that's holding the model, helping to keep both hands steady relative to each other.

 

There are other tricks that other members should be able to provide.

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Cheers mate I thought it was just me because it’s all new to me again. Yeah my painting conditions aren’t great at the moment and won’t be till the end of the year really. So I'll just have to get used to it and just keep practicing with cheap models I buy off eBay.
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I find sitting at your desk, with your elbows on desk, wrists together works a treat. then basically once youre holding a mini youre only moving 3 fingers (brush holding fingers) to paint with.

Also your mini naturally ends up at roughly eye level. :D

 

BCC

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I definitely need to stabilize my arms when painting. Try a few different comfortable positions, and hopefully you'll find one that works. Another thing to consider is if the shaking is due to how your muscles and nerves are working while you're painting, versus if you just have a tremor all the time you just don't usually notice. If that's the case, definitely check with a doctor to see if there's more to it than just painting. Hopefully all you need though is a new position.
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Make sure your light is good. Squinting to see just where the brush should go will tighten up your muscles and cause a shake.

 

Tell the voice in your head to shut up. :P You know the one "I really want to do this. I used to be able to do this. Damn it, why can't I do this." Well at least that's what my little voice says. :D Then I tense up and the shakes get worse. Drown out the voice with mellow music or an audiobook. Turn the TV on and let your mind wander a bit. The muscles will relax and steady down.

 

Oh, and welcome back to the hobby, brother.

Edited by Semper Fortis
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Occasionally I use a desk-mounted magnification lamp for detail work and line-highlighting. It takes a while to get use to the exaggeration of your own movements under magnification, but the areas you're painting become much larger as well. Combine that with proper posture and bracing your hands and you will hopefully see some improvement.

 

Also, it might not be necessary advice, but avoid the smokes while painting - it raises your heart rate and throws your fine motor control off kilter. 

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Another trick:  after you've got your elbows/forearms on the table and wrists and hands together to lock everything in, you can lean forward and touch your cheek to the back end of the paint brush.  I only do this for super fine detail, but a friend of mine with some spinal damage showed me it (apparently his physiotherapist showed him it).  He has to paint everything like that.

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In addition to all the excellent advice above, I would add two more suggestions:

 

> Make sure the area is well-lit and that you're using a decent brush. It's impossible to acheive precision otherwise, regardless of how steady your hands are.

 

> Do some hand and arm exercises to strengthen your arms and hands (if you can). Whilst painting requires only a delicate touch, stronger muscles will help you in keeping your arms and hands more steady more easily.

 

Finally, you might find a miniature painting aid like these useful. They allow you not only to hold the miniature whilst painting, but also provide off-miniature resting points to hold your fingers against to keep your brush-hand steady.

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All of the above, and I also suggest that you take a couple of deep breaths, then exhale and hold your breath for a second, and continue to hold while starting to paint.  It's something I do to steady my hand when painting fine details and doing freehand.

 

If my hands are shaking too badly for that to work, I just take a break and go play a video game, eat something, or watch a movie, then come back to it in about an hour.

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Another trick:  after you've got your elbows/forearms on the table and wrists and hands together to lock everything in, you can lean forward and touch your cheek to the back end of the paint brush.

 

So the back of the brush is constantly in contact with your cheek (rather than this being a way of getting a good posture)? At first thought that would cause more problems but I'm going to give this a go.

 

I definitely second cupping your painting and holding hands together, so they shake in unison rather than against each other.

 

Fr33Dom, if you're shaking a lot, you may have tired muscles from holding an awkward posture. I've just spent a month hobbling/crawling/on crutches unable to paint with a back injury, and I'm pretty sure bad posture whilst I paint was a contributor to the problem. So make sure you're comfortable and not straining anything whilst you're hobbying.

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I figured most of it was low blood sugar ‍♂ As I’m diabetic. I’ve been fine the last week or so. But thanks for all the tips etc, I’m gonna use them anyway as they’ll help me improve hopefully as well.

 

I was going to ask about any health conditions. Asthmatics who use albuterol inhalers could also expect tremors.

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Another trick:  after you've got your elbows/forearms on the table and wrists and hands together to lock everything in, you can lean forward and touch your cheek to the back end of the paint brush.

 

So the back of the brush is constantly in contact with your cheek (rather than this being a way of getting a good posture)? At first thought that would cause more problems but I'm going to give this a go.

 

If you keep your spine fully extended and raise your arms you won't have any posture issues.

 

I just do it for ultra fine detail.

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