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Author Topic: Paralyzed By Fear  (Read 2176 times)

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Offline SparkleSkye

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Paralyzed By Fear
« on: June 10, 2018, 08:16:22 AM »
I am very very new to customs, about all I've done is prepare bait and rehair one G4. I also don't have much artistic talent in general. I want to customize, and I have all the supplies I need to do it, but I am frozen in terror at the thought of messing up a custom and that fear has kept me from even attempting a face up.
Does anyone else suffer from this fear of failure? Or have any tips on mitigating customizing disasters when they do happen?
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Offline RoseNoire

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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2018, 08:57:48 AM »
Well I have a bait for 3/4 years now and I don't know what to do with it, every thing I tried until now just fails so I leave it be somewhere in the house until I find the motivation and material to do something with it.
It's not that I'm afraid, I'm just disappointed it doesn't work like I want it to. So yeah, at the moment, it's covered in crackly paint with a sticky layer of paint finish for months.... I just want to blast it with a high-pressure water pistol and try again.

So, yeah, just do it and if it fails, have a cool down so you can tackle it better with a calm mind. No one gets @DarkHorse's level without many trials and errors. Look for tutorials on the internet so you can have an idea of what to do and then roll with it.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2018, 09:01:37 AM by RoseNoire »
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Offline Griffin

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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2018, 09:34:58 AM »
Grab a fakie and start experimenting! That way you don't need to fear messing up - it's not like you can totally destroy the pony or anything by just painting and rehairing. :) (Now, ovens and such are a different thing. :lol: )

Practicing eyes and other detail work is easier if you haven't painted the pony, if you are unhappy just wipe it off with acetone and try again. And eyes are hard. I usually manage to paint one just fine, but the other side always gives me problems, probably because I can't rest the side of my hand on the head the way it feels most natural. But it will get easier with practice.

My most important advice is to customise for yourself. Choose a design you like, and make the custom for your personal collection. You can always start making customs for others later as you build confidence, if that is your goal. But even then, I recommend sticking to designs that are appealing to you. It's much more difficult to get satisfying results if you're not excited about the design.

Like RoseNoire said, it takes practice. Good quality supplies help, but still, it will likely take you many years to perfect your techniques, especially when it comes to painting (and sculpting, if you're interested in that). But you can't begin to improve until you've started. ;) Try to focus on the process and just have fun, that will show in the end results.

Best of luck! :happy:
 
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Offline Kazzellin

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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2018, 03:25:26 PM »
I would say the best thing to do is to start with a design in mind. And, like Griffin said, make your first few customs designs that -you- want to make, for your own collection. That being said:

-Take it slow. Not so slow that you leave a WIP sitting for months (which I am guilty of, though in my defense I have gone back to school ;) ), buy slow enough that you don'tr have to worry about the next layer of paint effecting the one under it.

-Start with a plan in mind. Even if it's making a G4 design into a G3 or a G1, just something to get you started. Working from an image already chosen will help.

-Don't panic! If you do make a mistake, no matter where you are in the process, acetone will help clear it up. Remember, the only thing you don't want with acetone is it to be on your hands; cotton balls for big fixes, q-tips for medium ones, makeup q-tips (which are maybe 1/5 the size of a regular cotton swab) for small ones/eyes/eyelashes.

-Recognize when you're getting frustrated. If you find yourself redoing an area more than you want, and you're becomming irritated with yourself because of it, then it's time to set the project down and walk away for a bit. Take a 15-minute break and come back, have a snack (you may not notice you're hungry if you've been working for awhile), or play a game on your phone for a bit; something to change directions for a little. Just make sure you clean up and cap paints before you walk away, in case the 15-minute break turns into a few hours or more. ;)

-Brush size matters. A lot. I have found myself buying the smallest brushes I can for eyelashes - and then I trim some of the bristles off to make it even smaller. If you keep finding the area you're painting is always turning out thicker than you wanted, you may need to switch brushes.

-Glitter always looks better with a matching coat of pain under it. Doesn't have to be a perfect match, just needs to hide any body color so you're not piling on gobs of glitter to hide it. Same goes for fun flocking and similar things.

I hope this helps a least a little! I look forward to seeing what you come up with! :D
« Last Edit: June 10, 2018, 03:27:20 PM by Kazzellin »
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Offline Motion-Paradox

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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2018, 06:08:53 PM »
Maybe try sketching the details with a pencil before painting them? I know with anything I find using paint and ink more stressful than pencil so maybe if you give yourself an easier to erase guideline first it would help. With eyes you have to do multiple coats, so just draw the next part you're going to work on
« Last Edit: June 13, 2018, 06:13:24 PM by Motion-Paradox »

Offline aintnobuffalo

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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #5 on: June 13, 2018, 09:20:35 PM »
I started in the same boat, and it looks like you've gotten some great advise so far. I just wanted to encourage that the good news that that we can unlearn our fears. But, the bad news is that we have to "fail" along the way. But I wouldn't change any of my customizing/art failures; they were actually lessons in disguise, and I've grown from them. Try with something you are motivated to do and then notice what success and lessons you get from your art experiment.
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Offline CrystalSnowflake

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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2018, 11:59:22 PM »
When I started I had one pony that I would paint on then remove the paint and do it again.
She was my experimental pony. I never planned to make her into anything specific.
I used her as a way to test out things before putting them on a custom I was working to completion.
I never felt bad when it didn't turn out because I knew I could just repaint her again and again till I got it down.
I learned a ton by doing that and probably saved a ton of baits in the process.
It's all about practice
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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2018, 01:11:21 AM »
     I don’t know much about customizing, but I do make artwork, and animations. Creative work. And I want to get into customizing myself someday when I have the time. I don’t have much to add, but here’s my two cents.
      My bit of advice comes from animating. Make a plan, and make sure you like it.  Having a plan is everything. It’s like a storyboard. It shows what the final product should look like. The boards also go through revision after revision, to make sure its a good idea before dedicating resources. Make sure you have a design of what you want the finished product to be like. It will help keep your ideas together, and not all over the place.
     That being said, it’s okay to change the plan midway. Perhaps something can’t be done because reasons. So you change the plan. Adapt to the situation. If something doesn’t work out, change it. It's okay to change your mind. Improvise, adapt, overcome.
     Lastly, it’s okay to make mistakes. They happen. And practice makes perfect. Practice and keep trying to improve. Even the greats make errors, nd that’s okay. Don’t let it discourage you.
     Ultimately, remember to plan, think before you do, practice and be positive.
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Offline Sweet Daes

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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2018, 07:10:32 AM »
Okay, real talk.

There are not very many artists in the world that started off painting fine art, animating on the level of Disney, decorating, jewelry making, etc etc etc right from the womb. Sure, some may have an innate talent but let's be realistic: Not everyone is going to be a Picasso, or Da Vinci, or be as awesome as Mozart where he was pumping out musical masterpieces before he was 20.
 
Practice. Learn. Grow. Experience. Try again.

I am not the best example because I just bull ahead and if it doesn't work it doesn't work, then I try something else. If you want to dabble in it, remove the hair and paint from a bait and use tracing paper to transfer designs from something to another. Many artists in the world start at an early age with tracing- don't be ashamed if you need a template in the beginning.

For starters, I recommend this tutorial:
http://www.aikarin.com/mlp/customs/eye.html

Then if you like a dolphin that you drew, or a flower and ivy design, you can use this same technique to apply the design to your pony.

And, if you feel that you messed up, strip off the paint and try again. No one is going to judge a beginner based on being a beginner. If you feel that you suck at it, that is normal, and actually healthy when treated properly. It means that you have a standard that you want to reach, so keep painting, un-painting, re-painting, throwing away, and starting over.

AND paint takes a bit to dry. You have a small grace period window to just wipe it off.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2018, 07:15:09 AM by Sweet Daes »

Offline Epona

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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #9 on: August 13, 2018, 07:22:08 PM »
My first custom was G4-G1 blind bag pinky pie made into cotton candy. Its the easiest custom ever. My second was the same thing on a brushable. It got me over my anxiety about messing up.
Im no artist and am only interested in making a few for my own collection, but it took about 5 years before I finally did it.
I test out painting and re-hairing techniques on a couple of second hand fakies until Im confident enough to do it on a real pony.  I also tested flat ironing on a fakie first so that I wouldnt burn real pony hair.

Offline pinkkittywinks

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Re: Paralyzed By Fear
« Reply #10 on: August 14, 2018, 06:31:14 AM »
I get paralysed with fear with a lot of customs even though I have been customising for 15 years now :blush: I find it usually goes away once you start.

Think of it this way, you cannot ruin a bait pony and you can always strip back and start again :)

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