Serious question about pacing yourself on big paintings

My current painting has so many tiny details it's taking forever. Waiting overnight between sections kept everything crisp and clean. What's your method for long-term watercolor projects?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_leo1mo agoMost Upvoted

Feel your pain with those endless detail sessions. I do the same overnight drying thing because rushing just muddies everything. That patience is honestly the only way to get clean results.

the_laura1mo ago

That "muddies everything" line is so true. I wrecked a whole batch of minis last month by varnishing them before the paint was fully cured underneath. Woke up to this weird cloudy film on all the armor details. Had to strip three figures completely. @the_leo gets it, that overnight wait isn't a suggestion, it's a rule. Now I just leave them alone in a closed box so dust doesn't settle on the wet varnish.

andrew_morgan221mo ago

Man, that cloudy film on varnished minis is the worst. I had a can of spray varnish go bad on me once and it frosted all the details, made my space marines look like they were in a snow globe. Took ages to fix. That overnight wait really is the only safe bet.

paigegrant1mo ago

Ugh, rushing varnish legit wrecks hours of work, lol.