Getting disheartned ?

The more you practice and learn the more rewarding it will become.

Haha cheers - lossecollectpj lol thanks man it's really good to know that everyones here to support me . I'm just going to keep on tyrying and believe in myself , it's just sometimes it really frustrates me . Thanks a lot man I really appreciate it

PJ,
Although I may not be long in the hobby or on the realm, I wanted to tell you that I still go through this myself. I am not an artistic guy by nature, so painting is a challenge for me. Unfortunately, there is a decent expense to this hobby, but (I think) I improved with a good assortment of brushes. I know I will never be able to create wild paint apps like someone like Freddie, but I try to use plastics and other materials to add unique details. You will find your strengths and learn which weaknesses to stray away from. One important thing for me is getting into the zone. I have often sat at the bench trying too hard to make something happen, and it usually doesn't end well. There is a pile of unfinished stuff all over the room from ill planned, over reached, half hearted attempts. When I am doing a figure that I am really into, I can zone in and the creativity just kind of flows. As an idea for you, even though they are not as cool, you could try doing some older 5" stuff. They seem to be a lot cheaper on Ebay, or even the figure realm store. Also remember a lot of the big guns on here a a bit older than you, so if you keep it up, in a couple of years you could be fastpj or loosecollectinpj. BOTTOM LINE- If you enjoy it, keep at it. You will get better as you go.
Ted

Well said getsa! And I'm glad to see you are not giving up pj!

Wow thanks a lot gets for such a brilliant response . It really does inspire me to carry on going as I am a big fan of your work . I do enjoy customising but I think I'm too much of a perfectionist . I mean like I made that custom Luke cage . It's a ok custom ( in person it's got like clothing detail ) quite a good face for me and overall I think it's food but I'm not proud of it , I just don't know why .

And your first custom was amazing !! That's such a cool figure , I mean I wish I could do that . And also just now I've posted loads of questions so if u don't know hot to do something I'll just ask .

So thanks a lot gets and it's just really kind of you to post such a detailed response .

hey man! browsed back at your works. and thanks for the props on your ms. marvel!

well. yeah. the only thing you can do is just keep pushing forward. if it's a hobby that you like, then you should ENJOY it. make characters that you really like. figures that you would love to own. looking at the product of your hard work and dedication that finally you have made something. you are a CREATOR! don't you feel the power every time you finish making a custom figure? it's as if you are God and you've given life to something that was nonexistent before. that's what we customizers are! don't be disheartened! don't you turn your back on us brother! don't ever think about quitting, coz that word is made for LOSERS!!!

ok.. I got a little carried away. hehe!

each time we make a figure, we become better and better. practice your craft. our next figure will surely be better than the last. improve through experience and hard work.
always try to challenge yourself. surpass your last works. be proud about your works. you only become a great customizer if you say to yourself that you are a great customizer. be humble enough to accept criticisms. if it is not given, ask about it. fellow realmers would surely answer your questions about customizing. and lastly... learn, learn, LEARN! we should never stop learning.
read tutorials. start from the most basic. apply it, practice it, master it. then step up a level higher. then repeat.

the only shortcut to success is hard work.

I advise to never be envious of other customizers works but you SHOULD also compare your works to others. study their works. on what aspect are they better than yours? improve on that. look at other customizers WIPs. those are like a library of information. you learn by observing, you keep it in mind and then apply it to your works.

about tips and constructive criticisms. try improving the paint apps on your works. read about thinning the paints and dry brushing as those will surely improve the look of any custom figure.
if you lack figures to practice on, try re-working your old customs, practice re-painting them. strip them of paint and then paint them again. you'll see that your latest work have surpassed what you've done before. you'll notice the huge difference. you'll get the hang of it in no time.

BTW, here's one of my first figures:


I can say I have improved a lot. but I will also say that it was not easy. I've come from a family that is not too well off. I almost never finished my studies because of financial problems. there also came a time when we even skip meals just to make ends meet.
customizing figures also require us to spend money so getting in this hobby was really a crazy thing for me to do. buying an action figure is a dumb move if you don't have money to burn. I was so guilty that I spent my money buying an action figure than buying food or other more important things. but hey, it's been done. I just have to make the most out of it.
I bought a cheap figure and repainted it. I then have no more money to buy another figure that I can practice on so I sold the first figure that I've made (the same price as I've bought the base figure) just so I can buy another cheap figure that I can practice on. it went like that for quite some time. I just continued. I tried to improve every time I make a new figure. I tried to build up my reputation on our local toy forum board. I accepted commissions on a very low price just so I can continue making figures. I knew that it was the only way that I can practice my craft. make figures, and sell them at a very low price. that's how I started on this hobby. I may not be the best right now but I know that I've come a long way and have improved a lot because of hard work and dedication. it also helped a lot that I truly love what I am doing. I still have a lot to learn, so I'll just keep on practicing.

keep loving the hobby sir! more power to you.

and sorry guys for the novel. haha!

Well what can I say - this is why the realm is so good , everybody on here showing me lots of support although I'm sure a lot you guys have never seen any of my customs . And cone to think of it I do think I have improved and now that I'm getting more tools like a rotary tool and better paints which do help a lot whilst customising . Threes just a few things which I think hold me back like I had loads of spare figures to customise I would try to practice a lot more but really I don't really have that many more figures to experiment on . But thanks a lot guys , I will defiantly carry on just I guess sometimes it nice when your actually told that your doing well or it's ok but to improve you can do this etc . So once again thanks a lot .

Yeah dude, don't give up! You need to just push forward. When I started learning water color,
I was never satisfied with my output. Any time I painted I would walk away and not finish it.
Cause I would say it could be better. My teacher luckily would come to me and say you must finish.
I don't care if you hate it finish it and then if you think you messed parts up practice that ( like shadows )
Then later come back and do that painting the way you want to once you master that part you dislike.
The part he was trying to get me to focus on was that by finishing it I would learn. And by moving on I would also learn
To be critical of my work without feeling down.
You just need to keep it up dude! I'm not happy with certain parts of my stuff I'm working on
Cause I don't have the right parts or things didn't work out as I planed?
But I keep working and just make a note to in the future come back and do
It better. And study as much as you can! I look up tutorials everywhere!
You can ask anyone on this board, I'm real annoying. I write anyone over anything.
If they did something and I can't figure It out by looking at it, I write them asking
"how did you do that!?" and most are extremely polite:]
if you want you can bother me anytime pm me or whatever. I'll give ya advice and even a little cheer leading.
Just don't quit. The beauty of this hobby is I think everyone was at some point
Dissatisfied with the figures they had ( unless they were kiyodo or revoltech cause...
All their stuff is amazing...) and said " I can make this figure better!".
So keep at it!

I think in times like these you need to hear a good story more than you need advice.
Once upon a time there was a boy who loved everything comic book and especially loved action figures. As a child he grew up very poor and never got the toys he so desperately wanted. As an adult he was able to buy the figures that eluded his grasp as a boy. So he bought and bought and bought and bought. After filling his entire room full he realized he still wasn't happy. One day he stumbled upon Jin Saotome's website and this intrigued him. Unfortunately this guy was not very artistic. As a matter of fact he had failed at every artistic endeavor he had ever attempted in his entire life. But after much research he found the tutorials on Jin's website and the ones here on the realm. The tutorials seemed very straight forward and VERY helpful. So this man thought to himself "What the hell." He bought the supplies that the tutorial suggested and added the figures he already owned and started.
Boy was it ever tough. Many times he would look down and see this painted mess of a figure and wanted to back his car over it. But he continued on. His first custom pieces were really bad but he understood that with every completed custom he was slowly getting better. He understood that because of his lack of artistic ability he would have to redo things over and over and customs would take a LONG time to complete but just the repetition would help immensely. That was two years ago and this guy was still at it. He is still not very good and no way would he be as good as a lot of the guys on here but he was making customs he thought was cool and made him proud. That's what really matters. Make customs that make you happy and don't compare them to anyone else's. OF course the guy in the story is me and if I can do it ANYONE can. I guess I will end with a bit of advice afterall. Invest in good paint remover and walk away when you get frustrated.

Everybody starts where your at, even the best among us was a newb at one point. Just do the best you can and never stop trying to learn. Definitely don't quite, you can't win in this game if you don't play.

Started the trip six years ago bro...


For the situation you're in right now, you have two choices...
You go the coward's way and hang the boots or you look adversity in the face and get back to work .
Keep going my friend.

Just keep pressing on, don't judge yourself my other ppls work, you can only do YOUR best, invest in better materials and practice on cheaper "throw away" figures.

Man, why do you think I waited so long to post. I had more than 20 figures started and I lacked the experience to finish any of them to my standards! Even some of my first on here were missing a lot of basic touches I hadn't quite mastered. It's just a matter of practicing the skills for me. No offense to anyone on here but if you go to search oldest to newest and view the customs the improvement overall from then to now is amazing. If all else fails work on devsloping a good painting technique! Good paint apps hide many flaws, LOL. Look at some street art, making something cold and ugly alive and full of color.

Go to my custom page and go back to my first customs and it will make you feel better. My stuff was $hit when I started out. But I think it's ok now the same will work for you. Just stick with it. The turning point for my customs was really when I got the supplies I needed.