Thread: Overwhelmed

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Here we are 274 days (or less if you start early) until the big event. Already I wonder how I'm going to get all of my projects done.

My current system is to finish one project before moving on to the next. But I'm a bit of a perfectionist and it is hard to stop and say good enough so I can move on.

Does it ever seem that work gets in the way of life? I could get a lot done without the daily grind.

Originally Posted by bamtunebam

My current system is to finish one project before moving on to the next. But I'm a bit of a perfectionist and it is hard to stop and say good enough so I can move on.

Absolutely, I've gone to the finish a project before starting another with great success. I get too many things going and don't pay enough attention to one prop and they all suffer.

i think everyone feels this way from time to time.. hang in there and remember it's all about having fun. for me, i am doing one big prop this year (columns and fence) and when i reach the halfway mark i will look at some smaller projects. otherwise i would just move into the basement and never see the light of day...

I'm the same way in wanting to overwork my stuff. Working in the daylight I have to remind myself constantly that it mostly will be seen at night with minimal light, and through fog.
But still I add more detail than is needed but thats me I just can't help myself. LOL

I also get to a point where I simply can't stand looking at something any longer, and start another project. But it seems to work for me okay so that I can move around and break up the monotony i.e. working with latex on one, wood and nails on another, etc;.

Originally Posted by Yubney

I also get to a point where I simply can't stand looking at something any longer, and start another project. But it seems to work for me okay so that I can move around and break up the monotony i.e. working with latex on one, wood and nails on another, etc;.

I'm with you on this one Yubney. Some projects seem to take way to long and I need to move to a different project for a while. Then there are the paper mache projects that take an hour to apply a layer and a day to dry so you get some free time between coats. I usually keep starting projects till I realize...oh boy, how am I ever going to finish all these projects before Halloween, then it's a mad dash to get them all completed.

Since they'll be shown mostly at night time I'd rather have 5 projects 90% complete than 1 perfect project.

Originally Posted by FirstSpartan

I'm with you on this one Yubney. Some projects seem to take way to long and I need to move to a different project for a while. Then there are the paper mache projects that take an hour to apply a layer and a day to dry so you get some free time between coats. I usually keep starting projects till I realize...oh boy, how am I ever going to finish all these projects before Halloween, then it's a mad dash to get them all completed.

Since they'll be shown mostly at night time I'd rather have 5 projects 90% complete than 1 perfect project.

Give this man a cigar!

I have lots of ideas and have started working on a couple of them. I know I won't start or finish quite a few, but it seems that the one I really want completed manages to float to the surface during the year and I get it done in time....a couple years ago, it was my cemetery pillars and fence, last year the hearse.. I don't know what this year's must do is, but I'll have it figured out by mid August...until then, I'll just plug away at whatever project is in front of me that week.

Weather is more of an issue for most of us...it's just too dang cold to even be in the garage working on things and I doubt we could even use spray paint in these frigid temps! Then my next problem is spring arrives which leads to yard work getting in the way. I don't know how people with jobs get anything done!

I know what you mean. It's tough to be able to sit back and say to yourself that it is the way you want it. But like others have already said, It's usually a low light situation and the details are usually lost in the darkness. And I get some comfort in the fact that I still do a better job decorating than 99% of the people out there. I build almost all of my props or modify store bought ones. So my stuff is unique and I can take pride in the fact that it IS unique and not something everybody else on the block has.

I work on three projects at a time. I use the dry time/cure time from one to move to the next and then when that drys I move on the next. If they are all similar, say corpses, I'll production line it, making say 30 ribs at a time, 6 arms, 6 legs, then corpse three skulls in a row, assemble the body, paper mache them all on the same day, and then production line the painting.

I also split projects between what I can do at the coffee table on week nights where I can talk to my hun, watch a movie, etc and then keep bigger projects for weekends, where I work 6-8 hours at a time doing all the messy stuff in the garage.