How To Paint With Contrast Paints

In this article, I'm hoping to give you the information you need to make up one's mind if you should give Citadel Dissimilarity Paints a attempt.

The quick answers to about questions about Contrast Paints are:

Can assist you lot pigment faster with good results? Yes.
Are expensive for what you go? Yes.
Tin you make your ain Contrast Paints if yous have the fourth dimension and materials? Yeah.
Do they instantly brand you a amend painter? No, just they can instantly improve your miniatures under the right circumstances.
Can you have Dissimilarity Paints to a very high level? Absolutely!
Is there a learning curve? Yes, but it's non very steep.

To summarize my thoughts, I would absolutely give them a shot. Understand they are not a phenomenon paint, set up your expectations appropriately, and read the basics on how to use them.

They are marketed as being for beginners and I recall they do serve that purpose, but they tin can too be taken to a very advanced level.

I personally use them quite often. They are a tool in my kit that I go to frequently.

I'm still using a majority of my normal acrylic paints, merely I would say I utilise dissimilarity on each miniature I pigment.

I'd like this article to give you lot the confidence to try out at least one. If you follow some simple guidelines, I retrieve you'll get a good thought of what they tin can do. From there you lot tin make your own decisions.

Are Contrast Paints Worth It?

Citadel Dissimilarity Paints requite excellent, consistent results but they are expensive. The biggest factor to consider when buying Contrast Paints is if yous would prefer to mix your ain paint.

Like any other acrylic, this paint is a mixture of pigment, medium, and other additives to accomplish the Contrast Paint properties. Making a home version of Contrast Paints would require a time delivery to experimenting to detect the shades and properties you want, and accept the upfront cost of buying acrylic paints, medium, and flow improver.

Value

Citadel Contrast Paint is expensive per milliliter equally compared to standard high-quality acrylic paints. They likewise possess different backdrop that gear up them apart from standard acrylic.

Results

Contrast Paints are high-quality and give consistently reliable results. They are useful in various techniques, can exist hands used through an airbrush, tin be thinned, or applied straight from the pot.

Make Your Own

Yes, you lot can make your own version of Contrast Paints. You can also make your own acrylic pigment, or wash, or even paintbrush! The question is if information technology's efficient and worth your time.

The cost of DIY is low, but you'll have to experiment to find the exact shades you desire, and then keep runway of the exact formula y'all used to maintain consistency. It is certainly achievable though.

I've compiled a list of popular and high-quality acrylics used in miniature painting. You can meet that Citadel Paints are more expensive per Milliliter in full general, and contrast tops the list. So if you're on a tight upkeep, you lot might consider other options similar making your own.

Pigment	Cost	Book in Milliliters	Cost Per Ml	Consistency
Contrast Pigment (18ml)	$6.99	18	$0.39	Moderate Sparse
Citadel Base Paint (12ml)	$3.89	12	$0.32	Moderate Thick
Citadel Shade (24ml)	$6.99	24	$0.29	Sparse
Vallejo Model Color (17ml)	$two.90	17	$0.17	Moderate Thick
Scale 75 Scalecolor (17ml)	$iv.09	17	$0.24	Moderate Thick
Formula P3 Pigment (18ml)	$3.xl	eighteen	$0.19	Moderate Thin
Citadel Technical Paint (24ml)	$half dozen.99	24	$0.29	Very Thick

How to Paint with Dissimilarity Paints

Priming

Priming and the color you cull is particularly important with Contrast Paints. Don't skip over this step and be very mindful of what you cull.

I highly suggest yous commencement with a white, off white, or low-cal grey base coat. You can paint them over any color, only I would suggest starting with white / off white.

Citadel has ii specific shades they offer for Contrast Paints. The brush on versions are hither: Grey Seer and Wraithbone . They are both likewise available in a spray tin version: Greyness Seer and Wraithbone .

Grey Seer : This is more for a cold, slightly darker shade. So if yous're painting a mostly cold color similar blue or purple, consider Grey Seer.

Wraithbone : Designed for a more warm, natural, organic terminate with Dissimilarity paints applied over it.

You can apply them nonetheless you want, simply be aware that if yous just accept a spray can, affect-ups are really tough to practice. Spray cans will provide a fast, smoothen coat typically. The brush-on paint allows you to do bear on ups, or you can just brush on the primer.

A single layer of contrast paint will exist very translucent and the undercoat volition make a huge difference on the final advent, peculiarly for lighter colors. Load your brush with only enough paint to encompass the area you're currently working on.

Effort to apply with a smooth stroke. Take a damp brush available to soak up whatsoever excess paint that pools in areas you lot don't desire it.

I'm going to become into a bit more depth on some general guidelines and tips for beginners merely getting started. I'll try to presume a bones knowledge of painting simply no experience with contrast paints.

As with most things, feel is the all-time teacher, merely these tips volition help you advance more quickly.

Here are some peachy images by the fine folks at Warhammer Chelmsford.

Notice the differences with the aforementioned verbal contrast paint, over dissimilar base coats:

So again, be very aware of what you lot are applying Contrast Paints on top of. It will impact the terminal results.

Other Primers

White or a light grey like Stynylrez offers is definitely effective. So don't feel yous absolutely demand the Citadel versions.

Sentinel For Pooling

You can apply a thicker coat, but y'all need to exist really aware of how the paint is pooling to get a adept result. You lot can just employ it with 1 thick coat merely y'all're trading speed for quality. With merely a chip more than try and time you'll have a much better look.

Polish Coats

Go for shine even coats with contrast paints in full general. You desire the darker pigment to flow into recesses, and the higher levels ideally will look more or less uniform. That'southward a generalization, if yous want a patchy expect, then thicker is fine and you don't need to be as concerned virtually smoothen coats.

Big Flat Surfaces

Large Apartment Surfaces like a big flowing cloak or a flat shield, are more than challenging to go a proficient effect with Contrast. You may become a patchy event if you're not enlightened of how the pigment is settling. Be aware of pooling pigment where you do not want a shadow.

You lot can use a slightly clammy brush to wick away any excess paint for more command.

High Level Painting

Contrasts can be taken to a very high (advanced) level. Check out Juan Hidalgo Miniatures for examples of the higher level models. Annotation that he likewise uses more than than just dissimilarity paints; he uses Contrast for the majority, and various other paints for highlights.

Hither is his video on Eavy Contrast Stormcast. It's a more than contempo video of his and I think it captures what is possible with contrast.

Contrast paints are a tool and not perfect for every task.

That said, if you want a very in depth wait at all their uses and properties, Vince Venturella has an first-class video that covers the topic in full:

List of the best uses of Dissimilarity Paints:

Faces: Utilise Guillimans Flesh Contrast over a light undercoat for an excellent, quick, skin tone. Utilise a darker undertone or multiple layers for darker skin, highlight it for lighter tones. If y'all're looking to do fantasy figures you lot can give Ork Flesh Contrast Paint a try.
Leather: Snakebite Leather is excellent for various leather items such as boots, belts, bags, straps or armor.
Fur: The texture of fur lends itself really well to Contrast Paints. I personally love Nazdreg Xanthous Contrast Paint for this because it looks similar a lion pelt. Y'all can use whatever color you prefer (pre-fur? Contrast Paint Dad Jokes!)
Armor Plates: Armor colored in Blue, Yellow, Light-green, Purple and Blood-red are perfect for contrast paints. Again here I'll bespeak y'all to JHM series on Eavy Metal Contrast. Note here that when applying to armor you're really looking to make sure you control where the paint is pooling.
Airbrushing: Contrast paints work specially well through an airbrush. High pigment, very thin, can be thinned even further. They flow very well through the airbrush. For this awarding, they are like to an ink, in that yous'll become stiff colour from not much pigment. For each successive application the colour will darken, so be aware of that and test information technology first. Very thin coats volition also provide a overnice filter for your models.
Bases and scenery: Things similar stone, grass, leaves, trees, branches, dirt, or even martian terrain are a perfect use for Dissimilarity Paint. The only concern here is if you're painting a huge amount of terrain. For large scale use y'all have to take into account the cost of Contrast Paints. For small bases y'all get quick constructive results.
Scales: Snakes, fish, armor, or whatsoever other type of scale lends itself well to Contrast Paints. The nature of scales gives the paint a lot of recesses to period into. Surfaces similar that piece of work really well with these paints.
Washes and Shades: If you are familiar with the extremely popular Nuln Oil, you should give Black Templar (thinned down) a try. This acts like a more constructive black wash and looks great on pinnacle of silver metallics.
Shading Metallics: Guillimans Flesh thinned down is a not bad shade to put over Aureate or Copper. Try Black Templar thinned over Silvery or Steel.

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Which are the Best Contrast Paints?

Of course, this is subjective and highly dependent on what you want to pigment. That said there are some contrast paints that come up over and over. I'grand going to cover those paints and some of the uses for them.

Gulliman Flesh

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I like to recollect of this as a thicker version of Reikland Flesh shade. And then if y'all've used Reikland in the past, try the aforementioned with Guillimans. Just exist aware it is thicker, then either thin it or apply sparse coats.

Some of the best uses of Guilliman Mankind include:

Flesh tones, of grade, and peculiarly faces. The paint itself is a sort of midtone caucasian flesh just can be made lighter or darker with shadow or highlights later on the initial application. Y'all tin also paint it over a lighter or darker base of operations coat.
A shade for Gold, either true metallics or non metallic metal. Endeavor base coating your favorite golden, say Retributor Armor, and then thin some Guilliman Mankind about 1:i ratio with Contrast Medium. Utilize the thinned Guilliman Flesh every bit a wash. You tin can accept that shadow even further with a really thinned Fireslayer's Flesh Contrast paint as a glaze in the darker shadows.

Blackness Templar

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Black Templar is the new Nuln Oil . At least for me. It's a thicker version of Nuln Oil, and it works really well. If you're looking to go some good quick contrast in something black, give this pigment a try. If you lot're looking to get some shadows with a black wash, try Black Templar thinned about one:2 with some contrast medium.

Blackness metal: Say a Infinite Marine Bolter gun. Or Black Armor. Attempt this Contrast Pigment over a base of operations glaze of neutral grey, for case Mechanicus Standard Grey.
Recess Wash: Thin Black Templar with Contrast Medium 1:1 or 1:two and apply every bit a wash on something like silver metallics.

Snakebite Leather

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If you've painted miniatures for a while, peradventure you've noticed how often you lot use some shade of brown. Boots, belts, bags, packs, saddles, dirt, bawl, dry leaves. There are a ton of applications.

Leather: Hence the name. It might be obvious but it's worth mentioning you lot can get a really solid leather look with just Snakebite Leather. If yous're looking to mix it up, effort Gore-Grunta Fur for a very similar effect. Apply a second sparse coat where you want information technology to exist darker. (Random tip for leather, I like Gobi Brown by Scale 75 for highlights. It'south actually Matte and a great cease)
Scales or Insect Carapace: A serpent, a Tyrannid , a giant beetle, this is a cracking colour to try.
Horns and Antlers: Anything along those lines work really well with this.

Talassar Blue

I've personally used this one a lot, but that'due south because I painted up a ton of Blue Armored Ultramarines. My personal mix was 1:1 mix of Talassar Blue Contrast and Ultramarine Bluish Dissimilarity . I highlighted that with P3 Cygnar Blue Highlight .

Bluish Armor: I picked Tallasar because it's a actually good mid or light tone for blueish. You lot can pigment information technology as a layer or mix information technology with a lighter or darker color to get some really good dissimilarity.

Mankind Tearers Red

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Mankind Tearers is my go-to for a Ruby-red in terms of contrast paint. I likewise use Blood Angels Ruby and Volupus Pink adequately often, but if it's going to be just one, it's FT.

Heart lenses for Infinite Marines: This is 1 I exercise a lot of then information technology had to be here. Information technology gives instant contrast to a actually small space.

Gryph Hound Orange

This is another favorite of mine. Orange is a tough color to pigment sometimes. It'due south typically a scrap chalky and patchy, not so with this paint. I've used it on a few dissimilar things including:

Fur. It looks similar a Tiger orange color and I retrieve it looks awesome.
Martian terrain. Simple texture paint similar Armageddon Dust , and pigment it with Gryph-Hound Orange . Done.
A highlight for Infinite marine eye lenses. And so practise Flesh Tearers carmine , then a niggling flake of this and you're in nifty shape.

Iyanden Yellow

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Yellow is notoriously tough to pigment, and that's largely because the pigments required are tough to get to a smooth consistency. It's a light color and shows what is underneath very hands. Iyanden is similar in that it will definitely LARGELY depend on what you are painting over, just it's super smoothen. Try this in a thin, smooth coat over white or off white. Fantastic. I use it for:

Yellow Armor. I'm looking at y'all Imperial Fists. It'due south really a wonderful color xanthous and the shadow is an awesome orange/brown.
Fur: Yup more fur, this is more like a king of beasts pelt color and I dearest the await.
Hair: I think information technology'due south a great colour to use for a blonde hair tone.

Dark Angels Dark-green

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This is my dark-green of choice when it comes to Contrast. Green is some other color you might notice a lot of uses for, and it is good to accept a variety, but this is my first cease. Leaves, clothing, grassland bases, eye lenses. If you're painting a lot of Orcs though, I'd go with Ork Flesh .

Skeleton Horde

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iii Guesses what this is good for. If y'all accept a bunch of basic to pigment upward, this is a big help. I also notice it good to shade parchment or textile. It'southward a lighter xanthous/brown shade and adds instant "age" to anything. Especially skeletons!

Basic. Evidently
Parchment and Cloth: A bang-up shade to age and add together that dirty, used, grim dark wait.
Leather: Y'all can use this on leather likewise for a lighter tanned await.

List of Contrast Paints and Properties

Iyanden Yellowish: A really bright vibrant xanthous with an orange/dark-brown recess. This one is specially important to cistron in the base coat or primer you pigment over.
Gryph-hound Orange: An near tiger fur shade of orangish. This will look more like a martian terrain red on peak of Armageddon Dust if you're looking for that shade.
Blood Angels Red: Bright Scarlet, coordinating to the Citadel Mephiston Red in Dissimilarity form.
Flesh Tearers Red: This is the deeper crimson reddish, along the lines of Khorne Cherry
Volupus Pink: A bright deep pink purple. Very good for leather handles on weapons.
Shyish Purple: The darker of the purple shades. Very deep color, almost black. Great for shadows on a regal or black.
Magos Purple: A lighter majestic that's bordering on pink. Great highlight shade.
Leviadon Bluish: Fantastic very nighttime blue that is excellent as a blue shadow, and also for console lining. This gives more vibrancy than a blackness when yous're looking to do deep shadow.
Ultramarines Blue: Roughly Coordinating to McCragge Blueish paint, it's an splendid color and mixes well with either Talassar Blue or Leviadon blueish if y'all're looking to go darker or lighter.
Akhelian Green: It's more of a blue with some green tint to it. Turquoise-ish.
Night Angels Green: Night deep green. Great for fallen leaves or copse, or green optics.
Nazdreg Yellowish: Gives a brown, gilded yellow. I like to think of it as a Lion's pelt.
Ork Flesh: I mean yeah, information technology's great for Orks or any other green-skinned creatures.
Creed Camo: A warmer shade of green.
Militarum Green: This to me is more of a camo color green. It's a desaturated dark-green that i've used on Death Guard if that helps you.
Aggaros Dunes: As the proper name suggests a nice desert/sand color.
Skeleton Horde: Perfect for old, rust-covered bones, parchment, cloth or low-cal tan leather.
Snakebite Leather: Excellent shade for leather, and highly useful in things similar gold NNM.
Gore-grunta Fur: Darker than Snakebite, lighter than Cygor or Wildwood. Dark-brown is so often used, Citadel offers a wide diverseness of shades. You can employ this for leather, fur, or annihilation dark-brown.
Cygor Brown: A deep earthy brown, darker than Gore-Grunta
Wyldwood: A dark, tree bark blazon of brown.
Fyreslayer Flesh: A bit lighter than Guilliman Mankind, a impact orange.
Guilliman Mankind: Fantastic starting point for mid-tone caucasian flesh, or light brown skin. Y'all can shade it upward or down. Wonderful if thinned down as a wash on Gold metallics.
Darkoath Flesh: Lighter, with some more than pink/salmon tones.
Apothecary White: It'south more than grey than white just if used on a white primer information technology's a fantastic look for white armor or fur.
Gryph-charger Gray: A blue grey, lighter than Infinite Wolves Grey
Space Wolves Grey: A darker, desaturated bluish greyness.
Basilicanum Grey: A nighttime grey, bordering on blackness.
Black Templar: Fantastic colour to have in your set. Employ information technology to paint blackness armor, bolter guns, or anything else black that y'all want contrast on. Thin it down with dissimilarity medium and it's an improved Nuln Oil. Smashing blackness wash when thinned.
Talassar Blueish: Bright highly saturated blue. I mix this with other blues or highlight with it.
Warp Lightning: Brilliant highly saturated green. Great for glowy weapons and eyes.
Aethermatic Blue: Bright sky bluish colour.
Plaguebearer Flesh: A lighter shade of greenish, meant for a green/zombie sort of looking color.
Terradon Turquoise: Another bright blue shade with a hint of green.

Are Contrast Paints Any Good?

Aye. Citadel Contrast Paints are an fantabulous tool to add to your hobby paint collection. They are very useful for quick and constructive results. You lot can relieve time by getting solid colour contrast in a single coat of pigment.

Contrast paints are peculiarly good for: Faces, Hair, Fur, and base materials like gravel, dirt, leaves, or rock. They are used at all levels of skill, beginner to advanced.

Do Citadel Contrast Paints Salve Time?

Yes. Citadel Contrast Paints can be an effective fourth dimension saver when painting miniatures and models. The quick contrast they provide will requite you lot a more effective expect when compared to a single coat of a apartment acrylic paint.

They do require a full general knowledge of how to use them, only they are not difficult to learn.

Can I thin downward Contrast Paints?

Yep, Dissimilarity Paints tin be thinned downwards finer. Primarily this is done with Contrast Medium merely you can likewise use other acrylic based thinners. Water, acrylic medium, coat medium and others.

Note that the Dissimilarity Medium is most effective at retaining the original properties of the pigment, but it is non necessary to limit yourself to this.

Tin can you use Contrast Paints in an airbrush?

Admittedly. Contrast Paints are very thin and lend themselves well to airbrush application. You lot can sparse them further with either Dissimilarity Medium or any acrylic paint thinner, including h2o.

They acquit similarly to inks only annotation that each layer you lot apply will modify the color to a darker shade.

All of these were airbrushed with a one:1 Mix of Ultramarine Bluish and Tallasar Blueish:

Can I make my own contrast paints?

Aye. You can add any acrylic ink or acrylic pigment to Citadel Contrast Medium to create your ain Contrast Paint. This type of pigment is very much like a heavy wash, and tin also be made by mixing Acrylic Medium, Menses Assist and a high pigment acrylic paint like inks.

The Ingredients That Make Up Dissimilarity Paints

Pigment powders – Paint powders are used to provide the coloring in a dissimilarity paint. These powders come in innumerable amounts of shades.
Acrylic polymer – this is the bounden agent that makes the pigment suspend in the liquid. When contract paint dries, it is the acrylic polymer that gives off the durability and adhesion of the paint (likewise as that squeamish texture and sheen.)
Water – The last major ingredient in acrylic paints is water. Water is what the other ingredients sit upon.
Other Liquid Additives –other co-solvents and surfactants can be added to change the thickness and the surface tension of the pigment mixture.

Here is an example to use as a starting point for ratios:

Mix 3 parts Acrylic Matte Medium to two parts Acrylic Ink.
Add in a few drops of Acrylic Catamenia aid.

The Medium adds some trunk to the very liquid but high pigment inks. The menses aid slows the drying fourth dimension and adds a smoother application to the pigment.

With those 3 elements, you have what you need to make your own version of a heavy wash or Contrast Paint. Experiment and adapt to detect the results yous're looking for.

Last update on 2022-04-17 at 04:28 / Chapter links / Images from Amazon Product Ad API