Working from a grey undercoat

[Jolemai]

Right, my experience is predominantly working from a white or black undercoat, but soon I will be using a grey undercoat on certain models and I have a few questions:

• How do I paint black? Do I just go over it in black paint or do I shade/ink down to it?
• How do I paint metallics? Go down to black first, use a black ink and drybrush/paint like normal, or just apply the metallic from the undercoat?
• What if I want a light colour like yellow? Do I apply a white/light base, or just work my way up to it like normal?

Just want to know what I'm letting myself in for and what to expect really.

[Warsmith Uveron]

I use Grey alot. 

 

Blacks I use Inks to paint, adds depth. 

 

Metaillics I just paint it on. 

 

Light colours I just paint them on, but I use a 'Base' first. 

[AndrewChristlieb]

I paint black over grey, but I've seen good results from people inking too. I just can't do it without it getting blotchy.

[Tyberos the Red Wake]

Haha! Someone with grey questions! Well I think I might be able to help!

 

Right, my experience is predominantly working from a white or black undercoat, but soon I will be using a grey undercoat on certain models and I have a few questions:

• How do I paint black? Do I just go over it in black paint or do I shade/ink down to it?
• How do I paint metallics? Go down to black first, use a black ink and drybrush/paint like normal, or just apply the metallic from the undercoat?
• What if I want a light colour like yellow? Do I apply a white/light base, or just work my way up to it like normal?

Just want to know what I'm letting myself in for and what to expect really.

 

To paint solid black, simply use a quality black such as Vallejo or Army Painter and get complete coverage over the grey. Then you can work with it from there as a standard black. Or for a shortcut to "very dark grey that looks like black but isn't a solid blob of black", simply put many coats of Nuln Oil on the grey until it reaches its desired darkness.

 

To paint metallics, simply use a basecoat of Leadbelcher or Balthasar Gold depending on if you are painting a silver or brass/gold. It gives good coverage over the grey and light metallics go on top just fine.

 

To do yellow, simply paint a darker yellow or brown first, then paint yellow on top. You can also try doing a yellow straight on the grey. It might take a bit of work from a deeper grey but if you use a pale grey such as Tamiya Surface it will be like painting on top of white. Depending on how you want your yellow to end up, you might consider using different colors between the grey and yellow to modulate the warmth of the final yellow. Painting brown, orange, or red under the yellow will effect how it turns out.

[Major_Gilbear]

I use a grey undercoat for nearly everything I paint.

 

It has a few advantages of black or white undercoats:

 

- For pretty much all colours apart from white, you only need a couple of thin basecoats to get a solid colour coverage. Compare this to black, where you need 3-4 coats for light colours, or to white where dark colours again need 2-3 coats for good coverage.

 

- It's easier to see what you're doing (I find) as the contrast is less extreme between light and shade, which I find less tiring to paint.

 

- For a dark-lined effect, you can use a pinwash in a dark colour of your choice over the grey, and it's done.

 

- Any tiny areas you miss because they are heard to reach/see are neutral colour that doesn't really stand out.

 

For black, it's easier to use an intermediate colour (like blue and black, mixed 50:50) and then wash with something like Nuln Oil. Apply delicate highlights as you would normally for black. Because the base paint and the wash are both dark and cover well, you can often get away with just one coat of each over the grey primer if the areas aren't too big.

 

For yellow, start with a yellow ochre, then add a little white to some bright yellow for a second coat, and finally wash carefully with a yellow and sepia mix. Line highlights can be added sparingly with the white/yellow mix.

 

For metallics, add a little black (to the silver) or brown (to the gold) for the first coat over grey, then do a second pass with the relevant metal on its own. After that, wash or highlight as would normally.

 

Because grey is a half-way house between black and white, I personally find it more forgiving than either. I also find it mutes colours a little, but not too much. Both of these characteristics are helpful to me, and I rarely prime in any other colours these days.

[Jolemai]

Cheers all. Anymore advice would be appreciated (the other main colour I'd be painting is purple, but that one seems easy enough).