Tips on painting white?

[Emperor's Furor]

So I did a test model today of the Star Phantoms and I think it came out pretty well but was wondering if you had any tips to make it look crisper. I did it from a black base.

 

http://i.imgur.com/d09NYUN.jpg

[Master Commander Ajax]

To start with I'd advise that you switch your undercoat from a black to grey. It looks like you may have used a black wash to shade the armour aswell? It's kind of hard to tell from the pic.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Use rattlecans or an airbrush to get a smooth base coat. For either method, prime the figure in several thin coats of black, making sure you get good coverage, and then do the same with white primer to get a bright white finish. 

[Kinstryfe]

Very thin paints. White's a tricky pigment and can get sticky and weird pretty quickly if it's too thick and doesn't dry right.

 

Limit your shading as it will stain a lot. Thin shades a LOT before use, you only want the pigment where it needs to be. Grey shades can be a lot more effective than black.

 

Personal preference: use white-white only for the highest highlights. I Use off white (I use pallid wych flesh) for the bulk of the painting, and only use true white for very sparring highlights.

 

Also, practice. Like yellow, it can take a good bit of experimentation to figure out what works for you.

[sockwithaticket]

If starting from black, get yourself a decent grey basecoat to start with.

I go with Vallejo Stonewall Grey, then cover that with with Vallejo Ghosty Grey, then Reaper Master Series Pure White, then Vallejo Model Colour White. I go back and shed where necessary using the two greys in the basecoat process.

The key once you get to the white itself is thin layers and patience.

Looks like this:



HOWEVER, if your models are going to be all white you probably want to prime grey or white. Also if you want the blackline look and have a steady hand, painting black into the recesses rather than using a black wash can be a less messy process.

[Emperor's Furor]

I used watered down dawnstone grey for the shading, I tried to limit the white over it but if I did to much I used the watered down dawnstone to correct it. I may not go with white, I want a really nicely painted armour for once and I think I should stick to simpler colours.

Edited July 1, 2017 by Emperor's Furor

[Ciler]

Check Duncan's tutorials on warhammertv on youtube, there's a number of them on painting white. As a general rule, white is never achieved with actual white paint because it can't be highlighted. More often, it's a combination of light shades of grey and pure white highlights.

[Redking]

Check Duncan's tutorials on warhammertv on youtube, there's a number of them on painting white. As a general rule, white is never achieved with actual white paint because it can't be highlighted. More often, it's a combination of light shades of grey and pure white highlights.

This. I just painted an apothecary using Duncan's video as a guide. White primer, Ulthuan Grey, shade with Russ Grey, White Scar highlight. I probably would have added another layer of an Ulthuan/Scar mix before the edge highlight. Agrax or Nuln Oil can give a different look instead of the Russ.

 

I've been considering a Phantom army, but the white has been keeping me away. Good luck.

[Guiltysparc]

Check out world eaters thread link in my signature. I got a pretty good white without much hassle by spraying with corax white, washing with thinned nuln oil, then light dry brush with ceramite white and edge highlighting with white scar on bigger models (tanks, characters, etc).

Turns out like this...

Reguar dudes

Character

Tank