Initial Contrast Experiments (from us all)

[Suspira Mortis]

http://imgur.com/gallery/eKZQOYZ

 

Those are my tryouts so far.

It worked better using Basilicanum grey over a Mechanicus Standard Grey sprayed Basecoat.

 

(The Grey Seer Basecoat was REALLY weird, made the Contrast paint work like oil or a gel - guess it was far too hot)

Generally I started to thin the paints with some Medium. Made them flow far better. Have to try them again once temperatures drop some more...

(...and once I have my Greyseer & Wraithbone in a pot)

 

The Black Marine was my sample in the GW Store a week or so ago.

 

+++Thought of the Day: Contrast will not save you alone, but alongside others, it might!+++

 

How do you think the Grey Seer primer would work for base and layer paints?

[MegaVolt87]

That wyldwood over stormhost silver looks legit good for grittier IW, just need to tune the viscosity and wash with a nuln oil type. 

[RikuEru]

 

How do you think the Grey Seer primer would work for base and layer paints?

I actually have no idea.

It is very, very smooth. Atleast on my test model it turned out that way.

And I guess that is the way it needs to be for the Contrast Paints to work best. (In ideal conditions)

 

I can only ASSUME that Base paints on it would be fine, as Base paints can cling to flat smooth plastic too.

And Layers can't be far off either.

I guess to our perception the Contrast Primers are seem a bit smoother than other colours, but on a molecular level they are still course enough for paints to cling to it. (Else you would be able to rub off the Contrast Paints once dry with ease)

 

In essence: We need to conduct more research!

[Wakkomaster]

I think this is really interesting. I'm checking this Black Templar closely for my Deathwatch: I want all my colours to respect the base/shade/highlight paradigm so currently I basecoat in Eshin Grey, then wash it in Nuln Oil, then I glaze with a 1:3 Abaddon Black/Medium and I highlight with a light blue/grey. The contrast paints could save me a lot of time.

 

As for the marketing side of things, this is a product aimed at players who want/need to paint their models efficiently and decently so it doesn't need much advertisement for this market segment. Since the first rumours though many high-level painters were skeptical about it, so I can see why GW had some of said painters to chech the new product and get some feedback - it's a way to say "hey, this is for newbies alright, but you can find it useful too (along the normal range) so don't discard it before trying it".

 

I've watched a few reaction/review videos on YouTube and I have to say I took what's been said there with a pinch of salt: in some cases I had the impression the youtubers did a really poor job undercoating the model, or applying the contrast paint, almost as (should I say it out loud?) they were trying to botch it on purpose. And user comments like "this is ugly, this is not for me, I'm better" keep popping up. Because you know, it's the internet, and on the internet saying "no" and downvoting looks cool, right? Or, if people talk well about a product they're being paid or they're "fanboys" but if they trash it they're realistic, no?

 

Sorry, end of the rant.

Anyway, great job so far, keep experimenting and posting your results. Any ideas for that Deathwatch of mine? 

[MithrilForge]

i have just about finished a wraith here...

Wraithbone spray basecoat

Contrast used was - Basilicum grey on body and arms

Ork flesh (over leadbelcher) on all the orbs

Snakebite leather was used on the head but it was very bronze so i painted over the front leaving bronze at the rear

* The carapace is mephiston red and Ulthuan grey BUT... i made a wash with the contrast medium & Agrax and washed it all over the upper carapace then did edge highlights

It's not Golden Demon but it's a really nice fast tabletop that i'm not ashamed to show

Mithril

[Chaplain Lucifer]

So far, the paints have been working for me. The only minus is the black that ends up looking like grey after one coat, so either needs a second coat or a base other than wraithbone. They save me time but i do have to be more careful when applying and go from lighter to dark. They are not groundbreaking for pro painters, but for an average or less than average painter like me that wants only tabletop quality with minimum effort they are a good tool to have.

[GenerationTerrorist]

I had a go today painting some Space Wolves up. I used my traditional Mechanicus Standard Grey undercoat (which I use on every model I paint), then based it with Grey Seer.

I had been having problems with consistent finishes across multiple models, but this evening it seemed to work a lot better.

Further to this, I also did a post-base spray Drybrush with Stormfang over the Grey Seer, and this really helped the Space Wolves Grey "pop" a bit more once applied and allowed to dry. So that is the technique I'll be using from now on....Base-Drybrush-Contrast. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by GenerationTerrorist

[Trench]

No pictures sorry but my initial experiments have gone well, I can get a decent table top standard in a much faster time then normal which is perfect for someone like myself who struggles to be motivated to paint. 

 

If I study up close sure you can see it is not quite as good as my normal work but on the tabletop in the heat of battle, you cannot tell a difference in quality which is good enough for me.

 

I might for the first time in my life fully finish painting an army thanks to these paints. 

[Apocalypton]

Thought I'd share my ETL WIP on here as I have only used Contrast so far in the pic below. I've sat on a bunch of Imp Fists Primaris that I've been wanting to do but struggled before with A) consistency; B ) liking the colour; C) time taken to complete a model. I've tried around 8 different non airbrush methods on test models before waiting for and using contrast but now I think I'm settling for this.

-Basecoat in Grey Seer Spray with a Wraithbone Spray Zenithal Highlight.

-I then did all the Black Templars (1 coat applied, 2 coast for shoulder pauldrons only as with the sharp edges they came out a bit too light)

-Next was Aethermatic Blue for all the eyes - 1 coat

-Blood Angel Red for Sgt Helmet - 1 coat

-Volupus Pink for Chest Eagle - 1 coat

-Flesh Tearer red for ropes/cord - 1 coat

-Tidied it up with potted wraithbone or grey seer depending where it needed touching up. - 1 coat

-Iyanden yellow over all the remaining unpainted parts apart from the shoulder icon. - 1 coat (When i picked up my pre-order they had everything but the apothecary white so i will use that in there once i receive it.)

Excluding drying time these took around 2.5 so far.

For me painting fists and using Iyanden Contrast, I didn't lay it on thick. If i did it accidentally I would pull it around until i got no pooling areas on flat panels, only in recesses. I don't like the overly orange colour.

For yellow and most of the black I used a medium shade brush. For smaller details in black, eyes, ropes etc i used a size 3/0 brush.

Not finished yet as there are other details to do inc metal drybrush/detail and some of the other bits inc the base but on the whole I'm happy with the models so far and the colours I've used.

Edited June 21, 2019 by Apocalypton

[Shadow Captain Vyper]

In the same vein as the previous post, this time with more base colors:

 

https://imgur.com/gallery/GjwQxcy

[Chaplain Mollusc]

Took a class at my FLGS on painting with Contrast on Wednesday. These were my outcome.  The minis were provided (manager is an Ork player, had to get his plug in for them) already based with Corax IIRC.  I have maybe a few tens of hours behind a brush at all, and I'd never handled Contrasts or Orks before. The teacher/manager explained that the trick to avoiding blotchiness on smooth areas was long, smooth strokes. In as much as I could get my hands to do that, it seemed to bear out. You can see on the blades where I failed at that, though I can live happily with the result.

ETA: The green is Ork Flesh, the black is Black Templar, the red Blood Angels Red. The primary brown on the left is Snakebite Leather, the other Skeleton Horde. I did use the two browns a little on each for details.

 

Edited June 21, 2019 by Chaplain Mollusc

[Sabadin]

Finally got a chance to play around with contrast on a drop pod.

I used a palette to load the brush instead of just straight from the pot, and worked in vertical strokes working my way across the panels, but making sure each brush stroke covered the full height of the panel. As you can see the brushstrokes are heavily mitigated, there's a bit visible on the door, but not nearly as bad as what's been floating around on youtube. Pooling on the other hand is very much an issue, and trying to wick it away can result in brushstrokes becoming more prominent.

If you're lacking an airbrush, it's still effective to get a base coat and initial shading on large vehicles quickly, but you'll need to do some cleanup if you're looking for anything more than "3 colour" tournament basic.

[MithrilForge]

I agree with the above and Add that these Contrast Paints actually lay down a good quick base layer as well...Then you go over with a Normal coat of paint... I found that doing the Blood angels red then painting Mephiston over sped up some models i was doing (pics later,i'm at work) and helped build a rich base layer quicker...

 

Mithril

[Apocalypton]

Finished some more Imperial Fists bar weathering and basing. Not sure if I will be using Contrast for either of those but everything you can see below is done in contrast apart from the plasma coils and power sword. (They were a wet blend of hexwraith flame and nighthaunt gloom)

[Spacecow]

Wasn’t happy with how the labcoat came out initially ( did a grey drybrush / washes)

 

So decided to go back over it with a artist titanium white and use contrast apothecary white as a wash over it. Much more pleased with how it came out.

 

[RikuEru]

Intercessors (Except for Leather Pouches and Bases)

https://i.imgur.com/8AwdPqr.jpg

 

Aggressors

https://i.imgur.com/LYfDt2z.jpg

 

 

I have tested the Contrast Paints some more now!

 

Marine Armor Panels themselves really aren't made for them. (See the intercessor right shoulders for the blotchy red, for example)

 

But, how I will use them going forward:

 

Basilicanum Grey - dilluted with Medium, to be used instead of Nuln oil as a wash for the grey primed armor and any Leadbelcher areas -> Mechanicum Standard Grey Drybrush to get rid of blotchyness = Perfectly shaded armor, with some nice darker gradients on some areas.

 

It is far superior to Nuln Oil as it doesn't pool as much AND leaves no watermarks (IF you let it dry! Do not touch it when it is in the process of drying! No! Be patient! Wait! You don't want Contrast Craters!)

 

After that I can use Black Templar on some Areas like Bolter casings or other stuff, so i still get some metallic shine "under" it. Makes it look less flat, more like an actual weapon made of metals, minimal highlights on it, but not so much to be obnoxious.

 

Any doodads that are just sidedetails like the leather pouches, boltgun holsters, bones, gems, sculpted bits on shoulders, etc. (Because for stuff like this, it's just Greyseer/Wraithbone Base and then smash on the Contrast = slightly shaded/highlighted little pouch - done!)

 

So it's not the "OMG! Make your army in just 5 days!" for me and my !MARINES!

 

If I played Infantry Heavy Guard, Genestealers, Necromunda Gangs, Tyranids or Orks of any shape or form or used other models (other gamesystems, other armies...) it surely could be!

 

I don't know if it is/was the right thing to market and sell this as "The Beginner friendly colours" - but maybe we are just so used to our old ways of painting we will need more time to adjust and more trial and error and more experience to get everything out of it. (And meanwhile someone who "grows up" with the Contrast Merhod from the get go gets much further much faster!?)

[Ace Debonair]

Well, I caved.

 

I've bought some 'Nids to do mostly in Contrast, and another box of Reivers (for afterwards) FOR SCIENCE So I can paint them all mostly metallic green.

 

Once I get some of the Tyranids done I'll post pictures up - I should get a day off soon, hopefully so it won't take long.

[ST.Lazarus]

Did some experimentation with contrast today to see how one could use it to do black and metal.

Edited June 25, 2019 by ST.Lazarus

[N1SB]

Brother RikuEru, Brother Lazarus, those look absolutely amazing, but I'm also thinking that's more due to your skills as painters than it is due to Contrast paints.

 

For example, I can tell from the Space Wolves you did a beautiful job fixing the splotchiness with drybrushing (because I did something similar on my camo green Raptors, so I knew what to look for).  And that is a gorgeous, dynamic Black Templar...and I'm guessing that's mostly due to your very honed skills at weathering to bring out detail from black (I played 30k Iron Hands, so I especially appreciate this, I wish I did more of what you did).

 

One thing I've been mindful of is, is painting with Contrast faster than traditional methods, since you need to take time to "fix" the splotching issue on things with large flat surfaces like Primaris Marines?  In my case, yes, overall, it's still way faster net-net.  It's something worth accounting for, for ourselves or advising others about.

 

Thanks for these additional data points.  Btw, I love that old Legion Space Wolves grey on the Primaris, like a direct reference to how the Unnumbered Sons of the Indomitus Crusade wore their original Legion colours (like Guilliman colour-coordinated them in a fashion that made most sense to him).

 

 

I don't know if it is/was the right thing to market and sell this as "The Beginner friendly colours" - but maybe we are just so used to our old ways of painting we will need more time to adjust and more trial and error and more experience to get everything out of it. (And meanwhile someone who "grows up" with the Contrast Merhod from the get go gets much further much faster!?)

 

Outstanding, way to stay clear-eyed, questioning if our "old ways" are the problem.  I agree.  This Grand Experiment actually won't end with us; the most conclusive results will be comparing what we do with a totally new generation of painters that grew up with mainly Contrast.  Way to see...and remind us, of the big picture.

 

And believe it or not...I'm pretty sure this has happened before.

 

Most of us 40k players usually basecoat black and paint and ink and drybrush, because that was the go-to since 3rd ed.  During 2nd ed basecoating white was actually the norm thanks to that generation's Duncan & Peachy, a guy called Mike McVey, and he didn't have ubiquitous inks like Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade.

 

And before him people were already painting miniatures, like for Dungeons & Dragons in the early '80s, seldom using tools we take for granted like inks, and they'd mix their colours way more than we do (they'd have 1 blue...then just keep mixing that 1 blue with white gradually into like 5 shades if they were to paint a blue robe).

 

This old D&D miniature painter guy admonished me (it was tough love, he wasn't being offensive, he was trying to help) for my GW dojo-trained way of painting, saying I take too many shortcuts, my dependency on those "cheat" methods of inking and drybrushing is a crutch, preventing me from learning how to paint "properly".

 

I wonder now if I'll become like him, telling some kid who grew up only knowing Contrast paints, that he's doing it wrong.  I kinda hope I don't.

[MegaVolt87]

So, what do people think of contrast with specific brushes? I use the broader/ wider art style brushes for tanks with the chunky bristles. Seems one can avoid the pooling, but what about brush marks? I am still on the fence for the contrast paints to do metallic blacks for my tanks over my more tried and true traditional methods. I have my sicarians sitting at- black primer>leadbelcher>runefang steel (?)> thin coat of dark reaper, so has a multi tone quality. 

[ST.Lazarus]

What contrast does for me is two fold, it provides a better wash than nuln oil and agharax and it provides an accessible way to make smooth coats of difficult colours. The salespitch "one thick coat" and all of those youtube videos where they try to paint a model in 5 minutes dosen't take in the potential of how one can use it.

 

Saying that there is absolutely ways that it will help to save time, as certain materials is now extremely easy to paint. 

 

I look very much forward to in one year when we start to se the full potential of this line of paint.

[RikuEru]

Outstanding, way to stay clear-eyed, questioning if our "old ways" are the problem. I agree. This Grand Experiment actually won't end with us; the most conclusive results will be comparing what we do with a totally new generation of painters that grew up with mainly Contrast. Way to see...and remind us, of the big picture.

 

And believe it or not...I'm pretty sure this has happened before.

 

Most of us 40k players usually basecoat black and paint and ink and drybrush, because that was the go-to since 3rd ed. During 2nd ed basecoating white was actually the norm thanks to that generation's Duncan & Peachy, a guy called Mike McVey, and he didn't have ubiquitous inks like Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade.

 

Thank you for the praise!

And yes, I agree with your observation, because I can relate to this.

 

I didn't delve into 40k and Space Wolves until the start of 7th Edition.

But I had collected and painted (and rarely played) the GW Lord of the Rings models and armies, with the base of my collection coming from bi-weekly (I think?) DeAgostini magazine.

I bought over 60 issues of these, some doubled - and only after a while did I add more and more bought from the actual GW store to it.

 

Those were a "White Dwarf Lite - LotR Edition", coming with a single sprue of a unit or a metal character, with some Lore/Story Articles, a Scenario, Rules for the Unit/Character coming with that magazine, aswell as a painting guide and an additional hobby article for DiY Building Terrain, Landscapes, Doodads or Mission Objectives.

 

And the Painting was completely different to the GW Standard Method nowadays, adapted and adjusted to their own preferings by many within our forum.

 

It was basecoating in black - with a brush!

Then you paint your base colours.

Then you Inked them (Washing wasn't even a term I knew until I started my SW).

Then you drybrushed areas, mostly on metals or stuff like fur.

 

No Highlights! Especially no Edge Highlights!

(Which is why I don't do them, except for VERY specific details. - And I dislike the look. I didn't "grow up" with it, I never learned how to do it and it doesn't fit my aesthetic. ...which is why Contrast Black Templar on my Bolter Casings is so perfect to me. It's a minor little effect, at the edges of it. Barely enough to see it, small enough to look realistic.)

 

Mixing paints to get slight variation in your paints (and because of that your armies too - preventing the "that's the same dude 6 times" problem) was highly encouraged! And I still do that, mfrom time to time. Maybe it's something I should revisit.

 

There were no glazes, no technicals or layer paints or anything that I knew off.

 

Also on INKS:

You made your own Ink from whatever colour you needed. Nuln Oil? PFF, Black paint with small amounts of water worked just fine! (...i am joking. I was happy to learn about washes. And by now I am even happier to use diluted Contrast for even less pooling)

 

Because of this (especially undercoating with a brush, to be honest), by my modern standards, most of my (early) LotR collection looks horribly bland.

Much could be fixed with some washes.

Most of them are based in goblin green with wood splinter flock horribly glued to the base. Or based in grey with wood splinter flock painted grey (for Orcs and Uruks).

 

...on the other hand I have Aragorn who I applied Gloss varnish to like a Zenithal highlight to show he was wet.

Or two squads of Elven Rangers who have a slow gradient from very light yellowish green to dark green on their cloaks. That was achieved by using more than 12 different tones of green I mixed, steadily drybrushed further and further down towards the darker one.

 

+++++++++++

 

Enough Side-tracking:

 

What I currently love most about Contrast Paints is this "Renaissance".

 

Many of us here in this very forum are teying out and experimenting with it, trying to find a use for these.

The same goes for youtube and instagram and the like.

Even the 'Eavy Metal and FW Painters are excited and share their trial and error knowledge.

(Like Darren Latham showing his contrast NMM technique, which goes from light to dark, instead of traditional NMM)

 

We are excited, we are reinventing our own styles, new techniques, new ideas.

And that's brilliant. I hope we can keep this train going for a long while.

[GenerationTerrorist]

Space Wolves Primaris Lieutenant and a bit of Deathwing Cataphractii/Contemptors.

 

The Space Wolves recipe is:

Grey Seer spray over a Mech Standard Grey undercoat.

Drybrush of Stormfang.

Space Wolves Grey contrast.

Guilliman Blue glaze over the armour.

Nazdreg Yellow for the golden bits.

(The glaze was still a bit wet at this point, hence the shiny!) 

 

The Deathwing armour recipe is:

Wraithbone spray over a Mech Standard Grey undercoat.

Praxeti White drybrush.

1 pot of Contrast Medium, 1 pot of Skeleton Horde and one (small!) pot of Lahmian Medium all mixed together into a space 60ml dripper bottle I use for my e-cig juice.

Apply liberally, but keep an eye out for pooling.

 

Every colour used on these is Contrast, apart from the Mech Standard Grey undercoats and the Drybrush colour used on each.

 

Please bare in mind I am a terrible painter, but these seemed to give some really consistent results across a unit. Something I could never achieve with the older method. Still practicing, though!

 

[Spacecow]

Well, I caved.

 

I've bought some 'Nids to do mostly in Contrast, and another box of Reivers (for afterwards) FOR SCIENCE So I can paint them all mostly metallic green.

 

Once I get some of the Tyranids done I'll post pictures up - I should get a day off soon, hopefully so it won't take long.

Yay more Tyranids! :) we got a forum dedicated to our beloved hivemind.

 

Currently buzzing with the ETL event.

 

Join usssss

 

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by Spacecow

[Arkhanist]

My first squad of BA are nearly finished, just airbrushing the power sword, but thought I'd chuck up a quick pic where I used contrast on the bases (still need one more coat on the rims, I think)

 

http://i.imgur.com/CQ370P0h.jpg

 

The sand is bog-standard armageddon dunes with a little extra gravel, drybrushed with krieg khaki then tyrant skull. The stone texture is painted reaper weathered stone, a light almost-cream grey, a little sepia shade and drybrushed with terminatus stone. Then I used space wolves grey Contrast slightly thinned and washed over the top, then blotted a little with kitchen towel to remove any blobs and add a little bit of texture. (I could probably drop the sepia step, I can't see it in the final result) Then just matt varnished.

 

But it does show how you can do much of the work with Contrast before you put it on - drybrushing and/or shading first, then contrast means no need to glaze, everything blends together nicely and keeps the existing highlights. My previous stone recipe for a very similar effect used 7 paints, in as many steps including carefully re-lining the crevices. This is basically base coat, rough drybrush, slop on the contrast. Definitely far quicker.