Initial Contrast Experiments (from us all)

[Aramis K]

I picked up grey and pink and some contrast medium to play with.

This is exciting us all working out new ways.

 

I've found them most useful as washes and glazes thinned with Contrast medium.

 

Mixing other shade paints with Contrast medium also gives great results. It dries slower giving more chance for control and to avoid unwanted stain or tide marks.

 

I think Contrast medium washes will be my go-to now.

 

Especially good over metallics as it seems to keep the shading smoother and dull the glitter less than a shade paint.

 

I wasn't keen on the one thick coat results for my style, but perhaps my base coat isn't smooth enough. Gloss varnish helped but then I wasn't getting much colour stain.

 

I feel like these new paints are helping me up my game. Maybe new powers, maybe just opening my mind.

[Timotheus]

I bought a couple of contrast paints the day they came out, also the grey seer spray can and the brush GW recommend (med shade). I was very curios for this product, as the combination of me being an average but lazy painter and having a very large Empire project in front of me meant that these new paints could potentially preserve me of a lot frustration. One week after I first tried the paints I'm now a little shocked. Besides the expected pooling resulting in the splotchy look that was mentioned here and the fact that my Apothecary White either wasn't produced correctly or the paint is just utter garbage, I observed something I'm still baffled nobody else seem to have come across so far. Some parts on my test-mini I painted with contrast are now a week old as said and these parts seem to start to dissolve! I painted a part with the new Leviadon Blue and this part is now getting more grainy and whiteish from day to day. The most prominent parts that were painted are now almost completely white as if the paint crumbled away from it into the recesses while more and more of it dissolved. The mini was kept away from any extreme environmentally influential the whole time. Has anybody else observed something similar?

[Arkhanist]

Everything I've painted with half a dozen contrast paints has remained painted, and I've done a bunch of different experiments. The medium is a bit different, but it's still an acrylic so should form a solid chemical bond to a suitably primed surface. This is the first report I've seen of adhesion problems.

 

I'd guess either a contaminant such as oil or mold release on the surface you painted that prevented it bonding, or if an widespread issue it'll be a faulty pot that wasn't made with the right mix. Probably the latter given it was initial stock in a new production line. You should be able to get a refund/replacement.

[Evil Eye]

No pics but I've had a go with three Contrast paints (Fyreslayer Flesh, Flesh Tearers Red and Skeleton Horde) and so far I'm loving them. Observations thus far:

>It is quite runny and not very "grabby"- perhaps as a result of how much you need to apply I've found it does run towards the bottom of the model a bit. That said, it's not a major problem by any stretch, just worth noting.

>They mix beautifully, I mixed FTR and FSF and got a really nice raw reddish colour.

>As an experiment I put some over a random piece coated with Molotow. It dries almost completely smooth, but it dulls down the finish a lot so it isn't suitable for high-shine candy finishes (at least by hand). It also scratches off very easily, at least on the chromed piece.

>The special undercoat is most likely completely unnecessary as I found that Mr. Surface 1200 (with black pre-shading) worked just as well as a primer. Granted I haven't tried Grey Seer yet, as I don't use spray cans anymore and I haven't tried airbrushing it as of now.

>It also works very nicely over white if you want a really bright finish to your colours.

>Pre-shading works wonders under Contrast.

[Dizzyeye01]

No pictures yet but I'vd mostly just tried Flesh Tearers red on two different layers. First was a grey seer for a blood letter and I'd say it's worked pretty well. The face seems to be a bit hard to pick out but it does its job.

 

The second and, in my own personal opinion, interesting layer was leadbelcher from the can. It does give a really nice shiny feel to the armour for Thousand Sons but it did take going over some areas where the contrast didn't dry. The main bit I want to get at though is the ability to chip at it. I don't have any specific tools for chipping however just by carefully using my nail I put chips in your show damage and the paint going away.

[Ace Debonair]

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

Currently buzzing with the ETL event.

Join usssss

I'm already sworn to the Eldar this year, I'm afraid.

My Hangry Bugs were always in my plans, but they got bumped up a bit so I could test run some contrast paints.

That said: SCIENCE RESULTS!

(Forgive the Mold Lines, I was doing SCIENCE )

The colours used are:

Dark Angels Green (1 coat) over Corax White for the skin/soft bits

Basilicanum Grey (1 Coat) over Wraithbone for the armour plates

Good ol' Mephiston Red for the red bits (also 1 coat, but not a contrast paint so this is just trivia )

The two 'Nids on the left were from my first batch of 4, using my traditional "throw it on there" approach to painting. Think "one thick coat" taken to extremes - I tend to be quite heavy handed by default.

The two charming chappies on the right, though, were the result of a slightly more nuanced approach for the armour when I realised that you couldn't really see the Wraithbone colour under the amount of Grey I'd thrown at it.

Here's another pic taken from above:

Granted, these bugs are a long way from finished - no washes yet, about a thousand mold lines to trim, plus I'm redoing the armour on the first batch - but I got 8 models to a rough tabletop standard in less than a week. That is absurdly fast, even for me.

So, the results of my science-ing are as such:

One Thick Coat, sure, but there is such a thing as too thick.

Like with most paints, sometimes less is more.

[MegaVolt87]

Got my contrast paints yesterday. I am going to go use them on my sicarians. Surely I have absorbed enough info from the Internets to not botch it up.... 

[ST.Lazarus]

 I tried mixing yriel yellow with contrast Iyanden yellow and it produced a smooth yellow with good coverage.

[Antarius]

I am a bit unsure about whether it's ok to post non-40k minis for the purpose of this thread?

 

In any case, here are my observations (as far as they go) in writing:

 

- it's a bit weird getting used to going from light->dark and having no way to brighten the mini up during your work (obviously, you can go back with regular paints and do that, but there's no way you can put on a contrast colour and make the mini lighter). This is contra-intuitive if you're used to painting with normal colours, but you get your head wrapped around it pretty quickly :)

 

- the contrasts paints seem to behave a bit differently from colour to colour (some have ridiculously strong coverage, such as Cygor Brown and Flesh Tearers Red, while others behave a bit more like a regular wash, such as Akhelian Green). This is probably not massively different from the variations within the "normal" paint ranges, but it does mean you need to experiment a bit and get a feel for the different colours. This ties in with my next point:

 

- the contrast medium is absolutely essential. Part of this is because some of the contrast paints really need dilusion for most uses, the other reason is that mixing the medium in with the contrast on the upper areas of the model really gives you an extra level of light/shade effect on the mini. Also, you can easily use a brush loaded with medium to gently "flick" away a bit of contrast paint from the very raised areas (such as the tips of spikes/horns etc.). This sounds like a lot of work, but I find it much easier than going back and highlighting, plus it creates a more "organic" transition. 

- that being said, you can use water to dilute the contrast paints, but only if you're after a specific effect, because it messes with the surface tension of the contrast paint and makes it dry somewhat less uniformly. I don't think it will create instant Golden Daemon winning marbling effects, but I got some pretty cool surface effects on a big piece of stone and I can definitely see using it for larger surfaces that aren't supposed to look completely smooth. Which again leads me to my next point.

 

- contrast paints probably aren't your best bet for large, even surfaces. I'm not saying there's no way to do it, but for now, I'm inclined to think that that's just the nature of the beast. It seems to just work a lot better on smaller surfaces or on areas with lots of texture. In that way it's a bit like painting with a slightly thicker wash, but I still think it has lots of applications that washes don't.

 

- for example, they're awesome for doing glaze-type work and, at least ime, making it much easier. Thin it with medium and you basically get a much better glaze than the regular ones or what I've been doing with shades/washes. It's really easy to get a glaze that's easy to control and with as much/little saturation as you want.
So, contrasts are definitely going to be my go-to for glazes from now on. In fact, this will probably be my main use for them. This might also be their big use on Space Marines and similar models where the amount of larger, flat areas will make the "just splatter it on" use less ideal.

 

- blending colours might be their second big use, at least for me. It's much, much easier to get started on wet-blending using contrasts and while it's going to take a bit of practice I'm already seeing some pretty nice results, especially on clothes/cloaks, skin, bases and similar areas.

 

- like pretty much everyone has said already, this is going to be a new tool in the box, rather than a replacement for the tool box. That being said, I can definitely see them being a quick and easy way to a respectable tabletop standard (especially if you go back and do a little bit of non-contrast work afterwards, but it's not strictly necessary).

Edited July 7, 2019 by Antarius

[Antarius]

And, finally, a point that I think deserves its own post, because it's really important:

The primer/undercoat really does make a difference. Not just for the final warm/cold "tone" of the finished mini but also for the coverage and colour transition effects.

 

I don't think you need the "official" contrasts primers at all, but I do think zenithal priming is going to be pretty much essential for doing really awesome contrasts work. I won't say I'm there yet (like, at all), but I think the models I zenithal primed at home and painted with contrasts look a lot better than the test minis I did at GW (those had just had a one-colour, "normal" prime job with the contrast primers).

However, I also think it's important to do your zenithal priming slightly differently if you're going to be using (primarily) contrasts. Partly because the contrast needs a reasonably smooth and saturated white (at least at the upper areas of the mini), but also because you can't tint black at all. Having black areas on a mini painted with contrasts can look good, but if you're not using really dark colours the transition can also look way too stark when you reach the areas that your zenith spray left black.

 

So, while I haven't discovered the perfect zenithal formula for contrasts yet, here are a few suggestions:

- do a somewhat "heavier" pass with the white primer, including going down further than you normally would. This will allow you to get the full effect of both the contrast paint and the zenithal preshading effect.

 

additionally, you might also:

- consider using a grey primer either instead of the black or as an added intermediate step (in which case you should probably only leave a little black) to smoothen the transition further.

 

Like I said, I think this is going to be one of the most important things we're going to need to get a hang of, when it comes to contrasts. So I hope my ramblings make sense - otherwise, please ask

Edited July 7, 2019 by Antarius

[MegaVolt87]

Got a chance to use the contrast paints I ordered. I used blood angels red for the targeting lenses on my IW sicaran. I noticed something interesting with the two new base colours Grey Seer and Wraithbone. For doing lenses, jewels, gems etc with contrast I would recommend basing in grey seer then using wraithbone as the lense highlight. I did it the reverse of this and the result was terrible as I thought the light grey would be the better highlight, but was not. Also with the black templar, very meh with that on the black panels on my sicaran. My one thick coat and avoiding pooling, while none of that, ended up with just a stain black.  Guess I should have used two thin coats eh? Plus side- no brush marks. I have the contrast medium, though since I am doing big area's I know I will never match the consistency every time with my painting tile. Which is why I only use my tile to mix colours for characters, doesn't matter if the colours are different from each one. Uniform units the consistency is more important. I cut my other paints with distilled water in the pots to ensure I get the same finish every time. I am hoping to try the medium with the BA contrast for helmet lenses for a HQ at some point. 

[Ace Debonair]

Look at me still talking when there's SCIENCE to do!

BEHOLD:



A: Darkoath Flesh (1 coat) over Stormhost Silver - This looks a lot better than I expected - considering testing this colour on a larger scale later
B: Plaguebearer Flesh (1 THICK coat) over Stormhost Silver
B2: Plaguebearer Flesh (1 coat, poorly shaken) over Stormhost Silver
C1, C2 and C3: Space Wolves Grey over Stormhost Silver, listed in descending order of coat-thickness - less is more with this colour, I find
D: Gryph-Hound Orange (1 coat) over Corax White. Let me re-iterate the important part: that is one coat of orange. We live in a time of miracles, orange is a nightmare to paint normally
E: Basilicanum Grey (1 Coat) over Stormhost Silver
F: Basilicanum Grey (1 Coat) over Corax White
G: Shyish Purple (1 coat) over Corax White
H: Shyish Purple (1 coat) over Stormhost Silver
I: Gore-Grunta Fur (1 coat) over Stormhost Silver - this is a very rich bronze, it looks old and worn in person, good for ancient metal

Also, here is a nearly finished Space Marine whose primary colour is Warp Lightning (1 coat) over Stormhost Silver:


I think this sergeant needs a squad. Aaaaand maybe a few other squads. Aaaaaaand maybe a whole army.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Ace Debonair

[Fajita Fan]

Pop quiz: is this Nuln Oil or Basillicum Gray over a bright aluminum primer?

 

 

I can’t readily tell the difference. 

[Spacecow]

What I can make out from those pictures is that it’s probably the contrast paint over the bright aluminium.

[Sparika]

I made some tests with grots. In a few painting sessions, I managed to paint 26 grots to a nice standard. It's probably an absolute record in terms of speed, however it is difficult to be fully satisfied with the end result. With a bit more time, I could have achieved a better result... So, I'm not sure whether I like what I did.

 

The main issue I have is getting a consistent result with the green. Sometimes it is clean and nicely shaded, and sometimes I get a lot of small stain. I can't really figure if it is the paint, the brush, the shaking. I haven't tried with medium yet as it is out of stock where I leave.

Here is the result.
 

 

It tested various flesh shade, from left to right:

creed camo

2x creed camo

creed cam + lyanden yellow

ork flesh

ork flesh + creed camo

ork flesg + lyanden yellow

 

 

I'm now painting my orks. This time, I started with a skeleton bone base coat as orks are mostly leather. It is a lightcolor and the others I use nicely cover it. I use creed camo for flesh, snakebite leather and wylwood brown for leather.

[Sparika]

By the way, the different coat of flesh were applied in two succesive coat, not mixed.

[Evil Eye]

Got some more Contrasts in (Warp Lightning, Gryph-Hound Orange, Aethermatic Blue, Cygor Brown and Shyish Purple).

 

Gryph-Hound Orange is a nice colour but more desaturated than I expected. Still works very nicely though. Shyish Purple is VERY opaque, but does produce a nice effect, especially over white. Warp Lightning is more emerald than the bright, bilious colour I expected, but it worked nicely enough. The blue I haven't used "normally" yet but I have used as a sort of OSL effect on the base of a pair of Brimstone Horrors (painted as murky blue smoke with Nighthaunt Gloom) and it worked nicely. Cygor Brown appears to be rather opaque, but also works very nicely for weathering (oil stains/collected muck and grease especially).

 

Overall I'm loving them so far and I hope I can get more. Shame they cost so much, but considering that they produce better results than a basecoat and a wash for a lower price, they actually work out at not dreadful value.

[Larkyn]

Did this guy up with Terradon Turquoise mostly.

 

[RikuEru]

Wow, Larkyn, that almost looks like the shine effect on satin fabric! Cool!

[Wakkomaster]

I had the chance to finally try regular washes mixed with Contrast Medium. I did a couple of experiments on Ultramarines (Macragge Blue) and here's what I found out:

 

- I tried mixing Drakenhof Nightshade and medium on a 1:1 rate and cover the whole model generously: the shade went into the recesses enough to darken them, but it still tinged the flat panels a bit so that another thin layer of Macragge Blue might be needed on the more light-exposed surfaces like shoulderpads ad helms to get more natural shadows.

Still far better than mixing shades with water or other mediums.

 

- I mixed Nuln Oil and medium on a 1:1 rate and went with some sort of recess shade. I said "some sort" because once mixed you need to apply a lot of shade to get the same final coverage, but the increased viscosity of the medium helps greatly as you can apply a lot of paint and it will stick to the surface. I think this gives the best results, as while it takes longer than sinply splash it on the whole miniature you don't need to be perfectly clean, you can still avoid the larger flat surfaces like the shoulderpads and the shade will shrink into the recesses with a good transition. The shadows won't be as strong as if you applied Nuln Oil straight from the pot, they'll be more subtle, but they're definetely there, and it stains a lot less.

I tried with a shade/medium ratio of 1:2 and 2:1 but the results looked worse to me. I didn't try shading the whole model since it didn't work with the blue shade,

 

I'm going with this second approach for my ultramarines, I'll post some pictures once I have a few miniatures painted.

[Rob P]

I'm struggling a bit with contrasts. I'm reading them as more of a technical paint than a beginner paint (if you want decent results). I've probably not given them long enough yet, but that's my initial thought.

[MegaVolt87]

I don't know if anyone saw this, but its using contrast paints for HH from Warhammer community site. 

 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/10/21/painting-the-traitor-legions-with-contrastfw-homepage-post-2/

 

AL one seems dead on, while SoH one feels not great. Some are hits, others misses. I found it interesting anyway. 

[ST.Lazarus]

 

Some contrast experimentation to get a nice marble effect. was easy compared to the other ways I have seen it done.  

 

I used Dark Angel, Ork flesh and Warp lightning to get the initial base colour, then I added lines using white and sybarite green. The I put diluted greens over the white lines. Finished it off with a white highlight.

 

The face have had a coat of Basilicum grey to add shadows and stubble. 

[Ciler]

Is that the FW Horus display base ?

 

Amazing job.

[ST.Lazarus]

Indeed it is.