What a great way to start my morning, a cup of coffee, walk the dog, mow the lawn, then finish off with a quick painting tutorial! Ready to go to work now. 😁🤪👍Thanks! I have just the miniature I am going to try this technique with. Cheers!
This is a wonderful video and creative idea. My thought is to (1) Prime, (2) Apply the Blackwash into the recesses, and (3) now do the White Drybrush to accentuate the Contrast type paints.
Looks at my painting... Looks at yours... realizes I have a way to go to become a Jedi master... holds head up because I'm proud of where I am at! Keep it up all this is fun and you guys are doing great. Thank you for the help ol' Ben people like you make this community great!
Wow, this looks great! I recerntly started a GSC army, this will be my scheme. I really like the idea of using a "green" paint for blue clothes. Also, the onstrast paints look bright and colorful, but the model is still grimdark. Its very cool.
I was pretty surprised at how well the fatigues turned out. I was expecting them to look totally wrong, but the slight extra depth of the turquoise turns out to work really well. These guys are a little more 'comic book grimdark' than I'd usually go for, but I dig the look, too!
Thanks for another excellent addition! @Just Another Captain - me too on the great start to the morning with a cup of coffee and an exceptional painting tutorial - though it's still too early in Oregon for lawn mowing - and it's too wet anyway. Again - thanks for your well-produced vids - but I think my favorite aspect is how obvious it is that you're having a lot of fun doing it! Cheers :-)
Thank you for sharing this! I've been doing this same technique on my space marines. The armor is painted in the classic style, but everything else is based in wraithbone, washed with agrax, then painted with contrast. Makes quick work of marines!
Been waiting for a video like this. Just recently got back into painting and your videos have been a massive Influence and help! Brilliant video once again 👍
Glad it was helpful! The idea of 'dressing' a miniature was a really early piece of advice I was given for when you're trying to apply layers fairly carefully. Ordinarily I'm sure you've seen I slap paint on and don't worry too much about splashes since a different colour later on will cover any mistakes, but with Contrast it's not quite that simple. Still, the sheer richness of the colours in them makes for great basecoats with a simple shade and from then it's just picking a highlight colour!
I've found this so useful as I get back into the hobby. I'd love to see how you would tackle some Infinity miniatures by mixing contrast and classic. All of their tiny details play really well with the former. Subbed!
Wow, that looks great! I like the base colors and the purple on the skin gives it a disease look to the figure. I think the combination of Contrast and Classic paints are a good idea. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks, John. :) When I painted the test piece for this video I hadn't given his undersuit the highlight that I did here, and after a bit of thought decided to give it a shot. I was really surprised just how much that little dab of light blue would change up the colour tone underneath! Definitely something to bear in mind if using these things elsewhere.
Very cool finsh. I've started to use contrast paints as one of my tools. It took me a while before I buckled and bought them but I am happy with the results
Really excellent work my friend, doing the white highlight prior to the contrast looks great and really very clever extra step. I also really appreciate you going on to show some extra steps in terms of highlighting and shade, plus the "You could also" information...this really helps people move up from your basic techniques to a higher level of result. It woukd be great to see how you could do the same thing for genestealers...yo help both in the cults and tyranids collectors....I'm planning on doing that one day with contrast and then classic highlights and hoping you will lead the way! Thanks for your efforts and keeping us all on the right path! Anyone new to the hobby I always send them to this channell and anyone who isn't tbh as it's where I started my journey only a year ago and you still teach new things.
I think I've actually got some Genestealers lurking somewhere, too... I'd probably do them very similarly to how I did the Termagants way back when in the speed painting video for the little gribblies, but it'd be worth revisiting to see whether or not Contrast would change the game any in that respect. Definitely worth a shot!
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio that would definitely be worth it, with the purple contrast and pinks and the great shade colours with some classics highlights. Especially with the drybrush highlights first you showed in this video...but you always come up with great colour combinations, so please do! Thanks again you are a brilliant man leading us to better painting!
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio if it helped I could always send you one of those genestealer brood coven packs, the one that sits on top of a pipe and looks like a big genestealer as that might be a good one to demo the purplish and pink colour schemes?
Totally agree! It doesn't take much to knock them up a little further and have the end result look way nicer, I think. As a base and shade in one they're really effective, especially for extremely saturated colours, but the highlights make a world of difference.
you are just so phenomenal at this hobby stuff man i wish i had your steady hand! update time! i have now based with zandri dust spray drybrushed tyrant skull did the castellan green and the cadian flesh now just metal and black and then touch ups then agrax earthshade over everything and 20 infantry will be painted so im more then halfway done you always inspire me to do some hobby stuff thank you so much for everything you do! :D
youre such a saviour what a simple paint scheme you came up with thank you so much i had bought like 20 paints and was going to do the gw method theres no way i would have been able to do that though now i realize
Thanks for the video, really helpful. Always found weird how some people are strongly against contrast paints. It is another tool in the toolbox which can assist to great results.
I totally agree. Paint is paint is paint. I remember when the original washes came along from Citadel and apparently Devlan Mud was 'cheating.' It's not cheating when everybody's got access to the same tools!
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio I actually saw a great video from warhipster where he basically wet blended some contrast paints and it looked amazing and super easy...but I reckon some cheeky how I paint things drybrushing would finish or start it off nicely!
Great video! Love how it came out so, very good and simple to reproduce, hope you do more Genestealer Cult stuff as i've love to see some of the vehicles or other models. I do wonder why you didn't use any contrast for the leather? Snake Bite leather is quite good
With the leather being a 'top layer' deal, it's one I'd prefer to use a Base or Layer paint for due to coverage. If I make any mistakes earlier with the Contrast, it's easier to fix them up during those last stages with something that'll cover over them no matter what colour's underneath. Mostly it's a patch job! If you're tidier than I am, though, you could definitely use Snakebite Leather, though I think the Four-Armed Emperor guys use a slightly darker leather.
Glad you like them! I'm never quite sure how far to push that kinda Joel Schumacher 'Batman Forever' look with them, but I find over time I do like that vibrant, bold colour approach.
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio Fantastic way to describe it. And such a nice approach after we lost some of the 40k silly in the last few years. I miss that.
That's a pretty cool use of the contrast paints. You should try using some inks instead. I find them quite a bit nicer if you pre-shade the model. Using them greatly improved my painting speed.
Not a bad idea! I've found generally that for one-shot basecoats like this the Contrast stuff gives me a result I like slightly more, due to the way it recedes and kind of 'tightens' as it dries, exposing the highlights a bit more. Inking was how I went through all my old Epic armies back in the day, though! :D
I'm a fan of Sonic Sledgehammer *and* of Genestealer Hybrids, so... yay! It looks gorgeous. My only criticism would be the base... in my mind, Neophyte Hybrids live in industrial areas, with hiveworld spires and mines as their stomping ground, which is emphasized by their minis. So a base with grass looks odd to me :P
There's plenty of dusty desert worlds with mines and menial labour that needs doing, too. Once the revolution rises to the surface, the cultists do battle where they're needed to overthrow the cruel yoke of the Imperium, after all! ;D Check out the bases on things like the Achilles Ridgerunner or the Atalan Jackals - they're not likely to get up to top speed in the underhive!
Amazing painting! Do you have a video on bow to do your bases? They always look great but just appear after youve finished painting the mini. 😅 Thanks and great work~
Thank-you for this excellent example. I'm always glad to see a fellow painter using fast basics for excellent results. (Btw - in your notes - that're is not really a contraction. :))
Im trying to go almost like a nurgle esk color. Basing my cult off cthulhu because looking at the pat with the tentacle head, just add wings, i think would be great as a cult and it adds my own twist to my faction
Not sure if youve already answered this, but this color scheme is great but what do you do for the more "carapacey" arms, they are a very similar color to the blue used on the suits and I havnt figured out a good way of making them look different but yet keep that same overall tone
Super informative video 😁 I’ve been following a lot of your How I Paint series for the past two years since I’ve gotten back into war gaming and found so much information explained for the average Joe 😀 I’d be super interested in how you would paint Space Marines of the Mortifactors chapter. There is a lot of fluff for them but I can’t find a single tutorial online 😅
Have only picked up about three contrast paints but after I finish some bolt action projects I’m wondering how well contrast will work on some riders of Rohan.
I imagine they'd actually work really well. The Rohirrim have plenty of surface detail and not a lot of flat, featureless panels to worry about, so they'd probably be ideal for the Contrast method.
Sonic Sledgehammer Studio yeah the contrast have some nice browns in the range that I think would look quite nice on the table. Last time i painted a horse was about 20 yrs ago, the old imp guard rough riders.
For those with an airbrush, how do you feel about starting with a black-to-white zenithal undercoat over the gray--to-white with shading? Is there a reason you think this works better with the contrast paints?
Mostly the size and ease of keeping it wet. Homemade ones you're usually changing the pad that keeps things wet pretty regularly, whereas the purchased stuff is generally just easier to take care of.
I had some spares lurking in the bits box at some point but I honestly can't say whether or not I still have them. If they show up, I'll try tackling them!
I'm super late to the party, but I will definitely use this scheme for my first GSC army. Would you do anything different now that you have further improved your painting skills over the last 2 years?
Wowww!! Amazing... Never used contrast as afraid it doesn't turn out right and I waste the money with something not happy with....do u recommend practicing with contrast first?
Hey Sonic! Great video! I've been thinking about getting some of the new contrast paints and this really helps with that choice (since I don't want to buy the whole line-up, but knowing how they integrate with my traditional paints is important to that decision). Did I miss where you did the base coat for the face? Usually bugman's glow, but did you use the contrast here instead? If so, what do you think about the contrast paints for flesh? Okay, last question: if you were only going to buy a handful of contrast paints, which ones would you go for? (I think black is a great choice because it will take a lot of the guesswork out of highlighting and deepening shadows on black clothing, but not totally sure)
hi great video as usual .quick question would this work for ultramarines or dark angels using the white dry coat or would you prefer calgar/chronos blue for ultramarine and niblet/nurgling for the dark angels cheers keep up excellent work :)
Another great guide Sonic! I'm about to start painting some Orruk Brutes and I want to contrast them with red armour, do you think a pre-shade with agrax or nuln oil would help?
I'd probably work from Wraithbone, drybrush with white and then and use Agrax Earthshade in that case. You'll get to preserve most of the richness and warmth in the skin and armour, but it'll have a bit of depth and grunginess that isn't just flat black in those recesses.
I really quite like the Army Painter brushes. The Regiment and Character brushes are my go-to for painting large batches of infantry at a time, they're really handy.
![Painting Winter Fallschirmjaeger - Simple Uniforms, Done Quick [How I Paint Things]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FlcU37FAhcM/mqdefault.jpg)
What a great way to start my morning, a cup of coffee, walk the dog, mow the lawn, then finish off with a quick painting tutorial! Ready to go to work now. 😁🤪👍Thanks! I have just the miniature I am going to try this technique with. Cheers!
Sounds like an incredibly productive morning. My mornings consist of me trying to wake up
This is a wonderful video and creative idea. My thought is to (1) Prime, (2) Apply the Blackwash into the recesses, and (3) now do the White Drybrush to accentuate the Contrast type paints.
12:20 the Druchii Violet looks great. I will use this instead of magos purple. Thanks 😊
Looks at my painting... Looks at yours... realizes I have a way to go to become a Jedi master... holds head up because I'm proud of where I am at! Keep it up all this is fun and you guys are doing great. Thank you for the help ol' Ben people like you make this community great!
Wow, this looks great! I recerntly started a GSC army, this will be my scheme. I really like the idea of using a "green" paint for blue clothes. Also, the onstrast paints look bright and colorful, but the model is still grimdark. Its very cool.
I was pretty surprised at how well the fatigues turned out. I was expecting them to look totally wrong, but the slight extra depth of the turquoise turns out to work really well. These guys are a little more 'comic book grimdark' than I'd usually go for, but I dig the look, too!
Just started a genestealer cult army and there's not a lot of videos for painting them. Glad I came across yours! Thanks for making the videos
Thanks for another excellent addition! @Just Another Captain - me too on the great start to the morning with a cup of coffee and an exceptional painting tutorial - though it's still too early in Oregon for lawn mowing - and it's too wet anyway. Again - thanks for your well-produced vids - but I think my favorite aspect is how obvious it is that you're having a lot of fun doing it! Cheers :-)
Thank you for sharing this! I've been doing this same technique on my space marines. The armor is painted in the classic style, but everything else is based in wraithbone, washed with agrax, then painted with contrast. Makes quick work of marines!
Been waiting for a video like this. Just recently got back into painting and your videos have been a massive Influence and help! Brilliant video once again 👍
Glad to help! :)
This is awesome. I really love how you think and break down and use tools like contrast to a very quick and effective approach. Great job!
Glad it was helpful! The idea of 'dressing' a miniature was a really early piece of advice I was given for when you're trying to apply layers fairly carefully. Ordinarily I'm sure you've seen I slap paint on and don't worry too much about splashes since a different colour later on will cover any mistakes, but with Contrast it's not quite that simple. Still, the sheer richness of the colours in them makes for great basecoats with a simple shade and from then it's just picking a highlight colour!
i like the bit where you painted his head
one of the best painting videos I have watched - loved the simplicity and inspiration it gave me..
Thank you kindly!
I've found this so useful as I get back into the hobby. I'd love to see how you would tackle some Infinity miniatures by mixing contrast and classic. All of their tiny details play really well with the former. Subbed!
I second this. I just started painting the Op Kaldstrom and would like to see his approach to Infinity.
Wow, that looks great! I like the base colors and the purple on the skin gives it a disease look to the figure. I think the combination of Contrast and Classic paints are a good idea. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks, John. :) When I painted the test piece for this video I hadn't given his undersuit the highlight that I did here, and after a bit of thought decided to give it a shot. I was really surprised just how much that little dab of light blue would change up the colour tone underneath! Definitely something to bear in mind if using these things elsewhere.
Very cool finsh. I've started to use contrast paints as one of my tools. It took me a while before I buckled and bought them but I am happy with the results
Really excellent work my friend, doing the white highlight prior to the contrast looks great and really very clever extra step. I also really appreciate you going on to show some extra steps in terms of highlighting and shade, plus the "You could also" information...this really helps people move up from your basic techniques to a higher level of result. It woukd be great to see how you could do the same thing for genestealers...yo help both in the cults and tyranids collectors....I'm planning on doing that one day with contrast and then classic highlights and hoping you will lead the way! Thanks for your efforts and keeping us all on the right path! Anyone new to the hobby I always send them to this channell and anyone who isn't tbh as it's where I started my journey only a year ago and you still teach new things.
I think I've actually got some Genestealers lurking somewhere, too... I'd probably do them very similarly to how I did the Termagants way back when in the speed painting video for the little gribblies, but it'd be worth revisiting to see whether or not Contrast would change the game any in that respect. Definitely worth a shot!
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio that would definitely be worth it, with the purple contrast and pinks and the great shade colours with some classics highlights. Especially with the drybrush highlights first you showed in this video...but you always come up with great colour combinations, so please do! Thanks again you are a brilliant man leading us to better painting!
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio if it helped I could always send you one of those genestealer brood coven packs, the one that sits on top of a pipe and looks like a big genestealer as that might be a good one to demo the purplish and pink colour schemes?
Looks very good. I agree that Contrast Paints are a great starting point - but they can be enhanced so much with highlighting in standard acrylics.
Totally agree! It doesn't take much to knock them up a little further and have the end result look way nicer, I think. As a base and shade in one they're really effective, especially for extremely saturated colours, but the highlights make a world of difference.
you are just so phenomenal at this hobby stuff man i wish i had your steady hand!
update time! i have now based with zandri dust spray drybrushed tyrant skull did the castellan green and the cadian flesh now just metal and black and then touch ups then agrax earthshade over everything and 20 infantry will be painted so im more then halfway done you always inspire me to do some hobby stuff thank you so much for everything you do! :D
Really glad to hear it! Sounds like you're motoring through the infantry. :D
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio i am gunna go the black on the boots and other parts today i think and maybe the metal tomorrow
youre such a saviour what a simple paint scheme you came up with thank you so much i had bought like 20 paints and was going to do the gw method theres no way i would have been able to do that though now i realize
Thanks for the video, really helpful. Always found weird how some people are strongly against contrast paints. It is another tool in the toolbox which can assist to great results.
I totally agree. Paint is paint is paint. I remember when the original washes came along from Citadel and apparently Devlan Mud was 'cheating.' It's not cheating when everybody's got access to the same tools!
Amazing vid! Would love to see how you paint fenrisian wolves or just different colours for any fur on a miniature
Great suggestion! Spoiler warning, but the answer will almost definitely be drybrushing... ;D
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio ....but what about the Agrax Earthshade?
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio I actually saw a great video from warhipster where he basically wet blended some contrast paints and it looked amazing and super easy...but I reckon some cheeky how I paint things drybrushing would finish or start it off nicely!
Real keen on this job...spot on sir. Pandemic aint stopping your creativity and that's awesome. Easy to replicate and striking scheme.
Simply awesome video.
Excellent vid on using contrast paints well!
Your contrast only highlights might be brighter if you drybrushed after the nuln oil wash.
Great video! Love how it came out so, very good and simple to reproduce, hope you do more Genestealer Cult stuff as i've love to see some of the vehicles or other models.
I do wonder why you didn't use any contrast for the leather? Snake Bite leather is quite good
With the leather being a 'top layer' deal, it's one I'd prefer to use a Base or Layer paint for due to coverage. If I make any mistakes earlier with the Contrast, it's easier to fix them up during those last stages with something that'll cover over them no matter what colour's underneath. Mostly it's a patch job! If you're tidier than I am, though, you could definitely use Snakebite Leather, though I think the Four-Armed Emperor guys use a slightly darker leather.
Great video. Got to easily be one of the best. Can't thank you enough for your efforts. Really helpful.
Much appreciated! I've really enjoyed doing some of these slightly longer format videos and exploring other options with things.
Just impressive the quality of your job
It help me a lot
You have really a great talent
Cheers from Portugal :D
I really really like your GSC minis. They have such a vibrant comic book look imo. Great work, and you make it look so easy...
Glad you like them! I'm never quite sure how far to push that kinda Joel Schumacher 'Batman Forever' look with them, but I find over time I do like that vibrant, bold colour approach.
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio Fantastic way to describe it. And such a nice approach after we lost some of the 40k silly in the last few years. I miss that.
That's a pretty cool use of the contrast paints. You should try using some inks instead. I find them quite a bit nicer if you pre-shade the model. Using them greatly improved my painting speed.
Not a bad idea! I've found generally that for one-shot basecoats like this the Contrast stuff gives me a result I like slightly more, due to the way it recedes and kind of 'tightens' as it dries, exposing the highlights a bit more. Inking was how I went through all my old Epic armies back in the day, though! :D
I'm a fan of Sonic Sledgehammer *and* of Genestealer Hybrids, so... yay! It looks gorgeous. My only criticism would be the base... in my mind, Neophyte Hybrids live in industrial areas, with hiveworld spires and mines as their stomping ground, which is emphasized by their minis. So a base with grass looks odd to me :P
There's plenty of dusty desert worlds with mines and menial labour that needs doing, too. Once the revolution rises to the surface, the cultists do battle where they're needed to overthrow the cruel yoke of the Imperium, after all! ;D Check out the bases on things like the Achilles Ridgerunner or the Atalan Jackals - they're not likely to get up to top speed in the underhive!
Amazing painting! Do you have a video on bow to do your bases? They always look great but just appear after youve finished painting the mini. 😅
Thanks and great work~
Ah, finally, another treat from Kiwi Rhodes!
Excellent work any chance you could show us how to do their chitinous flesh as well
looks great
Cool method dude 👍🏻
Thank-you for this excellent example. I'm always glad to see a fellow painter using fast basics for excellent results. (Btw - in your notes - that're is not really a contraction. :))
Im trying to go almost like a nurgle esk color. Basing my cult off cthulhu because looking at the pat with the tentacle head, just add wings, i think would be great as a cult and it adds my own twist to my faction
Not sure if youve already answered this, but this color scheme is great but what do you do for the more "carapacey" arms, they are a very similar color to the blue used on the suits and I havnt figured out a good way of making them look different but yet keep that same overall tone
Super informative video 😁 I’ve been following a lot of your How I Paint series for the past two years since I’ve gotten back into war gaming and found so much information explained for the average Joe 😀
I’d be super interested in how you would paint Space Marines of the Mortifactors chapter. There is a lot of fluff for them but I can’t find a single tutorial online 😅
My god that looks so nice mate
looks super cool!
Have only picked up about three contrast paints but after I finish some bolt action projects I’m wondering how well
contrast will work on some riders of Rohan.
I imagine they'd actually work really well. The Rohirrim have plenty of surface detail and not a lot of flat, featureless panels to worry about, so they'd probably be ideal for the Contrast method.
Sonic Sledgehammer Studio yeah the contrast have some nice browns in the range that I think would look quite nice on the table. Last time i painted a horse was about 20 yrs ago, the old imp guard rough riders.
For those with an airbrush, how do you feel about starting with a black-to-white zenithal undercoat over the gray--to-white with shading? Is there a reason you think this works better with the contrast paints?
Hey mate, sorry if you've already addressed this in another video, but what is the appeal of the purchased wet palette over a DIY one?
Mostly the size and ease of keeping it wet. Homemade ones you're usually changing the pad that keeps things wet pretty regularly, whereas the purchased stuff is generally just easier to take care of.
great job!
Great as always. Could you maybe do some WW2 Japanese?
I had some spares lurking in the bits box at some point but I honestly can't say whether or not I still have them. If they show up, I'll try tackling them!
I’m jumping in on a bolt action army but find that tutorials for imperial japanese are a bit lacking
I'm super late to the party, but I will definitely use this scheme for my first GSC army. Would you do anything different now that you have further improved your painting skills over the last 2 years?
Nothing much has really changed, honestly! This is how I'd still come back to approach these guys.
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio thanks :)
Wowww!! Amazing... Never used contrast as afraid it doesn't turn out right and I waste the money with something not happy with....do u recommend practicing with contrast first?
Hey Sonic! Great video! I've been thinking about getting some of the new contrast paints and this really helps with that choice (since I don't want to buy the whole line-up, but knowing how they integrate with my traditional paints is important to that decision).
Did I miss where you did the base coat for the face? Usually bugman's glow, but did you use the contrast here instead? If so, what do you think about the contrast paints for flesh?
Okay, last question: if you were only going to buy a handful of contrast paints, which ones would you go for? (I think black is a great choice because it will take a lot of the guesswork out of highlighting and deepening shadows on black clothing, but not totally sure)
hi great video as usual .quick question would this work for ultramarines or dark angels using the white dry coat or would you prefer calgar/chronos blue for ultramarine and niblet/nurgling for the dark angels cheers keep up excellent work :)
Awesome Dude 👌🏻
which color did you use to highlight the contrast blue ?
Fenrisian Grey. Everything's listed in the description!
Another great guide Sonic! I'm about to start painting some Orruk Brutes and I want to contrast them with red armour, do you think a pre-shade with agrax or nuln oil would help?
I'd probably work from Wraithbone, drybrush with white and then and use Agrax Earthshade in that case. You'll get to preserve most of the richness and warmth in the skin and armour, but it'll have a bit of depth and grunginess that isn't just flat black in those recesses.
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio awesome I'll give it a go thanks alot!
Thank you .
You are welcome!
Hi ... are tha army painter brushes worth a buy .... im starting out
I really quite like the Army Painter brushes. The Regiment and Character brushes are my go-to for painting large batches of infantry at a time, they're really handy.
Great..... im painting age of sigmar
You skipped the part where you base-coated flesh on his head. What color did you use before you applied the contrast?
Popped that one in the description. Bugman's Glow is the basecoat for the head.
Sonic Sledgehammer Studio thanks!!!
wow locks awsome i moste say
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