So, what do we think of the new Contrast paints?

[Nos]

I think a lot of boardgame folk might have ordered some from what I’m hearing from my friends who are into that side of gaming 

[Ahn-ket]

I think some of them are nice some are meh some are fantastic so i think i will bis some of them for my aos death models 

[Ahn-ket]

On 5/14/2019 at 11:05 AM, GeneralZero said:

Do you know if the "contrast" line of paints has some metalic colors? (gold, iron etc...)

No metallic contrast paints

[pseudonyme]

1 hour ago, michu said:

To your information - it was done by one of GW employees in Warhammer Chelmsford

Hobby heroes

[michu]

That Akhelian Green base looks perfect for my underwater blanchitsu-style 40k warband.

[Fulkes]

It seems in the hands of anyone who is a wizard with a brush this stuff is liquid talent. Anyone want to see how to do NMM gold with it? 

https://razzaminipainting.blogspot.com/2019/06/non-metallic-metals-with-contrast-paints.html?m=1

[gjnoronh]

30 minutes ago, Fulkes said:

It seems in the hands of anyone who is a wizard with a brush this stuff is liquid talent. Anyone want to see how to do NMM gold with it? 

https://razzaminipainting.blogspot.com/2019/06/non-metallic-metals-with-contrast-paints.html?m=1

And he said on twitter took him 1/2 the time to do vs his traditional NMM approach.  He had some issues with the consistency to get the results he wanted but thought that was an experience issue for him.

 

[Fulkes]

23 minutes ago, gjnoronh said:

And he said on twitter took him 1/2 the time to do vs his traditional NMM approach.  He had some issues with the consistency to get the results he wanted but thought that was an experience issue for him.

 

He also commented about it being a matter of working light to dark which was a learning curve for him as well.

That said, I can see a vibrant NMM look coming about from this as Contrast pops some bright color.

[pseudonyme]

25 minutes ago, gjnoronh said:

And he said on twitter took him 1/2 the time to do vs his traditional NMM approach.  He had some issues with the consistency to get the results he wanted but thought that was an experience issue for him.

 

Tyler Mengel told me that his Sylvaneth took him more or less half the time he would have spent with regular paints.

[Fulkes]

The time saver is definitely a plus, but a lot of the colors "pop" more than I'd like. That said, I do have some ideas I am planning on trying with the stuff.

[Zadolix]

I laughed at the 'deal' on the GW website. If I go to my FLGS which gives 15% off it's still cheaper than GW's 'deal'.

[Kugane]

It seems in the right hands it can be amazing, like merkel showed some amazing results using contrast paints on a Skaven bombardier, but I have also seen other people review it on YouTube and the results were kind of meh in my opinion with some shading, but a basecoat and wash would look nicer (YMMV). I think the whole "1 thick layer" should not be taken too literal. I still think, like glazes, layering these paints may give the best results. Especially to create gradients. However, for speed painting this is a god-sent invention regardless. I used to make the same stuff mixing washes with citadel air paints, resulting in paints that are both a wash and glaze. This will certainly battle the mid-army burnout of horde army painting. Having to go back 4 to 7 steps for each colour is tiring. Now it's just 2 for good results :).

I think if you take the darker primer and overbrush it with the light basecoat prior to painting it may improve the gradient better. Or drybrushing if you want to go with darker tones. I'll experiment a bit when the paints are released :).

Edited June 10, 2019 by Kugane

[Overread]

1 Thick layer is open to interpretation and some are likely smothering the model in paint whilst others might be only treating it like a "two thin coats" single layer. There's certainly practice involved in using it and getting the best results. IT might take a while for some of the finer points of its use to make it into instructional videos and guides so that the idea and concept of how to use it well spreads more clearly to new users of the paint. 

[Kugane]

4 minutes ago, Overread said:

1 Thick layer is open to interpretation and some are likely smothering the model in paint whilst others might be only treating it like a "two thin coats" single layer. There's certainly practice involved in using it and getting the best results. IT might take a while for some of the finer points of its use to make it into instructional videos and guides so that the idea and concept of how to use it well spreads more clearly to new users of the paint. 

Yeah you are right. I sometimes even find washes too thick already if they pooled a bit too much on a detail. I kind of wonder how these paints will dry when pooling. Sometimes you just miss a spot. Especially when doing the assembly line. 

Regardless we will probably see a lot less of thick acrylic coats among newer painters. No more putting nice and thick layers straight out of the pot to save time haha. No more "paint is liquid, It'll shape to the details by itself right?!" XD

Edited June 10, 2019 by Kugane

[kenshin620]

2 hours ago, Kugane said:

Yeah you are right. I sometimes even find washes too thick already if they pooled a bit too much on a detail. I kind of wonder how these paints will dry when pooling. Sometimes you just miss a spot. Especially when doing the assembly line. 

Regardless we will probably see a lot less of thick acrylic coats among newer painters. No more putting nice and thick layers straight out of the pot to save time haha. No more "paint is liquid, It'll shape to the details by itself right?!" XD

But my Thin your Paints meme....

 

[Lior'Lec]

     Tried ordering a couple bottles of apothecary white this morning, the single color that most interested me, but sadly it’s already listed as “sold out”... 

[SwampHeart]

Played with the GW demo set this weekend - overall was a really fun experience (which is saying a lot for me because I genuinely detest painting). I think I prefer the wraithbone to the greyseer for most colors (the warmth looks better with the Contrast paints). I really quickly fell in love with the Talasar Blue - it looks tremendously vibrant, and the Iyaden Yellow was very nice as well. The one thick coat thing is definitely a bit misleading, I got the most consistent results from adding a little medium and making sure I stayed inside the lines. 

I went in prepared for GW to sell out quickly (by the time US pre-orders rolled around we'd already seen sell outs in the UK) so I pre-ordered a few of the ones I need for my current BoC/HoS project, and I'll pick up a few more from my FLGS. But I guess my hobby doesn't really involve kvetching about GW not having stock on TGA - which I do know is an important part of many people's hobby so different strokes and all. 

[gjnoronh]

36 minutes ago, Lior'Lec said:

     Tried ordering a couple bottles of apothecary white this morning, the single color that most interested me, but sadly it’s already listed as “sold out”... 

There are going to be plenty in your local FLGS's on release day.   Don't forget you are going to want the primer as well and medium 

[sorokyl]

10 minutes ago, gjnoronh said:

There are going to be plenty in your local FLGS's on release day.   Don't forget you are going to want the primer as well and medium 

Seeing the small difference between the cool and wa primers, I think corax white will be fine on release day for anyone that already has it. When I run out I will be happy to never go back to it though.  Contrast medium on the other hand seems like a must have. Wish it were a larger, cheaper pot. 

Don't forget they also recommend varnish

[Kugane]

1 hour ago, kenshin620 said:

But my Thin your Paints meme....

 

Dayum. Thats a whole new kind of nurgle.

[gjnoronh]

3 hours ago, sorokyl said:

Seeing the small difference between the cool and wa primers, I think corax white will be fine on release day for anyone that already has it. When I run out I will be happy to never go back to it though.  Contrast medium on the other hand seems like a must have. Wish it were a larger, cheaper pot. 

Don't forget they also recommend varnish

From what I'm hearing from folks who have painted models with the new primers it's a lot smoother then Corax White which is important for the paint to flow appropriately.     You are right varnish too if you don't own it.    

[Lowki]

Just another example by Tyler Mengel:

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/warhammerageofsigmar/permalink/1205941342918010/

[Fulkes]

From 'eavier Metal on Facebook on some things to be aware of:

I know this is a page for higher end mini painting but I thought I share my thoughts on contrast paints.

I had already made up my mind that they were not for me, before I ever used them.
Saturday I got the chance to try them out at the the Warhammer Citadel.

This mini was painted in two stages, the yellow and red on the head and gun were done at the store. The metal and trim were done at home. Total time painting not including drying time was about 15 minutes.

Okay so here are my thoughts. It is weird, it's like painting with snot. Lol, maybe not That bad. It needs constant attention as it starts to dry. It pool like an SOB, and you have to remove it before it drys. 
I wish they had the medium, so I could try it too.
You have to commit, once you start you need to get everything coated.
If I had had the option I would have painted the head and weapons off the mini.

So they are great for fast tabletop quality.
Just like GW claims.
I also think with a bit of time we will see some neat effects from using them.
Painting the trim and details over the contrast wasn't a problem.

Now the negatives, after it's down you're done. 
If you don't constantly wick away the puddles, the end result will look messy.
If you mess up while painting trim or details, it's going to be hard to match the contrast color.

Final thoughts.
I think if you are only interested in getting an army on the table fast then this is a dream come true.
If you are a new painter, I'm afraid they could prohibit you from learning important fundamentals. The fundamentals needed to fix the touch ups.
If you are a competition painter, other than interesting effects that will surely be discovered as time goes on, then I would say they are a pass.

For me, I plan to paint up the several hundred zombies I have for Zombicide and some other board game minis. Other than that I don't honestly think I will use them in my regular projects.

I hope this helps.

I have some ideas I'll be trying myself with some Contrast paints, but it seems like two thin coats is still better than one thick one. I think we could get some very interesting effects by playing with the undercoat for example.

Attached is the mini posted with the original post:

[Weazel]

I'd prefer this over grey plastic every day of the week... I mean if you're painting minis just for playing this quality is just tremendous, especially considering time spent. And you can always go to town with precision shading and further highlighting if you want to take it up a notch.

[Overread]

I think people worried about others missing out on developing "key skills" forget that many model painters will rarely develop those key skills to start with. Or even if they start too they won't take them as far. For many painting is just another step, heck look at how many people are quite happy to game with models which have mould lines all over them. 

 

Plus lets face it when you're 1ft away playing the game the fine detailing doesn't always stand out on the models anyway.