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

[Weazel]

4 hours ago, Inquisitorsz said:

Those look pretty. 

When you say Zenithal prime, how did you achieve that? 
Did you prime black then spray Grey Seer or Wraithbone from the top? Or did you airbrush the contrast base colours over a darker primer? 
Did you use black or grey as the darker primer? 
Does the contrast paint flow/pool differently across the different primers? That's what I'm worried about regarding mixing primers. Does the surface finish change much? Or did you gloss varnish over the primer to smooth it all out? 

I haven't had a chance to stuff around with zenithal priming or preshading with contrast yet. 

Thanks, glad you like them.

For priming I am actually using Vallejo surface primers through an airbrush, so I can't really say how well the citadel products work. But my method is black primer from a downward angle first (I would actually recommend a dark grey primer instead of black but I only have black available). After that a horizontal or slightly above horizon of USN Light Ghost Grey (the darkness is similar to Grey Seer but it's a tad colder. The contrasts are very vibrant so I haven't noticed any "coldness" in the colors over this particular primer). Finally I hit them with white primer straight from above or very slightly angled.

Now like I said I'm not using citadel priming products so I can't say if they would behave differently with contrasts, however I've not run into any issues so far.

Hope this helps.

[RuneBrush]

On 7/4/2019 at 12:06 AM, Click5 said:

The main offender for me was Castellan Green.  I was trying to power through a bunch of Cadian infantry by priming in Wraithbone and hitting the fatigues with Aggaros Dunes, but then blocking out the armor took two to three thin coats.  My next attempt was to essentially wash the entire mini in Aggaros Dunes to add tooth to the parts that will then be green, but then I just figured, why don't I just prime them in Zandri Dust block out the colors and wash everything in Agrax Earthshade?

That's quite interesting.  I'll try to have a play with my pot of Castellan Green when I get I get a bit of time.  I do think that Contrast paints aren't the answer to everything, there are some colours and effects that are great, but sometimes sticking to a more traditional wash works just as well or better.

6 hours ago, Lord marcus said:

Zenithal priming is a priming method we're over a black undercoat you then spray prime from the top of the model with a white or gray undercoat.

Doesn't have to be a black undercoat.  Basically anything that's a lighter colour on top of a darker one is zenithal - doesn't need to be from the top either, a lot of really cool OSL effects can be achieved using a frontal zenithal 🙂

6 hours ago, Inquisitorsz said:

Those look pretty. 

When you say Zenithal prime, how did you achieve that? 
Did you prime black then spray Grey Seer or Wraithbone from the top? Or did you airbrush the contrast base colours over a darker primer? 
Did you use black or grey as the darker primer? 
Does the contrast paint flow/pool differently across the different primers? That's what I'm worried about regarding mixing primers. Does the surface finish change much? Or did you gloss varnish over the primer to smooth it all out? 

I haven't had a chance to stuff around with zenithal priming or preshading with contrast yet. 

Providing you've got a smooth finish, you shouldn't notice any difference in how the paint flows across the different primer/undercoat layers.  Although a lot of people have said the new contrast primers have a much better finish, I honestly think that's because Corax White can be really temperamental!  The new sprays are super consistent - I've used them in warm windy & humid conditions recently and the finish as been spot on every time.

I've been using a P3 Morrow White zenithal highlight over Grey Seer and not noticed any variation when I've applied contrast paints over it.

[GeneralZero]

2 hours ago, Weazel said:

Thanks, glad you like them.

For priming I am actually using Vallejo surface primers through an airbrush, so I can't really say how well the citadel products work. But my method is black primer from a downward angle first (I would actually recommend a dark grey primer instead of black but I only have black available). After that a horizontal or slightly above horizon of USN Light Ghost Grey (the darkness is similar to Grey Seer but it's a tad colder. The contrasts are very vibrant so I haven't noticed any "coldness" in the colors over this particular primer). Finally I hit them with white primer straight from above or very slightly angled.

Now like I said I'm not using citadel priming products so I can't say if they would behave differently with contrasts, however I've not run into any issues so far.

Hope this helps.

- Are you satisfied with vallejo primers? (solid enough? well stuck on the plastic? airbrush pb? etc...)

- do you vanish after the contrast paints is applied?

 

[Weazel]

2 hours ago, GeneralZero said:

- Are you satisfied with vallejo primers? (solid enough? well stuck on the plastic? airbrush pb? etc...)

- do you vanish after the contrast paints is applied?

 

They stick well enough and go well through my airbrush (30ish psi). However I've noticed that they do not hold against intentional  scraping with a sharp & solid tool (like fingernails). I suppose if you want bulletproof primer you  need a rattle can but that means a slightly thicker layer which might obscure fine details. I prefer the AB for the sake of convenience: I can prime regardless of weather conditions (or time of day).

I do varnish after contrast paints because sadly they do not hold at all against any kind of touch. That said I highly recommend some form of painting handle to avoid rubbing the paint off while working on your models. Corks are good and affordable for bigger batches.

[Banshee1978]

17 hours ago, Weazel said:

Just dropping my 2c after a week or so of contrast painting. They are absolutely brilliant. I haven't had this much FUN with painting since I started airbrushing. I'm getting so much stuff done that would have taken me ages to finish with conventional methods (or to be frank, would probably have remained unpainted).

Now I'm not a beginner painter by any means, I'd probably rate myself in the late intermediate stage (and to be honest I just don't have the time nor patience to push into advanced territory). But I just wanted to put it out there that contrast paint jobs do not "need" additional highlights and shades to qualify as passable playing figures.

I'm adding a couple shots here to illustrate my point. These are pure contrast paint jobs (one coat) over a zenithal prime. Only things layered are the dots on some of the mushrooms, otherwise it's just Contrast Magic (tm).

Edit: Seems the forum scales these down quite a bit, here are the links for bigger versions (should they work): Picture 1 & Picture 2

 

I absolutely agree. I am really just a simple painter and at best between beginner and intermediate skill level but the results are awesome ( from my point of view).  Its easier to paint control and faster as well and easier on the brush too.  Here my latest examples:

[GeneralZero]

What  violet  and light brown did you use for the latest picture? None is available at GW (skyish is out of stock) for my FEC

[Banshee1978]

33 minutes ago, GeneralZero said:

What  violet  and light brown did you use for the latest picture? None is available at GW (skyish is out of stock) for my FEC

If i remember correctly it was shyish and snakebite leather

[Kirjava13]

Proof-proof. Only non Contrasts used are Vallejo Black Metal for weapons and armour, Warplock Bronze for a few details like the bell, Agrax Earthshade for the metals and Martian Ironwhatsit for the base.

[Blisterfeet]

Just wanting to add to the last few comments with evidence. I am a complete beginner to painting and was disheartened by results with normal paints and eventually was *hangs in shame* a player who just played unpainted with friends.

Since contrast came out I now finished my first army (without using far more experienced friends) and it was a breeze with much better results than I have got using a wide variety of normal paints.

I used the contrast spray and paint combo the only thing I found was to get a deeper shade of the used colour multiple coats are needed. Other than that I was happy with how quickly I could finish them and how they dried.

[TheNotebookGM]

14 hours ago, TheNotebookGM said:

As someone who is a totally novice/****** painter it is nice to have something that lets me get something passable on the table. Working on things for the slow grow at my club is far less daunting when I can get a unit done in an evening or two of dedicated painting. 

My second real paint job, done with contrasts and a huge improvement from the first.

[Cordova]

Dunno if it's of interest, but I popped into my local GW this week - the guys there are really rather decent painters, and are having a lot of fun with them and getting some rather nice results.  Interestingly (and counter to popular opinion on the internet, it would seem), one of the staff said that they're "probably not great for beginners" due to them being thin, and correcting mistakes being difficult.  They've also done a nice comparison of contrast versus layering (recipe here).

I had a brief play with them, and they "feel" a bit like shades when applying them, however, the result is noticeably different.  TL;DR is that the results I got in ~5 minutes were significantly better than I thought - rather unsurprisingly, they seem to be particularly effective on highly-textured surfaces, cloaks/billowing robes, shields with sculpted designs, etc. 

FWIW, I used to be a decent painter, but I haven't painted in a few years due to deteriorating eyesight (of late, whilst I can base-coat cleanly, I've struggled with highlighting due to not really being able to clearly see the tip of the brush, which has led to a fair number of mistakes) - it's been a case of I can't get a result I'm happy with, so I get frustrated and don't paint (and have a stack of Vallejo and Formula P3 paint going unused in the corner...) ... it's looking like these might help get me painting again.

[Overread]

I think the trick with contrast paints is that they engage beginners and the unwilling far more so than other paints. I think they also give what appears to be pretty good results and show both shading and highlighting at a very basic level. I think it gives people a visual idea of what is going on and a base from which to grow from.

Certainly brush control and paint control are key and fixing mistakes etc... plus the contrast paints wont' do it all, but I think they do what they do fantastically well. I think they give a very "instant" result above what many would normally get with 3 different paint bottles. A foundation, if you will. 

[amysrevenge]

Contrast paints drag the bottom 75% of painted armies up in quality, and barely make a ripple in the top 25%.  Which is a perfectly fine thing to do.

[GeneralZero]

2 hours ago, TheNotebookGM said:

17 hours ago, TheNotebookGM said:

As someone who is a totally novice/****** painter it is nice to have something that lets me get something passable on the table. Working on things for the slow grow at my club is far less daunting when I can get a unit done in an evening or two of dedicated painting. 

My second real paint job, done with contrasts and a huge improvement from the first.

Wow, did they just eat too much carrots?

[TheNotebookGM]

6 hours ago, GeneralZero said:

Wow, did they just eat too much carrots?

I appreciate your constructive feedback, it is people like you that give this community its reputation for inclusiveness and a welcoming spirit. 

[Kyriakin]

12 hours ago, Cordova said:

FWIW, I used to be a decent painter, but I haven't painted in a few years due to deteriorating eyesight (of late, whilst I can base-coat cleanly, I've struggled with highlighting due to not really being able to clearly see the tip of the brush, which has led to a fair number of mistakes) - it's been a case of I can't get a result I'm happy with, so I get frustrated and don't paint (and have a stack of Vallejo and Formula P3 paint going unused in the corner...) ... it's looking like these might help get me painting again.

Could I ask if the eyesight issue is cornea related? It often is in situations that are not correctable with contact lenses, glasses or simple surgery.

[GeneralZero]

5 hours ago, TheNotebookGM said:

I appreciate your constructive feedback, it is people like you that give this community its reputation for inclusiveness and a welcoming spirit. 

Come on, this is just a bit of humour. Nothing more. Not even negative.. And yes, the welcoming spirit is always better with a large smile 😋

[JPjr]

More fun with contrast paints, bashed through this Poxwalker in about 25 mins.  Obviously not going to win any awards but with just a couple of touch ups and the base done I’d happily slap this manky lad down on the table.

(incidentally feels very odd they didn’t just remove one or 2 very small, inconsequential, details from the ETB PW models as they’d have been great for AoS too).

[zilberfrid]

Tried it on a space marine for my girlfriend, this paint would work wonders with good zenithal highlighting, but I don't really like the texture.

She, however does, and if this paint convinces her to go from thinking about painting to actually painting, it's worth it.

[kenshin620]

9 hours ago, JPjr said:

More fun with contrast paints, bashed through this Poxwalker in about 25 mins.  Obviously not going to win any awards but with just a couple of touch ups and the base done I’d happily slap this manky lad down on the table.

(incidentally feels very odd they didn’t just remove one or 2 very small, inconsequential, details from the ETB PW models as they’d have been great for AoS too).

Those eyes are staring right into my soul!

[AGPO]

On 7/4/2019 at 8:27 PM, Weazel said:

I'm adding a couple shots here to illustrate my point. These are pure contrast paint jobs (one coat) over a zenithal prime. Only things layered are the dots on some of the mushrooms, otherwise it's just Contrast Magic (tm).

Out of curiosity which primers did you use for your zenithal prime? I've found mechanicus - grey seer works for darker colours but falls down on some of the warmer and paler paints. Planning on trying Zandri-wraithbone soon, but it'd be great to get your input since your results are great!

[Snitchey]

I've just finished my Myrmourn Banshees using a combination of contrast paints & regular paints. I really like them for some parts and not so much for others. Aethermatic Blue is amazing!

[Cordova]

 

On 6/16/2019 at 1:44 PM, lord_blackfang said:

This is over Vallejo white primer.

<snip>

Really nice!

On 6/16/2019 at 1:44 PM, lord_blackfang said:

I would be very interested if someone colour matched Vallejo primers to the new GW undercoats. This is the best I can come up with based on pictures, but Vallejo's color charts are all over the place and in some catalogs Ghost Grey looks lighter than Grey and in some darker, same with Israeli Sand vs Desert Tan.

I think that you can make something very close with a 1:1 mix of Vallejo White & Grey primers (Grey Seer), and ~3:1 mix of White and Desert Tan (Wraithbone).  This is based on me using the images in this video as a base (local GW only got 6 cans of each colour, so the examples and play models all used white undercoats), and the bottles of primer I've got.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Cordova
"Desert Tan", not "Desert San" ... doh

[a74xhx]

I've got a bunch of Troggoths I primed in Mechanicus Standard Grey a few months back, but never got round to painting.

I'd like to contrast paint them in bright colours.

Wondering whether to Zenithal prime them with wrathbone. But am worried they might come out a bit dark.

 

[Kasper]

Honestly I have been on the fence about getting the new paints, but after having watched Vince's latest video, I'm sold. Obviously the guy is a mad man and anything he touches turns to gold, but his result on the Bestigors with purely contrast + normal white + normal black got me hyped. It seemed somewhat simple and something I should be able to manage. My only issue is that my current army is painted half way with regular paints, so I will probably continue till this army is done and then pick them up for the next project.