Contrast Paints, is everyone really using them and are they actually quicker?

[sundancer]

As I mentioned in the discord: depending on how expensive it will be I’ll give the starter set a go.

[limburger]

of course ‘everyone’ is going to ‘copy’ GW’s success with ‘contrast’ by doing their own version.

Scale75’s “Instant” paints were a bit different, but they shared the same idea of using just one paint to do both highlight and shadow in one as opposed to using several techniques and different paints.

It may not be a ‘new idea’, but it sure as heck is better marketed and presented.

I think the only actual negative for Contrast-style paints is that they are focused on the fantastic/futuristic where bright colours are the default. That may also be part of the reason why not everyone is having good results with them, because their style or expected result doesn’t suit the paint.

[ced1106]

(Repost from Dakka)

Only took me two years ~8) but I finally looked up Contrast paints on Reaper Bones, and lowly linked Goobertown Hobbie’s not-quite recipe for Contrast paints:

* 50% matte medium (a squirt or two)
* 50% acrylic ink
* A few drops of flow aid

I’m sure there are other YT videos and web pages with more concrete recipes. But those of you who have used Les’ Wash recipe know that the ingredients are almost the same. Not surprising, since contrast paints behave similarly to washes. Flow aid is what sucks the wash into the recesses. Les’ recipe for washes uses more water and thus is actually a little more work to make.

If you dislike DIY as much as I do, I only recommend making your own wash (and thus contrast paints) if you need a batch of it for a larger project, such as terrain or an army. No point making a few ounces when you only need a few drops for a cape. If you’re a fantasy gamer with dungeon and wood terrain, try making your own black and brown washes and see what you think. OTOH, If you’re used to mixing with mediums, I figure you could just mix up whatever contrast paint you need right in a bottlecap, instead of bothering with mixing cups.

IIRC, You can get acrylic inks, matte medium, and flow aid at Michael’s or an arts and crafts shop, and use that online coupon. Obviously, the initial cost is more than a few bottles of hobby paints, so the premade stuff may still be better for new painters, those who don’t need more than a bottle of a color, and the convenience.

Les’ Washes : https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/261541.page

Goobertown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU0rc0EOOys

HobbyHo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inbnZxOX69Y

[sundancer]

Nice

[ced1106]

Two years ago, draadhaai on Reddit came up with these results for DIY, based on Goober’s constrast mix.

Sounds like contrast paints can be made with 9-10 drops of matte medium, 1 drop of flow aid, and 10 drops of acrylic ink. This is actually similar to Les Bursley’s (sp) wash recipe (which also has water), which I’ve been using for quite awhile.  (BTW, when using as a wash, try wetting down the miniature so the wash flows better.)

Diy Contrast-like paints using acrylic inks
byu/draadhaai inminipainting

[sundancer]

That looks strikingly similar to the usual contrast test minis I’ve seen. I think the only “advantage” of contrast paints is: they are ready to go and do not need to be mixed

[ced1106]

I think, rather than premixing colors, I’ll just have an eye-dropper of contrast medium (eg. 9 drops matte medium to 1 drop flow aid), a set of acrylic inks, and white milk caps. Add an equal number of medium to the number of drops of ink used and that’s it. Add water if you want a wash. I don’t think it’s more work than mixing paints on a wet palette. I start my painting with washes on colored primer, then hobby paints. Should be interesting to see if a contrast rather than a wash will help.

That said, I’ll definitely be looking for any sales of the stuff on MM. MM has yet another sale, btw. I think the Micro Arts bases are good candidates for contrast paints, and I picked up a few plank sets!

[comet5]

I’m a painter of 30+ years experience.  I first bought some contrast paints to try last year and now have nearly all of them.  My entire 54mm ECW project has been painted using them.  I wish I had a better picture to show.  I was a fast painter anyway, but using my airbrush to zenithal prime and contrasts paints  to colour has made me even faster, I cannot see me going back to my old method of painting any time soon.

[maledrakh]

Yes, contrast paints are *quicker* for colouring in your minis:

Straight onto white primer, one coat, no more than 5-10 minutes each, a few details in regular paints (eyes, metallics)
These are all Reaper Bones from the first kickstarter, which means soft details in bendy plastic. Not to be confused with more recent Bones miniatures that are of significantly better quality all round.

It all comes down to if you want a good paint job or if you want coloured in minis. These are minis that I probably never would paint if not for the contrast paint line.

[phaidknott]

I’ve not tried any contrast paints (as I tend to paint minis 15mm and below in size), but I’ve been thinking about the possibility of using them to do a lot of “white” uniformed historicals (for example Nappy Austrians or early Peninsula Naps Spanish).

It’s not just about speed, rather doing white uniforms for massed troops is just “difficult” to get a good result (without a LOT of work). IF the contrasts just give a good look (I’m not that bothered about speed), I might take another look.

I’ve not seen any YouTube or Blog offerings where painters have done this for the smaller scale minis (usually it’s plastic 28mm being used), so if anyone has seen any videos/blogs showing contrasts being used on 15mm let me know.

One of the downside to contrast paints is you can see when painters have used them (the colours tend more towards a “pastel” look), they work fine for “organic” surfaces but I feel they don’t do well for fabric for the lighter colours (darker hues and browns seem to work fine however).

[maledrakh]

Kris Belleau has series of excellent quick tips, here he uses contrasts on team yankee minis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkLstlqoGzM

[phaidknott]

I’ll take a look at that one, cheers….

Really looking for a Napoleonics based one in 15mm, I’ve seen a few 28mm ones but they don’t seem to work as well (the reds and blues end up as being too vibrant and “washy” looking). I imagine the problems might be compounded with attempting smaller scale minis with bright colours (the contrast with darker hues and browns seem to work better overall so should do well in 15mm).

I’ve seen painters using the “bone” undercoat with the white contrast for leggings and straps for the troops that “sort of” works (they usually end up heavily dry brushing white over the top again). Not the fastest process, but again striving to make white on white uniforms simply “look” good is the challenge.

 

[torros]

You could try putting a thinned down Agrax or something similar over the top to dull the colours down a bit

[ced1106]

> I’ve not seen any YouTube or Blog offerings where painters have done this for the smaller scale minis

At least for washes, it’s the flat surface and lack of texture that’s a problem, not necessarily the scale. 15mm may be better for contrast paints, since any flat surfaces are smaller than 28mm, so the paint is less likely to pool on any flat surface.

As for color, the advantage of Goober’s DIY is that, since the inks are inexpensive, you can fiddle with the ink color before adding the medium (matte medium and a little flow aid). Frex, to desaturate blue, you add some white. Then add an amount of medium equal to the number of drops you used to create the color.

[onlyonepinman]

I am a little late to this party but I have been using them quite extensively recently.  When you need to churn out dozens of miniatures in a reasonably short space of time, as I did, they are definitely a very, very good option. I tend to finish them off with a thinned brown wash as well this helps to disguise any lack of neatness.  I have also used them with army Painter dip to great effect.

 

In the run up to a recent weekend long RPG session I painted probably getting on for 50 miniatures in around 3 weeks, although I certainly didn’t get chance to paint every day and also had a long weekend break during that time.  Not exactly to stunning quality but more than adequate to the job.  Here’s a few highlights

I even took a few pots with me on the gaming weekend in order to speed paint a monster that had been 3D printed specifically for the game.  Sadly I had mixed the brown wash a little too strongly, but nevertheless, that took about half an hour, if that

[Author]

Posts