Amazing Looking Armies with ONE TRICK

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Gosh donkit thats purdy

[@Pbobadomy3]

WAAAARLOOOORRRD TIIIIITAAANN

[@drhapi5308]

Hey I know this guy!

[@travis8106]

Hello Emil and Lukas!

[@davidallen7053]

Quit licking you brush weirdo.

[@BaconLordBear]

No you are ❤

[@Vorpal_Wit]

P3 Coal Black (its a really deep desaturated Blue), Tamiya Black Panel Liner, selective edge highlighting with any warm gray, THEN gloss varnish (I actually prefer a Satin). This is a great recipe for easy black carapace.

[@MaskedRiderChris]

Noted, and this is a capital idea that I'll try on my next major Cryx mini project....

[@elijahhaase5058]

I've really never cared for Tyranids, mostly because of the cartoonish paint schemes you usually see them with, but this was incredible! Honestly the best looking Tyranid paint scheme I've ever seen.

[@exigo2625]

i second this, looks amazing and terrifying

[@adammackrory655]

Thirded

[@gilledgar2243]

Forthed? Almost went from Tyranic sceptic to tyranid curious.

[@andivon8886]

There's a person who does Tyranids on YT that are based on real-life crabs (tiger crabs, I think) which are beautiful and scary. Ninjon's color scheme here reminded me of those.

[@andivon8886]

Which if you liked this scheme, you might like that one.

[@JasonPope989]

This is one of the best schemes for tyranids I've ever seen, organic and realistic!

[@Withered416]

Watching your videos recently has made me realize the important of light in miniature painting. Also what you mentioned about simplicity strikes deep. My first army that I painted up recently was Death Guard and as much as I love them, and there’s so much to appreciate up close, they definitely look a bit like a blob of green from far away. My next project is going to be an army of Imperial Fists and I plan to delve deep into underground the color scheme before I start painting. Thanks for the great videos!

[@Carbide-1]

Love your direct nature and dry humor Jon, oh and your painting's great too!

[@EspenShampoo25]

out of all the mini painers i watch you have the best style in my opinion. Your miniatures look great up close while many of the other ones have all these very noticable brush streaks all over the miniaturs

[@flowerknight4879]

you make the best miniature painting content by far.

[@chaoscultist5679]

Absolutely love the addition of that subtle rust color into the depths of the black carapace, makes it SO much more visually interesting and looks great!

[@Taller-Tale]

I love it when you use an airbrush! It’s such a time saver and I want to understand how to paint an army as quick as possible!

[@zramirez5471]

Jon those are the best Nids I've eve seen! They really capture the horror vibe! The most I've ever thought of a nid scheme was to do an airbrush color-shift paint over the hard bits to give the kind of effect that a lot of dragonflies and beetles have

[@karstedt9987]

I like the gloss black carapace look but you are right that it doesn't quite pop at a lot of angles (when you did the rotation though it looks great at some angles when the light catches it and you can see the detail). I'm curious what it would look like if you tried to highlight it like you would with matte, then use gloss varnish to shine it up.

[@robsilvester6213]

At least an edge highlight feels needed. Could do it in purples, bring in just that small touch of lore-accurate colour to this interpretation.

[@bocktordaytona5656]

This is the first time in 16 years since I got to know warhammer that I liked/ loved a tyranid just thanks to the paintjob. Awesome!

[@brooksf-l7619]

I enjoyed watching you strike out on your own and end up back pretty close to the box paint scheme, but in its own way.

[@stephenbutler9432]

I think if you dry brushed some grey/light grey on to the carapace before you added the gloss it would have shown the detail a little bit better. But overall that is super dope! I dub it Hive Fleet Giger.

[@somethingbatty950]

This looks amazing! I particularly love the wings! If you're still keen to test ideas on the carapace, whilst sticking to the Xenomorph theme from Alien, maybe try adding some blues (particularly metallic blues) as the highlights, restricting the pure black to just the deepest recesses.

[@TheLightLOD]

My trick for color schemes is using the older Dawn of War PC games, combined with mods those feature most of the factions and allow you to switch colors in near an instant in their army painter. That said, it is always still a good plan to get some sacrificial models like the Gargoyles from the old Tyrannid start collecting kit to try the scheme out on and make adjustments where necessary since those games are limited in what they can do.

[@TimZoet]

I personally love to put a coloured glaze over some of the black; something like a dark blue, or dark green, give it a small bit of highlight on the edges, and THEN put the gloss varnish over it. This gives the armor some good details and more life than just shiny black plates.

[@zentinelable]

amazing model. Just a quick idea. I think that mixing a bit of a dark blue with the black could have been a great idea too.

[@ObsidianCrane]

When painting the insect parts of my Nurgle force recently, I did something similar with the carapice elements. As you mentioned in the video I painted the black carapice as I would normally for black and then I applied a gloss red over them. This leaves the majority looking black (and glossy), but also gives the highlights more interest than just depending on the gloss to do all the work. You could use any gloss for the finish - blue with a bit of green over areas to really push those carapice images for example.

[@Gomolon95]

That paint scheme looks even better than I imagined!! Agree about the gloss varnish, something about the current effect makes it look like the paint is too thick and covering the details, maybe a slightly lighter shade of black would help, like a dark dark blue?

[@01huntingtown]

This was great - I know the purpose of the video was to show a theory, but honestly just seeing you go through the steps of painting a single mini was lovely.

[@chillausmc]

oh man so many prize winners! Ninjon da best!

[@strohslights4996]

Love these videos. On my worst days they get me out of bed and at least printing and priming and a on good day painting.

[@ericskov7296]

Haven't even finished the video yet... THANK YOU for the update on the cheap airbrush! I've been wondering how that had worked out in the long term.

[@Dresden76]

Love the video and message behind it! I don’t know how many times I’ve burned out because I’ve tried to paint an army at just under display level. Table top quality looks great for its intended purpose when done right and coming up with a scheme to get to the table fast is awesome. I like the rust on the carapace but would skip the blood on the wings.

[@WhatsleftofTom]

Looks rad dude. How about if you just did some normal highlighting and layering on the black before gloss-ing it? Bluey black highlights might provide some fun extra contrast with the warm skin too

[@nicklauswest9274]

Been watching you all of 2022 and now 2023’ and I can say with confidence this is my favorite model you’ve painted.

[@Opossum_Jenkins]

This video is what got me into mini painting and I’m almost finished with my Tyranid army

[@archmeridian8334]

It would be cool of you did a juxtaposition with the Leviathan box, painting the Space Marines like Tyrranids and the Tyranids like Space Marines. Seems like it would be a good way to practice painting both factions while also studying how painting a Tyrannid like a Space Marine could help you paint Marines in the future, and vise-versa.

[@hurmly4128]

Man, I'd love to see that carapace get highlighted with a deep violet, or even a violent with some pearl effects in it? Really, really great video. This has got me thinking!

[@ionminiatures]

Yes the overall colour scheme is fantastic, I love it. But maybe a bit of highlights with some medium to light greys on the carapace would help with the definition after (or maybe before?) the gloss varnish.

[@TheGodOfWarhammer]

THIS is currently the most important video regarding 10th edition. I appreciate the ideas provided here!

[@abelhernandez2097]

Hey Ninjon, have you heard of the Eastern Hercules beetle. Classification: Dynastes Tityus Scarabaeidae. It matches your paint scheme pretty well. And spots would be a pretty easy addition to the paint scheme. Love you're channel man. Awesome work!

[@Eldaino999]

The sheer amount of Duran Duran song titles incorporated deserves much more attention. Oh nice painting, too.

[@sirbobulous]

After that original video on that small airbrush kit I bought one and...you were right, it's very useful. The biggest thing for me was the space required as I just don't have the room for a compressor. While that cheap kit is about a 6 inch by 4 inch box I can stick in a standard drawer. Really make an airbrush a viable option for me. Thanks Ninjon!

[@tryllner0r]

I think that by using a color shift paint as a highlight near the top of the gloss black section before you apply your finish gives it another quick contrasting element as well as helps make the black not feel so flat and more reflective.

[@maquard3223]

Hey Ninjon! As usual, a nice Paintjob! But here a little clue from me, i had a tyranid army a long long time ago and did painted them in a full Alien style. The way to go to get the realy nice carapax look is to add to the black a tiny little grey metal paint, after that applied and dryed i did added to the shadows some brown glaze and to the highlights some blue glaze, to get the full looklike of an Alien like carapax.

[@brycenovak3880]

Starting Necrons for 10th, really liked your statements on finding inspiration. Looking at older furniture usually does it for me, that’s how I decide what I’m liking. For future videos instead of reinventing the wheel, maybe create a video (or series) that describes how you find the fun in those larger projects to keep going. Less of a how to, and more of a, this is where I keep going without hurting my own enjoyment. Maybe something with specific units too, leaders or monsters, and what you do different? Regardless, thanks for all you do. Sincerely, you and Miniac motivate me to get back to painting every day.

[@RJP0PE1]

My go to for shiny blacks is to edge highlight with Vallejo 309 Periscopes from the Panzer Aces line. It creates a beautiful contrast with black and gives an almost leathery appearance which when covered with a high gloss varnish should give you that nice Xenomorph carapace effect.

[@clintmoll9445]

Excellent work. I can see your point about more light values in the black sections. A contrast paint perhaps would've worked better. Love the perspective that its all about learning and becoming a better painter.

[@berb_yt]

That scheme will look so good on an entire army, because of the heavy contrast. For the carapace Black Templar Contrast paint might do the trick as it is very slightly blue, and being a Contrast paint, shows some of that nice luminance of the off-white underneath.

[@davidmoss9733]

Man, you are a proper professional. Your style is educational, entertaining and good for beginners and veterans alike. Good shit, dude!

[@mtrox7848]

Looks freakin dope Jon. Will be interesting to see how you approach the more pysker based units

[@aspectnato8077]

Probably the gnarliest looking 'Nid I've ever seen, the blood effect really does bring it together!

[@daxdynamite2750]

In the Alien footage/stills the Xenos had kind of a dark blueish sheen to their carapace. Maybe try recreating that with some highlights or washes? I'm a beginner level painter, so don't ask me how though.

[@philhealey2520]

This was a great video, I personally didn't care for the rust at the end... But it did need something. We are all different and that's one of things that I love in your videos.

[@maddogmadden23]

I can attest that the starter airbrush is a great buy. I still use mine for over a year being my main brush

[@Faramous]

I think it came out beautifully. My favourite areas are the wing blends and the carapace.

[@shelbynichol300]

Looks amazing!! Please do your whole army this way!

[@stefanblackadder5236]

Ninjon I want to thank you. I used your coupon code at Monument Hobby. I bought almost the entire line, including yours and Vinc’s set. It was a birthday present. It helped offset the fact that I’m old and washed up 😂. I’m not a Warhammer/Army genre painter. I’m more of the Kanaev, Shepard Paine, Bill Horan historical figures. I say this because I love your channel, and others (Vince’s) among them, for your dedication to education and learning, and striving to get better. I don’t think I’m the only one in this community who finds this art form as therapeutic. It’s important to me that you know you’re reaching beyond your genre. And thank you for all the hard work you put in to your channel.

[@cam-the-bassist]

The rust colour on the carapace looks awesome to me - and it feels somewhat thematic to the grossness of the nids. Almost like a toxic secretion. I'm currently painting some votann with inspiration from your vibrant zenithal videos - I've done purple from below, rose from above and a final high burst of pink for the very top. Basically they're synthwave Dwarves and I love them. Just need to decide on the actual armour colour over the zenithal - I'm thinking about a vibrant purple or pink to compliment the base shades. Thanks for all the inspiration dude

[@Ian-ph6el]

one of the few content creators who compliments us on our intestinal fortitude😆, quality content fella and one hell of a paint job

[@tjcapaviella94]

And just like that you did nids, ty dude. Love the painting of em

[@Jonahfishfighter]

Shout out to that entry level airbrush kit review - been using mine for a year and a half ish and still kicking

[@familymeeple]

I've always loved Tyranids - they were my very first army in 40K and will always have a special place in my heart. Mini looks great (as always!) 😍🥰 I particularly liked the "unfortunately, my toothbrush appeared to be broken..."! 🤣

[@SparklingEyesPhoto]

Loved this video. Just what I needed. Idea for video on the box. How to find a paint scheme and then apply it to all of your army without everthing looking all the same. Mixin and matching the colours within the same scheme.

[@tanukiworkshop]

Great work ! An idea to make them look even more unsetteling would be to add veins texture / vascularisation to the wings. You could consider those color shift paints on the chitine and eggs to make them look pearlescent ?

[@jakublhotan9029]

Thank you so much Ninjon! We are starting tyranid army. I will watch the video several times 😍

[@horatio_]

0:09 2 Duran Duran wordplays in under 10 seconds - most impressive

[@ReneeSolomon-i4s]

Looks AMAZING, Jon, as always. I particularly like the addition of the eggs and the bloody strands of gore! You continue to inspire me!!!!

[@gregmccormack5709]

Adding the contrast with the rust effect looks great. Very noice!

[@HuntingHeresy]

Maybe do a quick light drybrush on the edges of those black carapaces to bring out the details before varnish? Might do something similar but in a deep dark purple.

[@MartyBucholz]

I picked up that same air brush, the first one i got crapped out quickly, but after returning it I got a replacement and it has been working great, a really great starter tool

[@Trulli9]

Used to have nids all black and shiny like the alien carapace, but with bright yellow lines on the carapace. Looked a bit like wasps and the contrast between black and yellow made them look really agressif.

[@thomsonelite]

I came up with an awesome carapace effect. Painted the carapace with Phalanx yellow, and a black rim around the edges, then I spot-washed the yellow with reikland fleshshade so that the carapace had this natural gradient from yellow, all the way through a warm orange. Then in top, a thick layer of Mortant earth, wich is a black crackle paint. The result was absolutely stunning for the simple steps. The normally smooth carapace got this rough and bumpy exterior and this sickly/venomous thing poking up from beneath

[@vee_tinymoose]

Love it! I think contrast / translucent paint on the black would be great, or layering and highlighting with some deep blues or purples. Something to allow some light and dark rather than the flat colour?

[@oscarjames2004]

The black would look really good with some sort of prismatic effect where it shines purple and green like a beetle's carapace, but that's just my opinion. Nice!

[@byrond1096]

That’s a great idea!

[@kiemenhund]

Absolutely - Im planning my second ever 40k army next to my Black Templars - Tyranids. Was thinking of a similar scheme, but with a lot more color in it.

[@Lakrizzer]

I love that you went black! But what i would have done is a blue light comming from above, like moonlight. I think that would contrast perfectly with the warm skin tones 😁

[@zachbabcock6550]

The thing that really sparked in my brain was doing a blue purple turbo dork paint over the gloss varnish. I think it may add more of the "xeno" shade from the picture you showed. Really cool model though! Inspiring for sure.

[@Northman91]

This looks disgustingly amazing! I also really love how that rust effect looks on that gloss black carapace. and for an idea have you ever tried to paint a miniature with watercolors? not sure if it would turn out cool or just like a crappy contrast wash mess.

[@MartinDubuque]

Great vid as always. I picked up that same Airbrush "kit" from your recommendation, glad to hear yours is still working, haven't had the chance to put mine through its paces yet though.

[@uchall4749]

Love the paint scheme.. how would you go about giving the black that oily blueish hue that you find on beetles etc?

[@robford1225]

I love this paint job! The only thing I would consider is to use a dark colour-shift on the carapace on top of the gloss black to introduce some of the colour seen in the h r geiger alien images.

[@deeplystrange0]

Hands down the best Tyranid I've seen, The glossy black looked faboo.

[@Lord_Nielsen]

You should’ve used you’re logic for the coella green shade into the carapace recess, a few layers of nurgles rot and a thin wash of a darker green on top could have tied in the green more!

[@Marcusstratus]

10:45, great music selection!

[@dekai7992]

Very nice! That carapace colour shifted towards brown-green would even turn this into the Beta-Anphelion strain of cloned Tyranids from the lore!

[@VASM160689]

Looks awesome! I think that with a black contrast or some lighter edge highlight on the carapace, it would reveal those details and bring it up a notch. The rust effects look cool and like they belong, so probably can keep that one.

[@MaskedRiderChris]

My Giger Cryx army is a good example of how I'm trying something new in the spirit of what you were doing here, attempting to replicate H.R. Giger's artwork in 3-D, and it's going,...ehh. It could be better and it's making me crazy. If I played Tyranids, they'd definitely be Giger/Xenomorph-inspired, like this, for sure. It's me trying to push myself into doing something different in the spirit of what you spoke of here.

[@johnwilde5257]

I think it would be awesome to see a kitbashed Jeremy (aka psychophage) from the upcoming Leviathan box. Kitbash for first video and then painting for another are so much fun to watch!

[@Bound2Asgard]

Great video. While not planning on anything in 10th edition, I have just recently found interest in Age of Sigmar and have a Nighthaunt army to paint. This video and many of your others are a great inspiration and are giving me much more confidence. Thank you!

[@DrFunkin]

The Black Carapace is a cool idea, I think it could really really pop by making a chromatic black, maybe mixed purple and green paint to give it a subtle contrast from the fleshy bits, with a touch of iridescent medium to make it have a little bit of color shift with the gloss under the light.

[@justonsvoid]

The media in a water filter is always good for tiny glass beads and bits of charcoal!

[@lawrenceviii4877]

I think that's a solid start for sure. I'm feeling a normal, non-glossy, edge-highlighted carapace instead with a blue tint to feed the color wheel, along with some mottling on the wings. But that's just me!

[@part_time_commie]

This is a very nice color scheme, I love it. I think the carapace could be enhanced by using a much lighter black, glossing it and using a black oil wash. Since oil paint dries very matte, you would get a contrast of tone and texture.

[@thedrmurchindise]

I am absolutely in hysterics about how good this came out and you were just fuckin around hahahahahahaha. I need to keep painting. Loved this.

[@neocalder1228]

I love that mini airbrush btw works perfect for everything I need

[@reallyangrygeese669]

Amazing Vid, I've also been thinking about how to do a paint scheme for the Tyranids in the Leviathan box so this video was right on the money. If you're wondering what to do when the actual box comes out, I've been wondering how I'm going to try and get the most out of all the small bugs without agonizing too much over every single model, and what are the details I should definitely not scrimp on to get the biggest effect at a distance, when painting hordes of absolute chumps.

[@Bodkin_Ye_Pointy]

As for my own little inspiration, I have been hanging onto some goblin spider riders for ever, not knowing how to paint the spiders. I then took a picture of a St Johns Cross spider hanging in my garage and now have the colour scheme. These spiders are literally brilliant with a base colour that lifts from a brown similar to Rhinox hide, orange, through to a lighter bunny fur brown, flesh tearers red, fluro white and yellow. And the bonus? The spiders are the same size as the models, so no size adjustment. Now if I can just get the little so and so to model on the table for me , without the cat trying to eat her.

[@8triagrammer]

Coincidentally, I just started painting a SM army with gloss black parts like the helmet, elbow plates, etc. I edge highlight and usually have some degree of light/dark modulation before I gloss coat, and it works well.

[@SureGibson777]

Dude, I love the glossy black. The Xenomorph inspiration is spot on.

[@Alstevens83]

For the Nids while I stuck with the creamy white/purple for the main troops of Nids, when it came to the Genestealers and Broodlord I did a more facehugger like skin and the purples, it actually worked out well. However the Zoethropes I over used the volupus pink and the main head part stands out as a physic troop choice. If I was to start a new army like say Sisters of Battle then I know the colour schemes perfectly. Each element of the army would be differet Samus Arran power suits from the metorid Series so for exampe the basic troops would be in the Varia suit.

[@13Robzilla]

Finding a way to do an easily repeatable random pattern like so many real insects would be great. Awesome video, thanks for sharing.

[@Averagejoepainting]

Yep I sure am I found a way to do simple fire style carapace with ghostly blue skin. It’s really cool look. IMHO of course.

[@drhapi5308]

My nids are well underway! I got a black to shine on my Nids by drybrushing Necron compound on it.

[@kmykz]

If I can get my hands on the Leviathan box to I will have a go with the 'nids. I already got me a box of Termagants to try out some schemes. From pictures I like them most in vibrant colours and I might try fluorescent ink for an aggressive acid-y look.

[@aerynmusick4548]

Ten thousand points to you for jamming so many references into that intro

[@Demigodish4o3]

Looks good! I'd add green or blue wash on the black before the gloss varnish, but otherwise its great

[@Thameno]

The only bugs I ever painted were a small Tyranid army for the store back then, that was 20 years ago. Now I only have the Tyranids from the Space Hulk box on my shelf of shame, which are still only half painted. After seeing this video of yours, I'm thinking about redesigning them completely, this comic book-like color scheme I was aiming for back then seems kind of out of time. So thanks for the idea!

[@patzuk3463]

Looks amazing overall! Not sure about the rust on the carapace because it looks flatter than the rest. Possibly not using full strength black and washing it with the coelia gs, or giving it some iridescence in a cool color to contrast with the fleshy parts could bring out some more of the sculpt in those areas. It still looks fantastic and one of the best tyranid schemes. It is always super inspiring and educational to watch your vids. Thanks!!