Half Hour Hobby: How to Paint a Guardsman in 30 Minutes

[@justanothercaptain6566]

Finally awake after doing my post Ex power nap 😴 (not 17 anymore need sleep) and this was the first video I had to see! Awesome! Love how you show how easy it is. Thank you! Cheers 🍻

[@Strawfoot]

I’m painting a guard army right now. I spend several hours on each one cause I paint so slow :( but I take your advice from your previous video and just enjoy the process and no stress :)

[@johnkelley9877]

I really like this color scheme better than the original version. Now I have an excuse to paint more Guardsmen! Thanks for sharing this new technique.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Oh no, more Guardsmen to paint... ;D

[@MrJrv1993]

I’m glad I found this video right as I started building! I painted my first guardsman tonight and used this as inspiration and guidance. He didn’t come out super well done, but definitely better than if I had gone at it on my own! Thanks!

[@8830chris]

Thank you. What a great guide. Think with Guard you can really over do it, this seems to be perfect to get my mini's done.

[@huwtindall7096]

Going for the primer as the main base coat is the number one best tip in mini painting IMO. Worth investing in the coloured primers be they GW or whatever brand. I've got a great scheme of matt rust red for guardsmen. Red is for the armour plates, Mechanicus Standard Grey for the cloth, black for webbing/gun. Done. Look damn good too. Also great for the vehicles with jagged camo pattern red/grey.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

That sounds cool as hell! It does mean finding storage space for a bunch of cans if you've got more than one army on the go at a time, but I'd definitely agree with the coloured primer being a near necessity for some large army painting projects.

[@donaldkelly9833]

I've had good luck mixing paint into vallejo primer. If you still want that zenith look you can mix your chosen color into both the black and grey primers!

[@michaelrossel7339]

Definitly worth it if you're painting tanks/vehicles. Consider using a metallic primer for details like tracks and so one. Since they're pretty light, light colors like yellow or white can also be brushed over quiet easily. And then all those details you're painting in metallics are already painted (a Sentinel for example is mostly metal). My projects where I used the AP Quickshade also benefitted greatly. 5-10 miniatures in an evening. I need to do a bit of research how citadel contrast paints benefit from colored primers, besides metal primers (Necrons or Grey Knights).

[@StackingLimit]

Fantastic Video Primer for painting IG. This is going to help me so much. I have been binge watching your How to videos and it has really helped.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Great to hear!

[@michaeltunnicliffe4935]

This will be great for me. I must have around 40-50 guardsmen all need painting. I may need to fork out for a few more paints but it will save me so much time in the long run.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

It's all about knocking off seconds from each miniature - across a Guard army, that'll all really add up!

[@longhunter5935]

Another key to this is managing dry times of the wash. So to manage the dry time is important to have a squad staged so the as a squad (or 1/2 a squad dries from the shade) you have a group to be working on, and as he alluded to: additional speed will come in getting out a paint and then doing all that colors across the squad, cleaning your brushes, and then getting the next color going. A squad of ten means that, from a paint standpoint, by the time guy #10 is painted guy #1 is dry and ready for next color.

[@andsmorris7225]

I was tempted by a GW guard army but after your 6mm tutorial I went with vanguard minis and I am really pleased. Great video as always and always great to watch your videos 👍

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Good shout! 6mm is a great way to get some truly massive battles on the table. :D Which rule set are you planning to use for them?

[@andsmorris7225]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio Thank you. I think your right and with your tutorial I’m very much looking forward to starting to paint them. I picked up a set of the dominion rules for a peek but also found a site that sets out the Epic Armageddon rule set in full complete with all that lovely grim dark art work. Look forward to the next upload. Hope you enjoy your week.

[@stingrex8136]

This video helped so much. I had been using your last video to paint mine, but with limited hobby time this is a great video. Thanks!

[@Marconius6]

Things I learned: 1) Spraying the mini to be half the color you want right from the start is helpful. 2) Being able to just use the same wash for the whole thing is nice. 3) Use paints that have good coverage to avoid having to do multiple coats. Having a light-colored basecoat helps with this. For me the biggest issue would be not making any mistakes that need to be corrected; having to go back and fix stuff is one thing that tends to take a lot of time for me. More of a problem with more complex minis, with more difficult to reach areas. For all the times you had to wait for the thing to try, that's probably less of an issue when you're doing this all in batch; you can just move on to the next mini and it'll be dry by the time you loop around. Altho the base itself does seem like it would take some extra time, I always find that somewhat time consuming, especially since I apply wash and drybrush and all. This guy also didn't have any gear with more fancy effects, like plasma glows or power swords; that alone can add a ton of time for me.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

The time issue is part of the reason I figured I'd round up - across the bulk of an entire army, you're going to find those little things like plasma or golden weapon and officer details are going to slip naturally into getting them finished. Alternatively, you could just cheese it and arm all your squads with flamers, and skip that plasma junk entirely! 😂 Batch painting will definitely save more time overall, though slowing down to take your time and avoid mistakes is just something that'll come with practice. Each step will keep getting faster the more you do it.

[@mjatx6416]

I’d like to speak with the manager. I was told it was this would be 30 minutes, but clearly it’s not even 14 minutes of painting!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

The deceptive nature of KZbin! 😂

[@MrCrystalwarrior1]

An army of these on the table top would just look awesome :-) You don't need to spend hours painting single miniatures if they're for a squad/company. Save that for the character minis. Also, taking time to do things neatly saves so much time rectifying mistakes, and gets your army painted much faster. I'm slowly painting a Cadian force for myself, but painting them with a camouflage scheme from way back in the late 1990's, as they're going to be stationed in a space station, so it's all blues and greys for me right now, but I'm having fun, and learning as I go, so I'm not complaining :-)

[@MrCrystalwarrior1]

If you look up on the internet, there's a page of different uniforms for different Cadian regiments from the 1990's that gives so much inspiration for those who, like me, love Cadians, but want to make their force really stand out on the table-top. That's where I got the image for my space station uniforms. I found some amazing Star Wars AT-ST/AT-AT images with desert camouflage schemes and more, too, which I'm slowly applying to my 1/48 scale Star Wars At-STs, and also on a friends Imperial Guard Sentinels, and she LOVES them :-D

[@Dash277]

These look great! So fun. They're on my "To Do" list. Handful of these guys along with the new Gaunt's Ghosts and a Leman Russ tank. Beauty.

[@sm3dnought944]

Great video … perfect recipe and easy to follow for a high quality finish!

[@wargamesgeek1334]

I loved playing with the guard, no longer have the army, but they were so much fun to play. Great video as always 👍👍

[@ewelina9224]

He looks great!

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

Good video and a good demo of what can be achieved in a very short amount of time. To speed the drying time, I also use a hair dryer to blast the figures dry.

[@tylerdurden108]

best men… more from AM 👍👍👍

[@MrZakalwe]

I've timed the 'paint quick and touch up later' and 'paint slightly carefully so there's less touchup' with my Guard and the 'slightly careful' one was slightly quicker and ended with a better finish. But to be fair I'm a slow and not great painter so your mileage may vary.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

I had a feeling! I think it's probably worth taking your time to avoid clean up, it really seemed to work out quicker.

[@worldhistoryminiatureshous9757]

As usual great and effective tutorial . Like it . In a recent past your advices have helped me to upgrade my painting skills . Thanks

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Really good to hear it. :)

[@kbeez804]

Nice work mate! I have a few traitor guard to paint up and use for cultists. Always happy to follow your effective schemes! Kia Ora 🤙🏼

[@zackcook5123]

Reminds me of when I spent a couple evenings painting guard. About 6 and a half hours. Knocked through 30 guardsmen plus a single heavy weapons team. I used Grey's and whites with a black wash. Thank god for wargames Atlantic raumjager

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

That's the way to do it! If you can find the time to really sink into a project things go way quicker.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , Sonic .

[@Volgan16666]

I dont usually recommend paint but as of late I have been painting some Stargrave troopers and I discovered Tamiya paint. One of which is Dark Iron XF-84 which was just perfect for helmets and body armor in one go. Well worth a look for sci-fi themed figures.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Good shout! One I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for.

[@mattmark94]

@Louie Baby is it a warm or cold kind of metal? 🤔

[@Volgan16666]

@@mattmark94 Matt to me its a warm effect. It is actually hard for me to explain - its comes out a dark green and when it settles and drys you can see a metallic hint to it. Its a lacquer paint and when I bought the first tin I thought I had wasted a couple of quid - now I have the whole range and rely on it very heavily. Two to two twenty at Hobby Craft or similar type shop.

[@johnroberts981]

£1.85 for a 10ml pot at Hannants in the UK ☺

[@Simmo_NZL]

Chur for another great vid!

[@yoyoyo9669]

oh wow! a new video! im still using your last videos method i am not very skilled... haha great video though! keep em comin!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Glad you like them!

[@ComfyFable]

I used your last video for my classic loyal 32, now I will use this when I get back into my guard. Would love to see this style of video for the ultramarines!

[@mooseworks_soldiers]

Thank you for this video! Awesome!

[@TheKsalad]

I'm really missing your old place's lighting, I'm sure it's tough to work out but the difference is noticeable. I used your "How I paint things" series on almost all of my Bolt Action miniatures and they all look amazing thanks to you

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Yeah, you're not alone in that. I've been tweaking and adjusting to try and find the right balance, but it's pretty clear I haven't got it right yet!

[@TashiMortier]

That's so cool :D Makes me want to buy a box of them haha

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Yesss, yes! 😏 More Guard in the world!

[@TashiMortier]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio Might just order the start collecting box since I wanted a Leman Russ, too. Oh no the addiction is real, send help.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

@@TashiMortier Aye, and then you get a Commissar as well as a heavy weapon team... :D A pretty neat little packet for adding some objective-holding firepower to any Imperial force.

[@huwtindall7096]

£5 for a box of 5 easy to build guardsmen. Can't go wrong.

[@TashiMortier]

@@huwtindall7096 They seem to be sold out :( Can't even find them listed on games-workshop.com anymore and all the stores I checked don't have them.

[@ConnorLundeen]

I use tallarn sand as opposed to the more usual zandri dust. I dry brush with terminatus stone after a shade with agrax earthshade, and I quite like the result.

[@maxlal2277]

Can u show me your results please ? Its quite interesting

[@ConnorLundeen]

@@maxlal2277 how could I do that?

[@broncofun5636]

Great tutorial - could you please do one for the new Cadians?

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Whenever they're actually released, sure.

[@broncofun5636]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio they are out now - did you get them? I’m curious how much slower these are to paint with all the added detail.

[@broncofun5636]

Nevermind - I just saw that you posted a video with the new ones a week ago - going to watch now - hope to find my answer in the video

[@vorthrax2177]

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.

[@chickennuggetswithbbqsauce3105]

What did you do to the model between 11:25 and 11:30? I can clearly see the difference a difference in the finished model being mich brighter on the armor. Is it the lighting or did you do anything?

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

There's no difference in the miniature itself - it's the difference in how the white levels adjust to the difference between a white and black background on camera. A bit of a pain, sometimes!

[@chickennuggetswithbbqsauce3105]

okay thanks. I've just really been struggling with guardsman green, as castellan green become super dark and i don't do highlights. @@SonicSledgehammerStudio

[@tp6498]

I'm all for speed painting myself but I'm no Sir Jackie Stewert (Sonic thought I'd use a name you might know lol..teasing) around the F1 track. Great job as usual 👍.

[@andyhighlife]

Great video many thanks. What brushes do you use pls?

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

In this case, it's the Medium and Small Layer Brush from Citadel, though I use a pretty wide variety of brushes. Army Painter's range are fairly similar.

[@stevepickering5978]

Very nice

[@flo1fication]

Im painting up a bunch of vostroyans but im starting to wish I just had cadians. Cadians are so simple to paint, Vostroyans have so much detail.

[@DiceandBrushes]

Love the video! Just a quick question: what camera set up do you use? How do you keep the camera from refocusing? Thanks!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

It's actually all recorded on my phone! 😅 I set the focus and then have to hold the miniature in the right range and just... hope my hand doesn't wobble. The auto-focus is a monster, so I can't rely on it.

[@patrickfleming3922]

Thanks for the tutorials! I painted an entire regiment following your cadian 8th video from four years ago. Im curious, how does this scheme compare? Is it just faster? Does it looks any different? I imagine its a bit brighter with the lighter primer?

[@uhzik40k77]

I really like the base ! How did you make it ?

[@denmasterben2348]

FOR THE EMPEROR!!!!!

[@CrippleX]

As a starting hobbyist buying 3-4 paints to make a wash of Aly's Brown Liquid is expensive. Would something like Army Painter's Soft Tone work instead of the Aly's Brown Liquid? If not, what would be a good alternative?

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Soft Tone is pretty close, and a better choice in my opinion than the new Seraphim Sepia. The latter is *super* yellow compared to how it used to be, and Soft Tone is really more of a light warm brown, much closer to the mixed up juice.

[@CrippleX]

Understood. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question.

[@HighStartAeronautics]

Thanks, your vids really are a joy to watch, lots of great tricks of the trade. I just finished making my Kill Team. So I have about 20 guys that need paint. Could you help me with a couple of questions: what varnish do you use? Would Citadels Purity Seal work on Guardsmen? I am thinking of making the fatiques in Karak Stone, could you recommend a highlight for it? Could Morghast Bone work on the fatiques? Many thanks and keep up the good work.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

I use Vallejo's matt spray since it's a proper matt finish; Purity Seal is quite similar, but the newer Munitorum Varnish has a slight satin sheen which works well on Marines and such but doesn't really fit how I like Guard to look. It's up to you, of course. Karak Stone's a bit of a tricky one to pick a highlight for, since it's already fairly light, but a touch of white mixed in will do the job, or try Screaming Skull. Morghast Bone will work fine on the fatigues, but it'll look different - you can use whatever colour you'd like, anything technically 'works,' but it's a case of giving it a shot and seeing whether or not you like the finish. Hope this helps!

[@HighStartAeronautics]

@@SonicSledgehammerStudio That´s great, thanks very much for your inut, it´s greatly appreciated. Too bad the 5 Cadian push fit boxes are discontinued, they were great for trying out different colours. Looking forward to getting them painted.

[@fallennatas5230]

When you are mixing shades donyou use an eye dropper or dip in the pot, rinse dip in another pot etc. with a paint brush? Or did you use an eye dropper? Just curious.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Dip in the pot, rinse, dip into another pot. Eye droppers seem like they'd be useful but you end up with a lot of wasted shade tucked up and stuck to the insides of them.

[@andrewbeasley]

I think that's a fine 'two-footer' (i.e. look at it from 60cm away) and a great tabletop figure. I would expect that a batch process would get the time down significantly. Now if I could only find a way to speed up the winter camo I'm doing for my sons T'au :-(

[@Calvin300clan]

U make it look easy

[@DodgethisCZ]

Do you have video on base? Everyone skipping base :D

[@legendarylordlove2789]

Would love to know how you did the basing on these, looks so simple, yet so effective! Really completes the model :D

[@JimmyCarmine]

Here you go, from way back in 2017 How I Paint Things - Basing kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4aycnWGfK2asKs

[@legendarylordlove2789]

@@JimmyCarmine Thanks mate!

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Beat me to it! :D Can't beat ol' Armageddon Dust.

[@songohan1075]

Amazing I paint for one guardsman in this quality 10 times longer or longer? I hope my next guardsmans go little faster and better :)

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

It might sound trite, but practice really does make perfect. You get a little faster with each miniature you paint!

[@siriandelgaro3806]

and how to bring this sheme and technique to a tank ? :3

[@RUSHULTRASTRONGAYPOWER]

I paint cadian 92nd and I spend 10h on 10 men squads. I am happy with the result but I wish I was faster 😂

[@kurtthornhill6292]

Looks like you’ll have to paint a new 2021 box 😂

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

Why? It's the same Guardsmen in the box as 2003's release, with a new sprue.

[@oneshotgaming3961]

I’ve been using a khaki color for their cloths and now I know why mine look like shit

[@leonaudacity5313]

I’ve painted about 40 guards in about 5 years 😅

[@1rnw792]

If the rumours are true, you might be painting some kriegsman soon.

[@mattmark94]

Believe in these rumors.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

I might be the only person out there who hopes they're not accurate rumours. I'd really like for GW to do more weird or unusual Guard like the Vostroyans or even more like the Genestealer Cults. "Something from our own history with a lasgun" is a bit repetitive past a point.

[@mattmark94]

@Sonic Sledgehammer Studio you might find it boring but what about old and new IG fans waiting for their fav regiment getting a range refresh? also krieg fans have been waiting for plastic model since forever...

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

@@mattmark94 Tallarn, Mordians, Valhallans and Steel Legion have all been waiting for plastic kits since long before Krieg was even a twinkle in Forge World's eye. Whoever gets kits now has a lot of other old fans wondering why it's their favourites that missed out. Easier to just create something fresh - and from GW's perspective, something unique that they can actually copyright. But we'll see, I suppose! Krieg are as likely as anything.

[@SonicSledgehammerStudio]

It occurs to me that if they do release plastic Krieg, I'm going to paint a battalion of them anyway... 😂

[@danielhampson]

Lies! No way you painted to that standard in a half hour. No way at all. Let's see it again in one take with your phone timer running. All that said... Really nice model. Crack on.