Hobby Cheating 159 - How to Paint Fast, High Contrast Base Coats

In this Hobby Cheating Tutorial, we use value sketching and wet blending to achieve a fast, high contrast basecoat that shows tonal variation without spending extra time washing and layering highlights. Especially good for those large flat surfaces. Hope you enjoy.
Twitter: @warhammerweekly
Instagram: VincentVenturella

[@eyaldiskin3665]

Great video! Must say the quality of your videos (production wise) has risen in the last year in a noticeable way! keep it up!

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you, I have been trying to improve, it's a slow process because I know nothing about video, so I am trying to learn and self-teach and improve.

[@Awcamawn]

Another great tutorial Vince. You make ostensibly intimidating and advanced techniques seem quick and approachable and it really encourages me to paint more bravely. On a side note, Celestine's hair looks like it came straight off of a hair dye box; seeing it had me searching for "Hobby Cheating Blonde Hair" so I could re-watch that one.

[@VinceVenturella]

I was rather happy with her hair for sure. In all honesty, i tried some new stuff here as well I didn't do in that video. I am always playing with hair, it's fascinating, because like skin tone, it's an incredibly rich and varied thing. In this case, I worked in some browns, some reds, some mohave white and some ochres. My best advice with hair is stick to lots of thin lines and play with your colors until you get somewhere you like.

[@TryChillBalloo]

@@VinceVenturella out of ur mouth it sounds very easy.. :) thank you for another amazing tutorial. u are simply my guru when it comes to painting! could you make in the future a video about horses? ^^ just lovin ur channel!!!

[@isgaarda]

@@VinceVenturella wow! Amazing video, and I also really loved the blond hair on the mini

[@VictorQues]

My favorite technique to paint cloaks and other type of clothes with smooth surfaces.

[@VinceVenturella]

It's really great and it makes me wonder why more don't try it. Hopefully this gets them to do so. :)

[@tutubeater1]

I love almost any video with wet blending in it! great job VV

[@VinceVenturella]

Awesome, happy to help as always. :)

[@IntrovertedWARGAMER]

Your videos have truly helped me to improve my paiting so much I think the biggest thing I've learned is dont worry about how the model looks an hour into painting worry about the end result

[@VinceVenturella]

That's exactly right. Even the best models usually have a "looks bad" phase and that is okay. Paint bravely and care only about how it looks at the end.

[@Wijkert]

Good tip about stopping right away after you pull up paint. It is so tempting to try and fix it before it's dry.

[@VinceVenturella]

Yep, it's best to just stop, let it dry completely, then fix. :)

[@lovemysi07]

I'm just starting my second year of painting and i finally understand this stage. Thank you for creating this video. I also appreciate you got a streak on the glaze stage and showed how to handle the issue.

[@VinceVenturella]

Always happy to help. :)

[@dekai7992]

Being someone who hates, hates, hates putting down sterile flat basecoats, this was extremely inspiring and relieving. From now on, I'll try to use this approach on any elements remotely big enough to support it. Thank you heaps!

[@VinceVenturella]

Awesome, I have more videos on this in the playlist. If you like the idea, check out this one - kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6CzpHR5aqqlqNE

[@dekai7992]

@@VinceVenturella I certainly will, thanks!

[@RamseyEassa]

Beautiful work, fantastic video!

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you, that is very much appreciated and always happy to help. :)

[@RedauserArtcore]

amazing video, as always, thanks for keeping creating such good content!

[@VinceVenturella]

Excellent, happy to help as always.

[@Dijalnar]

Never even considered this as an option. Awesome video once again Vince!

[@VinceVenturella]

Excellent, happy to help as always. :)

[@MySqueezingArm]

That cloak looks fantastic! Your saliva really brought it together. Thanks for the great wet blend example.

[@VinceVenturella]

Always happy to help, it's a topic I return to frequently.

[@joshfoss7407]

Top-notch content right here. I just struggled through painting some elven cloaks using some of the techniques from your glazing video, but I'm realizing now that it was probably the white content of the light green that was giving me so much trouble.

[@VinceVenturella]

Yep, ironically, if you want a brighter color with glazing, you need to use a darker base color (i.e. a darker blue) but thinner layers. :)

[@SeerIbarelyknowher]

How convenient! I've been doing Yvraine's dress with orange colors, and this video demonstrates a better version of what I've been trying to do. :p Thanks for the helpful upload!

[@VinceVenturella]

Excellent, happy to help as always. :)

[@FromDumpyToDiva2018]

😲 Well that certainly changes things for me... Thank you!

[@VinceVenturella]

Happy to help as always. :)

[@DavidMaughan19]

Very nice technique, I will definitely be giving this a try soon.

[@VinceVenturella]

Awesome, always happy to help.

[@SCA.Laurents]

Awesome recommendation for this video! I'm headed back for my Herald!

[@VinceVenturella]

Awesome, I am going to be deeper diving on this topic soon in some more videos.

[@Nusphigore]

Really cool video. Very instructive.

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you, happy to help as always. :)

[@Xenaisthebusiness]

Thanks for teaching so well.

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you, happy to help as always. :)

[@Mikey__R]

Hey Vince. I've been practising my yellow in prep for an Imperial Fists diorama. I've been using the airbrush, but the same concept applies as you describe here. On my test model, I did a lot of back and forth between highlights and glazing over some more of the base coat, and using a wide combination of many different yellows. I'm absolutely amazed at how much visual complexity I managed to get from just one colour.

[@VinceVenturella]

Yep, Yellow is a very rich color, it has lots of subtle shades and can have both warm and cold in it, so you can really do some cool stuff.

[@jetsetjimbo8049]

Another great video Vince! Looking forward to putting both this and the panel modulation to the test on the mechanicus from the forgebane set. :)

[@VinceVenturella]

That sounds fantastic. The Admech stuff is really a great chance to play with this technique.

[@jetsetjimbo8049]

@@VinceVenturella on that Vince I'm thinking for trying the Vallejo liquid metal (on your recommendation) on my admec project. I'm happy to get a few different colours. Which would you recommend?

[@bethanygraham427]

Great video, really useful technique. I love your discussion on paint taste. I refuse to eat paint, I tend to hold my brushes in my mouth and that tastes bad enough :)

[@VinceVenturella]

Well, in this case, I think it was the new medium. That new medium I am using tastes really bad, but it works, so...

[@jackiefranken590]

This is my second video, and I'm totally hooked. I love this. Thank you so much for the great content. Ps stop eating paint lol

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad you're enjoying and happy to have you along on the hobby journey. :)

[@imdeaded]

when you die from eating too much paint . dibs on your paint collection . i called it . keep up the great work . seasoned painter myself yet i still learneded something .

[@VinceVenturella]

I will mark it down and place it in the will. ;)

[@maizetoken377]

That white cloth at 1:04 looks so good.

[@RichterScaleStudios]

Great tutorial!

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you, happy to help as always. :)

[@redrooster7371]

Very helpful as always! What I'd like to see is a closeup of the painted model at the end of the video. Sometimes you do it, but even then it could be much longer.

[@VinceVenturella]

Yes, I normally try to do so, that way people can pause and stare as they need, but I have a sad admission this time. I went straight from this to painting a bunch of freehand and completely forgot to actually take the picture. That's on me, sorry about that.

[@matao0661]

Great video as always Vince! You really inspire me to keep getting paint done when I can get the free time. I really want to try wet blending to get the skill down and add to my toolbox. What type of miniatures or terrain is best to learn on?

[@VinceVenturella]

You want something with lots of broad flat space (cloaks or lots of open skin). Flat terrain like rocks and walls can also be perfect yes. Get that big brush and go to town.

[@matao0661]

@@VinceVenturella thanks for getting back to me about my inquiry!

[@yanzhilai6688]

Great video again Vince. Am I correct in understanding that you are thinning the paints on the pallet from the initial additions of flow improver and medium at the start of the video? IE the blob of paint at the beginning of the video before mixing the mid tones are straight out of the bottle? And there is no water added to thin before the first application?

[@VinceVenturella]

That is correct, though my brush is always fairly wet, moist perhaps (terrible word), but it's always good to keep the brush wet and then between that, the medium and the natural wetness of the palette, it keeps everything moving.

[@PlayWithYourThumb]

I'm not a gamer, I do figure models. However there are lots of great tips in your videos I can use. Subbed.

[@VinceVenturella]

Awesome, glad to help and glad to have you along on the hobby journey. :)

[@JamesSerapio]

They've discovered an increase in the amount of plastics in human waste. I'm guessing that the miniature painting hobby is on the rise and the finding is a result of hobbyists licking acrylic off their paint brushes to void blend. 😁

[@VinceVenturella]

Seems a logical connection to me. ;)

[@Mistshinobi]

I would love to see how to paint stormcast blue cloaks this way. My blue highlights always turn out chalky and now i know why.

[@VinceVenturella]

Literally the exact process can be applied with blue. Start with a good value sketch and run from deep blue/purple to a mid-tone. Then lay down some white and glaze that mid-blue over. Your blue highlights are chalky because of the white paint as I mention, so by never going above a mid-tone that doesn't have white and relying on the undershade to create the brightness, you eliminate the problem.

[@pk-vk3oc]

Sorry what was the flow aid doing for you in this context? Thanks for your amazing videos as always!

[@VinceVenturella]

Just keeping the paint all moving easily, not really a necessary component.

[@loladin100]

At the 15minute mark you talk about the blue color with white added to it. How would you do the glazing with that color? As you said, for red it was easy since there is no white in it. But the sky blue has white in it and gets all chalky and is really opaque.

[@VinceVenturella]

Short answer, I wouldn't. You want to avoid trying to glaze really with very bright colors. You want to generally place a bright layer and then glaze down the edge to the smooth the transition with a dark color without white. I talk about a little in the How to Glaze video (#122)

[@Unnickcomealtri]

Hey Vince, great video as always, this might come in handy for some of the speedpaints I have to do. I have an unrelated question: how do you go about when blending NMM hiighlights? Especially on very small details where there needs to be many colors in a little space. I try using glazes to blend them, but when I do it (on a small surface), they all end up looking like the color I was using to glaze. I find it very hard to deposit the paint only on the separation nline between the layers. Do you have any cool trick? Thank you!

[@VinceVenturella]

Stippling is the cool trick if we are talking very small spaces. You get all your paints lined up and effectively stipple them and when they are all wet dots (don't clean your brush in between), you just sort of push them together.

[@Unnickcomealtri]

@@VinceVenturella Thank you! I'll try :)

[@brkfstfd]

Hey Vince! Thank you for all that you do. I've been watching for about six weeks now and even that has already seen strides made. Two questions! 1. Can you do more basecoating videos like this? I am committed to learning this style of painting but it seems like the initial learning curve is so steeeeeeeeeep. I bought all of the pro acryl paints to teach myself though. I am committed. 2. Totally off topic...what colors would you lay down when zenithal priming dark angels? I zenithal everything now and haven't quite dialed this in for dark angels... Every highlight color I pick seems to produce a green that's too bright. Should it be some narrow range of grays?

[@VinceVenturella]

1) Sure, it's something I will likely return to multiple times. (by the way, it's a shallow learning curve. A Steep learning curve means it's easy, you ramp up quickly to an rea of high knowledge. ;) ) 2) Sure, so I would do a standard zenithal, except I would replace the dead white with something like a bone or ivory. Then I would work some dark glazes of green multiple thin layers until it's in the right tonal area. I have a video planned on Dark Angels at some point, but it's going to be a few months.

[@doremicocoparis9410]

@@VinceVenturella hey FYI steep learning curve means it's very hard in the beginning (as going up a steep hill with a bike)

[@VinceVenturella]

@@doremicocoparis9410 This is a subject of some discussion. Colloquiollaly, that is how they are used, steep learning curve means hard and shallow means easy, but that isn't what they are referencing (your hill/bike example does not have a source I can find). They are referencing knowledge acquisition over time - in which case you would want it to be steep as possible. FOr a full break down of this, you can see this site here - cockeyed.com/lessons/learning_curve/learning_curve.php Now, I will agree colloquially, it is used as you say, but that isn't mathematically correct by the plot. In the end, as with all things in language, it's imprecise and both now likely mean the same thing.

[@doremicocoparis9410]

@@VinceVenturella this was so interesting thank you for the info, I didn't know at all we were misusing the expression,

[@Zectari]

Awesome tutorial! Totally going to try this. What kind of medium are you using, will anything do, like Vallejo Glaze Medium, or Vallejo Thinner Medium?

[@Zectari]

I scrolled further down and found an answer on the same question. Thank you for taking your time and answering so many of our questions, it helps alot!

[@VinceVenturella]

Not an issue, yes, the real answer is more any medium will work, but a little retardant medium can be the real life saver to make this work. Happy to help as always. :)

[@TheHalude]

learning alot from your videos, can the same method be applied to browns to bring up leather affects? not well studied on the colors that doesn't include alot of white?

[@VinceVenturella]

Absolutely, it's a great technique for a lot of colors and you will see me explore this in new videos soon with alternate colors.

[@TheHalude]

@@VinceVenturella look forward to seeing them, thank you for your teachings finding them very useful been painting on and off these techniques will make my painting better

[@KerfluffinMcWooly]

Awesome job. Can the same effect be used with GW paints? I like the Scale Colour range, more muted tones but I want to use up some of my GW paints first. The camera made some of the cloak look glossy. Is that due to the Vallejo paint you used? Everything is ultra matte paint from what I understand.

[@KerfluffinMcWooly]

@@VinceVenturella Thanks. How can I make the GW paints more matte?

[@VinceVenturella]

Not many ways other than finishing. A final coat of testor's dull cote will generally do the job.

[@KerfluffinMcWooly]

@@VinceVenturella Thanks. I usually paint in browns, creams, muted greens, and mustard yellows for my cloth that I want matte. The colors in the Scale Color seem to fit this bill. Are War Colours and Fantasy and Games more saturated colors than Scale Color in your opinion.

[@Wijkert]

@@KerfluffinMcWooly Very late reply, but maybe still helpful. I like mixing in some AK matt varnish into slightly satin paints like citadel/Vallejo Game Color etc. to change the finish of the paint.

[@AlCapwndYou]

Late to the party on this one, but super handy to see this for those large, flat surfaces; and cloaks/capes/robes are a perfect example of this. Unrelated: The hair looks great - did you follow the same steps from your previous "Blonde Hair" guide, and any tips to gain that high-contrast "anime" style hair? Second Unrelated Question: I know you did a paint review round up a while back, but with a recent deluge of "new" paints (Kimera, Creature Caster, Scale 75, etc.) which ones, in your opinion, possess the desired properties for different techniques? For example, I found that Scale 75's extended drying time super helpful for wet blending, where Reaper/Vallejo would dry too quickly for me. I could blend and mix the different paints on the miniature itself to establish the transitions, very similar to the Creature Caster demonstration. Is there a line you favor for glazing? Layering? Wet-blending?

[@VinceVenturella]

Yep, same tactic for the hair, going anime is usually just a matter of pushing the contrast to 11. On the newer paint lines, I haven't tried them all yet, but the goal is to eventually do a part two of the paint review. That being said, the Pro Acryl creature caster line is very much the friend of wet blending. Most of these pigment rich lines are more difficul tto glaze with (as they are so pigment rich), but they do it well once you have the ratios figured out which will be very different from the normal lines.

[@Caddy666]

any tips on painting stuff like large armour surfaces, like tanks, and titans? can never seem to get the shading right.

[@VinceVenturella]

The simple answer is really get an airbrush, I have many videos in the playlist showing large vehicles and the airbrush (it's the right tool for the job). That being said, if it's absolutely impossible, then you are talking about something like a large flat brush, a brighter undercoat and some layer thickness paint applied like you're painting a wall (it's a similar task in the end).

[@strawberrycloud1467]

bit late, but do you have a guide for that celestine hair or a video? It's gorgeous and I want to test it/the process out on a few models before I try my own Celestine

[@VinceVenturella]

I have a black hair video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYS0fWefqNStf9E

[@Cheeseburger2469]

What would you do to get a really bright but rich blue since the red method wouldn't work?

[@VinceVenturella]

You can still use this method, you just have to stick to mid-tone blues (avoid anything bright, as it has white and is opaque). You just want a really BRIGHT white underneath and some smooth glazes of the mid-blue over top.

[@mikebreazeale2563]

Hello Vince...first I have to say I love your videos and I have said this before...but it's so hard to see. How about closer? Red is my favorite color. Great video as usual...Thanks for sharing...

[@VinceVenturella]

This is about as close as I can get really without losing total depth of field. I will always try to improve, but we might be reaching the max I can do with this set-up.

[@mikebreazeale2563]

I don't think it would be bad losing some depth of field...we just want to see the model anyway. I just can't see to much difference sometimes at this distance. The closer the better. I think you have some of the best videos on the old you tube right now. Or anywhere really. I look forward to your next video Vince. Keep up the great work. Thanks!

[@carpemkarzi]

Nice technique..thx

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you, happy to help as always.

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

What paints did you use on the hair? I really like the color

[@VinceVenturella]

Hard to say exactly, but it should be something like my blonde hair tutorial in the playlist.

[@mostlychimp5715]

video idea for april 1: paint flavor tier list

[@p_serdiuk]

Between this video and your previous video on zenithal drybrushing and value sketching, I now feel confident that my first Skitarii army won't turn out ugly, as they have a lot of cloaks that are a bit scary to paint for a newbie. Layering them like in Warhammer TV's tutorial just doesn't look right to me. Thanks for your work.

[@VinceVenturella]

Yeah, this technique will work great for them with those big red cloaks. :)

[@p_serdiuk]

@@VinceVenturella I haven't decided if I want those cloaks red or black; would the same technique, but using HBA black paint to do the deepest shadows, produce good results? Hobby Cheating 44 dealt with blacks, but without value sketching or wet blending.

[@VinceVenturella]

@@p_serdiuk Sure, it should still work great. You may want to think about a color added in as well for your near-mid tones. Like a deep purple or something similar to add a bit of the light pollution and color.

[@edricivan]

Hi Vince! Is that Thinning Medium or Glazing Medium?

[@VinceVenturella]

There isn't much difference between them (I have a whole separate video on this), but it was just generic master medium (which is the equivalent of something like thinner medium from Vallejo). Hope that helps. Retardant is also something that can help with this technique depending on your local humidity.

[@edricivan]

@@VinceVenturella Gotcha! Thanks vince, and i'll take a look at that vid

[@Wijkert]

12:54 How does it compare to AK matt varnish? That one of the worst I ever tasted.

[@VinceVenturella]

That I haven't had the pleasure of trying. ;)

[@horationoseblower6336]

True mark of a badass painter in quoting "I eat paint, chew cured greenstuff and poo Golden Demons! What can you do, bucko?"... what I imagine real backroom conversations are like amid grizzled wargamers at competition as inspired by documentaries on the bodybuilding world.

[@VinceVenturella]

You may find the real conversation far more boring then. In my experience it's mostly just nerding out about paint schemes and models. ;)

[@horationoseblower6336]

@@VinceVenturella You dash my hopes and dreams, Vince. The cutthroat competition of mini painting, with its epic rivalries and drama just HAS to be true! Lol

[@Ezechiele77]

Is that the Red Grass wet palette?

[@VinceVenturella]

Yep, the XL one, they are totally worth it.

[@Ezechiele77]

@@VinceVenturella With my home made one from time to time I have problems with the paper curling up, on the corners especially. The sponge is still humid but the paper gets dry somehow. I was wondering if this happens with the Red Grass one... it seems very very flat in the videos.

[@VinceVenturella]

@@Ezechiele77 Never had an issue with curling, the sponge is really something different, it's one of the main reasons I really like it.

[@Ezechiele77]

ok thank you and fantastic channel you have here by the way, I discovered it yesterday and I cant stop watching your videos. Very helpful

[@VinceVenturella]

@@Ezechiele77 Thank you, always happy to help. :)

[@charliecompanywargaming1715]

Don’t worry dude. Every self respecting miniature painter has to “eat paint” to make sure the tip of his or her brush is at a fine point! I thought I was the only one who did that, honestly. Nice work.

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you sir, and of course, you have to lick the brush, I don't know any other way to do it now. :)

[@Detson404]

Wow! I wish I'd viewed this before trying the Citadel method on my Lord of Khorne. So much coffee staining.

[@VinceVenturella]

I have a newer video on this same thing as well using some different paints with flesh, check that out and hopefully that will also help. Glad the video was useful. :)

[@Peregus]

What is the medium? A glaze medium or something else

[@VinceVenturella]

Just a standard acrylic medium. in this case, it's the medium from Green Stuff World, but any sort of thinner/glaze/acrylic medium will basically work.

[@sitasama]

Jj

[@VinceVenturella]

:)

[@KDD0063]

listening to you say "K" every 20 seconds is kinda annoying :(