SMASH CHOP - It's Slapchop but actually looks good

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0:00 The Slap Chop Virus
0:46 The Teeter Totter Analogy
1:28 Step 1: Color Blast
2:36 Step 2: Twisted Layering
6:09 Carapace Color Matters
9:57 Final Details Done Fast
11:56 Liquid Talent
13:09 Is SMASH CHOP For You?

[@Ninjon]

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[@rockycaroozo]

Jon is always like “this is super fast and simple until I can’t help myself anymore and start my edge highlights.”

[@TheGreatMilksteak]

I always start with "these are just objective holding trash units let's do a squad quick" and end with all the edge highlighting and building a biome realistic diorama with foraged rocks and fake plants on each base

[@whiskymylove]

Lol i had this same thought soon as i seen the thumbnail 🤣

[@StDomBz]

I fall to this too. Edge highlights really bring out details and colors. It's hard for me to skip

[@mekko1413]

@@StDomBz I am right there with you I tend to always land at edge highlighting. The issue i have with this video is that he is trying to compare it to slap chop and entirely missed the mark. Anything involving edge highlighting is in a different leage from an accesibilty point of view. Everyone already knows it isn't the highest quality its there to help beginners and those not skilled at painting get more painted mini's on the table. I agree with the teeter totter / scale analogy and maybe for his skill set he has found that happy medium but those that like and utilize slap chop are in a different playground than him.

[@dekai7992]

Honestly, whenever that happens to me, I know that the project is working for me and is enjoyable. It means that, while starting with an approach that produces quick results, I'm starting to get comfortable enough to go the extra mile to make something look good instead of "only" finishing it to a quick TT standard.

[@AndersArman]

First we start wit two little circles ... then add some guidelines ... and then we draw the entire owl. Simple

[@03dashk64]

Yeah, real “draw the rest of the fucking owl” moment here

[@esaedvik]

Absolute mood.

[@user-eo1is3es7e]

i think it was a decent explained video but it is too well explained like a dictionary or the bible where you have to reread it a couple times n slow down on what hes saying at certain steps and dont forget to keep that knowledge in a step by step way i suppose. all im yappin abt is to rewatch the vid a couple times and really take in step 1 and 2 then go forward n remember everything idk im yappin now.

[@AlvarazCMSB]

i think we lost the point of slap chop and speed painting here

[@oogiesmuncher]

what, you mean the 7 extra steps of highlighting and base coating isnt fast?

[@user-mj3nw2er8o]

right there with ya. this is more like standard airbrush painting method and calling it something new

[@botousai]

@@oogiesmuncher Rofl. I thought the same. My Method is slapshop, seal so it doesnt re-activate, then put on extra acrylics if I want to(not that you need to with slipchop but the point is you get a solid base slapchop model and can add extra details if it makes sense to.

[@thehonestwargamerstreams]

This is just painting. love you

[@mattiasgamin3891]

That’s quite an interesting - and very good looking - method. I would love to see you paint ten Termagants, and try to actually stop at a “tabletop ready” stage. It would give a good idea of how viable it is as an army painting technique.

[@stephenthomas8312]

"Hi, it's Vince with Smash Chop. You're gonna be in a great mood all day, cause you're going to be smashing your troubles away."

[@Makara69]

for someone like me, painting all those layers carefully will take ten times as long as sticking on some contrast/speedpaint and tidying it up. A similar effect to this could be achieved quickly by applying some colourful washes over the base layers. yet, i really liked your previous paint jobs using undershading and they also seemed quicker - i especially preferred suck cut and slapchop 2.0

[@Kelann08]

Same for me. Layering of any degree is torture, but I also acknowledge I'm not painting for the same reasons Jon is painting. I just want painted stuff on the table, I'm not looking at growing or improving as a painter. It's a means to an end and Slap Chop is by far the path of least resistance to get what I'm looking for. I appreciate that he's constantly exploring and evolving these techniques, though.

[@yutt]

@@Kelann08 I think that is the disconnect for a lot of these professional painters and some people who paint models. This isn't my career, and is only tangentially my hobby. I'm not particularly looking to improve, at least not in the way he is. I just want very clear and set processes to give me decent results.

[@BreakerBeat]

@@yutt I actually find your comment quite interesting, because I'd say it's just as much you who might be disconnected to who this video is meant for. If painting is a low priority hobby where you don't even want to improve, then this kind of content probably aren't meant for you. No offense meant, it's fine you value your own hobby as fits your life. This is not a "how is the absolutely easiest way to paint for someone who does not actually care much" video. It's a video for people who actually like painting, but want a different approach, maybe for a secondary army (which just happens to be the case for me). It's a way to find a new approach, or maybe an alternative to the almost impossible style of GW box art. I just think maybe you judge the content based on your own situation, not realising that you're not actually the target audience for this method of painting. You absolutely do need to be a "professional painter" for this. Quite the opposite, this is very much within the reach of a hobby painter, but it does obviously require you to care about painting and try to improve somewhat.

[@brendengoodheart]

Your airbrushed base coat is a more controlled version of the “Murray method “ the Table Top Time produces, both methods produce an awesome aesthetic, just one is controlled and the other is chaotically controlled

[@quintus6081]

I thought of Marco Frisoni, who paints exactly this different colored method for limbs and body parts in many of his videos.

[@OrrgunUK]

Hah glad I wasn’t the only one that thought of the Murray method

[@Nosferatuklown]

Murray is a mad man when it comes with the vibrant undercoat sprays... "for this grim dark Black Templar I'm going to start with an aerosol base spray of Magenta and purple" ....Murray...wtf you doing? Ten minutes later....Murray that's the best goddam thing I've ever seen

[@SpontaneousSquiggle]

Murray here. Honestly Craftworld Studios is a serious inspiration for painting in that way, I would be remiss not to tip my hat to them. Thanks for the words, though! Ninjon has really made it his own here, it looks fantastic!

[@DemonicSpoon]

@@SpontaneousSquiggle Craftworld Studios use a lot of traditional art techniques in their painting! If you look up underpainting in oil painting, you can get a good idea of this art theory. The original Slap Chop method is painting the model in a method called grisaille and then working in the colours up from there.

[@Alan-pn8nu]

This does look like a interesting and expandable method. I'd like to see a video that builds on this. i.e. "How to decide the under-colour for my Smash Chop" that kind of thing.

[@d-emprahexpects849]

This is not a beginner tutorial but rather a new reworking of an already cool idea, that makes it cooler still. This tutorial assumes much knowledge and brush control that you just won't have if you just started so if that's your situation, do you best, you'll get there. Practice makes perfect folks 👍

[@ArmandDupin]

Ninjon's projects and ideas always seem goofy at first, and always end up looking incredible. There's always a point where I think "that will look terrible" and one where I'm like "well, that's pretty great actually".

[@j.veasman9461]

I just wanted to drop a comment that I absolutely love your channel. I enjoy the tips and also the philosophy of just enjoying the process. Additionally, your camera presence is great and you articulate your concepts very well. Keep up the good work!

[@lordcommanderminis]

Again more and more fine art techniques are making their way into the hobby. Its great.

[@Kaimanshead]

This is exactly like how fine artist and digital artists start their paintings. You are just creating undertones and cohesive theming!!!

[@klasclaywood2667]

The best part about slap chop is that the system tells you when you're done. There's no second guessing or overworking an area. All these slap chop but with extra steps systems lack this

[@sugarayyy]

I was bored of painting my tyranids in the same old boring method and you just inspired me to try this and actually improve. As you say in the video as great and tabletop ready as slap chop is, it's not quite the challenge, but this? This is fantastic, so eye-catching and honestly looks a ton of fun. Thanks bud!

[@filiptrybua636]

Holy cow, that's a super cool technique. Thank you Mr. Ninjon. I will try it on my bugs!

[@SpontaneousSquiggle]

This looks amazing! I love the colours and your exploration over the process was top stuff

[@ioguis]

Most important things I've learned watching this video: More in shadow - thinner paint More in highlight - thicker paint Deepest shadow - ignore When another surface meets another - leave a line in between unpainted

[@cliffwood7386]

Really enjoying seeing this style progress over various videos - definitely looking to try it out!

[@antonjonsson424]

Im really happy that I followed Jon from the beginning and get to see his journey and discoveries. Its very inspiring and really interesting.

[@Tekkaman76]

I restarted painting after 30 years thanks to Ninjon videos - the first attempt should go in the trascan but the positive attitude of his videos and tutorials keep me on the grind! Thanks Jon!

[@dude75011]

I love the dichotomy of fast baseline and openness to layering ;) thanks !

[@axeapm]

The final product looks amazing! I'm always learning something here.

[@jakec5550]

Great vid. A lot of really great ideas in there. Thanks!

[@Breakingbad_habits]

Love this video, I think your color choice (placement and saturation) in the ‘color blast’ section is key for this method!! I’d like to see you elaborate more on this in a future video. Thanks again

[@ThunderstruckElectronix]

Awesome. I'm going to try this

[@antimuppet]

I'm always grateful when you share your techniques. Thank you for smashing and chopping.

[@crewparker8886]

beautiful work! love this method, seeing a lot more value in using darker colors where you'd usually highlight!

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Thank you for another great review!

[@odengodofwar]

Very nice, the base colours give the mini a lot of life, good painting!

[@ChibsterofNurgy]

Great tutorial. Amazing paint job.

[@dork.knight]

So essentially it's "smash" colors together for an undercoat, and then give it a "pass" of layered paint. The "smash pass" method!

[@imleeanthony2803]

My BJJ instructor will be proud

[@Crimpingblowful]

This was a great watch, thanks! I think a video talking through how you picked out those undertone colors and why you placed them where you did would be awesome and go a long way towards applying this method to other color schemes. For example my current Tyranids army scheme has a dark brown/black skin tone w/ brighter carapace colors (Hive Fleet Kronos) so I'm not sure what my undertones would be.

[@LeonValenti]

Amazing result. I've been in a hobby rut recently and this has inspired me to pick up a brush again. Thank you!

[@Jeremy-uk3kq]

@Ninjon I love your videos. Thanks!

[@TheDrkato]

This is awesome - will be trying this for sure

[@familymeeple]

Love you Jon! Awesome work, as always ❤

[@T_3rR4h]

This is such a brilliant video. And I can't wait to try to paint just like you've demonstrated in this video. But I am really challenged in trying to visualise how to do this with the colours that I want to use

[@commanderwars8095]

I won’t lie Jon, I’ve been sitting on a BIG back log of these pesky bugs for a long time now, but I haven’t been able to settle on a colour scheme that I can be happy with. After watching your video however you’ve persuaded me with that beautiful voice of yours, I feel more motivated than ever with your technique to finally tackle my bug problem. I’d just like to say thank you and keep doing an amazing job, look forward to see what you come up with next.

[@Taypion]

The bright shadows with dark base coat /layer looks amazing

[@001Hatsune]

I love this super colorful method of painting! Can you show us how this can be done for a more human-looking model where there's a good amount of skin? I'd be curious how that'd work out too! Thanks!!

[@chriscarmona7725]

Bro I love your energy and sense of humor. Never change, my dude. Big fan, stay well.

[@AvocationNation]

Looks good! I was a little surprised to see 26 (?) bottles of paint/pigments on the table at the end. That seems like a lot! (I know how fond you are of paints). I wonder... do I use this many paints on my projects? I'm going to lay them out at the end like this and see.

[@bencastor9207]

I have a large collection of paints and find I don't use some of the colours because I just blend my own colours most of the time. I'd be curious to see how I compare in total number of paints used

[@daydam]

You posted this just in time. I've wanted to begin painting my Sylvaneth army for a couple weeks now, and I just couldn't start because I didn't know exactly how to achieve the result I want. I think this video just gave me the answer. Thanks for posting this, I'll try Smash Chop soon!

[@celtcelt2669]

Thanks. Im glad you finished with quick summary of the method. You used more steps for your bad boy so i.was getting confused. But smash chop seems not so hard over all and pretty flexible. I think ill try it some day ;)

[@kingkreaghan6762]

This is one of the best ideas I've come across for a long while! Excited to give it a try!

[@MrFilmgrim]

Amazing job as always

[@Harris434]

Thanks for sharing that! I really like the idea of this approach, It looks like it really popped on the ridges of the carapace. I bet it would really bring out some contrast on something with feathered wings as well

[@jonathancaronpat]

Whatever technique you are using Ninjon you are a great painter. Thank you for sharing.

[@emmaplaysgreen2849]

As someone who loves bright colours, I loved watching this video, Jon, and seeing how those colours were initially 'smashed' onto the model at the start, then even as you applied the neutral colours that I usually reserve for only the essential details that really need them to look right, it was fascinating to see how they were still glowing through from underneath, still very much visible and present. This video and this method has made me look at those neutral colours in a new light (sorry, not sorry for the pun) and I am really looking forward to finding the right model to trying it out on! I also can't leave a comment without mentioning your excellent teaching chops (oops, another pun), as in every video you manage to consistently convery so much information in such a short amount of time in such an easy to understand way, always hitting just the right tone (there's another one!) - you never talk down to your audience, nor do you treat them/us as if we already have a high level of expertise. This is why novices like myself and my 18 yr old daughter keep coming back to watch and learn! Speaking of my kid, while on holiday this summer in the Loire Valley (we live in Brittany so it wasn't that far to go), we visited la Musée de l'Art Moderne et Fontevraud, a National Monument of France, it has a large collection, including paintings and sculptures. It was absolutely fascinating as each piece was accompanied by a detailed explanation of how and why it was painted or sculpted, and what was the aim of the artist, and so on. There were some paintings that were painted as miniatures that were so small yet so incredibly detailed, I'm sure most of us from the hobby would have been impressed by the sheer level of skill involved. There was also a temporary exhibition of Rembrandrant's etchings - I hadn't even known much about his side of his work before this visit - and you could buy a plastic magnifying glass for 50 centimes - well worth it! - that allowed you to examine each one in more detail. As many weren't much larger than a KZbin thumbnail, this was an essential piece of equipment and I suggest that it may be useful to sell these or give them out at shows like Adepticon and WarhammerFest for use when viewing the Golden Demon cabinets? They're exactly the same as those found in the boardgame MicroMacro:Crime City, by the war, for those that are familiar with it :-) But the main reason that I'm writing about the visit is to tell you that while my kid and I did spend hours enjoying the incredible art by some of the best European artists of the early 20th Century, I also have to admit that we also spent much of that time carefully examining their paint strokes, and their use of light and shade, how an artist used a single highlight in a painting that was almost completely browns and blacks to convey light and movement. We looked at how they used colours or negative space or didn't apply any paint to their canvas in an area to make use of negative space... Even when looking at paintings that we really didn't like at all, we were often still able to learn something from the skill of the artist and see something that we could take home and apply to our miniature painting. My kid went back to the gîte (house) where we were staying and was painting every spare minute that she had! Now she's converted her boyfriend to the hobby and he's just bought his first set of GW minis to paint, managing to flip the usual script :-D Take that, haters!

[@phoenixignition23]

Starting to think Jon can read my mind. Every time I hit a hobby roadblock in how I want to paint something Jon comes out with a video with exactly what I’m looking for. It’s both amazing and terrifying…

[@BringSomeColor]

Wow! I love this style

[@RichardReads]

Great video! Hope you have a good weekend man!

[@lukeriley4101]

That’s absolutely amazing, gotta give this a go

[@richardvervuurt1058]

love the colors

[@bitzbox]

That end result looks absolutely stunning

[@TheRendar]

Excellent video and beautiful job!

[@MountainsideTabletop]

If every video you made from now on was just using this scheme on a new mini each video, I would watch every single one all the way through multiple times, 10/10 no notes.

[@papyrusdeval6025]

Excellent travaille. Merci !

[@xi_NeoLux_ix]

I really, really like how this model came out. Perfecto.

[@stuff6218]

Great technique. Makes me want to pick up a brush again!

[@stevenpavelski6035]

I would like to see an example of this system on a human model.

[@TehWhitt]

Or specifically a model that isn't necessarily biometric - Space Marine - Tank - Eldar walker thing

[@hunterdavis9941]

@@TehWhitt having done something similar on a death guard I can say the effect looks great on mechanical models. All those cool undertones show through on panel lines and joints creating a really cool "energized" effect with bright colors and super interesting shadows with slightly darker ones.

[@williamtrinidad3520]

How would this work on a space marine?

[@JasonVDM]

Thanks again for your videos. As D&D painter, I really enjoy the range of techniques you're showing lately. Cause Im not painting an army Im painting an endless stream of minis. None of them the same look or style.

[@crosslayment2542]

Really cool, just a little question, how do you get the pigment to stick to the base and not fall off everytime you give it a little tap ?

[@bearnecessities9568]

I've got my 1st ever airbrush. I have some cheap eBay Nids. And now? Thanks to this, I've got some inspiration on techniques to practice. THANKS!

[@roryhatfield6696]

This looks like so much fun!

[@adrianmorgan9608]

Wow! really good Ninjon. so inspirational

[@toxkatz885]

Hi , av been painting minis since the early 80's and it's your vids that keep me interested, cheers and keep up the great content 👍

[@thatffxiguy]

I love the goggly eyes on the vortex mixer!

[@billysymonds279]

Your bases always look amazing

[@The1Flying]

@Ninjon This is a really awesome idea, it would be great to see a video exploring those starting colours, like why did you choose red purple and pink. Also looking at different results you can achieve on non organic Vs organic models with the same technique... votan Vs nids or space marines and orcs... really love these technique style tutorials rather than simple here's how I paint a lictor recipes.

[@jackbrownii]

Agreed. How to select the shade colors would be a great video to see.

[@danmeehan1390]

Nice job, interesting technique

[@danielgranda896]

Wow! Great video, I love this idea and look forward to trying it out. I am a slow painter so anything to increase productivity is welcome.

[@Chronic.]

What i love most about your YT Chanel is your Origin Story! ;) Aaaaand your are a quiet the inspiring miniatures painter. I have to say that i really got better after paying more attention and use some of the concepts you talk about. Edit: And you are funny. A Joe-Pesci-in-Goodfellas-kind-of-funny!

[@kaisfullerton1348]

Offfttt looks great mate, keep it up!

[@KamronFultz]

so this is a great way to get that "Grim Dark" look as the creases and the folds look more like the untouched and original unsoiled parts of the unit. Giving a glimpse of what was this units original design and color before having to partake in this hell of a war torn world. I LIKE IT!

[@Ellinyah]

Looks awesome

[@alarin612]

I did something like this for a lava dragon, once. Bright red and yellow base coat, then over with black in what was basically a heavy dry brush.

[@vansm8419]

I just recently took a class that used a similar concept of color theroy where we painteded everything in shadow blue, everything the sun would have touched in tue past red and everything that was being hit by the light (from above) in yellow then painted over it with a thin coat of a random color we chose at the beginning of class. You have basically taken it a couple stepps futher by adding hilights and some more detail.

[@rhag1394]

That cthulhu crab turned out great!! Smash chop is intriguing as a method and would be perfectly applicable with rattle cans instead of airbrush as well. I'll revisit this if I come across a suitable project.

[@nikroth]

Bloody awesome !

[@TwoBitDesign]

This is great Jon, thank you. I'm going to try this out on some monsters for my D&D campaign.

[@chromarush1749]

This is very Murray-like. That said it contains plenty of tidbits and details that make it seem even more approachable.

[@JoshNoodleSoup]

Nice paint job!

[@MaverickofThePeople]

I am barely able to Slap Chop at this point. This looks like some kind of Masterclass disguised as an introduction.

[@The_WarL0rd_Way]

Great video!

[@magnusmillerwilson]

I love this! What a cool idea. I’m definitely going to try this soon. It’s also an amazing updated take on Hive Fleet Behemoth.

[@goforitpainting]

Cool as always 👍

[@snorana7657]

Definitely going to try this one out.

[@asthmaticninja4430]

Hey, great video - you're a highlight to my KZbin feed! Could you talk us through how you selected your smash colours? Would love to understand what your thought process was.

[@MaximeDrei]

That s à great idea, Will try :)

[@Castillo525]

Great video and great method ;)

[@IPrint3dMinis]

You know my man, you can make a quick paint job look like a not so quick one. Good work as always.

[@PatrickWaddingham]

think I'm going to give this a shot! thank you!

[@pamarmo]

So this method doesn’t take only two steps, it’s not easy nor carefree, it actually requires skill to be painted to a good standard, it requires an airbrush… what dies it have to do with slap chop?

[@MrMountie]

Jon, I love your videos and paint jobs. But this is either an example of a very click bait title . . . or an example of a super high-level painter that doesn't understand at all why Slap-Chop got popular. Saying "This is like slap chop but looks good" is just so disingenuous. It's not "like Slap Chop" if you need an expensive air brush, compressor, and a well-developed set of painting skills in order to do it. It's also not like Slap Chop if you spend an entire evening getting a single model looking good. Don't get me wrong, the final paint job is incredible. But I'm left feeling you either don't at all understand Slap Chop, or you do perfectly understand that this method is nothing like it . . . but you wanted a click bait title. Sorry, but this just feels like a high level painter that's bitter about Slap Chop and doesn't understand why it became popular.

[@voidimperatrix406]

This looks super cool and fun

[@khor96]

This is so cool! 😍🔥