The BIGGEST Mistake Beginners Make With Washes!

[@bronsongorham]

I would like to add that the wash layer can be very fragile, even after letting it dry. So if you're using this technique, use gentle strokes when going over the wash layer or risk "cracking" it or brushing it off entirely. At times I've found it helpful to spray a matte finish over the wash layer to protect it.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That is a great tip! I wish I would have thought to include that in the video! Thanks for sharing it here.

[@bronsongorham]

@@andrewblundall5475 I use Army Painter Quick Shades - acrylic. And I believe I was applying a drybrush layer over the wash, so that may have something to do with it.

[@jeffreyrobert488]

That looks amazing

[@grim1192]

So as someone that does most of my minis with washs, something to keep in mind is that you can use ANY color you want or have and give it an amazing look by using one color and using a wash that compliments it. A good example is a person's skin. By simply using a skin tone, washing with a flesh shade and then coming back with the same skin tone over the areas the wash didn't pool, you end up with a model that looks amazing and didn't really take hours to do and you used only two things of paint.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's a really great point! I really should have included a section on complimenting your colors like that. Thanks so much for sharing that here for others!

[@HarleyFirestorm]

I tend to use washes differently these days, I don't cover the models with a wash, but push wash into the recesses and edges. I always use darker base colour's then build the layers up, the wash is the second step for me after the base colour coat.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's a great way to do it! A very targeted approach only getting the wash where you want it. I like it!

[@HeadHunterSix]

I would recommend using a bit thinner consistency of paint to your layering than you do with basecoating. It's a little easier to control and it has a slight translucency that makes the transition look a bit less stark (think of it as a very heavy/dense glaze if you like).

[@hedbangcentral5334]

Good info. As a related option, old fashion dry brushing the original color after the wash will give a softer transition.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's very true! Drybrushing is a great technique, but I didn't want to introduce too many new things for beginners in one video. I will have to bring that up when I make my dry brushing video though!

[@hedbangcentral5334]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventuresGood point :-)

[@ericcraig7800]

Another trick to do is to Gloss coat the model before using the wash … it will force the wash to pool in the recessed areas and keep it from drying on those areas you want to highlight… also mix the wash with 25-50% medium to thin it out and help it flow… that will reduce tide marks or that uneven effect on large areas… also you can use a liner brush to dab or dot areas to fine control the area you want to wash into cracks or crevices… like a panel lining effect

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Fantastic tips! Thank you for sharing! I didn't realize that about the gloss coat, that's really cool!

[@gfueloniichangfuelloniicha3221]

great tutorial on highlighting over washes to show contrast. such a simple technique. how did i not think of this.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

If it makes you feel any better, I didn't think of it for years! It only occurred to me later that I could add even more contrast to my mini this way, which really helps the details POP!

[@johnkelley1788]

Ty as a new painter this helps me out

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

You're very welcome! Happy painting!

[@polyestermammoth740]

This is great. I’m just starting to paint again after thirty years away (and I wasn’t very good when I was ten!), and the wash technique has left me frustrated. I’ll give this a go on my minis. Thank you 🙏🏻

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Welcome back to the hobby! Glad to have you back! I do hope this helps, it's nothing too crazy, but sometimes we just don't think of some of these steps. I certainly didn't when I first got started!

[@MrJopanti]

There was a time that the technique was to dip the mini on wood stain. Yes I am a bit old

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

I've never done it myself, but I HAVE at least heard of that technique! I believe that evolved into just dipping them in a bucket of Army Painters quick shade haha!

[@FairieSword]

Yup when i first started out I was the same, it never occurred to me to go back over and clean up leaving the washes just in the darker ecessed areas. Great video to share

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it and that it was relatable!

[@WandererEris]

I'm a fairly new mini painter and all of my minis are for D&D, but a lot of the tutorials I found online were focussed on Warhammer. I'd paint my mini then wash it, then attempt a few highlights, but it ended up looking really dirty still, which as you say in this video is great for 40k or other settings like that, but I wanted that high fantasy feel. I've been experimenting now with when to wash and painting over it, and I'm glad I found this video to help confirm that I might be stopping too soon or doing it in the wrong order.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Yeah that High Fantasy look is definitely a bit different from Warhammer's "Grim Dark" look! As @andrewblandall5475 said in his comment, recess shade washing might be what you want. It's a much more targeted form of washing, and like he said doesn't have to cover the whole mini, and you can use different colors or shades of wash for different areas of the mini. You also might want a cleaner overall look that can be achieved with layering, without using any washes at all. I don't have a video made explaining this process much yet, but I like to start with a darker shade of whatever color I want something to be. I slowly layer up lighter shades, sometimes even changing colors entirely for extra dramatic effect. Basically with each lighter shade, you leave a little bit of the previous darker colors showing around the edges of your new color. You can also do some glazing to really blend those transitions together. I'm hoping to get some different tutorials made to cover all of these various techniques that I'm hoping will be useful for beginners!

[@Kingandhorse]

At the last step, I'd honestly dry brush it instead, It makes for some wonderful effects if you know what you are doing.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Drybrushing is great! I wanted to try to keep the focus on just the wash in this video, but I probably should have at least mentioned drybrushing, or hinted there would be a future video about it!

[@warthog91]

I always come back and touch up on highlights after a good final wash. Bit of light dry brushing just to make things pop again. Very much a beginner still, so might be wrong but I get the results I want in the end. Admittedly, I loved to paint in the grimdark style, but when you put them on the table it's like they disappear. So now I try to go a few shades lighter in my pallette.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

If you're getting the results you want them you aren't doing anything wrong! It's only a mistake if you aren't getting the look you want from your minis, especially on the tabletop. A light dry brushing is a great way to add some of those highlights back in.

[@King_of_Sofa]

Looks beautiful, thanks for teaching the people :)

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!

[@welovettrpgs]

BTW - I was hit with KZbin ads to watch this video - which is good news for you. From what I learned it means they feel comfortable testing out ads on your channel. So keep at it and you' ll be golden!

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Oh that's good to know! Thank you! I'm not big enough yet to apply for Partnership, but this video definitely sent me a long way in the right direction! I've never had a video take off like this one before, so I must have done something right!

[@welovettrpgs]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures i recommend getting the free VIDIQ extension. it helps a lot to see what audiences enjoy. And replace the word "algorithm" with "audience." There really isnt some mystical computer overload dictating anything. KZbin simply responds to the audience. And so should you. Good luck!

[@ThrehaneMiniatures]

Matthew white😂 I'm so upset with myself for not thinking of that first! Yes, I've played out the thumbnail scenario with some white mechs from Scythe, early in my painting journey. Cool video!

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Every single time I read their Matt Black or Matt White I say that joke inside my head hahahaha!

[@ChazCharlie1]

Poster in the background is very confusing alongside your argument! 😄 🤣

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Lol very true! I never considered that actually!

[@duarteperdigao6934]

have you tried selective dry brushing after the wash?

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

I have! It's a great way to do that as well, however I didn't want to introduce dry brushing and washes all in one video for beginners.

[@thracian5116]

Pro tip: dilute the wash with some wash mixing medium or plain old water. This way the wash won't pool so much and cut down on time needed to bring the white back up in the highlight stage.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That is a fantastic tip! Thank you for sharing that here!

[@yellaturd]

I have experienced some weird issues with adding water to GW washes but maybe I just went a bit overboard.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@yellaturd I believe GW fairly recently reformulated their washes, so if it was one of the newer bottles, that could be why!

[@ramonosuke]

Not thinning would be my mistake. AP washes are quite tacky and satin-y and leave that weird film over them sometimes. Even thinning with a few drops of water, improved it's flow properties immensely for me. Nowadays be it Pro Acryl or Citadel, I tend to thin my washes, and follow up with highlights. Also I though Matt was short for Matthias...the more you know

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's a great tip too! I hadn't thought to thin them down at all! Thanks for commenting!

[@TheAlphaDingo]

timely video, just tried washing my minis for the first time this week

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Awesome! How did it go? If you want, you can share your progress in our Discord as well!

[@spartanvi]

Nice trick to get armies to the table quickly and in decent shape. Personally I'd probably apply another thinned layer of wash to knock the highlights back down a hair and to blend/transition from harsh highlight into the dirty areas.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's a great idea! I'm not sure if I'm finished with these minis or not, I have a LOT of minis to get through haha! My Pile of Potential is rather large right now. I do really like that suggestion though, I mostly just wanted to explain the concept for beginners as best I could. Welcome to the channel and thank you for the comment!

[@spartanvi]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures makes perfect sense! I'm going to share this style w my brother too and hopefully save him tons of time.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@spartanvi awesome! I hope he enjoys it and finds it useful!

[@h.a.9880]

Depending on the miniature, you can also save yourself a lot of time by pinwashing. Like in this case, there's no need to cover the entire helmet in a wash that you'll mostly paint over anyway. Just use the wash around the band on the helmet, you might have to dillute it a little and then carefully blend in the area where the wash stops, but the effect is worth it. I've found that you can do this not just with washes but also with contrast paints. Specifically, I primed some BattleMechs in off-white and then carefully painted some apothecary white contrast paint into recesses and around armor panels, the effect is very sublte and good. Nuln Oil would be much too harsh. Only works for bright or vibrant colors, though.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

This is very good advice! The main reason I covered the entire mini in the wash was to show how it could look and be "good enough". And since my earliest minis I absolutely drenched them not knowing any better lol. Basically I can "fix" them by coming back over with my highlight color. Your advice is fantastic though! I hadn't really thought to try Contrast Paints for that yet either!

[@h.a.9880]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures When I look at my early minis... well, I've been there too. You have a great looking paintjob, the colors are vibrant and nice, they perfectly match your idea... and then you put a wash on there and it suddenly looks really drab and the color is all wrong. This can be very frustrating, but once you get the hang of how to use washes and then get a knack for highlighting, it's all good. This video does a great job explaining how to counteract the issues with washes and the Snow Trooper miniature looks absolutely gorgeous with the selective highlights. Makes the whole thing look realistic and also visually appealing. Making a purely white mini look interesting is no small feat and seeing how the wash can do some heavy lifting in adding some very subtle color-variety is a very important lesson to learn.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@h.a.9880 thank you so much for the kind words! I've only been in the hobby a few years, so I've got a lot to learn still, but I enjoy sharing what I do know with everyone else. If it helps even a handful of people I'm happy with it.

[@h.a.9880]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures I've picked up minature painting myself during 2020, so I'm still learning and the setbacks of early painting misadventures are still fresh. Currently, I am working my way through a Kislev army in 10mm scale for an upcoming Warmaster session and slowly losing my mind over how cramped these tiny miniatures are lol. That being said, I think I should also mention that beyond the contents your videos, the technical aspect/production value of these videos is also very well executed. Your camera setup and sound is fantastic and your explanation is short and to the point. I like that a lot, consider me subscriber 1001.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@h.a.9880 I only started at the very end of 2019, so not long before you! I haven't tried any 10mm miniatures yet, but that sounds pretty hard. I appreciate that! I've been really trying hard to learn how to make better videos, from the content itself to also filming it well and using decent lighting, audio, camera, etc. So I'm happy that you noticed it! Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild! Lol

[@Mugdorna]

I stopped painting/playing/collecting about 15 yeras ago. At that time my methos was very simple. Paint my marines neatly and cleanly. Then apply flesh wash over the model to dirty it up. (the wash tied together the red/brown/orange livery they had) Looking back, a bit of a highlight would have elevated the paintjob.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's basically the process I used when I first started. It's not bad by any means, because it still looks good. A little bit of highlights go a long way though!

[@Off_White247]

Here's a fun trick. If you thin contrasts and washes with Lahmium medium, and pre-treat spots you are looking to recess shade with pure Lahmium before going in with your mix, it will make your mix run into the recesses amd pull away from the surfaces AGRESSIVELY, preventing a ton of staining

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@Off_White247 ooh I love that! That's a great trick, thanks for sharing! I'll need to pick up some Lahmium Medium then!

[@Off_White247]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures I personally use a mix of apothicary white, spave wolves grey and Lahmium medium with this technique to shade white armor on things like my apothecaries. If I'm trying to do a shadowed area instead of just recess shading, I lower the amount of Lahmium or swap it for contrast, and dont pre treat the area, then work from the outer edge of the shadow into the recesses, so it slightly stains the surface, but still pools in the recesses. With a liiiittle medium tinkering, contrast and speed paints essentially give you easy access to almost limitless wash colours, it's just a mater of controlling the level of surface staining

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@Off_White247 I like that a lot, this is all really helpful information for everyone. Again, thanks so much for sharing!

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

That looks really good, surely going to try it. Thanks for sharing, I’m a noob at painting.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Thank you! I'm just glad it's helping some! Other commenters are also recommending oil washes, but those require a little different process. I don't have a video for them yet, so you'll have to look elsewhere for now if you want to try them!

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures I’m still in the crayon stage of painting minis…so oils are for later :P They do look good though.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's fair! I haven't tried them myself either!

[@tHeInEvItAbLePaRtY]

Save yourself the pain and money by using a test minuature from your local game shop. Buy a couple cheap models that you can test colours on rather than feeling bad about that $50 to $80 box of miniatures. My go-to minis are D&D pre-primed ogres and trolls (I think the brand is Wiz Kids). They have a variety of surfaces to try things on and have helped me find the results I was looking for.

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

@@tHeInEvItAbLePaRtY Thank you, will do that.

[@apprenticebirdcarver8733]

I am a bird carver and afterward, I paint them. I used washes all the time, but never thought to go back and punch up the highlights. Thank you.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Oh that's awesome! I'm glad this can be useful for people even outside the miniature painting hobby.

[@robertcavagna6819]

Good video Shini. I've been painting Napoleonics for years and still wrestle with the Nuln oil and wash application. I do prefer the "campaign" look but sometimes too much is too much....

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Thanks! And that's pretty awesome, I've not seen any Napoleonic minis in person! A wash can definitely make them look like they've been "in the field" for a while.

[@Geektownusa]

Just drybrush after the wash.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Yup! That's definitely a great way to do it! I wanted to save dry brushing for another video though, I don't like to throw too many new topics or techniques into the same video for beginners.

[@diamondmeeple]

I want my gold statue (metal gold paint) to get some shades while still keeping it pretty shiny... What to use?

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

If you've already painted it metallic gold, I think I would use a similar method to what I've done in this video. Take some Strong Tone Wash, or maybe Agrax Earthshade if you prefer Citadel Paints. Those colors tend to do pretty good as a wash for gold metallics specifically! You can probably wash pretty much the entire statue to really make the details pop, and make sure to not let it pool too much on raised areas or large smooth surfaces. You can dab your brush on a paper towel or something to dry it out a bit, then dab it on the pooled areas to soak some of it back up. Lastly, I would go back over it with either the same gold or an even brighter gold to add some highlights to the most raised edges. This combined with the wash will add some really nice contrast and help the statue look better than just flat gold. I hope this helps!

[@ben-mur]

Wow that snow trooper turned out great! It’s fun to come across videos like this, while I’ve used this method before it’s super cool to see you paint and break down why it’s important! Very fun to see you paint too, you’ve got some awesome looking Admech, Templar, and Legion models man!

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Appreciate the kind words! Glad you enjoyed the video too, I had a lot of fun with this one. I collect a little bit of a lot of different models, mostly because I just love painting them lol.

[@thedevastator1994]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures Is the Snowtrooper model from Legion or another game? :)

[@Fridelain]

So I could make washes with CMYK printer inks? They sell those very cheap ... and CMYK inks have a very wide gamut when mixed ...

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

It's probably possible, but I have no experience doing anything like that. While you would have a lot more color options in theory, I'm not sure if it's worth it. I very rarely need a wash that isn't a shade of black or brown, and when I do I usually thin down some Speed Paint or Contrast Paints that I already have.

[@xenmas1047]

Would you ever do a fuller or more complete coat of the primary color (or white in this case) covering a lot more of the mini or would that effectively undo the 'dirtiness' of the wash? In other words, what would happen if you painted over the wash with the thin white, do you think it would still look as good or do you try to only paint the parts the wash has not seeped into?

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

You can definitely do that! I think I would look at what you're trying to accomplish here. Are you wanting the wash to be less extreme? You can paint over more of it and tone it back down a lot, and you can use thinned down paints so that some of it still shows through. If you're trying to cover up the wash entirely in areas, say you didn't want the helmet to have any wash for some reason. Or if it's a different mini entirely and you only want the wash in specific spots, I wouldn't waste time coating the entire mini. I briefly mentioned it in the video, I probably should have gone into more detail, but I would use the wash in targeted areas on a lot of minis. Maybe a fantasy mini with some exposed chain maille, you might add a wash over your metallic paint so that it seeps into all of those gaps in the chains! This Snowtrooper is primarily one single color, so I washed the entire model, but there are definitely times when it's better to only wash targeted areas! Hope that makes sense!

[@andreichertov8496]

Base-wash-base-highlight can give good results, but it's an approach pushed by acrylic paint makers. Using oil washes or enamels is so much easier for a beginner. Add wash and remove is a much easier concept to understand and execute.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@andreichertov8496 that's true! I was mostly touching on acrylic paint washes in this video. I wanted to keep it kind of simple since many starter sets of miniature paints come with a wash. Not everyone has easy access to oil or enamel washes, though I guess not everyone has access to miniature brand paints either. I do plan to cover at least oil washes in the future in another video!

[@wulf2757]

@@andreichertov8496 if you're planning on using oil washes w/ white spirit to clean it, should you do all highlights before doing the wash?

[@viciousyeen6644]

@@wulf2757you can always add more color later, but I’d recommend painting everything and using the oil-wash as a filter to add color and depth to the miniature. Let it dry after using the spirits for a night tho

[@nickharling3902]

Give oil washes a try sometime. No need to repaint the layers. Just take a small makeup sponge dipped in some oil pain solvent and wipe away the areas you don’t want the wash

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

They are on my list! One of those things I haven't gotten around to trying yet, but am sure I'll love them!

[@cyborgbadger1015]

100% once you try oil (or enamel) you never go back to acrylic washes.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@cyborgbadger1015 well then I'm excited to try them!

[@krzysztofmathews738]

Great insight! This is very well explained and demonstrated.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Thank you very much! I tried to look at it from a beginners perspective, many are either gifted a paint set or buy a starter set from Army Painter or Citadel, and these are the kinds of washes they will have.

[@ChristopheD-ng7xm]

Thanks !!! From France

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

You're welcome! Wow, France? This video is making the rounds!

[@AGxKHAOS]

Isn't this just basically the whole battle ready vs parade ready look? The snow trooper looked sick after the highlights but still i just keep them battle ready because i do my highlights before i shade/wash tbh.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Basically yeah! But a lot of people who are brand new to painting may not know how to get from battle ready to parade ready, or even what those terms mean.

[@AGxKHAOS]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures yea i see your point, i tried to explain it to my gf the other day that is new to warhammer and she was confused lol I'll show her this video honestly since you explained it very well

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@AGxKHAOS I've been helping some of my friends who basically had never held a brush before, and it was surprising to me how many terms or techniques that they had just never heard of. Basically they had never really been exposed to the hobby at all before. When I tried to show them videos to help, a lot of them were just slightly too advanced for their current skill level, and they needed something for the absolute beginner. I hope your girlfriend enjoys the video and has fun with the hobby!

[@pop-if2kx]

Great video with some good advice, especially for new painters. Also great production quality as usual.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Thanks so much for the kind words! I've really been trying to up my game so to speak with production quality, so I'm really glad to see it's actually noticed lol.

[@2011scuba]

Ive tried this before seeing this video and I feel like i must be doing something wrong. Ive never done it with white, but with other colors and it's hard to notice my base color I put back on top of the washed areas. When you hold the mini up close you can kind of notice a difference but at arms length let alone on the table it looks like i never went back over the washed areas at all.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

I do feel like with other colors, you may have to do a little more work. White is already one of the more extremes just because it's basically as bright as you can get. For many other colors, the base color itself just brings it back to normal, not necessarily highlighted. You could try layering on some even more highlighted colors on the raised portions, or as a few others have said in other comments, you could dry brush on some lighter shades or even go with an almost white. Just be careful to not cover everything up. Hope that helps some!

[@MichaelJahhdogscribbleboy]

I think there is too much of a contrast from helmet top to the wash. What about blending into the wash tone?

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's fair! This was pretty much the look I was going for, but you definitely could spend some more time blending it better if that's what you wanted. You could tone it down quite a bit by glazing over most/all of the model with some heavily thinned down white.

[@scottlarmore5038]

Yeah, he should have dry brushed that white back in. It would have given it a more “airbrushed” and blended look.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@scottlarmore5038 dry brushing definitely would help! However I wanted to save dry brushing as the topic for another video. Since I'm gearing these towards beginners, I didn't want to overwhelm them with too many new concepts all at once.

[@mochalavender9398]

I haven't gotten into painting miniatures yet, as my hands are rather shaky when it comes to precise things like this. I have been painting larger figures however, like the artist proof McFarlane Warhammer figures, and some custom Black Series Clones and Droids. Would these methods apply exactly the same to what I paint? if not, what steps should i take to make my stuff look better? Is painting larger figures and models drastically different than painting miniatures? Any help, advice, or criticisms will be greatly appreciated!

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

I will preface this by saying I have not painted any larger scale figures like that, however I have painted full sized cosplay and props before, and many of the same techniques could be used there. I believe that most techniques do transfer over very well, though you may want to be less extreme with them. Miniatures are small enough that you usually want to exaggerate some of the details so they are more visible across the table when playing. You would probably want to be a little more subtle with shading and highlights. I could be wrong about that though! A tip that may help with your shaky hands, I like to paint with my elbows up on my table, and then I brace my painting hand against my other hand. This makes my hands very secure, and any shaking is lessened, but also partially accounted for. I really only need to slightly move my brush with my fingers for precise movements. I hope this helps you in some way, and I'm glad you are able to enjoy the hobby!

[@mochalavender9398]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures thank you so much for the help, I'll definitely try that bracing method, but I also need to invest in something that holds what I'm painting in place. (so far I've been a heathen, and using my left hand to hold the figure and my right to paint. When I run out of un-painted space to hold it by, I prop it against whatever I have on hand. This has definitely affected the end results of my customs.) Thanks again, and I look forward to watching more of your tutorials!

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@mochalavender9398 hahaha! You aren't a heathen, in fact I'm not sure what would be best to hold your "big-atures". Most minis have bases that can be clamped onto by a handle, or use some blue tack to stick it to a dowel or something. Something that big... Hmm maybe some of those armatures they use to hold Gunpla? I'm not sure how sturdy those would be for painting. Also, glad to have you here! Hope you enjoy the videos! :)

[@sXeAndriex]

I'm annoyed that you got an "out loud" laugh from me with that Matthew White joke. Good job

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Hahaha I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Every time I see that bottle I chuckle to myself.

[@d0mlyf322]

What’s the difference between a wash and contrast paint

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Usually washes are thinner than contrast paints, and not as saturated with color. Both are transparent though!

[@d0mlyf322]

So I’m doing world eaters this is my first time doing any kind of miniature game I’m really excited to bring my guys to life with a paint job do you have any advice

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@d0mlyf322 oh wow those guys look cool! One thing I've found is that Contrast paints can be difficult to get to look right on large smooth surfaces like Space Marine armor, chaos might help a bit since they have lots of little details to break that up. You might have an easier time with normal acrylic paints and then washing them to "dirty them up". Also, I highly suggest only building and painting a few at a time! Break it up into groups of 5 or 10, whatever you're comfortable with! I usually try to do a squad of 5 or so and batch paint them. Paint all the black on all 5, then all the red on all 5, etc. Hope that helps some!

[@d0mlyf322]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures thank you, This is gonna be awesome.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@d0mlyf322 Good luck! Welcome to the hobby! If you use Discord, I have my own channel linked in the description of the video. You are welcome to share pictures of your minis and ask questions in there as well! It's fairly small right now, but I'm hoping to build a friendly miniature painting community in there. (If you've already joined, awesome! I just didn't check for the same usernames yet haha!)

[@TheTroopersCorner]

Nice.

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

Why go to all this effort when you can simply wipe the dried wash with a cotton swab dipped in white spirits to remove the coverage on the exposed surfaces while keeping the darkened cracks and crevices? This is how I learnt it. And if that is still too dark for your taste, give the whole thing a titanium white dry brushing afterwards. That'll make the white pop.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's a great suggestion too! The main reason I didn't cover that method is that many beginners won't have mineral spirits or white spirits when they first start, especially if like me, they were gifted a set of Army Painter paints when they first showed interest. All I had was the paints and washes in that first set. I do think your method is great, and should be a very early step to learn because of how useful it is. I also don't believe this is that much effort with this process. I spent more time washing the mini than I did with every other step combined. I finished my entire squad in under an hour total.

[@SakakiDash]

I used to dry brush after wash.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's a good way to do it! You can basically dry brush your highlights back on!

[@zelphermm]

Better way to use washes is to prime white and then use wash over it thin out alot and then dry brush with with white and then hit it again with dry brush very lightly with a white ink i use green stuff world intensity white ink after that use army painter speed paint of whatever colors will look like you spent 10 hours on it and takes maybe an hour per figure.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

That's another great way to do it! I didn't want to cover dry brushing in this video though, was trying to keep new concepts to a minimum for beginners. Plus this only takes me about 15-20 minutes per figure this way :)

[@zelphermm]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures i have only been painting a year and I think its the easiest way to have very good results, At least for me it is. Normal paints and highlight has always been an issue for me but I found dry brushing easy.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@zelphermm I agree! I do think dry brushing is easy to do and easy to learn, I just didn't want to cover too many techniques in one video. I plan to do future videos on dry brushing.

[@talantoner]

Or you can use layering from darker colour actually

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Yup! And that's exactly what I plan to cover in my video about layering!

[@GreySectoid]

I heard oil based washes don't, well wash out, the mid-tones as much, haven't tried yet because I started just painting but I plan to try them.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

I need to practice with them more before I say anything definitive. BUT I do plan to make a video on oil washes too. I know some people struggle with them, so there might be a "trick" to getting it right. I have heard basically the same things though! Especially if you clean/wipe away most of it after applying.

[@100acatfishandwillbreakyou2]

I die a little on the inside when I see someone put down an acrylic wash and start layering over it with the base color. It's just so much extra work vs just using an oil wash.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@100acatfishandwillbreakyou2 that's fair! I've only been painting since 2019, and I've only recently even heard of oil washes. So for me, this was the best way to do it and get a good look. Plus it took longer to paint on the wash than it did to paint my base color back on. That wouldn't be the case with every color, but at least with these Snowtroopers it was fast!

[@100acatfishandwillbreakyou2]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures Give the oil wash a try, and then try out using oils to highlight. If you put down an oil paint to highlight your acrylic base, and use a soft brush, you can blend it out with no real effort.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@100acatfishandwillbreakyou2 I'm planning on it! I've been seeing it more and more from some of the other painters on KZbin recently so I'd like to try it out for sure.

[@jc7997aj]

Alright Noobs what have we learned today ? Wash is a middle step.

[@albertmockel6245]

You should not use pure white but use an off white instead, then use pure white as a final highlight

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Yup! That's exactly what I explain in my video on painting white!

[@colin_painting_adventure]

One of the best teaching videos I've ever watched. Liked & subscribed.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Wow that's high praise. Thank you so much!

[@jeffreykershner440]

Thnak you

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

You're welcome!

[@guysmith6039]

So simple but needed saying

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Thank you! It's one of those things that many new painters don't think about at first!

[@guysmith6039]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures I’m going to start to use it on my figures. In fact I delayed washing because I didnt want them to look dull.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

@@guysmith6039 Another tip to help with that as well, is don't wash the whole figure! I doused these guys for the video, and that's how a lot of beginners do it at first. It isn't wrong per se, just inefficient. A better way to do it is to only place the wash in the areas you actually want darkened. Try to only get it in the folds, grooves, recesses, etc. This way you won't have to come back and do as much highlighting, or you can push your highlights even farther for even more contrast! Hope that helps some! Happy painting!

[@AllGodsDue]

I thought washes were magic when I started, but years later I've reached a point where I honestly think they almost always look horrible. The overexaggerated, oily looking shadows they create, just look terrible to me after seeing so much of what people can do with glazing and proper technique. And while edge highlighting and going back over reduce this, I still think it just doesn't look right. I think both oils and enamels are better looking at least and are easier to clean up, highly recommend those to people who are starting to lose that magic love for washes.

[@izzydarkhart4144]

Lol i have never heard it could liquid talent before.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

I know I've heard people here local (in Kansas) call it that, but I swear at least one other KZbinr did. I was thinking it might have been Lyla Mev, the Mini Witch.

[@HeadHunterSix]

That was the first thing I heard it called, back in the days of legendary Badab Black and Devlan Mud.

[@doctoronishispsychosislab1474]

washing last ? lol

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Yup! Basically anyways. When I was a beginner, and a lot of beginners I talked to that knew what washing was, thought that it should basically be the last step. And it definitely can be depending on what you're painting.

[@RonSommar]

Biggest mistake: not to spend 10,000 at once. WH getting more expensive day by day. Spend NOW

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

I do have a rather large pile of unpainted minis... Though my 3D printer isn't helping me with that either lol!

[@RonSommar]

@@ShinisTabletopAdventures man you cripple my dividend

[@koppfrosch7439]

speed paint made washes mostly useless. you can easily paint without it but still can use it partially if you want to.

[@ShinisTabletopAdventures]

Speedpaints are great! I use them a lot. But if you're painting with more opaque paints like I am here, washes can still be useful! It all just kind of depends on what kind of painting style you're going for honestly. Thanks for commenting!

[@link670]

This is certainly... A take.

[@HeadHunterSix]

Speed paint only made washes less useful for absolute beginners. Experience, on the other hand, makes speed paints "mostly useless" except as... (wait for it) a _wash_ .