The truth about the NEW Contrast paints

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Games workshop just released their new and exciting contrast paints, to complement the already existing citadel line. Is it perfect to paint warhammer and dungeons and dragons figures or just another marketing ploy?
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Emil On
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Painting miniatures for your warhammer & d&d games. Age of sigmar and warhammer 40k. Blood angels, Slaanesh, Death Guard, Space Marines, Space Wolves, Stormcast Eternals, painting scale models, miniature busts! How to paint NMM. How to paint warhammer, how to paint d&D figures.

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

We have made a brand new fantasy Universe with 10 amazing looking miniatures to paint! You can check out the campaign and support the channel - it goes live October 2022 here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/squidmar/champions-of-sona-75mm-resin-miniatures

[@leeroyjenkins1981]

Hey dude, you listed some of your go-to paints for some colors. Could you make a video listing what your favourite paints are for each colour? Like if you're painting orange what are your favourite paints for an orange base, highlight options, etc?

[@NerdySatyr]

Pylar Glacier low coverage is kind of intended surely, it's meant for painting snowy/icey miniatures? Or thin it even more for blue'ish cold whites. I love it personally! Perfect for things like Beastclaw Raiders :D

[@Codes911]

I've noticed multiple other painters complain about it but all the work i've seen done with it look perfect for the intended purpose. It's like they forgot the "glacier" part of the name and are just directly comparing it to the other contrasts. Maybe it'd be reviewed a tad better if it were released as part of the technical line.

[@johnimal1]

It's the one I'm most interested in. Have alot of icy themes to paint soon, with "white" ice dragon, frosthaven minis, wings of angels... Who knows what else

[@michaelstefanou7744]

So true. The spider squidmar shows literally looks like it's been hit with an ice spell in a D & D / Gloomhaven / Descent game. Great finish.

[@Ulfhrim]

Yea 100% it snd Frostheart are what I'm most excited for.

[@trevorwall87]

Temheres international variable opacity across the range

[@Dash277]

Great point on tagging them. Opacity, finish, matte/satin/gloss ... would definitely help!

[@Defeshh]

The funny thing is that normal artist paints have been giving that information for generations, including information of the pigments

[@abyssthewolfyt1274]

The reason pylad glacier is so translucent is because it is meant to be used to make really good ice detail.

[@Jathom]

This is cool and all but seems like it should be a technical paint rather than a Contrast paint.

[@markhanson9508]

So like really limited in its application.

[@TenshiProductionz]

Problem is, it does not look like ice at all nor does it’s looks icy. It just looks… ghostly you will ended up needing to touch up lots of stuff and repaint parts because it’s to thin, makes this useless.

[@timreeves]

I think both the pale aqua shades that squidmar dismissed are fantastic for icy stuff, and even if there's not many citadel minis that have an ice theme, there's terrain and DnD minis that definitely do dig deep into ice.

[@MarioMario-uy2my]

Also ots good for making plasma effects

[@johnhammond6225]

GW needs to ditch the pots, stop decreasing the volume, and drop the price. Especially when speed paints by AP do the same thing, maybe even better, and they cost $80 for the mega set.

[@someblacktemplar]

Games workshop: eh I don’t really care😒

[@tylerward4386]

The pots probably aren't going away quickly. That takes an manufacturing redesign and that's very expensive. If they are indeed being out competed in the paints then it's probably not worth the effort

[@Thornspyre81]

Honestly, they sell so well why would they. You know?

[@DCAMM720]

I think when contrasts came out they were shown very incorrectly. I could paint a table ready army in half the time with contrasts than I could with normal paints and it will look just as good. Most people try using them as a thick wash all over the model which is just silly. You don't want to glob it on like so many channels showed. Doing slow, even coats of contrast over armor basically finishes it to a table standard in a single coat. Same goes for leather, skin, etc. The only thing contrast truly fails at is tiny details because it's hard to control. But for base coating I find it faster than even airbrush so I hardly use my airbrush anymore. I can base coat a marine the same way in half the time. Which saves a ton when you're painting 30 troops at a time.

[@bluedotdinosaur]

Funny thing - after Duncan left GW and started his own channel, he immediately began using Contrast paint in exactly the way you describe with the same results. Clearly, as an experienced painter, he had quickly figured out how the paint was intended to be used. But while at GW he was probably gagged by their marketing team and couldn't make a video demonstrating the correct technique. One of the key videos he made that shows how powerful contrast is when used correctly was simply painting an Imperial Fist. Step 1: yellow contrast. Step 2: a super easy to do, quick glaze of thinned down yellow paint over the flat areas to make the yellow even purer and remove absolutely any remaining stains from the contrast. The result was something that looked like a flawless, painstaking yellow base but in very little time.

[@DCAMM720]

@@bluedotdinosaur I'll have to check it out, haven't seen much of Duncan stuff for a long time but I know he has his own channel now. Maybe the guy I heard it from heard it from Duncan lol. Sounds like a similar process to what I did with some Black Templars. You can do the contrast paint or even two coats and it'll look alright but if you want a really deep black you can do a coat of Shyish Purple(I think is the name) and then Black Templar contrast over it and it makes the armor look great. In batch painting I found it quicker than doing something like two coats of Abaddon Black or something.

[@GloriousGrunt]

it also fails if you acidently get a darker paint on the contrast, you have to go back to white and re-contrast to fix it, especially lighter colors like -

[@zandosdwarf-king]

I love contrasts, but after all those years, my favourite use is still easy metal of any color

[@Anjohl]

the nicest thing about Contrast is that it works really well as a combo of a base and wash that you can paint over. Also, you can move the pigment around while it's wet, which gives you a superb amount of control over it, once you get used to using the given paint.

[@MisterTingles]

The variety of colors is one of the strongest attributes citadel has going for them, and some of the ones that don't seem exiting or useful to one painter are a godsend for another, like that glacier one for someone who's painting an army with frost weapons. But i wholeheartedly agree that they need to be less obtuse about what certain specialty paints might be useful for, they are notoriously bad at covering that aspect in their own video material (i suspect their print media might be more helpful, but i don't peruse those) and people usually have to rely on outside sources like hobbyists on YT to figure them out...

[@michamalinowski8015]

I feel that they work more as single coat layer paints. The ammount of shading and highlighting they give when compared to the first line is minimal.

[@MarioMario-uy2my]

What I got from this is there is finally a bright yellow paint that covers well

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

With a white undercoat

[@adamkrajco1920]

Pylar glacier is made for ice effects and it's perfect for that use

[@pez5767]

I've been trying your technique of using the airbrush with Contrast paints on a white/zenithal primer. I think there are some subtle tips and hints about how you apply the airbrushed base coat and how you apply the contrast paints that you didn't really touch on in your contrast paints video about this technique. It would be great to see a full tutorial on a miniature aobut how/why you apply the paints. (directions, intensity, shadow, etc.)

[@Omega_MCX]

Seconded for this, I'm curious about the best way to use contrast in an airbrush, does he thin them down? What airbrush settings does he use? Getting the answers to those sort of questions would be amazing. :)

[@kukenstar6684]

I agree!

[@strov3]

I concur! When using the airbrush, it seemed to spill over other zones that would receive other contrast paint down the line, and we know contrast doesn't play well above one another. So is there a ton of detail work done with acrylic afterwards? If yes, kind of defeat the beginner purpose as I don't want to buy contrast and acrylic for all my colors.

[@aegil-]

This was such a well-presented and useful video! Thanks for your candid and unequivocal review of these new paints.

[@ge_hoff4181]

Thanks for giving me your take on putting these new ones through the air brush. I was a hater until I saw you use them in an airbrush and now Swear by it.🤘

[@Vexariongaming]

Im going to be picking up Pylar Glacier for frost weapons for my space wolves for sure

[@Mephiston]

Garaghak's sewer can also be used as a muck wash, kinda like how we use oil washes. All you gotta do is reduce it in a roughly 1:3 with something like AP speedpaint medium and it becomes a bit more "smearable" and wet looking, so it can leave streaks and splotches for grime.

[@captainweekend5276]

For me black legion is going to be great for just knocking out small details that need to be black that I don't want to put too much effort into, things like boots, belts, gun casing, etc. Whilst a thinned down black could be similar there's a much higher chance that I'd need to do a second coat. In my opinion it's a convenient tool for speed painting, especially in highly textured areas, not having the contrast finish helps as it doesn't matter what colour you're using it over, it's definitely something designed for speed painters.

[@Navtyr]

Vallejo black + thinner = same coverage, same density for a fraction of the cost. I doubt you would lose that much time adding some thinner that it would be worth crowning this "speed painter" tool for premium price. I honestly wouldn't even be surprised if that's exactly what's in the GW bottle.

[@captainweekend5276]

@@Navtyr I've used vallejo black and I can tell you the coverage is definitely not the same. At the end of the day it's paying for convenience which I'm happy to do, I rarely use pure blacks brush painting since I'll usually start from a black primer, airbrush the black, or use shades. I've watched and read a fair few reviews of the new contrast line and it seems Squidmar is really underselling black legion, either because of personal bias or to say something negative to appease the GW haters.

[@rononel8046]

You touch on an important point here, "I don't know what I'd use it for". Surely this should've been part of Citadel Colour's development process? Asking themselves "What would a painter use this for & is there already something that fulfills that role (even if it needs a bit of medium)?"

[@mattrounce2090]

The phlar glacier might be ok on terrain if you're doing ice and snow

[@thelastcrusader7032]

Pylar Glacier's going to be PERFECT for me. It's exactly what I needed for my Space Marine chapter as they've developed an icy blue skin (They're inspired by frost giants form norse myth)

[@ross2283]

That sounds neat.

[@lnSorteDiaboli]

Sounds like a chapter that would not be allowed to exist.

[@thelastcrusader7032]

@@lnSorteDiaboli Ehh.. Just like the Sons of the Phoenix.

[@lnSorteDiaboli]

@@thelastcrusader7032 Not familiar with them. Are they also rocking icy skin?

[@thelastcrusader7032]

@@lnSorteDiaboli Nah. But they're sporting the color scheme of the Emperors Children and look suspiciously like Fulgrim.

[@wocky7369]

to be fair to me it seems pylar glacier could be great for getting quick ice effect for weapons etc

[@phizzhead53]

2:58 if your painting a slanesh army that color is a must

[@vyren2030]

I have to say - I find pylar Glacier one of the most exciting. E.g. for Gray Knights. The opacity is very low but it brings out that nice blue that I would like on some minis to indicate magic/psyker or something else.

[@sorcam]

could be cool for power swords too

[@andrewmuler3146]

Finally a nice orange... I can't wait to buy.. thanks for this and all your videos

[@gnometroll1717]

This is the kind of video we need when there are new paint product releases. Thanks Emil for the deep dive into reviewing each new color.

[@Firedrake-f4g]

In the meantime, do I have a colour scheme for you! We have a St Andrews cross spider that has fluro yellow, orange, Rhinox Hide brown and deep red, plus some dry brushed colours. The best thing is these creatures are the same size as the plastic models you just painted so there is no scaling of colours.

[@noeqminiatures5942]

Hey Emil, thanks alot for the great breakdown and review of the new paint range. Do you think that the new 'Kroxigor Scales' is better suited over a coat of 'Stormhost Silver' to paint Alpha Legion instead of the old 'Akhelian Green' or do you think both are equally good? Thanks in advance! Also, keep up the great work!

[@guwubs5598]

One of these days I hope you do a give away or a contest for one of those big spider bois cause man! I love the colors you use for them.

[@anno6969]

Oh yes!! Info on the pot would be amazing!! One reason I’ve never gone with these is I have no idea what I’m getting. With a base paint I know I’m getting a paint that will cover. When I get a wash I know it’s an ink but the contrast paints 🤷‍♂️.

[@grendelprime166]

Those army painter contrast paints are really nice for 1/2 the price.

[@Anjohl]

the re-activation pretty much kills them.

[@supernovaproxima1775]

Hey Emil. I had an idea for a video. I'm a new painter who doesn't have access to high quality miniatures yet, but I'm thinking about getting more paints and brushes. I think it would be cool to make a video about painting lower quality minis with high skill level and high quality materials.

[@tywillis2395]

They just need to market Imperial Fist yellow and the like as "I Can't Believe It's Not Ink"

[@coreyburge8663]

I would love to hear your contrast paints that you use for each color! Possible video?

[@commonisekaihero4745]

The glacier paint I can see using on any future frost wolf weapons I paint when I can't be bothered mixing my own glaze.

[@Dezkoi]

they did have a good yellow, it was called "sunburst yellow" and was discontinued because "reasons" I guess mostly moved to reaper and vellejo

[@phizzhead53]

1:39 this is a grimdark universe, but i could do a worn yellow saftey lines on a manufactorum

[@AoSCoach]

Appericate your insights and testing. There is a few i want to grab and you’ve confirmed which ones i’ll start with

[@cyborgbadger1015]

I have a slight problem with contrast paints in that you don't have to thin them which basically means you get half the paint for your money.

[@ubernija98]

But you save having the base and shade as it fills 2 purposes. So it's really more value for money over buying a base and a shade paint.

[@billcurran7210]

Always good to run through a new paint line!

[@NateArnoldVideos]

I have several frost giants I need to paint, and I could see Plyar Glacier and Briar Queen Chill being very helpful in that. If you won't use them, you could always send them my way! 😉

[@mr.m12345]

Thanks for the video and running these through the airbrush as well as a paintbrush. I was really curious to see how they did on both.

[@WithinWicked]

Sooooo... when's a video on the new "slimmed" line of GW Shades coming? :D

[@CadianColors]

Gonna hop in with team Pylar Glacier; I think it'll be really nice for getting bright electric powerswords. (Possibly w Proacryl Turquoise)

[@noelsayar3113]

Congratulations! 🎊 You're the only youtuber that pronounce correctly Vallejo

[@MirsIbanez85]

I need a Squidmar class. I don't know in what form, but I want to learn to paint more quickly and still, a vibrant as the both of you 😍

[@Balduviann]

@SquidmarMiniatures you should try the new Vallejo Xpress line up and see how it compares to these

[@Tanuvein]

Honestly, Army Painter's Fire Giant Orange speedpaint is one of the nicest oranges I've seen.

[@Emperortabletopgaming]

Thanks, I am glad that I can use IF yellow both in airbrush and brush

[@AngusBeef0]

GW should sell zenithalled prebuilts to market that many different contrast colors. holy

[@nicholasgrossi8142]

Where did you get the STL for the spiders? Pretty sweet. Thank you

[@nahhfam7678]

The impression I got with this new line is that nearly all paints sibling paints that make sense to use together.

[@LauraDelvecchio]

I WHOLLY agree that citadel paint pots could use more information specifically about the paint contained within. For the price they're at, I expect it should be standard to have an info panel on those pots.

[@hectorstone7]

Your best video ive seen so far!

[@TheAgentmigs]

Where can I get one of those cool brass lamps you have in the background?

[@Merc-ws9zh]

Where did you get the spider model, I've made my own contrast paints and would love to test them on that model?

[@Snacklord_Dennis]

I guess it's time to go buy some more paints 👀

[@cablesalad3168]

So far, if you're using these through the airbrush anyway, what's the advantage of contrasts over say Liquitex Inks?

[@theKashConnoisseur]

Citadel - 25 paint pots, $200 Vallejo - 24 paint pots, $50-$75

[@Goza80]

Just a basic transparency guide would be nice. Golden have a simple one on their stuff doesn't have to take up a load of space on the label.

[@d.o.g573]

Emil did you know that painting with Champagne - yes that expensive bubbly stuff - is cheaper than painting with these ?

[@noahhyatt]

Super helpful! I was wondering about the quality of these new paints--now I know!

[@thekinginyellowmessiahofha6308]

Oh boy, i love making my models look like stylized comic book characters rather than little people. I can’t wait until my washes are just shades instead of “make it look hd” in a bottle.

[@sejannus877]

“And I’m not sure why we needed it” MONEY!

[@xBenedictumx]

now do army painter speed paints vs these contrasts

[@jaytrooper12]

pylar glacier just looks like it would be good to use for ice based, bases. that's the only thing I could think of.

[@timreeves]

How come you left out a handful of colours? I had a play with them all in store today, and by far my favourite was the sigvald burgundy, gave beautiful results, but you didn't even mention it in this video.

[@goyaultoscar5157]

"Cliffhanger" 😂😂😂

[@victorgonzalez2927]

Why is GW so expensive? It seems like they’d hit a broader market if they lowered the price. As a fairly new painter I’ve moved away from them because of price.

[@SerPounce23]

Because they think they'll get away with it. Just paying for the brand most times. The products themselves are technically good but not great in my opinion.

[@nicholasbuscanera3836]

The appeal is that you do not have to mix any of your own colors. You pay a high premium for the convenience of having any color at your disposal. I buy the “base” color pallets and then get a bottle of Vellejo Ivory to mix with those colors to get what I want out of them. Contrast paints are a whole other concept and are unique to GW. (Army painter just released their spin off of contrast paints) they are cheaper but the color range is lacking

[@victorgonzalez2927]

@@nicholasbuscanera3836 the range is lacking for now. I’m sure they want feedback before developing more. Have you used AP speed paints?

[@Nagi2100]

You're asking a question that's gone unanswered for decades...

[@nicholasbuscanera3836]

Yes, they function just as well as contrast paints do. I hope they release more colors because they are a cheap alternative

[@Anjohl]

It almost feels like GW is gearing up to switch their entire line to "Contrast", and that these "base paint" Contrast paints are the leading edge of that spear.

[@terrydactyl2077]

Warhipster does incredible yet fairly simple to follow guides using Citadel contrast paints. The only thing I find is the end result looks greasy. Anyone know if that is because of the varnish he used or it’s just inherent in theses paints. Could Matt varnish fix that?

[@HammeredHero]

I would love to know what colors were used for the skin and wings of those units at 11:45. The coloring of the wings is so eye catching and the blue skin tone too

[@d9_1056]

Are these best from the pot or a wet pallete?

[@Jadfisk]

I dont need The Imperial Fist paint, but I want it

[@Velasc]

Maybe i missed it but where does it say these cost 195 dollas like in the thumbnail? Like is it a whole set of new paints that it refers to?

[@christianwilson5956]

I've found that the contrast paints are good for doing single coats and facilitate easy speed painting. They provide a good result with very little skill required. But they are not as versatile as a standard paint because they can only be used as a wash. You can also replicate their effect by thinning your regular paints more than normal and applying them like a wash.

[@chezratte1357]

i agree, aethermatic blue has pretty limited use. I usually just use it for parts that are made of seethrough plastic. For example the wings of the Wasp (Marvel Crisis Protocol). Not the best solution, but at least it makes it not look like a piece of plastic, without lososing the seethroughness.

[@imgrey5806]

Thanks for this honnest revieuw. I do have a question. Did You use thinner for the contrast? (while using Airbrush)

[@bridgestudios4705]

Smashing video dude keep the videos up

[@thevix9794]

Did you try the black with the airbrush? I'm asking becouse I saw a miniature from Ninjon done with that and it looked like a black with highlights already done, it looked impressive

[@mrjinglesdice6745]

god GW gouges sooo much, but that just motivated me to learn to make my own. so easy to make

[@BoardRoomGamer]

@squidmar at 7:26 That glacier colour - Seems to be good for Mammoth fur after primer then highlight on top to give it a frosty blue under side? Im thinking the Thundertusks or even frost sabres as a starting point :)

[@Mithlinthar]

I was super interested in SIGVALD BURGUNDY aaaand... for some reason you skipped this one...? :D

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Haha sorry. Some of the paint were skipped to keep the length of the video down a bit. It was just a decent contrast paint. Nothing specia in good or bad l :)

[@Mithlinthar]

@@SquidmarMiniatures I see... Okay then, thank you very much! Love your work!

[@LegionaireSiggi]

I'm shocked you even bothered mentioning the SpeedPaints, I thought you hated that line.

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Why would I? I've used them in many videos and did a review video where i said im enjoying them. :) You must have me confused with someone else.

[@Sammo212]

Pylar glacier looks great to me if you want that glacier look with lighter up top and darker as you go down

[@BalooSJ]

Yeah, I'm considering getting it primarily to paint a white dragon I got in Bones 5 from Reaper. I've been wondering how to get a nice icy touch to it, and Pylar Glacier seems good for that.

[@Sammo212]

@@BalooSJ yeah, I feel like it will be pretty good for stuff like that and ice elementals and smaller pieces of terrain

[@MrNovaStreams]

What do you think about the older paints that they "reformulated" ? Can we get some side-by-sides?

[@JoshNoodleSoup]

Mooooaaar contrast!

[@justanothercaptain6566]

Thank you! That was an excellent review! Cheers 🍻

[@KL-oj2my]

How are your hands so clean after using the airbrush?

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Aim bot

[@Bloodfencer1990]

"There are other paints that do the same thing but better" needs an addedum: "At at least half the price". All the GW paints are seriously overpriced and they even started selling their shades in the same pods as the contrast paints, which are 18ml instead of 24. So we are getting 25% less content for the same price as before.

[@kevinishki]

They should put a picture of what it looks like over a zenithal model. With a before and after image. Honestly I think the glacier paint isn't bad because that very thin affect is hard to get if you mix your own contrast. It does look like a glacier. I wouldn't buy any of them though lol

[@rryannn1]

do the slap chop paint technique

[@dr.johnh.watson2444]

me a Battletech player with 90% Steiner mechs taking note at "just a blue"

[@krombar9985]

Do you know the golden high flow acrylics. what do you think of these colors I would be very interested in your opinion.

[@HawkEye3366]

6’4 -6’5 Daaaaamn.

[@mariusevander2214]

They look like powdery matt inks ... the purple is for nids! and sneaky orks !

[@MKempICI]

That was a very useful review. Thank you, sir!

[@chucklamb3496]

Thanx Emil

[@NiosHöger]

Bro the colors act totally diffrent when i use em. I heard one guy said hes having a problem when he dryd those colors too quickly, just so u know theres more to do with em.. and well i dont see them as a problem since it is the air whatsoever over here making them dry fast slow (or diffrent issues) anyways not finished my army or the trying stuff ill hook u up in time

[@dalekayse4916]

Striking scorpion i feel is goign to be amazong on Necrons. And im really excited for the yellows.

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Yeah it's gonna slay for you

[@warcraftdude13]

$195 AMERICAN ... In Australia you can expect pretty much 400 dollars