Top 3 Tips for Army Painting - HC 457

In this Hobby Cheating Tutorial, I take you through my top 3 tips to make sure you get your army painted and on the table - no matter what you're painting.
#warhammer #ageofsigmar #warhammer40k
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0:00 Intro
1:45 Tip 1
4:40 Tip 2
8:20 Tip 3
12:30 Bonus Tip
13:15 Outro

[@spencerarmstrong258]

"Points change. Figures are forever." Another Vincy V quote for my paint racks.

[@Wijkert]

1:14 that Slaanesh army though Vince, chefs kiss

[@seanmcgrath2049]

Once again, fate has aligned such that Vince releases a video *exactly* pertinent to my current hobbying dilemma. I'm in the process of sorting out color schemes for my new Skaven army and have started to get into the weeds of having four or five different flesh tone & fur styles and eight or nine fabric colors to mix and match amongst my rats to give them a vague sense of ramshackle color cohesion. Each style has its own bespoke shade/base/highlight triad, contrast vs. traditional etc. and once again Uncle Vince has brought me back down to reality (whoops there goes gravity). I'm going to have a max of three fur and flesh combinations, all of them are going to be contrast, and I'm going to have single unifying highlight and shade colors for all of it. Maybe four fabric colors if I'm feeling ambitious, lol. You're the best, Vince, keep up the great work 🤗

[@JettHinde]

I'm noticing this about the channel too 😅

[@vincegamer]

So basically I violated every rule here when I decided to paint my high elf army in a rainbow scheme.

[@BarokaiRein]

Prismatic elves are a vibe, though

[@_munkykok_]

You didn't break the Challenge Rule, and you didn't break the Figures Are Forever Rule. All you broke was the Keep It To A Few Colors Rule. Plus to be fair, how else would you paint Rainbow Elves? Sometimes, one rule can't rule them all. ☝🧐🌈

[@KevinoftheCosmos]

I'm going to implement this methodology today. I've been doing the very opposite: overcomplicating and not necessarily challenging myself. I love these videos because they always seem to give perspective in one way or another.

[@thesoothsayer9223]

My first sigmar army took me 3 years and it was a miserable slog that I'm not proud of. I'm finishing my next army this summer after about 6 months and I've followed much of your advice in my approach. I moved much more quickly and efficiently and I'm extremely proud of the end result. Thanks for all the wisdom it's made a huge difference in my hobby life

[@philgee486]

Simple but absolutely foundational advice from the most respected of successful painters

[@Svengar]

Some very good tips. I used a similar thought process when I painted the newly released Bretonnian army box, painting up everything in 4 months. Worked through the archers then men at arms leaving knights etc to last. All the elite guys got free hand painted shield designs to set them apart

[@ProrokLebioda]

"Invest time on important details, don't waist it on small unimportant bits" [proceeds to highlight waist rope... :D ] I see what you did there :D Good advices. I usually focus too much on detail, because I keep mini close to my face when painting, to later put it down on a table and not even notice those elements as much. For characters it might be fine, but line troops is just waste of time. I totally agree with you!

[@JorenMathews]

Doing some dabs on the belt takes 20 seconds and makes it still look touched by a brush to fit the rest of the fig.

[@Mikey__R]

​Yeah, what ​@@JorenMathews said: give each model the *impression* of having been painted. I need to remember this as I edge highlight every single pistol holster.

[@ThomasGallinari]

Again excellent advice! I've been painting waaaay faster since I applied your tip #1. And much better too! Because I focus on the most important parts of the models with a contrasting color, the rest is painted very simple, and the army looks great, coherent and not overly complex.

[@DarkLolification]

Yeah it's just like in videogame, you must find your flow. Not too boring, not too hard. Just in the middle where you enjoy yourself and are in control while learning things. The great thing about painting figs is that you can really tune exactly as you like, spend time painting what you prefer.

[@Gage_Welch]

I would like to let people know universal highlights are a godsend & really harmonises beyond you think it will. I’m doing separate heraldry Bretonnia army & the universal highlight blends everything together on the model & also blends the different schemes together. It’s genuinely so good. Try it!

[@foreverfornever1124]

This brings me back to my original love, the Necrons. I had such an easy paint scheme. Quite honestly its the three primary colors, varied in their hue, black and white, and a metallic silver color. My first army was meant for me to learn the basics of miniature painting. As a scale modeler, I did come to find out its a lot different than I would have imagined. I didnt want to do anything fancy or really eye popping in terms of color. So it had allowed me to take out a lot of the guess work in terms of color combos, color harmony, etc. and develop my skills in several painting techniques such as OSL effect, beam/energy effects, and edge highlighting to the miniature degree.

[@DwightOfTheDead]

Currently working on a Daemons army and using an airbrush for the first time while doing so. The tip on challenging yourself is so true, at first I was all over the place with the airbrush but now it’s kind of second nature , and I’m really enjoying the process as I push myself more using the tool. Great video :)

[@alejandrovictoriaorts162]

As a first time army painter (Skaven's refresh finally got me into AoS) I really appreciate that even after more than 450 highly instructional videos we are still getting this kind of content ;)

[@Fox01313]

Agreed with all these tips. A while back from the 40kBadcast podcast they talked about the same thing in step 1 which is not every Necromunda gang needs the little details (pouches, buckles, ect.) painted different than the base color, this has helped me a bunch with saving time especially with the small details nobody will notice while playing the game. A few thoughts from me especially with combat patrol/spearhead being more of a thing. Paint the contents of these boxes early so you can take a break from painting & play these smaller army game types. And with that paint your army at most one unit at a time, that way if you hit any natural break in the painting process, you can at least have a few to show off & play with those units. If you have a lot of similar units like Ork Boyz & going off what Vincent mentioned, paint the units the same to make them easy to spot together. Give one unit silver guns, give another blue ones. Simple little variety with a squad but still keeping it in a part of the larger army. Stripes or other easy heraldry of a neutral color is an easy way to help squads get some personality with their own markings.

[@kennypalmer8971]

100% agree. The big thing for a lot of people is the workflow. Often people take on a project that is too big and they burn out. Do stuff in chunks for the most part. Don't try to take on the entire project in a weekend. Instead, take 5 models and work on them. You'll find you enjoy the process more if you aren't putting some ridiculous time restraint on yourself. Don't paint a bunch of models you have no interest in for the sake of getting the best army list you can. I'm working on Soulblight Gravelords as an example and I work on 5 models at a time for the little dudes. I don't need to try and paint the whole box of zombies at once. 5 at a time leaves me feeling like I got some decent work done without sacrificing too much on my quality. It seems a bit much when you've got 100 of them sitting in front of you, but the end result is worth the effort.

[@rubenlopezcatalan8661]

HiVince, thanks for the video. For me it is all about preparing the army on its basecolourand base, then the reward…I alternate infantry, war machine, infantry, cavalry, infantry, character…and so on. Thanks again

[@CR-dv1ig]

Great tips! I have 2 armies on the go kind of in parallel depending on my mood. Tyranids for pushing my slap chop, and Orks for training classic layer and edge highlights. I paint whatever I'm on the mood for and don't feel bad for j jumping back and forth.

[@shadeling6717]

I found Vince when i was looking for help on painting my armies in any way quicker. For me #2 tip was probably the biggest help. I do the assembly line paint style. When you have dozens of models to paint it gets daunting and boring very fast. This is on top that i do no enjoy painting. I have found to paint just 1 unit at a time is a good amount for me. By unit i mean a single box even if i'm combining to make bigger units. I would also suggest if you are like my with severe faction ADD and have many projects going at a time it might be a good idea to switch it up now and then. If you get bored painting one army switch to another for a unit or two. You can then go back to your original project hopefully with a little more motivation.

[@whofreakincares1000]

I spend so much time with the planning and scheming phase.

[@kevinhayes517]

I don’t paint armies yet but your tips are valuable for any amount of figure painting efforts. Thanks very much!!!

[@VinceVenturella]

Happy to help!

[@HappyDuude]

Love the video. Ironically my biggest block right now is building, i bought the E8 tank platoon from bolt action to play the tanks for the apocalypse game from the lads - have 1.5 built, making the tracks go on right was driving me spare. Need to just push through - but had also underestimated the time building takes - takes so much longer than planned

[@bigfootruben]

Points changed but minis are forever haha well said. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, my friend!

[@VinceVenturella]

You bet!

[@zramirez5471]

Pretty sure this is my 3rd time watching this the whole way through - really letting this one soak in deep. I started some stuck-in swampy boyz with my biggest goal to work on the basing, but that lack of focus lead to some surprisingly complicated model painting with a variety of bases and speed paints on the patchy draped cloth. The effect is awesome but with so many earthy tones its hard to get definition from the table top.

[@zakjackson2610]

Just finished my very first mini. Nothing turned off the chatter in my head like putting color on cool plastic toys. Needless to say, I’m hooked. Thanks for the helpful videos. 🙏🏽

[@dmeep]

I always forget something when i do batch painting so now i do 1 model a day until the end of time. My paintschemes start with 3-5 steps and end up with 15-20 steps

[@TheKillerkadoogan]

You are a king of this hobby, brother. Myself and several friends have gotten into Warhammer over the last year and we have all independently found your channel and found it invaluable ✊

[@VinceVenturella]

That is awesome!

[@SamBrownBaudot]

Interesting to hear the pro-painter's psychology for finishing. As a player with tournament mindset, it's ALL ABOUT which figures I think are going to be the ones that work together, tho. My whole army-building psychology is to get excited about the tactics and the combos, and how I'm going to use them to play a good game. I want my figs to look cool. I still enjoy looking over a well painted army, and take pride when my opponent at a match reacts that way to my army. I like my army looking cool. But the advice to paint the figs I'm excited to paint for the sake of painting can't land for me. I gotta get through whatever unit moved to the top of my pile because I had that one test game and they did something unexpectedly awesome. Now I'm thinking through how I could get them to pull the same stunt again in the next game, and I want them to be well painted by the time the next tournament comes around.

[@blastpop]

Thanks for the "Meta" of painting. A good idea to review the Meta every so often having been an on and off again mini's wargamer for nearly 50 years. Inspiration can be challenging, but then I don't need to tell you that.

[@VinceVenturella]

My pleasure!

[@Mikey__R]

Hey Vince. I remember when you said "faces, bases, boards and swords," and that stuck with me.

[@Misterfairweather]

This video highlights that I need to spend more time understanding the colors used for highlighting and shading. That's where I end up with too much complexity adding colors.

[@richssa]

I think the Bonus tip is the most important tip of all. This was always my issue. I always wanted to paint Salamanders but I went Black Templars cos they were strong at the time I started and I just had no connection to that chapter so never loved the models. I have always loved the look of Tau (I was playing when they were first released as well) and had a full army of them just sitting there from years ago and I feel bad for not painting them instead of BT as well. I took a long break from painting and 40K, but now I have started again, but only models I love, like busts and 40K/AoS characters etc.

[@Bitzpainter]

Great vid Vince. Whenever people compliment my army and ask how did I do it I always say by spending time. If you’re not happy it’s not done! If you’re happy congrats you’re done.

[@anarchistkobold4375]

Points change. Figures are forever - Jon should get that tattoo'd when he produces the second best painted army of skaven

[@alancook1053]

Fabulous video!! Such a gift to our hobby!!! Thank you!❤❤❤❤

[@galatician8063]

I have units and squads, but not armies. I do take forever choosing colors but I'm getting better and I love it when my vision becomes reality. If I do get bored, I just switch it up and come back when the mood strikes me or inspiration returns. I'll never get it all painted, but what I do finish will stun your eyes!!! 😊

[@Samsminis]

The only thing I disagreed with was saving your favourite model for last. When I was painting the orc half of the Dominion box, I left the cool shaman for last…. But by the time I got to her, I was sick of the project and ready to be done with it.

[@UntiltedName]

First point is a big one. Inexperienced painters seldom have a realistic understanding of how long it takes to do a paint job across an army. They also easily over-complicate a paint job, both in colors selected and steps used.

[@13Robzilla]

One thing that has helped me with armies is to use this framework. Every single model shares a spot color. Each "group" (squad/unit/etc.) has a main and secondary color as far as how much of it there is (don't forget to include shared spot color use it in your plan.) For the leader of each group, swap the main and secondary color but still include spot color as well. For the Army leader Mostly the spot color and try to use the colors from the leaders as other colors. This makes the army easy to play and cohesive.

[@Deathblow71]

Thanks, Vince! I am in the process of painting a new army (Star Wars: Legion). I was about to start with a main character, but I will use your tips instead. I do struggle with motivation.

[@robbiebenson8392]

Love the vids! Just starting out getting into 40k and the hobby of mini painting and I've found your tips and tricks to be super beneficial!

[@VinceVenturella]

Great to hear!

[@bethanygraham427]

The Wisdom of Vince - the highlight of my week!

[@hephestus15]

May not be able to follow all this advice to a tee, but the thought process is great ^^ just starting out I've set a goal to simply learn how to apply contrast paints well on detailed surfaces and it's going alright ^^

[@lamicrobio...engros5427]

thank for these tricks ! I have been doing that for my armies, and I never got bored :)

[@davethe13th]

Tip 3 is great, I tend to use a new tool or technique for a new army, that helps

[@bencoomer2000]

I've been telling people, "Play what makes you happy" in a lot of things. Have this weird idea that being "optimized" is the only way to play and then wonder why they aren't having fun.

[@Stevie28]

"Focus on the important part" is really a game changer. I used to highlight everything. Now when I paint Boyz I focus on the Skin and give it even one more highlight. But I give the rest less attention and the Models look even better then before and take less time.

[@ernstbergerbrent]

I start with 3 colors to get table top ready. Then I'll come back and do details, highlights, and shade. I dislike batch painting so i try to keep it to 5-10 models then I'll move to a different unit.

[@ruberiusgadget795]

Hi! Thanks Vince for this Video. I haven't really painted a single army yet. I always bought and finished my Cryx for Warmachine little by little. Otherwise I either just painted individual models or a troop for a skirmish system. What I can absolutely confirm is that, if you don't feel like joining a faction of, for example, Killteam (in my case AdMech), they just lie around and nothing happens. Have a nice weekend! Greetings Ruberius

[@bryanmackie]

I'm in the midst of assembling close to 3000pts of Drukhari, so this MTG angel art montage was just what I needed! (Jokes aside, thank you for excellent advice.)

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad I could help!

[@earnestwanderer2471]

What I’m trying, with my new Dwarfs for the Old World, is to paint three units at the same time. So if I get bored with Irondrakes, I can switch back to Longbeards, which have a different paint scheme.

[@LemonFlavoredTea]

Excited to try this advice with my first army, thank you for having such great content!

[@Perkustin]

Good video, the last tip is great especially as the army will likely spend most of it's time on the shelf arrayed in a pleasing order of battle :) Also bonus points for having your Brettonian Knights in the proper 'lance' formation, i think about 75% of the FAQs thus far have been dedicated to the consequences of trying to bring back the wedge in ToW.

[@BarokaiRein]

I've got a great hack for this: all of my armies have less than 20 models. Usually less than 10. In 40k its super easy to just have a monster mash or HeroHammer army, so I'm glad AoS is getting rid of Battleline as well, so being able to do that isn't limited to specific subfactions whete you could take a monster as a battleline.

[@goulvenlagree4104]

I love the bonus tip ! Thanks for this interesting video ❤

[@VinceVenturella]

No problem 😊

[@theenigmaticgamer]

Thanks for more excellent advice. Much appreciated 👍

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad it was helpful!

[@atomneely]

Great video, painting minis is fun! EDIT: I tried painting one at a time instead of batch painting and the little hits of finishing something was really nice!

[@VinceVenturella]

That is awesome!

[@Dstinct]

A rule I stand by when army painting is that none of my core cohesive colors should be created via mixing if at all possible, or if I do, make it a very specific ratio. You will eventually run out of paint, and if you've just randomly mixed up a color, you will probably never be able to match it perfectly. Ideally you want to use a single color, and odds are that you can find whatever color you have come up with across the various ranges available. Save your custom mixes for characters and heroes.

[@VinceVenturella]

In the end, I don't find it matters much, I mix all over the place over many of these armies. Human eyes just aren't fine enough to detect minor inconsistencies. :)

[@Paranormal-Stupidity]

This is good advice. I need to change up my workflow. I've been struggling to stay motivated lately. I really enjoyed this video. Thanks for sharing!!!

[@akutch564]

Lots of great advice here. I think we need some more army highlight videos. Especially that Slaanesh army.

[@carkos98]

I am very surprised you haven't done a video showing all your current armies, it's been awhile since the last one

[@JackShaw-zs1rb]

Another great vid Vince!

[@cloraformsgood5340]

Excellent, thanks for showing some more inspiration along with your great advice. Much appreciated 👍

[@VinceVenturella]

No problem 👍

[@bensdn3969]

The most difficult for me is not the painting. It is to get rid of those mold lines!

[@Gogking1414]

Thanks Vince

[@zramirez5471]

Wow Vince - SMART goals much? I need to 6S Black Belt my kruleboyz... 🤣🤣🤣

[@tjthehobopainter9173]

Some great lines to keep in mind for sure ^^ Also, maybe don't go for a excessive amount of points in a army as start either. 40k runs between 1k to 2k points in general. So go for that at first. Not a 5k apocalypse army which gives a extra sum of mountain to climb before the army feels complete.

[@ThePingouin2ter]

Couldnt agree more with the workflow that works for you. I have come to the conclusion that batch painting is not for me. I get demotivated when I see everything that remains to be done just to do the next step of a scheme. Whereas model by model works for me and keeps me going.

[@antonjonsson424]

thanks, this was helpful

[@gregoryhall4062]

Always helpful

[@gregoiremallet5751]

Very interesting !! Thank's a lot

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad you liked it!

[@CCMinis]

Great video Vince!

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Derlaid]

Mine are: don't do lumineth as your first army, and then decide you're going to paint all the trim. What have I done? I guess that's me adhering to tip #3.

[@quahodron2756]

Love your channel and videos.

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you so much!

[@koz1138]

Well. The complete lack of doing these explains why I can’t seem to get my 2K Dark Angels army done…

[@DS_painting]

Great video! Please more Armies on Parade of your armies to show the rest

[@VinceVenturella]

Thanks! Will do!

[@colinfowler1571]

You mentioned that if you have used speed paints, don't then stress on the colour selection when looking to touch them up / highlight. Could you talk more about how to enhance speed paints. Sorry if this has already been covered, I didn't check...

[@VinceVenturella]

I have talked about it in some videos, but just find a tone that is slightly lighter or darker (as you need) or just mix in your contrast paint/speed paint with a universal highlight or shadow (as you see me discuss here) and apply them as a thin layer, good to go.

[@the250mikec]

You rock!

[@Rasmus.Elnegaard]

Great video! I am new in this hobby and have quite limited hobby time. I have problems translation my "visions" in to the actul paintjob and keep questioning my choices and not being satisfied. And its not like I am aming for anything fancy. The colours simply does not turn out as I thought. Probably just comes with experience, but if you have any good tips in that regard, I would love to hear them.

[@VinceVenturella]

It comes with time and practice, making it anything close to our mind is really just learning how to shape the light and work with the paints. TIme and practice, we all hit that place for sure. You are not alone.

[@TheJohtaja]

Hey Vince! Really grateful for all the teaching, tips and general advice you give! A question about executing on one's army colour palette: If I have basic metallic/silver/gold paints (e.g. Vallejo), and the figs have lots of armour and the like, could I glaze my primary colour on the armour parts to bring it forward? Should glazing keep the metal sheen coming through the top paint?

[@VinceVenturella]

Absolutely, in fact, you can use things like inks that are somewhat satin or glossy (or tamiya candy coats) if you really want them to stay shiny. Having a progression of color on the metallics can make it look better. If you look at my Alpha Legion video, you will see how I do that.

[@TheJohtaja]

@@VinceVenturella Thanks for the tip Vince, will have a look!

[@KevinHash-w9l]

Where are the pink minotaur's from around 1:13? They look incredible. I assume its a chaos list?

[@VinceVenturella]

Yeah, Ogroid Theridons

[@Xabierum]

Hey Vince, where did you get these corner accessories for your cabinet? Nice video as always

[@VinceVenturella]

Just cabinet stands from amazon, they're great!

[@nesciomau]

Thank you for honest advice! Thumbs up from me. Did you ever paint any tyranids?

[@VinceVenturella]

I've done a few for videos, never a whole army.

[@nesciomau]

@@VinceVenturella oh cool. I’ll browse your history later today in that case!

[@poulsentyler]

What do you do when you start getting burned out on an army you've already painted half of?

[@VinceVenturella]

Do a fun singular project, a one off display piece, some terrain, whatever, then recharge your batteries and get back to the army. :)

[@tomnowicki1408]

good video

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad you enjoyed

[@crazykev5]

I posted a picture of my first minis and the comments were not nice. i havent painted in a year... Im coming back now.

[@VinceVenturella]

That's unfortunate, people need to be respectful of where we all are on our hobby journey, its someting I live by when people ask me for feedback, glad you're coming back.

[@Kitbash.Carnage]

🔥🤘❤️

[@kyrok01]

Something I am curious about. Can primer "go bad"? I primed my aeldari models over 10 years ago with I believe chaos black rattle can and ended up never painting them. They sat in a box for most of that time and now I am getting back into the hobby. Do I need to re prime them or strip the paint or anything, or are they good to go as is?

[@VinceVenturella]

It would be good to dust them, but they should be just fine to paint over assuming they have been in a relatively stable environment temperature wise.

[@peterlageri4177]

Do you have a video on painting flames on armor?

[@VinceVenturella]

Yes, the orc armor video, I paint freehand flames on them

[@peterlageri4177]

@@VinceVenturella AH! UH! YES. Thank you!

[@thijsjonker8983]

Are you a full time youtuber, or do you also do commision work or anything else?

[@VinceVenturella]

Neither, I have a normal full time job, I also of course write games with Uncle Adam for our company (Snarling Badger). This is my 2nd of 3 jobs. :)

[@rexhurley4380]

Chaos fetish at all there Vince 8-)

[@VinceVenturella]

Oh, 100%!

[@jorgemontero6384]

So you are saying that painting Lamenters is a crazy idea?

[@VinceVenturella]

Not at all, Yellow can be so quick and easy, it's all in the undershading. I have several videos on it. :)

[@Swooper86]

I don't agree with the first point. Mixing paint for highlights would slow me down way more than just using a lighter blue.

[@VinceVenturella]

The challenge isn't just the one paint, it's all the paints, the lighter red, and the lighter brown and the lighter grey and so on and so on. This is where it can become quicker to just dip your brush, mix and go each time. But as always, to each their own. I know it's much faster for me.

[@GilthosDrakoniss]

😊

[@TheEnd]

oi Vince!

[@flowerknight4879]

First! Can’t wait to watch

[@custodesdan1089]

Will you ever put your wealth of painting knowledge into a book?

[@VinceVenturella]

Never say never

[@hrvojegrgic-akovic5552]

Slurp-lick brush and paint-dye models yes-yes!

[@carllocklear7780]

Vincey V.- " Points change favorite models are forever." GW- " hold my beer" nukes four armies at one time. And a whole entire model line that's less than a decade old.

[@VinceVenturella]

The models are still yours - that matters far more than their usage in the game, you created something, you made art. :) (and also, you can often use them in other games).