UPDATED! Every Citadel Contrast Paint & Army Painter Speedpaint REVIEWED and TESTED!!!

[@WylochsArmory]

Nothin like some DH for my morning coffee

[@DanaHowl]

Thanks Wyloch! I enjoy your vids too!!!

[@MoadikumMoodocks]

Thanks Dana, this kind of straightforward paint comparison video is really helpful.

[@DiscourseMinis]

FINALLY a GOOD purple. Was the biggest problem with the contrast range :< Ratling Grime might be a cheeky pick up for me because I have a few hundred Skaven that need painting!

[@DanaHowl]

Seriously!!! Luxion purple is one of the biggest wins in this entire range!!! You can create a lighter purple by adding contrast medium to it, or darker purple by adding Leviathan Purple to it, it's perfect!

[@acat5338]

You can definitely tell its popular since it's basically sold out in all of my FLGS and Warhammer stores.

[@xGamermonkeyx]

the funniest thing I've found about a bunch of the new Contrasts, Contrast Flats as you've named them, is they seem to be much more apt as a 'speed paint' than a Contrast. They're just designed to base coat super easily and quickly it seems. Really funny how Speed Paints should really more accurately be called Contrast Paints, and now many of the Contrast Paints really could be better off being called Speed Paints 😂

[@DanaHowl]

AGREED lol

[@lordsnake1988]

Speed paints should be called speed reactivation paints. Even the humidity in your hands reactivate them. Nice colors but horrible, good thing there are 2 new "Contrast paints brands on the Market" Both cheaper than contrast but without the Speed paint problems

[@-moongorilla-]

@@lordsnake1988 what are those brands? I must have missed them

[@RyanEdwardsVA]

@@-moongorilla- Greenstuffworld made "dipping inks" and Vallejo is dropping their line of "xpress paints" sometime soon

[@Dazron]

@@lordsnake1988 you can use that to your advantage in my experience. You can do some amazing blends

[@aGothpancake]

I really like Ratling Grime for weathering the metallics on my Orks; I basically apply it like a wash over a gunmetal base coast and then buff it with some bright silver. A similar effect can be achieved by mixing oil washes, but I prefer the convenience of having it ready to go in one little pot.

[@TimPoultney]

I've had equally bad experiences with GW sprays, specifically Zandri Dust. I have a few Skaven jezzails that look... A bit... Archaic now.

[@SquizmWizzerd]

Dust indeed

[@Zaphodox]

That’s entirely due to not shaking it enough and doing the spraying on a humid day

[@TimPoultney]

@@Zaphodox in my case, probably the latter. I shook the utter shit out of that can.

[@EE-yd7ef]

I do have a zandri dust that I really like. I’m not defending it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something off with like some batches, but maybe you sprayed in a bad environment?

[@Dazron]

They’re crap… move to airbrush primers as soon as you can!

[@DavePottsAmI]

You are a queen for doing this. Thank you and the project supporters. So cool.

[@SconeMonster]

Wow. This is dedication. I can't even. This is amazing. Thank you so much for all this! Also, the skink army is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. 🌈❤🧡💛💚💙💜🦄

[@ONIMOT100]

People recommending corax white spray were such fools. Any white or light grey primer works for contrast type paints, end of story. There is nothing magical about the GW primers that "activates" contrast paints (and as demonstrated, the corax white spray really sucks).

[@PavelThorsonos]

The weirdest bit is that Corax White was specifically the one light GW primer that *wasn't* made specifically to work with Contrast! The White Scar spray they replaced it with was, as were Wraithbone and Grey Seer (all three have a somewhat smoother coating than the other GW primers). But Corax White? Explicitly *not* made for them! Worked well with them ime, and I've not had the bad experiences a lot of people seem to have, but still the comments are bizzarre to me...

[@matteomazzoli6735]

I agree. Corax white is a terrible, crappy paint. Whoever suggest that bad stuff is a bit evil inside.

[@thisjustanother]

are all speed paints and contrast paints better with white primer? or is black ok? just getting back into warhammer and dont know what should be getting

[@Zaphodox]

A brighter white will result in brighter end results and also grey is,by definition, not neutral and will have more of an impact on certain colours e.g pale pastel colours and very bright colours eg yellow

[@WhatsleftofTom]

Black primer and white ink is my preferred base for contrast. Obviously I’m not the first person to say this. But throwing my hat into the ring for “use any light base that you like”

[@RottenJeeves]

Soon we will have Vallejo's own version of these paints coming out. You are going to be up to your ears in "contrast" type paints.

[@SquizmWizzerd]

Thank you so much for making these paint comparison videos! Skinks make for the perfect colorful 3d swatch.

[@paulausten5786]

I’d never buy Citadel or spray can primers over airbrush primers. Great review Dana, I got to admit I like some of the blues & greens. Waiting to see if you do a review of the Vallejo Xpress colors when the come out or a review of the Scale 75 instant colors.

[@Dreoni_]

Definitely you should review the new vallejo xpress and model color paints when they come out!

[@mrkapowski8507]

Obviously a bit late now, but White Scar is the recommended Contrast primer. Corax White was discontinued when the new paints launched.

[@dlh567]

It would be awesome if you could add a filter to the webpage to show only Citadel Contrast or AP SpeedPaints at once for those using one line or the other. I use the page all the time, so it's super helpful regardless! Maybe add a Google ad to the page so it makes some return on the investment?

[@StriderPA07]

Yeah, I use the website all the time too and leave it open on a tab in my phone. The ability to filter or maybe just visit a second page with just Speed paints or Contrast paints would be handy.

[@rickardelimaa]

Just spent the weekend painting a single miniature (for a D&D boardgame) for the first time in six months, and now I get this video as a reward. Great content as usual!

[@andresu83]

It happened to me using Tamiya spray cans. I believe you use the can too far, as the paint dries before touching the figure.

[@krayos13]

It's also to do with ambient humidity, As far as I understand if there is too much humidity or the temperature is too low the primer gets grainy like it did here. Something less extreme happens to me using an off the shelf automotive rustoleum primer (which are basically the same es these). Since then I just use vallejo airbrush primer, if you have an airbrush it's not only more convenient but a lot cheaper.

[@andresu83]

@@krayos13 yeah that too. But in the video you can see clearly that shee is spraying way too far from the 4-6 inch ideal-recomended distance.

[@andresu83]

Dont wanna play the smart ass card here. Is just something she coment on the video that also happened to me.

[@ScytheNoire]

Soon Vallejo will be releasing their Xpress Color (they removed the E so it starts with X, which makes it 90s edgy). So far they look very promising, more matte than other brands, and no re-activation issues.

[@colinmorrison5119]

They got stung by Green Stuff World when GSW trademarked Colorshift, forcing Vallejo the change that range to The Shifters (ridiculous, but that's corporate law for you), so they needed a trademarkable name.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Great stuff. Thanks for doing the video. Some of the new contrasts are super bright yet with a more subtle contrast effect.

[@Trazynn]

The 'dusty' effect on some of them is due to the spay cans not having been mixed well. It helps if you place them in lukewarm (but not hot!) water for 30 minutes and then shake them. That way the tuolene inside gets mixed better with the pigments. Army Painter cans have less of an issue with this. You can fix any dusty areas with Tamiy Superthin Glue or Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner (same product but Tamiya has a convenient brush). Just apply a bit and on the dusty areas and rub it with the appropriate brush (don't use anything else) so the dusty patches resettle into something smoother.

[@iPaintSmallThings]

It's interesting that not all of the contrast paints have the "contrast effect." Amazing work-- I appreciate you painting the spears and straps on all of them-- that had to take a while! The chart is really helpful.

[@Broeckchen]

As a beginner I honestly find that really shitty. If I didn't have ADHD hyperfixation to funnel me into hoovering up detailed research like this like crack, I don't think I'd be able to anticipate this. So if I tried to buy contrast paints for an easier entry level medium, I might end up with some of those and get really sad that the desired shading effecr is so absent.

[@Broeckchen]

I gotta say, after seeing your and Brent's videos a bit, I'm fully understanding why you two would be brought on as advisors for a new color range. Brent, of course, brings in a lot of chemical knowledge. But you seem to have an amazing eye for color, being able to pick out even small variations in hue very well. The confidence with which you categorize these colors, pinpointing the undertones exactly and describing consistencies very vividly, that's absolutely invaluable when it comes to creating a good range! I hope they actually listened to you, because your input sounds genuinely incredibly beneficial for such a project.

[@shaunhall960]

Not only did you put in so much work painting these miniatures but you also did the video for it. Thank you very much for your hard work!

[@fatpigeon8297]

by far the best videos when looking at Contrast and Speed paints... Thank you Dana!!

[@Octanetwisted1983]

Interesting that Vallejo Xpress Color has also been announced. Not a move I expected but hopefully more competition will keep pushing them all to keep improving them.

[@Harbinger1776]

Whenever I embark on a new project I always double check your page to see how these paints work. Thank you for your service.

[@j.r.r.martin3089]

What I really want is to see this rainbow lizard army finished! I absolutely love the visual overload!

[@eltigre7996]

I bought kroxigor scales, g. sewer and luxion purple to fill some gaps in the speedpaint range. I'm not looking to invest too heavily in contrast but are there any others you think might compliment the current range of speedpaints? Thinking maybe a yellow, possibly one of the lime greens, but i'm open to suggestions.

[@y-adouradou446]

Awesome Thank you! And now you have the vallejo xpress paints to test and compare, dont lose the skinks 😂😂

[@DanaHowl]

I will keep the skinks safe this time!!!!

[@Benry87]

I really love your videos. I get excited whenever a new one pops up in my feed. Your perspective on mini painting and technique is so different than everyone else's and I find it really refreshing.

[@chrissullivan6574]

Such a great breakdown and all the photos on your website!? GW and AP Owe you for all that! Thank you! Really helped me narrow down the colors I'm looking to paint my army!

[@Godsbane]

Thanks, Dana. And thanks, D.T. Sniper! Also, Vallejo is working on a sort of contrast paint equivalent, so I look forward to that video too.

[@Faiythe]

Thankyou, I'm just getting back into 40k after a 15 year break and this was super helpful

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks for doing these paint comparisons Dana! I've used your website a few times to decide which paint to use. I appreciate it!

[@MarshmallowMadnesss]

Omg I can't imagine stripping the paint off all those perfectly good ready-to-go minis. Thank you for what you do!

[@IPrint3dMinis]

Love the AP speed paints, they have been a game changer for me. I am not a fan of Citadel paints just due to the high price tag, and I cannot stand the pots.

[@mazubahtender]

Some spray paints tend to be sort of dusty in their results if you don't shake the can well enough before spraying. I ran into this issue myself when I primed my Skaven Arch-Warlock using Army Painter Matt White and my Warmonger Beastman Herdlord using AP Fur Brown. And no, you don't have to use Corax White for contrasts, any white primer works fine.

[@SymbaTheGreat0912]

This is the best contrast paint review I've ever seen! It helps a lot when I'm trying to pick up some contrast paints.

[@Ketothev]

Thank you for the time and effort you've put in this comprehensive video and your very much helpful website page! You're such a great addition to this hobby space. Thank you so much and keep going!

[@andrewpower]

Frustrated with the new flat contrasts. First time using contrast paints for me and I was so confused. I base coated black, dry brushed bright white highlights. Then I used black legion contrast which resulted in no highlights peaking through at all. Just solid black. Sadness. Your video helped so much with explaining what I did wrong.

[@jherazob]

Just in time for the release of the new Vallejo Not-Contrast line!

[@CJWproductions]

These are so vibrant and pretty! Your original guide has been super useful to me, I'm glad to see this updated version. Great work!

[@MartinODonnel]

Thank you for doing this again Dana, I've been checking your videos every day for this.

[@brotquel1592]

Honestly I prefer the old contrast paints, many of these new ones are way too covering and, as Dana said, they don't do the recess shading anymore... they just ptovide a flat base, which can be good (especially for yellow) but it's not why I buy a contrast paint for. When I buy a contrast is because I want a part of my model to be done quickly from shade to highlight, not to have a base upon which apply shades and highlights.

[@DiscourseMinis]

yeah, I'm just looking for SPEED with contrasts

[@Bluecho4]

This might be where pre-shading could come in handy. Instead of priming white, prime it dark (or as a midtone, and then dark washing it), then drybrush on progressively light. THEN apply Contrast.

[@brotquel1592]

@@DiscourseMinis Exactly! I mean, wasn't that the purpose of the contrast paints, to begin with?

[@wutebear9656]

Thank you for always providing detailed and ambitious videos to ensure feedback on all these hobby product lines...choice paralysis is a thing.

[@SupermarketZombies]

I think I'm going to try using Pylar Glacier to paint my a trinary (15 units) of Ghost Bear Theta Galaxy for Battletech. The scheme uses white over most of the mech with a grey arm and leg and blue flames sprouting from the white arm and leg.

[@madoffler]

The website you put together is a fantastic resource for the community!

[@brendanarmstrong7802]

Looking forward to the upcoming GSW Dipping Ink and Vallejo Xpress Color comparison! Might as well get some S75 Instant Colors too. (Also, the rubbed off paint on some of the models almost looks intentional in places. I think you could get a really nice effect on some lizards by stippling superfine white dots along raised ridges. It would be tough to pull off, though.)

[@Garth738]

Dana Thank you for posting the pics on your website. Great reference guide.

[@androcus]

I am trying to work through this exact issue. Perfect timing on the video drop. Thank you! DANA HOWL FOR PRESIDENT!!!

[@TheStevieboyh]

Folks saying Corax white for contrast are wrong, it's actually Wraith Bone spray in particular that was created for citadels contrast range.

[@jeffanctil4857]

Thanks for all this work! This video will help me reference which colors to use and when!

[@Dazron]

Wow. Such dedication to your craft and audience. Thank you so much x

[@Carstig]

Thanks for all the effort and pain(t) you had to go through to get this prepared!

[@soulcatcher521]

Worth noting, nearly all the paints you call out as "Contrast Flats" are the single pigment paints. Bad Moon Yellow, Imperial Fist Yellow, Magmadroth Flame, Baal Red, Doomfire Magenta, Leviathan Purple and Aeldari Emerald are the single pigment paints.

[@magnusmillerwilson]

that’s …a lot of skinks. 😳 I simultaneously feel sorry for you and extremely appreciative the effort you put into this! ❤️

[@Bluecho4]

It's almost enough Skinks for a WHFB 8th edition Lizardmen army. Did I say army? I meant "two blocks of infantry".

[@robsonribeiro7552]

I got the speedpaint after your reviews and no regrets! Pretty cool and also I use your resulto on your personal page to see the results and what to expect before start to paint any mini, thanks A LOT!

[@hunterwentworth1451]

The website is super helpful! This video came out just as I was looking for this kind of content, super good timing!

[@NecromediaNetwork]

Your poor basin! This is such a helpful reference, cheers Dana!

[@ChrisOsberg]

It's a shame about the primer, but thanks for testing all of these out! I can't wait to see the Vallejo Xpress paints 😁

[@ayonmetar2301]

Wow, that's some serious work you put into this. Thanks.

[@sympylpyq634]

I badly wanna do an army like this lol, maybe with some extra drybrushing. It unironically looks super cool on the table lmao. Great video!

[@TheWhoamaters]

I'm thinking of doing an army in contrast with some heavily coloured shadows like how Ninjon did his Votann mini

[@Bluecho4]

Maybe using the "Slap Chop" method going around these days? That's what I'm about to try on my Kruleboys.

[@B__C__]

The only real problem I see with an army like this is that they do look cool on display but if you were going to actually play them on a table you would really wanna arrange them in color groups (possibly even ROY G BIV order) like Dana did across the battle line, and then try to keep them in that order as they move to keep their rainbow cohesion. I think if they were all just laid out randomly they might just look a little confusing. If I were to play such an army I would probably limit myself to one or two complimentary colors (like all the greens for the skin tones on an army of orks, or the blues and greens for forest seraphon, or maybe yellows and oranges for desert dwelling lizard men). Still, it looks really nice on display and most armies spend most of their time either in a box or on display (hopefully the latter). Heck, you could use it as a 3D color chart when picking colors for other things (since you are likely to have a ton of barely used paint in your collection after completing the project).

[@stephenspackman5573]

@@B__C__ Do you get bonuses for having your army follow its declared gradient? This opens up all kinds of interesting rules possibilities.

[@B__C__]

@@stephenspackman5573 I'm just imagining what unit coherency would look like. 😉

[@Mikey__R]

I've heard people saying the flat Contrast paints are single pigment. I wonder how they compare to a straight up artists ink?

[@colinmorrison5119]

I posted above how I think they're mixed with titanium white to aid opacity, at the cost of shading.

[@krayos13]

I've wondered this since the line came out, since they seem to have many of the same characteristics. Particularly for airbrush use, which seems to be the reason a lot of people buy this

[@colinmorrison5119]

@@krayos13 it's very inconvenient they don't have a distinct moniker so you can tell which are transparent and which are opaque at a glance.

[@Mikey__R]

@@colinmorrison5119 to be fair, neither do regular S75 and Vallejo paints. You've often got to learn your paints as you go along, those paints also don't tell you other information like pigment mix and light fastness.

[@JudasCrusader]

Thanks love, you'll never know how much time you saved me.

[@ralieghwhite9076]

Wow!!! The most helpful paint reference video!!

[@MarauderPixie]

I didn't know I needed this video but oh boy is this useful! Thank you so much for your effort!

[@Tchousssman54]

Thanks a lot ofr the comparision ! It helps me a lot to decide ich paint to buy for my project ! Hell yeah !

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Awesome and very informative video. My favourite is the burgundy colours. Keep up the good work.

[@aechean]

Your dedication is inspiring. Thank you for doing this!

[@BelieveYouCanPaint]

I have never seen Corax White do that. I have used it since it came out. That said it isn't mandatory or financially logical to use it all the time. I use Krylon ColorMaxx Satin Almond and it is great. I also use Vallejo and various inks under contrast/APSP. It all works.

[@americashypeman]

You’re awesome for doing this. Thank you.

[@adamryan5038]

I think would be interesting to see you review the green stuff world dipping inks as there contrast paint offering especially with how much you get for the price.

[@WaterDragon128]

Love the website color page. Thanks.

[@TheSpiderdawn]

Excellent video. Very well laid out with excellent information. As always it leaves me very well informed in order to make my own purchases. I can only imagine how much time this must have taken!

[@freakishuproar1168]

Oh hey! Haven't seen you for a while! :3 Funnily enough I think that original speedpaint video with the skinks was the first thing I ever watched on your channel. Hope you're doing good Dana. 2:40 What on God's Green Flat Earth?!... I have to assume that has something to do with the models being stripped of their old paint, and not just the Corax spray working "as intended". That's one hell of an indictment for GW if its the latter.

[@DanaHowl]

Thanks! I'm doing good! This video took way longer to make than I expected but the next video should hopefully be done sooner than that!

[@freakishuproar1168]

@@DanaHowl I can see why it took a while to resurrect the skinks from their dusty corax doom :p Fantastic video btw!

[@LordByte]

Always, always.... put your rattlecans in hot water (for 10-20 minutes) before you use them. This lowers the amount of water that can condense on the paint before it hits the model, and so create the dreaded dust / speckling. (even allows you to use them in winter... but I also prefer the airbrush at all times)

[@glrasshopper]

It looks like the new contrast paints are meant to be used with a zenithal highlight. Up close, you can see some contrast, but not nearly enough for viewing on the tabletop

[@TheCommunistColin]

I think someone was trolling you about Corax White, Wraithbone and White Scar are the ones meant to have contrast put over them AFAIK. Still, amazing video and thank you for doing all of this work for our viewing pleasure!

[@Nigelius]

Yeah, having used contrast primers before the finish is similar to an airbrush finish but has was higher capacity to go wrong out of the can. I’m sticking to Vallejo ghost grey and not buying more grey seer spray.

[@oliverp3545]

She's back!

[@justinvenable917]

Maybe you could go into further detail about how you use the edge cases you were talking about. The black one is fairly obvious, but some of the others weren't quite as such.

[@popburnsy3207]

This was really great! But.... you missed the Grays(Greys)... And while they don't technically fall under "contrast paint" they reformulated all the old shades with contrast medium and added a number of new shades at the same time as the new contrast paints. Also, there's a new White Scar spray that is supposedly the new standard white spraypaint. But this was a great rundown!

[@philipstroud6327]

I'd love to see how you get on with scale 75 atrist colours, they're like heavy body acrylics in a tube, from what i've seen you either love them or hate them

[@HoltBuzzing]

I have been told that if your sprays leave that texture behind it is because you are spraying from too far away. The paint is already starting to 'dry' or some such before it touches the mini and thus leaves behind the small circles. I don't know if that is true or not. :)

[@daves4828]

Thx for this. I took copy of every AP one and created a cheat sheet to keep at my desk

[@kaldorf]

Wow that was alot of work. Thanks for putting all that effort into this great video.

[@eNIKaVmi]

Just, Thank You Dana!

[@BrendanPace]

Is it possible that you used an old corax white? They reformulated corax white to be smoother and i think brighter. And the Reformation of the recipe made it good from what I've heard.

[@2dola]

You'll have to have a look at greenstuff worlds new dipping inks, i got a couple and they seem really good.

[@DanaHowl]

I need a bit of a break from paint testing after the last two videos, but those ones are on my "to test" list!!!

[@lordsnake1988]

Yes better than speed paints and cheaper. I bought the entire catalog for compare colors between the 3 brands. And some colors are pretty close. Other are betters and a few one are bad/shades

[@1989eol]

@@DanaHowl Hey Vallejo is coming up with some contrast variant of their own. Why not test those too while you are at it! Must be fun! xP

[@thetabletopskirmisher]

Thank you so much for this video. Did you ever do a similar one for Speed Paints 2.0?

[@ne3xy]

did you dig that skink out of the ruins at pompeii or just spray it with GW spraypaint like damn

[@DanaHowl]

they had an unfortunate incident with GW spraypaint :(

[@evileyeball]

The only contrast I've used thus far was the Akhelian green which I used over Silver to paint Alpha legion for Kill team and I have loved it Hopefully I should be able to find some time for painting comming up and should be able to finish up those marines haha.

[@hank10111111]

I haven’t used these yet but I bet you can get some nice blend looking gradients layering those collors

[@peterscheler]

The big elephant in the room: Will you also test all the Vallejo Xpress paints?

[@DanaHowl]

I literally just heard about those after the script for this video was done and recorded but yes! Very interested in those!!!

[@IDOLA149]

Love the Baal / Ball / Bahl bit!

[@miniaturestash]

Great video, that's an amazing break down of a lot of colours haha

[@davidbright8978]

Now how do the colors look when a different base color is used. If you use a light tan or such you get changes in colors

[@MagnusMoerkoereJohannesen]

So, if we want to paint with CMYK contrast colours, should we go for Kroxigor Scales, Doomfire Magenta, Imperial Fist and either of Black Legion/Templar?

[@Unreal_BE]

So are you now going to repaint all of them adding thé greenstuff new contrast type paints?

[@edwardcote2440]

Great idea and very useful resource. Thanks.