Exploring Colors: White (How to Paint White) - HC 442

[@jillsyillsy]

Thanks so much, Vince. As a woodcarver, I use white all the time for painting Santas and snowmen and have the hardest time trying to shade and highlight. (And differentiate Santa's beard from fur on his coat). Great tutorials!

[@Misterfairweather]

Sorry, sorry everyone, this is my fault I was rewatching all his prior white videos this week because every few years I decide to challenge myself by painting in white and black and Vince is my source for actually learning how to work with colors. Thank you for the color videos, they fill a big gap in my understanding of how to paint.

[@cybermbebe]

Oh yeah. These are A-MA-ZING!

[@philipgriffiths3106]

I've just watched this video & feel I want to have another crack at repainting my Young White Dragon. Now that is a challenge I've failed with more than once! But the idea of using pastel shades from the cold spectrum has given me food for thought & I certainly wouldn't have thought about using a green pastel as a cold white. Thank you for this insight. It's been a very informative watch 😊

[@philgee486]

Vince is my encyclopaedia of hobby thinking, I watch other people paint, I learn things from Marco, from Riccardo, the Wappel, I'm inspired by Alex and many others but when I need a specific subject analysis, when I need that full understanding to slot into a project, when I want to paint black hair and get the halo right, when I want to take flesh tones in an evil or underground direction, when I have 50 yellow marines to paint, I come to my reference library that is Vince. I'm so grateful for it. There's no-one else that comes close

[@AVS_uk]

This is super helpful Vince. My job is to paint the snow on Mount Blanc (most people don't know that snow actually falls blue and we Snow Painters have to paint it all white), so this video will really help me out. Your ski trip will look much whiter next winter

[@razzlebazzle420]

Are you new, i went on a school trip about 21 years ago and the last guy was killing it

[@AVS_uk]

@@razzlebazzle420 - ah yes, that would have been Old Bill - a legend in my field. He painted the slopes for 40 years, a real expert and genius at ice whites.

[@razzlebazzle420]

@@AVS_uk Glorious. Tell me, did he paint the ice-caves with all the sculptures too? His mastery of translucent glazes absolutely blows me away. One day I hope to gain such skills.

[@Slayernuke83]

Thank you for the video. I have the most difficulty in getting white to look right on so many items.

[@erinweatherly6539]

What a great video. I forwarded this to a friend who is just starting out. I said the trick to painting white is just don’t do it. I didn’t explain it very well. Vince is a great teacher

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad it was helpful!

[@alternate3787]

I got a lot of inspiration from the MtG set Mirrodin, where everything is made of metal. The amount of bright reflections while staying diverse enough to present a world is really something

[@jasontrinque]

That is a really interesting point about adding the gloss varnish to the white to make it read more white. Thank you for sharing that! I think I remember someone saying something similar for adding gloss black in shadows for reducing the graying effect that matte paint would cause. You have inspired me to try and experiment with going from trying a satin black shadow, matte layers, and then a gloss highlight! Fun!

[@cordial001]

I love your hobby videos. You touched on how good the Pro Acryl off-whites are. I was blown away myself by how much better they are than most other lines on the market for those sorts of colors. I don't know how they do it.

[@milamilla1977]

I was making fairy garden for kids and used your advise to paint white parts of the project. Turned out really well!

[@wpb5876]

So much appreciation for all your work and sharing your knowledge of painting. I’m planning to paint a white Manticore (based on the Dark Souls mini-boss) and this video is a godsend!

[@VinceVenturella]

Wonderful!

[@fitz394]

The other videos that came up when I searched "Understanding whites" to find this video again was quite the interesting journey

[@VinceVenturella]

Yeah, I honestly was worried about that when I made the video. Yeesh. Some real mine fields there.

[@edgarbaez516]

This video has been on my wishlist for awhile, I'm excited its finally here!

[@brkfstfd]

I've been doing some of my highest highlights on S2D lately with the updated game color Verdigris. That's a really great way to see how composition and surroundings influence how color reads. No one would assume it's verdigris without being told. It reads as 99% dead white next to so much payne's gray and black.

[@cyagen9782]

I enjoy this Serie a lot more than I should. Thanks Vince

[@Maximilian4th]

Thanks vince you gave me the inspiration for a heresy project i’m working on.

[@MattCexwish]

Thanks for this Video, Vince! :) I remember how back in the day, the great José Manuel Palomares Nunez (JMPN) and Alfonso Banshee Giraldes were showing how one can paint the White Robes of the Knight Model's Anakin vs. Obiwan Diorama with different shades of orange and green, yet still achieving an amazing perceived White Effect! As a rule of thumb, never use pure White in anything (similar to how you should never use a pure Black) and mix in tiny amounts of accompaning tones found in the scene to tie the piece together. Keep those Videos coming :)

[@MaskedRiderChris]

Oh yes, I still dread painting white even after what, 14-15 years of painting! But this is, as usual, an excellent video full of good information, thank you Vince!

[@VinceVenturella]

You can do it!

[@Coordinator010]

Okay Vince but now I have to go back and painstakingly repaint every single Black Templar shoulder with these cool new whites you've mentioned

[@TravisHi_YT]

5:03 I wish this was the first part of the video, I made the massive mistake of painting my Tau Army Scar White. I'll never use white as a feature color again. I'll always use a grey.

[@alanwesley598]

Everyone who paints minis needs this video.

[@bradlothrop4076]

Why not get into mixing? Titanium makes pastels when mixed but a "zinc white" is a good mixing white for lightening a colour due to being a bit transparent. I find this fact is where many paints go wrong much like titanium is added to a colour as more a gouache (to make opaque). This was observed a bit with the Army Painter Fanatic paints. Zinc white is the little known hero of how to lighten a paint and maintain some level of saturation. Great video and good note on gloss to make white read better.

[@CoconutCheez]

This video came at the perfect time. I'm about to paint some white cloak and cloth. Thanks Vince!

[@shaunkrogulski9619]

Great information as always!!

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MisterTingles]

stellar as always!

[@ivan7672]

thank you for the great explanation!

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad it was helpful!

[@terrydactyl2077]

God this video was what I needed! I haaaaate all my whites. But I’m grabbing then ProAcryl set soon finally.

[@daniellof453]

What are your thoughts on zinc (or mixing) white? Not just mecha had a great case for highlighting without losing saturation instead of titanium white.

[@VinceVenturella]

I think it's viable

[@jonahland]

5:47 I hate to do you dirty but while talking about using white for reflections your glasses and forehead are perfect examples!

[@VinceVenturella]

No shade in that all all. Only truth detected.

[@Ryadic]

What kind of white would you recommend to put down as a base for glowing colors? I'm new and the first time I did this on the Ultron MCP model, I put down Bold Titanium White from Pro Acryl on the glowing underparts of his model and then glazed over colors to give it that glow. Can't remember where I learned this, but you didn't seem to mention using white for this. I'm wondering now if a white that leaned towards my glow color would have been better.

[@Jfk2Mr]

Well, white being the best colour for fluorescent paints (for pretty much same reason as for contrast paints) was mentioned in HC 369

[@VinceVenturella]

No, you were fine, for that kind of undershading, pure white is great.

[@masterabaddon6992]

I usually do it with a brush.

[@DrScotavious]

Vince talking about the white glint and my eyes immediately flicker to his forehead. Im bald too, i just thought that was funny 😂

[@chrisbarrett1006]

Thanks for another great video Vince!

[@VinceVenturella]

My pleasure!

[@barry7963]

Really great video. I have been struggling with white for a really long time and I gave up on it. This has inspired me to get my 90s elves back out and give their robes a try again. Do you have a recommendation for a paint recipe that would be a good starting point for warm white robes that could take some of the guess work out of deciding what colours to play around with?

[@VinceVenturella]

Something like you see here, start with warm grey shadows like a reddish grey and just build up through some off-whites of choice into the final pure white.

[@whofreakincares1000]

Love to see as always.

[@terrydactyl2077]

I wonder Vince, sir. Do you happen to have a video on how white paint is used in mini paints to make them more opaque? And how this can affect colour mixing and lead to more desaturated colours? The guys at my hobby store were talking about this today and I found it interesting and it’s something I didn’t know.

[@VinceVenturella]

Nothing specifically, but its a good topic for the future.

[@reverentALB0]

Hey Vince… is there a good way to glazing white? I get the concept & feel I can nail it.. just wouldn’t know where to start with white.. any tips would be amazing! Keep up the good work ✌️✌️

[@VinceVenturella]

Same concepts, it's just trickier, if you use a little gloss varnish to thin, that can help.

[@reverentALB0]

@@VinceVenturella cheers man appreciated

[@ramenron]

You just had to show that bloody painting, didn't you!?! We were distracted by the french for Crom's sake. Keep up (the otherwise) great work Mr. V.

[@brib9716]

A timely video since I'm starting an LRL army. Do you have a recommendation on how to paint shields separate from the models? As in how and what to mount them on?

[@VinceVenturella]

I use something like the GW paint handles and blue tack them to the side.

[@Streetsam]

Great!

[@tracygrove3484]

The only time to use pure white is when painting the reflections from the lamp on Vince's glasses.

[@Kevin-lr8ip]

Do you have any tips for using Pro Acryl Heavy Warm White? I'm struggling with its satin nature. As a base coat, other paint struggles to stick on it, and the shine shows through less opaque layers as well. I can't figure out what the use case for this paint is!

[@ricardoflummiremus]

The bottle says loaded brush if you look closely / search for it. Despite this I’m having the same issues but different. I know it’s meant to highlight things with or without loaded brush technique but I can’t seem to find a reasonable color to do it with aside from skin. Maybe watch some more Ben Komets Videos, I’m sure he demonstrates it at some point. Other than that, I figured it’s like pale sand, and you can basically dry brush everything with it so to say Cheers

[@VinceVenturella]

It's definitely not your base coat color, you want it for highlights, feathering, and final highlights, that is where it shines.

[@don_hinsen]

Thanks for the insights! I see some folks using tamiya- white because it is supposed to go on very smooth . do you have experience with it? worth a try? (i did not try ot yet, due to it also needing specific thinner etc.)

[@Jfk2Mr]

It's pretty good when you airbrush it, not as great when using regular brush. Though it leaves alcohol scent, which may be a problem

[@nicholassinnett2958]

I've tried Tamiya Flat White, and switched to AK 3rd Gen White after one try. It's fairly smooth as far as whites go, but not as much as the AK one, which airbrushes like a dream (and isn't alcohol-based).

[@joshuabrown722]

Great tutorial. One problem I’m having is I want to transition from the lighter grey I’m using as my “white” to a true white on the top of a rounded surface like a helmet. I’m struggling to get the true white and the light grey to blend together. Glazing doesn’t really work because it’s white and stippling leaves brush marks that are very visible on a white surface. Any tips?

[@VinceVenturella]

So a couple of options, you can glaze with the near white, it's harder, but it can be done. You can greatly reduce the size and increase the number of stipples, if you go to a more pointalism, you can blend those lines with the very tiny dots.

[@ricardoflummiremus]

@@VinceVenturellathis tip is gold. Thank you so much! And happy painting!!

[@mannschaftvonarschloch1214]

The glint of light off your bald head

[@overlordmarkus]

The more interesting question would be when to use which off-white. For a red miniature, do we want a warm white-ish cream or do we go with a blue-ish white for the cold? Why blue-ish and not green-ish?

[@VinceVenturella]

It's aligned with your environmental light - Cold environment/lighting - then cold whites, or vice versa

[@dm4544]

Hello Vince! This video really showed up at the right time. You mentioned numerous near-white paints, but what about *priming* in white? I have been struggling to find a white primer that I can *brush-on* to my 40k minis that goes on smoothly with even coverage. So far I have tried Vallejo White Surface Primer (and Grey) and both have been FAR too runny and bubbly (despite using a minivortex mixer) as well as Army painter Matt White air primer (which was somewhat runny but didnt have nearly the same amount of frothy behavior as the Vallejo) and Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer - White which went on rather thick and gunky/gummy. (Citadel White Scar spray primer can be OK-ish but I prefer brush-on priming my minis for sub-assembly.) Do you have any thoughts or suggestions? If it helps, the follow-up colors will be many and varied, but primarily bronzes/golds/reds. The white is mostly for that extra vibrancy.

[@VinceVenturella]

Honest answer - prime in dark grey, heavy drybrush of a white or better, off-white paint.

[@gnostic2459]

Do you know what colors work well as a shadow for a warm, creamy white color? Like boiled custard, or the heavy warm white paint from pro acryl? Trying to paint some warm white armor and don't want it to look funny.

[@VinceVenturella]

greys with a blue tint, warm highlights have cold shadows generally.

[@howardcoates6985]

the mix of gloss varnish and white paint, would that be something to avoid using your sable brushes with?

[@VinceVenturella]

You can use your sables, you just want to clean them well afterwards.

[@DeNaga1995]

@3:17 the real secret to speed painting

[@TheGImp1214]

I’ve noticed you’ve stopped zenithal highlighting your mini’s lately. Do you still do it? What is your decision for using it and not using it?

[@VinceVenturella]

I have a video on priming that discusses it, but in short, zenithal is an assumed lighting situation - the light diffuse from above. If I am trying to create any other lighting scheme, better to start from black in many cases.

[@desertzombie]

What would you recommend for painting white tanks for Flames of War? Im trying to go for the snow themed

[@VinceVenturella]

Any progression of grey up through a near white will do you fine. I have an older video that is more warm colors, but I would say something like a reddish grey up to an off-white.

[@desertzombie]

@@VinceVenturella awesome thanks

[@RottenJeeves]

Do you think you will see the claukiness of pure white if you are only using it for the glints of eyes and such? My brain tells me that you will not notice the difference unless you are painting over a larger area. Perhaps I am wrong?

[@VinceVenturella]

No, that's the key, use the dead white rarely and it won't be a problem.

[@JohnBrandenburg82]

I seem to have trouble thinning my white paint on the brush. It’s either very gloopy, or a runny, or races into cracks where I don’t want it. If I think I have it thinned on the brush enough, it seems not to transfer from the brush to the model. This just seems particular problematic with white paint, where I do want to use it in small, controlled lines. Any tips?

[@VinceVenturella]

What white paint are you using, the brand matter a lot here.

[@JohnBrandenburg82]

@@VinceVenturella Citadel White Scar.

[@ricardoflummiremus]

@@JohnBrandenburg82that’s like the worst white miniature paint out there right now. Sorry to say, but it’s notorious for beeing bad. It gets even mentioned throughout different painting guides from all kind of GW era’s (90/00/10..) The best white as mentioned in the comments should Be golden artist heavy body white. For miniature paints most definitely pro Acryl Cheers

[@TheGamerZapocalypse]

So, Golden Titanium White wins over Monument Hobbies Bold Titanium White?

[@VinceVenturella]

I think so, that being said, it's a HBA white, for actual miniature paints, nothing beats the Pro Acryl whites.

[@Winterydee]

Your walls are most likely a Swiss Coffee or Cream color... I've painted enough apartments, condos and homes to know the trends for the last few decades. Also the ceiling is most likely painted Ceiling White which is its own stand alone color sold in 5 gallon buckets pre-made on the shelf at any Home Depot or Lowe's. Can you tell that I do general construction from my comment?

[@joshbecka6110]

Actually white isn’t a color..oh you address that almost immediately… I will go over there now

[@Jamespaintsplastic]

For some reason, my best white says ivory in the bottle? Lol

[@0nyxWolf]

PLEASE, use audacity and the noise reduction function to remove the background noise. It's free and would drastically improve your videos.

[@VinceVenturella]

I'll see what I can do.

[@crowythebutcher6127]

Holy shit am i first

[@Thornspyre81]

Hahah

[@Thornspyre81]

I love using Pro Acryl's Bold Titanium White as a mix for highlights. I try straying from using a pure white in this regard but its properties are just so nice to me.

[@bodotrenaud7441]

Never

[@vivanjester431]

Vince is so powerful he can paint a portal back home while at adepticon just to give us a hobby cheating video

[@maximebemer3407]

😂 Is it possible to learn that power??

[@grimoirworkshop6623]

We already established he can mind control people too.

[@grimoirworkshop6623]

Maybe Vince is secretly prince of Amber? They knew the art if drawing portals.

[@Linkittytetris]

"Hello everybody! And welcome to another hobby cheating video. Today we're gonna talk about magic colors, and I don't mean Citadel's Aether-whatsit blue. Let's get into it."

[@jorgemontero6384]

That AK pastel purple is a killer that I am surprised you never mentioned in your list of favorite colors, because basically nobody else in mini painting makes it, and it's just as good illuminator for purples and magentas as ice yellow is for many other colors. Ice yellow just overpinks magentas. I just don't touch purple without it

[@KujoPainting]

Something that helped me was just to think of it as painting a light colour, rather than painting white. So a light green, light pink, light blue etc. Then when it's surrounded by darker colours it reads as white even though it's not.

[@VinceVenturella]

Absolutely agreed! Hope you're doing well sir.

[@thornthallid950]

Loving all the MtG angels on the screens in the intro background.

[@Krullio]

Notice the one with all the different white tints/tones. Pretty applicable hehe. Subliminal messaging that technomancer Vince throws at us

[@Cordeneaux87]

You can tell Vince recently updated his kitchen and his wife won out on the color aesthetic...

[@gabyzzeetoon4516]

😂😂😂

[@bragoen]

5:04 "Here's my first piece of advice to make white easy to paint" and in my mind I just go "Don't".... I laugh so hard when that's exactly what you said

[@mattbrown1306]

Another timely, helpful, and accessible tutorial. Vince continues to crush hobby content.

[@OlafKievit]

Thanks for stretching my ideas about "near whites" a bit farther out, much appreciated, Vince!

[@VinceVenturella]

My pleasure!

[@S.A.S.H.]

Should I have been worried when my 6th wife wore a blood-red wedding dress?

[@vs5031]

My daughter the realtor laughed at me when l said white kitchen counters are the dumbest thing I've ever seen...

[@mr.adamski6431]

I’ve been struggling with painting white for years. Thanks for the useful info and tips!

[@VinceVenturella]

Happy to help!

[@MrGibsn1960]

We painted our daughters bedroom "intimate white" from Sherwin Williams and it's definitely not white on the wall.

[@Satli]

I bought the Golden SoFlat box after you did a video on it a while back. By far the best white paint I've tried.

[@galatician8063]

I appreciate your black and white values: Painting over black: "Stop waisting your life". Painting pure white: "Just don't!" (Unless it's a glint).

[@leejesm]

Ok. Mixing/zinc white. Thoughts? Any use for it in your stuff?

[@VinceVenturella]

Haven't really used it too much, so I don't have good thoughts to add.

[@martinsteward1657]

Brilliant video! Shocked at how white those paints looked on the model.

[@darthmelsie]

I have been struggling for SO long with painting white and just never knew that the issue starts with the inherent roughness of the pigment. It's not really surprising in retrospect because the quality of white paints among different brands is _remarkable._ Army Painter used to have one of the worst whites I've ever worked with, but have had luck with AK these days. The only ways I approach it anymore is 1) using GW's Apothecary White Contrast over flat white for something quick or 2) a Foundry-style buildup from dark grey to white for something that looks good *but* takes a while. For once, I actually feel excited for the next time I need to paint something white lol

[@flowersofsulphur5532]

Some really interesting points. Thank you for taking the time to share. I was hoping you'd also cover the use of white to lighten colors and things to think about (e.g. for edge highlighting if you don't have a go-to pot of paint that is already lighter/brighter that meets your needs. So for example - what are the pitfalls? ... and do you need to sometimes think to offset by adding white + another warm/cold color?).

[@VinceVenturella]

In general, I just mix in a little bit of those pastel near whites into my base tone to knock out the edge.

[@mactac]

Is the pro acryl white that much better than ak whites. To the point where you would buy the pro acryl and use them instead ?

[@VinceVenturella]

I think they are solidly better, but its not like the AK are bad, it depends on whether you want to spend money or not

[@RookieBrushes]

My favourite series is back! Thank you for everything you do.

[@mbau8886]

My Army Painter starter set contains Matt White, so I thought... The guys that help me adviced not to use it (in other words :-)). I am struggling with my first set of figures, admiring the work I see often in internet, thinking that the natural and real look of lights and shades is done by lighting... and here I see how it gets painted. Good painting needs to master both hand and eye. Thanks for inspiration.

[@RussellThornton-f9z]

Thanks for the usual great tips. Question. What about a pure white acrylic ink when needed? I love your recommendation about using Paynes Grey acrylic ink as a universal shade.

[@VinceVenturella]

It can be good to mix into other colors and get them more flowing and smooth.

[@MarketResearchReading114]

Gloss+white is such a nice shout, thank you Vince!

[@markgnepper5636]

I love all Vince Ventrella Stuff 👏👍

[@ThePingouin2ter]

Thank you so much for this one. The pastel blue becoming a white when applied was eye opening.

[@kevinhayes517]

Another superb tutorial packed with the underlying theories (which you make easily understandable) and a lot of great tips for the painting process on this color……thank you so much for you time and effort to help us paint better!

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad it was helpful!

[@markdorn8873]

I wish I'd seen this video before painting my Shining Spears. Thanks for sharing! Also, I don't think I've ever seen a video where someone says, "Let's grab Larry out, and we're just going to paint his butt." 😂

[@goforitpainting]

Cool as always. 🖌

[@paranelmanterlyzastratatum885]

I'm trying to figure out how to paint my sororitas armor to look like porcelain or ceramic with that glossy white, and I think this helps a lot. I'm considering going from a cooler blue-grey to a more orange-ish white given that I'm pairing this with light blue cloaks, then covering the armor in a gloss varnish, which seems to get the look I'm going for with that last segment. Thanks again Vince, your videos are always the best!

[@gerritvandenbosch4681]

This reminds me of my graphic design work in printing. White is easily tainted by other colours, but when near whites are next to white you almost never cam tell, and sometimes looks better than unprinted white areas.

[@rikardsandstrom]

This thing about warm shadows need cool highlights and vice versa, where is that coming from? Do you have any video on the subject?

[@VinceVenturella]

The short answer is nature. It's actually just how light in nature works - if you look, the shadows from the sun are more blue, where as at night, the shadows are warmer. I have talked about it in a few videos, never as the focus.

[@oleww50]

Not sure how you do it but you always seem to read my mind with these videos! White is on my agenda 😅🙏❤️

[@alexanderk.7782]

How about white skin like Azad or Borg the orks from the Hobbit, they are alive no Vampire or Zombie or smth like that... kind of cold but smth special... next Video incoming? Bye and Thx a lot like always

[@spuriusligustinus4509]

A video about white and not mentioning Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White, heresy ! I use it pure on the trims of the SP of my 1st company Ultramarines as well as the Ultima symbol. Works really well for an "in your face effect" while the rest is recess shaded and highlighted

[@TerrierHalo]

I did get the Monument white just to see if it was real, and now I find myself mixing paints with it all the time so that kind of backfired. :D I would get their off-whites to make my life easier but they’re kind of expensive and hard to get over here, so that’s on the some-day list. I have been trying to paint some white on a black banner and have not been happy with the end result, the (off) whites end result don’t look quite right, will have this fresh in mind on my next attempt, thank you kindly.

[@nicholassinnett2958]

I see some people who insist that using any off-white paint just doesn't look "white", and then they go and paint things that just look unnatural because they have it in their minds that white must mean pure white, even though it's a thing we rarely see in nature. I'd invite them to look around a typical well-stocked bathroom or kitchen, and really pay attention to the different tones they see. I guarantee they'll see ten or more different, distinct shades of off-white that they'd normally just lump into the "white" basket.

[@MobWob-]

Thx for the content

[@ariellouit8523]

Hey @vinceventurella please continue the series! I think there is maybe some more colors to talk about. Greys or blacks? Fluo? Metalics?

[@ILikeYous]

When using wash/ink white to recess wash lines so you can color them and make them look like they are glowing, like a 40k Space Marine Librarian Armor or a AoS Chaos Lord do you use one of the near white colors or go straight for flat white in whatever mixture you use? I know oil washing is popular but I am referring to acrylics as I don't break out the oil paints unless I am going for bulk painting or display/contest quality stuff.

[@VinceVenturella]

Either can work really.

[@PhD777]

The gloss will actually make the surface smoother than the matte white alone since mattes have a broken/rough surface compared to the gloss smoother/even surface.