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I recently posted about maybe trying dipping and I was told to try washes first. I said that I tried before but they hardly ever turned out, but I was told that was because of me watering down the washes, which was true, as now since I tried my hand again without watering down the badab black, it turned out much better.

So here are 3 sets of 2 pics. First set is a model with no wash, second set is a model with a regular wash, and third set is a model that has been washed twice.

Which of the three do you think is better and how could I improve? Also, is the badab black too much for a wash on the skull white? (sorry for all the 'old terms' of paint colors btw lol).

ALSO!!!! The black doesnt have enough depth (arms, etc) what do I do with it? THANKS!

This is really my first time (since the other one didn't work) trying my hand at washes, I want to get my method right, since StyleXHobby was gracious enough to send me a sample pack to start on my washes.

Sorry for the bad pics, I got a cheap camera.

Thanks in advance!

Blacks tend to be very flat, you cant shade it (obviously) but you can highlight up.

Here is a great article on how to do it, and do it well. HandCannon deals mostly in the WM/H mini range but the principles hold true no matter what you are working on. Good luck.

http://handcannononline.com/blog/2011/04/07/tutorial-painting-cloth-and-highlighting-black/

What I usually do for highlighting Black is to avoid using black as basecoat. The key for black is to AVOID black! Black absorb color, it cannot be highlight proprely. Black you should not highlight, it's a color that can only be shade. You need to think backward when you deal with black. You start with the bright color and you shade it until you got what you want. For that, it's necessary that your basecoat must be a grey or a mix of 75/25 Gray and Black. Than, with some washes you can use them to get it more darker.

#1: Basecoat with 75%Gray and 25%Black
#2: Multiple layers of dark washes (not necessary black)
#3: Make a mix of 75%Water and 25%Black in deepest place.

Make multiple layers and let them dry, avoid make only one big layer to save time. The key is the more layer you got, the smoother the transition will be. One big layer of wash will simply make the shade glossy.

I'm with Qcbob - never paint black as black - always use a dark grey, then wash with black and a tone colour if required (for example, blue if you want a cold looking black, red if you want a warmer black, etc).

Usually when I see really good Raven Guard, they look like they used black and just applied a grey trim to most of the pieces (with red shoulder trim obviously). Is this just an optical illusiin?

I personnaly like the P3 Greatcoat Grey as basecoat. It is just a personnal taste, it have a little blueish tinkles that make it easier to shade. When come to deal with Black, the Citadel paint have a little bit too much pigment in it. It require much more water to make it translucent for shading, if there is not enought water it give a chalk effect that make it hard to smooth proprely.

I've actually been using light grey as my base for blacks and then building up layers of Nuln Oil or other shades to get to where I want to be - then doing edge highlighting. All of the blacks on the image below were done with this technique:

Another important factor when using washes- is getting rid of the mold lines.

Since washes settle into recesses and seems- and darken them- if you do not smooth out the mold lines the washes will basically flow along them like another sculpted detail.