Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I see a lot of wash use to simulate weathering. On the skaven forums they comment how a final wash of Delvan Mud or Basab Black leaves them looks 'grimier' whereas the ones that don't get a wash, or don't get a complete wash, are 'clean'.

I've also started to notice that all the washes are DARK (brown, black, red, deep blue) I wonder if anyone's experienced with LIGHT washes (Yellow, White, sky blue) and if so, what effect it had.

I don't think that using washes lessen or heighten anyone's painting skill: it's a tool. If one does not have GW washes, the same effect can be achieved by watered down paints. Does that make him/her less of a painter for watering down his/her paints? It's just a technique. You either use it or you don't.

Check my gallery. Although I'm not in the level of winterdyne and such, I believe that my work is at the very least above average and not your typical tabletop standard level. I mostly undercoat in black like you (yeah, I'm painting a white and red army. Crazy, I know.), and I can still find use for washes. They're not clumsy like you think: you don't usually just slather it on the model and call it a day if you're aiming for a high standards. You use pinpoint washing: put badab black on an open mouth colored in scorched brown to deepen the shadows, baal red on a red cloak to even out the red color and to tone down the orange highlights, tint a bleached bone undercoat to give it a dirtier appearance... the list goes on.

Well put Hearts...

Bounty wrote: I wonder if anyone's experienced with LIGHT washes (Yellow, White, sky blue) and if so, what effect it had.

I HAVE done this strangely enough, as a very youngster, yellow or white wash on black Eldar armour, the results were...cloudy and looked a bit odd, like a photo-negative but not in a good way haha, I have seen bright orange washes used for rust on darker metal doors before and bright blue used on white details on a power sword as part of that arcing lightening effect process (though thats just a bright version of the way a standard wash is used).

I have an imperial guard army and I’m not a patient painter and don’t have the skill to layer and so on so I though washing would be the best alternative for me. I painted the cloth a khaki colour and have tried washing with citadel black wash and it always makes the original colour look dirty so I tried using devlon mud and after one wash I couldn’t tell where I had actually applied the stuff.

So maybe I’m doing it completely wrong but I just can’t seem to get a good effect from them .

I dont think any golden daemon painter would use washes except for weathering. I see washes as a time saving tool, for truly high end work layering is a better option

Au contraire, I know a couple of GD winners who do use washes quite a lot. The question is HOW. Swamp a model/area with wash? Apply a thin glaze to adjust a hue.
Really depends on the use. Shading a whole area with a wash is a quick and easy, often sloppy looking beginner's way to paint. But you can use a wash like any other color in thin layers and take advantage of the translucent properties of a glaze.

Sorry for the threadomancy, but Ghost and I have been discussing painting matters in his blog and I thought it fitting if I threw in my two cents here as well.

I painted a flamer of Tzeentch recently for a painting comp at my local GW. I wanted to do a nice blend from turquoise at the bottom to bright purple at the top. Normally, i would have just blended and layered my colours but in this comp, the time limit was 4 hours (and I can happily spend 4 hours just painting a shield at home). I found that using blue and purple washes was a great way of speeding things up and, while the end result was not perfect by any means, produced a more than acceptable result!

I usually use washes for 3 things: Black wash over a white primer is great for picking out details and giving you a good base shadow if you are going to be using darker colours.

After painting a mid-tone colour onto fur/cloth/ a dark-medium wash will really help pick out the shadows. I think it is important to thin the wash down when doing this though or the effect will be too strong.

Finally, when painting face I will use many different washes. Usually a dark brown on top of the basecoat, then a mix of blue and/or red before i apply any final highlights depending on the look of the model.

Skippy wrote: I see washes as a time saving tool, for truly high end work layering is a better option

I know a few older gentlemen who have been wargaming for about 50-odd years who will tell you painting with acrylics is for hacks. They would then tell you painting with oils is the only way to achieve truly natural looking color transitions. Not trying to be snarky, just throwing that out there for perspective. The fact is, washing and dry brushing when done right and done well, can achieve astonishing results. Like any method, there is a time and place to use it, and a time and place where it doesn't work well. IMHO, if you're painting a table top army that's going to be handled frequently, dropped, knocked around, etc., decide on what the minimum acceptable quality is for you, and put the real time and effort in on your display figures. Also, I add some water/flow aid to my washes so they flow into the recesses without tinting the mids and highs to such a drastic degree as straight wash. I also sometimes paint my wash only in the recesses and then glaze the mids and highs to smooth out the transitions and/or adjust the hue to my liking.

I rarely use washes, or inks. I prefer to work my way through many shades of paint to a better effect, without causing the dark shadow areas to be shiny!, washes are meant to darken the deeper areas where they collect, so light reflecting off washes/inks in these "shadowy" areas looks wrong. Just start with a darker shade of the colour you need, then dont paint over it in the areas that a wash or ink would collect. This has always worked fine for me, just takes a lot longer, but worth it!

Howeverthe old citadel inks are great for adding colour to mettalic paints, creating an anodized look. ive not tried it with the newer washes (whick i think are just watered down inks...=more profit)

Ghostflame wrote:My pet hate...(and not to offend anyone here, theres nothing actually wrong with this if it works for you, just my honest opinion that it slightly bothers me)...is that: base coat, dark wash, dry brush a highlight or two, done look...it makes me sad

If this is the technique you prefer, why worry about how everyone else is painting? If you get complements on your paint jobs, keep doing what you are doing...

Hello, hello...why has is topic sprung back to life? Ah Baiyuan you re-animator! I'm only messing mate.

Well talking of Necromancy seems only fitting then I guess I show off what I've been up to since asking this question...

He's a test Necromunda (40K universe) plague zombie/ghoul to try out schemes and some new techniques on, originally poseted in my P&M Blog (hope this isn't breaking a forum rule).

Contrary to what I said earlier...I did actually use quite a few washes on this guy...mainly as Baiyuan side to subtly tint things and to help pick out the odd tight shadow I was struggling to paint by hand.

Apologies the photos not the best (still working on my photo skills but you can see whats going on there)

All comments welcome.



R

I like washes. It's all in the how, as someone above said. And indeed, then *when*.

I'm looking forward to trying the new shade paints from GW. I'm hearing very good things...