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I've seen a few references digging through older threads to priming, then applying a wash, then doing the basecoat.

Does this have some effect I'm missing? Doesn't the basecoat just conceal the wash?

Yeah, I would think so. Unless your applying a thin layer of paint, which the wash might effect it. Idk, washes to me were always about creating shading, and it odd to try to do that before you put the paint on.

I think what they mean is prime it then use coloured washes or inks on it as a base coat eg. A tyranid spray it white then wash the chittenous bits brown and the main body parts pink (for example) then pick out any detail ie teeth /eyes /claws then use a black wash to shade it all over then highlight with paint or dry bbrush it then add a darker wash over that .
As it can give a very nice organic Finnish.
My necrons for example were sprayed grey then washed red then dry brushed boltgun then washed red again then black to give them a metallic look .

Hmm.

I think i need to pick up some army men, and see what happens.

This method works well with white primer. Use a brown or nutty wash on top of the white base. The wash will add a bit of shade to the recesses, help pick out detail for later painting and add the first transitions from light to dark. If you happen to be a bit lazy (like me) you can also leave a lot of washed areas unpainted (or with a simple highlight) - lots of skulls, pouches and scabbards are just fine with nothing more than the wash.

This is a method that can produce some really dramatic results very easily.
Les did some nice tutorials on it earlier at:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/222318.page
and on his youtube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/awesomepaintjob?blend=1&ob=4

An example I did in his style (for the first half of the video (still need to find that model again and finish him up))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihFlvtT7GxA&feature=channel_video_title

The trick is to paint with extremely thin paints so that they only stain the surface without doing an opaque coat over the primer and washed base.

Les doesn't seem to be using the technique in those links.

You should probably slow your tutorials down a bit, can't really see what the brush is doing the paint just sortof appears on the figure.

I did this on my SM Captain. White primer, then a light Devlan Mud wash on the cloth parts. Drybrush with bleached bone and/or skull white. Very nice effect and less painting.


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Also, the techniques I've seen that reference this don't paint the basecoat all the way to the edges. They leave a small bit of the washed primer showing for the shadows.

Requia wrote:Les doesn't seem to be using the technique in those links.

You should probably slow your tutorials down a bit, can't really see what the brush is doing the paint just sortof appears on the figure.

A quick look through Les's vids brought the space wolf one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efjx7EZsaGk&feature=channel_video_title

Another one where he does a basecoat and then applies wash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDPWYLvlcsA&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Yeah, it's a bit fast on my video, sorry, will take that into consideration when I do my next vids

The technique is called pre-shading and takes advantage of the fact that acrylics are highly transparent. If you prime, wash and then do your basecoat a great deal of your shading is already done because the wash will darken the deeper parts of the model and that will show through the basecoat.

This is just one more tool to have in your toolbelt as a painter. Just like drybrushing, overbrushing, washing, wet-blending, glazing, etc, etc.

What is wet blending anyway?

It's when you paint several slightly different shades of the same colour going into each other while they are still wet, in order to get very smooth graduation of tone.

I nearly always prime, basecoat, wash then highlight, sometimes with further washes in between the lighter shades. I've also seem some excellent work with just white primer and washes, some orks if I remember rightly no idea whose though I'm afraid.