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Posting for the first time here after getting back into Warhammer 40K since dropping it when I was a teenager. I've been building and painting a Space Marine army for a few months now which has gotten my painting skills back up to par, but I've moved onto collecting some Tyranids which are a little different to paint, to say the least. The problem I'm having is with washes: what's the best way to apply them? This forum has some really good stuff on a lot of techniques which helped me loads with my Space Marines, and I'm sure some of you veterans must have some good tips on such a basic technique that seems essential to the Tyranids. Thoughts?

Applying washes is dead easy - just slather it on with a brush. Okay, fine. There is a bit more art to getting good results, but basic usage really is that easy.

For one, decide whether to use the washes neat (if purchasing ready-made products, like GW's) or to dilute them with water, based on the task. I go straight from the pot for most applications, but sometimes you want the finer control that several layers of thinner washes can give you, or the subtle shading of one or two very dilute coats. Similarly, you can lay a thin line by hand (pin washing, I believe it's called) or you can coat the whole area, relying on the pooling properties to give you a gradient.

Second big point to remember - if you're laying it on thick for shading, remember that washes are meant to pool in recesses and fill corners, which they will. Surface tension alone won't beat out gravity if there's a lot of liquid there, though. If you want to, say, shade the cracks in a nid's carapace, lay down your wash then stand him on his face to dry, allowing gravity to help pool the wash in the recesses instead of darkening the tips of each plate.

Use a slightly wet brush when applying washes to avoid unsightly pooling. If it looks too thick in an area while it's still wet, that's because it is.