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Hello!

I've noticed that a lot of the GW painting tutorials advocate priming then basecoating the entire model in two separate colours. Or they'll base and shade something, only to cover it entirely with anoter layer colour (see thewarpstore tutorial in the recent WD for a fine example).

What's the point in that?

Gotta say, this has bugged me for a while. Basecoat and shade only to cover the entire area with another basecoat / layer...? In the flipbook painting guide, they have people airbrushing miniatures one base colour, then airbrushing it another base colour immediately, for total coverage. What's the point of this? If the new coat of paint obscures the old entirely, the first coat serves no purpose at all. If it DOESN'T cover the old paint, then the new layer or basecoat isn't doing its job. I hope it's not a ploy to increase paint sales, as painting an army takes long enough as it is without artificial steps included.

Perhaps I'm being too cynical... any more experienced painter-types shed some light on this?

Cheers!

Craig

If you went from Black to really light Green even if you're airbrushing it on you won't get great coverage, thats why you start with a darker shade of the same colour first.

And it can change the luster.
Look at Leadbelcher on black, then on white. Two totally different luster.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
And it can change the luster.
Look at Leadbelcher on black, then on white. Two totally different luster.

Pretty much this.

It all has to do with tonality. Painting one colour over another one, will affect the end result that you get. It can be used to great effect and is often termed "pre-shading".

Best example, in a single image that I know of is Migsula's true scale marines. His alpha legion painting style shows it perfectly, i'll see if I can drag it up.



It is primed white, then based with the yellow and then with the blue.

Also, you often times leave some of the base paint showing in the recesses, to add more depth. It all adds up to create a more layered look. If you dont like that style then you can just apply a wash/dip and achieve a similar effect. But a lot will say it isn't as clean/refined as painting it layer by layer.

Winter wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
And it can change the luster.
Look at Leadbelcher on black, then on white. Two totally different luster.

Pretty much this.

It all has to do with tonality. Painting one colour over another one, will affect the end result that you get. It can be used to great effect and is often termed "pre-shading".

Best example, in a single image that I know of is Migsula's true scale marines. His alpha legion painting style shows it perfectly, i'll see if I can drag it up.

Spoiler:

It is primed white, then based with the yellow and then with the blue.

Brilliance. Thanks for that picture.

Same as people picking the color to primer with. White for lighter color schemes (aka more cartoony) or Black for darker schemes (aka techno-goth). What's underneath has almost everything to do with the end result, as long as you're not practically dumping paint onto your miniature whilst you paint.