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.

Just curious if there are tutorials out there for making the details of white cloth come alive without making the cloth seem dirty. Painting up Guardsmen in pure white fatigues and I'm having some difficulty in making it look nice.



Any help is appreciated! I'm seeing a boatload of how to's on painting white armor, but nothing on large, textured portions like Cadian pants, for example.


Also, any ideas on precise lines, like the Cadian conscripts have on their helmets? Free-hand is a no-go for me, I've ordered some masking tape that is 1mm thick to experiment with, but I'm always open to new ideas.

Someone please answer. lol

You can always try using some screaming skull as a shade to imply it is more of a linen type item.

Very well watered blue shade can also work for a cold white.

If well blended and limited to the creases and deep folds neither should make the white look dirty.

YouTube should be full of such tutorials. White is quite a common thing people have difficulty with.

Regarding thinlinesits just a case of practice, nice thin paint and a willingness to go back over the edge of the line with the base colour to tidy it up.

Here's what Garrior is referring to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z-s0hlCiSI

I also like white painted this way.

Unfortunately I don't have any advice for the lines either. I too am bad at freehand but it's a good skill to practice. One day you could be good enough to make the lines with just the brush if you practice!

Have a look at the models below to see if my recipe is clean enough for your purposes. I did:

1. White base layer
2. Purple wash all over
3. Very watered down Pallid Wych Flesh to brighten (and whiten) the recesses
4. Once dried, a slightly watered down Pallid Wych Flesh to give the higher areas a solid base color and blend them with the recesses
5. Pure white for the higher areas, a little watered down as you approach the recesses to blend the colors a little

Start with off-white as base colour and work from there. Or if you want more layers something like grey(colder white) or brown(warmer white) and then work from there. One colour I like a lot along way is Ulthuan grey. That's basically my base colour for white. Pure white works as edge highlight.

edit: heh that Duncan video is pretty much this except for the wash part.

That Duncan video was helpful, as were all your replies! Cheers everyone.

I think my mistake was using the washes as I had been on darker color models (regular Cadian 8th for example). I'm used to just brushing it over everything, I think I need to dial it back a bit.