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So after having my Agrax Earthshade just get ruined for no reason I am just so sick of Citadel paints, what are some good alternatives? And will they have layer, base, shade, ect?

Vallejo and yes.

Reaper Master Series, there are lots of color triads, that will be familiar to the base/layer/highlight but will be consistently formulated. (ie the darkest color isn’t an ultra opaque base coat)

How did it get ruined? Did it just dry out or leak? Whatever paint manufacturers we recommend I think you'll find that many of us would still recommended at least some GW paints in addition, Agrax Earthshade being one of them.

This may sound obvious but are you closing your paints properly? You're new to the hobby and I see veterans that make this mistake all the time.....

One thing you've possibly not noticed about the current pot style is that they don't close very well.
In my experience it's a two stage process.

1) Remove any dried paint from the rim of the pot and push down near the tab at the front of the pot and close the lid.

Many people would be done at this stage. Take a look and you'll possibly see that the lid and pot are not perpendicular.
They touch at the front by the tab but get further apart towards the hinge. This can be very slight and almost impossible to notice whilst sitting at a desk looking down at your paints.
If you happen to have a build up of dried paint near the hinge this effect can be magnified.
On to stage two.

2) Squeeze the lid onto the pot from the hinge side. It's possibly that you will hear a dull click.

You should now notice that the pot and lid are perpendicular and your pot of paint is actually fully sealed.

Check through all of your paints to see if you've actually closed them because they'll dry out pretty quickly if you haven't.
It's also better to store your paints in a cool place away from radiators and direct sunlight in an airtight container.

 Alex Kolodotschko wrote:
How did it get ruined? Did it just dry out or leak? Whatever paint manufacturers we recommend I think you'll find that many of us would still recommended at least some GW paints in addition, Agrax Earthshade being one of them.

This.

I use the right paint for the job. GW metallics are second to none and every other one I've tried is a bag of gak. So I'll continue to use them. Vallejo gets used for the majority of my painting with about a 1/3rd being GW mainly due to simply being able to buy both of them off the shelf. I've tried Army Painter but the inks are crap. Vallejo's are far better with much more pigment.

Vallejo are a good alternative.

Scale 75 are great paints but more annoying to get your hands on since they aren't as widely distributed and are sold in sets.

P3 aren't bad either, but don't come in dropper bottles which most people seem to prefer.

I think Vellejo have an extra opaque line that is like bases, and most paint companies will have washes (shades), but for the most part the base/layer/dry thing that GW has is just their own style.

p3 are among the best (especially their metallics), but it can be hard to get ahold of. I know some people hate the lack of a dropper bottle, but their paint is good enough for my to keep stocking it.

Army painter's layers and inks are incredible. They some in droppers, are a nice consistency like the P3 paints, and adapt well to use with the wet palette.

All water based Acrylics are a good alternative to GW paints

Vallejo, P3, Reaper, Marabu, HobbyLine, Triton etc

Army painter here too, great paints in dropper bottles and matching spray cans for easy work. They also have different shades from light to dark, and also in big pots.

Some hard to find/discontinued GW colours I use Coat d'Arms as alternative, they have the old GW paints and come in larger pots, with a good flip-top.

 Alex Kolodotschko wrote:
How did it get ruined? Did it just dry out or leak? Whatever paint manufacturers we recommend I think you'll find that many of us would still recommended at least some GW paints in addition, Agrax Earthshade being one of them.

This may sound obvious but are you closing your paints properly? You're new to the hobby and I see veterans that make this mistake all the time.....

It's hard to describe, it isn't dried out and it isn't leaked, but it has just got really thick and clumpy and the liquid has just kinda disappeared, it is very strong and made my model very dark.

I am fairly sure i'm closing then properly. i make sure it's as shut as possible but I may have gotten it wrong one-time, maybe I was jus unlucky, all my paints are in a zip-lock bag in my paint box which has.no direvt sunlight lol.

The most direct analogue for earthshade is Army Painter's Strong Tone.

As others any of the popular acrylic brands are easily GWs equal.

A few things to consider:

17ml bottles/pots - Vallejo, Scale 75, Army Painter, P3

Definite matte finish - Scale 75, Reaper Master Series, Vallejo Model Colour

We're one to watch and consider at INSTAR, Our metallics are out of this world and offer a higher pigmentation than any other line.

We managed to convince Garfy at Tale of Painters to switch over to our range after trying it out and he was blown away by our product.

Higher pigment count, metallics that actually look like metal and all in dropper bottles ready to use either straight from the bottle or thinned down a bit to give some truly fantastic results!

Tale of Painters - INSTAR Paint Review

ShadowPug wrote:

 Alex Kolodotschko wrote:
How did it get ruined? Did it just dry out or leak? Whatever paint manufacturers we recommend I think you'll find that many of us would still recommended at least some GW paints in addition, Agrax Earthshade being one of them.

This may sound obvious but are you closing your paints properly? You're new to the hobby and I see veterans that make this mistake all the time.....

It's hard to describe, it isn't dried out and it isn't leaked, but it has just got really thick and clumpy and the liquid has just kinda disappeared, it is very strong and made my model very dark.

I am fairly sure i'm closing then properly. i make sure it's as shut as possible but I may have gotten it wrong one-time, maybe I was jus unlucky, all my paints are in a zip-lock bag in my paint box which has.no direvt sunlight lol.

You can fix this by adding water and mixing thoroughly to restore the necessary level of tint. The goopiness can be reversed as long as it is not dry. I personally use the goop to dark tint selectively by adding drops of water until it's usable again.

I'll second Vallejo and P3 (at least the inks). If you don't have access to any of what people posted above and don't want to buy online, then your next best bet is super thinned down Winsor and Newton at a craft store.

Another vote for P3, and Army Painter washes (though their actual paints suuuuuck).