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I’m coming back to a large TK pile of shame, and am running into a wall finding a way I like to paint bone.

When I first started I used the old Bleached Bone, washed with Devlan Mud then highlighted with bone white.

I’m looking at the old models and I don’t really like that paint scheme. It feels too bright.

I tried a scheme from Citadel for primal bone, but I feel like the Karak Stone paint is too grey and doesn’t match the example.

Skeleton horde has a decent colour but the contrast paints feel like a shortcut without actually improving my painting skills. I might use it for masses of infantry, but not much else, especially not elite models.

I am looking for a sort of light brown to off white, edging yellow to get a proper aged look.

How do you paint bone? And how would you approach the look I am trying to go for?
Feel free to only answer one or just brag about your bone schemes.

There used to be a brilliant bone recipe that was pretty much a forerunner to contrast paint - was something like yellow and brown ink watered down and mixed with a tiny bit of PVA glue. Gave a great aged bone look really easily - but that probably counts as the same sort of shortcut as contrast paints!

Try experimenting with colours you wouldn't usually think of.

Mixing a little blue grey like Russ grey into mournfang brown makes a nice base for an aged bone colour.

Contrast undercoat, skeleton horde, done.

Or morghast bone, seraphon sepia, usharbto bone, bleached skull.

Lately, I use Zandri Dust as a base, then Reikland flesh wash, and Screaming Skull for the highlight. If it's just for something small, I'll skip the wash.

I've just finished a squad of 12 skeletons and evolved my approach through the 3 batches i did them in. I think the most efficient way that provides a good base on which to build up for special models (rather than grunts) is:
1. base coat GW mournfang brown or Vallego GC beastly brown,
2. layer of your choice of ushabti bone or similar in every direction (but not upwards on the model - to keep shadows),
3. Zenithal (Airbrush and/or drybrush) of bone white or your choice of lightest colour
3. Oil wash of burnt umber

Airbrush is great for getting steps 1 to 3 done very quickly. I only got mine in time for the last batch. Contrast paints might help you with more shadows at layer stage but i find the oil wash is a very quick and controled way of adding in shadows - especially as the oil wash can be mixed and controlled to only flow as much as you want, which i find a lot harder than with acrylic washes.

I wouldn't completely rule out Contrast paints. Learning when you can get away with faster techniques without sacrificing quality counts as skill improvement.

Contrast paints are often looked down because of how they were advertised. One thick coat doesn't usually result in particularly good looking results. They are incredibly useful for basecoating, blending and glazing of all sorts.

Contrast paints don't tend to give enough depth on their own and to get best results out of them you usually need to use shades, layer paints or other Contrast paints in addition to them. Skeleton Horde is a nice colour but the result can be improved with Wyldwood or Agrax earthshade in deeper recesses and layered highlights.

My go-to for skellies was to start black or really dark brown basecoat, and then drybrushing up from mid-brown to (eventually) pure white. For skellies, the dry, dusty look of drybrushing works well.

Easy, but time-consuming. Might not be optimal for large numbers.

I used to fight with bone a lot. Part of that fight was because of the way acrylics work in white and yellow. Both of which are highly dense pigments in bone colors and are considered some of the most difficult paint colors in the miniature world.

However, I've found an answer. It's not for everybody for sure... but it works wonders to save my aching back.

Raw umber is a good greenish brown that when mixed with a tiny bit of cadmium yellow and titanium white will immediately become a bone color.

Still one problem remained... acrylics.

As it turns out, white and yellow are hard in acrylics because they don't have covering power and it's easy to get lumpy finishes on them if you aren't careful.

This is not the case with oil paint. In fact it's the complete opposite of acrylics. White and yellow cover super well in oils to a point where you have to be cautious when blending.

I realize people in the mini world tend to freak out when someone mentions oils so hold up! There is another way. Inks.

Inks (when mixed with a matte medium) are fantastic. They're thinner and easier to work with and you can get the same colors as oils! Just get some tiny aluminum dishes and boom! Mix until you're happy.

I know I'm gonna get wrecked in the comments for this but I hope it gives you all something to consider.

My only real complaint with oil is, as you say, that it works very differently than the acrylics I'm used to. If it works for you; if you can get it to work for you, more power to you.

If you're a new painter, it may well be worth trying to see if you can get it to work for you. People like me, with years of experince with acrylic and a high level of satisfaction with what we produce, find it to be more trouble than it's worth re-jiggering our techniques to a new media.

I do find acrylic inks to be a useful tool alongside acrylic paints.

 Vulcan wrote:
My only real complaint with oil is, as you say, that it works very differently than the acrylics I'm used to. If it works for you; if you can get it to work for you, more power to you.

If you're a new painter, it may well be worth trying to see if you can get it to work for you. People like me, with years of experince with acrylic and a high level of satisfaction with what we produce, find it to be more trouble than it's worth re-jiggering our techniques to a new media.

I do find acrylic inks to be a useful tool alongside acrylic paints.

Honestly I think I use inks more than anything. My process goes Prime > Zenithal > Acrylic ink > Oil paint > feel sad cuz I forgot my toast in the toaster an hour ago > Finishing touches with air brush, freehand etc using inks...

 Freya wrote:

 Vulcan wrote:
My only real complaint with oil is, as you say, that it works very differently than the acrylics I'm used to. If it works for you; if you can get it to work for you, more power to you.

If you're a new painter, it may well be worth trying to see if you can get it to work for you. People like me, with years of experince with acrylic and a high level of satisfaction with what we produce, find it to be more trouble than it's worth re-jiggering our techniques to a new media.

I do find acrylic inks to be a useful tool alongside acrylic paints.

Honestly I think I use inks more than anything. My process goes Prime > Zenithal > Acrylic ink > Oil paint > feel sad cuz I forgot my toast in the toaster an hour ago > Finishing touches with air brush, freehand etc using inks...

No worries. Everyone has their own preferences.