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Dear dakka, I was thinking about painting some chaos warriors, but with only three colours, one for the cape, one for armour, and one for the weapons, with drybrush and wash. Could this work? Also, has anybody ever managed to make a working colour scheme with only one colour and wash?

Could it be done? Certainly. Will it win painting competitions? Unlikely. Will it look good on the tabletop? Perhaps - even simple paintjobs, if done neatly, begin to develop more and more impressive character when you start ranking units up and pushing them around the battlefield.

Some models/armies lend themselves quite nicely to simplistic schemes and techniques. Before they got all of their new, fancier models, Necrons were generally considered a matter of spray>wash>drybrush>spot of eye color and a quick base to completion. Lock down your technique and you can make a play-ready unit with a limited palette and quick turnaround times.

Better, still, you can always revisit the unit at some later point to add details that you initially glossed over - picking out furs, pouches, straps, etc. Even a single, flat color calling out details can take a 3-color "quick and dirty" job to a whole new level.

I agree, done right a simple paint job can be really playable. My first army years ago was thousand sons. All I did was paint them dark blue, dry brush a light blue, paint the robes white and hit the trim with gold. Simple, but they looked good on the table. They would not win any rewards mind you, but a whole army painted okay is a hundred times better than a unpainted army with a few models with superb paint jobs.

And as said above, you can always revisit them and add some details later if you want.

One colour and wash looks great...if you're painting Necrons.

Usually you want to at least get a different colour over the trim and dramatically different components of the model; for Chaos Warriors the metal, leather, cloak, and the fur on top of the cloak are all different zones that ought to look different.

Ive seen monochrome paintjobs that would make your jaw hit the floor. The skill is stupendous. That said my nids are whie and black with purple wash in the recesses and red hooves. It makes me happy that theyre so simple.

 Sienisoturi wrote:
Also, has anybody ever managed to make a working colour scheme with only one colour and wash?

I have mostly seen this done successfully with ghosts and spectres. I'm sure it could translate to other models, but it's... difficult.



You can see in simplest terms, that adding a second colour to something monochrome really changes the overall effect:


Even an eye colour or tiny aspect would make a world of difference.

Even if you only have 3 colors, you can mix them together to get more.

If you have black, silver, and white. You could paint the armor black and drybrush it with silver. The silver could be applied to the weapons and washed with thinned black. The black and white combine for grey etc.

Especially if you're using lighter colors, it's worth buying some dark wash to give the minis depth. If you're willing to go heavy on the wash, you can even highlight with your original color, too.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:

 Sienisoturi wrote:
Also, has anybody ever managed to make a working colour scheme with only one colour and wash?

I have mostly seen this done successfully with ghosts and spectres. I'm sure it could translate to other models, but it's... difficult.



You can see in simplest terms, that adding a second colour to something monochrome really changes the overall effect:


Even an eye colour or tiny aspect would make a world of difference.

Sorry but offering those images up when discussing one colour and a wash or that formula + 1 colour is misleading at best. Those models all feature multiple colours and the Malifaux example involves blending.

My apologies, my intention was to show the overall effect of a monochrome / limited palette, and the difference when you add a second colour. I guess I was not replying directly to wash + colour there.
My mind went off on the trip of how those LotR guys are done which is only one wash and colour in tutorials.