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Hey there all,

I have these terrain pieces (both small and large) to paint which I've mostly undercoated in their main colours...



I'd love to paint them so they look like this...



But before I launch into them, just wondering if you have any tips on how you get quick but amazing looking washes for terrain.

I usually paint base colours, then do a wash (watered down acrylic paint), then highlight or drybrush areas. But I usually find my washes are splotchy and inconsistent.

What do you use for washes on large terrain pieces (ie oil washes from art stores, or varnish from a hardware store, etc)?

Thanks in advance.

Dunno why but the example reminds me of Contrast paints.. Have you considered using them?

Not sure there is a quick way to get that sort of crisp, clean paintjob. To avoid the blotchy finish you'd need to paint the wash neatly into the recesses, rather than slap it all over - but that will obviously take a lot longer.

You could try doing something like a zenithal prime (put simply - spray black from below / grey from the sides / white from above) to give a gradient of light and shade on the model, and then paint with Contrast-style semi-translucent paints. You might find that's a fairly quick way to get a decent looking finish, if not exactly like your sample pic.

Hi OP.

Your washes are "splotchy and inconsistent" because you are using watered down paint. Actual washes will give a much better finish, although on larger, flat surfaces it's better to pin wash.

You can make your own washes quite easily, it will work out cheaper than shop-bought washes in the long term. I think you need ink, distilled water and flow improver, there's plenty of guides out there

For large terrain pieces, I used the good old Dip: Minwax Polyshades stain+varnish. I forget which colors are the recommended ones (don't use the actual black one, as it's a solid black). It will leave a gloss finish that you can then hit with a matte or satin varnish to dull it down.

Ok thanks all, I'll definitely look at trying some of those out.

Thanks for the help.

And tauist I haven't looked into contrast paints, what are those?

Oh and if you have any photos of your end results for me to compare feel free to post them here.

I mix up my own oil washes.
Oil paint and odourless mineral spirit.

I mix enough to fill a small jam jar, which will do quite a few buildings - and allow for a few coats, too.
It's similar to what I used to do as part of my job in the props shop (we'd have to weather the props, as well as mould and cast them. ).

Pancreasboy wrote:

I haven't looked into contrast paints, what are those?

https://www.wargamer.com/warhammer-40k/contrast-paint

Learn to safely use enamel or oil washes. Nothing acrylic will ever come close to the speed, ease of use and control over the effect of those.

The only reason why GW sticks to promoting inferior acrylic techniques is the higher bar of required safety precautions of enamels/oils, but those are not all that cosmic. They are simply not suited fr unsupervised minors.

nou wrote:
Learn to safely use enamel or oil washes. Nothing acrylic will ever come close to the speed, ease of use and control over the effect of those.

The only reason why GW sticks to promoting inferior acrylic techniques is the higher bar of required safety precautions of enamels/oils, but those are not all that cosmic. They are simply not suited fr unsupervised minors.

They do require you have access to an area with good ventilation, as enamel and oil solvents tend to be hazardous to your health without good ventilation.

It's the one area where acrylic washes have an advantage.

I have some AK Interactive wash, but also use Army Painter Quickshade dip, but did pick up some contrast paint too.