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Made in gb
Stalwart Ultramarine Tactical Marine




Belfast

Hi - I'm returning to the hobby after a number of years away from it - I have a lot of paints from before - I mostly model ultramarines but have a small amount of Cadian Imperial Guard which i intend to add to - I have a lot of paints for the UM and just the basics for the IG - any suggestions on whether I should stick with classic or change to contrast? TIA
   
Made in us
Stabbin' Skarboy





I think that if you can paint classic, go for that. I would maybe reccomend a few contrast paints for effects, I love doing tinted metals with em.

"Us Blood Axes hav lernt' a lot from da humies. How best ta kill 'em, fer example."
— Korporal Snagbrat of the Dreadblade Kommandos 
   
Made in gb
Infiltrating Broodlord





London

Depends on the model.

Honestly you can do some nice effects with skill using contrast on marine models, but I wouldn't have said intrinsically better and not much faster, so if you are happy with your marine painting style you're probably best sticking with it.

For Cadians I think there's a stronger argument for contrast actually saving you some time.
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

You can mix and match.

Most of my marines are old paints. But I’ve replaced a lot of my inks/glazes with contrast, and use it for faces.

So good for faces…

   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Contrast paints have their uses, but they are inconsistent in coverage from paint to paint. You might want to check out Army Painter's range of Speed Paints that will be releasing soon. Less expensive and from the reviews I've heard, more consistent than Contrast.

Like any technique they require some skill and practice to use effectively.
   
Made in gb
Stalwart Ultramarine Tactical Marine




Belfast

Thanks everyone - maybe try the blue armour on he UM with base and contrast - IG fatigues base and contrast - and faces for both I've never been any good at painting the small bare heads - metals on weapons - only need a few paints to try those out - i have at least 3 old Ultramarines blue I bought when they changed the paint system a long time ago
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





Just be aware that contrast paints are not as easy to use as GW make out, they are brilliant paints that can deliver great results if you get the techniques correct.

Unless you just want 3 colours on your models to play with, then you can just prime you models and cover them with contrast and do a few details.

But from what I have seen most Painters that use contrast paint are using them in combination with the classic citadel paints
   
Made in gb
Stalwart Ultramarine Tactical Marine




Belfast

Will do a test model on UM blue and IG fatigues to try them out and also skin tones - heard great things but watched a couple of GW tutorials and its looks as if the models aren't covered that well compared to the classic method - only need a few pots to try it out for myself
   
Made in ca
Veteran Wolf Guard Squad Leader






I love to use a mix, contrast can really speed up the basecoat/wash stage of painting, and then I use traditional paints for highlights. I incorporate contrast in all my schemes right now.

These guys for example are mostly contrast with highlights.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/26 14:48:02


Wolfspear's 2k
Harlequins 2k
Chaos Knights 2k
Spiderfangs 2k
Ossiarch Bonereapers 1k 
   
Made in gb
Stalwart Ultramarine Tactical Marine




Belfast

so which paint did you use for the white armour above - wish i could paint as good as that
   
Made in us
Stealthy Space Wolves Scout





Folkvang

Honestly you can get amazing results no matter the method. It just depends on what you like and how much time you want to invest.

I use standard acrylics and contrast paints both and then oil paints over them and I get great results.



This took 3 days to paint. However, it's far from your "normal" styles.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/26 16:01:21


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Made in ca
Veteran Wolf Guard Squad Leader






 Beaker07 wrote:
so which paint did you use for the white armour above - wish i could paint as good as that


Its apothecary white contrast paint, over a grey seer base, followed by an edge highlight of ulthuan grey. Takes no time at all. Just have to be careful when applying the contrast to pull the paint towards edges of panels, and not overload things too much.

Wolfspear's 2k
Harlequins 2k
Chaos Knights 2k
Spiderfangs 2k
Ossiarch Bonereapers 1k 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





United Kingdom

Certain things i'll use contrast, but for the most part I prefer classic.

Adeptus Mechanicus
Tyranids  
   
Made in gb
Lord of the Fleet






London

I'll be honest I'm doing this right now on my Fire Warriors. They were airbrushed up in Vallejos but I just wasn't getting the tone and effect I wanted. Tried with Contrasts last night and it's a much better result, albeit at a much slower rate.
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





Currently painting a character model for 40k/necromunda, a GSC model conveted into hive scum. Didn't use contrast paints at all and I'm regretting it while painting the clothing and the ribbed armor. I'm at 5+ hours now and could have shaved 2 off of it.

Contrast is great for things with lots of raised and recessed areas like skin, clothing, and fur, but, unless I'm thinning it for a glaze, I don't touch Contrast for flat areas like armor.
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Here's a quick example of one of the uses for contrast. For my Black Dwarf I wanted to add shading to the bone and skin areas (which were base coated with a thin coat of normal acrylic paint over a gray primer that was drybrused with white to make the details pop) so I hit them with Skeleton Horde Contrast paint.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/02/03 04:31:25


 
   
Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut





Oh Canada!

The Ultramarines Blue contrast paint is oft considered one of the worst in the range, so maybe skip on that or get its Speedpaint alternative, Cloudburst Blue. Contrast takes extra work over big smooth surfaces like Marine armour. It's best on textured and high detail areas.
   
Made in ca
Fireknife Shas'el






I find contrast to be useful when used with regular painting, rather than instead of regular painting. For example, this Imagifer



The armor was basecoated with normal paint, then I used Contrast Militarum Green thinned with Contrast medium as a shade, and painted up the panels with the original color to get them smooth again. The standard was a normal tan paint color followed by thinned Contrast Wyldwood, then 2 layers of drybrushing of normal paint. Here the mottling that contrast does gave the wood a patinated effect that the drybrush just adds the effect of wear over time. All the dark grey/black elements are just Contrast Black Templar over the original green.

   
Made in cz
Corporal





Oklahoma, USA

I noticed you said you came back and have the basics for Imperial Guard paints.

I still use the classic method of basecoat, wash, and then drybrush for the uniforms of the Cadians. I like this method because it gives me the shade of green I like and haven't found a Citadel Contrast Paint (but I need to look at Army Painter's new speedpaints) that does it just right.

But on the same mini, I will use the new contrast black to hit the black boots. I feel the black does a good job of covering, but leaving enough area the undercoat to appear highlighted of washed.

-Box

   
 
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