TIPS to apply washes I wish I knew BEFORE

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I love to paint miniatures for your warhammer 40k, age of sigmar and & d&d games. How to speedpaint Taus Space Marines, Blood Angels, Salamanders, Stormcast Eternals, beastclaw raiders, 75 mm scale models and miniature busts! How to paint warhammer, how to paint D&D figures. WARHAMMER QUEST CURSED CITY.

[PhD]

The look on the cat's face was priceless! 🤣👍🏻🎅👍🏻

[Smilomaniac]

The really short TL;DR on this is that washes don't work on non-detailed surfaces.

If you want to apply a color gradient on a cloak, you can sometimes wash it if it's really small, but it's not a great technique. Contrast is a little better, but it requires more skill than actually just using 3 different paints and a highlight to paint your own gradients (or better yet, blend them).
If you really want to do a 'wash' shortcut, you need to thin it and only apply it in the shallower parts of a cloak like a glaze. You'll have that distinct line of color difference, but it IS a simple shortcut.

Washing is a technique by the way, which is why different companies call the product some variation of 'shade'. The thing is, you're supposed to paint all the raised surfaces back up to the original color.

A different way of "washing" details is to use an oil pin wash, so a little bit of oil paint in a bunch of mineral spirits, which you apply to recesses and details. If you've got it on the surface you use something like a cotton swab dipped in mineral spirits to gently rub it away. This gives a lot more definition and you don't have to paint the surfaces back up.

Filtering is another technique (mostly known from the tank/plane hobby side) where you mix a tiny bit of paint (enamel or oil) with a lot of spirits or thinner, like 50:1 or even thinner, to apply an even coat with a big broad brush, to filter your basecoat with another color, so it's slightly more green or brown for example (or whatever other color you want).
You can do something similar with washes, but it's better to do it with an actual paint because it layers instead of staining.

Contrasts are both a great tool and a TERRIBLE product for beginners, because it's not that easy to use and you have to learn regular techniques to do it properly anyway.

I've started using contrasts more, but for different purposes and the only time I ever use them for big surfaces is through an airbrush (which btw is also a way to filter something).
I find that something like Army Painter's "Hardened Leather" is great for leather straps, pouches and even leather armour (much better than skeleton horde imo).
Another tool is 'plaguebearer flesh' across white and then a green shade on top for deep and varied ork skin (also good on 'slap chop').

For staining specifically I use imperial fists yellow as an in-between color for orange, because it's strong and flat, and it saves a lot of orange layers.

That's a lot of info on text, but it's to give you an idea of how to think about painting.

[zigizqm]

Gloss coat your model before washing and work with 50/50 washes (50% wash 50% medium or water) and give it 2 coats. Best method I have ever used

[leonardomacleod]

for the capes I like to use stippling to bring the light, that way it give a more worn out and realistic look

[skynetpuma]

Thank you for this video, its very funny, informative and although its more begginer oriented, really most of us dont know a lot about how the washes work. Sometimes one can look a video of a pro painter painting a wondeful mini, not using washes, and be completely in love with the result, but reality is that for doing that you need hours and hours on one mini! In the end, its better to use all the tools available. I am intrigued about using the contrasts as washes.

[VaultBoy]

Brushing a thin coat of water on the mini before applying the wash can give you more time to work with the wash and helps make the wash smoother. Really only useful for less textured surfaces.

You can also add a drying retarder to your wash if you want a bit more time to work with it.

For stuff like capes, I tend to wash in a darker tone instead of using something like black or brown. So, a red cape will get a darker red.

[dougjones]

Random thing that made my miniatures better then a lot of others was I started to use guilding paint. Gold, silver, and copper. They are literally like using the metal its self and especially the silver is going to be way shinier than anything else. You can see your reflection in the silver.

[svenmeling]

I have not been on the friendliest terms with my washes, for exactly the reasons you show here, so this was a good watch!

[grahambaxter]

Hi Alice, nice to see you referencing Sam Lenz & Tabletop Minions! Regards from Northern Ireland

[chrisborucki]

I have had good luck with first using a gloss varnish first then washing. It helps with the staining.

[JM-]

Great content, I just began my hobby journey and I appreciate info like this. You’re gorgeous by the way.

[ilovethelegend]

Okay, so... only use washes on areas with medium to high amounts of detail, but use edge highlighting in places with low amounts of detail. Correct?

[frankn]

Just came across your channel now and really like how you present things. Funny and informative. I gave you a thumbs up, subscribe and now will check out the rest of your channel. Cheers!

[analogsyndicate]

La tua sincerità è disarmante! 😁 La tua tenacia poi si somma 🔝 Continua così, è sempre un piacere seguire i tuoi video! PS: qualcosina in più su W40k no?

[HotTrotsky]

You are a goddamn gem lol. If you're ever in Florida, HMU I'll buy you a drink of your choosing

[mau]

Good vid ty for covering stuff that gets "glossed over " padum tish🎉

[antongunther]

for capes if you really want to use a wash you just need to hold it horizontal till the wash dries and remove the excess. some blue tack under a base should be enough to hold the mini.

[RussellGuldin]

That cat was going from sassy to slashy there.

[superbleeder]

Thin your paints also applies to washes. 1:1:2 Wash:medium:water has seemed to solve my problems with washes

[Bigelsiet]

Informative and as always very funny great thanks Alice 🫶