"Reaper Bones Giant with GW Contrast paints" Topic

I've been spending the past week working through a large pile of models for the games Frostgrave and Arcworlde.

I bought a lot of Reaper Bones stuff for the creatures and monsters.

Guilliman Flesh Contrast paint is proving to be a most useful product. I shaded and highlighted about 100 soldiers for both games and the results were very impressive. I then moved on to larger models to see if the Contrast paints would work on larger skin areas.

I have to say so far I've been very pleased with how these work. I used Contrast on over 80% of this model. The skin and the fur both got Contrast paints over a base coat of Foundry Flesh and Vallejo Game Color White.

It's a shame so many "pro-painter" Youtube channels are trying to debunk these and find reasons that they don't work just to satisfy their anti-GW itch.

The Contrasts are speeding up my painting immensely and it's not lowering the quality of my work whatsoever. It's more like strategic use where you will use Contrast on some areas of the model and layer paints on others.

Doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing. The Contrasts work as an ultra-clingy wash that sets up better than ordinary washes and doesn't require any medium to be added.

I'm getting accustomed to knowing where to use them on a model and how to best take advantage of the effects they can provide.

I also see huge potential for these with historical armies! Like the blue of a Civil War Union army or the red of an AWI British army. The Contrasts over a white undercoat could allow you to paint coats and trousers far, far faster than you would with traditional layer painting!

In any event I think this new line of paints is quite useful and I am getting a lot of stuff done in the process!

Here's what skin and fur can look like after using Contrast Paints.

Link to Flickr gallery showing other models painted with Contrast paints:
link

Looks good! Applicability varies of course. I think they are ideal for large one color surfaces like the giants. Good for space marines too – anything where one color predominates.

I'm reluctant to start undercoating in white after all these years.

hunh… That works. Nice one.

I still suspect it's a gimmick, a $$ grab for something I can do on my own but folks seem to like them and get good results, so maybe I'm just a grumpy old guy.

There's a formulation factor that isn't obvious to inexperienced painters. You might have noticed some primers and paints dry flat with a slight grit to it (Armoury) and others have a rubbery finish (Coat d'Arms, etc) or hard smooth finish (Army Painter). Washes will tend to stain the gritty ones and be repelled by the latter giving a lot of color differentiation there.

Another thing is Citadel doesn't have a white primer for Contrast – just a light gray and a bone. Reason being is the white gives off too much differentiation. Super deep colors next to super bright highlights – too bright in their view such that even the staining properties aren't sufficient to color the model base color adequately. You can use that to your advantage depending on what you are doing (Stormtroopers? etc.) but it should be kept in mind.

I've been watching hours of reviews on Contrast, observing how people are using them and trying to see where I could use them most effectively.

I've had no issues with Army Painter primer and Contrast paints staining correctly.

The trick to using Contrast paints is to use the right thickness. They are pretty thick right out of the pot. If you thin them with the contrast medium, you can get great effects. Two or three thin washes are better than one thick one…unless you're mass painting and are more concerned with quantity over quality. They are still a time saver for me, because they provide good contrasts and dry quickly.

Those results look great!

I have a bunch of Genestealer's I need to paint and think they would be great as a test. Just need 2 paint colors.

Contrast paints have their place. They are a tool like any other. I think I remember having a discussion with someone a long time ago that washes were a cheat vs layering or wet blending. It may have been me and I have definitely changed my mind on that. Really the price is scaring me away. $8 USD a bottle?!

James Wappel has been doing some weird tests with great results. Lots of wet blending tests. Even has a SENMM test. They are long but I think well worth the watch.

YouTube link

a $$ grab for something

Well it is GW and those paints are over $8 USD per small pot.

Now they can be hit and miss as well. Plus you do need to be careful since if you are using a Blue & Yellow you will end up with green.

Plus the White is really Grey.

I have watch many videos on them and well the results are hit and miss.

They only work if you use a light color for the primer.

They are really for those individuals who are not very good painters but can give decent results if you use they correctly.

They are really for those individuals who are not very good painters

I have to disagree. I have been able to crank over 40 models out over the past two weeks. Would have taken twice as long using other methods. Pricey? A little, but a little of the paints goes a long way.

<They only work if you use a light color for the primer.>

Not true. I wouldn't use black, but I used multiple Army Painter colors and tested different effects.