"Wargames Foundry Paints" Topic

I've just bought a set of French Blue paints from Foundry.
Their website says:
"The Foundry painting method uses three shades of each colour: building up in layers from dark to light to easily achieve a realistic three dimensional shaded effect without the need for blending."
Does this mean I should apply them in the order shade, then main colour, then highlight?
I'm rather new at this and find it rather confusing, and would appreciate some advice here.

You may use them in any order. These are just chosen shades to fit together.

Does this mean I should apply them in the order shade, then main colour, then highlight?

Yes, that's pretty much the idea.

As a rule of thumb they are designed to be used in layers A then B, then C over a black undercoat, leaving some of the previous later visible in the recesses. This gives the illusion of depth and the translucency of the paint tricks the eye into seeing the finished area as a whole, rather than oddly stripey.

That said you are free to do as you please but I can't recommend the black underlay enough with these paints as it gives depth to the shade and without it the finish can be a little flat and the colour somewhat off (some of the darkness is supposed to filter through).

For starting out however I'd probably practice with just one layer (B) over black to get a feel for where shadows fall and how paint behaves without worrying about highlights.

I can't vouch for how useful it is as a beginners resource as I had been painting for years before I read it but Kevin Dallimore's book (I think it is back in print) gives stages for painting in one layer, then two and three with some nice pictures.

The Foundry Reds and Yellows have the best coverage out there.

I use them and find them to be the best (ie my favourite) paints out there. I do use them in combination with Coat D'Armes though, they match well.

That said, I do now tend to use them as two colours rather than the three they recommend. Saves time and on a wargames figure from most distances looks just as good, imnsho..

Yes, shade main colour, highlight.

With experience, and if you use washes/inks you may vary whether you use all three steps. For instance, I use Flesh B, a Citadel flesh wash, then Flesh C.

Kev's book is useful even for semi experienced painters and modellers.

When I was using the layer method I only used two layers over the black undercoat for most figures in mass battle armies. You really only need three layers for leaders and other special figures in armies and all figures in squad-level/warband-style games.

Thank you all for your advice, much appreciated.