A couple years ago Games Workshop announced their new line of paints for miniatures, promising to facilitate the job of all hobbyists, especially those beginning in the wargaming hobby. Right now, there are a few competitors of paintings which promise the same, there are people not amused by Contrast paints, and there’s even a new version of this interesting product.
As a wargamer hobbyist and miniature painter, I’m always looking for new products to help me get the right colors and textures for my miniatures, so, it’s not surprise Citadel’s Contrast Paints have been under my hobby radar, now I want to give them a try, so I stumbled a couple articles I found interesting and I want to share them with you.
The first approach at the product was that it was almost magic in nature, “just apply it and you’re done”, and it led to polarized reaction through the community. But as Wesley Floyd of Spikey Bits says, “the paint doesn’t seem to eliminate any skill required to using it”, I mean the paints will certainly help you, but you must have understanding of the painting process to better use them. Wesley also makes emphasis in use cases for the Contrast paints, he recommends using them in organic miniatures with good level of textures and for wet blending, while avoiding large flat surfaces.
In another article, written by Darcy Bono and Raf Cordero and published in Goonhammer, the authors explore a little more while talking about the newer Contrast paints, offering us some practical uses of the product, with instructions to get stunning results. Bono and Cordero explain masterfully how to paint miniatures with plasma energy, magic and ice effects, among other pretty useful examples, showing effectively the potential of contrast paints.
While reading both experts, I found there were three points in common you should consider when thinking about Contrast Paints:
- Your experience matters – Contrast paints are not magical, they’re a great product, but understanding how paints work is crucial to get the most out of them.
- Use Detailed miniatures – that’s important because Contrast Paints are designed to accumulate in the recesses, using them in large flat surfaces is nonsensical.
- Apply painting techniques – As good as these paints are, they can´t do all the job on their own, applying painting techniques and experimenting will be the difference between ok miniatures and an awesome looking army.
Games Workshop line of Contrast Paints is certainly a game changer, it helps new hobbyists to paint their miniatures in an easy way, but also helps more experienced painters to get incredible effects with less effort than using traditional methods. The articles convinced myself to give Citadel’s Contrast paints an opportunity. What about you?
René Lara
I’m Editor at Wargarage.org, a website about tabletop gaming, we focus in news, reviews, tutorials and articles about all aspects of tabletop gaming hobby and industry, and specially about miniature wargames.
This article is part of an evaluation to approve the Social Media Marketing Specialization by Northwestern University and Coursera.
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