The ultimate painting competition is about to begin! Next Level Painting is putting ancient Chinese techniques to the test against Citadel’s Contrast paints.
Today we are experimenting in the beats lab with science! We are putting professional airbrush painting to the test this time with a battle versus Citadel’s Contrast paints. Contrast paints have had much myth and mythos surrounding them, but we have a hypothesis on which technique will turn out better.
What better test subject than a Space Marine for our head-to-head competition?
After priming our Space Marine with Citadel Wraith Bone, a nice layer of Ultramarines Blue gets us started. A larger brush is better when painting with the Contrast paints, such as a Number 4 brush. Make sure to go on thick with the Contrast paints to achieve a staining effect.
With the airbrushed model, go with a matte black priming. For our airbrush blue, we are using a mix of Secret Weapon Verdigris Blue and Principality Blue. A top-down highlight with our airbrush gets a nice natural contrast with our base blue. Once your base coat is done, a nice lighter blue will help seal in your highlights.
Lastly, add a dash of white to make your highlight even better.
As far as the head-to-head challenge goes, our models look noticeably different. Moving on, we will be painting the detail portions of our Space Marines. For the Contrast mini, we are going back and painting all the details with the original Wraith Bone. For the airbrushed model, a nice group of Warlord Games paints works for the details.
For both models, this technique is roughly the same: painting in details and then adding a wash. In retrospect, these techniques are about the same amount of time investment for what you get out of the painting of your miniatures.
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About the Author: Barclay Montgomery
