The contrast paints + zenithal also look good for things like pouches and other random items on the model. I mount the heads and weapons separately, usually – it’s just easier to paint the whole model that way. It is geared towards batch painting in sets of 5 models, to get an army on the table which looks good as a unit. Other than possibly requiring slightly less effort on your highlights to get a higher contrast. This brings me to the next point. Zenithal priming is great way to quickly map out shadows on your miniature. I'll definitely give these suggestions a go though. You can see the basecoat of black, followed by the zenithal of white. Both miniatures are painted with Reaper Pure White, Wolf Grey, and Dragon Black. Im trying to figure out zenithal priming. Enjoy. Painting 201: Zenithal Priming, or how to shade & highlight like a BOSS. To push the contrast further, before moving on to the remaining basecoats, I thinned green ink heavily (8:1) and sprayed it from below to push the shadows towards green and have them contrast with the red armour. What do you think of the New Contrast Paints so Far?To Help Support Jay, Che: 17. zenithal Priming is priming your model with 3 colors instead of just 1. In this video, Jay tries the New Contrast Paints over a zenithal priming. I mean, if you’re cash strapped or lazy you can get away with using 2 colors, but 3 gets best results. Maybe not at all. On rebel troopers, well the zenithal is going to be more of a guide since all of that will get painted over with some many different colors. The Citadel Contrast primer is really nice, leaving a smooth, matte finish that is one of the nicest I have ever seen from a primer. Zenithal highlighting on models can be a huge and somewhat complex topic and it's with some reservation that I'm posting this whole "tutorial." Priming. Here is a quick how-to on zenithal priming. Don’t skip over this step and be very mindful of what you choose. I have a gaming store opening up near me that's going to run a Konflikt '47 escalation league geared towards helping beginners learn the game and they are running a deal on the starter sets and plastic kits. After the first black priming, which kind of paint should I use for grey and white zenithal highlights ? It’s been almost a year since my last post on painting miniature figures. Only takes a few seconds with a spray can or airbrush then almost everything is a single layer of contrast paint. Continuing my foray into Contrast Paints last week, I wanted to see how contrast paints worked with zenithal highlighting. The new Citadel contrast range of paints are a pleasure to work with, and are now my “go to” paints when dealing with any rank and file troops, you simply cannot bear an average of 5-10 minutes per figure and will result in many boxes of minis actually … The basic method starts with priming the model black. When you are playing a board game, chances are you are sitting at a table. 50:50 apothecary white : contrast medium base coat. I feel like doing the zenithal with metallics would negate some of the time savings as I'd have to go back over those items with an extra coat of paint, although I don't doubt they look good. Zenithal priming miniatures, also called pre-shading, is a method of adding shadow and highlight to a model before painting it. This is the paints and primers you need to do this: A black primer (I use Vallejo’s Black Surface Primer) A light gray paint (I use Vallejo’s Model Air Light Gray) A white paint (I use Vallejo’s Game Air Dead White) An airbrush (similar results can be achieved with spray cans, it is just a lot easier with an airbrush) When painting miniatures, contrast is the most important aspect to get right. Zenithal priming is a way to apply a reference to the location of your light source directly to the miniature itself. Miniature Painting Painting Tutorial Mini Paintings Warhammer 40k Miniatures Model Paint Warhammer Paint Wargaming Figure Painting Funny School Pictures. I highly suggest you start with a white, off white, or light grey base coat. Zenithal Priming is a way to paint your miniatures based on how they are traditionally viewed. Saved by Mattmann. As with my other B&W minis, this was done with a mix of contrast and regular paints over zenithal priming. There’s a little highlighting with regular paints but nothing major. Primers also come in all sorts of colours but the main primer colours people use are black, white, and grey. The matte varnish layer is pretty transformative actually, finishes on unvarnished models using contrast paint have generally displayed as satin or semi-gloss. As a side note, preshading and zenithal priming work wonders with Contrast. In the attached images I did two tests with the three Contrast paints I had available. May 8, 2020 - Miniature painting is a hobby that any skill level of painter can enjoy. Zenithal highlighting when priming is to use the lighter color more on areas that would be exposed to the light, and more of the darker primer on shaded or recessed areas. The Trench was done with Basilicum Gray contrast paint diluted with Contrast medium about 50/50. With a zenithal highlights, you create a great starting point for keeping the contrast strong on your painted model. The contrast is much less obvious when you first spray the model and everything is the same color but it comes to life as you paint more. I have used Zenithal priming with some success, I think the 2 step rather than the 3 step process is fine as you have illustrated. So your answer is really dependant on your paint … If you have a light touch with your paints the shadows you create with this step will show through on your finished project and if you tend towards heavier paint zenithal priming will give you a quick guide for placing your shadows and highlights. If you’re well practiced at “painting inside the lines” that’s really quick. Zenithal priming serves three functions, to act a guide for where highlights and shadows should be placed, to give a light platform for bright colors while leaving recesses dark, and to provide starting highlights and shadows for techniques that use thinner (or more transparent) paint than normal.. Hair was diluted Gryph Charger gray (this has a green/blue tint but made it stand out a little from the skin). Zenithal Priming is priming your model with 3 colors instead of just 1. What is zenithal priming in miniature painting? Can I do it without an… Either prime black and then add a dusting of grey/white for "light sourcing" or prime grey and apply small amounts of black to the shaded areas (only really works by airbrush) and the "auto-shading" effect of the Contrast … Zenithal, meaning “located at or near the zenith”, is all about painting from above. Experimenting With Contrast Paints - Zenithal and Vehicles. Jan 8, 2017 - Painting 201: Zenithal Priming, or how to shade & highlight like a BOSS | POWERFISTED So, the stages go as follows: (i) Preshading Take the model, prime it black (I use Vallejo Black Primer through an airbrush). Zenithal has a really noticeable difference with inks compared to a flat base coat. This means that for the majority of the game, you are looking at the miniatures from above. How to Paint with Contrast Paints. A zenithal shade does a lot of work under semi-transparent paints and inks. No one's going to get close to that without the zenithal priming stage. Priming and the color you choose is especially important with Contrast Paints. More miniature-painting goodness: Citadel shades and washes, zenithal primes, and Etherfields. Painting 201: Zenithal Priming or how to shade & highlight like a boss by Powerfisted.com. If you are doing stormtroopers, prime, off white coat to cover primer texture, zenithal with white, plaint black areas german grey, use wash sparing on recessed areas and black areas, paint gun, done. I don't consider myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but hope to share what I know about the topic with those folks in the same boat as me. ... Like with all Contrast paints try and keep your brush strokes in the same general direction to help avoid streaking and pooling. Paints being applied over primer all react a bit different. The upper miniature is painted with each color in separate section to see how each affects the Contrast paint on top of it. Mar 17, 2018 - Painting 201: Zenithal Priming, or how to shade & highlight like a BOSS | POWERFISTED The black is just pure contrast, no medium. Then you spray white primer/paint ONLY from the direction of your light source. Unlike ‘regular’ miniature paints, Citadel Contrast Paints are paints designed specifically for new painters or people who want to get their tabletop models and miniatures painted quickly. If you’re just starting out, you should know about a technique called zenithal priming because it will make your miniatures seem much more detailed. Mechanus grey and corax white zenithal base. Light colour paints are far less opaque than darker ones and are effected more by your base coat so applying a light colour paint over a black primer is a pain. Inks on the other hand really benefit from zenithal because of their inherent transparency. I mean, if you’re cash strapped or lazy you can get away with using 2 colors, but 3 gets best results. Watching a few videos, some say to prime with the white directly from top, other at a 45 degree angle, then 45 degrees from top AND down, or even … Once dried, a lighter color like gray or white is added from the top, or zenith. Because the Contrast paints are transparent they are affected by the warmth of the primer underneath and they need a bright primer like white or these two, they will not work on a pure black primer. The Citadel Contrast Paints are a potentially game changing tool for miniature painters. I do this step mostly completly wet in wet, that means i … Can you use a combination of contrast paints and regular acrylics on … Hightlight with Ghost Grey (vallejo game) and minimal spot highlights with White Scar. Zenithal Priming. Zenithal highlighting is a key component in many speed painting techniques. Zenithal priming : which paints ? I’m focusing on these two so you can see a comparison between identical models. It's great if you're already well aware and do it, not everyone reading the thread will be or does. More miniature-painting goodness: Citadel shades and washes, zenithal primes, and Etherfields. With this method you prime or paint the entire figure black. You’ll apply black, grey, and white primers in a way that creates a gradient effect from the shadows to the upper most areas. Here are the models primed. Ive already seen several tutorials but one topic stays unclear. Using Zenithal Highlighting with Contrast paints to speed/batch paint Japanese WWII soldiers? Nov 5, 2019 - Are you wondering if the new Citadel Contrast Paints are worth it? I had good luck with it on stormtroopers. - posted in + GENERAL PCA QUESTIONS +: Hi brothers, Im planning to treat me an airbrush for Chistmas and I will begin with priming and zenithal priming. I think the first pic only has minor ghost grey highlights. Zenithals. After priming the model (Son on Onimos, Rackham) i do start painting the base colours up to the model, already thinking myself into the light situation (zenithal) and bring the areas affected by light up to the model with a brighter tone. I have a black and a white matt primer can from Army Painter.