Contrast Paint is one of many tools in a painter’s arsenal, and like any tool it has numerous uses and intricacies. From sloshing a mix over a model to get it ready for battle, to using it to tint, weather and pick out details, the possibilities are huge.
Top painter and Warhammer Community regular Vincent Knotley specialises in the use of Contrast Paint, and we spoke to him about his journey.
Knotley: I started small with Contrast. Back in 2019, I watched a video tutorial which showcased a way to paint Heresy-era Word Bearers with Flesh Tearers Red over an undercoat of Leadbelcher. After that I mostly kept it around for special tasks like coloured metallics, painting plasma coils, painting skin, easy white armour and shading metallics.
Right out of the gate, highlighting was much simplified: thanks to the way Contrast flows down the miniature while pooling in the recesses, I can see exactly where that highlight of Straken Green has to go on a goblin’s knee without needing to study other examples or theories of how light falls. For human flesh I can use Darkoath Flesh with a highlight of Kislev Flesh rather than a five-step process. Combining basecoating, shading, and in some cases layering into one or two coats gives me the greatest gift of all: time. Time to focus on highlighting and experimenting with new mixtures and, most importantly, painting more miniatures.
Things changed in a big way when I was sent a box of Chaos Chosen for a Warhammer Community article. I wanted to paint them all in different Nurgle-leaning colour schemes but I was wracked by indecision. After a few hours staring at my paint rack, I decided to attempt an off-white with a little grit and grim to its hue.
I started mixing Apothecary White, Gryph-Charger Grey, and Ratling Grime on a palette and found exactly what I was looking for, all in one coat. The off-white tone had a hint of dirt from the Ratling Grime settling lower down, while the Apothecary White tinted the main armour, and Gryph-Charger Grey gave the shadows just enough of a blue tinge to make it look right. That unshackled something in my brain. After years of fitting myself into other people’s methods, I went my own way.
I have now shifted into a way of painting I’ve wanted to since I was spending endless hours of my youth staring longingly at colour scheme spreads in Codexes, rulebooks, and wishing I could paint them all. Now painting five or 10 models in completely different colour schemes IS my hobby. It’s fun, satisfying, and presents its own exciting challenges.
I can go from thinking, “What would an orruk Ardboy with pink armour look like?” to having an example in my hand, and ready to highlight in a matter of minutes. If it works, great! If it doesn’t, I’ve saved the time which would have gone into layering and shading.
I adore the inherent intensity. Between the near-acidic hues of Mantis Warriors Green, the outright blueness of Talassar Blue, and the indisputable yellow that is Imperial Fist (the perfect basis for painting yellow armour when paired with a wash of Casandora Yellow, just so you know).
Use little – but more than you think you need. Contrast paints aren’t some Tzeentch-sent gift: they’re paints, and as they start to dry, they become a lot less malleable. If you apply too little and come back to add more before it’s dry, you’ll damage the coat you just put down. However, by applying a small amount more than you need and then wicking it away (a slightly damp brush works wonders for this) where the excess pools, you can make sure the paint dries exactly where and how you want. Don’t jam the brush in like you’re fishing for Squigs, just touch the very tip of it to where the paint has pooled and let physics do the work.
Speaking of physics, apply it from the top of an area to the bottom in one smooth application if you can. That way you’re working with gravity, instead of trying to best it, and can make sure each area is just right before moving onto the next. Contrast may dry slower than traditional paints, but it still dries, and nobody wants tide marks cutting straight through a Space Marine’s lower left greave.
Contrast always works best over lighter basecoats. Go for Grey Seer, Wraithbone, White Scar, even Zandri Dust if you’re feeling fancy. The paint pulls away from the edges, so a lighter colour is going to show through better, and it can be affected by whatever colour is underneath it more so than traditional paints.
Do not be afraid to mix your Contrast paints. This can, and will, unlock all manner of new ways to apply colours to your miniatures. It’s easy, it’s a lot of fun, and can (sometimes completely by accident) give you the perfect way to get a colour for the miniature you’re painting. Just remember to write down your ratios!
Speaking of ratios, Contrast Medium is your friend. Mixing Luxion Purple and Leviathan Purple gives a great midtone purple colour which looks great on a whole unit, but it also dries quickly. By adding a small amount of Contrast Medium to the larger mixture, you can keep that threat at bay. Personally, I try to add at least a small drop to any mixture I’ll be keeping on the palette for more than two minutes.
The biggest tip, though, is to let the paint do its thing once it’s on the miniature—after you’ve pulled away any unsightly pooling, of course. I know this sounds fairly simple, but trusting the process rather than messing with it takes self-control.
It wouldn’t be an article on Contrast if I didn’t mention a few of my favourite paints. Magos Purple immediately elevates any fleshtone or non-fleshtone colour into something which looks more alive. Adding one part of it to two parts Darkoath Flesh is an instant easy skin-painting win. It’s also great for balancing out unruly mixtures of pinks, purples, and even reds sometimes.
I should give props to the workhorse that is Black Templar. When mixed with three or five parts to one part Contrast Medium, depending on how heavily you want it to settle, it’ll shade metals just as well as Nuln Oil and keep that slight shine showing through. Over Corax White, it makes painting teeth, claws, and even eyes easy. An entire army of Stormcast Eternals, Space Marines or Skaven in white armour is an impressive sight to behold, and Apothecary White does that job. Not only that, but due to the way the pigment in it binds with others, it can create some wonderful pastel effects.
If you want to paint white armour with a light blue shading but don’t want to spend hours recess shading it, mix four parts Contrast Medium, three parts Apothecary White, and one part Gryph-Charger Grey. Edge highlight it with Corax White and Ulthuan Grey if you’re feeling fancy – and that’s instant white armour. If it’s good enough for the Lion, it’s good enough for me.
Thanks Vincent! We’ll have more words on Contrast from Warhipster next week. Until then, there are dozens of tutorials for painting Warhammer miniatures on our official YouTube channel.
