Teaching someone how to paint...

(Brother Handro: do YOU even know how to paint?)

(Der H: Fnar fnaar fnaaar….)

So my girlfriend recently asked if she could paint something. RESULT! one might exclaim! I regularly teach people clinical knowledge/skills and the likes but painting is not something to which I profess any great skill! The opportunity, however, was too great to pass up!

Rooting around for something not too big, not too small, not to complicated, but detailed enough, and (Brother Handro: importantly…) not too expensive, was difficult! In the end my two, sorry looking purple contemptor dreadnoughts caught my eye. Lightly modified Plastic contemptors, resin weapons, a havoc launcher, and an upcoming event in which to use them, provided the perfect palate.

Simple techniques first, with drybrushing, washing and edge highlighting. All proved pretty easy for her. She has some experience in pottery painting, and found the whole process relaxing.

Names for things are a little tricky, but she soon learnt the basics. The basic steps done, we even tried some freehand marble!

It is interesting, given the range and variability in our own hobbies, how constricting a legion paint scheme can be. I was constantly met with “what colour should X be”; I suppose it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme, but if all my lascannons are black and silver, then a red one will look odd!

So far we are onto the weapons, then the havoc launcher and we’re done. I think I will go onto transfers and weathering - she seems eager to learn more!

After this I think I will give her some free rein and paint some blood and Plunder or some ArcWorlde - both games that I like but have seriously under-loved; hell, it might give me chance to use some contrast paints…

Der H

Battle Ready - Is this the solution?

So after the reveal of Citadel ‘Contrast’ paints at Warhammer Fest, Warhammer Community have today released an article on the concept of Battle Ready

Seems like a simple enough concept - it is, i suppose, a new way of saying Three colour minimum. It could be taken further as the step between three colour minimum and “Tabletop standard”.

Only back in 2017, Games workshop published their guidance on acceptable standards for painting at WHW events.

As has been pointed out, what animal needed slaughtering to make a mafgic paint that goes black/silver on bolt weapons, yellow on trim, red on eyes despite being blue in the pot….

The block with painting is one we all (Brother Handro: well…at least us two!) feel, and the prospect of a means to simplify the first few steps will certainly appeal to some. Already it appears the community is divided on this issue.

For me, Der H, I don’t think ill use it for the Emperors Children, and probably not for Bolt action. But as a means to cover certain aspects I can see immediate use. Flesh tones to easily make a start on skin. Green to do the start of Orks (40k, Gorkamorka and Arcworlde) and to do larger areas of certain colours on uniforms…thinking Blood and Plunder etc where the time gaming will remain comparatively little vs the time that will be required to get such large forces painted.

I see a suspiciously Emperors Children colour top right….

I guess it will simply be another tool in the arsenal, another technique to be compared to washing, dry brushing, shading. But time will tell how much use it will get!

Stay tuned to watch Brother Handro and I buy, use and then forget all about Citadel Contrast paints next week (Der H: To clarify, I have no idea when these are coming….meh)

Der H