Army Painter Washes, confusion and questions

[MusicalFeline]

Right, so this is probably a stupid question, but I'm gonna ask it anyways, because, well, I'm uncertain.

 

So a week ago, I purchased the D&D/Army Painter Monster Paint Set. Fantastic set, contains more paints than I'll need ever for a decade for a year for an undetermined period of time.

 

Anyways, this set came with three washes - Shadow Wash, Flesh Wash, and Brown Wash. As recommended by several other painters on a different post, I decided I'd use these premade washes rather than the thinned-down paint I had been using in the past. However...

 

I doubted, and now I'm uncertain. After a quick google search, I'm even more confused as I saw contradictory answers, and answers that weren't really answers. I know I'm being irrational, but do you use these the same way as thinned-down paint (applying to the miniature after it's been basecoated?), or do you use it some other way?

 

Again, stupid question, but as they say, it's better to be safe than sorry. Thanks!

[Swampy]

most of the time I use them after a basecoat or to bring down a shine of metals after I've highlighted them. I'm not a fan of priming and doing a wash before I apply the basecoat if that's what you're implying. Brown wash is always good to use but I always tend to add a tiny amount of more water to the mix and go from there but that's a personal preference. 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Swampy
yeeeeeeeeeee

[MusicalFeline]

18 minutes ago, Swampy said:

most of the time I use them after a basecoat or to bring down a shine of metals after I've highlighted them. I'm not a fan of priming and doing a wash before I apply the basecoat if that's what you're implying. Brown wash is always good to use but I always tend to add a tiny amount of more water to the mix and go from there but that's a personal preference. 

Yeah, that’s what I was implying. 

 

So basically just like what I’ve been doing previously. Alright, many thanks! I appreciate your reassurance!

[ced1106]

You can do a *lot* with washes. Main advantage is that you get the most results with the least work. I hate work. 

 

Basecoat, wash, base color, highlight, is a common method, so start with that. Washes settle in the recesses, so you don't have to paint the shadows yourself. I've also seen washes used as glazes.

 

Since you have experience using watered-down paints, use the washes as you did these paints. How washes are better than watered-down paints is that they prevent "rings" from forming. If you *like* mixing your own paints, you might not depend on washes as much as painters who just want their miniatures painted.

 

Myself, I paint 20+ miniatures at a time, so premade washes save me time. In fact, I also use colored primers followed by a wash, instead of primer, basecoat, wash. I then paint as needed.

 

For your specific washes, start with these.

* Brown: Slop and glop over monsters, particularly skeletons. With greenskins, you will eventually want Green Ink. Appearance will look dirty, so I don't use them with heroes.

* Black: Use it to shade armor. With textured armor, such as chainmail, after the wash dry brush the chainmail with metal. With "flat" armor, like plate, only shade the gaps between pieces of armor. Also, for heroic miniatures, after a white primer, wash in dark wash, then optionally drybrush in white, then paint basecoats. This will give you your shading without making the miniature look dirty.

* Flesh: Personally, I find flesh tricky to use. I would start with flesh on monsters (eg. ogres, flesh-colored ghouls) before moving on to heroes.

 

Once you use up any of the washes, pick up the Army Painter Quickshade Ink set, a set of washes. Colored washes (eg. green, red, blue, purple) work well with their colors for shading.

 

EDIT: To follow-up on ManvsMini (: here're an article on DIY wash and surface tension. Woo! Science!

http://www.theeclecticgamer.com/2011/03/16/creating-washes-for-miniature-painting/

 

EDIT: Also, an article on washes. Woo! Tutorial! (:

https://creativetwilight.com/washes/

 

Edited June 30, 2020 by ced1106

[ManvsMini]

24 minutes ago, ced1106 said:

How washes are better than watered-down paints is that they prevent "rings" from forming.

 

I would beg to add a slight caveat to that statement. Washes made with paint that only use water can lead to rings, but what makes the pre-made washes prevent this is that they are formulated with surfactants to break the surface tension of water (which causes the rings to form). Adding a small amount of surfactant to the watered-down paint wash, and applying it properly will yield a satisfactory homemade wash.

 

That said, I also use pre-made washes the majority of the time when painting units.

[Maledrakh]

Also be aware that Army Painter have two types of "quickshade", the dips and the inks / washes

to add to the confusion they have the same names..."dark quickshade" "Strong quickshade" etc

 

Some of the confusion you mention might come from some comments applying to the one, and some to the other type. They are quite different.

 

The "dip" style quickshades typically come in a tin and they stink. These are oil-based and need at least a day to dry. also they are very shiny. (they are based on a kind of furniture stain/ varnish). You are supposed to base colour the mini, then dip them into this gunk and shake off the excess. when dry the minis are mostly done and shaded. This is the so-called "army painter method". google it for a better description.

 

The "ink" or "wash" style quickshades are water-based, come in dropper bottles and dry in half an hour or so. They are used as traditional washes. I expect it is these you have.

[MusicalFeline]

Man, you guys rule! Such great advice getting thrown out here!

 

22 hours ago, ced1106 said:

Since you have experience using watered-down paints, use the washes as you did these paints. How washes are better than watered-down paints is that they prevent "rings" from forming. If you *like* mixing your own paints, you might not depend on washes as much as painters who just want their miniatures painted.

 

For your specific washes, start with these.

* Brown: Slop and glop over monsters, particularly skeletons. With greenskins, you will eventually want Green Ink. Appearance will look dirty, so I don't use them with heroes.

* Black: Use it to shade armor. With textured armor, such as chainmail, after the wash dry brush the chainmail with metal. With "flat" armor, like plate, only shade the gaps between pieces of armor. Also, for heroic miniatures, after a white primer, wash in dark wash, then optionally drybrush in white, then paint basecoats. This will give you your shading without making the miniature look dirty.

* Flesh: Personally, I find flesh tricky to use. I would start with flesh on monsters (eg. ogres, flesh-colored ghouls) before moving on to heroes.

Fantastic, thanks! Those specific uses are a godsend - I was actually gonna do a follow-up post about the specific uses, but hey! Now that's completely unnecessary!

 

21 hours ago, ManvsMini said:

I would beg to add a slight caveat to that statement. Washes made with paint that only use water can lead to rings, but what makes the pre-made washes prevent this is that they are formulated with surfactants to break the surface tension of water (which causes the rings to form). Adding a small amount of surfactant to the watered-down paint wash, and applying it properly will yield a satisfactory homemade wash.

That said, I also use pre-made washes the majority of the time when painting units.

Been using dish soap for the surface tension stuff. Worked well, but I also will be using the pre-made ones for this project at least.

 

20 hours ago, Maledrakh said:

Also be aware that Army Painter have two types of "quickshade", the dips and the inks / washes

to add to the confusion they have the same names..."dark quickshade" "Strong quickshade" etc

 

Some of the confusion you mention might come from some comments applying to the one, and some to the other type. They are quite different.

 

The "dip" style quickshades typically come in a tin and they stink. These are oil-based and need at least a day to dry. also they are very shiny. (they are based on a kind of furniture stain/ varnish). You are supposed to base colour the mini, then dip them into this gunk and shake off the excess. when dry the minis are mostly done and shaded. This is the so-called "army painter method". google it for a better description.

 

The "ink" or "wash" style quickshades are water-based, come in dropper bottles and dry in half an hour or so. They are used as traditional washes. I expect it is these you have.

Yep, got the droppers, not the big can thingy. Good to have reassured once more that they're used as normal!

 

Now, with this advice in hand (well, I suppose it's in my mind in you want to get technical), it's time to get washing! Thanks everybody!