One day, everyone is gonna be painting minis. It'll be the cool new thing to do.
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- čas přidán 14. 02. 2023
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Memorizing this trick for the next time I paint imperial guard
Da Hoomanz? You in need vor sum Dakka?
Wipe your dry brush off on something other then a paper towel I use my cutting mat and it'll stop it from looking chalkey
@@bilboswaggins4081 thanks! I was wondering why I was having issues. I’ll give it a shot
@@bradydonovan6180 no worries, I learnt it from a channel called Artis opus, it's a great channel for dry brushing,
I honestly have nothing but respect to you Guard players. I can’t imagine having to paint so many Guardsmen. I also can’t imagine having an army that performs well on the tabletop. (signed, an Adeptus Mechanicus player)
I’ll never understand why people get scolded for finding an easier way to do things, instead of a harder and least efficient method.
When people realise they've been wasting their time they tend to get annoyed. And it's easier for some people to be annoyed at others than at themselves...
@@alansmithee419 This is it exactly.
@Wesley Swafford Difficulty is not some right of passage for your work to be considered valuable.
Art is about having an idea, and following it through. It's about creativity and expression. Not how hard it was.
@@alansmithee419 not only just that spray pant art is infinitly more dangerous consider some of the places its in plus banksy is by far my favourite artist
@@wesleyswafford2462 thats dumb. "The more time wasting it is the more valuable it is". What?
My brain tells me this is crucial information to remember even though I’ve never painted a mini before and don’t have any particular intention to start
Exactly what I did a few months ago BUT NOW IM BEING INDUCTED INTO A DND CAMPAIGN BABY
Give the companies your money. You know you want the plastic and the glue.
I also have this, it's an adhd thing, to hyperfocus sometimes, might want to take a test, low dopamine production in the brain does these things
Same!! I'm like I'll probably never buy a mini to paint but if I do I'm fricking ready!!
@@Mar032891 I was in the exact same boat, and guess who brought a pack of blood angles yesterday. Ffs 😂
This doesn't sound like a trick, it sounds like an actual technique.
because it is. it isn't even niche. everyone who painted minis for more than a week knows this.
@@Moimus I've known about slapchop since mid last year lmao
People still need to hear first-time advice.
It is a technique, but it's useful when painting large board games, I've been painting marvel zombies which has a ton of pieces and this definitely makes it go by faster. This method doesn't look as good as other methods if you're skilled enough but it's quick
@Moimus a lot of people don't paint minis that's the niche part, only people who really, really love tabletop games do
Learning a painting technique isn’t a trick, it just means you’re a good painter.
Its a "trick" in the sense it shortens the process and gives the illusion of putting more work than actually given.
Don't be *that* guy...
@@snakeoo7ca I agree with OP. I've seen this repeatedly presented as a "hack" or (as seen here) a "trick to make people think you're a better painter than you are." No, it's just how you paint 3-D object properly. This technique CAME from artists, it's not a trick to make you LOOK like a better artist, it's just learning how to paint properly.
@@snakeoo7ca that just sounds like people are being really inefficient
@@snakeoo7ca its not a trick, nothing special or a hack. Its not "making it look like they put way more work then was actually given" thats just a very self destructive way of thinking. Using your resources and tools to your advantage is what makes an artist a good artist. Thats like saying i have this easy trick and hack to draw straight lines, and i pull out a ruler.
@@criscat1750 They call it the "tricks of the trade" for a reason. to people who don't know, its a trick. To those that do, its jut part of the process. Legit, people used to say i was "cheating" when i used a ruler to try and prove that i couldn't draw straight lines.
I really hope it does get popular, as its a great hobby. I do wonder how that might affect prices though.
It's already crazy expensive too 😂 but if more people try it, then probably in a few years there will be more sets on the secondhand market - win win!
typically that lowers prices. the more product they're making, the more larger orders they can make, and larger orders are less expensive. Plus it justifies spending more on equipment, creates more competitors to drive prices down, etc.
@@maromania7 make less profits.. , in this economy? Hike up the prices more, make more with less money spent on production = more profit
The true GW way.
@@arcticwulf5796 you don't have to buy anything from GW if your goal is to paint miniatures.
If it wasn't so damn expensive people would actually play. Absolutely no reason with 3d printing being what it is.
As someone who paints traditionally, you'd probably get a much more coheasive effect if you underpaint with a very dark color instead of black. For warm tones underpaint with dark brown, for cool tones dark green or blue. You'll still get dramatic shadows, but the colors & shading on the character will look a bit more realistic.
Digital artist 🤝 Figurine artist
Grayscale painting
this shouldnt be considered cheating, this is a valid technique used not just in mini paintings, but painting in general. It's how we learned to shade in oil painting in college.
Yeah iv run into way to many young artist who dont want to use their resources/tools to their advantage cause they think its cheating. We've gotta stop using that term when it comes to art.
if people think this is cheating they wanna see how cheaty the actual method of weathering metal is
YOU DO NOTHING the metal gets this way from abuse and not giving a damn
so being able to reproduce that in paint is impressive
@@criscat1750 welcome to zoomer logic its pretty stupid honestly why not use all tools and techniques you have available
I think this works with anything with texture, at least everything that I’ve used it on
wait y'all block the objects in the painting with black paint?
My older brother was HUGE into warhammer years ago. I distinctly remembering him do this and the minis always came out amazingly
I only painted them for a few days but I'm pretty sure techniques like these were described in the basic instruction booklet.
Contrast paints only came out a few years ago.
@@zm0rc You can do the same with inks or thinned down paint. It doesn't need to be Contrast.
@@zm0rc while hobby miniatures and contrast paint are modern inventions, the concept of underpainting like this has been around for centuries
@@Nashy119 it's the 1st thing they tell you to do
I've got friends that like swarm armies like bugs and guards, and they LOVE this method. Helps them crank out a dozen models in a couple hours.
Underpainting with dark colors is a great technique for mini painting! It can really enhance the final look of the model.
Old school oil painters did something similar. It’s called grisaille. A monotone under painting that you later (after it’s dried a bit) glaze over w/ thin translucent layers of color paint. It gives a really cool look especially in portraits. Makes the subjects skin glow a bit on the canvas w/ how light moves through all the thin layers of paint over the grisaille.
it is an amszing technique, def my favorite way to oil paint.
@@Gr1ngle same!
one of my faves :)
No man we have to call it slapchop now. We can't use the original names for things. It needs a catcher name, why aren't you considering the BRANDING OF A PAINTING TECHNIQUE?!?!?!
I was coming here to say this lol. I did it in art school by doing a masters study of the birth of Venus by Botticelli. Still one of my favorite paintings I've done and one of the most fun and thereputic
shadows don't have to be black, though! dark blue, purple, or really any color shadows work, too, and sometimes look better :)
True, but black saves you a step since there's black primer
You've got me thinking of a character with an inverted shade spectrum, like one that's glowing from inside. Neon green "shadows" and a nearly black brown for the dry brush would give a treant a crazy look like it was burning with fairy fire inside.
colour theory is very fun
@@gabojill19 There's primer in all colors
@@LordMooshroom wait really? gotta get me some green primer then, thanks
This is actually a very very very common trick, im surprised so little out side of the art community know such method.
"Hi it's Vince with SlapChop™"
Pro tip, You don't need to use black and white, Dark colors browns, dark pinks, dark blue and then use transition colors that are brighter versions of the above OR different colors for your lights and mid tones. Then you can use colors that compliment or even complimentary to your contrast paints to make various effects. Want a more diverse grayscale? use shades of purple and a yellow contrast paint on top to make it muddy gray. Want your yellows to look great? Start with a pink base and transition to a warm white. When you put a cool yellow on top The white becomes yellow but the pinks become slightly desaturated oranges
U had me at the beginning but lost me at the end
@@noblemecha7788 Sorry i art professor and went into color theory. You can use Complimentary colors on top of each other to get a different type of gray and black so lets say what you want your models to be is mostly purple you can basecoat your shadows with a dark yellow, yellow and then white. The dark yellow with purple on top makes a desaturated gray black, yellow might turn brownish gray, while on top of white it becomes purple. this gives the models a much more dynamic and strange look rather then just various tones of the same hue.
Then I went into Cold and Warm colors and how they interact. Warm colors are colors that pop out because they look like things we associate with heat, red yellow orange. While cool colors are colors that fall back because they are associated with cold things, Blue cyan purple. This is all realitive to what color your using. So a cold yellow would be closer to green then orange and a warm blue would be closer to purple then cyan. when you put warm colors ontop of cool colors of the same type they neutralize their heat in a way and do a thing called "vibration" where its both hot and cold at the same time which is very eye-catching to people.
@@NameIsDocPerfect Professor talk. So much knowledge and zero clue how to teach it.
@@vrlife7010 To be fair im better when i have a voice and my examples. Its hard to convay principles of art though text alone even some of the best art teachers in the world can't do it right.
@@NameIsDoc To be fair I understood everything you said on the first read and I know nothing and have always had zero interest in art or painting so you probably explained just fine and these guys are trolls.
As my group's designated mini painter, I did need to know that actually.
I swear polygon got me with their psyop.
"Convince" people youre a master painter, by being really good at painting small model figures lol
This is what my dad taught me to do with normal paintings. Start dark and bring out the lights. Neat.
I think (I'm not an expert at all) that it depends on how opaque the paint is. For opaque paints like acrylic you can do this, because the light colours will sit on top of the dark colours. For more transparent paint like watercolour you have to start with lighter shades and add dark, because the dark colours can't be painted over.
Your dad is bob ross?
this isn't "tricking" anyone, this is a legitimate technique
This is similar to 3D modelling too. When you bake something (basically putting a high detail model onto a low detail model so it looks like the high detail one), it looks very similar to shadows. Super cool how light works
"dident need to know"
nah thank god i know this now
No, I absolutely needed to know this. I've been kind of afraid to get into minis because I'm in no way am artist. I might actually try this. Thank you. You opened up a whole new world for me.
Look up mini painting videos on CZcams! Slap chop method is super easy, but there are dozens of super easy techniques too! Its only as hard as you make it :) go out and paint
Every artist starts somewhere. And this technique could help you have a good start.
Honestly I had great looking ultramarines with just a black layer, some blue I would dunk them in and then adding gold to some edges. Not anything amazing but still looked convincing enough.
Don't hesitate going into it and just enjoy it, practice makes perfect.
Can you give us updates if you made it?
Minature hobyist is my dad
this is basically how 3D models in games get colored in the rendering process so it makes a ton of sense!
Do you mean ambient occlusion?
Exactly
I do this, but i would warn against flat black, i use either dark blue or dark warm brown. If you are going for the appearance of warm lighting (nature lighting) having a cool underpaint is preferred. Artificial light ( cyberpunk setting) warm underpain is preffered, this is because the shadow will be the inverse tone of the light, so warm light cast cool shadows, and vice versa.
Also try zenithal lighting, start with a black primer then decide where you want your light to be coming from on the model and hit it with a few light blasts of white primer. Gives a similar result with darker shadows😊
This is the perfect example of using YT Shorts the proper way, conveying useful information fast and effectively. Thank you for this :)
This is done in videogames all the time. Curvature and ambient occlusion maps create the same base grayscale effect. Then you can just multiply your base color with it, same as how the color is thin enough to allow shadows to show through in the paint.
NERD!
I'm a mini painter and thanks for that fact, very interesting:)
If you want to know why this is a thing, it’s because ambient light (scattered light) gets occluded (trapped) in corners where it would bounce more and have a harder time entering your eye. If you look at the edges and corners of the room you are in, it will appear slightly darker than the center of the wall
Expanding on the subject its not really the case for most realistic pre rendered scenes, doubling the shadows using baked occlusion can look cartoony. It will change in video games too as there are going to be more polygons and more real time accurate ligthting.
It's got that borderlands art style.
This is actually useful for people just getting into painting minis until we get better techniques down
I've never painted a mini, but I'm glad to know this now. It applies to other life subjects.
…like what?
@@brare45996murder
here's a slightly different version of this for a tinted metallic effect: prime black, brush over a medium grey as usual, then brush over a not-super-bright metallic (e.g. leadbelcher from Citadel), then dry brush over silver focusing on edges and upper surfaces and then (optionally) highlight with bright silver on just edges and high points. Throw some contrast/speedpaint over top and you now have a coloured metallic effect with easy shading and highlights.
thats huge for me thank you so much for dropping this gem of knowledge
@krelekari When you paint it black and dry brush it silver what kind of paint do you use?
It’s not tricking people. It’s how it’s done.
This is kinda cool bc as an artist this is literally what i do when drawing on photoshop
Ngl anyone who paints miniatures should know this, it's mini painting 101
Lmfao, no its not troll, this strategy literally didn't exist until a few years ago because the paint used didn't exist, a similar strategy did bit it was NOT one shown to new painters often
@@jtowensbyiii6018 uh yes it did, i bought those inc paints for warhammer models way back in the 90's. This is how we always used to paint our models.
@@novadragon_official contrast literally didn't exist until a couple years ago
@@jtowensbyiii6018 And people used wash paints instead, the only difference is that wash paint is thinner so most of the time you had to do double layers. The technique is still exactly the same and nothing new.
@@novadragon_official What kinda paint would you recommend now? I really wanna get into miniatures and repainting some of my old figure's but have no idea where to start. I already have some paints since I'm an artist, but I have a feeling that minis require something else made specifically for mini-painting. Rn I have acrylic, oil, water colour and spray paint
WHY DIDNT I EVER THINK OF THIS?? IVE BEEN PAINTING MINIS FOR LLLLLITTERALLY A DECADE HOW HAVE I NEVER THOUGHT TO DO THIS???
Because you passed the need for that knowledge. It is a beginner technique. Also, like airbrushing, people can tell when you use it. Amazingly useful for large batches of units, but I personally would never slapchop a character
Because you aren’t bright
No idea it’s incredibly useful and you can always paint over dry brush or use it over your painted mini
Because it's fairly new in the scene.
Just like you, I too had to labor away at it the old fashioned way.
I'm just glad more people can get to enjoy the hobby without the huge hurdles.
You can trick people into thinking you’re good at painting minis by being good at painting minis.
I've always wanted to paint minis so now, after 47 years of procrastinating, I will begin my journey.
It doesn't just have to be a black undercoat both reds and browns work wonders as shadows for yellow. For those who knows the struggle of painting Imperial Fists!
Paint every mini figure black.
Now you have a collection of shadow creatures
i love this cuz it’s like. trick people into thinking you’re really good by making art that looks really good
If you can trick people into thinking you're a painting master, you're a painting master. There's no other definition of painting master.
I'm not into minis but that's a pretty neat trick!
I needed this in my life... I have multiple Warhammer 40k Models that have been too afraid to paint but have been thinking of recruiting my much more artistically gifted little siblings to teach me how to paint.
If you're afraid to start your painting journey with them, you could always start with dollar store toys. Prime and repaint something with very little value, to gain proficiency and confidence.
*IN THE EMPERORS NAME WERE DID ALL THE COLOR GO?!*
That's not a trick, it's legit a good way to paint
The tutorial I didn't know I needed.
If you have an airbrush, a zenithal prime/highlight functions similarly to the dry brushing stage, but with added shadows.
Exactly my thoughts, "isn't this just zenithal priming?"
You can zenithal with rattle cans too
Zenithal is highlighting from a specific point of light that you determine.
I build a jig to paint all my Nids with a zenithal highlight in a more uniform way.
Rattle can was about 120 degrees from the middle of the model, so that the lightest parts where most likely the Bits you'd see coming towards you.
Zenithal can also be used if you only want to light the models from the top like a midday sun.
Slap chop is just all over dark to light for every bit and hope it works out.
Slap chop looks awful on more panels of armour to me. Any big flat surfaces it's just not as effective.
That being said contrast paint is equally as bad at those types of surfaces...
Basically if contrast will work well on the surface and you wanna paint 100 terms...slap chop and contrast gets you to a table ready looking set of models...
But your ultramarines will look like they lack some definition
Idk if that helps.
tldr
Zenithal is actually highlighting from a specific light source, an angled source or a directed source.
Slap chop is just dark to light all over
@@humanname1458 Zenithal means highlighting the zenith or top. From other directions is slapchop
@@GarrettPDGA yes.
But you can use the zenithal method from any angle :p
Excuse me, I DID need to know this, thank you very much!
Absolutely, it's such a great payoff for such little effort!
I can still remember the smell of the paint used for my Warhammer 40K figurines 25 years ago ❤️
FYI, If you can trick people into thinking you're a painting master, you're a painting master.
The “shadows” you mention of is called “ambient occlusion” in the computer graphics world. Light gets trapped in the crevices making them appear darker
That's exactly what I thought of when I saw this
This is a really great tip, thanks! I knew about doing a primer coat of black, but I didn't think of using transparent paints.
"It's such an easy trick" - Shows footage of others doin slapshop
you can trick your friends into thinking you're a master painter by being a master painter
I need to remember this for the stormlight archive minis coming next month
Oh damn, I forgot about that! I need to order some.
I saved this video for that exact reason lol
Stormlight archive minis ?😂 is that really a thing ?
It's amazing how deep Warhammer can go, really makes me wanna get into the universe stuff
DEWIT
Welcome to the rabbit hole.
My dad teaches mini painting classes, this is the first thing he taught me as a child
I don't know why, but this is what it took for me to finally understand how slapchop works.
Wait, Polygon is getting into Miniature Wargaming? It's about time!
Pretending to more like it.
OMG... I have been struggling to paint minis for years and you just squashed ALL OF THAT. I just tried this and the mini that took about 30 minutes looks better than the ones I've spent hours staring at through a magnifier.
Thank you so much I am new to warhammer 40k and all the tips really help🎉
Reminds me of greyscale painting when you’re rendering something via digital art
*I definitely needed to know this.*
I actually did need to know this thank you so much!
This is so damn interesting! I’ve never actually thought about how they get painted 🤔😮
I actually did need this. This is great! haha
Well, this was a nice 'Mini Mini'.
Slapchop also gives it a cell-shaded look if you're into the 'borderlands' aesthetic.
I dont even paint miniatures... but I know my brain is still gonna store this information instead of something i wanted to remember lol
Don't feel limited to black and white for your shadows and highlights.
You can use this technic with all sorts of colours to varying effect.
For instance, when I am painting something yellow, I use purple for the base, then dry brush a tan or warm white. This is important, because a cool white will react with the yellow paint making it look a little tinted.
I've never painted a lil character like that but this is gonna live in my mind for the rest of my life
That's not tricking people. That's just solid technique 😂
Knowing me, I'm still going to mess it up
Why not try it? What’s the worst that could happen?
I needed to know this because I'm preparing to paint my first mini in over 3 years for a new game soon and this will be so helpful!
I definitely needed to know this. Thanks!
painting masters would use this trick too if they were making figurines lol
I will still call them a painting master for doing all those steps.
That’s actually super useful! Thanks!
Oh I needed to know this, I'm about to start painting models.
I went from not a novice for painting minis to novice
This is basically a zenithal highlight with a brush.
That’s not tricking people, it’s just a good technique. If it works it works. It’s art, who cares how you got there. 🙂
for people like myself with a relatively severe involuntary tremor, this is a weird niche thing I needed so thank you.
p.s. I'll be using this trick when I detail fine details on some furniture's I repaint.
Yo I didn't expect anyone else with that in the comments. :0 Is yours caused by "essential tremors" too, or is it another thing?
Hey, random tip that might help: touch 1 one more fingers together while painting - so the hand you have the model in and the hand holding your brush. Alternatively, you touching the base of the model (I try to make as little contact with the painting surface as possible) can help.
I have a skight tremor myself, so this has helped GREATLY with painting eyes and sketching.
that's actually sick
You mean trick people into thinking you are good at painting by learning a painting technique that yields fantastic results? At that point... I think you're just good at painting.
In terms of how good it looks compared to the actual effort expended, sure. In terms of having actual real understanding of things like colour blending, or ability to maintain fine details (that require a dextrous hand) when painting, not so much.
I say this as someone who has not attempted painting a miniature in a very, very long time, and only knew about base coats, flat colours, and then drybrushing on top of that at the time. I only barely was learning about how thinning properly to maintain texture for better results (because I inherited the incomplete painting kit from a friend who was moving, so the paint selection was random and in all levels of functional.
I'd like to paint like this if I started doing that kind of thing again.
@@Thalanox Regardless of how complicated your techniques are or are not, if you paint beautiful minis then you are good at painting minis.
For those who don't know, Contrast Paint is a brand name, used by Games Workshop. The more general name would be a wash paint.
Contrast, from what I’ve heard, is not a wash. I asked my local game shop owner what it is and he said it’s a thin paint similar to a wash that is supposed to skip the base/layer step by being a midpoint between a wash and a base paint. A wash is meant to be used on top of a base and/or layer paint to give shadows and depth to the model, but contrast is supposed to do both. He recommended using a white primer if using contrast paint.
Contrast paint is like speed paint... wash is just for shadows/contrast 😂
My nonexistent warhammer collection is gonna look sick
If you do this it's really helpful to add highlights afterwards it helps the contrast paints pop
Tricking people into thinking you're good at painting by using painting methods that make your art look good
Not true, I can spot this from a mile away.
I've been painting and building 28mm scale miniatures, both hero scale and true scale for over 20 years.
This method is good for painting lots of minis quickly, but a common mistake people make is applying a coat of contrast too thickly which creates pools of paint in a weird area.
The way I'd suggest people try is the "grimdark method", it can be scary using enamel paints and washes but they give a better end result and you can easily correct mistakes if you make them.
Well I was getting hyped about painting for once but now you killed my hype. Thanks 😢
@@Barrillel I'm just a grumpy boomer from a time when paints were extremely limited so we had to see and make do.
Don't let me discourage you, try whatever you think looks good, we all start out somewhere but so long as you get some paint on models that's the point, you never know you might create an entirely new method for painting models
We definitely needed to know this!
this comment section is full to the brim with wonderful advice for painting models/figures and i deeply thank you all
These aren't secret tricks. This is just how you paint miniatures.
I know right? Lol
she didn't say it was? she said "weirdly niche nerd things you didnt need to know but im telling you anyways" ....she's informing ppl about a diff way to paint that didnt know ab it already?
it's a way you can - slapchop has only been popularised recently and before that we had more 'Eavy Metal, lots of retro, sometimes glazing based stuff, etc
@@poggestfrogI'm confused on how this has been popularized recently. This isn't much different Zenithal priming and then slapping on contrast paints.
Thats so clever, like how digital artists use gradient maps or overlay blending modes! (Those who know, know what I'm talking about)
This is an actually neat trick, thank you.
How to trick people into believing you're good at painting figures: step 1 be good at painting figures
I needed to see this. Thank you so much!
You're absolutely right, I didn't need to know this but this technique is fantastic and has made me rethink the level of talent needed to paint miniatures