I'm using a different color scheme, but the method of drybrushing the fatigues before the wash with my guardsmen as well. I also use the wash technique of very carefully... PTHHHTBBTTTTTTTTTT
It's only fairly recently, I think, that I finally cottoned on to washing an extreme highlight down to match the shading around it. Works pretty well! I'm glad someone else knows the requirement of PTHRBBBRBTTBRHRTB when the shade goes on, too. ;D
Out of all the painting tutorials I watched I always enjoy your tutorials the best. I have to agree that the Astra Militarum is great. They're just nice universal sci-fi troops and can be used in so many more games than 40k to represent all kinds of future soldiers. I use them in Stargrave, Space Weirdos, Planet 28, and This Is Not A Test to name a few. They're just awesome little soldiers.
THIS VIDEO! This video right here is a lifesaver! I have monochromatic colorblindness and cannot see colors making the painting aspect very dificult, so to be able to know what citidel brand paint goes where and how much to water down the paint is just suck a great thing for me. Painting is my least favorite part of warhammer and you sir have changed that for me! I actually stopped hobbying because id get so depressed that i coulnt get the right contrasts for my minis. I MUST extend my gratitude and say thank you so much for giving me the tools to be able to now fully enjoy my hobby. You did more than make a video, you gave me my hobby back!
I'm super glad to hear something like this could help! I'd honestly never realised that total colour blindness exists, and after starting to look into the subject I'm absolutely staggered. I just can't imagine what that is like. If this is something to help put models back on the table, all the better! You might also get a kick out of the coming line of Citadel Contrast as something to look into in a month or so time - straight from the pot and single colours should make things really clear, too!
I think we have a tendency to overthink some of these things. A 'close enough' finish will look great across an army; we've not all got the time to lavish attention on the rank and file! ;)
Hey man, I hope you are well. Your videos gave me the inspiration to get into the hobby and start painting the guardsmen that have always interested me. One cadian squad down....so many more to go. Thanks for being a great teacher!
thank you soo much for this. i'm just getting back into the hobby after almost 20 years of not playing (since second edition) and am super rusty. your tutorial was the best looking of the cadian imperial guard in my opinion. did it step-by-step and wow man what a good looking mini!!! again thanks!
Always great watching your tutorials. Great results with simple techniques and no pretention like some of the flashier painting channels, who assume that after a couple of minis everyone is a Golden Demon winning painter.
After years of miniature painting and learning techniques like object source lighting, non metallic metal, and blending, I always find myself going back to drybrushing my warhammer units because as a technique, drybrushing is so damn fun. This guy turned out amazing, and as my forgeworld cadians with respirators pack just arrived, I think i'm going to try this with a custom color scheme.
I just wanted to say thank you for this tutorial! This technique has helped me get into the hobby, and introduced me to many advanced techniques at a basic level, now I can freehand different color schemes and figures with the stuff I learned on this video.
Nice one! :D I'm glad it could help. I think there's a lot of great advice on the internet which can still seem a little daunting at first, so the whole point of these videos is really just to get people with brushes in their hands.
Thank you so much, even english is not my mother lenguage you make yourself cleare. I just bought yesterday my first army: "Battleforce Astra Militarum Battlegroup". As soon as I have the materials (tools, paints glue...), I'm going to put in practice what I learned here for the glorious Imperial Guard and in the name of our beloved Emperor!!!
Good luck! Sounds like you had a grand Christmas. :D The Astra Militarum can seem like you are forever painting men, but there is nothing that looks so impressive on the table as massed infantry!
This mate is an awesome tutorial, I've done 40k for good 15-20yrs but just decided to get some imperial guard and this is definitely the tutorial I'm using 👍
I cant believe the difference that wash made its actually insane Like the before shot I'm like "yeah okay sure but how does THIS end up like the thumbnail" "oh... That's how..."
@@SonicSledgehammerStudio i just finished painting the green! next is the skin then metal then touchups then a wash thanks to you i know what to do! thanks for the responses you inspired me to get my lazy butt moving nd do some hobby work! i feel great about it now i can relax in peace for a little while:P !!!
Fantastic work. Thanks to that dry brush technique for the fatigues, you have inspired me to really dig into the guard minis I have kicking around begging for something other then the standard issue Grey fatigues.
Been a while, but I want to add my voice of thanks. Just started myself and that was VERY informative and well described process. (and the model looked fantastic)
not interested in warhammer anymore, but love bolt action. this technique will be perfect for my DAK. lovely paint job though and good humor lots of videos on painting miniatures dosent have any humor and very serious, you sir have a good sense of humor thank you
Awesome. That first wash was insane! Just starting back up following the announcement of Kill Team and you've already inspired me to get into the guards. Very cool indeed. Keep up the excellent work!
The magic that is Agrax Earthshade, right? ;D A good wash will help hide a lot of sins, and it's for that reason I like to stick to drybrushing before a wash. Some like the effect of it afterwards and that's a matter of personal preference, I think, but as far as slapping on a colour and doing some quick tidying with the armour colour afterwards? I don't think you can get too much faster.
Another awesome video! I haven't touched 40k since the early 90's back in Welly but as age takes a toll on one's eyes I find myself gravitating back to the bigger figures! Keep up the great work
It looks crazy bright and messy first going on, I'll admit! It's hard to visualize sometimes how things will all come together, but as I'm always saying, keep the faith. ;D
Great vid, man. I just started playing again for the first time since The Horus Heresy (yep, 14-late 16). Up until now, I did more collecting than actually playing of FofW. Now, that I just moved to Ottawa, nobody plays FofW over here. Just as well, WWII ended. Being into traditional warfare, of course, I went w/ the Cadian's ("Imperial |Guardsmen|" when I used to play - "Go Lucky Seven's, LOL). I appreciate your video and encouragement to change certain points of the uniform to your liking (plastic toys - Hah ha). Your particular style of painting is the best I've seen! I hope you have more cool vids for Cadians b/c I just subscribed. :) Tips on collecting , or starting a collection would be good one. However, I prescribe to the which miniatures look the coolest approach. Having fun painting my starters which are 2 boxes of shock troops, and a Command Squad, but really look forward to losing my first game. It's a great hobby, and one of the few that still inclines people to meet in person, rather than on the internet. Really glad I started again, and very glad I found your channel. :)
Your tutorials have taught me so much since I started painting and I'm still. Learning from them, what are the chances you will get around to showing us how you would go about painting a Commissar?
this looks really good. im waiting on a pack of Cadian troops to practice as I've been out of the game for 20 years. dry brush before wash is really interesting and im looking forward to trying it. please do more imperial guard and specifically, death korp! that's what Im going to start collecting (when forge world opens back up) im looking forward to following your videos as I pick painting back up. cheers
For that post cadia look, just add a liberal drybrush of black and be extra generous with the blood for the blood god technical paint, then throw away your loyalist failures. The dark gods will be pleased.
I think they made the right choice in sticking to calling them Imperial Guard throughout most of the books, too. That being said, the name grew on me over time, and if I want to show up on search results for newcomers to the game I gotta stick to current conventions! ;D
Really nice work. Great tutorial so simple but still with a great finish ... ;-) I'm pretty new to Warhammer 40k, and am gathering an Astra Militarum army together. so I have searched up and down on youTube after some "how to paint Astra Militarum" in winter or city / urban color theme ... but without any luck ... ; - (( So if you accept wishes, then I would wish that you would paint a Astra Militarum in winter camo theme. many thanks for showing and please keep up the good work ... ;-))
The funny thing with painting winter gear is often that it's no different to what troops would usually be wearing during summer months, but with a big jacket over the top! Unfortunately with our Guardsmen that's a little harder to paint out of thin air... :D I'd use exactly the same techniques, but swap out a few of the colours - the uniform I'd use Stormvermin Fur and then drybrush with Administratum Grey, and do their armour in The Fang, I guess. Grey and blue tend to work the easiest for that winter, cold look.
okay ... I think that I rather would try you tips from you'r "How I Paint Things - White" video ... Thanks for the answer ... and keep up the good work
The primer spray and 'colour' spray should be the same thing - if it comes in a rattle can, it's a primer. Always my first port of call when I'm painting these guys!
Love this video it's really helped me as I get into painting and collecting Warhammer 40k. I have a question if anyone can help? After doing the agrax step it feels as if my figures are just too dark and drab. I've made sure to go lighter on the shade etc and still struggle to have my mini look "lively" if that makes sense.any advice or am I just being daft? Thanks 😊
Hey Sonic! I have seen this video in 2017 already. Found it again this evening. I am finally collecting Astra Militarum and i love your tutorial. I have a question though... Have you sprayed the Zandri dust on the model? Games Workshop sells it in a spraycan as you surely already know. Great Videos! Please, keep your channel going! :)
Really great video! Made me buy my start collecting set of imperial guards! Two questions: 1) Do you prime the units before putting them together or do you build them first? 2) do you prime them first black, and then zandri dust? Or do you directly go to zandri dust? An Answer would be greatly appreciated :)
Except in very rare circumstances it'll almost always be easier to assemble the miniature before priming it. For most models you don't need to paint and then glue them together, and even most character miniatures you can safely assemble before painting without worrying about getting a brush in all the little details. The Citadel colour primers are all designed to be used without an initial black or white spray; just shake up the Zandri Dust and spray it straight on the plastic.
Hi there! I very recently started painting minis, and just now actually primed a cadian infantry squad. I am a bit surprised how defined your mini looks after the wash, even without a gloss varnish step or subsequent highlighting. I use Army Painter washes, and my previous minis became quite smudgy and dark looking. Is that only due to the quality of the Citadel wash?
It's not so much a quality thing as a difference in each product's use, I suppose. The Army Painter washes are a lot thicker by comparison to the Citadel Shades. What you'll find in particular with Strong Tone is that they're designed to go over a basecoat, and then you apply the basecoat a second time as the 'highlight' afterwards. If you're wanting a more similar effect to how the Shades work, try mixing a little of the Army Painter Quickshade Medium into your Strong Tone before you apply it. I usually use two drops of wash to one drop of medium, and get a very nice finish from it afterwards.
Hi! New to painting and like everyone else i do love the PHHHBTTTHHHHH... how ever do you have any more tips for this? i have been doing my best to prevent pooling but they still come out wet looking
If your shade is coming out looking glossy - and you've not bought the gloss version, I'd guess! - then it probably needs a more vigorous shake before using it. If you're still getting a weird wet finish to it, once you're done painting you can just seal the miniature with a matt varnish.
Just bought a getting started box set of AM to get me going. I got 20% off it online, your video will come in handy painting them up. They look easy enough to paint as well. I'm not really into space marines, these models appealed to me as they looked more human if that makes sense. I see everyone likes to paint their models slightly differently. See when you spray the model with Zandri dust, do you undercoat it before hand, or just spray it onto the grey plastic? Thanks.
The first Zandri Dust is one of the undercoat sprays. It gives a solid foundation to paint on, as well as being the easiest colour for everything else you'll end up painting over top. You can start from grey or black as well, but if you're going to pick up a can to paint Guardsmen this way, it might as well be Zandri Dust. Good luck, and welcome aboard!
I also noticed I hadn't actually answered your question properly! The Citadel Colour Sprays are designed they can go straight on to bare plastic, you don't need to spray a black or white first. My apologies that I hadn't read thoroughly the first time!
Sonic Sledgehammer Studio thanks very much for that. My box set arrived today. I built my shock troops, the weather is meant to be decent tomorrow, I'll undercoat them then. Thanks again.
I actually did a Necromunda figure similarly to that a little while back. If you're thinking of no metallic stuff, the Bolt Action miniatures I've done would probably be a pretty close match.
My guardsmen are painted with dark grey clothes and beige armor, I've used ushabti bone as the main color for them. I'm interested in this drybrushing before washing method. Should I do it on the clothes, or on the Armour because it's the lighter color on the model? Should I cover up any mistakes I make while doing the fatigues by basecoating the armor first in Zandri Dust? Thanks, this is a great video.
The way I think of it, I'd probably drybrush the fatigues rather than the armour on a Guardsman, since you'll be able to clean up the armour and do your tidying stage at that point. Especially if you're doing a dark grey fatigue set, it'll be far easier to do the armour second, I think!
Thank you for the video. Do you normally simply leave the eyes flesh tone? I'm thinking of painting them black (for the pupils) and then a light grey in each corner, but obviously I don't want that awful bulging cartoon eyes effect you can get if you're not careful.
Ordinarily, for most of my troops, I'll just leave them as they are when they're finished. It's usually a deeply shaded area anyway, and to my mind looks about right when you're standing over the table looking down on the lads. One way I've seen done that works quite well is to do a thin line of white, then dab in some Nuln Oil or other black wash to soften the edges and shade the sockets again, followed by a quick dab of black for the pupil. Everybody's got their own recipe; mine's to just ignore the eyes, in the most part!
First, thanks a lot for this technique, I've used Duncan's video for my first 5 guardsmen (well, my first 5 minis in fact) and I think I'll switch to your method as it seems simpler and gives a very good result! A few questions: 1 I'm going to use Death Guard Green instead of Zandri Dust as a base color for the fatigues. Which color would you recommend for the drybrush? It seems like it should be Niblet Green or Nurgling Green from what I understand. 2 My first use of the "prrrrt" technique for the Agrax Earthshade, seems like I kind of messed up and ended up with big spots of dark areas, notably at the top of the helmet and on the shoulder pads. Would you have an advice to avoid that? I had to paint with the base color again to get rid of some of them but didn't take care of them all. 3 What would you have used to highlight the boots just out of curiosity? One last thing: I've already watched this video several times and your enthusiasm and happiness make the whole video very pleasant. I love your laugh, it always bring a smile on my face. :)
To answer your questions! 1. I'd go with Nurgling Green. Niblet Green is a little more saturated, where Nurgling Green is slightly more pallid and will fit the colour a little better, I think. If you want a really bright drybrush, try Underhive Ash instead! It's not very green, but it makes for a good, stark and faded fatigue colour. 2. If you're finding big pools of shade that won't settle anywhere - or you're just getting big blobs of it sitting on flat areas - just run your brush along the lip of the pot to get most of the shade back in there, but your brush will still be damp. Run it along the blobby pool and you should find the wicking action of the damp brush will slurp it up without totally dragging away all the shade there. A damp brush will always do this better than a dry one, so I find it's easiest to use the brush I'm shading with!
God, don't encourage me! I've already got a score of Guardsmen painted from years ago, but I've improved a bunch since then as well... I don't need to be painting even more infantry, no no! ;D
