Buy the brushes used in this video: store.artis-opus.com/ What did you think, did you learn anything, has this brought you any closer to being able to simplify box-art paint schemes? Be sure to share your #NidOpus shots with your carapace painting progress!
Storytime for you, I bought some of your drybrushes recently. After doing some building work I went onto some painting, there I am happily drybrushing away with my fancy new brushes and I forget a small pool of super glue in the corner of my paint area and then I dip my brush in that area trying to find some mat to rub off some of the excess paint. Well, it took many many tries to get that super glue off the bristles, lots of acetone, but you know what, it's nearly like new now. So the moral of the story is, dont put glue in your painting area but also, these are damn resilient brushes.
I think what is absolutely the most important and (at least for me) useful content of your videos, is that you show us your mistakes and the subsequent fix.
Great content as usual. The most important sound bite for me to hear on this “I’m prepared for this not to look good on the first coat. But I’m fine with that and am prepared to hold the course.” I needed to hear that ❤
Working on a Lord Celestant on Stardrake and was planning to use this method based on the previous tyranid videos. This was nearly identical to the color scheme I was going for so this made my day today. Thank you for all your contributions to the community.
My pleasure, buddy! Sure he'll look great, careful with your washes on the flat sections of the wings, they're tricky, people normally get streaking/drips there if washing.
Love that you zoom in to show your details on the tail etc. Not many does that. It makes it much easier for us to catch the tiny details of your work. Thx 😁
I've been watching your videos for ages and this last series you've run has been amazing, it dawned on me though that I've been kind of a douche by watching but not subscribing...don't be like me people, make sure you support this channel, so much awesome content in every video. I'm signed up now and looking forward to the next installment.
This is the color scheme I’ve been waiting to see! You’ve had it teased in the last couple videos but hadn’t actually mentioned how to do it. I think I’m going to adapt it to painting my Seraphon Saurus Warriors!
This is the sort of video I want to see more of, not for myself, but for sharing to other newer painters. Application of core techniques to get a great version of a "Box Art" product. Yes beginners have a lot to learn about using the tools of the hobby, but you put that at an achievable level without depending on a lot of barrier language or techniques. Two thumbs up!
Love this video series! What could be useful for videos like this is a "cliff notes" shot in the end to sum up what was discussed. Or as a downloadable pdf. Oh and for black lining, using a layer off gloss varnish first really helps the paint go down into the cracks! And/or adding a drop of soap to the paint to break up the surface tension.
Love the series and all the tips and tricks. There are brush care tips spread throughout the painting demonstrations, having a dedicated (searchable) video would be great for keeping brushes looking as good as the ones being used in these videos. Some of those "old" brushes shown being used for mixing paint look better than my full-time use brushes!
Absolutely perfect timing! Was planning on leaving a request for a video about how you judge the "feel" of a paint and its properties, and here it is already! Great video as always 👍 Any advice/considerations for adapting this, or any similar technique, to larger scales, like those on a bastiladon? The dotted edge highlighting method, that you described as "jellyfish-y" looked really good, but I worry it would look goofy on larger scales if not applied properly!
Byron, i have to say, i have been watching your tutorials from the start, so much great info and my drybrushing improved tenfold, i love seeing the great use of contrast paints as well, i feel that i am in a better place to pick up a brush again after getting a new job and being in a happier work environment. I have bought a lot of the new contrast paints from element games, and every newsletter i get, i pop on your latest tutorial, you never fail to teach something new, i have a few friends who now watch your tutorials and they now realise (after i have told them numerous times)that it is ok to make mistakes, it is the best way to learn, and the fact you are not shy about running into issues. please keep up the awesome work! i would be intersted to see some guides on Imperial guard - sorry- Astra Militarum!
Hi Byron, Watching this video reminds me of the way I use to paint, back in the 1980's; using multiple wash and highlight layers, before Contrast was invented. You have re-confirmed, that we are best to go with our instincts. The drawing of the eyes first, is a useful helping idea.
Really like this format of video, please continue it moving forward. I often hear someone say that there will be an ugly phase before it looks good, could you please explain why this is? At what step should it transition from ugly to good, and from good to done? As always, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us and helping make us better painters.
Excellent video, Excellent waistcoat! I know you like your quicker paintjobs but I'd love to see a video about painting to competition standard. Great job as always, can't wait for the next one!
I bought the Leviathan box and it's been 20 years since I have build and painted a model. The paint types, colours and techniques have changed so much in that time. I was going to paint the Tyranids in the colours of Hive Fleet Leviathan, but again so many different guides on RUclips, each using different colours and techniques. So far, I enjoy the look of your last couple of videos using the Contrast style and I am thinking of trying it for my Tyranids. Any chance of quick video showing you painting a Tyranid in Hive Fleet Leviathan colours? Thanks
To achieve the almost blue-black carapace, you can also do one coat of a light blue, then a diluted Black Templar (4 parts Medium to 1 part paint) over it. It allows a hint of the blue to show through a fairly transparent black. It's a trick I discovered (accidentally), and saw Juan Hidalgo use when going for a bluish-black. Saves a few steps!
Awesome video. I'm a massive fan of copying Box Art as an exercise to level up my painting. Something I've found helpful in the past is doing it for ranges who's box art is a little less elite. Osprey's Frostgrave range is a perfect example. I've got a couple of ideas for things that would be great to cover in future videos. Are there any bits of models that you think are not well suited to drybrushing, and how does the glossiness of a paint affect it's usability when drybrushing?
Wow, the black rim on the base really did wonders for that model. I cannot believe how much it made the blue pop on the model! I am going to have to go back and fix up all my bases :)
I really like your tutorials, well explained and detailed. I was wondering if you could do one with speedpaints, showing how to work with them and how to use them as glazes.
I know this is for GW WH40K, but one thing I'd like to see is dry brushing for Infinity Corvus Belli miniatures, mainly the ALEPH (white/purple) colour scheme. I tried painting it with layers and I find the light sources and getting a nice white coverage that contrasts with the purple/pinks tricky, actually frustrating. There was a suggestion to build up the white from a sandy brown, but that didn't work, and getting a dry brush on a tiny mini without chalking all the mini is tough too.
@@darrenj3720 I have some contrasts but not the skeleton horde. Plus, contrast only seems to work on a white base/primer coat of White scar. But thanks for your suggestion. I know that Angel Giraldez who paints Infinity miniatures recommends Vallejo Deck Tan and then German Cam beige WWII and then adding in a bit of Violet (according to his Masterclass II book), but tbh, that's Angel, and he airbrushes to begin his painting. Just wondered how to do it from a dry brush perspective on such a small miniature.
Would love to see you try out the three new colour schemes for the Tyranids. The Fleets Cetu, Lotan, and Typhon. They're all pretty good but I'd love to see how you would improve on them.
I had a couple of questions about how you use palettes - why do you sometimes mix in a metal pot and sometimes on the texture palette? Is it just about quantities, or also the consistency of the paint? For “normal” acrylic paints, do you ever use a wet palette? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in your videos.
Hello, VIDEO IDEA Testing how good oil paints are for dry brushing. Logically, the oils should be a good consistency, and their self blending ability should make the perfect for dry brushing, allowing super easy and smooth blends. Ps: will your dry brushes still be fine if they have been exposed to white spirit?
@darrenj3720 on paper the self blending property's of oil should be able to get the air brush like effects Artis Opus is known for even easier then with acrylics.
We're essentially trying our best to get the properties oil paints are known for out of acrylics with our style (by working fast)... So in theory there is no reason this wouldn't work, I have thought about it before. I am sure it wouldn't go quite according to plan, but that's just part of the fun, isn't it? 😊
for a video about painting...having the spot of green wall paint on the ceiling is really getting to me! 😆 @4:49 ruclips.net/video/6ml9t4R7yBQ/видео.html if you want to see what I mean! Anyway, I wanted to say thanks for the chat when we met at UKGE and keep up the great work!
I forget if you have mentioned this elsewhere. Can you dry brush with contrast paints? My absolute fav paint is Luxion Purple. But i don't want to screw up my new drybrushes
It won't necessarily screw them up, it's just a bit wet, we do a lot of drybrushing and then contrasting over the top, it's a really good 'best of both worlds' :)
How long did it take you to paint this one little 'nid? The use of contrast paints to take some of the strain has to help speed things up but it still looks like it took quite a while and a Tyranid army will have an awful lot of the litte buggers! Also, you never did explain why you were looking more like a hobbit than usual!
It's our dampening pad buddy, check out our introduction to drybrushing video (most viewed one on the channel) for a full explanation. We use it to introduce a small and predictable amount of moisture to the painting process to keep things smooth and non-chalky
I have been thinking of doing something like this color scheme for mine, and was thinking of putting them on ice base similar to your crackle ice base from a few years back. My question, is that too much of the same color and not enough contrast?
Good question about base/mini clash. Personally I do what I want regarding bases. But that said the colour clash can be a very important factor in painting an army. Maybe it's worth painting a separate base in ice/snow and placing a finished model on top to see how you feel about it. That way if you don't like it you can just repaint the base.
I hate these premier notifications because they take up space in my feed for something that is NOT a video. RUclips is getting cluttered with so much creator bullshit these days. I'll see it when you release it.
@@Himle_it's not a notification thing, it's in your subscriptions panel and the only way to get rid of it is hide it and then you end up missing the video when it's put up. I agree it is annoying 😅
Hey buddy :) we have a couple of stockists, but no distributor, the margins in products made with materials 2x the price of gold (and rising...) don't quite allow for the extra step in the chain. I have a fair amount of experience with distribution in North America, what's your company? Thanks for reaching out! Don't reply to this, make a new message, replies get lost :)
Good afternoon sir, I have several questions. Why do you sometimes use a bowl and sometimes the pad? why don't you use a wettplate? I would like to start myself and am still looking for the right equipment. :) !
Afternoon man - the washes here I've done in a bowl mostly to make it easier for you guys to see the colours :) but they are cute and useful for washes. The dampening pad is used to keep some moisture involved in our process, which is how we get smooth drybrushing. If you mean the palette I am working on - that's my preferred place, it's quick and convenient! Pad and palette (and brushes!) can be found here: store.artis-opus.com/collections/series-d-drybrushing
Oh thank you very much for the quick answer. I think I'll use exactly the same technique for the armor. I'm not sure about the skin yet and I would also make the weapons and claws in a different color. It's so hard to choose the right colors when you don't have any yet. What primer did you use exactly :) ?@@ArtisOpus
I must point out how beautiful are your shelves in the background. I couldn't focus on what you were talking about at the beginning just staring at them.
We certainly do, I use the new redesigned XXL as preference, it has a bit more working space, and is big enough that I don't run out of testing/cleaning areas when going fast :)
Realistic brains rather than psychic blues or greens etc would be good. Really embrace the horror of the nids. Alternatively, instead of painting them as brains, embrace the horror of nads and paint it to look like an old mans testicle.
Buy the brushes used in this video: store.artis-opus.com/
What did you think, did you learn anything, has this brought you any closer to being able to simplify box-art paint schemes?
Be sure to share your #NidOpus shots with your carapace painting progress!
Man. The tail tip part was definitely my favourite part. It looked amazing.
Storytime for you, I bought some of your drybrushes recently. After doing some building work I went onto some painting, there I am happily drybrushing away with my fancy new brushes and I forget a small pool of super glue in the corner of my paint area and then I dip my brush in that area trying to find some mat to rub off some of the excess paint.
Well, it took many many tries to get that super glue off the bristles, lots of acetone, but you know what, it's nearly like new now. So the moral of the story is, dont put glue in your painting area but also, these are damn resilient brushes.
I think what is absolutely the most important and (at least for me) useful content of your videos, is that you show us your mistakes and the subsequent fix.
Well, I promise to continue making mistakes, and we'll continue sharing them! :D Cheers, buddy!
Great content as usual. The most important sound bite for me to hear on this “I’m prepared for this not to look good on the first coat. But I’m fine with that and am prepared to hold the course.”
I needed to hear that ❤
Working on a Lord Celestant on Stardrake and was planning to use this method based on the previous tyranid videos. This was nearly identical to the color scheme I was going for so this made my day today. Thank you for all your contributions to the community.
My pleasure, buddy! Sure he'll look great, careful with your washes on the flat sections of the wings, they're tricky, people normally get streaking/drips there if washing.
I appreciate the time you put in so that we have a place to go and grow as painters!
Love that you zoom in to show your details on the tail etc. Not many does that. It makes it much easier for us to catch the tiny details of your work. Thx 😁
Thanks man, we're really pushing for getting closer to the 'in person' experience that we provide at shows etc
Love it! Would like to see a video on how to do smoke, such as out of a jump pack
Wardrobe Change!
- gone from Hobbit to Where’s Waldo! Very interesting 🧐
I've been watching your videos for ages and this last series you've run has been amazing, it dawned on me though that I've been kind of a douche by watching but not subscribing...don't be like me people, make sure you support this channel, so much awesome content in every video. I'm signed up now and looking forward to the next installment.
This is the color scheme I’ve been waiting to see! You’ve had it teased in the last couple videos but hadn’t actually mentioned how to do it. I think I’m going to adapt it to painting my Seraphon Saurus Warriors!
This is the sort of video I want to see more of, not for myself, but for sharing to other newer painters. Application of core techniques to get a great version of a "Box Art" product. Yes beginners have a lot to learn about using the tools of the hobby, but you put that at an achievable level without depending on a lot of barrier language or techniques. Two thumbs up!
Love this video series!
What could be useful for videos like this is a "cliff notes" shot in the end to sum up what was discussed. Or as a downloadable pdf.
Oh and for black lining, using a layer off gloss varnish first really helps the paint go down into the cracks! And/or adding a drop of soap to the paint to break up the surface tension.
Loving this series. The base worked so well against the mini.
Love the series and all the tips and tricks. There are brush care tips spread throughout the painting demonstrations, having a dedicated (searchable) video would be great for keeping brushes looking as good as the ones being used in these videos. Some of those "old" brushes shown being used for mixing paint look better than my full-time use brushes!
Absolutely perfect timing! Was planning on leaving a request for a video about how you judge the "feel" of a paint and its properties, and here it is already! Great video as always 👍
Any advice/considerations for adapting this, or any similar technique, to larger scales, like those on a bastiladon? The dotted edge highlighting method, that you described as "jellyfish-y" looked really good, but I worry it would look goofy on larger scales if not applied properly!
Byron, i have to say, i have been watching your tutorials from the start, so much great info and my drybrushing improved tenfold, i love seeing the great use of contrast paints as well, i feel that i am in a better place to pick up a brush again after getting a new job and being in a happier work environment.
I have bought a lot of the new contrast paints from element games, and every newsletter i get, i pop on your latest tutorial, you never fail to teach something new, i have a few friends who now watch your tutorials and they now realise (after i have told them numerous times)that it is ok to make mistakes, it is the best way to learn, and the fact you are not shy about running into issues.
please keep up the awesome work!
i would be intersted to see some guides on Imperial guard - sorry- Astra Militarum!
I've just recently discovered your channel, and I really enjoy how you explain all aspects of painting. Thanks for all the great tips!
Cheers buddy, welcome aboard! Plenty more to come :)
Some great tips again. Would you consider a weathering & battle damage masterclass? I think my Orks are looking a bit too clean
The Feralpainting Coach or Cult of Paint team have some amazing and very achievable videos. Or Richard Gray if you’re after a god tier approach
Hi Byron,
Watching this video reminds me of the way I use to paint, back in the 1980's; using multiple wash and highlight layers, before Contrast was invented.
You have re-confirmed, that we are best to go with our instincts.
The drawing of the eyes first, is a useful helping idea.
Really like this format of video, please continue it moving forward. I often hear someone say that there will be an ugly phase before it looks good, could you please explain why this is? At what step should it transition from ugly to good, and from good to done?
As always, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us and helping make us better painters.
Nice! Very useful to see the eyes being painted in real time like this, especially with the mistake correction.
Excellent video, Excellent waistcoat! I know you like your quicker paintjobs but I'd love to see a video about painting to competition standard. Great job as always, can't wait for the next one!
Not sure what’s most impressive - the paint job or waistcoat 😂
I bought the Leviathan box and it's been 20 years since I have build and painted a model.
The paint types, colours and techniques have changed so much in that time.
I was going to paint the Tyranids in the colours of Hive Fleet Leviathan, but again so many different guides on RUclips, each using different colours and techniques.
So far, I enjoy the look of your last couple of videos using the Contrast style and I am thinking of trying it for my Tyranids.
Any chance of quick video showing you painting a Tyranid in Hive Fleet Leviathan colours?
Thanks
This is possibly the number one question since the latest launch. Honestly I've no idea but I can definitely see the appeal. Hopefully it'll happen
To achieve the almost blue-black carapace, you can also do one coat of a light blue, then a diluted Black Templar (4 parts Medium to 1 part paint) over it. It allows a hint of the blue to show through a fairly transparent black. It's a trick I discovered (accidentally), and saw Juan Hidalgo use when going for a bluish-black. Saves a few steps!
Excited cant wait!
Great video. Very instructive and enjoy the details about color choice and paint properties.
Awesome video. I'm a massive fan of copying Box Art as an exercise to level up my painting. Something I've found helpful in the past is doing it for ranges who's box art is a little less elite. Osprey's Frostgrave range is a perfect example.
I've got a couple of ideas for things that would be great to cover in future videos. Are there any bits of models that you think are not well suited to drybrushing, and how does the glossiness of a paint affect it's usability when drybrushing?
Wow, the black rim on the base really did wonders for that model. I cannot believe how much it made the blue pop on the model! I am going to have to go back and fix up all my bases :)
Hoping for that Brown Carapace tutorial! 🤞🏻
Great insight into the thought processes during painting
I really like your tutorials, well explained and detailed. I was wondering if you could do one with speedpaints, showing how to work with them and how to use them as glazes.
at the 39 min mark you picture on the wall is squint. But other than that, its a great watch along and you smashed it. 🙃
I just love this channel
Would love to see you finish the skin on the Green version you painted.
Fantastic content. Love your guys' channel. Keep it up!
I know this is for GW WH40K, but one thing I'd like to see is dry brushing for Infinity Corvus Belli miniatures, mainly the ALEPH (white/purple) colour scheme. I tried painting it with layers and I find the light sources and getting a nice white coverage that contrasts with the purple/pinks tricky, actually frustrating. There was a suggestion to build up the white from a sandy brown, but that didn't work, and getting a dry brush on a tiny mini without chalking all the mini is tough too.
I'd personally start with a bone colour rather than white. That way you could highlight with white if needed.
Oh. Here's an idea. Contrast skeleton hoard into contrast purple (sorry don't know the name). That might work.
@@darrenj3720 I have some contrasts but not the skeleton horde. Plus, contrast only seems to work on a white base/primer coat of White scar. But thanks for your suggestion. I know that Angel Giraldez who paints Infinity miniatures recommends Vallejo Deck Tan and then German Cam beige WWII and then adding in a bit of Violet (according to his Masterclass II book), but tbh, that's Angel, and he airbrushes to begin his painting. Just wondered how to do it from a dry brush perspective on such a small miniature.
Would love to see you try out the three new colour schemes for the Tyranids. The Fleets Cetu, Lotan, and Typhon. They're all pretty good but I'd love to see how you would improve on them.
I had a couple of questions about how you use palettes - why do you sometimes mix in a metal pot and sometimes on the texture palette? Is it just about quantities, or also the consistency of the paint?
For “normal” acrylic paints, do you ever use a wet palette? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in your videos.
You painted a really lovely miniature. Could you please do a video on how you would tackle a xenomorph colour scheme on a tyranid miniature.
love the video as always, but please include the lists of paints used in the description.
Hello, VIDEO IDEA
Testing how good oil paints are for dry brushing. Logically, the oils should be a good consistency, and their self blending ability should make the perfect for dry brushing, allowing super easy and smooth blends.
Ps: will your dry brushes still be fine if they have been exposed to white spirit?
Nice suggestion. Can't say I've tried it myself but it would be interesting.
Ooh! Now THAT”s an idea.
@darrenj3720 on paper the self blending property's of oil should be able to get the air brush like effects Artis Opus is known for even easier then with acrylics.
We're essentially trying our best to get the properties oil paints are known for out of acrylics with our style (by working fast)... So in theory there is no reason this wouldn't work, I have thought about it before.
I am sure it wouldn't go quite according to plan, but that's just part of the fun, isn't it? 😊
Hi, for a future video could you show how to do plasma coils please?
Missed opportunity to call this paibt scheme Tiameth 😂
for a video about painting...having the spot of green wall paint on the ceiling is really getting to me! 😆 @4:49 ruclips.net/video/6ml9t4R7yBQ/видео.html if you want to see what I mean!
Anyway, I wanted to say thanks for the chat when we met at UKGE and keep up the great work!
Awesome Video!
that's it... if that is what seahorses metamorphose into...im staying out of the water
I forget if you have mentioned this elsewhere. Can you dry brush with contrast paints? My absolute fav paint is Luxion Purple. But i don't want to screw up my new drybrushes
It won't necessarily screw them up, it's just a bit wet, we do a lot of drybrushing and then contrasting over the top, it's a really good 'best of both worlds' :)
How long did it take you to paint this one little 'nid? The use of contrast paints to take some of the strain has to help speed things up but it still looks like it took quite a while and a Tyranid army will have an awful lot of the litte buggers! Also, you never did explain why you were looking more like a hobbit than usual!
Probably an obvious question but what is the glass container that he dips his dry brush in?
It's our dampening pad buddy, check out our introduction to drybrushing video (most viewed one on the channel) for a full explanation. We use it to introduce a small and predictable amount of moisture to the painting process to keep things smooth and non-chalky
I have been thinking of doing something like this color scheme for mine, and was thinking of putting them on ice base similar to your crackle ice base from a few years back. My question, is that too much of the same color and not enough contrast?
Good question about base/mini clash. Personally I do what I want regarding bases. But that said the colour clash can be a very important factor in painting an army. Maybe it's worth painting a separate base in ice/snow and placing a finished model on top to see how you feel about it. That way if you don't like it you can just repaint the base.
I want to see how many tufts you can fit on a base :P
I hate these premier notifications because they take up space in my feed for something that is NOT a video. RUclips is getting cluttered with so much creator bullshit these days. I'll see it when you release it.
Well, you could just turn off notifications to solve that issue?
@@Himle_it's not a notification thing, it's in your subscriptions panel and the only way to get rid of it is hide it and then you end up missing the video when it's put up. I agree it is annoying 😅
Hey Byron, do you have a distributor in Canada? If not, would you be open to chatting about it? Thanks!
Hey buddy :) we have a couple of stockists, but no distributor, the margins in products made with materials 2x the price of gold (and rising...) don't quite allow for the extra step in the chain.
I have a fair amount of experience with distribution in North America, what's your company?
Thanks for reaching out! Don't reply to this, make a new message, replies get lost :)
Good afternoon sir,
I have several questions. Why do you sometimes use a bowl and sometimes the pad? why don't you use a wettplate? I would like to start myself and am still looking for the right equipment. :) !
Afternoon man - the washes here I've done in a bowl mostly to make it easier for you guys to see the colours :) but they are cute and useful for washes.
The dampening pad is used to keep some moisture involved in our process, which is how we get smooth drybrushing.
If you mean the palette I am working on - that's my preferred place, it's quick and convenient!
Pad and palette (and brushes!) can be found here: store.artis-opus.com/collections/series-d-drybrushing
Oh thank you very much for the quick answer. I think I'll use exactly the same technique for the armor. I'm not sure about the skin yet and I would also make the weapons and claws in a different color. It's so hard to choose the right colors when you don't have any yet. What primer did you use exactly :) ?@@ArtisOpus
Stunning as always. Are you able to clean and reuse the texture pallet or do you have to buy a new one every time? Thanks in advance.
It's simply a case of reprime when you want. I find it makes sense to do so when priming a new batch of minis at the same time.
@@darrenj3720 Oh so you just prime over it again and again? Is that correct?
@@ryankempey2746 yes.mines be repainted around 10-15 times. Still functions well. Hope this was useful.
I must point out how beautiful are your shelves in the background. I couldn't focus on what you were talking about at the beginning just staring at them.
Anyone know what kinda board he is mixing his paints on?
We certainly do, I use the new redesigned XXL as preference, it has a bit more working space, and is big enough that I don't run out of testing/cleaning areas when going fast :)
What colour is the undercoat?
I think Ulthuan
Thanks :)
А другие фигуры есть в этом стиле?
I know I shouldn't compare my painting to these videos I find on RUclips but damn it makes me feel like my painting is just utter trash
Boo! Not cool. Fire your friend who talked you into click bait. You’re better than this. You need to address this or an unsubscribe is happening.
Perhaps wait and see whether the video delivers on the thumbnail, I think we're good for it :)
Realistic brains rather than psychic blues or greens etc would be good. Really embrace the horror of the nids.
Alternatively, instead of painting them as brains, embrace the horror of nads and paint it to look like an old mans testicle.
Ha. That's quite the image. But I agree, brains would be a good subject.