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I'd never thought to mix two similar colours for a base coat, but it makes a lot of sense when you see the subtle highlights and shadows you can get afterwards. This was a really educational video, thanks!
Super true, I’m not super fond of REALLY pronounced shadows. It looks too “painterly” I suppose. Having it far more subtle, but shaded nonetheless I think is a far better approach
Yeh it actually makes sense when you think about it. I reckon most people would typically take their original base colour, and then mix that either with white or black, or with another similar colour in order to achieve the "same" effect. I guess doing the mixing on the basecoat gives us a richer 'primary' colour, so the shades and shadows actually blend properly. The first way around I've always thought results in the 'secondary' colours almost always having a very stark contrast to the basecoat. This heavy metal way allows us to keep most of the colours being use the same. Im not sure if I explained it properly...
Good ol Daryl!! He might not exactly share your enthusiasm for miniature painting but damned if he’s not ready to help out a friend in need when it comes to breaking something or into somewhere 🙌
I'm a "infernal brush" patreon he has most of the eavy metal painting recipes on there as he was a eavy metal painter. I wanted to use the black templar guide its great but it takes so long to do. If you want to learn how to paint in that style he's a great one to watch.
I remember when I first started, white dwarfs would sometimes have very in-depth painting articles on how to paint certain models. For example, when the Legion of the damned was redone (but still done in pewter) they had a wonderful article on how to paint a model step by step, far more in depth than some articles I see today. A lot of the steps they used were mixes of various colours. I remember at the time people scoffed and said they (heavy metal) didn't actually use those mixes themselves and they probably just used Vallejo. Regardless of if that was true or not, I tried the painting guide and copied it perfectly, and sure enough it was an exact match to the box art. Seeing this video, and remembering that article makes me think that maybe they did actually use the mix recipes after all.
It's crazy to me that some believe that they don't go through all those steps. It's like fuck nuts they do this professionally. It's literally their job to go all in to make it appealing to the customer.
they definitely did and also recommended it back then, I remember when I started I bought a magazine with some uruk hai models and paints and brushes, a little starter kit and in the manuals for painting they explicitly said to mix the colors and whatnot to get the Uruk skin right and stuff, so I find it kinda funny that people only seem to catch on now
I think one of the most important thing to take from this video is that it's normal for things to look "wrong" or "bad" when you're in the middle of painting a model. It can be really easy to feel like you've made a mistake or gone to far, but it's not until the model is finished that you really see what you've been building
I actually stopped painting at game stores for this very reason. I'd get SOOOO many comments from onlookers that my work looked "bad" or like I was messing something up. But whenever I showed them the final product. EVERY. FRIGGON. TIME. they were like "BROOOOO THAT'S SOOOO COOOL!!!" It's like, yeah man, you gotta let a process breathe. And to be honest it's NOT easy seeing the end from the beginning. It really does take a lot of experience to get there and things can seem really off or weird when you're doing something that will end up looking stellar.
I would like for GW to release all the 'Eavy Metal recipes. Not because I would follow them perfectly, but to know what is the main color they've used. Even if I have to mix the basecoat color, I could use this and then a shade and one highlight to get close enough to it.
This is how I learned to paint and how I've always painted. No slapchop for me, i'm too old to learn new tricks 😄. The Guardsman looks great! I have tried to follow GW studio schemes but they can be so inscrutable. These days, I have my own approach that's finally starting to look like my own. Cheers!
Honestly the slap chop and other speed painting techniques seem better served for hoards of units, not the leaders, vehicles, or hero units. Learning something new should be a focus though, as the paints themselves are changing and competition is definitely a driving force.
Same here. I learned how to paint from the How to Paint Citadel Miniatures book. I slowly deviated my own approach as well, which works great for me. I've practiced other techniques, but prefer my "eavy metal" style, as I'm still learning and becoming a better painter.
I saw an interview with Peachy recently. He used to work for the army painting team and he talked about how they would get the 'Eavy Metal example and have to translate it into something doable for an entire army (for photos). It was pretty interesting.
Yeah i thought about painting my Guardsmen quite well, but then realized how many hours i would need for a super fancy color sheme... now iam quite simple: Zandrii Dust Primer, Binewhite drybrush, a light brown tone for the armor, a sepia shade for the cloth, Kislev + Bonehwite mix as the basis for my flesh, put over some Crusader Skin from AP, various brown tones for leather parts and slight highlights on the gun and cloth. 1:15h and i thought to myself "Noice" then i realized i have 40 more Guardsmen to paint "God damn!". xD
I don't think i would use only "one" technique to paint a whole army. One of the best things in our hooby is that we can use sooo much techniques , wether it's sculpting, wet blending, nmm, airbrushing, oil paints, drybrusing, stippling, glazing and i certainly forgot half of them. If i had a recipy for some characters, or one or two units ? yes, sure, the result is amazing. But i can't let so much diversity disapear in my work. You try techniques, sometimes it fails, and sometimes you're proud of your work. And that feeling is awesome. At least for me.
GW needs to release the colour recipes for all the official art and painted mini's, even if its just referencing their own paints and not just general colours, it'd give us all such a head start in matching the official colour schemes since as you even pointed out with the flak armour, some official art has colour tones we just dont have paints for, its a real shame.
I don't know if I have the level of brush control to really nail those fine detail shadow affects, but I have to say the end result you've come to is impressive. I'd probably go insane trying to do a whole army like that but if I had the full recipes? Yeah, I'd tackle the occasional hero model that way.
Really loved this. As a newer painter, knowing the colors the "pros" use is tremendously helpful in teaching me how to achieve volume and light so that I can eventually branch off into hopefully my own style and color pallette.
For the metallics, eavy metal will be using thinned black ink or thinned contrast paints for the shading. Multiple layers. Also if you want to knock gloss off you can mix some matte medium into the paint or just glaze it on after.
THANK YOU NINJON. I WAITED YEARS, HOPING YOU TO MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT ASTRA MILITARUM. 8 HOURS, BUT YOU MADE A GREAT MODEL. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SHARING WITH US YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
Subscribed and a big thumbs up. Things I like: 1) You explain things, things that I already technically know, really well and end up clarifying and enhancing knowledge I already have... I feel like you are unlocking doors in my mind. 2) Your painting is excellent and well presented 3) You have a great personality. Some US RUclipsrs I find incredibly obnoxious (hello, Miniac), but your style of presentation and delivery is just lovely. You seem like such a lovely man. Only just found this channel, so I have plenty of content to enjoy now! I'll look into the channel more later and you may just have a new Patreon! THANK YOU!
Jon is 100% correct that how the studio say they paint it and how they actually paint it are very different. They even sometimes use paint colours not available to the public and their techniques are very advanced although stylistic in tone.
the paints are absolutely available to the public. the reason why they don't divulge this information is because GW forbids the house painters from using non GW branded products.
@@KT-pv3kl Darren Latham got into trouble for using Vallejo and Army Painter, I believe. Are you saying that the Heavy Metal team uses non-GW products? Many people suspected that for years!
@@MrPolicekarim im not sure if its the eavy metal Team or other externally hired painters but i can spot vallejo liquid gold from a mile away in some of those promo images XD
@@KT-pv3kl What they sell is a lie! Just like the whey powder companies! Any other stuff you noticed, please? I have heard they take photos of the models by themselves, then edit them so they appear altogether, like in 1 photo! Then people complain about why they can't take good photos like GW!
Every time I think I’m doing well with painting I come watch one of your videos and learn something new. In this case, I’m trying to paint too fast which means I’m putting too much paint on my brush, which means my control is worse and my lines are thicker. Thanks for another excellent video!
Its interesting that you mention painting a base coat first, which is then either highlighted or shadowed. But this was always the kind of 'classic' way of painting GW minis; basecoat, shade, highlight. Its a more recent technique to start dark and build up to the highlight and you're correct that this technique can end up obliterating mid tones and just having a mini which is all highlights and shadows, giving way too much contrast and looking odd. I sometimes paint 54mm historical models and I nearly always work this way, laying down a basecoat, which is the colour that part of the model is and then highlight and shadow. The only difference is I tend to highlight then shade to avoid falling into the trap of perceiving the base coat as the highlight and ending up with too dark a model. But either way works fine as long as you always step back and critically consider if the mini looks 'right', you can always deepen the shadows or push the highlight if you need more contrast. But it is a time consuming way of painting, the investment of time on one mini is great but if you do it right, you end up with a rewarding result; a balanced mini that really pops where it needs to.
Been looking for an excuse to buy a dice tray. Now I get one that has been touched by the Ninjon himself and bares his name ! Purchaser no.90 it is ! I pray the dice gods are kind to me upon the many rolls ! Cheers guv, keep up the great work !
When I noticed I hadn't subscribed yet, I smacked my forehead so hard it scared the cat. A great blend of technical and personal perspective with a dash of humor, your videos are some of the best hobby content around.
One really solid thing I pulled from this video is the red colouring in leather. Great tip and explains a lot. I'm just starting to lean into my painting more and trying to actively improve and it's little nuggets like this, sometimes that is completely off topic for the video, which bring the big light lightbulb moments for me. Thanks Jon and Darryl!
Dear Mr Ninj, I would quite enjoy to see you paint a mini with light colours in the recesses and dark colours for the higlights, just to see what it looks like. Please could you consider making this happen? Thank you!!
I think it's great to paint a couple models in a documented step by step process of a professionals recipe. The skills learned throughout the process can easily be applied to further develop each individuals own style of painting.
I've got a guess as to why they mix similar colors together as the base color. This then allows the original colors to work as accents/shadows/highlights. Extremely subtle ones at that. Since they gotta have those beautiful transitions, it makes sense to base something with the "harder colors" (mixed) as the step you don't have to re mix it later.
Thank you for the video. I am going to try this on my Emperor’s Children that I am just about to start. I won’t do the whole recipe/system on every model, probably not even on the HQs or other big pieces, but I will take the advice and technique on starting with the mid tone and adjusting for highlights and shadows.
Ambrocio from Mexico... was not subscribed... now he is... like your videos man!! fun and informative and as always with awesome resulting minis, just been on this "mini painting path" for less than a year and is always a great source to come to your videos, keep 'em coming!!
I'm kind of a scrub painter but I used to hang out with a bunch of pros and while everyone's technique is a bit different this kind of glazing/layering technique was pretty consistently the standard. And yes, I have learned that learning to get your paint the right consistency is the key skill that masters have (and and eye for light)
I would definitely use it on heroes and special models as it really brings things together. It also helps to highlight the work that goes into planning these paint schemes and applying them!
Strangely. I been painting in roughly this style without thinking about it. For some reason I did find it much easier and as soon as I strayed from it I found myself fighting with shadows and highlights. Nice to have to it explained and codified!
My agrax has also been leaving a shine lately too, though I think it’s one of the older pots. Don’t know why but kind of glad to know I’m not the only one dealing with it.
Even if I had the exact recipe I could not do it. I have VERY shaking hands and it has always been very hard for me to paint to the standard I want. Washes, dips and now contrast paints are all god sends for me and I use them all the time.
Daaaarrryylll!!! Come and show us how to paint again! :D Also, the result was amazing and I was stupified when you said you spent only 8 hours to do all this process. It sounded so much more time consuming! It is also heavily requiring buying a lot of paints.... Probably not something I'll try at this point, I'll keep on trying to keep learning to mix colours. Thinning paints with water is a nightmare for me, they usually get so runny that I have a hard time using them afterwards. And I haven't found the way of adding less amounts of water yet. Gotta keep practicing!
I did the Avatar Masterclass on Warhammer+ and it was eye opening. It’s exactly as you’ve shown, a lot of unexpected blends for base coats, sometimes six layers of very thin paint for a base, no Shade or wash apart from the texture paint on the base. All the shading is thinned paint, a lot of diluted Contrast for bringing areas together. It really changed the way I thought about miniature painting. The white loincloth for example is a 50/50 mix of White Scar/Corax White diluted to milk consistency then painted over black… I think it took about seven very thin coats. The model probably took about 40 hours to paint.
I don't think that I would transition my style to match, but I would totally attempt the method just to flex new muscles and pick up a few things to incorporate into my base.
One reason it used to be kept quiet going back a couple of decades..... GW studio didn't use GW paints, several effects were beyond them so other companies paints were pulled in for those.
I've been struggling a bit with starting dark and working up lighter colors, so I was already thinking of trying to start with the midtone. Great video and really impressive result!
Also, about leather: another secret shortcut to making leather not look like brown cloth is washing it with... purple. Rhinox hide and similar browns already have some red in them. A purple wash for overall shade and recess creates a "plum" tone which is evokes leather.
I find a base of Orange Brown followed by a wash of Reikland gives a pretty good leather effect. But you’re right the reason leather is so hard to do is because it’s effectively a twotone colour.
I learned a lot from this vid. I know the HMTeam are the "best" painters in the company, but its so different from the primer, base coat, wash and few high lights method they share in their videos. Great job!!
Really enjoying your videos, Jon! Very nice mix of painting and talking head as well as fun and helpful tips. Both entertainment and education. Very well done, sir!
I watched a video from a former 'eavy metal painter, and he said that painting just the yellow on a single imperial fist Intercessor would take roughly 30 hours. That alone tells me that one infantry sized model could easily take over a hundred hours to complete. Probably up to five hundred hours on models like Mortarion and imperial/chaos knights.
@@zazen69 They don't. I remember seeing a post on a French forum back when 40k 8th Ed came out, from a 'eavy metal painter, about the Necron Szarekhan Dynasty color scheme, and how they were painted exactly. And oh boy! Oh boy... The actual 'Eavy Metal recipe was so much more complicated than what the official tutorial on Warhammer TV showed for this color scheme. There was Contrast paints mixed with regular base/layer paints, Contrast thinned with Lahmian Medhium or water, and not Contrast Medium...And a third of the paints used wasn't GW's Citadel. On the forum, he explained it by giving mixing recipes to match with GW paints those non-GW paints/washes they used. The only closest detailed tutorial I saw for this color scheme since then was in a random White Dwarf not even about Necrons.
I swear the actual box artists are like some super secret society of impossibly enigmatic artists. I guess they could be under such an NDA that they aren't even allowed to talk about their methods. Anyway big respect for your efforts ninjon, sometimes you gotta try some random stuff to get resullts you want.
I have access to quite a lot of them... But wouldn't use these for an army. Usually for practicing single minis here and there. But I would use them and simplify them by cutting out steps for an army.
As someone who attempts to paint 'Eavy Metal style for every single model in my army, I would love to see their actual formula then optimize it for my own liking. When painting an army at a high standard, having an established procedure is super important which not only improves speed but maintains the coherent quality for the entire army.
This is how I was taught to paint in the early 2000s from an employee at a games workshop store. Mid tone first as a base then layers up and down in brightness and shade with blacklining/shadelining to create depth. I have never known a genuine recipe of specific colours though so that was interesting. They did it this way partly so they can boil it down to mid tone base coat followed by drybrush (highlight) and wash (shade) to people that dont have the patience or skill yet to do the full thing.
I wish I could just sit down and paint my Chaos undivided army I bought when i was like 15 (im almost 30) I start and stop and just can;t seem to find the motivation to do it. But I love watching people who love it do their work. Beautifully painted
I could watch Daryl all day…Dare I a Say…Man Crush? No, I am proud to say I never enjoyed GW Box Art Paint schemes or producing them! I agree it’s probably one of the best teaching techniques and it deserves(and their painters) all the respect one can muster, it’s just not a process I enjoy today. But I do use the skills I learned while attempting it, over and over and over board!! Great video! Oh and keep up with the 90’s Movie B roll music! It’s epic!!
Hey John, thanks for that video, its fantastic work! I really love precise you apply those edge layers on muzzle or gun. Yet another great video to see)) Greetings from Ukraine 🇺🇦
The secrets of the 'Eavy Metal style are really what Duncan based his tutorial methods on for years, when he was at GW. In fact, IIRC they had internal tiers. While folks outside may think of Duncan as a PR / tutorial person, work he did fell in line with "army painters". Not to be confused with the brand. The models photographed for the front of boxes are usually painted only for the composition of the front panel. The models shown on the back or in expanded layouts are actually painted differently, to a slightly lower standard that makes it easier to prepare multiple squads. And variant examples of models which can be built with different loadouts. Duncan's methods are basically those of the army painting team, who prepare the hundreds of models required for the big diorama photo shoots. It follows the same basic method of starting with mid tone - and note that the bedrock of Duncan's painting style (even today, independently) is always returning to the mid tone after applying shading, with a very thinned down layer of the base color everywhere but in the recesses.
even if i access to the heavy metal paint scheme i wouldn't use it because i like making my own custom paint scheme and trying out test models and stuff like that
Looking at their current methods and recipes, it's interesting (and somewhat heartening) to discover that the basic methods they use are so similar to what we developed there in the 90s. There's a clear progression, or evolution, from what we were doing then to what they are doing now. Great video, and great results on the model.
Thanks for the content. I love how you post material. Little light hearted with a comedic spin. Keeps me coming back. I would not try it. I've been painting for 20+ years and have learned from people like you and just created my own style/techniques. I too love Frank's work! Conan the Barbarian is what got me drawn to his art style. You should paint a Barbarian in his art style as a fun challenge! Keep up the great content! 🤙
Would I paint a whole model like this? Probably not. Would I paint certain textures like this? Certainly. I love the result on that armor, and kind of want to replicate it in my Imperial Guard, but in black. It's a really great matte armor look.
The classic 'Eavy Metal painting technique was to add a lot of layers of successive brighter tones, washing with a ink in the middle process. - So starting with a dark basecoat colour, each layer would be: 1. Dark tone colour 2. Dark tone + mid tone 3. Mid tone 4. Mid tone + brighter tone 5. Washing ink 6. Mid tone (again) 7. Mid tone + brighter tone (again) 8. Brighter tone 9. Brighter tone + white colour (highlights) As you see, it required a loot of patience and dedication
My old DnD painting style was taught to me by a ww2 military modeller. Prim gray black wash then base , dry brush another wash. Made OG space marines look dusty in there own main colour.
I spend this kind of time on models anyway, so yeah, I'd definitely use it. I'll probably end up giving the method a shot regardless on some Necromunda models, since each of those is a character in their own right.
I would totally do an army this way. I'm currently close to half way through my first 2k point army ever (Ultramarines cuz I'm a newbie and like blue) and I've done the whole thing trying to match the box art. I just assumed that's what everyone did and now I've got half an army that I love that shows my skill progressing with each model. I don't think I'll ever get into speed painting simply because I love seeing a full army painted to the highest quality I can muster. Ninjon, love your stuff and would love to meet you one day if only to pick your brain for tips with my son who's getting into painting minis with me. Thanks for everything you've taught us.
I'm convinced the 'Eavy Metal Team uses weird blends of colour either because it's part of the technique (the base colour mixes frequently have some of the highlight or shade mixed in), or it's artistic, or because it makes people buy more paints in the search for those elusive colours.
I was watching Duncan’s video on painting faces and immediately thought about this video. I remembered y said you didn’t have the exact recipe for flesh. Watching Duncan paint the third face in the video got me thinking this might be the recipe you’re looking for.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
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Hey I who'd like to ask you what who'd do if you were painting T'AU
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I tried this as well and there was no discount other then the one their site offers. Link is basically just a link to their site.
I'd never thought to mix two similar colours for a base coat, but it makes a lot of sense when you see the subtle highlights and shadows you can get afterwards. This was a really educational video, thanks!
Super true, I’m not super fond of REALLY pronounced shadows. It looks too “painterly” I suppose. Having it far more subtle, but shaded nonetheless I think is a far better approach
Yes! I have mixed two base coats and highlighted up with different combinations but never shaded before, only washes
Yeah me too. Seems like a no duh sort of thing. Lol
Yeh it actually makes sense when you think about it.
I reckon most people would typically take their original base colour, and then mix that either with white or black, or with another similar colour in order to achieve the "same" effect.
I guess doing the mixing on the basecoat gives us a richer 'primary' colour, so the shades and shadows actually blend properly.
The first way around I've always thought results in the 'secondary' colours almost always having a very stark contrast to the basecoat. This heavy metal way allows us to keep most of the colours being use the same.
Im not sure if I explained it properly...
Frazetta baby!!!
Good ol Daryl!! He might not exactly share your enthusiasm for miniature painting but damned if he’s not ready to help out a friend in need when it comes to breaking something or into somewhere 🙌
He reminds me of that one chill friend your older brother would have
Daryl would call you an idiot for killing a person but also help you hide the body. be like Daryl
@@lv100Alice and killing them would be Daryl's idea
Daryl is a good friend and a great wet work guy
Daryl would also own a 1979 GMC truck that is predominantly primer grey.
I'm a "infernal brush" patreon he has most of the eavy metal painting recipes on there as he was a eavy metal painter. I wanted to use the black templar guide its great but it takes so long to do. If you want to learn how to paint in that style he's a great one to watch.
Who was a Eavy Metal painter?
@@Dragongaze13 No, The Who was a band.
@@Dragongaze13 Infernal Brush, he has an instagram, a youtube and a patreon
@@Dragongaze13 just search for "infernal brush" on RUclips and you will find him. Well worth it.
@@craggylotus the *Guess who*?
I remember when I first started, white dwarfs would sometimes have very in-depth painting articles on how to paint certain models. For example, when the Legion of the damned was redone (but still done in pewter) they had a wonderful article on how to paint a model step by step, far more in depth than some articles I see today. A lot of the steps they used were mixes of various colours. I remember at the time people scoffed and said they (heavy metal) didn't actually use those mixes themselves and they probably just used Vallejo. Regardless of if that was true or not, I tried the painting guide and copied it perfectly, and sure enough it was an exact match to the box art. Seeing this video, and remembering that article makes me think that maybe they did actually use the mix recipes after all.
They probably just pre-mix bottles of these colors.
It's crazy to me that some believe that they don't go through all those steps. It's like fuck nuts they do this professionally. It's literally their job to go all in to make it appealing to the customer.
they definitely did and also recommended it back then, I remember when I started I bought a magazine with some uruk hai models and paints and brushes, a little starter kit and in the manuals for painting they explicitly said to mix the colors and whatnot to get the Uruk skin right and stuff, so I find it kinda funny that people only seem to catch on now
I think one of the most important thing to take from this video is that it's normal for things to look "wrong" or "bad" when you're in the middle of painting a model. It can be really easy to feel like you've made a mistake or gone to far, but it's not until the model is finished that you really see what you've been building
I actually stopped painting at game stores for this very reason. I'd get SOOOO many comments from onlookers that my work looked "bad" or like I was messing something up. But whenever I showed them the final product. EVERY. FRIGGON. TIME. they were like "BROOOOO THAT'S SOOOO COOOL!!!" It's like, yeah man, you gotta let a process breathe. And to be honest it's NOT easy seeing the end from the beginning. It really does take a lot of experience to get there and things can seem really off or weird when you're doing something that will end up looking stellar.
I would like for GW to release all the 'Eavy Metal recipes. Not because I would follow them perfectly, but to know what is the main color they've used. Even if I have to mix the basecoat color, I could use this and then a shade and one highlight to get close enough to it.
If you’re still interested, the ‘eavy archive’ on google has a lot of recipes
This is how I learned to paint and how I've always painted. No slapchop for me, i'm too old to learn new tricks 😄. The Guardsman looks great! I have tried to follow GW studio schemes but they can be so inscrutable. These days, I have my own approach that's finally starting to look like my own. Cheers!
Honestly the slap chop and other speed painting techniques seem better served for hoards of units, not the leaders, vehicles, or hero units. Learning something new should be a focus though, as the paints themselves are changing and competition is definitely a driving force.
Same here. I learned how to paint from the How to Paint Citadel Miniatures book. I slowly deviated my own approach as well, which works great for me. I've practiced other techniques, but prefer my "eavy metal" style, as I'm still learning and becoming a better painter.
I saw an interview with Peachy recently. He used to work for the army painting team and he talked about how they would get the 'Eavy Metal example and have to translate it into something doable for an entire army (for photos). It was pretty interesting.
8 hours for 1 guardsmen seems excessive
😂 I'm definitely in noob (returning veteran) territory and I'm not far off that.
As someone who paints guard, I get about 8 minutes per man.
Yeah i thought about painting my Guardsmen quite well, but then realized how many hours i would need for a super fancy color sheme... now iam quite simple: Zandrii Dust Primer, Binewhite drybrush, a light brown tone for the armor, a sepia shade for the cloth, Kislev + Bonehwite mix as the basis for my flesh, put over some Crusader Skin from AP, various brown tones for leather parts and slight highlights on the gun and cloth. 1:15h and i thought to myself "Noice" then i realized i have 40 more Guardsmen to paint "God damn!". xD
I don't think i would use only "one" technique to paint a whole army. One of the best things in our hooby is that we can use sooo much techniques , wether it's sculpting, wet blending, nmm, airbrushing, oil paints, drybrusing, stippling, glazing and i certainly forgot half of them. If i had a recipy for some characters, or one or two units ? yes, sure, the result is amazing. But i can't let so much diversity disapear in my work. You try techniques, sometimes it fails, and sometimes you're proud of your work. And that feeling is awesome. At least for me.
GW needs to release the colour recipes for all the official art and painted mini's, even if its just referencing their own paints and not just general colours, it'd give us all such a head start in matching the official colour schemes since as you even pointed out with the flak armour, some official art has colour tones we just dont have paints for, its a real shame.
I don't know if I have the level of brush control to really nail those fine detail shadow affects, but I have to say the end result you've come to is impressive. I'd probably go insane trying to do a whole army like that but if I had the full recipes? Yeah, I'd tackle the occasional hero model that way.
Really loved this. As a newer painter, knowing the colors the "pros" use is tremendously helpful in teaching me how to achieve volume and light so that I can eventually branch off into hopefully my own style and color pallette.
For the metallics, eavy metal will be using thinned black ink or thinned contrast paints for the shading. Multiple layers. Also if you want to knock gloss off you can mix some matte medium into the paint or just glaze it on after.
Other people: saluting grandmas for their crochet work
Ninjon: saluting people for their crotch work
THANK YOU NINJON.
I WAITED YEARS, HOPING YOU TO MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT ASTRA MILITARUM.
8 HOURS, BUT YOU MADE A GREAT MODEL.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SHARING WITH US YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
Subscribed and a big thumbs up.
Things I like:
1) You explain things, things that I already technically know, really well and end up clarifying and enhancing knowledge I already have... I feel like you are unlocking doors in my mind.
2) Your painting is excellent and well presented
3) You have a great personality. Some US RUclipsrs I find incredibly obnoxious (hello, Miniac), but your style of presentation and delivery is just lovely. You seem like such a lovely man.
Only just found this channel, so I have plenty of content to enjoy now! I'll look into the channel more later and you may just have a new Patreon! THANK YOU!
Wooo ordered my dice tray. Glad to be able to support one of my favorite content creators. SLAY THE GRAY!! Ill see you at adepticon, Jon! :)
Jon is 100% correct that how the studio say they paint it and how they actually paint it are very different. They even sometimes use paint colours not available to the public and their techniques are very advanced although stylistic in tone.
the paints are absolutely available to the public. the reason why they don't divulge this information is because GW forbids the house painters from using non GW branded products.
@@KT-pv3kl Darren Latham got into trouble for using Vallejo and Army Painter, I believe. Are you saying that the Heavy Metal team uses non-GW products? Many people suspected that for years!
@@MrPolicekarim im not sure if its the eavy metal Team or other externally hired painters but i can spot vallejo liquid gold from a mile away in some of those promo images XD
@@KT-pv3kl What they sell is a lie! Just like the whey powder companies! Any other stuff you noticed, please? I have heard they take photos of the models by themselves, then edit them so they appear altogether, like in 1 photo! Then people complain about why they can't take good photos like GW!
Every time I think I’m doing well with painting I come watch one of your videos and learn something new. In this case, I’m trying to paint too fast which means I’m putting too much paint on my brush, which means my control is worse and my lines are thicker. Thanks for another excellent video!
Its interesting that you mention painting a base coat first, which is then either highlighted or shadowed. But this was always the kind of 'classic' way of painting GW minis; basecoat, shade, highlight. Its a more recent technique to start dark and build up to the highlight and you're correct that this technique can end up obliterating mid tones and just having a mini which is all highlights and shadows, giving way too much contrast and looking odd. I sometimes paint 54mm historical models and I nearly always work this way, laying down a basecoat, which is the colour that part of the model is and then highlight and shadow. The only difference is I tend to highlight then shade to avoid falling into the trap of perceiving the base coat as the highlight and ending up with too dark a model. But either way works fine as long as you always step back and critically consider if the mini looks 'right', you can always deepen the shadows or push the highlight if you need more contrast. But it is a time consuming way of painting, the investment of time on one mini is great but if you do it right, you end up with a rewarding result; a balanced mini that really pops where it needs to.
Me too, especially when I'm painting armies.
Been looking for an excuse to buy a dice tray. Now I get one that has been touched by the Ninjon himself and bares his name ! Purchaser no.90 it is !
I pray the dice gods are kind to me upon the many rolls ! Cheers guv, keep up the great work !
When I noticed I hadn't subscribed yet, I smacked my forehead so hard it scared the cat. A great blend of technical and personal perspective with a dash of humor, your videos are some of the best hobby content around.
Tipp for the glossy drying: add a coat of contrast medium and let it dry naturally, it will take a way the shine!
Actually works! Great hint!
Honestly just the leather portion of this video has blown my mind. I've suffered painting leather for so long.
One really solid thing I pulled from this video is the red colouring in leather. Great tip and explains a lot. I'm just starting to lean into my painting more and trying to actively improve and it's little nuggets like this, sometimes that is completely off topic for the video, which bring the big light lightbulb moments for me. Thanks Jon and Darryl!
Your intro had me rolling 😂😂😂, thank you! Love all your content sir
Dear Mr Ninj, I would quite enjoy to see you paint a mini with light colours in the recesses and dark colours for the higlights, just to see what it looks like. Please could you consider making this happen? Thank you!!
I think it's great to paint a couple models in a documented step by step process of a professionals recipe. The skills learned throughout the process can easily be applied to further develop each individuals own style of painting.
This is perfect and been trying to find something like this! Thank you so so much!
I would use the ‘eavy metal recipe for hq options. I used one I found for house Makabius for my armigers and they look great.
I've got a guess as to why they mix similar colors together as the base color. This then allows the original colors to work as accents/shadows/highlights. Extremely subtle ones at that. Since they gotta have those beautiful transitions, it makes sense to base something with the "harder colors" (mixed) as the step you don't have to re mix it later.
Or it's just that there's more colours out there than the premade ones they sell.
Awesome approach! Perfect timing for me as I’m about to paint 4 Mega Gargants. Really appreciate the great content. All the best.
Went and got one of those dice trays! Love your videos man. You're amazing!
Thank you for the video. I am going to try this on my Emperor’s Children that I am just about to start. I won’t do the whole recipe/system on every model, probably not even on the HQs or other big pieces, but I will take the advice and technique on starting with the mid tone and adjusting for highlights and shadows.
I never understood how to make leather look good, thanks for the recipe! That mini legit looked like the box art. Very cool.
Using the midtone as the base coat is a bit of a mind blower!
Was looking a dicetray so your advert came along at the right time lol
Honestly, yours looks way better than the GW version. Mad skills right here!
Solid displate choices ;) Keep up the good videos, I enjoy watching as I paint my own minis!
Ambrocio from Mexico... was not subscribed... now he is... like your videos man!! fun and informative and as always with awesome resulting minis, just been on this "mini painting path" for less than a year and is always a great source to come to your videos, keep 'em coming!!
I'm kind of a scrub painter but I used to hang out with a bunch of pros and while everyone's technique is a bit different this kind of glazing/layering technique was pretty consistently the standard. And yes, I have learned that learning to get your paint the right consistency is the key skill that masters have (and and eye for light)
Great stuff Jon! You're really hitting your stride lately. Love to see it.
I would definitely use it on heroes and special models as it really brings things together. It also helps to highlight the work that goes into planning these paint schemes and applying them!
Strangely. I been painting in roughly this style without thinking about it. For some reason I did find it much easier and as soon as I strayed from it I found myself fighting with shadows and highlights.
Nice to have to it explained and codified!
Wow, that leather is incredible. I've always wondered how they do it!
My agrax has also been leaving a shine lately too, though I think it’s one of the older pots. Don’t know why but kind of glad to know I’m not the only one dealing with it.
Thanks for the video. Just wanted to add, that the choice of music is super cool)
Great content as always Jon, thanks for the tips! The end result of your paint-job was amazing!
Even if I had the exact recipe I could not do it. I have VERY shaking hands and it has always been very hard for me to paint to the standard I want. Washes, dips and now contrast paints are all god sends for me and I use them all the time.
Daaaarrryylll!!! Come and show us how to paint again! :D
Also, the result was amazing and I was stupified when you said you spent only 8 hours to do all this process. It sounded so much more time consuming! It is also heavily requiring buying a lot of paints.... Probably not something I'll try at this point, I'll keep on trying to keep learning to mix colours.
Thinning paints with water is a nightmare for me, they usually get so runny that I have a hard time using them afterwards. And I haven't found the way of adding less amounts of water yet. Gotta keep practicing!
Bloody good job on this! Looks amazing, can’t wait to try this myself
I did the Avatar Masterclass on Warhammer+ and it was eye opening. It’s exactly as you’ve shown, a lot of unexpected blends for base coats, sometimes six layers of very thin paint for a base, no Shade or wash apart from the texture paint on the base. All the shading is thinned paint, a lot of diluted Contrast for bringing areas together. It really changed the way I thought about miniature painting.
The white loincloth for example is a 50/50 mix of White Scar/Corax White diluted to milk consistency then painted over black… I think it took about seven very thin coats.
The model probably took about 40 hours to paint.
I don't think that I would transition my style to match, but I would totally attempt the method just to flex new muscles and pick up a few things to incorporate into my base.
One reason it used to be kept quiet going back a couple of decades..... GW studio didn't use GW paints, several effects were beyond them so other companies paints were pulled in for those.
I like doing my own thing tbh. Not sure if it's the heavy metal approach. But it looks great!
Thanks for the video
I've been struggling a bit with starting dark and working up lighter colors, so I was already thinking of trying to start with the midtone. Great video and really impressive result!
Videos like this are what get me excited to paint!
Also, about leather: another secret shortcut to making leather not look like brown cloth is washing it with... purple. Rhinox hide and similar browns already have some red in them. A purple wash for overall shade and recess creates a "plum" tone which is evokes leather.
I find a base of Orange Brown followed by a wash of Reikland gives a pretty good leather effect. But you’re right the reason leather is so hard to do is because it’s effectively a twotone colour.
I learned a lot from this vid. I know the HMTeam are the "best" painters in the company, but its so different from the primer, base coat, wash and few high lights method they share in their videos. Great job!!
Really enjoying your videos, Jon! Very nice mix of painting and talking head as well as fun and helpful tips. Both entertainment and education. Very well done, sir!
Hey! I've been doing this for my HQ models since the 90s :D start with your colour you want, add a few shadows, a few highlights, call it a day!
I watched a video from a former 'eavy metal painter, and he said that painting just the yellow on a single imperial fist Intercessor would take roughly 30 hours. That alone tells me that one infantry sized model could easily take over a hundred hours to complete. Probably up to five hundred hours on models like Mortarion and imperial/chaos knights.
I chuffed when you said I'm not subscribed because I knew I was already....only to scroll down and realize I was not. You now have one more follower.
GW should publish their painting recipes on their website. It would be nice for those of us who want to replicate the exact look of the box art.
They would then have to admit that Eavy metal dont always use GW paints...........
@@johnfields5908 Pretty sure they use only GW paints for GW box art. Why wouldn't they?
@@zazen69 They don't. I remember seeing a post on a French forum back when 40k 8th Ed came out, from a 'eavy metal painter, about the Necron Szarekhan Dynasty color scheme, and how they were painted exactly. And oh boy! Oh boy... The actual 'Eavy Metal recipe was so much more complicated than what the official tutorial on Warhammer TV showed for this color scheme. There was Contrast paints mixed with regular base/layer paints, Contrast thinned with Lahmian Medhium or water, and not Contrast Medium...And a third of the paints used wasn't GW's Citadel. On the forum, he explained it by giving mixing recipes to match with GW paints those non-GW paints/washes they used. The only closest detailed tutorial I saw for this color scheme since then was in a random White Dwarf not even about Necrons.
@@zazen69 The vast majority of the recipes will be GW paints, there will be the odd vallejo in there though or inks that GW no longer produce.
Why would they do that when they could sell them for silly prices in a “painters codex”. That’s how they do everything now…
Love watching your channel grow. Keep up the good content.
New jon video and its painting a Cadian, lets goooo
I swear the actual box artists are like some super secret society of impossibly enigmatic artists. I guess they could be under such an NDA that they aren't even allowed to talk about their methods. Anyway big respect for your efforts ninjon, sometimes you gotta try some random stuff to get resullts you want.
I have access to quite a lot of them... But wouldn't use these for an army. Usually for practicing single minis here and there. But I would use them and simplify them by cutting out steps for an army.
It's good to see Daryl is always prepared and has rope on hand
As someone who attempts to paint 'Eavy Metal style for every single model in my army, I would love to see their actual formula then optimize it for my own liking. When painting an army at a high standard, having an established procedure is super important which not only improves speed but maintains the coherent quality for the entire army.
This is how I was taught to paint in the early 2000s from an employee at a games workshop store. Mid tone first as a base then layers up and down in brightness and shade with blacklining/shadelining to create depth. I have never known a genuine recipe of specific colours though so that was interesting. They did it this way partly so they can boil it down to mid tone base coat followed by drybrush (highlight) and wash (shade) to people that dont have the patience or skill yet to do the full thing.
I'd attempt it, I've loved the 'eavy metal style since I first saw a 40k box in 2003.
I wish I could just sit down and paint my Chaos undivided army I bought when i was like 15 (im almost 30) I start and stop and just can;t seem to find the motivation to do it. But I love watching people who love it do their work. Beautifully painted
Kept expecting an 80s Eddie Murphy to drop in on your painting session with that music. Love it!
I could watch Daryl all day…Dare I a Say…Man Crush? No, I am proud to say I never enjoyed GW Box Art Paint schemes or producing them! I agree it’s probably one of the best teaching techniques and it deserves(and their painters) all the respect one can muster, it’s just not a process I enjoy today. But I do use the skills I learned while attempting it, over and over and over board!! Great video! Oh and keep up with the 90’s Movie B roll music! It’s epic!!
I always assumed that the convoluted base mixes were because they are using a non GW paint and that’s the mix ratio to match it.
Great video Jon. I'm learning a lot, as always!
Hey John, thanks for that video, its fantastic work! I really love precise you apply those edge layers on muzzle or gun.
Yet another great video to see))
Greetings from Ukraine 🇺🇦
The secrets of the 'Eavy Metal style are really what Duncan based his tutorial methods on for years, when he was at GW. In fact, IIRC they had internal tiers. While folks outside may think of Duncan as a PR / tutorial person, work he did fell in line with "army painters". Not to be confused with the brand. The models photographed for the front of boxes are usually painted only for the composition of the front panel. The models shown on the back or in expanded layouts are actually painted differently, to a slightly lower standard that makes it easier to prepare multiple squads. And variant examples of models which can be built with different loadouts.
Duncan's methods are basically those of the army painting team, who prepare the hundreds of models required for the big diorama photo shoots. It follows the same basic method of starting with mid tone - and note that the bedrock of Duncan's painting style (even today, independently) is always returning to the mid tone after applying shading, with a very thinned down layer of the base color everywhere but in the recesses.
even if i access to the heavy metal paint scheme i wouldn't use it because i like making my own custom paint scheme and trying out test models and stuff like that
Came for the painting videos, stayed for the sweet, sweet displate discount.
Nice Video so far! I am wondering where you have got these awesome showcases from! Thank you for the entertainment, Sir!
Jon this is a bloody good video and guide. Well done, I learn a lot from this vid!
Daryl! Production value increasing!
Looking at their current methods and recipes, it's interesting (and somewhat heartening) to discover that the basic methods they use are so similar to what we developed there in the 90s. There's a clear progression, or evolution, from what we were doing then to what they are doing now. Great video, and great results on the model.
Biggest GW paint secret is that eavy metal don’t exclusively use GW paints and haven’t for a long time.
Thanks for the content. I love how you post material. Little light hearted with a comedic spin. Keeps me coming back.
I would not try it. I've been painting for 20+ years and have learned from people like you and just created my own style/techniques.
I too love Frank's work! Conan the Barbarian is what got me drawn to his art style. You should paint a Barbarian in his art style as a fun challenge!
Keep up the great content! 🤙
If i ever EVER find myself buying a Belisarius Cawl I might do it. That amount of fidely details deserve the maximum amount of effort put into it
Would I paint a whole model like this? Probably not. Would I paint certain textures like this? Certainly. I love the result on that armor, and kind of want to replicate it in my Imperial Guard, but in black. It's a really great matte armor look.
The classic 'Eavy Metal painting technique was to add a lot of layers of successive brighter tones, washing with a ink in the middle process.
- So starting with a dark basecoat colour, each layer would be:
1. Dark tone colour
2. Dark tone + mid tone
3. Mid tone
4. Mid tone + brighter tone
5. Washing ink
6. Mid tone (again)
7. Mid tone + brighter tone (again)
8. Brighter tone
9. Brighter tone + white colour (highlights)
As you see, it required a loot of patience and dedication
My old DnD painting style was taught to me by a ww2 military modeller. Prim gray black wash then base , dry brush another wash.
Made OG space marines look dusty in there own main colour.
They don't die by a thousand on the Battlefield, they drown their enemies in their blood. Common Guardsmen Tactic. But really nice, I'm so jealous :)
I spend this kind of time on models anyway, so yeah, I'd definitely use it. I'll probably end up giving the method a shot regardless on some Necromunda models, since each of those is a character in their own right.
I would totally do an army this way. I'm currently close to half way through my first 2k point army ever (Ultramarines cuz I'm a newbie and like blue) and I've done the whole thing trying to match the box art. I just assumed that's what everyone did and now I've got half an army that I love that shows my skill progressing with each model. I don't think I'll ever get into speed painting simply because I love seeing a full army painted to the highest quality I can muster. Ninjon, love your stuff and would love to meet you one day if only to pick your brain for tips with my son who's getting into painting minis with me. Thanks for everything you've taught us.
I'm convinced the 'Eavy Metal Team uses weird blends of colour either because it's part of the technique (the base colour mixes frequently have some of the highlight or shade mixed in), or it's artistic, or because it makes people buy more paints in the search for those elusive colours.
Ordered my tray, soooo frikking excited!
I was watching Duncan’s video on painting faces and immediately thought about this video. I remembered y said you didn’t have the exact recipe for flesh. Watching Duncan paint the third face in the video got me thinking this might be the recipe you’re looking for.
It blows my mind that they don’t release the “official” recipe for the box art. I don’t see how it would hurt them.
Absolutely amazing video. Never played 40k but this video made me want to try. Thankyou