The Heavy Metal Style

[Aldramelech]

Ok, Ive raised this question on a number of threads and Ive noticed others do too, so lets get it all out of our systems! lol

Why do the Heavy metal painters need to use every single color in the GW range to paint 1 figure????????

Is this a cynical ploy to drive paint sales? Do you think that their results justify the wanton expense?

Do you even believe they are using all the colors they say they do?

I personally think that in any one article you can remove 2/3 stages and still have the same model at the end.

[Xas]

the range of GW paints is just so us lazy customers dont ahve to mix paints.

you could remove 1/3 of the paint colours and people could still mix the other together :)

[Denzark]

If I get Mr 'Melech right he is talking about what annoys me - 'I used 1 part goblin green one part bad moon yellow 3 parts ardcoat 9 parts one of the gucci new washes we made 2 parts blood of my firstborn son etc'.

The whole point of GW paints was supposed to be you had for most colours a shade darker for shading and a shade lighter for highlighting not mix eighteen million paints.

Sort of like 'merda de la artiste' - a can of steaming...

[EmperorEternalXIX]

Almost every modelling paint company I have seen -- Vallejo, Model master, etc. -- seem to do the same thing.

It works quite well. And it makes life a lot easier and makes your models more consistent if you are willing to buy the three reds, the three blues, etc.

[Denzark]

Almost every modelling paint company I have seen -- Vallejo, Model master, etc. -- seem to do the same thing.

It works quite well. And it makes life a lot easier and makes your models more consistent if you are willing to buy the three reds, the three blues, etc.

Yeah happy with that its the '3 parts mithril silver, 2 parts boltgun metal, a thraka green wash and a quart of virgin's wee' type painting that vexes

[Skragger]

They just want to show off they can afford all the paints..

[Lindargo]

I personally can nearly always supplement around 4 stages into one or 2, i think it is to drive sales.
Lindargo,

[fade_74]

I'm sure they do really use all those colors. The more color range you use...the more smooth your blends and transitions are going to be. Since the heavy metal team are painting for photography....those transitions and blends must be VERY smooth. If they aren't, it shows. I am also sure that in those painting articles they aren't telling you all of the mixes they make. You are complaining about the 4-5 step highlighting they use when it is probably more like 8-10 steps. If you don't like that style.....don't use it lol. Don't read the article. Slap on your 3 colors and head to 'ard boys. Others of us enjoy the painting side of our HOBBY. Painting great minis is our main goal. Those articles are really for us anyway.

[Aldramelech]

If I get Mr 'Melech right he is talking about what annoys me - 'I used 1 part goblin green one part bad moon yellow 3 parts ardcoat 9 parts one of the gucci new washes we made 2 parts blood of my firstborn son etc'.

The whole point of GW paints was supposed to be you had for most colours a shade darker for shading and a shade lighter for highlighting not mix eighteen million paints.

Sort of like 'merda de la artiste' - a can of steaming...

Correct! :D It vexes me mightily!

[Aldramelech]

I'm sure they do really use all those colors. The more color range you use...the more smooth your blends and transitions are going to be. Since the heavy metal team are painting for photography....those transitions and blends must be VERY smooth. If they aren't, it shows. I am also sure that in those painting articles they aren't telling you all of the mixes they make. You are complaining about the 4-5 step highlighting they use when it is probably more like 8-10 steps. If you don't like that style.....don't use it lol. Don't read the article. Slap on your 3 colors and head to 'ard boys. Others of us enjoy the painting side of our HOBBY. Painting great minis is our main goal. Those articles are really for us anyway.

You are having a laugh arnt you? Have you seen my stuff? Are you saying I'm anti painting??????????
I think you may be confused my good man.........:rolleyes:

[Drunkencorgimaster]

I have not read the GW monthly catalog otherwise known as "White Dwarf" in years, but they used to have a series called "Painting with the Average Joe" by some Joe Scagalottacrotchrash or something like that. It was geared towards anyone BUT the "Average Joe." He'd have these insanely difficult painting tips. "When painting an Eldar ruby, borrow a commerical 747 and crew. Have the pilot go into a steep dive from 35,000 feet. The zero-g effect will create a nice-even balance to the paint. You will only get 30-seconds of painting time, so you will need to have the pilot re-climb and dive some 43-times as you will want to use no less than 43 shapes of red-to-orange on your ruby. Now to paint the helmut you will need to simply borrow a military-grade centrifuge so that you can work at 4-G..."

[fade_74]

You are having a laugh arnt you? Have you seen my stuff? Are you saying I'm anti painting??????????
I think you may be confused my good man.........:rolleyes:

Yeah....I just looked at your stuff on your blog......and what separates you from heavy metal....I can't even start to list. You are right about what you said though. You can remove 2/3's of the steps and have a fine tabletop model, like yours. If thats a good enough standard for you...so be it. Some of us would like to excel at painting though.

[Aldramelech]

oooooo get her!

I'll save you the trouble of listing the difference between myself and the HM team, I'll do it for you. I can assure you it is not a lack of skill or expertise as you seem to Infer!

1/ I do not have access to unlimited free paint, brushes, glue and models.
2/ I have a full time job and a family who require some attention now and again, I don't get to sit in a nice air conditioned office at my dedicated painting station for 40 hours a week.
3/ I am not painting figure's with photography in mind. Photos do my style no justice at all.
4/ I game in an environment where unpainted figures are not tolerated (a policy I wholeheartedly agree with) if I want to play, I must have a painted army. Therefore my army must be painted relatively quickly.

For people who live in the real world there must be some kind of compromise between quality and necessity. I am not painting golden demon winning models here, I'm painting an army to a high level of consistency. I would describe my painting as above average and many people would say better, I am capable of far better and I find your "slap on three colors" comment insulting.

I know how to paint a great figure and I know that there are superfluous stages in those painting articles. Bearing in mind that a huge number of readers of WD are kids, beginners and below average painters I would like to see more articles concentrating on basic technique with a view to improving painting skills in general rather then constantly presenting a standard that most will never achieve.

These articles are not making painting accessible, they are putting young people off. The number of kids I hear say the immortal words "I'll never be that good, so I don't bother". Give them achievable goals, let them walk before they try to run.

[jcroxford]

I don't enjoy having to mix paints for my rank and file, I would like to paint strait from the pot to save time. However I do enjoy the eavy metal tutorials and tips to try and incorporate some of their technique into my center piece / command models.

[DuskRaider]

The only time I blend paints is to come up with new inks / colors, and I've only done it a hand full of times. This whole 3:1 crap is a waste of time in my eyes, as I can get colors to wet blend just as easy, or I'm not looking for a smooth transition. And trust me, I know how to paint.

[fade_74]

So...what you want aldramelech is for them to write painting articles that don't require lots of paints, brushes etc. For people that have jobs...and lives. For those that aren't painting for photography. And are paint jobs with basic gaming in mind. Well....let me introduce you to the GW websites painting articles....here is a link to the 40k page for those.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/articleCategory.jsp?communityArticleCatId=600003&articleCatId=600003&catId=cat210004&section=

Do those fulfill your needs? I really hope so. I hope those articles that are free, on the web, accessible, are EXACTLY what you want. I also hope that all those young people, who are beginners, actually check those out before they throw down 75 bucks on a WD subscription. As for all those poor young people with feelings of inadequacy created by the 'eavy metal team....so sorry....there is always someone better than you...no matter what you do. Live with it....and try to garner as much knowledge as you can from those who are better than you.

I am glad you found my comment about 3 color painting insulting...it shows that you actually read what I wrote. I find it insulting that they create tourneys for people who only give a crap about winning, and not about the actual hobby. Think about this....where is the hobbyist tournament? One that says you must have a lovingly crafted, beautifully embellished army to participate.

My whole point is that you get the simplified painting articles you want. You get those articles for free. You even get tournaments focused on things other than the hobby and still you have a problem. If you don't like the articles in White Dwarf....DON'T FRIGGIN BUY IT. Some people, myself included, really dig those articles, because they show us ways to improve our painting.

[Drunkencorgimaster]

'Bout a ten on the old tension scale fade.

[Aldramelech]

So...what you want aldramelech is for them to write painting articles that don't require lots of paints, brushes etc. For people that have jobs...and lives. For those that aren't painting for photography. And are paint jobs with basic gaming in mind. Well....let me introduce you to the GW websites painting articles....here is a link to the 40k page for those.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/articleCategory.jsp?communityArticleCatId=600003&articleCatId=600003&catId=cat210004&section=

Do those fulfill your needs? I really hope so. I hope those articles that are free, on the web, accessible, are EXACTLY what you want. I also hope that all those young people, who are beginners, actually check those out before they throw down 75 bucks on a WD subscription. As for all those poor young people with feelings of inadequacy created by the 'eavy metal team....so sorry....there is always someone better than you...no matter what you do. Live with it....and try to garner as much knowledge as you can from those who are better than you.

I am glad you found my comment about 3 color painting insulting...it shows that you actually read what I wrote. I find it insulting that they create tourneys for people who only give a crap about winning, and not about the actual hobby. Think about this....where is the hobbyist tournament? One that says you must have a lovingly crafted, beautifully embellished army to participate.

My whole point is that you get the simplified painting articles you want. You get those articles for free. You even get tournaments focused on things other than the hobby and still you have a problem. If you don't like the articles in White Dwarf....DON'T FRIGGIN BUY IT. Some people, myself included, really dig those articles, because they show us ways to improve our painting.

Yes Ive read your post, you on the other hand don't seem to be reading mine!

You seem to have confused me with somebody else, you seem to think that I'm some kind of competition wargamer who doesn't care about painting. I don't play in tournaments and I don't play with or against unpainted figures. I do not accept undercoat, flesh and 1 other as painted either, in fact I was described on another thread as a painting German with right wing views about Poland! I care about the hobby deeply and by "Hobby" I mean playing the game with well painted figures on nice looking terrain for fun. I am committed to the improvement of standards across the hobby and am willing to give up my valuable time to do so.

Now you know who I am, a couple of points.

1/ You would be shocked by how many people in this country have no internet access, trust me, its alot.
2/ I want balance. I want the articles I described and I want advanced articles, but I don't want those to be driven by GW putting in steps to drive paint sales. This does not help the hobby. The same results are achievable without all this rubbish.

[DuskRaider]

Hey Fade, got any pics of the stuff you've painted? You sound like a such pro, so you should have some of your stuff on here. Or at least on another website.

[fade_74]

search for fade 13 on coolminiornot. I have plenty of stuff online...just none here yet duskraider. I would have to email them if you wanted better.

Aldra....you don't want them to advertise their own products? If you were a business why the heck wouldn't you want to advertise? Those people are paid to use that stuff.....

Use what you want from the articles on painting and disregard the rest. These articles do help the hobby....just not you.

[Aldramelech]

Unfortunately Mr. Fade you appear to be in a minority here.

[sketchesofpayne]

I tend to use 10 or so colors on one model when I'm painting detailed.

[Denzark]

I tend to use 10 or so colors on one model when I'm painting detailed.

This is fine. Well actually any approach is fine - an Englishman's home is his castle, as long as it doesn't scare the horses etc. What is being complained about is making the colours from a mix of 3 or more.

@ Fade you miss the point. HM back in the day championed a four stage painting - stage 1 being base colours, stage 2 was black line shading, stage 3 some highlights and shading and stage four was top dog pro painter stylee. All these stages used single colours not mixes and the sahding either lighter or darker was the corresponding colour of citadel paints. No cumbersome mixes.

You could actually watch as the range of paints expanded as they thought it was stupid to be continuously mixing ****e up.

They never used to do it and still prduced world class, so why all the mixes? Yes the shampoo warlock wants us to buy more paint. Full Stop (period for our colonial cousins).

[Morgrim]

I am one of the weird people that will do all sorts of odd blends and mixes, although mostly working off the small range of colours that I have (mostly varying greens and blues and purples).

Many times it is practical. I need a red for this tassel, but the pot of red I have is too warm and clashing? Ok, ease in some cooler pinks or purples to get a harmonious shade. Washing this bone with green is too green and blue is too blue? Guess I need to figure out a shade that pulls it all together.

The other part comes from prior art background, I'm competent in acrylics but far more comfortable in watercolours. I'm used to having a very small range of colours and having to mix up the shade I want, and most of my models are brought to their final shade by means of a glaze.

In short, some of us like seeing the effects of various mixes and techniques we might not of thought of using. The fact that it is likely excessive for most gamers does not diminish that in my eyes. Besides, it is a lot easier to cut down on the number of steps than to add in more. I'm not quite seeing how showing a technique that involves mixing from 3 pots is destroying the hobby. You're still using the same volume of paint, after all, just buying a few more upfront and then taking longer to use up all the pots...