While I don't know Brent in person, I have known several PHDs. I'm pretty sure that it's a requirement to say "You'll see... You'll all see...." At least once after getting it.
I have to say this slapchop method has brought me back to life as a painter. I have had piles and piles of unpainted grey minis taking up my closet for years because I just havent had time to give them all a "table top ready" paint job. But now with these speed paints I can spray paint a few minis I want to do before work, come home and actually paint 2-3 minis a night before bed and be satisfied with how they look. I am in love.
@@GoobertownHobbies As a newer mini painter, I really appreciate your videos! I was wondering, though, do you use gray/white primer for the drybrushing undercoat, or regular non-speedpaints? Thank you again for such great videos!
@@dire_5 You can see the white paint used for the drybush at 5:06. This is regular acrylic paint. For the gray at 5:47 it's also cheap simple grey acrylic but @GoobertownHobbies also try with better paint. You have your answers at 5:00 to 7:00 basically
Fixed it... your channel is pure gold! Great video 🙂 I got back into painting a few years back after 30 years off and Goober has been with me the whole way. I love these lets test stuff out videos.
@@B4MBI72 No I said it right. Thanks But I guess you didnt understand the context clues. Lets try that again. As I am a beginner painter, I find your channel to be pure gold, as I am sure, do other beginner painters.
Your videos are healthy for my mind. Straight up. "Spending some extra time on the undercoat can really pay off." I really need to apply this the next time I get the paints out again.
I applaud your video making skills and antics. Your ability to retain your trademark smile while slowly glancing over at your car cleaning their nether regions, and not breaking timing was pure gold.
I really appreciate how thoroughly you test things. You've combined what most would make as 4 or 5 videos into one concise video, with enough detail for people to make informed decisions to suit their individual model's needs. You scienced our hobby again.
I do the black, grey, white spray/airbrush. I made a painting bracket out of old 40k rulers. Black all over. Grey I use the 45deg angle bracket. White gets the 10deg angle bracket.
I love the technical side of painting that you do in videos, its great to see all the variations in everything that can be done and the slap chop technique has given me a great confidence and love for painting miniatures. That miniature you painted is quite the handsome guy, i just cant figure out where I have seen him before 🙂
@@GoobertownHobbies haha yup cheers for that, I try to spread myself around and I am so pleased at the news Army Painter will be releasing metallic speedpaints 🙂
I've only painted minis once in my life and this is inspirational. You make an impossible looking hobby so accessible. Thank you so much, I'm really looking forward to getting painting.
Really like the Army Painter speedpaint. The reactivation that everyone seems to complain about is its biggest plus side. Speedpaint then go over highlights with a thin white paint. The reactivation colours the white and looks great. Do it again on the highest highlights and it works again. Great results.
You've done us all a great service with this extensive experimentation. I know how laborious it can be to cycle through different pigments and methods while cataloguing everything. Thank you so much.
Indeed, and now it makes me want to try purple tones and the like in the undercoats as well - Seems like picking the right palette at the undercoat could really be important for getting the best result from 'slapchop' for the mini in question. Not sure how well the glaze will cover 'em till you try it though.
I am starting my journey into painting this week. You videos have been so much help in finding a starting place and what to do. I enjoy how you not only show us how to do something but also go slow enough to see what you are doing and the result of the technique you are applying. Thanks for the inspiration.
This is a truly OUTSTANDING video! I taught art for over two decades, and this is about as good as it gets. I love how you cover all of the options, then recap what you've learned. I'll be checking out more of your videos!
A person probably needs to watch this a couple times to really decide what's best for them, but WOW, what a great in-depth analysis. Really the best I have seen looking at the dry brush method. KUDOS dude, a real winner of a video, thanks!
Dude, your presentation and facial expressions are amazing. I'm cautiously taking my first steps into mini painting and your channel just resonates down to my soul. You're so cool! Thanks for all your wonderful videos
I've watched a ton of painting videos on TY, but this one was totally stunning. Excellent, easy-to-read visuals, a good shot of gentle humour, and an absolute ton of useful information. Thank you SO MUCH! Goobertown Hobbies is going to be a new go-to, right next to Sorastro.
Good lord, this is a useful resource for experimentation using a diversity of techniques and materials. Amazing! The video itself in visual supports, economy of description, and itemized elaboration of techniques with comparisons is a masterclass in how these kinds of tutorials should be produced.
Brent I think I speak for everyone when I say that I massively appreciate the amount of time and effort that goes into your videos. Painting dozens of models and variations takes a ton of time but the results speak for themselves, which is important in this hobby where so much advice given as fact is rather an opinion or personal preference.
I really quite appreciate your systematic approach to experimenting with the different undercoats, and the clear way in which you present the process and your findings. Thank you!
Just wow, thank you for such a great in-depth video on the importance of the undercoat. I have been doing slap chop for a good while and have tested a few methods, using your gray zenithal will save me a ton of time and smooth the transition over the dry brush for both colors. Again thank you for this stellar video.
Very helpful, thank you Brent. If I could only watch one mini painting channel it might be yours for the mix of helpful information and positive vibes. Oh and you've convinced me on grey step
These types of scientific tests are what keeps me coming back to Goobertown. The "memorable tidbits" makes an excellent cheat sheet and summary! Excellent work on this project!
Great video! I've been doing some of my own tests and I've personally found the prime color to be the most important. You can change the entire tone and feel of a mini by using a colored primer. The "problem" with a black prime is that is sucks out the saturation of color, and really muddies some colors. For my Imperial Fists I've started using a pink prime, followed by a cream zenithal, a white drybrush, and then a contrast paint, and it's the fastest I've ever been able to get a decent looking lemon boy on the table. I think I would use brown primer for anything I wanted to have a "natural" look to them, a dark blue for any cold color scheme models, and either a magenta or dark red (depending on how bright I want the value of the end model) for anything I want to be a warm color scheme.
100% agreed. One could also mention that gloss primers and notably gloss black work extremely well for true metallics. They add to the reflectivity of the model and allow to develop contrast with a simple wash without needing further edge highlighting. Natural light does that work for us.
There's a video on this site, showing pink primer as a base for yellow chaos warriors, so the choice to use it for Imperial Fists would seem well founded.
I think you can really see the bad side of the black primer in the faces of these Brents. Basically the less primer he left behind the better they looked. And overall that's the "problem" with these Contrast/Speed/Xpress/etc paints. There are actually a lot of experiments to be done before you find the right formula. I think they only really save a bunch of time if you are painting a whole army. I mean something like Slapchop looks decent but so does a nice clean base coat and a wash.
@@edevans5991 That's why I like to use pretty much any other color other than black when I'm doing this. Brown, blue, or magenta are my favourites depending on if I'm looking for a neutral, cold, or warm overall finish.
Your videos are inspiring and a big part of the reason I decided to give miniature painting a shot. Thank you for your awesome content :) You're also just an awesome person who I respect a lot.
@13:31 The white drybrush over black. I just thought that I would note this - The dude honestly looks kinda like a zombie with the hard desaturation going on there... Could be a pretty effective way to speed paint a bunch of them.
Brownchop and black->grey.z->white.db are probably my favorite. The tan middle step variant I think I'd need to see more of. But overall I like the warm undertone
absolutely incredible resource for newbies like me thank you so much for the exhaustive hard work that you put into this and all the knowledge you shared the fact you disclose your professional connections to product recommendations is another level of class too
Love having more systematic attention paid to this topic! You lightly touched on it, but i suspect the idea of a colored undercoat will be the next idea to make waves across the community in relation to this, you're the second person using browns for the undercoat, and the original grisaille painters used many others, in addition of the idea i've heard from multiple sources over years that undercoating a mini in purple gives you the best skintones you can get, so i suspect there's far more to explore in this topic in the future
Thanks for taking the time to try out these fantastic things that I don't have the time/conditions to try, or even think of! It's always fun to learn about things from your vids, great stuff and keep'em coming!
This is a neat way to undercoat. Especially since I don't really like how zenithals come out. Here is the method I have been playing with: 1. Prime grey 2. Black wash to add shadows 3. Dry brush white
Coming from a more traditional art teaching, this resonates much better in my mind. In traditional art (painting or drawing) you are taught to start with a neutral color and then add in shadow and light separately. This gives more control where those lights and darks go and it also gives you a neutral ground that tends to work better going both directions vs starting with the darkest part and trying to go the whole spectrum lighter.
This is still one of my absolute favorite videos of yours!! I still reference it when I’m in a bit of a hurry with painting something up and plan to slapchop. However, one thing that I would LOVE TO SEE YOU DO is how much of a difference does it really make between using a matte/satin/gloss black primer (Artis Opal states to not use a matte primer when slapchopping). As well as I would love to see the difference of using a grey primer white dry brush (and/or zenthial also), as well as using a darker shade of whatever primary color you plan to use be your base coat of whatever and dry brush white over that and then use your contrast paint color over that. And compare all of these methods to the best 2 or 3 methods from this video to see how much of a difference it makes, if any! I truly LOVE your comparative videos more than any other miniature painting content on TH-cam! I absolutely love seeing the scientific results that most of us don’t have the time or resources to do so ourselves. As well, keep up the fantastic work! I wish you all the best! 🫡
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🎨 Using a black and white undercoat with colors can result in a nice paint job. 01:23 🖌️ Makeup brushes and old synthetic paint brushes can be effective for dry brushing. 02:35 🎨 Type of brush matters more than the type of paint for dry brushing. 05:34 🖌️ Adding a gray dry brush step between black and white can create smoother transitions. 08:09 🎨 Gray xenithal primer with a white dry brush gives nice results, saving time and effort. 10:02 🎨 Thick or thin coats of color on the base coat doesn't matter much for contrast, as the undercoat does most of the work. 12:20 🖌️ The worst undercoat is a white primer, as mistakes are more visible and it lacks contrast and complexity. 14:13 🖌️ Brighter undercoats result in brighter painted models, and the gray xenathol spray is a faster alternative to a gray dry brush. 14:56 🖌️ Brown can be used as an alternative to gray for a sepia undercoat to achieve smooth transitions. 16:29 🎨 Slap Chop technique (black prime, gray/brown undercoat, white dry brush) is efficient and accessible for quick minis. Made with HARPA AI
Love your systematic approach. I find that using something non porus to brush off most of the paint before dry brushing results in a much smoother finish. The paper towel sucks all the moisture from the brush and leaves the chalky-looking finish. Actually having a very slightly damp brush is best of all. Have a look at some of the videos from Artis Opus for some examples.
I really appreciate you taking the time to trial and error out things like this, and show the results in a meaningful and objective way. I've never tried any brand of speed paints, but am curious and with your testing done I feel informed enough to make a strong first effort. Thank you!
You nailed my preferred style. Black prime followed by heavy grey zenithal prime, followed by white dry brush. Ps. I do hate the term "slapchop" since I have taken college level art history and have painted grisaille for about 30 years.
Nice! Yeah it seems to be a good color combo. Ironically, the rise of "slapchop" has resulted in more people actually learning the word "grisaille"... language is strange :-)
@@GoobertownHobbies I think it has more to do with TH-cam that it has penetrated the hobby community. The fine art community, being snobbish as it is, just rolled its collective eyes.
I have been playing with a black, magenta, then white underpainting. Similar to the brown, it impacts the color filtering of the base coats. I can't really decide if it's better than just doing black grey white. I've also tried it with flesh tones : dark chocolate, to cinnamon to pale. That has an interesting effect as well.
The black - gray - white is a fine default, but tailoring the undercoat color to the mini and the specific color scheme that you have in mind sounds great! the warmer undercoat for skin makes a lot of sense.
When you're nearly done editing your longest video ever... And Brent sums it up with science in a quarter of the time 😅🔬🔬 You hero. A lot of our findings were very similar :). As a note if you missed one I think it's just simply *slowing down the grey drybrush* and going for high-quality, following dark grey/dark coloured primer (we also used brown). It really doesn't take too much longer than the normal drybrush (in comparison to total time added). With the normal white final step (also slowing just a tiny amount for quality) you elevate the technique's potential so much. Video is due soon, would love to see you try it out, plenty of theory to match your science 😅 Edit: Metallic tip is also worth considering, a little time added for notable improvement.
Update, I have shared this video with several friends, and then love it when somebody has shares it with me. It goes to show how valuable this particular video is! I do keep coming back to it.
Really useful stuff! Don´t know when I will be speedpainting, but if I am, I am rewatching this video. One thing that can make speedpainting result a little bit boring is the black shadow color. The brown to tan under paint is nice for that! I think it would be interesting to experiment with some "reverse-zenithal" e.g. a different colour from below, and still a zenithal from above like usual, to get some different shadow colors in there. Could work fine with a drybrush - for example, do a regular zenithal, drybrush a dark red from down to up in areas where you want it, and then paint it green. It sounds good to me in theory, would it be good in practice though?
This is so good. I'm a beginner and have been working with regular paint. Got my first box of speedpaints. This video saves a bunch of money and badly painted models. Can't thank you enough!
This video was awesome! I love that more people are starting to realize that the colour undercoat you use can have a major, though subtle, impact on the entire appearance of a project.
Wow, this is what I was looking for. This is brilliant, because most of the job is the same for all models, so it can really be done en masse. Thank you. Very helpful.
I have to agree. These type of videos are the best on you tube. I wish i had more time to do all this experimenting on my own, but being able to quickly see all these different techniques is valuable information.
So few people are willing to do the work and make a concise simple presentation of it. Thanks for this as you've tested some of the methods I had in mind but hadn't done yet. Now I know what to do next!
This is an excellent video Brent! Informative and entertaining. It is very satisfying to be able to sit down in one session and have a nice mini completed, so I’m glad to see ways to improve the utility of transparent paints.
I love how you take pictures with all the stages and especially vs something else. Makes it easy to find what we are currently doing and elevate it. Or in my case about to do. Thanks
this has been brilliant, just getting into speedpaints and painting minis for the first time since the late 90's. painting for d&d nights to an acceptable and fun style. thanks my guy
I've just discovered grisaille paintingn this week and I am INCREDIBLY excited to begin using this technique in my painting going forward. It's really given me a ton of guidance on getting my models looking great while reducing my overall time spent. THANK YOU!
Great vid showing the effects of the primers for slapchopping/speed painting and really useful. I like the Black primer, grey zenithal and white dry brushing. thanks.
The test mini was sculpted by Loot! Get him as a free STL file and check out the rest of the Journey to Nidavellir collection:
bit.ly/JTN-Goober
if thats the high thane who is the Jarl?
OK! I have yet to see this said!!! The model looks like YOU!!!! SO AWESOME
you might try a dark blue base, and light yellow highlights for a warm lighting effect?
@@hawthornhobbit I was thinking the same. :D He looks just like Brent.
@@hawthornhobbit it's that smile, lol. @2:55 Cat destroying his butthole...he doesn't flinch.
Brent is the only person in the mini hobby who can say "You'll see... You'll ALL see!" without it sounding inherently ominous.
YEAH
I find it perplexing it doesn't sound evil when he says it...
@@cark1983 in time we find out!
While I don't know Brent in person, I have known several PHDs. I'm pretty sure that it's a requirement to say "You'll see... You'll all see...." At least once after getting it.
It actually says a lot about someone when the majority of people would sound creepy saying that
I have to say this slapchop method has brought me back to life as a painter. I have had piles and piles of unpainted grey minis taking up my closet for years because I just havent had time to give them all a "table top ready" paint job. But now with these speed paints I can spray paint a few minis I want to do before work, come home and actually paint 2-3 minis a night before bed and be satisfied with how they look. I am in love.
NICE! keep goin keep goin! :-)
@@GoobertownHobbies As a newer mini painter, I really appreciate your videos! I was wondering, though, do you use gray/white primer for the drybrushing undercoat, or regular non-speedpaints? Thank you again for such great videos!
@@dire_5 You can see the white paint used for the drybush at 5:06. This is regular acrylic paint.
For the gray at 5:47 it's also cheap simple grey acrylic but @GoobertownHobbies also try with better paint.
You have your answers at 5:00 to 7:00 basically
Same here! As a 40k player who use to hate painting this has saved me. 2 3k point armies is much easier to paint like this.
"If it's worth doing, it's worth doing half-assed" is genuinely good advice for a chronic perfectionist like me
As a beginner painter, your channel is pure gold! Great video 🙂
Fixed it... your channel is pure gold! Great video 🙂
I got back into painting a few years back after 30 years off and Goober has been with me the whole way. I love these lets test stuff out videos.
@@B4MBI72 No I said it right. Thanks
But I guess you didnt understand the context clues. Lets try that again.
As I am a beginner painter, I find your channel to be pure gold, as I am sure, do other beginner painters.
Agreed
Seriously, at first I thought it was all b/s but honestly, he speaks the truth and is a great teacher 🎉
I’m amazed how many new tips I learned from a single video
hey glad it helped!! :-)
Brent is the Bob Ross of mini painting. All the best from the UK.
Happy little dwarves.... ❤️
Sorastro is the Bob Ross of mini painting, but Brent is the ... uh ... Mr. Rogers? Of mini painting? Or maybe the Bill Nye? I dunno, I'm reaching here
@@dominicskelton3031 happy little minis.
Your videos are healthy for my mind. Straight up. "Spending some extra time on the undercoat can really pay off." I really need to apply this the next time I get the paints out again.
I applaud your video making skills and antics. Your ability to retain your trademark smile while slowly glancing over at your car cleaning their nether regions, and not breaking timing was pure gold.
That dang cat :-)
I liked the dark gray base white from above and sped paint plus normal details
I really appreciate how thoroughly you test things.
You've combined what most would make as 4 or 5 videos into one concise video, with enough detail for people to make informed decisions to suit their individual model's needs.
You scienced our hobby again.
"You'll see you'll all see"
You got me hooked on speedpaint and now I'm gonna flip out when more is released and I'm gonna go OH OH MY GOD
there are some good colors comin.... you'll see :-)
Your clinical approach and personable demeanor always make your videos so therapeutic… and the feline proclivities are just too relatable 😂
hehehe, these dang felines and their proclivities... :-)
Your comment took the words right out of head! Goobertown therapy!
I do the black, grey, white spray/airbrush. I made a painting bracket out of old 40k rulers. Black all over. Grey I use the 45deg angle bracket. White gets the 10deg angle bracket.
I love the technical side of painting that you do in videos, its great to see all the variations in everything that can be done and the slap chop technique has given me a great confidence and love for painting miniatures. That miniature you painted is quite the handsome guy, i just cant figure out where I have seen him before 🙂
hehehehe, I know you've been having fun with slapchop! I think one of your thumbnails actually got a teensy weensy cameo ;-)
@@GoobertownHobbies haha yup cheers for that, I try to spread myself around and I am so pleased at the news Army Painter will be releasing metallic speedpaints 🙂
Well fancy seeing you here
@@kaoticneutralcow4094 Hiya =)
The amount of work you put into your videos blows me away.
I've only painted minis once in my life and this is inspirational. You make an impossible looking hobby so accessible. Thank you so much, I'm really looking forward to getting painting.
Really like the Army Painter speedpaint. The reactivation that everyone seems to complain about is its biggest plus side. Speedpaint then go over highlights with a thin white paint. The reactivation colours the white and looks great. Do it again on the highest highlights and it works again. Great results.
You've done us all a great service with this extensive experimentation. I know how laborious it can be to cycle through different pigments and methods while cataloguing everything. Thank you so much.
This is the best demonstration of how slap chop can be modified to fit different color schemes better.
I love the brown and tan undercoats.
I feel like it changed whole look.
Yeah it feels warmer somehow - I think for historicals and fantasy I'm leaning towards that, and saving black-grey-white for the old grimdark....
Indeed, and now it makes me want to try purple tones and the like in the undercoats as well - Seems like picking the right palette at the undercoat could really be important for getting the best result from 'slapchop' for the mini in question. Not sure how well the glaze will cover 'em till you try it though.
@@foldionepapyrus3441 purple shade under green would be greatv
I am starting my journey into painting this week. You videos have been so much help in finding a starting place and what to do. I enjoy how you not only show us how to do something but also go slow enough to see what you are doing and the result of the technique you are applying. Thanks for the inspiration.
Nice!!! Have fun painting, I'm rooting for ya :-)
New Goobertown! Everything’s coming up Milhouse!
I enjoy how relaxing your videos are while still maintaining an educational quality to them for the hobby. Always an inspiration!
This is a truly OUTSTANDING video! I taught art for over two decades, and this is about as good as it gets. I love how you cover all of the options, then recap what you've learned. I'll be checking out more of your videos!
A person probably needs to watch this a couple times to really decide what's best for them, but WOW, what a great in-depth analysis. Really the best I have seen looking at the dry brush method. KUDOS dude, a real winner of a video, thanks!
Dude, your presentation and facial expressions are amazing. I'm cautiously taking my first steps into mini painting and your channel just resonates down to my soul. You're so cool! Thanks for all your wonderful videos
hehehehe, I'm excited for you getting into minis, that's great! I hope you're having a blast :-)
This is the best video ever about how to prime the best way to paint with contrast or speedpaint ❤️❤️
The writing and facial expressions were on point for this video! Thanks for the fun, Brent!
This video is so incredibly valuable to new hobby painters. You've saved me a TON of time, money and effort here. Thank you!
Glad to hear it! Happy painting :-)
Thank you so much for this. You are a treasure to our community.
New Goobertown video! My Yule wish came true!
Merry Christmas!!! :-)
I've watched a ton of painting videos on TY, but this one was totally stunning. Excellent, easy-to-read visuals, a good shot of gentle humour, and an absolute ton of useful information. Thank you SO MUCH! Goobertown Hobbies is going to be a new go-to, right next to Sorastro.
When you do a comparison it is thorough and never boring, even with all the detail and variants included. Great video.
Good lord, this is a useful resource for experimentation using a diversity of techniques and materials. Amazing! The video itself in visual supports, economy of description, and itemized elaboration of techniques with comparisons is a masterclass in how these kinds of tutorials should be produced.
Brent I think I speak for everyone when I say that I massively appreciate the amount of time and effort that goes into your videos. Painting dozens of models and variations takes a ton of time but the results speak for themselves, which is important in this hobby where so much advice given as fact is rather an opinion or personal preference.
I really quite appreciate your systematic approach to experimenting with the different undercoats, and the clear way in which you present the process and your findings. Thank you!
Just wow, thank you for such a great in-depth video on the importance of the undercoat. I have been doing slap chop for a good while and have tested a few methods, using your gray zenithal will save me a ton of time and smooth the transition over the dry brush for both colors. Again thank you for this stellar video.
Very helpful, thank you Brent. If I could only watch one mini painting channel it might be yours for the mix of helpful information and positive vibes.
Oh and you've convinced me on grey step
glad it helps, thanks for watchin!!! :-)
I appreciate the effort to provide the most results in a digestible format. It helps to make some informed decisions for attacking the Pile of Shame.
Great work, Brent. I've come to similar conclusions in my own hobbying, so it's nice to see a step-by-step comparison to emphasize the points.
These types of scientific tests are what keeps me coming back to Goobertown. The "memorable tidbits" makes an excellent cheat sheet and summary! Excellent work on this project!
Great video! I've been doing some of my own tests and I've personally found the prime color to be the most important. You can change the entire tone and feel of a mini by using a colored primer.
The "problem" with a black prime is that is sucks out the saturation of color, and really muddies some colors.
For my Imperial Fists I've started using a pink prime, followed by a cream zenithal, a white drybrush, and then a contrast paint, and it's the fastest I've ever been able to get a decent looking lemon boy on the table.
I think I would use brown primer for anything I wanted to have a "natural" look to them, a dark blue for any cold color scheme models, and either a magenta or dark red (depending on how bright I want the value of the end model) for anything I want to be a warm color scheme.
I hear ya! Thanks for watchin and thanks for the input :-)
100% agreed. One could also mention that gloss primers and notably gloss black work extremely well for true metallics. They add to the reflectivity of the model and allow to develop contrast with a simple wash without needing further edge highlighting. Natural light does that work for us.
There's a video on this site, showing pink primer as a base for yellow chaos warriors, so the choice to use it for Imperial Fists would seem well founded.
I think you can really see the bad side of the black primer in the faces of these Brents. Basically the less primer he left behind the better they looked. And overall that's the "problem" with these Contrast/Speed/Xpress/etc paints. There are actually a lot of experiments to be done before you find the right formula. I think they only really save a bunch of time if you are painting a whole army. I mean something like Slapchop looks decent but so does a nice clean base coat and a wash.
@@edevans5991 That's why I like to use pretty much any other color other than black when I'm doing this. Brown, blue, or magenta are my favourites depending on if I'm looking for a neutral, cold, or warm overall finish.
Respect on your methodical approach. 'Now for me, your reputation is not from gossip… your reputation is fact. Is solid.'
Every Goobertown video is a mini wonder! Brent is a real Prometheus, bringing wisdom to the world!
Hey Frank, you're pretty cool too! Hope you're havin a good one :-)
I love your test videos. They are always thorough and clear.
And that dwarf is nice.
This is one of the most useful undercoat videos I've ever seen. Thank you for your efforts!
hey thanks for watching! :-)
Amazing Dwarf miniature! Great to showcase what you explained, so clear and precise. It'll help me alot to get more minis painted. Thank you Brent.
right on! paint more minis! :-)
Your videos are inspiring and a big part of the reason I decided to give miniature painting a shot. Thank you for your awesome content :) You're also just an awesome person who I respect a lot.
@13:31 The white drybrush over black.
I just thought that I would note this - The dude honestly looks kinda like a zombie with the hard desaturation going on there... Could be a pretty effective way to speed paint a bunch of them.
oh yeah, it's definitely a look :-)
Brownchop and black->grey.z->white.db are probably my favorite. The tan middle step variant I think I'd need to see more of. But overall I like the warm undertone
absolutely incredible resource for newbies like me
thank you so much for the exhaustive hard work that you put into this and all the knowledge you shared
the fact you disclose your professional connections to product recommendations is another level of class too
Love having more systematic attention paid to this topic!
You lightly touched on it, but i suspect the idea of a colored undercoat will be the next idea to make waves across the community in relation to this, you're the second person using browns for the undercoat, and the original grisaille painters used many others, in addition of the idea i've heard from multiple sources over years that undercoating a mini in purple gives you the best skintones you can get, so i suspect there's far more to explore in this topic in the future
Thanks for taking the time to try out these fantastic things that I don't have the time/conditions to try, or even think of! It's always fun to learn about things from your vids, great stuff and keep'em coming!
right on! thanks for watchin :-)
This is a neat way to undercoat. Especially since I don't really like how zenithals come out. Here is the method I have been playing with:
1. Prime grey
2. Black wash to add shadows
3. Dry brush white
Coming from a more traditional art teaching, this resonates much better in my mind. In traditional art (painting or drawing) you are taught to start with a neutral color and then add in shadow and light separately. This gives more control where those lights and darks go and it also gives you a neutral ground that tends to work better going both directions vs starting with the darkest part and trying to go the whole spectrum lighter.
I would love to see a video on this technique
This is still one of my absolute favorite videos of yours!! I still reference it when I’m in a bit of a hurry with painting something up and plan to slapchop.
However, one thing that I would LOVE TO SEE YOU DO is how much of a difference does it really make between using a matte/satin/gloss black primer (Artis Opal states to not use a matte primer when slapchopping). As well as I would love to see the difference of using a grey primer white dry brush (and/or zenthial also), as well as using a darker shade of whatever primary color you plan to use be your base coat of whatever and dry brush white over that and then use your contrast paint color over that. And compare all of these methods to the best 2 or 3 methods from this video to see how much of a difference it makes, if any!
I truly LOVE your comparative videos more than any other miniature painting content on TH-cam! I absolutely love seeing the scientific results that most of us don’t have the time or resources to do so ourselves.
As well, keep up the fantastic work! I wish you all the best! 🫡
Great video! I love these comparison ones. I'm still settling into a method for "slapchop" but this helps a bunch!
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 🎨 Using a black and white undercoat with colors can result in a nice paint job.
01:23 🖌️ Makeup brushes and old synthetic paint brushes can be effective for dry brushing.
02:35 🎨 Type of brush matters more than the type of paint for dry brushing.
05:34 🖌️ Adding a gray dry brush step between black and white can create smoother transitions.
08:09 🎨 Gray xenithal primer with a white dry brush gives nice results, saving time and effort.
10:02 🎨 Thick or thin coats of color on the base coat doesn't matter much for contrast, as the undercoat does most of the work.
12:20 🖌️ The worst undercoat is a white primer, as mistakes are more visible and it lacks contrast and complexity.
14:13 🖌️ Brighter undercoats result in brighter painted models, and the gray xenathol spray is a faster alternative to a gray dry brush.
14:56 🖌️ Brown can be used as an alternative to gray for a sepia undercoat to achieve smooth transitions.
16:29 🎨 Slap Chop technique (black prime, gray/brown undercoat, white dry brush) is efficient and accessible for quick minis.
Made with HARPA AI
Love your systematic approach. I find that using something non porus to brush off most of the paint before dry brushing results in a much smoother finish. The paper towel sucks all the moisture from the brush and leaves the chalky-looking finish. Actually having a very slightly damp brush is best of all. Have a look at some of the videos from Artis Opus for some examples.
I really appreciate you taking the time to trial and error out things like this, and show the results in a meaningful and objective way.
I've never tried any brand of speed paints, but am curious and with your testing done I feel informed enough to make a strong first effort. Thank you!
2:52 is a truly masterful transition
A few seconds after that timestamp had me laughing my ass off! Well played Brent. Well played.
Video's where you test stuff, like in this one, are my favorite!
You nailed my preferred style. Black prime followed by heavy grey zenithal prime, followed by white dry brush.
Ps. I do hate the term "slapchop" since I have taken college level art history and have painted grisaille for about 30 years.
Nice! Yeah it seems to be a good color combo. Ironically, the rise of "slapchop" has resulted in more people actually learning the word "grisaille"... language is strange :-)
@@GoobertownHobbies I think it has more to do with TH-cam that it has penetrated the hobby community. The fine art community, being snobbish as it is, just rolled its collective eyes.
@HeadCannon TV the feelings mutual, we collectively roll our eyes at the fine art snobs who gatekeep our colloquialisms 🤣
That narset playmat is beautiful
That face at 2:56 lol. Love your vids!
Awesome video. Great step-by-step walk through. Thanks. You worked you butt off with all of the variants.
Awesome. Really appreciate a thorough testing of technique.
Love your videos! Thanks for bringing me into world of Miniatures painting. I finally start my first army this year and it's Ultramarines :)
NICE! I'm glad that you're painting minis, keep on goin in 2023 :-)
I really appreciate the scientific approach to testing different options. Great video.
I have been playing with a black, magenta, then white underpainting. Similar to the brown, it impacts the color filtering of the base coats. I can't really decide if it's better than just doing black grey white. I've also tried it with flesh tones : dark chocolate, to cinnamon to pale. That has an interesting effect as well.
The black - gray - white is a fine default, but tailoring the undercoat color to the mini and the specific color scheme that you have in mind sounds great! the warmer undercoat for skin makes a lot of sense.
Brent no one else on youtube paints in such bright vibrant colors as you. I have no idea how you do it but I love it.
powerpoint has a saturation slider for images! :-)
When you're nearly done editing your longest video ever... And Brent sums it up with science in a quarter of the time 😅🔬🔬 You hero.
A lot of our findings were very similar :).
As a note if you missed one I think it's just simply *slowing down the grey drybrush* and going for high-quality, following dark grey/dark coloured primer (we also used brown).
It really doesn't take too much longer than the normal drybrush (in comparison to total time added).
With the normal white final step (also slowing just a tiny amount for quality) you elevate the technique's potential so much.
Video is due soon, would love to see you try it out, plenty of theory to match your science 😅
Edit: Metallic tip is also worth considering, a little time added for notable improvement.
Honestly you are one of my favorite painting channels. New to the hobby and thank you so much for getting me on the right path!
Update, I have shared this video with several friends, and then love it when somebody has shares it with me. It goes to show how valuable this particular video is! I do keep coming back to it.
Really useful stuff! Don´t know when I will be speedpainting, but if I am, I am rewatching this video.
One thing that can make speedpainting result a little bit boring is the black shadow color. The brown to tan under paint is nice for that! I think it would be interesting to experiment with some "reverse-zenithal" e.g. a different colour from below, and still a zenithal from above like usual, to get some different shadow colors in there. Could work fine with a drybrush - for example, do a regular zenithal, drybrush a dark red from down to up in areas where you want it, and then paint it green. It sounds good to me in theory, would it be good in practice though?
Reverse zenithals are fun with an airbrush, but I bet they're pretty dang tricky with a drybrush... I like the idea though! :-)
Yeah, I think grey primer with black shot from below and white from above is the best compromise between time and quality results
This is so good. I'm a beginner and have been working with regular paint. Got my first box of speedpaints. This video saves a bunch of money and badly painted models. Can't thank you enough!
This is simply the best and the most useful mini painting video on youtube.
700 years.
The absolute best refute to all of the pearl clutchers about SlapChop I've ever heard! Brilliant Brent! Thank you for this!
Your conclusion with bulleted points at the end of this video is some of the best work I've seen on just about any YoutTube video. WELL DONE.
"Goobs doesn't have to use the word Grisaille" - Treaty of Paris (1763)
Rob's uncle Nigel fought at Waterloo so that we wouldn't have to speak French.
This video was awesome! I love that more people are starting to realize that the colour undercoat you use can have a major, though subtle, impact on the entire appearance of a project.
Oh absolutely! I gotta keep working with warm and cold undercoats to keep building my skillz :-)
Wow, this is what I was looking for. This is brilliant, because most of the job is the same for all models, so it can really be done en masse. Thank you. Very helpful.
Love seeing more takes and techniques for speedpainting.
I have to agree. These type of videos are the best on you tube. I wish i had more time to do all this experimenting on my own, but being able to quickly see all these different techniques is valuable information.
I think that 3 and 8 are my favorite! They have awesome balance between the face and other elements.
Best videos about painting EVER! It's a GREAT job! Well DONE! Thx
Thanks for the video! Some great examples of the various ways to approach painting minis!
the brownchop, it looks like a bronzing almost, which, i love. cheers!
Hey there! Im getting my wife into the hobby and your videos explain it far simpler than I ever could. Thanks!
Awesome! Good work with the recruitment :-)
Another wonderful vid man. 17:22 so honest, so great. Thanks.
So few people are willing to do the work and make a concise simple presentation of it. Thanks for this as you've tested some of the methods I had in mind but hadn't done yet. Now I know what to do next!
I love how wholesome and informative this is. Great conclusions/takeaways.
I love your expertise, strict scientific approche and that purrfect cat!
Adding a comment just for exposure. Excellent work on this video, I’ll be looking at this for my 3d printed ‘Nid army.
oh yeah, paint u some nids!! :-)
This is an excellent video Brent! Informative and entertaining. It is very satisfying to be able to sit down in one session and have a nice mini completed, so I’m glad to see ways to improve the utility of transparent paints.
I love how you take pictures with all the stages and especially vs something else. Makes it easy to find what we are currently doing and elevate it. Or in my case about to do. Thanks
this has been brilliant, just getting into speedpaints and painting minis for the first time since the late 90's. painting for d&d nights to an acceptable and fun style. thanks my guy
Great video, my favorite parts:
- The tan zenithal looks great!
- Scott dancing in the background
Scott is very talented :-)
Great vid, Brent. You're right that nothing can replace good old-fashioned experimentation. Thanks for the detailed walk-through! 👍🏻
right on! :-)
I've just discovered grisaille paintingn this week and I am INCREDIBLY excited to begin using this technique in my painting going forward. It's really given me a ton of guidance on getting my models looking great while reducing my overall time spent. THANK YOU!
heck yeah! It's fun, enjoy diving in :-)
Fantastic video for a speedpainting newbie like me!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge without fuss but with a cat. Awesome.
Great vid showing the effects of the primers for slapchopping/speed painting and really useful. I like the Black primer, grey zenithal and white dry brushing. thanks.