Warhammer Colour Paint: Contrast

Citadel Contrast paint is a unique, high-flow paint line by Games Workshop designed to base coat, shade, and highlight miniatures simultaneously in a single application. It uses a specialized medium that leverages capillary action to flow off raised surfaces and pool into recesses, drastically speeding up the painting process for hobbyists.

How Contrast Paint Works
  • On Raised Areas: The paint thins out, allowing the light undercoat to show through, creating an automatic highlight.
  • In Recesses: The intense pigments pool together, creating deep shadows and natural shading
The Importance of Primers

Contrast paint is translucent, meaning your choice of primer heavily dictates the final color and warmth of the miniature

  • Wraithbone: A warm, creamy off-white. Best for organic textures like leather, skin, bone, and earthy tones.
  • Grey Seer: A cool grey. Ideal for mechanical parts, metals, blues, purples, and cold greens.
  • White Scar: A pure, bright white. Designed to achieve maximum saturation and vivid brilliance for neon colors, bright reds, or yellows
Best Surfaces vs. What to Avoid

  • Best Used On: Highly textured surfaces like fur, chainmail, deep cloth folds, muscles, hair, scales, and organic details.
  • Avoid On: Large, completely flat surfaces (like vehicle panels or Space Marine armor). Because the paint is thin, it can pool unevenly on flat planes, resulting in a splotchy, coffee-stained finish. 
Application Tips

  • Do Not Use Water: Thinning Contrast paint with water breaks down the pigment flow. If you want a lighter tint or smooth gradient, always mix it with Citadel Contrast Medium. When applied over a light primer, the paint behaves like a heavy tint or glaze
  • One Thick, Controlled Coat: Load your brush generously and apply it heavily but neatly. Keep the paint moving while wet, and use a clean brush to soak up any pools that look too thick before they dry. 
  • Metallic Shading: Applying Contrast paint directly over metallic silver bases is a popular "hack" to create vibrant, colored metallic armor or instant weathered golds.

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