How to Make Your Models Pop

This post is part of the Notts Hobbies 30 Day Army Painting Accelerator, Click here to get your free copy.

To make your colours stand out more on the tabletop, use warm/cool contrast to your advantage. Below is a picture of a colour wheel, which shows the warm colours on the left-hand side and cool colours on the right.

How do we apply this to miniature painting?

When colours of the same temperature are put next to each other, it can be difficult to define the shapes. This can be used to your advantage when painting small details that you don’t want people to see, such as pouches and belts.

But if you want different materials to be easily defined and colours to pop, you should place cool and warm colours next to each other.

The contrast in colour temperature makes it easier for the eye to see the difference between the two colours.

When painting a mini, you will have a dominant colour, which is used the most on the miniature. For a typical Cadian Guardsmen, this is green, which is a cool colour.

The model below has been painted with cool fatigues which are the same colour as the dominant colour.

You can see how it is difficult to define which parts of the model are fatigues and where the body armour begins.

To make the colours of the model stand out, the fatigues should be a warmer colour, such as beige or a warm brown.

As you can see on the models above, the only difference between the two models is the colour of the fatigues.

It is easier to distinguish the different colours and materials of the second model, as there is a cool/warm contrast between the fatigues and armour, compared to the model on the first, which is painted in cool colours.

This post is part of the Notts Hobbies 30 Day Army Painting Accelerator, Click here to get your free copy.

Glossary

Cold Colours - hues like blue, green, and purple that evoke coolness and calm

Contrast - Highlights differences in colour, value, texture and shape to create visual interest and guide the viewer’s attention

Warm Colours - hues like red, orange, and yellow that evoke warmth and energy