Ogre without the wash...

[karpouzian]

Well, here goes nothing... I used the golden skin triad for the skin, red hair for the hair, and an assortment of everything else for, well, everything else... Looks like I still need to thin my paints more.

Also at the bottom is my ogre with the wash.

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And here is the ogre with the wash.

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I think I like the outfit and club better with the wash... What about a flesh wash instead of a black wash, and the black or a sepia wash for the clothes? I know you people say washes are the devil, but they help a newbie like me... Will they always be a crutch?

 

[Elric2k]

I wouldn't say they will always be a crutch, it depends on your work ethic with painting. If you let them, then yes they will always be a crutch. You're still working on the fundamentals here, I can understand washing as a newbie, the problem is, do you understand where you're washing? Originally you just washed the entire model, with no cleanup (or so it seemed to my eye), which leads to the extremely shiny finish, and having random shadows where there should be none, ie pooling. If you want to use washes, i would invest in some Vallejo matte medium and mix it in with the wash, knocks out that nasty shininess that is so obvious with GW washes especially.

You may think the ogre looks better overall with the wash, however I would disagree. The reason? The new ogre shows you putting time in using skills that will actually help you grow as a painter (mixing, layering, etc.) Washes should not just be used to shade everything, they should be used in specific situations for specific results, for instance washing gold metal with purple in the shades, or green. Also if you insist on continuing to fall back on washes, get in to the habit of washing only where actual shadows would be.

 

[karpouzian]

Well, since these are home made washes, I guess I'll add more matte medium also, I may not have sealed the previous mini yet, either... So as far as the "correct" use of washes, on tutorials, I usually just see the mini being slathered, then the excess mopped up. Maybe I'll look for targeted washing tutorials...

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I think the back left side needs a little more, but how is it now?

 

[Elric2k]

I think you should check out schnauzerface on youtube, if you want to see how washing can really be done well. I'm no expert, i don't really use washes much, but he has it down to an art in my opinion. He's on here too on CMON, jabbayoda, or some such. Very cool dude, and his tutorials, if you haven't seen them, are awesome.

 

[Dragonsreach]

I know you people say washes are the devil, but they help a newbie like me... Will they always be a crutch?

They will only be a crutch if you let them.

Using washes should be something you do only when appropriate, not as a matter of course.
Yes washes will give you instant contrast but you are not learning to work the paint to get the contrast in the first place.
It's the same in effect with paint triads, if you rely on only the three colours then thats as far as you get, but if you go with intermediate stages of paint 1 mixed with paint 2 you'll get smoother results. (Ditto paints 2 & 3)
Personally I've not been a fan of premixed skin tones for a long time as mostly they are too pink. So I've been using a soft brown base mixing purples for shadow tones, off whites or grey for highlights depending on the "age" sometimes even adding yellows and or greens for additional touches dependant on the figure.