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Stop Chasing Techniques - Use Color Strings Instead | Zumikito Miniatures | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Stop Chasing Techniques - Use Color Strings Instead
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Summary
Core Theme
The "color string" technique simplifies miniature painting by pre-mixing a full gradient of colors, allowing painters to intuitively select and apply shades and highlights without adhering to strict layering rules.
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Have you ever tried to learn a painting
technique only to end up frustrated
instead? Well, after today, you won't
have to because all you need to replace
almost any technique is using color
strings. This sounds mysterious at
first, but it makes everything so much
easier. And I'm surprised that more
people don't talk about it as much even
though they use it. So, to show you how
it works, I'm going to use this
beautiful model from Kingdom Death,
which is today's sponsor, but more on
that later. Color strings will help you
render any surface of the model without
focusing on any particular technique.
You just simply paint. Essentially, what
you do is premix your entire gradient
from the darkest color to the lightest
color. And when you paint, you pick what
you need on the string and put it on
your miniature. using brighter colors
for the light and darker colors for the
shade. But Zumigito, how is this
different from classic layering? Well,
the thing is when layering, you apply
certain amount of layers starting from
the darkest and ending up with the
brightest. But with color strings, you
don't really care about that. You simply
pick and choose what you need on the
fly, which makes it way more flexible.
On this mini, I have various spots that
will make it obvious. But first, you got
to know where to paint lights and
shadows. To make it super easy, I've
determined the lights when I base coated
the model. Most of it is going to be
this bluish purple, which is also the
color of the imagined environment. And
then to make the light more directional,
I've sprayed yellow paint from the top
left. Of course, you can do this with a
zenithal highlight. It just won't be
that directional. [music]
Perfect. Now we have a better idea where
to paint lights and shadows. It'll be
mostly used for matte and semi matte
surfaces. So everything aside from the
hair and metallics. In general, it's a
good idea to start with the spots that
are not easily accessible. So let's
paint the legs. The most important part
is the preparation of the color string.
I start from the darkest color that will
be on the miniature and create a
gradient with the first midtone, which
is this kind of flesh color. However, we
really can't stop here because it
wouldn't be bright enough. So, adding
some light yellow and ivory is
absolutely crucial. As you see me create
the color string for skin, it's
important to mention that you can't be
afraid of using too much paint. Of
course, if you run out, you can add
more, but using the smallest drops of
paint simply won't work, so be generous.
The airbrushed yellow will guide me
forward, so maybe it's better to take a
photo of it, or you can simply remember
which parts are more exposed. I still
establish shadows and mid tones first,
but this is not in a linear way. If I
feel like some parts should be darker, I
darken them. If I need more midtones, I
can add that as well. If I feel like I
need more intermediate colors, I can
also add them very easily. Sure,
generally speaking, I still start from
dark and paint to the brightest colors,
but again, this is not in a linear way.
This is not step by step. Rather, it's
two steps forward and one step back.
Rinse and repeat. Since you already have
all the necessary colors on the wet
palette, it's [music] never a problem to
include more midtonones, blend the
gradient a bit more, or make it overall
lighter. We are not using lazes or
anything like that at this point. It
covers quite well and even if it's a bit
thicker. As long as you spread it
enough, it's not a problem. [music]
So the beauty of this approach is that
you don't have to apply gazillion glazes
to make it nice and smooth. And whenever
you want to adjust anything, [music]
just reach into your color string for
the color you want and apply it on your
miniature at all times. I am also trying
to wait for the paint to fully dry
before applying more to avoid texture.
Still, if it's not 100% dry, but you
spread it well enough, nothing terrible
will happen. As I am finishing this
particular gradient, I am using very
small brush strokes to refine it. The
beauty here is that you can move on
whenever you feel like it's good enough.
And even if you do decide to adjust
anything, it doesn't take too long
because we are using high coverage paint
Now, I still have plenty of stuff to
show you, but let's talk about where is
this miniature from. It is in fact from
Kingdom Death, which is today's sponsor.
If you watch this channel frequently,
you've seen me paint many of their
miniatures already. Maybe something like
this. Or this one. Or this one. Or this
one. Or this one. Or even this one. I
genuinely love Kingdom Death. Aside from
the models, the game itself is amazing,
and it's the only miniatures game I've
played for the past few years. I always
say that it's like a mix of Dark Souls,
DND, and Animal Crossing. If you know,
you know. Anyway, whether you like any
of their miniatures or you are
interested in the game itself, Kingdom
Death is running a Black Friday sale as
of the release of this video. So, check
the link in the description and see what
you like because this is the best
opportunity to pick up anything you
want. And thank you Kingdom Death for
sponsoring this video. Anyway, coming
back to the miniature, let's see more
examples how to use color strings. As
you might have already guessed, the term
color string comes from traditional art
where people are premixing their paints
in a string. The way I mix the paints on
my palette doesn't exactly look like a
string, but it's used in the exact same
way. Like this, I can visualize the
gradient and I already know what it look
like on the miniature. It's also worth
mentioning that using a bigger wet
palette is very important or you'll run
out of space. This time around, I start
with lighter layers. Again, if the paint
covers well, it doesn't really matter if
you start with light or shadows.
Whichever you choose, you'll have to add
midtones in between so it doesn't look
super harsh, unless you want that. This
entire time, it's the airbrushed light
sketch that guides me forward. So, just
like I said, it might be worth taking a
picture before painting. Again, to
really drive this point home, I prefer
using this technique over layering
because it's more natural. When
layering, you got to be precise about
how much of the surface you cover with
each of the layers. And by covering less
and less with every additional layer,
you [music] create a gradient. But if
you don't always know how much of the
surface to cover, then you're screwed.
However, if you paint with color strings
and have a good idea of the final
result, you can adjust anything you want
I don't really like thinning down my
paint too much until I need very fine
adjustments. At that point, I can take
some paint from my color string and thin
it down separately. Oh, and I forgot to
mention, if you spread the paint too
much, it'll start drying, even if it's
on your wet palette. So, to avoid it,
either use more paint or don't spread it
too much. And when it comes to those
fine adjustments, it's mostly about
picking the right color and applying it
on the right spot. Of course, if you got
to apply a glaze or two, that's also
fine. I just don't want you to spend
As I start painting gold, it underos the
same process, but with a caveat. There
are some parts that are so small that
you don't have to spend too much time on
rendering. So, some of these gold
accessories can be painted with a few
brush strokes and they look completely
fine. Still, just notice how I always go
back to my color string to pick whatever
I need. I usually teach layer by layer
because it's more methodical and
structured. But whenever I paint for
myself without recording, I do exactly
this quite frequently. So why not use it
On any given miniature, you'll have some
complex gradients and some simple ones.
An example of a complex gradient that
needs more colors in the color string is
gold. You've seen me use dark brown,
ochres, desaturated yellows, and ivory.
However, as I paint the gray part of
this tunic, it's super simple. I still
do use color string for that, but it's a
very simple one with mostly gray. So,
let's skip it for now. And let's paint
some more skin. If we go back to the
color string we've used for skin, you
might notice how many different colors
we use. We have some purples, brown,
rose, yellow, and ivory. It's really
when you see all those colors together
that you realize how complex something
like skin is, at least from color
standpoint. The lesson here is if your
result looks a bit flat or
uninteresting, maybe it's because you
only use one color and only add white.
In fact, if you only ever add white to
your colors to make them brighter,
obviously the outcome is desaturated. By
seeing the entire color string and using
it, you'll understand that using more
Most of the miniature follows the same
pattern. There are some exceptions like
the eyes for example. Here you don't
really have to use a color string
because each of the elements is composed
of a single color. So the outline is
black. The whites are gray actually and
everything can be done with a singular
color. This is because the details are
so small. There is no point in painting
a gradient. And even though there are
exceptions like the eyes, I would say
90% of the miniature can be painted
super easily with color strings and
simple paint application. This doesn't
mean you can't use glazes or filters or
whatever. I mean, use whatever the you
want. Glazes and filters might be useful
to shift the colors ever so slightly,
but most of the heavy lifting can be
done like this because it's faster and
easier. Color strings can take you a
long way when painting anything, be it
skin, fabric, or non-metallic metal.
However, just painting a nice gradient
is one part of the puzzle. So, if you do
want to push your mini painting to
another level and paint stuff like
nonmetallic metal, watch this video next
because it'll help you with that. And
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