0:01 Have you ever tried to learn a painting
0:03 technique only to end up frustrated
0:06 instead? Well, after today, you won't
0:08 have to because all you need to replace
0:12 almost any technique is using color
0:14 strings. This sounds mysterious at
0:16 first, but it makes everything so much
0:19 easier. And I'm surprised that more
0:22 people don't talk about it as much even
0:24 though they use it. So, to show you how
0:26 it works, I'm going to use this
0:28 beautiful model from Kingdom Death,
0:30 which is today's sponsor, but more on
0:33 that later. Color strings will help you
0:35 render any surface of the model without
0:38 focusing on any particular technique.
0:41 You just simply paint. Essentially, what
0:43 you do is premix your entire gradient
0:46 from the darkest color to the lightest
0:48 color. And when you paint, you pick what
0:51 you need on the string and put it on
0:53 your miniature. using brighter colors
0:55 for the light and darker colors for the
0:58 shade. But Zumigito, how is this
1:00 different from classic layering? Well,
1:03 the thing is when layering, you apply
1:06 certain amount of layers starting from
1:08 the darkest and ending up with the
1:12 brightest. But with color strings, you
1:14 don't really care about that. You simply
1:15 pick and choose what you need on the
1:18 fly, which makes it way more flexible.
1:21 On this mini, I have various spots that
1:24 will make it obvious. But first, you got
1:25 to know where to paint lights and
1:28 shadows. To make it super easy, I've
1:30 determined the lights when I base coated
1:32 the model. Most of it is going to be
1:35 this bluish purple, which is also the
1:38 color of the imagined environment. And
1:40 then to make the light more directional,
1:42 I've sprayed yellow paint from the top
1:44 left. Of course, you can do this with a
1:47 zenithal highlight. It just won't be
1:50 that directional. [music]
1:56 Perfect. Now we have a better idea where
1:58 to paint lights and shadows. It'll be
2:01 mostly used for matte and semi matte
2:04 surfaces. So everything aside from the
2:07 hair and metallics. In general, it's a
2:09 good idea to start with the spots that
2:12 are not easily accessible. So let's
2:14 paint the legs. The most important part
2:17 is the preparation of the color string.
2:19 I start from the darkest color that will
2:21 be on the miniature and create a
2:24 gradient with the first midtone, which
2:27 is this kind of flesh color. However, we
2:30 really can't stop here because it
2:32 wouldn't be bright enough. So, adding
2:34 some light yellow and ivory is
2:37 absolutely crucial. As you see me create
2:39 the color string for skin, it's
2:41 important to mention that you can't be
2:43 afraid of using too much paint. Of
2:45 course, if you run out, you can add
2:48 more, but using the smallest drops of
2:52 paint simply won't work, so be generous.
2:54 The airbrushed yellow will guide me
2:57 forward, so maybe it's better to take a
2:59 photo of it, or you can simply remember
3:02 which parts are more exposed. I still
3:05 establish shadows and mid tones first,
3:08 but this is not in a linear way. If I
3:11 feel like some parts should be darker, I
3:15 darken them. If I need more midtones, I
3:18 can add that as well. If I feel like I
3:20 need more intermediate colors, I can
3:23 also add them very easily. Sure,
3:25 generally speaking, I still start from
3:29 dark and paint to the brightest colors,
3:32 but again, this is not in a linear way.
3:35 This is not step by step. Rather, it's
3:37 two steps forward and one step back.
3:40 Rinse and repeat. Since you already have
3:41 all the necessary colors on the wet
3:43 palette, it's [music] never a problem to
3:46 include more midtonones, blend the
3:49 gradient a bit more, or make it overall
3:52 lighter. We are not using lazes or
3:54 anything like that at this point. It
3:57 covers quite well and even if it's a bit
3:59 thicker. As long as you spread it
4:02 enough, it's not a problem. [music]
4:20 So the beauty of this approach is that
4:23 you don't have to apply gazillion glazes
4:26 to make it nice and smooth. And whenever
4:27 you want to adjust anything, [music]
4:30 just reach into your color string for
4:32 the color you want and apply it on your
4:35 miniature at all times. I am also trying
4:38 to wait for the paint to fully dry
4:41 before applying more to avoid texture.
4:44 Still, if it's not 100% dry, but you
4:46 spread it well enough, nothing terrible
4:49 will happen. As I am finishing this
4:51 particular gradient, I am using very
4:54 small brush strokes to refine it. The
4:56 beauty here is that you can move on
4:59 whenever you feel like it's good enough.
5:01 And even if you do decide to adjust
5:04 anything, it doesn't take too long
5:07 because we are using high coverage paint
5:16 Now, I still have plenty of stuff to
5:17 show you, but let's talk about where is
5:20 this miniature from. It is in fact from
5:23 Kingdom Death, which is today's sponsor.
5:25 If you watch this channel frequently,
5:26 you've seen me paint many of their
5:29 miniatures already. Maybe something like
5:33 this. Or this one. Or this one. Or this
5:38 one. Or this one. Or even this one. I
5:40 genuinely love Kingdom Death. Aside from
5:43 the models, the game itself is amazing,
5:45 and it's the only miniatures game I've
5:47 played for the past few years. I always
5:50 say that it's like a mix of Dark Souls,
5:53 DND, and Animal Crossing. If you know,
5:55 you know. Anyway, whether you like any
5:56 of their miniatures or you are
5:59 interested in the game itself, Kingdom
6:02 Death is running a Black Friday sale as
6:04 of the release of this video. So, check
6:06 the link in the description and see what
6:08 you like because this is the best
6:10 opportunity to pick up anything you
6:12 want. And thank you Kingdom Death for
6:15 sponsoring this video. Anyway, coming
6:16 back to the miniature, let's see more
6:19 examples how to use color strings. As
6:21 you might have already guessed, the term
6:24 color string comes from traditional art
6:27 where people are premixing their paints
6:30 in a string. The way I mix the paints on
6:32 my palette doesn't exactly look like a
6:35 string, but it's used in the exact same
6:37 way. Like this, I can visualize the
6:40 gradient and I already know what it look
6:42 like on the miniature. It's also worth
6:44 mentioning that using a bigger wet
6:48 palette is very important or you'll run
6:50 out of space. This time around, I start
6:53 with lighter layers. Again, if the paint
6:56 covers well, it doesn't really matter if
6:58 you start with light or shadows.
7:00 Whichever you choose, you'll have to add
7:03 midtones in between so it doesn't look
7:07 super harsh, unless you want that. This
7:09 entire time, it's the airbrushed light
7:11 sketch that guides me forward. So, just
7:13 like I said, it might be worth taking a
7:16 picture before painting. Again, to
7:19 really drive this point home, I prefer
7:21 using this technique over layering
7:24 because it's more natural. When
7:26 layering, you got to be precise about
7:28 how much of the surface you cover with
7:31 each of the layers. And by covering less
7:33 and less with every additional layer,
7:35 you [music] create a gradient. But if
7:37 you don't always know how much of the
7:41 surface to cover, then you're screwed.
7:43 However, if you paint with color strings
7:45 and have a good idea of the final
7:48 result, you can adjust anything you want
8:02 I don't really like thinning down my
8:05 paint too much until I need very fine
8:07 adjustments. At that point, I can take
8:10 some paint from my color string and thin
8:12 it down separately. Oh, and I forgot to
8:14 mention, if you spread the paint too
8:17 much, it'll start drying, even if it's
8:19 on your wet palette. So, to avoid it,
8:23 either use more paint or don't spread it
8:25 too much. And when it comes to those
8:28 fine adjustments, it's mostly about
8:30 picking the right color and applying it
8:32 on the right spot. Of course, if you got
8:35 to apply a glaze or two, that's also
8:37 fine. I just don't want you to spend
8:48 As I start painting gold, it underos the
8:52 same process, but with a caveat. There
8:54 are some parts that are so small that
8:56 you don't have to spend too much time on
8:58 rendering. So, some of these gold
9:00 accessories can be painted with a few
9:03 brush strokes and they look completely
9:06 fine. Still, just notice how I always go
9:08 back to my color string to pick whatever
9:11 I need. I usually teach layer by layer
9:15 because it's more methodical and
9:17 structured. But whenever I paint for
9:20 myself without recording, I do exactly
9:24 this quite frequently. So why not use it
9:44 On any given miniature, you'll have some
9:48 complex gradients and some simple ones.
9:50 An example of a complex gradient that
9:52 needs more colors in the color string is
9:55 gold. You've seen me use dark brown,
9:59 ochres, desaturated yellows, and ivory.
10:01 However, as I paint the gray part of
10:04 this tunic, it's super simple. I still
10:07 do use color string for that, but it's a
10:10 very simple one with mostly gray. So,
10:12 let's skip it for now. And let's paint
10:14 some more skin. If we go back to the
10:16 color string we've used for skin, you
10:18 might notice how many different colors
10:21 we use. We have some purples, brown,
10:24 rose, yellow, and ivory. It's really
10:26 when you see all those colors together
10:29 that you realize how complex something
10:32 like skin is, at least from color
10:35 standpoint. The lesson here is if your
10:37 result looks a bit flat or
10:39 uninteresting, maybe it's because you
10:43 only use one color and only add white.
10:46 In fact, if you only ever add white to
10:48 your colors to make them brighter,
10:51 obviously the outcome is desaturated. By
10:53 seeing the entire color string and using
10:55 it, you'll understand that using more
11:13 Most of the miniature follows the same
11:16 pattern. There are some exceptions like
11:19 the eyes for example. Here you don't
11:21 really have to use a color string
11:23 because each of the elements is composed
11:26 of a single color. So the outline is
11:30 black. The whites are gray actually and
11:32 everything can be done with a singular
11:35 color. This is because the details are
11:38 so small. There is no point in painting
11:40 a gradient. And even though there are
11:42 exceptions like the eyes, I would say
11:45 90% of the miniature can be painted
11:48 super easily with color strings and
11:50 simple paint application. This doesn't
11:53 mean you can't use glazes or filters or
11:57 whatever. I mean, use whatever the you
11:59 want. Glazes and filters might be useful
12:02 to shift the colors ever so slightly,
12:04 but most of the heavy lifting can be
12:07 done like this because it's faster and
12:10 easier. Color strings can take you a
12:13 long way when painting anything, be it
12:16 skin, fabric, or non-metallic metal.
12:18 However, just painting a nice gradient
12:21 is one part of the puzzle. So, if you do
12:23 want to push your mini painting to
12:25 another level and paint stuff like
12:28 nonmetallic metal, watch this video next
12:30 because it'll help you with that. And
