THE FOUR CS

By Joe Sleboda

OF PAINTING

Hello, fellow hobby-friends! I am

here today to talk to you about a
way to cure what ails you, help
you get a date, and put hair on
your chest. Follow my advice for a
brighter, better tomorrow that will
include a better job, a faster car,
and more money in your pocket.
What I have for you is new, its
great, and it can be yours today!
Ok, not really. Of all that baloney in the
preceding paragraph, the only thing that
is true is that what were going to cover
in this article can be yours to use today.

color

This hobby of ours, that of using paint to

depict little representations of warriors
and conflicts, has been around for a long
time. From the cave paintings in Lascaux
to the basements, garages, and work
rooms of our homes and apartments,
people like us have been putting finger or
brush to stone/metal/plastic for thousands
of years. For a long time there was not
much change other than the jump off of
the canvas (or stone wall) to a physical
model. Somewhat recently, geologically
speaking, refinement to the hobby of
painting toy soldiers for war games has
seen a bit of a revolution. Just like how

Egyptian art took thousands of years to

change appreciably, and then suddenly
we had Picasso, Pollock, and Warhol, so
too has miniature painting undergone a
revolution. We used to use enamel paints,
rough blocks of color, and a bit of dirt
to bring our little armies to life. That
worked for a very long time. Now we see
new-fangled techniques like non-metallic
metallics, object source lighting, and
zenithal highlighting. Companies sell
us paints with a higher pigment density,
paints in color-grouped sets to speed up
highlighting and shading, jars of ink, cans
of furniture wax re-branded as something
called dip, and all sorts of other
products aimed at making us better (or in
some cases, simply faster) painters.
Well, Im here to say that you dont really
need to latch on to the newest fashionable
trend to be a better painter. Throughout

Blue and purple are very close

to each other on the color
wheel, making for a slightly
jarring result, particularly
with these saturated examples.
Red and green, however, work
well together as they are opposite
each other on the color wheel.
The use of a muted tone for one
of the colors helps too.

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the evolution of our hobby, right up

to today, with old materials and new,
there are some basic concepts that have
remained true. Thats what I am writing
about today. These are things I have been
asked about, talked about, and written
about for years. Ive been painting toy
soldiers for more than 26 years now, and
these things are as true today as they were
when I started. I refer to this set of ideas
as the Four Cs.
Well explore each C in detail, but
heres a summary:
COLOR - Choosing the wrong colors
can destroy an otherwise well-executed
paint job.
COMPOSITION - Deciding where to
place those colors on a model will have a
huge impact on how viewers take in the
overall effect of your work.

composittion
CONTRAST - Even within simple color
selection, finding just the right interplay
between light and dark, highlight and
shadow, peanut butter and jelly (ok,
not really) can create a striking effect.
Get this wrong and see an otherwise
remarkable paint job turn into...blah.
CORRECTION - I refer to miniature
painting as the fine art of correction for
a reason. Even the best of us will make
the occasional (or not so occasional as we
age and our hands start to shake) mistake.
The only real, unforgivable, mistake is to
not correct them.
Those are the general ideas. Now its
time to go through each one and put some
flesh on those bones. In collaboration
with miniature painter Dave Taylor (also
the U.S. Editor of this august rag), I will
explain each of my Four Cs through the
use of painted examples. Each example
will show what happens when one of the
Four Cs gets ignored. Think of it as our
version of What Not To Wear (What
Not To Paint) only with a subject we
actually care about, way less advertising,
and (marginally) less arrogance.
Here we go....
Thanks to the good people at Warlord
Games, Gripping Beast, and Perry
Miniatures we have a nice variety of
models as the subjects of our painting
attentions. One photo in each case is
what that model should look like when
painted with all the correct decisions
made. Theres something about him that
just looks right. The colors dont make
you want to avert your gaze. Your eye
does not wander off the model. You are
able to pick out the distinct areas of the

This lone splash of bright red

blood draws the eye away from
the rest of the model. These muted
blood splashes, meanwhile, form a
triangle that frames the models face

Poor composition choice

has resulted in a big mass
of yellow: the right boot,
pants, and belt.
Good choices mean that
large areas are broken up,
but linked to other areas of
the model: yellow detailing
links the pants and tunic,
bone detailing links the
pants and shield, blue
detailing links the shield
and the arm.

model and are not distracted by smears,

runs, and other flaws in the work. Again,
he just looks right. The other photo in
each section was deliberately painted
ignoring one of our Cs (very much on
purpose - Dave is much better than these
abominations show, as you can see in the
good versions).
So, what if we messed with our first
C - the color choices - using one of the
Celts from Warlord Games? Instead of
the sensible colors Dave chose for the
good example, what if his pants were
purple and his tunic slapped our faces
with a nice light blue? Can you imagine
the things his fellow warriors would say
about him? Ha! Bran spent too much
time in Gaul, I think! That might be the
kindest thing. Take a look for yourself.
Color choices generally go wrong in two
ways. The painter either uses colors that
do not work well together or he uses too
many colors.
I recommend a limit of three main colors
for a model. You can do bits and bobs
like belts and ropes in neutral colors and
not think of these as additional color
choices. Im talking about things like
shields, shirts, kilts and other major
block areas. Dont make each of these
a different color and then introduce more
colors with brightly-dyed hair, tattoos,
pouches, scabbards, or whatever else.
Give your viewer two or three main
colors to process. These models are quite
small. Using too many colors will have
only one effect - scattering the focus of
the viewer. If your goal is to camouflage
your warrior so he or she can blend into
a circus diorama, then great. Otherwise,
keep it under control.

Once you limit your number of colors,

you are left choosing which colors to use.
For many historical periods, the choices
are already made for you in the form of
uniforms and the like. For the times when
you can choose, such as with our Celt,
you get to be creative. Now, I know that
not everyone has a keen artistic eye. The
good news is that you dont have to have
one to pull off a great scheme. Two things
can guide you in your selection: the color
wheel and big-business marketing.
There are books on color theory out
there, most of which are written by
learned men and women with letters
after their names and huge student loan
payments. If you want to understand the
science of color theory, check some of
those out. For our purposes, all we have
to know is that colors opposite each other
on a color wheel generally look good
together. Yes, this is why Christmas is so
successful - it has good colors (nothing to
do with tradition, family, consumerism,
and whatnot, noooo...). Red and green
are great together. So are blue/orange and
yellow/purple pairings (dark chocolate
and a fine red zin are another great
pairing). Once you expand beyond a
basic six-color version of the color wheel
you start to see more great combinations.
Colors next to each other on the wheel
are too similar (in fact, they share the
same pigments - sort of like kissingcousins), which makes them stand out
against each other less and just kind of
mush together. Mush is for orphans. Art
is for wargamers. Make art, not mush.
There is, as previously mentioned,
another way to pick colors other than a
color wheel. This other way is by taking

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advantage of the vast marketing budgets

of corporations around the world.
Products that look better than others
sell better than others. Comic book
characters, video game models, and
sports teams are often given uniforms
that have stunning visual appeal. Its not
a surefire method of color selection, to
be sure, but it is a good guide. Theres a
good chance that the character or team
that you think looks fantastic has had
its look influenced by color selections
that will appeal to viewers. Let those
marketing dollars work for you!
Alright then, youve got your colors,
but what do you do with them? Its not
enough to randomly splash your choices
around and hope for a good result. Never
hope. Plan. You have to pay attention to
where your colors run. This is where C
number two comes in - Composition.
Take a look at Daves crazy, messed up,
freak - creatively named Celt #2. Mr
Taylor had to work really hard to mess up
a guy this badly. The main two problems
with the color placement choices on this
model are: grouping, and the Ooh, ooh,
over there effect.

contrast

Grouping refers to the distribution of

colors over the model. It does little good
to pick good colors, say yellow and
purple, and then arrange them poorly. In
Daves nasty, nasty, nasty version of this
Celt, he has put the colors on the model
seemingly at random. One boot, his belt
and his pants are yellow and the tunic is
purple*. The sections of the model are
at the same time broken up too clearly
and not interesting at all. Theres no
cohesion, no plan - nothing to keep the

eye interested. This is not the case in the

well-painted model. Not only are the
boots and belt a sensible neutral color,
but the yellow of the pants is carried
up into the purple of the shirt by a bit
of freehand work. This is really great
technique on Daves part. Even models
without several distinct components can
spread the color-love around with a bit
of freehand. Having yellow up high and
down low on the model, balanced by a
heavier color in the center, the eye is
less inclined to wander or to settle on just
one area. The viewer (you!) takes in the
work as a whole. Much better.
The other problem with the sad little Celt
is the bright, garish blood on his spear
tip. Yes, we get it. It can be fun to add
some flair that says Grr! Im a fierce and
bloodthirsty warrior! In this case, all it
does is say Ooo! Look! Up here! No, no,
dont look at me, look at my spear tip...
waaaay up there! Since there is no other
red on the model, and red is a particularly
eye-catching color, sticking a single
splash of red far away from the center
mass of the model draws the viewers eye
to that single point and off of the model
as a whole. By contrast, the good Celt has
no such distraction and is consequently a
much more successful paint job.
The Saxon from Gripping Beast is
a great model to use for the Contrast
example. He has chainmail, a metal
helmet, straps - all sorts of generally
greyish sections that dont usually get
a lot of colors. In order to create visual
appeal, careful use of contrast is a must.
Begin by looking at Wulstan the Saxon.
In addition to his metal sections and

straps, he has had his tunic painted a

basic grey. The wood of his spear is a
weathered grey-brown. This scabbard
is non-descript. The leggings look like
twenty year old hospital gauze. This
model just seems flat.
However, standing next to him we see
what can be done, even with limited areas
for color application, to make a model
really stand out. See how Dave has opted
for a lighter wood for the spear, a lighter
leather for the scabbard, and more depth
in his leggings (by adding highlights).
These alone would be enough to help,
but Dave has not stopped there. By going
with a dark color for the moustache,
he has not only tied in the darker tones
of the pants and the boots, but he has
broken up the face/neckline and torso/
hips, creating more sections of the model
that gain individual attention. Do note,
though, that his color choice and his
composition with those colors keep your
eye on the complete model rather than
each of the sections. Its not easy to make
models that are mostly wood, leather, and
armor have some visual pop, but Daves
done it by keeping the Cs in mind. You
can as well.
Finally, we come to a personal favorite Correction. I meant what I wrote earlier
about shaking hands. I have been painting
for more than 26 years. My eyes and
hands are not what they used to be, but
I love my hobby far too much to give
up on it. Despite my love, I make lots of
mistakes. As easy as it would be to ignore
them and move on to my next figure,
it is my dedication to Correction that
keeps my models looking even remotely
passable as I meander off into my dotage.

Contrast is one of the easiest

things to mess up. Darker
colors are generally quicker to
paint as they usually have better
coverage. Neutral colors (browns
and greys mostly) can also tend to
have very similar tonal qualities.

As you can see, most of the

colors chosen for the model
on the right were used on the
model on the left. The model
on the right, however, has
had contrasting tones applied
alternately across the model.
There is a deliberate effort to
put light next to dark or midtones, and dark tones next to
mid- or light tones, etc.

Correction
Dave has been kind enough to make a
great number of obvious mistakes while
painting the Napoleonic French soldier
from Perry Miniatures. Hopefully
you can easily spot most of them. From
the running mascara of the eyes, to the
completely missing the pom-pom on
the fellows shako, the mistakes on this
model are easy to spot.
If you can get past the flak-storm of
mistakes on the model, you will see that
it is otherwise the same as the soldier
who knows that pride in uniform is part
of a soldiers duty. The color selection
is the same, as you would expect from
a toy soldier selected from a uniformed
historical force. The composition and
contrast displayed in the execution of
the painting are both virtually identical.
The only difference is the time spent
correcting.
The well-painted soldier has no running
makeup, no smears of shading washes
that were not covered by mid-tones and
highlights, no highlights (speaking of
which) that missed and hit a shadow area,
and so on. It also has no areas which were
just plain missed. Though technically not
correction as such, I count missed areas
as things to be corrected just the same.
Honestly, theres not much to say here.
Its not about an artistic eye, color
theory or hard to pronounce terms like
chiaroscuro. Its just taking the time
while painting to be neat and having
enough pride in ones work to go back
and fix the things that got messed up
along the way.
I think the key is to not get discouraged
when you make a mistake in painting.
Know that you can go back and fix it.

Perhaps the most important C to

practice, particularly if your chosen
period leaves you with little freedom
for painting uniforms (ie. the colors
are assigned by history).
As Joe says in the article, he refers to
miniature painting as the fine art of
correction. Initially Correction will
seem like the most time-consuming
aspect of painting. With more and
more practice and attention paid
to where you brush is going, you
can cut down on the number of
mistakes you make, therefore
reducing the number of corrections
you need to make. Over time (and an
army project) this will increase not
only your painting speed but, more
importantly, also the quality of your
finished models.

Have a plan. Some people like to paint

darker colors first, some last. Some like
to start with areas closer to the naked
flesh, others...not so much. Find a method
that works for you and be willing suffer
minor setbacks, knowing that you plan
to fix them later. Its better to expect the
little mistakes and be ready to fix them
than to expect perfection and be put off
when the smallest of things goes wrong
(and make no mistake - or do, I suppose!
- these little guys are small, so you will
miss your mark now and then).
As you can see, The Four Cs of Painting
Toy Soldiers are pretty basic. Its not
hard to keep them in mind while working
on your armies. Whether you plan to just
play in your basement or to take your
force to a tournament where painting
might be scored as part of determining
who wins, if you apply the Four Cs your
results will set you apart.

Im always glad to talk to fellow figure

painters. This little hobby of ours is like
the Force - it surrounds us, penetrates us
and combines us. Its the shared wisdom
and experiences of our fellows that keeps
us growing and having fun. None of us
has all the answers, but we should all be
willing to listen to others. To that end, if
you have input or questions, Id love to
hear them. You can reach me at:

[email protected]
* A note on muted tones. While I refer to
colors by common names like purple and
yellow, keep in mind that this does not have to
mean highly saturated, pure tones. In fact, with
many historical eras or cultures, colors will be
significantly less brilliant than one might find
in the looms during the Age of Chivalry. Just
because we call a color purple it doesnt
mean it has to scream Look at me! Im a
Barney the Dinosaur!

...and there you have it! Through the use of a variety of miniatures weve
shown you the four most important aspects when it comes to planning out
and executing any painting project you are about to embark on. Please
remember too, that the techniques can be applied to any period, color
scheme, uniform, or miniature range you might want to tackle. Have fun!

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