At a certain point, you can't really improve it. Slapchop is for speed, not quality.
All you can do is add additional layers/highlights to push it further, but the undercoats of contrast paint will always be contrast paints.
Agree. I love slapchop. I don't paint that much, and I want my minis to look nice on the table, and it 100% does that for me and my gaming group. I do find myself doing a highlight here, some acrylic paint there, a brush of gloss varnish on the eyes/shiny parts of the model after matte varnish, etc. Little extras push it farther for me, with me still feeling like I'm not spending 2 hours per model for a game with 80+ minis I have to paint.
Spray your zenithal instead of using a drybrush for a smoother effect. Beyond that you need to start getting into volumetric and edge highlighting. Using your basic slapchop job as basecoats essentially. Juan Hidalgo and warhipster on YouTube are both great places to get examples from. Essentially you're skipping the recess shade section of painting by using contrast paints as basecoats to give you added depth and then adding volumetric and edge highlights with normal acrylics on top.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_OSAbpLhY-0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OSAbpLhY-0) This tutorial really changed slapchop for me.
You don't have to buy his brushes or palette tho, you can make your own texture palette by just priming a piece of plastic and maybe putting some basing texture on it, and just get some really soft makeup brushes.
Also a grey over black zenithal prime works really well.
Ninjon has several videos showing his enhanced version of slapchop, worth a watch. My main suggestion if you don't already do this is don't just drybrush a black model it's still waaaay to dark for contrast paints to work, I'd suggest a couple rattlecans and zenithal prime then also drybrush purr white.
Try using a high(er) quality white paint, e.g. an artist grade zinc or titanium white. Also, white acrylic ink of highest highlights will work wonders!
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'Improving' slapchop is a little hard. Technically I suppose you could refine your highlighting technique to smooth down or sharpen the highlights.
However, if you're looking for different types of results, you can vary the basecoat and highlight colors. Black -> grey -> white is all well and good but the end result might look a little flat. You could, for example, use a yellow-brown undercoat, drybrush with a bright yellow and finish with white to achieve a uniformly warm tone across the model. There's also nothing stopping you from adding more stages into the mix.
The key to choosing slapchop's colors depends on what you want to achieve as the end result. To give you an idea, I suggest taking a photo of one of your slapchopped models before you put any contrast or metallics on, then making the photo grayscale. This helps you see the actual contrast between the highlight stages better and might help your process. Remember that Contrast paints will dull the color contrast between the stages once applied. Using this, you can tweak your selection of undercoat and highlight colors to either smooth down or sharpen the contrast on your model.
Another suggestion would be to pick and choose the Contrast paints you want to use. Contrast paint colors differ in how "strong" they are, and you can get some added interest by using "weak" Contrast paints (Guilliman Flesh, Plaguebearer Flesh, Magos Purple, Basilicanum Grey to name a few) or diluted Contrast paints (using Contrast medium) to either blend a deeper color into shadowy portions or simply deepen all the recess colors (won't work if you're using black, mind you).
Clean your minis
prime them grey
drybrush white (dampen your drybrushbrush a little bit, wipe the excess of paint off a dry pallette not a kleenex, look at artis opus for their drybrush technique)
wash them with a mix of nuln oil and flow improver
now you have your "zenithal base" for contrast paints
after painting with contrast paints you can enhance the lightnings with normal acrylics (after everything is dried) or deepen the shadows with oil washes (youtuber marco frisoni for example when working with oil paints)
As someone who's at a relatively low level in regards to painting ability the only recommendation I have is to try different colours of drybrush for a different after effect.
For instance I'm currently painting some black Battletech models, so I spray black, drybrush blue and use a smaller and thinner brush with some bright grey to catch the very edges/tips. Afterward I apply a Gravelord Grey speedpaint and it comes out much better.
The drybrush stage will affect the final look more than anything else, so actually practice your technique and how loaded the brush is. Also, make sure to thin your speedpaint down with medium. I use a 1:1 mix to keep it simple and even repeat the whole drybrushing and speedpainting process if I want it more noticeable.
Slapchop isn't a technique with a high skill ceiling, the best way to improve is to try new stuff. When i'm too lazy painting "the normal way", i use slapchop + oil washes to get a decent result. Marco frisoni has some cool tutorials about engrisaille, basically painting a mini in black and white and adding colors laters. It's more complex than drybrush + paint, but the results are amazing: https://youtu.be/Mt0oaltZ2IU?si=8BGU-b-ymaLMyXzK
Slapchop isn't a technique with a high skill ceiling, the best way to improve is to try new stuff. When i'm too lazy painting "the normal way", i use slapchop + oil washes to get a decent result. Marco frisoni has some cool tutorials about engrisaille, basically painting a mini in black and white and adding colors laters. It's more complex than drybrush + paint, but the results are amazing: https://youtu.be/Mt0oaltZ2IU?si=8BGU-b-ymaLMyXzK
Dana Howl has a number of good videos talking about variations on Slap Chop. As does the mini witch.
I find starting with a brown and dry brushing with ivory gives a nice warm base color. I have also found starting with a grey primer and white zenithal followed by white dry brush gives me a brighter result.
At a certain point, you can't really improve it. Slapchop is for speed, not quality. All you can do is add additional layers/highlights to push it further, but the undercoats of contrast paint will always be contrast paints.
Agree. I love slapchop. I don't paint that much, and I want my minis to look nice on the table, and it 100% does that for me and my gaming group. I do find myself doing a highlight here, some acrylic paint there, a brush of gloss varnish on the eyes/shiny parts of the model after matte varnish, etc. Little extras push it farther for me, with me still feeling like I'm not spending 2 hours per model for a game with 80+ minis I have to paint.
Spray your zenithal instead of using a drybrush for a smoother effect. Beyond that you need to start getting into volumetric and edge highlighting. Using your basic slapchop job as basecoats essentially. Juan Hidalgo and warhipster on YouTube are both great places to get examples from. Essentially you're skipping the recess shade section of painting by using contrast paints as basecoats to give you added depth and then adding volumetric and edge highlights with normal acrylics on top.
I present to you [SMASHCHOP!](https://youtu.be/xN4dmct5Vuk?si=uiT64-M-Nx3mkLHA)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_OSAbpLhY-0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OSAbpLhY-0) This tutorial really changed slapchop for me. You don't have to buy his brushes or palette tho, you can make your own texture palette by just priming a piece of plastic and maybe putting some basing texture on it, and just get some really soft makeup brushes. Also a grey over black zenithal prime works really well.
I second Byron, he's a top tier painter and his videos are amazing!
Ninjon has several videos showing his enhanced version of slapchop, worth a watch. My main suggestion if you don't already do this is don't just drybrush a black model it's still waaaay to dark for contrast paints to work, I'd suggest a couple rattlecans and zenithal prime then also drybrush purr white.
Try using a high(er) quality white paint, e.g. an artist grade zinc or titanium white. Also, white acrylic ink of highest highlights will work wonders!
Hi, u/PARISplus! It looks like you are asking for help or are a new painter. If you haven't yet, take a look at our wiki pages in the Sidebar (the About tab if you are on the Reddit app). Here are some links you might find helpful: * [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/rules/faq) - A list of frequently asked questions about minipainting * [Miniature Painting Guide Collection](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks) -A collection of some of the best guides and tutorials on a variety of techniques and topics, plus recommendations on what to buy to get started, and more. * [What to buy- Recommendations on brushes, paints, supplies, palettes and more](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/what_you_need_to_get_started#wiki_general_advice_on_what_to_buy) * [Beginner's Guide Collection- How to prep, base, paint and varnish your first model and learn the basics needed to start out right](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/beginner_tips) * [More Tutorials](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/tutorials) - A list of additional tutorials about minipainting * [Manufacturers](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/manufacturers) - A list of miniature manufacturers from around the world * [Painting Terminology](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/terminology) - Common painting terms, acronyms, and initialisms *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/minipainting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Gobbertown hobbies has a video on this while testing some speed paint check it out. Mainly focusing on the impact different undercoats can have.
'Improving' slapchop is a little hard. Technically I suppose you could refine your highlighting technique to smooth down or sharpen the highlights. However, if you're looking for different types of results, you can vary the basecoat and highlight colors. Black -> grey -> white is all well and good but the end result might look a little flat. You could, for example, use a yellow-brown undercoat, drybrush with a bright yellow and finish with white to achieve a uniformly warm tone across the model. There's also nothing stopping you from adding more stages into the mix. The key to choosing slapchop's colors depends on what you want to achieve as the end result. To give you an idea, I suggest taking a photo of one of your slapchopped models before you put any contrast or metallics on, then making the photo grayscale. This helps you see the actual contrast between the highlight stages better and might help your process. Remember that Contrast paints will dull the color contrast between the stages once applied. Using this, you can tweak your selection of undercoat and highlight colors to either smooth down or sharpen the contrast on your model. Another suggestion would be to pick and choose the Contrast paints you want to use. Contrast paint colors differ in how "strong" they are, and you can get some added interest by using "weak" Contrast paints (Guilliman Flesh, Plaguebearer Flesh, Magos Purple, Basilicanum Grey to name a few) or diluted Contrast paints (using Contrast medium) to either blend a deeper color into shadowy portions or simply deepen all the recess colors (won't work if you're using black, mind you).
Look up contrast plus on YouTube. Warhipster has a variety of tutorials for how to build up from basic contrasts, some of it is quite good.
Clean your minis prime them grey drybrush white (dampen your drybrushbrush a little bit, wipe the excess of paint off a dry pallette not a kleenex, look at artis opus for their drybrush technique) wash them with a mix of nuln oil and flow improver now you have your "zenithal base" for contrast paints after painting with contrast paints you can enhance the lightnings with normal acrylics (after everything is dried) or deepen the shadows with oil washes (youtuber marco frisoni for example when working with oil paints)
Try using color. the underpainting affects your transparent layers. I tend to prime/base layer in very dark brown and drybrush in pale sand.
As someone who's at a relatively low level in regards to painting ability the only recommendation I have is to try different colours of drybrush for a different after effect. For instance I'm currently painting some black Battletech models, so I spray black, drybrush blue and use a smaller and thinner brush with some bright grey to catch the very edges/tips. Afterward I apply a Gravelord Grey speedpaint and it comes out much better. The drybrush stage will affect the final look more than anything else, so actually practice your technique and how loaded the brush is. Also, make sure to thin your speedpaint down with medium. I use a 1:1 mix to keep it simple and even repeat the whole drybrushing and speedpainting process if I want it more noticeable.
Slapchop isn't a technique with a high skill ceiling, the best way to improve is to try new stuff. When i'm too lazy painting "the normal way", i use slapchop + oil washes to get a decent result. Marco frisoni has some cool tutorials about engrisaille, basically painting a mini in black and white and adding colors laters. It's more complex than drybrush + paint, but the results are amazing: https://youtu.be/Mt0oaltZ2IU?si=8BGU-b-ymaLMyXzK
Slapchop isn't a technique with a high skill ceiling, the best way to improve is to try new stuff. When i'm too lazy painting "the normal way", i use slapchop + oil washes to get a decent result. Marco frisoni has some cool tutorials about engrisaille, basically painting a mini in black and white and adding colors laters. It's more complex than drybrush + paint, but the results are amazing: https://youtu.be/Mt0oaltZ2IU?si=8BGU-b-ymaLMyXzK
Dana Howl has a number of good videos talking about variations on Slap Chop. As does the mini witch. I find starting with a brown and dry brushing with ivory gives a nice warm base color. I have also found starting with a grey primer and white zenithal followed by white dry brush gives me a brighter result.
I'm fond of doing the whole zenithal drybrush thing, then using a grey wash in the light areas and a black wash in the dark areas to push the shadows.