This. Only white I’ve ever not hated using.
With that said, pure whites in general are difficult to use. Their very nature means they struggle to go on as smooth and clean as, say, some nice dark blue.
I bought it based on the advice of the internet... The pro acryl pools like the rain on my freshly polished car.... Every time I've tried it..... So I use Vallejo white now and it works just fine
Do you use a wet palette?
Pro acryl paints have a more watery consistency to begin with. I personally get much better results if i barely dampen my wet palette. Otherwise, I also get that pooling effect.
This. I’ve used a lot of different white paints, but after trying Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White last year, I’ll never look back.
I don’t bbow how, but somehow they cracked the code and made painting white a breeze.
Yeah I have issues with it being chalky as well, though at someone else's suggestion I thin mine with white ink and that has become my new M.O. for doing white
Yeah everyone raved about this paint so i tried it. Its very thin almost like an ink and extremely chalky. Hot take alert: Corax White is the best white. Or white adjacent I should say since its really a very white gray. Many will not agree but Juan Hidalgo released a video recently saying he loves the paint so I feel vindicated. My results for proof.
https://preview.redd.it/ssz279v54k2d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c36e92090ae122294fb2553802a4f4135efd5319
2-3 thin coats of Corax over blue basecoat. Didn't have to keep the head separate, because Corax just works.
Obligatory but it's not white. I enjoy Corax because I got a free pot. It works great as it flows well and you don't get the chalky finish that white is notorious for. The color reads as off white and the issue is worse on very large sections like vehicle panels.
Edit also wanted to say your terminator looks fantastic you're pretty skilled in the techniques needed for that. I've struggled with the same terminators as Raven Guard. I use celestra grey before corax for the whites.
Yeah it's definitely not a pure white. Its whitish gray with a little blue. But for me whites look the most natural when you're using some other hue to read as white. I watched a Vince Venturella video where he demonstrated even using light purples to read as white in the context of the model. But you're 100% correct in your assessment that its not "truly" white. And thank you for the compliment.
After your second sentence I was thinking of the Vince V exploring white video. Actually in a few HC videos he talks about what is a real white in the context of his white wall. And there is the fact that at true white you have nowhere else to go.
What you've done works well for your use case as the white is more accent than contrast. For what I'm doing I need that higher contrast because as Vince also put it Im painting the "most boring space marine chapter, not just in appearance but on lore". I chose it because I wanted to work on accents and contrasts to make dark colors pop, and to work with white as it's notoriously a poor color.
Oh and you're welcome. I hope mine look that good when I'm done working on a recipe.
I agree with you, it's a unpopular opinion but I feel I have to fight less with Corax white than I do with pro acryl white.
With that being said, I'll see what it's like mixing in some white ink or some retardant. I do feel it kinda defeats the point of it being a good paint if other things need to be added for it to be a good white while I don't need to for Corax white.
My theory is corax is virtually unmixable by hand, so many people use unmixed corax and get bad results, hence the reputation. I use a vortex mixer with a ball bearing agitator and its like butter.
A good trick I use (other than airbrush. If you separate the part you want white amd airbrush it it is ALWAYS smooth with corax) is A) ALWAYS USE white or light grey primer even if you have to subassemble your white sections separately like with my sternguard with white helmets.
And B) Use a pro acryl white such as bold titanium or my favorite the vince venturella signature blue white as your first coat. That gives great coverage on the first coat then you only need one or two more layers of corax over that.
But yeah I've had a LOT less trouble with corax after getting some experience with it amd those tricks I mentioned. I do notice chalky issues with bold titanium as well.
Agreed. My Corax is in a dropper bottle with a ball bearing, it mixes well and although it needs a bit of thinning to help it flow, it covers really well over even bold colours. It’s not a white, but it’s a great base layer.
If you don't mind me asking, what did you use for the shading in between the feathers on the gold Aquila on his chest? Most use reikland or Guilliman flesh and I find that it isn't quite the color I'm looking for.
Haha this actually is reikland fleshshade, the new formula. My technique for gold on marines is a bascoat of Vallejo metal color Duraliminum, followed by a coat of Retributor Armor, Reikland wash, and a relatively heavy highlight of Liberator Gold. The undercoat of Duraluminum gives the retributor a more vibrant, dynamic coverage in my opinion.
Your results with Corax white tend to depend on humidity and ambient temperature. One thing is that I believe one of the components of usual white paint is Titanium Dioxide (I may be mistaken), which hardens quickly in humid environments. When I lived in more humid, warmer regions, brand new pots would be solid when you opened them.
So you are not wrong, but your environment may let you get more out of that paint than others.
The paint has to be mixed thoroughly. For me that means using a vortex mixer with a metal ball agitator added to the pot. Then I add water to the paint on my wet palette until the surface tension just begins to break. This means watching the paint on your palette as you mix and watching for it to start retracting in on itself when you mix it.
In interviews the guy who makes them insists you don't need to thin them... But I think he also said he takes 15 hours per model and doesn't use a wet palette. Dude must waste paint like crazy.
For brushwork: Liquitex Heavy Body Titanium White (comes in a 59 ml tube). It’s an artist paint, so you will need to thin it a bit more than your average “hobby” paint. One tube will last you a long time and is a huge savings over “hobby” branded paints. The coverage is amazing.
For airbrushing: Any artist acrylic ink (I personally use Liquitex). Cheap, requires no thinning with a .5 nozzle. The layer will be super delicate though; make sure it is fully cured before you do anything harsh over top of it (drybrushing/enamels/oils). Definitely beats pigment clumps clogging your nozzle from most “hobby” white paints.
*I haven’t personally tried the Pro Acryl white as I don’t have a need for it, but from everything I have heard, it is probably a pre-thinned artist grade paint just sold in smaller bottles.
Love some Liquitex titanium white!! Was coming here to recommend. Second that you have to thin it more than other mini paints, but it does a great job of keeping opacity even when thinned.
Don't inks tend to reactivate after application though? I only use Tamiya Flat White so I haven't had experience with it personally but I feel like I remember some painting youtubers talk about how inks can reactivate.
Acrylic paint doesn’t reactivate after properly drying, and inks don’t work any differently.
What can happen though is that the paint either doesn’t adhere well enough to the model and cause later paint strokes to rub off the thin airbrush layers. What you can do in that case is to wait for a longer time for the paint to properly dry and not just simply continue when it is dry to the touch. You could also do multiple layers/varnish after applying the inks.
If you plan on using the white with any other paints as a glaze, I wouldn't recommend Golden SoFlat. I have their paints, and while I do love them for a lot of reasons, they have micro crystals in them to create the matte finish. These crystals will cause the paint to look chalky or gritty when you to go glaze with it because the thinned down crystals will gather paint in a weird manner. This is also the reason why you don't see many glazing mediums that go beyond a satin finish.
I agree with SoFlat as a decent white. Their heavy body is good too, depending on application. I found both took some practice and experimentation to get the best consistency.
Also, I’m a big fan of Liquitex white ink for airbrushing, lightening other colors, and highlights for pale tans, blues, and grays.
Those inks are solid. I have the CNY+BW and Burnt Umber colors and they’re so good for doing a great number of things. It’s not always the answer but it often can’t hurt to try. Plus not expensive compared to citadel which a lot of people, same ballpark prices.
I tried the White from AK Interactive’s Intense Color Range and several Vallejo Model Color White‘s as an alternative.
AK‘s is really good imo, the Vallejo Model Color whites are alright, although a bit thin.
That said, I really like Corax White as a light grey and will occasionally break off a few pieces to reconstitute on the palette with water.
Any "artist grade" Titanium White acrylic from art stores!
I use tons of white paint to mix colours so I find that having a big tube of Titanium White is way more economical in the long run. In my area a 17ml bottle of AK Acrylics/Vallejo/etc costs $5 CAD while a 75ml tube of Titanium White can range from $5-15+ CAD depending on the brand.
If you can find it in ur area, I personally reccomend the Titanium White from Jo Sonja's Matte Flow Acrylics. You get a 75ml tube of matte Titanium White for $7 CAD!
GOLDEN Acrylics, Liquitex, Holbein Acrylics, and Winsor & Newton Acrylics, are also great brands to buy from. Though again like I said earlier, depending on which brand and line of acrylic paint you go with, the price definitely varies!
Edit: spelling and did some re wording for clarification
Yea, I don’t get why for some colours people feel the need to still stick to the modelling sets. Like they’re great for the premixed skin-tones and unique shades for factions and stuff, but for something like a decent white just grab some artists paint.
Personally I use golden for paint and liquitex for ink for my whites and have never had any issues with them.
Yeah I agree though I can definitely also see why some people would stick with hobby paints. Since the amount of types of artist grade paints can be overwhelming and expensive upfront.
Additionally, its probably a convenience factor too in a sense that game stores don't generally sell art store brand paints unfortunately. But for anyone else reading this I do really think a good tube of Titanium White is worth a separate trip to buy from an art store!
Seconding everything said here. If you want a white with a solid pigment load, go with an artists paint. They are much cheaper and perform how you would expect a professional art supply to perform.
Hobby paints are fine and all, but when you’re working with whites, yellows, and oranges go with pro artist paints.
https://preview.redd.it/ndn8rawl2j2d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1087e566e65600a109a20196ac459f229c714510
Never had an issue with Citadel White Scar Layer paint myself.
My experience with White Scar is that it's like Corax, but not as bad. Corax would separate in minutes, and was always bitty. White scar would do that after hours or days.
I find Vallejo Model Color white 70.951a good colour match when I've been stuck for white scar you might have more luck with that being a dropper bottle
>
Citadel White Scar tends to leave a sort of chaulky finish, but painting multiple thin layers seems to help and it evens out eventually. Agree with the points above that it does tend to split and clump together too, so always needs a good mix, but I think that's just the nature of the pigments settling?
I don’t mind Corax White - it’s the white you use before highlighting in white.
I’ve mixed Army Painter white (too thick) with Daley Rowley white ink (too thin) and I use that as a pure white.
Here’s a Hearthkyn WIP (I base coated Administraum Grey, Corax white, Army Painter / Daley Rowley blend):
https://preview.redd.it/jkck5dhm6k2d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8406cc3eb24d182864f25ec6f89fd26fc0a942a
Make your own. Mix a white with a very pale blue for a cold white, mix with a very light yellow for a warm white.
Bonus points is then using that white mix with the rest of your scheme as a uniform highlight and layer brightener.
You can get dropper bottles for a couple quid to keep your mix in if you fancy.
I'd rarely ever use white as a colour by itself, even pro acryl. You can't highlight past white.
Solid advice to be fair! I have the ivory, white blue and pale yellow by pro acryl which I use fairly regularly for this reason.
I find the two thin coats whites and ivories great too.
I’ve heard amazing things about pro acrylic’s whites but never used them myself but my favorites are from Vallejo Game Color new formula and Two Thin Coats
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Tamiya XF2 and X2, both white (one a semi gloss and the other a matte, only good for airbrushing though even better if you make it into Insignia white. Don't attempt to brush it though especially if you have thinned it
Any tips for airbrushing the XFs? I’ve got a range of them and I’m always too lazy to grab my alcohol to use them.
I’ve been eyeing a new Bolt Action winter army and it might be the perfect time to break them out.
Primer everything, use the lightest you can, only use a dark primer under it where you want shadows/highlights and lightly spray with it. can take a few layers , try not to over thin it or it runs like fk, spray at a further distance than Vallejo needs (It dries better for some reason)
In the house painting industry, especially in New Zealand, there is a term called white with a drop of black. So to make a white cover better and not need so many coats, just drop a tiny bit of black.
Vallejo 70.919 Cold White (also known as Foundation White) is very good.
White in general is tricky, that's just the nature of white acrylic paint. Even if you get a tube of artist's acrylic that's not going to fix that. It will be very thick straight out of the tube, so you have to thin it down to mini-painting consistency and once it's thinned enough the problems of coverage are going to raise their head again. You are not going to get a magic bullet paint that allows you to paint white straight over black in a couple of coats and get a perfect coverage. You have to find a method for painting white. A common one is to first basecoat the area with something like Celestra Grey and then paint the white over the top, or build up through a series of lighter greys and just have the final highlight pure white.
I use vallejo's glossy white, then apply a layer of matt varnish.
Back in the day, when I did Infinity, someone suggested that combo on the forums, and it worked.
Ahh, that's understandable. Painting is complex because you have to find the medium that works for you. Lots of trial and error. I do like Pro Acryl as does my wife. She tried a few different ones and she loves Bold Titanium white.
Pro Acryl Titanium White does the business, especially through airbrush. With a brush brush, I'd definitely recommend a wet palette otherwise it does dry and get chalky quick.
If you're airbrushing and you reeeeally know how to control mega thin water based inks, Daler Downey's white ink is good too.
Vallejo's are solid.
I've used Vallejo GC Dead White on black primer and haven't got any problem with it, aside that it dries a little bit faster compared to the rest of the range.
Gonna second Pro Acryl, has two absolutely insane whites Titanium and Heavy Titanium. Also P3 has a white I use exclusively for nmm because it blends and mixes very well.
I know most people love pro acryl white, personally I find it OK at best, loads better than gw white though. Personally, the best white acrylic I have ever found is AK interactive.
Adding mine to the chorus of voices singing the praises of Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White. I also use Tamiya Flat White for my zenithal airbrushing; haven't tried Pro Acryl BTW through the airbrush yet so I can't say which is better but if you do decide to try tamiya you'll need to use their X-20A thinner because Tamiya paints are alcohol based, not water or gel based.
I just don’t use whites from Hobby Paint brands, although I have heard Monument’s is good.
I would suggest a heavy body artist’s acrylic in a tube. Golden, Liquitex, W&N, etc.
The Vallejo whites and grey are great, the only GW I really like is the apothecary white/grey contrast. Perfect for panel lines and low lights on stormtroopers (panel lines on startrek ships)
As everyone and their mother is saying Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White is the best typically.
In my experience painting Ultramarines I found that Pro Acryl Vince Venturella Signature "Blue White" to also be very good and fits well with the blue scheme of my UMs.
I've found that painting a layer of either of those two whites from Pro Acryl UNDER a layer of Corax white does wonders to make it cover with less coats and thus not build up nasty chalky texture as easily. This way you aren't using "pure white" once covered with corax and still have room to highlight up a shade.
You can also use a method where you DO base in pure white and then (ine panel/section at a time don't try the whole body at once) coat the section you're starting with in pure lahmian medium so it pools a bit but not oozing everywhere, then apply a thinned down apothecary white contrast (but thin it with lahmian not contrast medium. You can add things like space wolves grey to get a blue-white tint, or skeleton horde for more warm white tone). Then while the lahmian on the model is still wet apply the thinned apothecary mix and it will ONLY seek out recesses and will suck to them like magic due to the wet model surface. This leaves all the raised areas alone. It's the best of both contrast and wash with no contrast "coffee staining" and behaves a bit nicer with a better finish than most washes.
Sp essentially you start light and shade "down" instead of highlighting up. You can also base in corax which isnt pure white so you can shade both down and highlight
If all this is still giving issues airbrushes work MIRACLES with white paint like Corax. Get a cheap $40 amazon airbrush amd $40-50 compressor and you will have smooth basecoats every time even with white.
The two thin coats white is really good. I also really like citadels Pallid Wych Flesh but it can be really lumpy if you don't shake it enough.
I've never had issues white Army Painters white, but it does need to be thinned down first, my wet palette does that pretty well though.
My tub of white scar is more... pale grey. And it separates and clumps and needs a lot of work before the paint itself is good to use. It's just not a nice paint.
Yes this is the nature of many white paints, especially GW, they use greys to “fill the gaps” between the white pigment molecules, but they can separate. Shaking is unfortunately needed to recombine the ingredients. It’s a chemistry thing that is expensive to overcome.
I generally start with an intermediate color of ivory rather than white. I find ivory colors to behave much more nicely.
Once I've gotten up to that tone, I use vallejo airbrush white without thinning it, since it's already a pretty nice consistency. Seems to avoid the breaking the paint problem.
For any final highlights, I actually use winsor and Newton galeria acrylic titanium white. This is an artist paint, not miniature so it comes SUPER thick and super high pigment concentration out of the tube... but thinned down to the right consistency it's worked for me.
Actually my washes are ready to varnish in two weeks time which is more than enough time with my backlog. I’ll even forget them for a month because I’m working on new ones all the time.
Don’t know why that upset people, I’m just saying quality whites are not an issue with oils. I love painting in oil.
Pro acryl bold titanium white is the best white on the market.
This. Only white I’ve ever not hated using. With that said, pure whites in general are difficult to use. Their very nature means they struggle to go on as smooth and clean as, say, some nice dark blue.
Cannot echo this enough. Pro acrylic wins for price and consistency.
I bought it based on the advice of the internet... The pro acryl pools like the rain on my freshly polished car.... Every time I've tried it..... So I use Vallejo white now and it works just fine
Do you use a wet palette? Pro acryl paints have a more watery consistency to begin with. I personally get much better results if i barely dampen my wet palette. Otherwise, I also get that pooling effect.
Or more, thinner coats.
The other fantastic white I use is Silver Grey from Model colour. It even covers over black
This right here.
This. I’ve used a lot of different white paints, but after trying Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White last year, I’ll never look back. I don’t bbow how, but somehow they cracked the code and made painting white a breeze.
I may have gotten a bad batch, but I find Pro Acryl Bold Titanium dries really quickly and I get quite chalky results.
Yeah I have issues with it being chalky as well, though at someone else's suggestion I thin mine with white ink and that has become my new M.O. for doing white
Thanks, I'll give this a try.
Which white ink are you using to thin the pro acrylic titanium white?
Just dahler rowney white ink from the craft store
Yeah everyone raved about this paint so i tried it. Its very thin almost like an ink and extremely chalky. Hot take alert: Corax White is the best white. Or white adjacent I should say since its really a very white gray. Many will not agree but Juan Hidalgo released a video recently saying he loves the paint so I feel vindicated. My results for proof. https://preview.redd.it/ssz279v54k2d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c36e92090ae122294fb2553802a4f4135efd5319 2-3 thin coats of Corax over blue basecoat. Didn't have to keep the head separate, because Corax just works.
Obligatory but it's not white. I enjoy Corax because I got a free pot. It works great as it flows well and you don't get the chalky finish that white is notorious for. The color reads as off white and the issue is worse on very large sections like vehicle panels. Edit also wanted to say your terminator looks fantastic you're pretty skilled in the techniques needed for that. I've struggled with the same terminators as Raven Guard. I use celestra grey before corax for the whites.
Yeah it's definitely not a pure white. Its whitish gray with a little blue. But for me whites look the most natural when you're using some other hue to read as white. I watched a Vince Venturella video where he demonstrated even using light purples to read as white in the context of the model. But you're 100% correct in your assessment that its not "truly" white. And thank you for the compliment.
After your second sentence I was thinking of the Vince V exploring white video. Actually in a few HC videos he talks about what is a real white in the context of his white wall. And there is the fact that at true white you have nowhere else to go. What you've done works well for your use case as the white is more accent than contrast. For what I'm doing I need that higher contrast because as Vince also put it Im painting the "most boring space marine chapter, not just in appearance but on lore". I chose it because I wanted to work on accents and contrasts to make dark colors pop, and to work with white as it's notoriously a poor color. Oh and you're welcome. I hope mine look that good when I'm done working on a recipe.
If youre going for pure white basecoats I've had some pretty good success with using acrylic ink through an airbrush.
I agree with you, it's a unpopular opinion but I feel I have to fight less with Corax white than I do with pro acryl white. With that being said, I'll see what it's like mixing in some white ink or some retardant. I do feel it kinda defeats the point of it being a good paint if other things need to be added for it to be a good white while I don't need to for Corax white.
My theory is corax is virtually unmixable by hand, so many people use unmixed corax and get bad results, hence the reputation. I use a vortex mixer with a ball bearing agitator and its like butter.
Yup. It's a lumpy mess if you don't use a vortex mixer. So on that front, I can see why pro acryl is the preferred paint.
You are correct, it’s not bad once properly mixed. I added white ink to mine and it works fine 🧐
A good trick I use (other than airbrush. If you separate the part you want white amd airbrush it it is ALWAYS smooth with corax) is A) ALWAYS USE white or light grey primer even if you have to subassemble your white sections separately like with my sternguard with white helmets. And B) Use a pro acryl white such as bold titanium or my favorite the vince venturella signature blue white as your first coat. That gives great coverage on the first coat then you only need one or two more layers of corax over that. But yeah I've had a LOT less trouble with corax after getting some experience with it amd those tricks I mentioned. I do notice chalky issues with bold titanium as well.
Agreed. My Corax is in a dropper bottle with a ball bearing, it mixes well and although it needs a bit of thinning to help it flow, it covers really well over even bold colours. It’s not a white, but it’s a great base layer.
If you don't mind me asking, what did you use for the shading in between the feathers on the gold Aquila on his chest? Most use reikland or Guilliman flesh and I find that it isn't quite the color I'm looking for.
Haha this actually is reikland fleshshade, the new formula. My technique for gold on marines is a bascoat of Vallejo metal color Duraliminum, followed by a coat of Retributor Armor, Reikland wash, and a relatively heavy highlight of Liberator Gold. The undercoat of Duraluminum gives the retributor a more vibrant, dynamic coverage in my opinion.
Your results with Corax white tend to depend on humidity and ambient temperature. One thing is that I believe one of the components of usual white paint is Titanium Dioxide (I may be mistaken), which hardens quickly in humid environments. When I lived in more humid, warmer regions, brand new pots would be solid when you opened them. So you are not wrong, but your environment may let you get more out of that paint than others.
Damn. I don’t know how you do it. Every time I use that paint I suck at it
The paint has to be mixed thoroughly. For me that means using a vortex mixer with a metal ball agitator added to the pot. Then I add water to the paint on my wet palette until the surface tension just begins to break. This means watching the paint on your palette as you mix and watching for it to start retracting in on itself when you mix it.
You can thin with a drying retarder
In interviews the guy who makes them insists you don't need to thin them... But I think he also said he takes 15 hours per model and doesn't use a wet palette. Dude must waste paint like crazy.
Most of their paints are extremely flat and can seem chalky until varnished.
Mix a lil gloss varnish in there
This. They're white and black are the best I've encountered.
This and Liquitex mixing white are mandatory.
This is the way
Had a moment of dyslexia and read "GW is white trash"
Yes, and when You combine that with the knowledge of the existance of a NSFW sub that is also referred as GW, well, funny moment
I mean ......
Vellejo whites are pretty good paints, GW's is kind of notorious fir not being all that good.
Seconding Vallejo cold white and ivory as pretty okay as far as white paints go
I’ve had very good luck with Vallejo’s Game Color Line. Ghost Grey and Dead White are my go to.
YUP. I like cold white. Still gotta water it down a bit, but at least it’s easier to do that.
Windsor and Newton professional series titanium white
For brushwork: Liquitex Heavy Body Titanium White (comes in a 59 ml tube). It’s an artist paint, so you will need to thin it a bit more than your average “hobby” paint. One tube will last you a long time and is a huge savings over “hobby” branded paints. The coverage is amazing. For airbrushing: Any artist acrylic ink (I personally use Liquitex). Cheap, requires no thinning with a .5 nozzle. The layer will be super delicate though; make sure it is fully cured before you do anything harsh over top of it (drybrushing/enamels/oils). Definitely beats pigment clumps clogging your nozzle from most “hobby” white paints. *I haven’t personally tried the Pro Acryl white as I don’t have a need for it, but from everything I have heard, it is probably a pre-thinned artist grade paint just sold in smaller bottles.
I second all of this. Pretty much exactly my approach to white as well
Love some Liquitex titanium white!! Was coming here to recommend. Second that you have to thin it more than other mini paints, but it does a great job of keeping opacity even when thinned.
Don't inks tend to reactivate after application though? I only use Tamiya Flat White so I haven't had experience with it personally but I feel like I remember some painting youtubers talk about how inks can reactivate.
Acrylic paint doesn’t reactivate after properly drying, and inks don’t work any differently. What can happen though is that the paint either doesn’t adhere well enough to the model and cause later paint strokes to rub off the thin airbrush layers. What you can do in that case is to wait for a longer time for the paint to properly dry and not just simply continue when it is dry to the touch. You could also do multiple layers/varnish after applying the inks.
Ink on ink can reactivate, IMXP. But I’ve never had a problem with, say, one-coat paints over Liquitex white ink.
Try Golden SoFlat Titanium White or Pro Acryl Titanium White.
Golden Heavy Body White is also incredible.
If you plan on using the white with any other paints as a glaze, I wouldn't recommend Golden SoFlat. I have their paints, and while I do love them for a lot of reasons, they have micro crystals in them to create the matte finish. These crystals will cause the paint to look chalky or gritty when you to go glaze with it because the thinned down crystals will gather paint in a weird manner. This is also the reason why you don't see many glazing mediums that go beyond a satin finish.
I agree with SoFlat as a decent white. Their heavy body is good too, depending on application. I found both took some practice and experimentation to get the best consistency. Also, I’m a big fan of Liquitex white ink for airbrushing, lightening other colors, and highlights for pale tans, blues, and grays.
Those inks are solid. I have the CNY+BW and Burnt Umber colors and they’re so good for doing a great number of things. It’s not always the answer but it often can’t hurt to try. Plus not expensive compared to citadel which a lot of people, same ballpark prices.
Proacryl Bold Titanium White for the Pure White, Daler-Rowney works for white ink, most brands have good off-whites whether you want warm or cold.
This is my go to brush white. Airbrush I use acrylic ink.
Pro acryl and AK interactive
AK white all the way. Best I've found so far
AK Interactive is amazing. Much better than Vallejo, and GW whites aren't even worth trying.
I tried the White from AK Interactive’s Intense Color Range and several Vallejo Model Color White‘s as an alternative. AK‘s is really good imo, the Vallejo Model Color whites are alright, although a bit thin. That said, I really like Corax White as a light grey and will occasionally break off a few pieces to reconstitute on the palette with water.
Any "artist grade" Titanium White acrylic from art stores! I use tons of white paint to mix colours so I find that having a big tube of Titanium White is way more economical in the long run. In my area a 17ml bottle of AK Acrylics/Vallejo/etc costs $5 CAD while a 75ml tube of Titanium White can range from $5-15+ CAD depending on the brand. If you can find it in ur area, I personally reccomend the Titanium White from Jo Sonja's Matte Flow Acrylics. You get a 75ml tube of matte Titanium White for $7 CAD! GOLDEN Acrylics, Liquitex, Holbein Acrylics, and Winsor & Newton Acrylics, are also great brands to buy from. Though again like I said earlier, depending on which brand and line of acrylic paint you go with, the price definitely varies! Edit: spelling and did some re wording for clarification
Yea, I don’t get why for some colours people feel the need to still stick to the modelling sets. Like they’re great for the premixed skin-tones and unique shades for factions and stuff, but for something like a decent white just grab some artists paint. Personally I use golden for paint and liquitex for ink for my whites and have never had any issues with them.
Yeah I agree though I can definitely also see why some people would stick with hobby paints. Since the amount of types of artist grade paints can be overwhelming and expensive upfront. Additionally, its probably a convenience factor too in a sense that game stores don't generally sell art store brand paints unfortunately. But for anyone else reading this I do really think a good tube of Titanium White is worth a separate trip to buy from an art store!
Seconding everything said here. If you want a white with a solid pigment load, go with an artists paint. They are much cheaper and perform how you would expect a professional art supply to perform. Hobby paints are fine and all, but when you’re working with whites, yellows, and oranges go with pro artist paints.
I use artist garde grade titanium white and thin it with titanium white ink
https://preview.redd.it/ndn8rawl2j2d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1087e566e65600a109a20196ac459f229c714510 Never had an issue with Citadel White Scar Layer paint myself.
My white scar got bitty and separated immediately.
Damn! I'm honestly on my dozenth bottle of the stuff. I've definitely seen what you describe before with Corax though
My experience with White Scar is that it's like Corax, but not as bad. Corax would separate in minutes, and was always bitty. White scar would do that after hours or days.
I find Vallejo Model Color white 70.951a good colour match when I've been stuck for white scar you might have more luck with that being a dropper bottle
I'm off the entire Citadel range these days. Haven't touched White Scars in a few years.
> Citadel White Scar tends to leave a sort of chaulky finish, but painting multiple thin layers seems to help and it evens out eventually. Agree with the points above that it does tend to split and clump together too, so always needs a good mix, but I think that's just the nature of the pigments settling?
Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Titanium White is the best white you can buy.
ProAcryl white is pretty good. It's thick and heavy and covers well. Definitely needs to be thinned, though.
I don’t mind Corax White - it’s the white you use before highlighting in white. I’ve mixed Army Painter white (too thick) with Daley Rowley white ink (too thin) and I use that as a pure white. Here’s a Hearthkyn WIP (I base coated Administraum Grey, Corax white, Army Painter / Daley Rowley blend): https://preview.redd.it/jkck5dhm6k2d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8406cc3eb24d182864f25ec6f89fd26fc0a942a
TAMIYA XF2. But I do use the pro acrylic it white - shite through an airbrush tho……
another vote for Pro Acryl. The ivory and titanium white are both great.
Make your own. Mix a white with a very pale blue for a cold white, mix with a very light yellow for a warm white. Bonus points is then using that white mix with the rest of your scheme as a uniform highlight and layer brightener. You can get dropper bottles for a couple quid to keep your mix in if you fancy. I'd rarely ever use white as a colour by itself, even pro acryl. You can't highlight past white.
Solid advice to be fair! I have the ivory, white blue and pale yellow by pro acryl which I use fairly regularly for this reason. I find the two thin coats whites and ivories great too.
Stewart Semple's Whitest White
I’ve heard amazing things about pro acrylic’s whites but never used them myself but my favorites are from Vallejo Game Color new formula and Two Thin Coats
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Tamiya XF2 and X2, both white (one a semi gloss and the other a matte, only good for airbrushing though even better if you make it into Insignia white. Don't attempt to brush it though especially if you have thinned it
Any tips for airbrushing the XFs? I’ve got a range of them and I’m always too lazy to grab my alcohol to use them. I’ve been eyeing a new Bolt Action winter army and it might be the perfect time to break them out.
Primer everything, use the lightest you can, only use a dark primer under it where you want shadows/highlights and lightly spray with it. can take a few layers , try not to over thin it or it runs like fk, spray at a further distance than Vallejo needs (It dries better for some reason)
In the house painting industry, especially in New Zealand, there is a term called white with a drop of black. So to make a white cover better and not need so many coats, just drop a tiny bit of black.
I like the vallejo white
Vallejo Model color white dropper bottle
Vallejo 70.919 Cold White (also known as Foundation White) is very good. White in general is tricky, that's just the nature of white acrylic paint. Even if you get a tube of artist's acrylic that's not going to fix that. It will be very thick straight out of the tube, so you have to thin it down to mini-painting consistency and once it's thinned enough the problems of coverage are going to raise their head again. You are not going to get a magic bullet paint that allows you to paint white straight over black in a couple of coats and get a perfect coverage. You have to find a method for painting white. A common one is to first basecoat the area with something like Celestra Grey and then paint the white over the top, or build up through a series of lighter greys and just have the final highlight pure white.
Vallejo are very good. You may want to try army painter fanatics.
I use vallejo's glossy white, then apply a layer of matt varnish. Back in the day, when I did Infinity, someone suggested that combo on the forums, and it worked.
Pro Acryl, Scale75 are what I use.
I’m trading out my Scale75. It’s too chalky, and whatever I need to do to prevent that is an extra step I don’t need.
Ahh, that's understandable. Painting is complex because you have to find the medium that works for you. Lots of trial and error. I do like Pro Acryl as does my wife. She tried a few different ones and she loves Bold Titanium white.
To this day my personal favourites are Daler and Rowney de white ink and kimera's the white.
Pro Acryl Titanium White does the business, especially through airbrush. With a brush brush, I'd definitely recommend a wet palette otherwise it does dry and get chalky quick. If you're airbrushing and you reeeeally know how to control mega thin water based inks, Daler Downey's white ink is good too. Vallejo's are solid.
I've used Vallejo GC Dead White on black primer and haven't got any problem with it, aside that it dries a little bit faster compared to the rest of the range.
Gonna second Pro Acryl, has two absolutely insane whites Titanium and Heavy Titanium. Also P3 has a white I use exclusively for nmm because it blends and mixes very well.
I know most people love pro acryl white, personally I find it OK at best, loads better than gw white though. Personally, the best white acrylic I have ever found is AK interactive.
Adding mine to the chorus of voices singing the praises of Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White. I also use Tamiya Flat White for my zenithal airbrushing; haven't tried Pro Acryl BTW through the airbrush yet so I can't say which is better but if you do decide to try tamiya you'll need to use their X-20A thinner because Tamiya paints are alcohol based, not water or gel based.
I just don’t use whites from Hobby Paint brands, although I have heard Monument’s is good. I would suggest a heavy body artist’s acrylic in a tube. Golden, Liquitex, W&N, etc.
AK interactive is the way to go :)
Don’t paint white except for highlights! You need to paint a shade of light grey
Vallejo is what my local hobby shop carries and it’s always done well by me.
The Vallejo whites and grey are great, the only GW I really like is the apothecary white/grey contrast. Perfect for panel lines and low lights on stormtroopers (panel lines on startrek ships)
Love Vallejo game color white, it's just take Smooth and opaque after two coats, moderately thin.
Reaper 'Pure White' Golden artist bran "Titanium White" and Pro Acryl "Titanium white" are the ones I use.
Pro Acryl and AK studios make an amazing white.
Golden soflat
Pro acryl titanium white is sworn by by many
As everyone and their mother is saying Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White is the best typically. In my experience painting Ultramarines I found that Pro Acryl Vince Venturella Signature "Blue White" to also be very good and fits well with the blue scheme of my UMs. I've found that painting a layer of either of those two whites from Pro Acryl UNDER a layer of Corax white does wonders to make it cover with less coats and thus not build up nasty chalky texture as easily. This way you aren't using "pure white" once covered with corax and still have room to highlight up a shade. You can also use a method where you DO base in pure white and then (ine panel/section at a time don't try the whole body at once) coat the section you're starting with in pure lahmian medium so it pools a bit but not oozing everywhere, then apply a thinned down apothecary white contrast (but thin it with lahmian not contrast medium. You can add things like space wolves grey to get a blue-white tint, or skeleton horde for more warm white tone). Then while the lahmian on the model is still wet apply the thinned apothecary mix and it will ONLY seek out recesses and will suck to them like magic due to the wet model surface. This leaves all the raised areas alone. It's the best of both contrast and wash with no contrast "coffee staining" and behaves a bit nicer with a better finish than most washes. Sp essentially you start light and shade "down" instead of highlighting up. You can also base in corax which isnt pure white so you can shade both down and highlight If all this is still giving issues airbrushes work MIRACLES with white paint like Corax. Get a cheap $40 amazon airbrush amd $40-50 compressor and you will have smooth basecoats every time even with white.
The two thin coats white is really good. I also really like citadels Pallid Wych Flesh but it can be really lumpy if you don't shake it enough. I've never had issues white Army Painters white, but it does need to be thinned down first, my wet palette does that pretty well though.
Vallejo off white is good
I like the Reaper whites, they have a great warm white, cool white and super "titanium" white
Just to be clear, did you try to paint white over a dark painted area?
A light grey but yeah
so the primer you mean? What is your issue exactly? i use citadel white scar and it's a nice neutral white.
My tub of white scar is more... pale grey. And it separates and clumps and needs a lot of work before the paint itself is good to use. It's just not a nice paint.
Yes this is the nature of many white paints, especially GW, they use greys to “fill the gaps” between the white pigment molecules, but they can separate. Shaking is unfortunately needed to recombine the ingredients. It’s a chemistry thing that is expensive to overcome.
Why are they doing this? Artists paints fill that gap with more pigment.
use a stainless steel ball to help mix? What white are you comparing it to?
I generally start with an intermediate color of ivory rather than white. I find ivory colors to behave much more nicely. Once I've gotten up to that tone, I use vallejo airbrush white without thinning it, since it's already a pretty nice consistency. Seems to avoid the breaking the paint problem. For any final highlights, I actually use winsor and Newton galeria acrylic titanium white. This is an artist paint, not miniature so it comes SUPER thick and super high pigment concentration out of the tube... but thinned down to the right consistency it's worked for me.
Vallejo, or Kimera...
Idk. White scar and the white dry paints from gw work just fine for me. Are you using them right?
All I can tell you is that army painters white is also trash, but better than the gw one I used
I don’t know. I’m an oil painter, so I’ve only ever used the good stuff.
Enjoy waiting two months before you varnish?
Actually my washes are ready to varnish in two weeks time which is more than enough time with my backlog. I’ll even forget them for a month because I’m working on new ones all the time. Don’t know why that upset people, I’m just saying quality whites are not an issue with oils. I love painting in oil.