Hi all,

First off let me just say I don't really "do" the artistic side of the hobby. I can't paint to save my life, and am far too impatient anyway. But for some reason I find myself dithering over a basing scheme. I started out just wanting my guard to be drab and plain on a bleak landscape, as it fits the depiction of them I have in my head - no bright colours, no camo patterns. So I settled on ... grey. It just so happens to be simple to paint (oh the coincidence!), so I'm happy enough with it though will probably add some basic weathering.

I intended to have the bases completely match so they fade into the background and emphasise the drabness, but for obvious reasons now I am thinking this might be a step too far towards laziness, even for me. I like those little tufts and would like to incorporate them on a few bases where there's room, but I just don't know what colour paints to use.

Here on some examples of the minis, the tanks are just lain on top of the unpainted bases.

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Hi Kyrt,
Until recently I was a man after your own heart. I am beginning to enjoy the painting a bit more now but for a long time I had very little painted, and what was painted was done by a friend!
For someone who hates painting, I have to say you have done a very good job and they look smart! Have a look at my IG army posts if you want to see some real lazy painting!

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I do like the base of your SHT!

About your question, imho should the base color be in contrast to your miniature and add to the color scheme.
Think that 6mm needs overall more contrast (then for example 28mm) to please the eye.

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Those look nice. I mean, Vaaish isn't going to ask you for lessons. But they're pretty, and I would cheerfully photograph a battle they were involved in.

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Thanks. So what colours would you paint the bases?

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I agree with MrGonzo, something in strong contrast to the guard helps them stand out, something bright and vibrant with light coloured texture and perhaps some bright green clump foliage? I'd even be tempted to suggest a red oxide, martian type basing scheme......

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Just to be contrary, I like the grey-on-grey look. I can never decide, though - both contrasting colors (looks a bit better) and blending in (more realistic - would you really wear a grey coat if you're fighting on bright red sand?) have their pros and cons.

I always thought of it more like the guard are held in such low esteem that the powers that be don't bother with camoflage....

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red on grey for me - the guard might use camouflage, but at 6 foot distance on the table I need something I can see!

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They don’t look bad at all! But gray infantry on a gray base, if played a gray board… I think it’d be pretty dreary. With my eyesight, I’d probably fail to see them and accidentally put my hand over them, or roll dice in their direction. If you’re set on gray-on-gray consider highlighting one and washing the other for some contrast. I think it works better for the base and table to be lighter than the infantry, whether it’s tan or reddish brown (both of which are better options than green, if you keep the troops gray). You can always add splashes of gray to the bases and table, but I think a sandy color would be best for visibility.

My 两毛钱:

See the secret is that no color of paint is any particular color. You need difference to make color appear.

To make the figures pop:

They are light and desaturated and purple in hue, so maybe build a detail with a dark color close to purple and a very bright yellow bit. For infantry, give them dark indigo-ish weapons and dot bright yellow scopes on them. For vehicles, consider insignia with a yellow device on a dark background (like a yellow dot on a blackish, slightly blue-purple stripe).

Now your figures will actually look light-colored.

In 28mm, you might then give them dark bases. But this looks awful in 6mm and you must improvise . . .

I think you should base them with dark elements and yellow elements: Use burnt umber and yellow ochre to build up a yellowish base: maybe start half and half and DB in two layers up to straight yellow ochre. With no white in your base, it will look relatively dark, and with HEAVY drybrushing, will look yellow. On the other hand, in absolute terms it will not be too dark and will still look good on the table.

Make the rocks darker than the dirt and keep them related to a yellow-purple complimentary scheme.

Use those nice dead grass tufts to further make yellow, but not too many of them: you want your figures to be the light part of the composition, not your grass. Max 3 tufts / infantry, maybe just 1 or 2.

So now you have light, purplish infantry on mid-value yellowish bases: they will pop without being so dim that they look muddy.

One last thought, if it isn't too fiddly: put a light wash of purplish brown (like thinned scorched brown/burnt umber) on the faces: the figures can stand it because the rest is so light. Faces recessed into heavy helmets really benefit from a sense of shadow.

Thanks for your thoughts, I will try to get some test pieces painted up and see what happens, including maybe adding a tad more detail to the figures (they're not really finished anyway).

I'd like to make a new board to match the bases, but I don't think that's likely to happen. Since I don't want green bases, this does mean visibility isn't really an issue.

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I totally agree! That is a positive side effect and can actually help with your gaming
A pound for each time i "overlooked" a unit during a beer driven late night game, hehe

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Just a quick update. I did a few test bases. Most of the drybrushing contrast appears to have been lost in the photos, especially the red dust one, but I'm too lazy to get my SLR.

Dark brown:


Martian red:


Desert sand:


And some other randoms, e.g. the original grey colour scheme on the sentinel and infantry. I added some sand as some needed filling, which got me thinking about whether grey + some other colour scattered amongst it could work:

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I like the red one!! maybe if you add a wash will be more real and deeper.

cheers bans