How can I avoid Dull Colours after shade/wash?

[Riquez]

Hi there,
I've been learning a lot & enjoying painting many figures over the past few months after a very long time away from the hobby.

I am looking for your advice on how to best use Quickshade.
I am using Army Painter Quickshade "strong tone" as my standard do-it-all shading wash. From the dropper bottle I apply some onto a dish or palette & then fairly liberally apply it to the entire miniature, coating everything. I do not water it down. I try to use the right amount so I am not drowning the miniature in the stuff & also use a clean brush to remove any excess from the face, clothing surface.

After drying I re-apply highlight areas to the model; clothing folds, skin, nose, cheekbones, edges etc

I am happy with my skill level for now but one thing bothers me & that is the dullness created by the wash. I have tried using brighter colours to begin, but that doesn't really seem to have too much effect. In the example photos you can see some of my recent figures & the red wizard in particular you can see a before wash image with vibrant colours.
Under close inspection in good light the miniatures look nice, but on the table in general room lighting, they seem to look quite dull & muddy. So I am looking to improve this situation.

I don't want to buy multiple quickshades for blue, red, etc. I feel with my level of painting a do-it-all wash is good enough if I can find a reasonable technique to combat dullness. Although if that really is the way to go, then so be it.
Im guessing if I repaint over all the dull clothing & skin with more reach (mid tones & highlights) then it might work, but just looking to benefit from your advice rather than trial & error.

Thanks guys I appreciate your advice!

[Fitz]

To be honest, I prefer those muted colours, but that's just my opinion.

You can mitigate the effect somewhat by gloss varnishing the miniature before you apply the wash. This will give it a very smooth surface that captures less of the wash in open areas, while still allowing it to wick into folds and crevices. Matte paint has a tooth that captures the wash somewhat, which is why it gets toned down so much.

[dadlamassu]

I like the muted colours you have used.  That said I use a white undercoat and that brightens the base colours and a wash of thinned acrylic paint.  Then matt varnish.

[Riquez]

I like the muted colours you have used.  That said I use a white undercoat and that brightens the base colours and a wash of thinned acrylic paint.  Then matt varnish.

Very nice. I also use a white undercoat (mr hobby finishing surfacer 1500)

I like muted colours too but I guess there is a difference between those natural shades & then simply dull all over which leads to the figure looking dark brown on the table without contrast.

I have settled on a semi-gloss varnish because I felt matt made it feel more dull. Gloss was over the top shiny. But a good semi-gloss seems to work for me best giving a slight sheen I find pleasing.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Try gloss varnish before the wash and them matt varnish on the finished figure.

You can even try applying the gloss to the highlights only by over-brushing so that the recesses get no varnish.

The gloss varnish will prevent the wash staining the main colours which should give you the result that you want.

[Riquez]

You can mitigate the effect somewhat by gloss varnishing the miniature before you apply the wash.

Try gloss varnish before the wash and them matt varnish on the finished figure.

Thanks guys, sounds like a good idea. I will give this a try 👍

[SteveBurt]

I use artist's inks, which are similar to the quick shade washes. I do several things to avoid dulling down the colours too much:
1. I dilute the wash with water and a little acrylic flow enhancer to make it go where I want.
2. I use a blue/grey ink (Paynes Grey) for 'cool' colours like blues and greens and for metal; using a brown wash on those colurs just makes them look dirty.
3. I use a brown ink (sepia) for warm colours (and flesh). For oriental or native american flash, I use a yellow/brown ink.
4. I apply the wash selectively, putting it in the shadow areas; that's quicker than washing everything and then going back and adding highlights.

[DS615]

I'm curious what you're even using the wash for?
It's generally used as a sort of hack for shading, but you seem to to a wonderful job of shading and highlight without it.  Applying the wash doesn't seem to have any effect other than darkening the tone.
If you don't want the tone darkened, then why use it?

[Nord]

Strong tone? Sounds like a very dark wash, could you switch to a different colour? Or thin it, with a flow enhancer or a matte medium, would be my inclination.

[Riquez]

I'm curious what you're even using the wash for?
It's generally used as a sort of hack for shading, but you seem to to a wonderful job of shading and highlight without it.  Applying the wash doesn't seem to have any effect other than darkening the tone.
If you don't want the tone darkened, then why use it?

It definitely helps with definition & shading. Picking out the shadows under cheeks, outlining rings, hair, fingernails. In fact the effect on clarity is quite amazing. I don't think that is something I could ever achieve by hand. I'm not sure if it's really a hack, almost all of the top artists use it albeit in more advanced terms.

[Riquez]

Strong tone? Sounds like a very dark wash, could you switch to a different colour? Or thin it, with a flow enhancer or a matte medium, would be my inclination.

Strong Tone is ArmyPainters name for it. They offer 3 levels: Light, Strong & Dark. The one I am using is the middle level & suggested as the all-rounder from their range.
Thinning should be an option. I did try that before but I actually felt it was perhaps worse, as the water content prevented the shade from "glooping" properly. As you suggest, a paint medium may be better.

[cahrn]

If you're still concerned about your colors becoming too muted you can either apply the wash only to the areas meant for shading rather than the entire miniature, or you can apply an additional coat of the base color on the parts of the miniature that should not be shaded after the wash. Also, as others have mentioned, a gloss varnish before applying the wash can also help. Generally the shine should be sufficiently muted by the wash that it won't become an issue.

[Brandlin]

the issue is that you are covering the model in dark brown, no matter what the underlying colour is, so no surprise it i s altering the underlying colours

to improve you want to be looking at different colours of wash for different areas of the figure.

[Codsticker]

I uses washes on all my figures but I do use appropriate colours ie; red on red, blue on blue etc. I admit though that I find the basecoat/wash/highlight method works very well with some tones and not others. You could try by just buying AP's Soft Tone on the reds and on other warm colours. That way you are just invested in the 2 tones instead of the whole range.

[Riquez]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I will try your suggestions. 👍
Ill give watering down another try - I just saw a video with Sam Lenz & he did just that with Ap stong.
Also I don't mind buying one or two other washes so Ill pick up soft tone too.

Here is the Lenz video if anyone is interested.