Hey there, i have always wanted to know how to shade but i haven't got the info on how to.

Anyone have any ideas or techniques i would like you to feel free to comment.

Well, I am no expert, but I know there are 2-3 main ways to add shading to your mini.

1. Ink wash-use a wash, of watered paint or ink of a darker color than the base coat

2. Darker base-give the model a base coat darker than what you want the color to look like, then paint over it with your regular color, leaving the darker one showing

3. Shading by blending-kind of a mix of the above two, use a darker base, build up the lighter color, and use watered down paint to add shade where needed

hope this helps

Be very careful when starting with a darker color, because it will make you want to use a more opaque paint. If you water down your mid-range color and slowly add it to progressively smaller areas you should get a nice blend between the colors.

Basically, there are several direct methods of 'shading', (one of which SZ mentioned above), and a few ways of what is technically 'highlighting' that will produce a shaded effect (again, one of which SZ mentioned).

Shading:
To shade, you are (at a basic level) adding 'extra' shadows to a model, to enhance the realism of the model.
You can achieve this by:
Inking: This is the most basic and simplest method. Simply buy a GW ink in whatever colour you think matches your basecoat (ie: dark green ink for green). Brush this ink into the recesses and 'dark' areas of your basecoat, and leave it too dry. It will settle into the deepest, darkest areas and stain them, providing shading. It also takes a long time to dry!
Try painting it over the entire area for a different effect.

Washing: This is essentially the same thing as Inking, but we will use normal paints instead of inks. Put a little bit of paint onto a pallette (a bit of plastic or tile, an old kitchen plate or something similar is ideal), and mix some water into it. You want a mix of probably around 5:1 water:paint. Brush this into the recesses (or over the whole area), and you will get a similar effect to inking, but it will not be glossy (as inks are). Also, as paints are much simpler to mix, you can get a greater variety of colours by combining other paints, which is not so simple with inks.

Layered Washing: Moving on from the last technique, we use the same basic principle, but you use several washes to create a 'deeper' effect, resulting in a richer final job.
Start with your base colour. Add in a teeny tiny bit of black (or a darker version of your base colour), and then water. Brush this over your whole area. Then add a bit more of your darker colour, a bit more water, and do it over a smaller area (as in, just in the recesses). Then a little more of the darker colour, more black, smaller area etc etc etc...

That is pretty much the best way to start. Work your way through those 3, and you will have some awesome shading in no time...

Highlighting I will save for another day, as I now have to go =(

-t.

how to shade.

the methode I use is
1 paint the base color
2 add an ink that matches your base color.
3 let it dry
4 paint the base color over the model again but leave the recesses untouched
5 highlight the base color with a mix of the base color and a lighter version.

this way you get a nice result without too much trouble or time

I always prime my minis black. Then I start an area by painting a flat color on it using the darkest shade of that color available without mixing. After a few minutes, when the paint is not completely dry and just a little tacky, I drybrush a lighter color on top of it. As soon as that area is complete I drybrush a second of a lighter shade, and sometimes even a third or fourth. Each time I paint another layer I use a lighter shade. If I'm blending, transitioning from one color to the next on the same area (like fire or chaos weapons.) I use the same technique, but I reverse the stages of colors, starting with the brightest color and working towards the darkest.

What would be the best inks for red or white... or black :).

For red: Red ink mixed with a little chesnut or brown ink.
For white: Not really ideal, but you could try hugely watered down blue or black ink. You would have to tidy up and highlight with white though.
For black: Drybrush the area codex grey (or highlight it properly if you have the time and/or inclination), then ink it black. Job's a good 'un.

-t.