Mix and match for me. The skin and some materials like the boots on Contrast are just beautiful. But mostly yeah, SpeedPaint's consistency makes it a bit better for most stuff.

i prefer left, its seems the paint didnt pool as much in the recess, leaving a easier looking highlight imo

Left colors look nicer. Specially the blue and the leather are way better on the left, but the skin tone is probably nicer on the right miniature, and the black/grey clothes are less flat. Both look great for a quick paint job. EDIT I see contrast are on the right, that explains why the blue was so dark and bloaty compared to the left, and confirms basilicanum grey is way nicer than speedpaint's gravelord grey, like it was shown in some other videos. What I'm surprised about is dark wood being more consistent than wylwood, one of the best contrast colors. It's warmer, it will probly make a better dark leather, but worst wood color.

Definitely left. The right one has too many dark spots spread out all over, while the left one atleast seems to have consistency in keeping the darker areas dark, and the highlighted areas light.

Before the reveal: Left has the better blue and brown. Right has the better green/yellow combination. But i could have told you that blue contrast can be quite problamatic. Its probably a case of use the best paints from both options^^

Overall, I prefer left with the exception of the ork skin. The right models skin has much more visual interest in colour and shade. The left looks too washed out and artificial by comparison. However, the blues, browns and oranges look so much smoother on the left model. The right has more ‘contrast’ but the coverage on the shoulder pad for instance looks inconsistent and blotchy. Edit: The agrax shade was an interesting test and I think it greatly improved the look of the left models skin. However, I still think I prefer right for its variety of tones. The blues and brown on the left remain the out and out winner however. Overall I’m not hugely surprised with the reveal (I recognised the rights blotchy finish on the blue from contrast paints) but I’m very impressed with Army Painter’s brown (those boots look amazing in the final model rotation). Very interesting comparison, Pete!

I've seen a few reviews for speed paints, but I have to say - I really like your side by side painting guide. It really helps to see how each paint goes on and dries at different stages.

Until the Agrax Earthshade was applied I could not tell the difference. Both work well and seem to do an excellent job of covering the models. But I have to admit the price is a factor for me. Thanks for sharing this as it helps to see the paints compared together.

I’m glad that these are so closely comparable, I’ve grown to really enjoy using contrast paints for certain things but they are a real hole in my wallet. I’m excited to try out some of these speedpaints for myself.

I like right more, the recess seemed darker and it would only take a quick highlight to make it really shine. I feel like the left would need more washes to reach the level of contrast I'd want.

Not using the paints on a metallic surface feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. I guess it's not what you're "supposed" to do, but it looks cool, and the metallic surface is right there.

So glad you have that section after 9 mins, because "using as intended" really isn't where it's at.

With the Speed Paints having a medium that is included in the large set (or, I would assume, could be purchased individually) you may get a different outcome on how grainy the thinned product applies using that instead of water. May be worth revisiting when we can get our hands on the medium. Thanks for the review and information.

I prefer the right one, as I find the left one to be "monochromatic". To me it seems the right one had applied subtle glaces, creating more "complex" colours.

Preferred left. Right just looked to dark in the recesses. I get these were both used as intended but we know contrast can give incredible results if used as glazes

Think you've nailed it really. Its another range of the same things where elements of each range out perform the other in different areas and application. I imagine someone going to come up with some crazy use for them yet!

As they look pretty similar to each other, I would prefer the one, that costs the less money. :D

I think instead of thinking of the speed paint as a replacement for contrast it would be better to see it as another tool in our toolbelt for model painting, they both have their pros and cons

I prefer the green of the one on the right but everything else is really blochy so if I had to pick one it would be one on the left because it actually looks smooth.

Personally I'd pick up Speed Paint if they have a colour that Contrast hasn't and vice versa. Nice comparison test, the best I've seen so far, thanks 🙂

Great job Pete. I actually leaned towards right. It does seem they are fairly close in comparison, which may mean picking out specific paints in each line to build out a collection. If you do another, I would like to see one with zenthithel and also “prime texture finish” as in chalky, matte, gloss.

I prefer the left one, consistency over the surface seems to be better

In light of the discovery that speedpaint can be reactivated within 24+ hours I wonder if that's why the speedpaint ork became so desaturated vs the contrast. The water in the earthshade really might have reactivated and almost seaped into the reactivated speedpaint.

i'd love to see you do this again and using the speedpaint medium instead of water to thin.

I could easily pick out which was which from the get-go before the reveal. I feel like contrasts have a lot more saturation and tonal variation when applied than speedpaints. It's definitely a look that's not for everyone but if you're looking for that glazing effect contrasts are hard to beat. At the same time if you're looking for consistent shading (e.g. you're painting flat armor panels) you'll probably want to go for speedpaints... and you can't argue with the price difference in that case.

I find contrast paints useful only in certain scenarios. For example, pre-shading fabric before drybrushing it works nicely. But big panels are a no go for contrast paint. It would end up looking bad.

I appreciate the unbiased approach and have to agree, each paint has their strengths. In your application it looks like speedpaint did much better with the yellows on the skull, but the contrast handled the end wash better especially on the hide. I imagine it takes a lot of trial and error to really find out where each brand truly shines.

I want these damn things to come out already. I've been waiting for so long for cheap 'contrasts'

Thanks for this Pete. Really informative. I really like army painter so I'll almost certainly pick up the full range of these. Better than gws pots and their prices anyway. I'm mostly curious about the white. Holy white seems to give a grey recess whereas apocathery white is more a blue grey. Both have their uses I think.

I'm a bit relieved I preferred left. I used contrast for quite some while now, I like them but I like army painter better as a company and was extremely hyped when they announced their range. And it's cheaper too. I hope the black is comparable, I burned at least 6 pots of black templar so far I'll need a lot of it :D

EXACTLY the information I needed. Thank you and yes I would love to see more comparisons.

One of the best comparison videos I’ve seen on the product so far👍🏼 Thanks for the info

Considering speed paints are almost half the price of contrast that's the clear winner for me, and many other with a limited budget I imagine.

I prefer right since it show more contrast, specially in the skin tone. I rebottled all my contrast paints in dropper bottles and I mostly use them for airbrushing. Not really sure if adding the army paint speed paint will give me anything new then I already have. Its always good to have more options on the market though. Thanks for the video!

Thank you for making this video, these comparisons are really interesting and helpful for understanding how (and if) speedpaints work and their place in one's painting toolbox.

Thank you for including freedom units

right has a more "splotchy" look to the different colours, this works in a way for the skin as it makes it seem a little more "natural" in its shading, but for everything else it makes it seem as though it has just been poorly painted with some areas of simply not painted properly the colour is als less strong in places on the right, making parts (particularly the yellow parts) much less clear and seem blurred or again, "splotchy", i cant think of a better word for it overall i would say the left is a better cover, especially as contrasts/speedpaints are not supposed to be the only step but a starting off point, the right looks like i would need to fix a lot of work done, while the left gives me a very clean base coat to work from and build up on

Great video I would love to see the full range you're just very thorough. I'm really interested in their bone color versus skeleton a horde and And what they have for comparison with plague Bear flesh.

This has been very helpful. I have been trying to decide whether it is worth getting the speed paints when I own most of the contrast. But I want my speed paints to be speedy. So it sounds like speed paints might be an investment. I was always frustrated at to how many times you might need to paint contrast to get a good covering. Thanks for the video, love it.

I like the right one best, the blend on skin looks good for a one coat product

I think I prefer the right in this case. The one on the left looks slightly smoother which lends it to picking out the details with some further painting, while the one on the right provides more immediate contrast

Other reviewers pointed out that speedpaints have better consistency across the range while the GW products vary in consistency per paint, was that your experience too? also it looks to me like the wash stained over the speedpaint more, maybe they don't play too well with washes due to their medium

Would have liked to see them both thinned with their respective thinner, contrast medium and the speed paint medium, rather than water.

Thanks for the comparison! I stopped, and would prefer the left orc, because of less pooling.

I'm not convinced the agrax earthshade helped with a clean comparison but I guess it added another dimension. For me the preference is different for different colours based on your mini. However, I think I'll be able to live with the slight differences. So for me the price is the biggest factor AND the bottles will sweeten the deal. I'll definitely be trying a few and maybe even a set of speedpaints.

right for me, the actual darkness of the shadows tells me itll look great on the table top.

Right, it looks more shaded and detailed. 😊 I’ll be interested to see which I chose!

I see no need to exchange my contrast paints, thanks for the video!

I prefer the left's yellow, brown, and blue, but the right's green, grey, and orange. I guess it's the fact that the right is on natural stuff maybe? The later reveal it's contrast on the right and speedpaint on the left kinda makes sense with my prior use of contrast, it works real good for certain things and less good for others

I like the left because it looks less "yellow" all over. Like you have a proper separation of colors.

great video, I would like to see a total range comparison. So many of the Contrast colors have very different properties (that leviodon blue is a blochty one etc).

Depends on the color - The Left blue, black and brown look great, but I'm really not a fan of the green skin tone - it's turned into almost a neon lime green. It feels like the right model is splotching a lot more on even textures.

I preferred the one on the right in this case. I liked the orc skin of the contrast one a lot more. Before you added the coating of agrax earthshade the models were pretty similar. But after applying the shade, the one on the left look so much lighter.

When I didn't know which is which I prefered left one (speed paints) but after Agrax application, right one looks more vibrant

What I find about these two different sets of paints is that I often times find that they compliment each other. Not so much head to head but one set to compliment the other. Contrast is great for glazing like you pointed out, speed paints out of the pot are nice and rich but due to reactivation can be brought down fairly easily as pointed out with the agrax earthshade. Great video! subbed

Great video as always Pete - really good comparison of the two ranges. Thanks!

My first thought was the one on the left however I do feel it was very close comparison. This was a fantastic and fair comparison. Id say overall speedpaint seems the better product, however contrast has some better points for certain techniques.

Great video mate. Personally I liked both Orks, maybe the Contrast one a little more after the Agrax Wash, but I usually only use the Contrast Paints for details and as "glazes" .... but now I know to paint my horde of Sylvaneth Dryads, Kurnoths and Treemen I'll rather use a Speed Paint Brown as a starting point.... again thank you for your review 😀

Right one has more nuance in it's shading and it's more interesting to the eye, definitely a winner in my books

I appreciate you did a multicolored comaprison, rather than 50 single color jobs.

The green color might be a bit better for ork skin on the right model, but when looking at the smoothness of the blues and browns, left is significantly better.

Hitting them both with Agrax was like night and day, it made the models looks so much better

Right for the unbiased comparison.

The contrast appeared richer at every step which I prefer, however it may be a case of using both, contrast for folds and such and speed for the flatter surfaces.

A very clear and concise review. I use contrast but think I will try these speed paints now too. Thanks for sharing!!

Without bias, stopping at 3:44 I'd say: grey and green for the right one, blue and brown for the left one!

Left for sure. Everything looks smoother and I really like the blue and green.

From my observations in this video; GW contrast paints - Covers drastic surface changes well, like the cloak and fingers. Army painter speed paints - Covers smoother surfaces well, like the skin and trousers.

Right! I see more definition in each detail across the colors.

Right is the one I like more, because of the color-contrasts and visual interest.

Left! The finish is smoother and there seems to be less stains. Excited to learn which paints were used there haha

I prefer the right side because it's a bit darker and it looks amazing. My only worry is that since the undercoat was pure white that if I did a black prim undercoat like I usually do it wouldn't look as good as it does now

I can tell the of the two orcs, the one on the right was the contrast paint orc. because I was just comparing macragge blue to Ultramarines blue this weekend. I think I mostly prefer the contrast colors on this orc for their darker, crungier complexion. but I really liked the bright hues of the left orc.

Left, ArmyPainter speed paints all the way, got the starter set, amazing results. Really should not thin them with water though as they use a special medium sold on it's own, you can use that to thin them a bit better.

Consider thinning speed with contrast medium it works better than with water for control and finish. Water makes more of a wash and contrast medium acts more of a glaze both looks and works better. Give it a try

Great video Pete thanks for making this. These days I find I'm using contrast more for shading or diluted down to a heavy wash so I don't see that that tool going away anytime soon. But these new paints seem to address a lot of issues I've had with the darker colors in the contrast line leaving spotty or inconstant results when used by themselves. These new paints might make it easier to skip the touchup phase and go directly into highlighting. And that Agrax addition was very welcome as to me showed how contrast needs another step to really pop compared to speed paint looking a bit better before the wash was applied.

At 3:45 and I like the brighter and smoother color of the left model.

it's very tricky, not just to call out betters among brands, but there are differences between colors within the same ranges too.

Of the two, I was leaning towards right, and the effect of the agrax really made that one pop. Both models had nicer areas than the other

Thanks for a balanced and articulate review!

It's hard to pick a favourite. At first, I wanted to say right, but that's because the main colour - the skin - looks better on that one. On the other hand, the brown looks better on the left one, and certainly the grey, too. And the blue is more uniform.

I prefer Right, I feel like theres more visual interest compared to the rather flat looking colors of the left model

Right. I like the bold deep tones.

Blue, Brown and Yellow on the left model, Black, Orange and Green on the right.

I preferred the one on the right because details popped more. But once you out a wash on them at the end of the video I preferred the other one.

I've already decided to pick up the full range for Speed Paint as well the price and bundle just speaks for itself compared to Contrast which has no bundles and you have to buy everything individually. I was surprised however how quickly I could tell which one was which when the video began and as well the coverage between the two. I was pleasantly surprised how an overall wash changed the look of Speed Paint to something that looks closely to what other higher end painters achieve-which is alright in my books. Overall I believe Speed Paint did what it was designed to do and is a very strong contender against Contrast.

I know this is an old video, not to mention that the new 2.0 speedpaints came out... But I've always been told to use the right tool for the job you're doing. And if that means to mix and match your brands, then so be it. Because I'll be honest, some areas of both look better than others. BTW: great video and review!

I would have been interested in seeing Agrax Earthshade put up against the equivalent Army Painter wash (strong tone I think?), instead of Agrax on both, but otherwise, great video. If my local stores start carrying Army Painter, I'll definitely be picking some Speed Paints up myself. For now, I'll stick to Vallejo & the occasional GW paint.

Speed paints just leave so much of a smoother finish. The leather and pants of the contrast orc are so patchy and washed out that they just look terrible compared to the evenly dried and finished Speedpaints. Definitely excited to add these to my toolbox

I like right because it looks more definined due to the darker spots as oppose to the left which looks like plastic and more pastel

It's a good head-to-head comparison. I preferred the brighter color of the Speed Paint orc *before* you put the wash on it. That had an effect that looked like dust to me. As for which line would I purchase I would say neither. I'm never going to speed everything I own. If I were to use these I would buy the colors I want to use for a specific army and that's it. The cost differences and dropper bottles do make a big difference for me. I have never had the paint in a dropper bottle dry out on me. The games workshop bottles are another matter entirely.

I preferred the contrast paint when it came to the orc's skin, but I preferred the look of the speed paint on the other parts.

Great video! Unfortunately, I think I'm familiar enough with the Speed Paint to recognize one of its colors. So I might be biased. Left has better blue, black, and yellow. Right has better green. I could make do with either brown or gray. After the brown wash, the left is so desaturated that I might overlook the blotchiness of the right, and would prefer the right.

Left is speed paint right is contrast. That dark oath I could spot it from a mile away. I mean I could be wrong but I used a lot when mass painting my marauders

I think I'm sticking with contrast paints, availability of army painter paints in the UK seems patchy at best, plus I already have the colours I need and I'd rather have the consistancy and colour match that I have right now. I can appreciate the army painter paints though, however the saving in the UK is sitting at just under £1 if my local hobby store manages to stock them, whereas Contrast always seems to be on the shelf when I need it

I like the skin on the left ork and everything else in the right.

I paused the video as soon as you showed the painted versions to give my opinion without any bias. On the left ork I think the blue and the yellow look more even and less blotchy, as well as the brown covering nicely. On the right ork, the orange, green, and black, look like they cover the way a contrast/speed paint is supposed to; darker in the recesses and lighter on the ridges. Giving you a one stop bottle to do what 3 or 4 can in a normal range. Now time to start the video and see which ork is which.

I like the one on the right slightly more but i like that darker look more. But the shoulder blue on the left is better.

I prefer right. The skin almost looks as if it has been painted with a green base, green shade, highlighted with two lighter green tones and then glazed yellow in some areas. But I prefer the brown on the left one tbf.

You can see the reactivation problem after the agrax wash on the speedpaint - it's pulled paint away from raised surfaces, e.g. the edges of the strap across the chest and the armour plates, where the primer is showing through. Presumably that's what's causing the desaturated look? Would be interesting to see the same wash over a varnished speedpaint-ed Ork