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  So you've decided to pick up some of
  Reaper's new Master-Series Paints.  Maybe
  you're just curious, or saw a color you just
  had to have; maybe you heard about them
  from a friend or discussion group.  Whatever
  the case, this is a guide to what you can
  expect from your new MSPs!
  COLOR TRIADS
  Elsewhere in Casketworks you'll find two pages of color swatches showing the Master Paint colors
  and the triads they belong in.  The tri-color system is there as an aid for you, the painter.  If you're a
  beginner who isn't sure about mixing colors or a professional just looking to save some time, the tri-
  ads can be a big help!  On the next few pages are examples of some of the triads, with Jade, Danc-
  ing Girl modeling them, so that you can see how the colors work together.
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  PAINT LIKE A MASTER
  with
  Purple Jade was painted with the Fair Skintones triad (basecoat 9046,
  Fair Shadow, highlighted first with 9047, Fair Skin, and second with
  9048, Fair Highlight), the Deep Purples triad (basecoat 9023, Imperial
  Purple, shaded with 9022, Nightshade Purple, and highlighted with
  9024, Amethyst Purple), and the Warm Light Browns triad for her hair
  (basecoat 9032 Amber Gold, shaded with 9031, Tanned Leather, and
  highlighted with 9033, Golden Blond).
  
  RECIPE FOR
  THINNER
  The recipe for the mixture I use for
  thinning my Master Paint is:
  10% undiluted flow improver
  30% extender or retarder
  Fill remainder of the bottle with dis-
  tilled or filtered water. 
  Enjoy!
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  Orange Jade was painted with the Dark Skintones triad (basecoat 9041, Dark
  Skin, shaded with 9040, Dark Shadow, and highlighted with 9042, Dark High-
  light) and the Fire Colors triad (basecoat 9005, Phoenix Red, shaded with
  9004, Bright Red, and highlighted with 9006, Fire Orange).
  Green Jade was painted with the Rosy Skin-
  tones triad (basecoat 9068, Rosy Skin, shad-
  ed with 9067, Rosy Shadow, and highlighted
  with 9069, Rosy Highlight) and the Mossy
  Greens triad (basecoat 9083, Highlands
  Moss, shaded with 9082, Jungle Moss, and
  highlighted with 9084, Pale Lichen).
  Red Jade was painted with the Golden Skintones triad (basecoat 9092,
  Golden Skin, shaded with 9091, Golden Shadow, and highlighted with
  9093, Golden Highlight) and the Blood Colors triad (basecoated in
  9003, Blood Red, shaded first with 9002, Deep Red, and then shaded
  further with 9001, Red Brick).
  
  Master Tip #1
  MSP's tend to work best when you basecoat with
  your midtone and then add in shadow and highlight
  (as opposed to the technique of starting with your
  darkest shadow and working up from there).
  A NOTE ON SKINTONE TRIADS
  Though our skintones, like the rest of the Reaper Master Series paints, are organized in triads, you can get some interest-
  ing effects by deviating a little. For example, you might notice that cool and warm tones often alternate in the skintones.
  9043 is cool; 9044 is warm; 9045 is cool; 9046 is warm. If you wanted a very warm skintone, you could use 9044,
  skip 9045, and go straight to 9046 for a warmer highlight. If, on the other hand, you wanted a cooler, less tanned
  effect, but didn't want to go really pale, you could use 9043 as your base and then a mix of 9043 and 9045 as your first
  highlight, with pure 9045 being your next highlight. It's also worth mentioning that the Golden Skintones, though con-
  ceptualized as an "oriental" series, also mix well with 9044, Tanned Skin. Experiment and have fun!
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  Blue Jade was painted with the Tanned Skintones triad (basecoat 9044,
  Tanned Skin, shaded with 9043, Tanned Shadow, and highlighted with 9043,
  Tanned Highlight), the True Blues triad (basecoat 9017, True Blue, shaded with
  9016, Sapphire Blue, and highlighted with 9018, Sky Blue), and the Warm
  Deep Brown triad for her hair (basecoat 9028, Muddy Brown, highlighted first
  with 9029, Earth Brown, and second with 9030, Leather Brown).
  
  Master Tip #2
  The paints thin fine with just water, but a little additional flow
  improver won't hurt.  They are fast-drying, so you may wish to add
  extender or retarder to your mix--see the recipe on the facing
  page.  Some retarders might add a slight glossiness to the paint;
  you may wish to apply a coat of matte sealer after painting if
  you use a product that slows the paint's drying time.
  When a painter graduates from using inks to
  lining the various parts of a miniature, they
  often default to black for their liner.  However,
  much like pure white above, using pure black
  tends to look cartoony and unnatural.  If you're
  going for that, great!  If you're not, though,
  check out our Brown Liner-9064 for a more
  naturalistic look, or Grey Liner-9065 (I like to
  call it "Faded T-shirt Black") if you're lining a
  miniature with lots of greys and cold colors.
  For a bit of experimentation in color, try Blue
  Liner-9066 on a miniature with lots of greens
  and browns, or even one with lots of reds and
  oranges!  These colors can also be used as
  shadows, midtones, or highlights; Blue Liner
  makes a good shadow for Breonne Blue-9055,
  for example, and Grey Liner can be a good
  starting highlight for Pure Black-9037.
  RELATED-COLOR TRIADS
  In addition to the color Triads I just mentioned, we have related-color triads, which aren't organized in
  midtone, shadow, highlight but instead are groupings of colors with similar uses. 
  Clear Brights, as their name indicates, were for-
  mulated without coverage in mind.  The truth is
  that many pure, bright pigments are transparent,
  so it's very hard to get a paint that covers well
  without adding in other colors, like black or
  white, which give you coverage but also tone
  down the color.  
  We created the Clear Brights to give painters
  the option for blindingly bright colors, which,
  since they contain only one pigment, are also
  excellent for mixing.  Since their coverage is
  often not ideal, it's a good idea to basecoat in a
  regular MSP color and then put a coat of Clear
  Bright over the top.  For example, for a scream-
  ing-eyeball red you would basecoat in Blood
  Red-9003 or Bright Red-9004 and then put
  down a coat of Clear Red-9094; for a neon yel-
  low, you would basecoat in Sunlight Yellow-
  9008 and then put on a coat of Clear Yellow-
  9095, and so on.
  If you like to mix, you can also use Clear Brights
  as a color intensifier.  Sapphire Blue-9016 not
  bright enough for you?  Add a couple drops of
  Clear Blue-9097 for a deeper, more intense
  color.  Looking for a vivid dark blue?  Add a
  drop or two of Clear Blue to Breonne Blue-9055
  or even Blue Liner-9066.  And, of course, you
  can keep your brighter custom colors pre-mixed
  in one of Reaper's MSP empty bottles, sold in
  blisters of three!
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  Many painters don't know what to do with
  these.  I mean, why not just use Pure White?
  Well, employing an off-white instead of pure
  white in your highlights will often give your
  miniature a softer, more natualistic look
  instead of a bright, hard-edged one.  Also,
  using Linen White-9061 or Leather White-
  9062 in the whites of a miniature's eyes tends
  to look a little more natural than using stark
  Pure White.  Ghost White-9063 is an excellent
  highlight for blue-black hair; mix with Pure
  Black-9037 in increasing amounts for high-
  lighting those raven-haired beauties!
  OFF-WHITES
  LINER COLORS
  CLEAR BRIGHTS
  
  Master Tip #3
  Your paint will not require much thinning
  for a good basecoat consistancy. You can
  use the paint for basecoating straight out
  of the bottle, but remember that for the
  smoothest basecoat it's best to thin the
  paint a little and then apply two thinner
  coats rather than one thicker one.
  ABOUT THE PAINT
  And speaking of properties, what does this paint have going for it? Well, like many other choices on
  the market, it's a water-soluable acrylic blend, cleans up with soap and water and mixes fine with most
  other paints of its type. It possesses an enhanced flow factor that makes it very easy to work with,
  ultra-smooth and ideal for precision and detail work. Its adhesion is much better than many other
  paints of its type, so it sticks to the mini better and resists rub-off. The paint consistancy is balanced,
  providing utility straight out of the bottle, but it also has good coverage when thinned for more
  advanced applications, such as layering. It works well without any additives at all, but is compatible
  with retarders and flow improvers. Reaper Master Series paints are even versatile enough to work well
  in airbrush applications!
  NMM COLORS  
  We don't have official triads for these yet, but
  with the addition of the Ochre Golds, Red-
  Browns, and Neutral Greys we have all the col-
  ors you need for them!  Here are some recipes
  to experiment with, for those of you who love
  using Non-Metallic Metals:
  NMM Silver: Pure Black-9037 or Stormy Grey-
  9088 for darkest shadow, Cloudy Grey-9089 or
  Rainy Grey-9038 for midtone, Misty Grey-9090
  and Pure White 9039 for highlights.
  NMM Warm Gold: Muddy Brown-9028 and/or
  Mahogany Brown-9070 for darkest shadow,
  Chestnut Gold-9073 and Palomino Gold-9074
  for midtones, Buckskin Pale-9075 and Pure
  White 9039 for highlights.
  NMM Neutral Gold: Brown Liner-9064 for dark-
  est shadow, Earth Brown-9029 and Palomino
  Gold-9074 for midtones, Buckskin Pale-9075
  and Pure White 9039 for highlights.
  WHERE TO START
  But wait!  What would be the best colors to pick up, just as a sampler, or if you're trying to decide to buy in?  Well, the paints
  are organized according to triads.  Most of these are a selection of midtone, shadow, and highlight; others are triads of
  "related colors" such as the set of off-whites, or the liner colors.  Nonetheless, this doesn't mean you need to pick up three
  paints if you really only want one!  You can buy the triads packaged in blister form, true, but you can also feel free to pick and
  choose, mix and match just like you would with any other paint line.  The triads are just there to make things a little easier if
  you want to save time or just don't feel like dealing with color choices at the moment!
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  If you would like to pick up five or ten colors just to try the paint out
  and explore its properties, we recommend the following color sets:
  BASIC FIVE:  Pure White-9039, Pure Black-9037, Blood Red-9003,
  Tanned Skin-9044, Honed Steel-9053 
  BASIC TEN:  the above FIVE plus Antique Gold-9050, Muddy
  Brown-9028, Sunlight Yellow-9008, Sapphire Blue-9016, Pine
  Green-9010
  GOOD ADD-ONS:  Burgundy Wine-9025, Nightshade Purple-9022,
  Twilight Blue-9020, Tanned Leather-9031, Muddy Olive-9034
  STARTER COLORS
  
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