Hex Cutting Mat - Warm Greys & White: Building Neutral Colour Schemes

Quick answer

For a neutral miniature painting scheme, start from a warm grey base and keep white for the final highlights only. Use the Hex Cutting Mat - Warm Greys & White as a visual reference while you mix, then test each tone on a spare base or piece of plastic before committing it to the model. Warm greys and white work best when one colour stays dominant and the other supports it.

Neutral schemes are easy to plan and surprisingly easy to ruin. Grey and white painting can turn flat, chalky or cold if you mix white straight into every layer, so the trick is to control where the warmth sits and where the white appears. A warm grey paint scheme gives you that control because the grey already carries a little red or brown, which stops the finished model looking like bare plastic.

This guide walks through a practical order of work you can repeat across a squad, a vehicle or a display piece. You will set a reference, choose a base, build contrast, glaze the transitions and finish the white. Along the way you will use the Hex Cutting Mat - Warm Greys & White as a mixing and checking surface, and you can swap in any warm grey or off-white you already own.

Set your reference before you open a pot

The Hex Cutting Mat - Warm Greys & White is useful because it puts a spread of warm greys and a white in front of you at once. Before mixing, look at the mat under the same light you paint in, then pick the two or three tones that sit closest to the look you want. This turns a vague idea like 'neutral grey' into a specific target you can match.

Write down the mixes you use, even roughly. A short note such as 'two parts grey, one part white, one touch of yellow' saves you from re-inventing the scheme on the tenth model. If you are painting a squad, mix enough of each tone for the whole unit in a dropper bottle or a small sealed pot.

• Checkpoint: if the grey looks blue or green next to the mat, it is cooler than your reference and will fight the warm white later.

Lay a warm grey base over a mid-tone undercoat

A warm grey base coat does most of the work in a neutral miniature painting scheme. Apply it in two thin coats rather than one thick one, and let the first coat dry fully before the second. Thin coverage keeps the surface smooth, which matters more with grey than with saturated colours because uneven grey reads as dirt or damage.

If your undercoat is pure white, warm grey will look lighter and slightly washed out. If it is black, the same grey will look deeper and cooler. Choose the undercoat that matches the final value you want, then adjust the grey rather than fighting the undercoat with extra layers.

• Common mistake: painting warm grey over a cold grey primer. The two greys mix visually and the warmth disappears.

Build contrast with a darker grey, not with black

Shadows in a grey colour scheme should come from a darker warm grey, not from black. Black kills the warmth and creates a hard edge that is difficult to blend later. Mix your shadow tone by adding a small amount of a dark brown or a deep warm grey to your base, then apply it into the recesses and under overhangs.

Keep the shadow mix thin. You want it to settle into the deepest areas and tint the surrounding grey, not to cover the base coat. If the shadow looks patchy after it dries, add a second thin pass rather than loading more paint on the brush.

• Checkpoint: squint at the model. If you cannot see a clear dark, mid and light shape, the contrast is too low to read at table distance.

Glaze the mid-tones to smooth the transition

Once the base and shadows are in place, a glaze of your mid warm grey ties the two together. Load the brush lightly, wipe most of the paint off, and drag the glaze across the boundary between light and dark. Several thin passes look better than one heavy one, and each pass should be almost dry before you add the next.

This is the step where patience pays off. If you rush the glaze, the surface turns streaky and the warmth becomes uneven. Work in small areas, keep the brush moving, and let the model dry between passes so you can judge the result honestly.

• Tip: keep a clean, damp brush nearby to soften any glaze edge before it dries.

Add white only as a final highlight

White is the most powerful tool in a grey and white painting scheme, which is exactly why it should come last. Use it on the highest points: helmet tops, shoulder edges, knuckles and the sharpest folds. A small amount of white in the right place reads as light; white spread across the model reads as chalk.

If your white looks too stark, mix a tiny amount of warm grey or a pale ivory into it. This keeps the highlight connected to the rest of the scheme. You can also use a pale warm ivory for bone, parchment and aged surfaces, then reserve pure white for the single brightest point on the model.

• Common mistake: highlighting every edge with white. Pick the edges that face your light source and leave the rest alone.

Check the scheme under two light sources

Neutral schemes are sensitive to light colour, so check your model under both a daylight bulb and the room light you normally use. A warm grey that looks balanced in daylight can turn muddy under a yellow bulb, and a white highlight can look blue under a cool LED. Adjusting one tone is easier than repainting the whole model.

If you plan to photograph the finished piece, check it against a neutral background as well. The Hex Cutting Mat - Warm Greys & White gives you a consistent reference to compare against, so you can see whether the model is warmer or cooler than your intended target.

• Checkpoint: if the model disappears against the mat, your values are too close and the scheme needs more contrast.

Your six-step neutral scheme routine

1. Step 1: Set the reference: Place the Hex Cutting Mat - Warm Greys & White under your work light and choose two or three tones that match your target. Checkpoint: if the grey looks blue or green beside the mat, it is too cool for this scheme.
2. Step 2: Base coat in warm grey: Apply two thin coats of warm grey over a mid-tone undercoat, letting each coat dry fully. Common mistake: one thick coat that dries uneven and reads as damage.
3. Step 3: Shadow with darker warm grey: Mix a darker warm grey with a touch of brown and place it into recesses and under overhangs. Checkpoint: squint at the model. You should see clear dark, mid and light shapes.
4. Step 4: Glaze the mid-tone: Drag thin glazes of your mid warm grey across the light-to-dark boundary, building up several light passes. Common mistake: rushing the glaze and leaving streaks.
5. Step 5: Highlight with white: Add white or pale warm ivory only to the highest points that face your light source. Checkpoint: if the white looks chalky, mix in a little warm grey or ivory.
6. Step 6: Check under two lights: Compare the finished model under a daylight bulb and your normal room light, then adjust one tone if needed. Next step: note the mixes you used so the next model in the squad matches.

Products that fit this process

• Warpaints Fanatic: Company Grey: A light grey that works well as a light base tone or a highlight colour, and the second-lightest tone from the Black & Greys Flexible Colour Triad. Use it as the light end of your warm grey mix, or as a highlight over a darker grey base when you want a soft neutral finish.
• Speedpaint Marker: Pallid Bone: A pale, warm ivory for bone, parchment and aged surfaces, with a high-pigment formula that gives natural tone depth in one coat. It gives you a warm off-white without mixing, which is useful for bone, cloth and parchment areas inside a neutral scheme.
• Warpaints Fanatic: Space Dust: A yellow that works well as a light layer or highlight tone, and the second-lightest tone from the Yellows Flexible Colour Triad. A small amount added to grey or white warms the mix without turning it yellow, which helps when your neutral scheme looks too cold.
• John Blanche Masterclass: Frostveil: Co-created with legendary artist John Blanche, these Masterclass paints deliver striking tones and powerful contrast, designed to create depth, atmosphere and narrative. John Blanche Single Paints are only available on our webshop. Use it when you want a cool, atmospheric contrast against your warm greys rather than another neutral layer.

A warm grey paint scheme stays readable when you control the order of work: set a reference, base in warm grey, shadow with a darker warm grey, glaze the mid-tone, and save white for the final highlight. Use the Hex Cutting Mat - Warm Greys & White to keep your mixes honest, and your neutral miniature painting will look deliberate rather than unfinished.