I made a complete mess of my Saurus by depending on dry brushing them. The main problem was, I painted a test model first and was pretty pleased with the results. So I went on to batch painting the whole lot. I base coat with a a large flat brush and thin the paint down. I normally do about 2 or 3 coats. I then dry brushed by adding white progressively to the base colour. I wash down the models by using matte medium some of the base colour and lots of water. The problem was I was unhappy with the end result. The dry brushing gives a dusty grainy result. Also the main problem I ran into was the saurus eyes are so easy to become pooling hot spots. I just didn't expect for the paint to pool so easily and so severely around the eyes, obscuring all the details. My only recourse was to snap off some of the old heads and put new ones from the sprue's on. My Stormcast models I have painted over 3 or 4 times on some models. And though the detail is not as sharp as it could be. Its not that bad. Where as the Saurus models details were lost on the first pass. Probably in future I will use wet blending on my Lizard men, as it gives nicer finish. Also its not possible to rush over them and make critical errors. The test model. Details were kept sharp, But I only paint one model at a time. Old blood used some wet blending after dry brushing. Paint pooling seems to be less of an issue on the old blood model. A horror story, the eyes were completely lost after base coating. Face was destroyed after light base coating. Using wet blending to paint over the cold ones. Will not strip paint as its to time consuming. But around the cold one's eyes, has become obscured as well. I think its to do with the rough texture, that traps paint. Stormcast painted over 3 times, as was not happy with earier efforts. Still looks ok. No severe loss of detail.
I find that glazing works best when dealing with Skin. Even when it is reptilian. If you are willing to put in the time it renders great results. Fine edge highlighting also makes things like eyelids, fangs, and crest pop.
Yes, I wanted to paint my Lizard men to a basic level. And then come back later and add the details in now and then. But using the same techniques/methods I have used for painting other armies (a quick and dirty base coast/wash/dry brush) has left many of them peeling paint, and pooling in the face that I can't even find the eyes to paint them. What I think now, is I would use a small base coating brush and just paint a few models at a time. Which is not ideal because I want to have them all done to the first stage quickly, so I can play with them.
You could do a few very thin coats of base paint, then do a direct wash. They wouldn't look too bad at that stage and you could always come back to them to sharpen up their detailing at a later date.
I'm starting to think that an air brush might be an essential item for the Seraphon. My base paint was thin, washed down, but I used a big flat brush. Worked find for base coating other models. But the scales on the Seraphon I think trap to much moisture, and when you are doing a lot at once, its easy to not check for pooling. I look forward to getting another box of Seraphons. Next time I am probably going to go for more of a wet blending aproach. As I really like the results. They might not look as realistic, but I prefer the more cartoony look. I paint the whole thing Averland Sunset. Then I dab white paint on the areas where it will be brighter. Then mix it on the model. They I am gonna wash it with a wash made from Averland Sunset. I feel like, if you get the basic colours right. If the colour scheme looks good. And the models are painted fairly neat, the models will look better then someone who is an expert painter but doesn't have optimal base colours. I probably messed by choosing yellow and orange, as they are not very contrasting. When I paint the cold one green, it goes a lot better with the yellow rider. Actually, I think orange was probably the worst colour I could have chosen to go with yellow.
I find contrast works well for lizards, Contrast base Dry brush base colour Highlight Its how i plan to crack out my base units, and then i can save my best painting for characters. Ive attached a quick test i did (today actually) Bone spray Akelon green(or however its spelt) 1:1 mix with medium. Dry brush temple guard blue Highlight colour (i use a mix). Same method should work with the yellow colours instead.
Been working on my Scar Vetran and Cold One Champion. The hard thing is painting the Scar veteran white. Been washing him with celestra grey wash. Hard to paint white. I know it probably looks chalky or not great. I want him to be white tho. Also I painted over these models a lot. They have a lot of paint on them. But now I am not all about thin coats and keeping the details sharp anymore. I am starting to like really thick paint and very loose high lighting.