If you’ve been painting Warhammer for a while, there’s a good chance you learned the classic Games Workshop “Citadel Painting System”: basecoat, wash, then layer and highlight. That’s how I painted for about 8 years, and to be clear—I still think it’s a great starting point. It’s easy to learn, easy to teach, and it absolutely works. But when I started comparing my minis to painters I really admired (and the kind of stuff that wins Golden Demon), something felt… off. Like they were doing something fundamentally different, and I was stuck repeating the same habits. So in this video, me and you unlearn some of that muscle memory—today. I break down what I think holds the system back (it can be inefficient, washes can dry streaky/shiny, and it encourages painting everything to the same level), then I run through quick, realistic swaps: pick a smarter primer to speed up coverage, start with lighter basecoats, stop nuking the whole model with an all-over wash, and instead recess shade for cleaner results. Then we get spicy: more experimental colour choices (colourful shadows, saturation, undertones), simplifying highlights (because flat can actually be good), and finally adding “extra bits” like quick weathering, chipping, and simple freehand to make a basic infantry model look way more intentional. The goal isn’t to ditch Citadel forever—it’s to break the autopilot and push your painting forward.