XVIII Legion - Salamanders WIP #1

Just burning to get more done (it's a Salamander's joke).

Having had the Betrayal at Calth boxed set sitting around for a while, I decided to start my idea of painting one model from each of the Legion colour schemes. Don't worry, the other 3 models are still being (slowly, as ever) done, and I'll post an update on them soon, but I really wanted to play with the greens of the Salamander's colours.

The base was done using Castellan Green, nothing much more to say about that really. Ensure a smooth coat and all (hint: the GW base brush is still great for that).

Highlighting was done a little differently for this model. I wanted a bit of front-facing highlights to indicate the light coming from a flamer that he'll be holding, so I decided to go for that. I had intended to try follow a few tutorials from Painting Buddha, but it didn't really happen (because I need a lot more practice).
At any rate, Loren Forest was mixed with Lahmian Medium to glaze up some highlights, running length-ways with each armour plate. I tried to make it more pronounced on the model's right side (which should be closer to the point of light).

Lamenter's Yellow was next glazed over the initial highlights. I find this brings out the green and makes it that much lighter, and used carefully blends in nicely as well.
To make the back areas seem more in shade, I then used the opposite approach: Guilliman Blue was glazed into various areas. Why yellow and blue glazes? Look at a colour wheel and it should be apparent, but also because green can be mixed from those two - adding one lightens the green, adding the other darkens it.

Nuln Oil was washed into recesses - not a green wash actually, it was deemed that a strong, and careful, application of black would make everything stand that much more.

It was after all this that I buggered up. I tried to put on a coat of purity seal to overcome a bit of tacky feeling and excess shine from too much Lahmian use. It didn't work - the purity seal frosted up, dulled everything, and generally made it look horrible. So I had to cover it with thin layers of whatever I could get my hands on to bring the look back. I think I've mostly recovered from that mistake, but I may make other components (e.g the helmet) look out of place later.
Following this, edges were highlighted very carefully with thin layers of Straken Green. I don't want the edges to be too brightly defined for this model, given the attempt at a bit of source lighting, but I'll need more practice before I'm any good at it.

-- silly painter.

Grey Knight, Blood Angel Chaplain, Captain Karlaen

Having finished a few models, it's time to think of what to start painting next. There are still seven Lizardmen riders to get painted up, but for now it's back to the basics: Space Marines. Painting three models at a time appears to be a good number for now, so I've chosen some that are interesting, but also keep the colour schemes different.

Karlaen

Legs away.

 I've actually had this model sitting on the desk for a while, mostly with the base coat and highlights done on the armour. The final edge highlight is still missing, but I've started to fill in some detail now.
The NMM attempt on the right leg detail didn't really turn out, but still looks acceptable. I judged normal gold paints to be too dull, and wanted a bit more pop - the tiny white highlights and yellow edging does this.
The pteruges had no actual black base paint applied. Instead:

• Kantor Blue (base)
• Dark Repear (layer) highlight
• Thunderhawk Blue (layer) edge highlight
• Nuln Oil (shade) (x2) to make it very dark

This gives a good "black", but with blue/grey hints to the highlights. The photo, as usual, isn't the greatest, but it gives a kind of leather feel to it. I intend to do something different for the cape.
To blow my own horn, I'm definitely improving when it comes to painting blood drop shaped gems.

Blood Angels Chaplain

Hop to it!

 New model, just released. It looks pretty damned awesome, so I just have to give it a go. In case anyone is wondering why a leg is missing, it's just so that I have easier access to painting some of the detail. As with all models I do paint now, I only assemble when it won't interfere with painting each component.
I'll likely stick to the GW colour scheme for the most part. I really like it, so no need to change it much.

Grey Knight

Let's dance.

I've had these guys waiting patiently for some time now. I figured that I'd go back to metallic paints again, after all that was learned from the Sanguinary Guard. Still not sure exactly what I'll do, but the inset writing has been done before anything else, just because otherwise it'd be difficult not to mess up the surrounding areas.
The writing was done fairly easily with:

• Retributor Armour (base)
• Seraphim Sepia (shade)
• Sigmarite (dry)

I'm not convinced that drybrushing is best in this case, so I might try Retributor Gold after the base, and simply apply a shade later. The shade really works well in this case, as provides an excellent contrast to the lettering, allowing it all to be read quite easily.
Grey Knights are interesting to paint, as they're typically given a blue hint to their armour. I'm not sure how I'll go about that yet - possibly using Drakenhof Nightshade will be sufficient. I'll have to experiment.

-- silly painter.

Model Roundup

Charge! To biscuits!

 Well, ok, it's not entirely finished. The base still needs to be done. Otherwise, the rider and his steed are now as one. Not much to say at this point - the golden headdress was just playing with several of the metallic paints. I should probably take a couple more photos at some point, perhaps once the base has been done.

Put the cookie down.

 The Stormcast Eternal was pretty interesting to paint. A lot of work to get a dark blue going (hint: multiple washes of Nuln Oil) but I'm overall happy with the colour scheme. The base still needs a bit of work as well - stones, maybe some patchy grass. I'll deal with that at a later time. I'm not likely to get onto more of these just yet; the intention was to determine a colour scheme, and later paint more using an airbrush (whenever I get one).
I attempted to give the shield a bit more emphasis by trying to paint some clouds at the bottom, tying in to the lightning bolts coming out of the hammer. It works ok, but I need a lot of practice on painting clouds!

You will give me chocolates.

The Skink Priest is now done, including the base. Actually, the base only took about 10 minutes. It was just Zandri Dust, with differing washes (Agrax was in there, but also Athonian Camoshade, and possibly something else). A bit of messing about with drybrushing (honestly can't recall which colours I used, maybe Underhive Ash, Tyrant Skull, and a light dabbing of Praxeti White in places). Being exact wasn't the point - weathered stone looks more real I find if you don't pay attention and just play around with a few things. I tried to have more Athonian Camoshade show through in cracks and recesses, just to show moss and lichen growing there. It really didn't take long to do it all, and yet gives a very jungle-stone appearance.

Not sure what's next, but it's likely to be back to a terminator of some description.

-- silly painter.

Skink Priest WIP

The bling is strong with this one.

Not yet finished, but not much left until the skink priest is complete. I'm going to try for a blue glow effect on the outstretched hand, as if the skink is conjuring some magic. The eyes are also blue, to match and give a magic feel about the model. Either that, or it's possessed by a Goa'uld.

I'm quite happy with how this model is turning out. It's mostly been an exploration of contrasting colours; green gems and tips of the feathers/leaves (whichever) contrasting against the red flesh, with hints of blue just for balance. Gold because Lizardmen.

Subtlety makes this character. The white dots of the gems (my first square shaped ones), the gold highlights, it's just been fun to paint. I'm also pleased with the snout - the lighter tone there was to give an impression of age originally, but it also draws attention to the face.

At any rate, another afternoon or two and the main model is done, and the base will hopefully follow soon after.

-- silly painter.

Lizardmen Shield

Shorter post today, mostly because sleep beckons.

I wanted a red-brown look for the shield. I'm not sure what it would be made from, but I wanted a slight red tone to contrast against the mounts. With some playing around, the following was done:

• Mournfang Brown (base)
• Carroburg Crimson (wash) (note: at this point, I quite liked the look - I just messed up the next step)
• Terminatus Stone (drybrush) (applied too much, darn)
• Carroburg Crimson (wash) (tried to tone it back, didn't quite work)
• Skrag Brown (layer) (thin coat on the raised areas, still a little too brown for my liking)
• Mephiston Red (base, thinned down to glaze consistency) (thin coat on the raised areas, just to make it more red).

The messed up drybrushing stage was recovered from, and probably did help to lighten up the raised areas. In future, just doing that directly after the base, followed by the Carroburg wash, would probably be sufficient.

-- silly painter.

Lizardmen Cold One Cavalry WIP #4

With the Cold Ones themselves done, it's time to move on to the riders.

"I have a sword!", "Wave it over there somewhere."

Well, ok, it's not just the riders. A few other models are on the go right now as well, as can be seen by a work in progress skink priest. This is just to mix things up a bit and not get too bored painting the same thing eight times in a row.
Each rider will be done individually, and I'll probably just play around with the colours for each. I won't be keeping track of what I use - that would defeat the purpose of them all being indivdual really.
The main point for today is the feather. Yes, the multi-coloured one. I tried a base coat of white, and then various shades over each part, but it doesn't blend together that well. I may need to water down the shades a little before application, and do multiple passes (like with layer paint highlighting), which is a bit of a pain but will give better results. I'll very likely try that next with the skink, although I might try a base of Celestra Grey instead of Ceramic White - the feathers might otherwise be too bright compared to the rest of the model.

-- silly painter.

Lizardmen Cold One Cavalry WIP #3

Still here!
Moving has taken some time to get sorted out, but the sillyness has returned.

Something looks tasty over there

Today is just a very quick note about some animalistic eyes. That's really all that's left to do on the Cold Ones themselves, though the riders are still in their plastic sprues. Going for a predatory look, I didn't want white to surround the pupil, but instead either a darker brown, or perhaps an amber. Amber would tie in more with the golden collar, so the steps are:
Get a very fine tip brush. Something like this does the trick.

• Averland Sunset base.
• Carroburg Crimson shade (if too much, just quickly wash the brush and absorb some back).
• Rhinox Hide for the pupil (or black)

The eyelid was also highlighted a little, as it makes the eyes look a little more natural. Hard to explain that one, but basically don't forget about the eyelids.

Hopefully another post in a few days with the finished Cold Ones, then I can try out the new Citadel Corax White spray on the riders.

-- silly painter.

Lizardmen Cold One Cavalry WIP #2

Not too much done so far. Some layering work, a bit of drybrushing, and some thoughts on where to go next.

Cold Ones on a warm day.

This might be fairly brief, as there is much packing to be done, but there were a few thoughts to jot down as I worked on them.

Firstly: I've been using a medium layer brush from Games Workshop, one of their new sets. It holds water quite well, but has to be kept damp at all times - if it dries out even a little, bristles start sticking out. That's not to say it's a bad brush - certainly I'm much more impressed than their previous offerings - just that you have to be a little more careful if you want them kept in good shape.
As for being a layer brush, holding a decent amount of water helps considerably. I've been very exact when painting (good for detail, bad for speed and batch painting) and the brush either holds a large amount of paint when required, or is also good at painting directly from pot to model - no mixing down the palette (not recommended for large amounts of paint, but rather for just a small dab on the tip which is then spread around a on a small area on the model).
I'll see how the brush continues to hold up, but I think it'll be ok. Not as good a high quality, professional set (it doesn't beat the good Army Painter ones), but better than what you'd get from a generic painting hobby store.

Another note is on colour theory. I sort of realised this when playing around with the scales on the Cold Ones, then realised it's what was being done on several display Orc models. Green should definitely use blues and purples for shading, and some yellow for highlights (more on that in a moment). Colour wheels are useful. Don't just make it darker of the same colour, but rather use a colour wheel to find shades darker and lighter to help. It really does make a difference, particularly with muscle, or anything organic in shape and texture. I think this comes down to subsurface scattering - skin is translucent, and there are different light absorption, reflection, and refraction depending on how deep the light can penetrate: what lies underneath the skin, how taught muscles are, etc. Armour plating is obviously different, and I suspect I'll stick to different shades of the same colour for armour, but move towards harmonious colours with anything organic.
To be clear: I'm not doing this much with the Cold Ones. I might with their riders, when I get to them.

Lastly for this post, glazes. I've been having trouble figuring out how to use them properly, and so experimented a little with different Cold Ones. This ties back into colour theory, and it finally clicked how I'd like to be using them. Sure, they can give a tint to metallics, but I'm finding them quite effective at making highlights stand out more. Using Lamenter's Yellow glaze over green muscle higlighting really made them "pop". It's really that simple: to make a green highlight stand out that little more, use a yellow glaze. To draw it back, use blue. The picture above doesn't show it too well, but the muzzle on the left Cold One was given a glaze, and it really does brighten things up without disrupting any blending working. On the right, a Bloodletter glaze was used to make things a little less brown.
I guess I just need to think of glazes as a kind of anti-shade paint (used in the opposite manner to the shades).
I've also used glazes of red on the some of dermal plates (on the green-based Cold Ones), with the idea that blood can be flushed through to help cool down the creature, or perhaps it darkens with age (a couple of others have a more blue-grey colouring to the plates).

The scales have some drybrushing work on a few models too. Just a bit of whatever colour (Tyrant Skull mostly) to give the raised areas of the scales a bit of a wear and weathering.

-- silly painter.

Lizardmen Cold One Cavalry WIP #1

And so onwards from the Sanguinary Guard, this time it's Lizardmen. I really wanted something other than armour to paint here: getting models to look more organic, fewer hard edges, and generally different model aspects to consider.

Starting with the Cold One mounts, and with thanks to Matt for the suggestion, I've gone with attempting to make each model look slightly different. It's not like they're all clones; making them different colours will actually give a more natural appearance. I've gone for a more crocodilian look, so I probably won't have a multitude of patterns colouring the scales, but I will try go for different basic colour schemes.

All looking off to the same direction. Obviously, there's a cat for lunch over there.

As can be seen, green above with a pale underbelly is the basic approach I've taken. I basically took every green base paint I had and tried it out, with the exception of a single brown model. The brown one will likely have green highlights, shades, and glazes to tie it in with the rest later on.

The underbelly was painted first to give something to blend into, and it turned out surprisingly easy to do. First, an undercoat  of Ceramite White, being careful to give it an even and full covering, and trying to make sure the black primer spray doesn't show through. It might need multiple coats for this step, and be sure to let each coat dry before applying the next. Next, apply a wash of Seraphim Sepia. That's it. Such a simple approach, but very effective. I actually found the idea from looking at a GW painting guide for Tyranids, so it just goes to show that sometimes the easiest approach is the best.

Moving on to the top of the models, I tried was to use a lot of water to really thin down the base paints and blend it in to the underbelly. I didn't want a hard line between the scales on top, and the softer parts underneath - nature is rarely so defined. This was no easy task, and it takes quite a while to build up the blend, but I find that applying water to the area before painting on the (thinned down) base colour helped in this task. Even so, I'm not happy with all models - Death World Forest seems to work best, where as Caliban Green barely worked at all.

Fortunately, making each model look different is really helping to explore different effects and approaches to see what works, and what doesn't. I plan to test drybrushing the scales, then using different shades, glazes, and layer paint highlights just to see what it all ends up looking like. I will likely try for a dark blue or possibly grey tone to the harder scales, and maybe some final drybrushing of yellow or flesh tones to show where those scales have been exposed to weather effects, chipping, and so on. I'm also going to highlight muscle with a lighter green, then pull it back with shades of green and brown (Agrax Earthshade), just to see how that looks, and possibly later give some areas a yellow glaze.

One thing to keep in mind through it all is that these models should look organic. While metal hangings can have sharp highlights, the mounts themselves should definitely have a softer appearance, and this is a theme I will try stick to.

As always, the lack of a proper camera and lighting will make in progress photos difficult, but I'll try keep in mind what I'm doing and describe it later.

-- silly painter

Sanguinary Guard + 1

It's taken some time, but the Sanguinary Guard are now more or less complete. There is no writing on scrolls or anything - I'm saving that for when I know I can do a proper job of it.

Overall, I'm happy without how they turned out. The gold armour worked well, the gems everywhere fit, and the banner turned out quite nice. The power weapon effect, however, I'm not liking. I still haven't sorted myself out yet with the glow of power weapons, but I think I'm closing in on something that works for me. What I've done so far is just experimentation, blending with blues and aqua, but the final white edging ruins things a bit, and I really needed to cover more of the blades. There will likely be investigation involving drybrushing at some point.

The +1 model is a finecast with minor adjustments to give him a few more Blood Angel specific icons. The base is currently unfinished, but it's not far off. While I do like the model, working with finecast is a pain (so many little things to fix up during the preparation phase) and I'm definitely going to stick to plastic as much as possible. I'm not sure if the special model will be a Captain, or Honour Guard yet. At the very least, he has Terminator Honours and a big axe.

Sanguinary Guard leaping into action, supported by a special model.

Excuse the bad photo again. Still stuck with poor lighting and a smartphone camera.

-- silly painter.

Banner & Jump Pack

So it's been a while since the last post. The Sanguinary Guard are not actually entirely finished yet - I went to put them together and discovered that one of the wings for the marine holding the banner was not compatible with the shoulder pad I had intended for him. I'm in the middle of sorting out a replacement shoulder pad, but I've also finalised how I'll be painting the actual banner too.

Sanguinary Guard Banner

At this point, I should also mention that my good camera appears to no longer recognise any SD cards, so I'm forced to use a smartphone camera. They're just not as good, especially at showing colour transitions. I'll hopefully setup a miniature photo area this year, but there are more important matters to attend to first.
Anyway, the central banner background is:

• Mournfang Brown (base)
• Tuskgor Fur (layer) - thin layers, built up to highlight the raised areas of "cloth". Takes a while to do, but as always it's worth the effort.
• Bloodletter (glaze) - tones down the Tuskgor Fur, and gives everything a more red earth appearance.
• Carroburg Crimson (shade) - just to fix some areas, darken others slightly. Only used sparingly, and only to fix mistakes.

The white border was the basic "can't remember what colours, but built up through browns to white". The key to it really just pick a decent brown to start with, then layer up through progressively lighter tones - this one in particular went through Ushabti Bone, Pallid Wych Flesh, and finally a very (very) thin layer of White Scar at least. There was a shade of Agrax Earthshade in there somewhere too - I find it useful if areas are starting to get too light to just add some diluted Agrax into the mix. Patience and thin layers of paint are the key!
The rest of the banner I'll get to shortly, but it will be a challenge to highlight folds of cloth around the wings. I suspect some Agrax will be used there too.

Firey reds, or hot blues.

 On another topic, jump pack exhaust. Up to now, I've been going with a kind of "hot blue" effect. I've improved upon previous attempts with a more blended approach, which looks quite good in my opinion. There's just one problem: I can't seem to think of anything different to use for power weapons, and I don't want the power weapon "glow" to be the same as the jump pack exhaust. So I've experimented with a red/yellow/white approach instead (with Guillman Blue glazed across the outlying areas - simple, but gives an extra impression of heat). I now can't decide if I should go with the red or blue exhaust appearance. Much thought required.

-- silly painter.

Peep

Just a gap filler post while I work on finishing the Sanguinary Guard. Everything has just settled down again, so painting is once again underway - not much, half an hour each day on average, but that's still something.

The wings will be the last part painted. I've been sticking to blue shadows thus far for all the wing symbols, but I think that might be too much for the SG wings. Something more subtle to keep the focus on the main parts of the model - which basically means grey.

With some luck, they'll all be finished towards the end of next week, and then I can provide some photos.

-- silly painter.