Azrakh the Annihilator - Part I

 

Giving someone the finger...with a chainsaw.

After some time away (and a nasty cold still ongoing) I'm finally back to some painting. I decided that I didn't have enough models on the go and started working on Azrakh the Annihilator, simply because it doesn't have much in the way of sub-assemblies, and it's something different. I doubt I'll finish this model very quickly, but it might be just a case of doing a little as I get motivation.

I decided not to use the airbrush here. The trim makes up half the armour anyway, so the airbrush would be of limited value in applying highlights, and the more precise nature of a normal brush would allow me a level of control that I like to use on more special characters. Even so, I perhaps should've done that one base coat of Khorne Red with an airbrush - it took about four thin layers to get a smooth finish, and took far too much time!

I've decided to go with the box art on this model, itself which is based on the original MG artwork. There are particular reasons for this: I want to try my hand at NMM again, and the box art provides an excellent reference point - I say reference, but I fully intend to just copy it. This raises a discussion point that I've seen before: is it ok to simply copy the box art? Yes. I'm not portraying this as my own original work, it's not being entered into any competitions, and it's solely for my own enjoyment. I'm not particularly interested in custom colours and all the colour theory effort behind that either - the model is based on (2D) artwork, and the whole appeal for purchasing this model is to bring that artwork into a 3D representation. The colour planning has been done, the mood of the model has been set, and examples are provided. I want to learn more NMM, and while determining where bright points go is part of that, there is also the topic of which paints to use, experience in blending properly for the effect, and even how to take photos to show it off. I'm still the one applying the paint at the end of the day, so copying the box art is, in this case, entirely ok - all the style hard work as been done and far better than I could do, so I'm going to use that work to more quickly paint up the model. Again, so long as I don't misrepresent it anywhere, it's all fine.

On such topics as which paints to use, the basic red on the armour I intend to shade with a brown, and possibly mix one of the browns with Khorne Red to glaze into shadowed areas. I normally highlight with Wazdakka Red initially, but not yet sure where I'll go from there. I don't want it to be the same red tones as Flesh Tearers, and instead might try to shift it more towards a saturated red rather than the pink that Khorne Red is actually closer to. Reds can be complicated.

Juan Hidalgo has a nice tutorial on NMM brass that I like the look of, and might well try that out on the trim. It's a little more involved than what I was originally hoping, and I might shift it slightly more to the yellow spectrum, but I could possibly also cut a few steps seeing as there aren't large surfaces for multiple gradients; armour trim will need value contrast, but might need fewer precise blends.

As a final note, it can be seen that the model is not stuck to a base for easy handling. This is because some of the areas are hard to reach with a brush, so it will be on some pins for a good long painting time, or at least until the legs are entirely done.

-- silly painter.