Here's the first set of stage by stage photos for Broga. I decided to drive straight in and tackle the largest area of the miniature first - the armour. I decided right away (as soon as I saw the sculpt actually) that I wanted to paint the armour red and base the whole colour scheme around that. I went for a really strong saturated red - as if the armour was enamelled.
A lot of my painting, especially for strong colours like red, relies on a combination of over-highlighting, and then glazing with ink. I take the highlights quite a lot lighter (and paler) than I want the finished effect to be - then I put the depth and saturation back in with ink glazes. You really need to use strong, transparent inks to do this successfully - glazing with paints just won't work the same.
The first step is to get a good solid base colour to work over. I wanted a strong red that was somewhere on the deeper side of the final mid tone - if that makes sense... Basically it a little further towards the shade tones than the highlight tones. It was a mix of GW colours - Blood Red with a little Scab Red added. I also thinned the consistency down by adding red ink rather than water. It took me three coats to get a good flat base with no patchy colour.
The highlight tones were created by adding yellow for the first few layers of highlights, then off-white for the top levels. As you can see from the pictures, each successive layer of highlighting covers a smaller area until the final highlights are just picking out the sharp edges.
I took a picture of my palette to show the progression of colours. I like to complete areas like this in one go if possible - that way you can ensure continuity. Of course it's possible to stop half way through and re-mix the colour, but it can be difficult to get it to match exactly... I make sure to mix a lot of the first level highlight, as that's the 'pool' that you work from - adding a little more of the highlight colour to it at each stage. I also try and pick a time when it's not going to be too warm so the paint doesn't dry quickly.
You can see the armour looks far too pale and pastel at this stage - but that's what you need with this technique. The ink glazes will put the saturation back in the colour and make it almost glow. I also add shading at the next stage and smooth out any mistakes in the highlights.
mike
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7 comments:
Looks great and thanks for the progression photos. It is easier to see the work that you describe in the text.
Approximately how long did that take you?
Are you not using a wet pallet? I have been experimenting with these recently, and find it really helps to limit the need for remixing.
Good god that's a bright miniature. Merciful Zeus! I'll be interested to see how he looks with the inks, and when he has something other than red on him.
looks really good, quick question though. I always have trouble mixing the right amount of paint to do things like this, how much paint is on that palette, next time you do something like this, could you put a coin or something next to it for comparison. thx
@Dan - That's a good question... Around and hour and a half I would have thought - but that includes taking photos between each stage. The photos didn't slow me down too much though.
@AJ - I have experimented a little with a wet palette, and didn't get on with it too well. I use a sheet of very thick plasticard to mix on - so I really prefer a solid surface. I don't know what it was about the wet palette that I didn't like - it just didn't feel 'right' I guess. I think I'm just too stuck in my ways! I really should try again though - one of my absolute favourite painters swears by them...
@SMS - I'll certainly do that. It's hard to describe how much paint is on there... Maybe the initial pool is about the surface area of two 25mm circular bases? Round about there anyway.
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