BlueRonin
02-11-2011, 05:48 AM
Well, after several long delays I've finally undertaken my first Warhammer Fantasy Battle commission and the army requested is Skaven.
I've been trying to get my head around how to approach this project for quite some time, especially since it includes more than 200 models and the owner is known for his attention to detail and appreciation for a clean style. Wanting to accommodate that, I've been researching painting techniques until I came across Thomas David (http://www.miniaturementor.com/painting_tutorials.html, scroll down to The Art of Thomas David: Speed Painting). This guys is, without a doubt; my new hero! ;)
In any case I began by dividing up some of the many Skaven I was given and picked out units from the owner's wishlist that correlated with the Island of Blood (IoB) set. Construction was pretty straight forward apart from an annoying habit of the IoB Skaven to push their arms out of their sockets while the glue was drying. All the Skaven were clipped off their base and pinned to bases supplied from the owner, the Cobblestone Ruins from Dragonforge (http://www.dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/for%20sale/base_sets/fantasy/square_cobblestone%20_rubble.htm).
The Skaven were then undercoated Chaos Black and I broke out my airbrush to start working on the new style of technique - zenithal highlighting with airbrush covered with brush-painted washes and glazes.
I decided to work with Scorched Brown, Bestial Brown and Bleached Bone. To begin with I used 4-5 layers, mixing as I went along; but I worked out that I could start straight with Bestial Brown and Bleached Bone and stick to 3 layers.
The idea is to let the airbrush build up the gradient on the model, creating an overall monotonous shade/highlight effect. I've only used my airbrush on vehicles until this, so it was a learning experience getting the pressure and viscosity of the paint right. I don't feel I'm anywhere near mastering that yet.
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/kagsawyer/IMAG0529.jpg
This shot shows the shades, but if you flip a model over to view it from the zenith the color will look more even:
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/kagsawyer/IMAG0528.jpg
Once the models were airbrushed, I started glazing them up. First off was Boltgun Metal on all armor, weapons, and other metal.
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/kagsawyer/IMAG0533.jpg
After that I continued with glazes of Scab Red for robes, Graveyard Earth for wood, Tin Bitz for brass works, and Calthay Brown for leather. Once all that was dry I washed the glazed areas with Devlan Mud to accentuate the shade. I also washed the fur with Devlan Mud while I was at it.
I've been trying to get my head around how to approach this project for quite some time, especially since it includes more than 200 models and the owner is known for his attention to detail and appreciation for a clean style. Wanting to accommodate that, I've been researching painting techniques until I came across Thomas David (http://www.miniaturementor.com/painting_tutorials.html, scroll down to The Art of Thomas David: Speed Painting). This guys is, without a doubt; my new hero! ;)
In any case I began by dividing up some of the many Skaven I was given and picked out units from the owner's wishlist that correlated with the Island of Blood (IoB) set. Construction was pretty straight forward apart from an annoying habit of the IoB Skaven to push their arms out of their sockets while the glue was drying. All the Skaven were clipped off their base and pinned to bases supplied from the owner, the Cobblestone Ruins from Dragonforge (http://www.dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/for%20sale/base_sets/fantasy/square_cobblestone%20_rubble.htm).
The Skaven were then undercoated Chaos Black and I broke out my airbrush to start working on the new style of technique - zenithal highlighting with airbrush covered with brush-painted washes and glazes.
I decided to work with Scorched Brown, Bestial Brown and Bleached Bone. To begin with I used 4-5 layers, mixing as I went along; but I worked out that I could start straight with Bestial Brown and Bleached Bone and stick to 3 layers.
The idea is to let the airbrush build up the gradient on the model, creating an overall monotonous shade/highlight effect. I've only used my airbrush on vehicles until this, so it was a learning experience getting the pressure and viscosity of the paint right. I don't feel I'm anywhere near mastering that yet.
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/kagsawyer/IMAG0529.jpg
This shot shows the shades, but if you flip a model over to view it from the zenith the color will look more even:
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/kagsawyer/IMAG0528.jpg
Once the models were airbrushed, I started glazing them up. First off was Boltgun Metal on all armor, weapons, and other metal.
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/kagsawyer/IMAG0533.jpg
After that I continued with glazes of Scab Red for robes, Graveyard Earth for wood, Tin Bitz for brass works, and Calthay Brown for leather. Once all that was dry I washed the glazed areas with Devlan Mud to accentuate the shade. I also washed the fur with Devlan Mud while I was at it.