How does one go about making straight lines for the diamonds on the new harlequins

[eosgreen]

On cars and larger things they use tape. what is the method on models?

[40kGamer]

On cars and larger things they use tape. what is the method on models?

I've used a really fine lead pencil to barely draw in a pattern before but usually I just eyeball them.

[eosgreen]

and how straight are we talking? im looking for near perfection

[40kGamer]

Not real easy to tell but these were straight freehand. Used really thin black paint and a 10/0 brush to go over the yellow basecoat. The curves of model make some of them look 'off' in the pic.

http://i.imgur.com/gSHjTL1.jpg?2

http://i.imgur.com/MkJQb5d.jpg?2

[eosgreen]

looks good but im looking to leave a straight solid line in the middle of the diamonds. thats more frustrating to do i think

[40kGamer]

That is a bit of a chore. So you are trying to get something more like the GW pattern here?

https://heresyandheroes.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/m1241420_99060104117_harelquinwithkissesmain_873x6 27.jpg

[eosgreen]

yeh thats baically what i am looking to do. furthermore my lines wont be black and it will be easily seen if they are not straight. i want the diamonds to be almost 3d. so ill do a bubble highlight on them and the line will make it pop

[Defenestratus]

On cars and larger things they use tape. what is the method on models?

Don't have any first hand experience but would some decent sized screening or chickenwire be used as a mask using an airbrush to put a layer on top?
?

[eosgreen]

Don't have any first hand experience but would some decent sized screening or chickenwire be used as a mask using an airbrush to put a layer on top?
?

i mean that might work but i doubt it would be a clean wrap. also airbrushing is cheating so i dont do that

[40kGamer]

i mean that might work but i doubt it would be a clean wrap. also airbrushing is cheating so i dont do that

I'm still thinking a fine leaded mechanical pencil (or a paint pen if they work well) gently draw the lines in. Use a 10/0 brush to go over them with thinned down black paint then use the 10/0 brush to fill in the diamonds to taste, highlight... etc. The shadowseer above is the first Harlie model I ever knocked out and I didn't invest much time in the paint job... with the new ones coming I think I'll take another crack at 'em. :p

[Khain Mor]

https://www.facebook.com/DarkMoonKabal/photos/a.1406388089576860.1073741850.1406358382913164/1406388106243525/?type=3&theater

I went for the damnboard pattern (perfect squares) Back when I painted this mini around 8 years ago, I looked into the whole pattern thing to see how GW had handled it. Basically they drew on the lines, which I found insane, unless you use a special model pencil/marker, I don't see how that could easily be achieved with a brush. I found this approach impossible, even if you had a marker, making straith lines would be pretty hard.

The way I did mine shown above: I worked in parallel lines, I did one line of black & white squares, all around the leg, then another, etc... till I was done, it took forever to do.

Now there's picture vs reality, you need to do the lines straith on the model, on the part, which on a picture will sometimes look odd, the only way to tell if all the lines are straith is to have a 360° view, which is only truly achieved by having the model in your own hands and look at it.

Ignore the patterns on the GW harlequins, the rest of the paintjob is fabulous, very high lvl, sorry to say, but most people don't paint anywhere near close to this level.
Doing the pattern is one thing, depending on the color, you need to to do highlights next, on that same tiny surface ><. Mine were in white & black, as you can expect, white takes several layers to appear clean and spotless.

As always when painting any minis: thin down your paints, when you do freehand this rule becomes crucial.

[Subs]

Get a small piece of paper, curve it round the contour of the model, paint along edge.

[Sinaura]

http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-30064-6-Piece-Micron-Assorted/dp/B00161NK54

Those, I was told, help pull off the diamond pattern perfectly, but I haven't tried them for myself, yet.

I'll tell you one thing though, they work great for writing on SM seals and other parchments

[averykess]

An airbrush is a tool. Might as well say spray primer, wet palettes, and kolinsky brushes are cheating too.

[eosgreen]

https://www.facebook.com/DarkMoonKabal/photos/a.1406388089576860.1073741850.1406358382913164/1406388106243525/?type=3&theater

I went for the damnboard pattern (perfect squares) Back when I painted this mini around 8 years ago, I looked into the whole pattern thing to see how GW had handled it. Basically they drew on the lines, which I found insane, unless you use a special model pencil/marker, I don't see how that could easily be achieved with a brush. I found this approach impossible, even if you had a marker, making straith lines would be pretty hard.

The way I did mine shown above: I worked in parallel lines, I did one line of black & white squares, all around the leg, then another, etc... till I was done, it took forever to do.

Now there's picture vs reality, you need to do the lines straith on the model, on the part, which on a picture will sometimes look odd, the only way to tell if all the lines are straith is to have a 360° view, which is only truly achieved by having the model in your own hands and look at it.

Ignore the patterns on the GW harlequins, the rest of the paintjob is fabulous, very high lvl, sorry to say, but most people don't paint anywhere near close to this level.
Doing the pattern is one thing, depending on the color, you need to to do highlights next, on that same tiny surface ><. Mine were in white & black, as you can expect, white takes several layers to appear clean and spotless.

As always when painting any minis: thin down your paints, when you do freehand this rule becomes crucial.


i kinda found what you wrote hard to follow but i understood the part that matters. gw uses a pencil/pen/thing to make the lines. if they did it i can do it. i just wanted to know if they used anything special to make it easier. also to the guy saying airbrush is a tool it isnt cheating. yeh i agree its a tool and it isnt "cheating" per say but have you ever tried to blend colors seamlessly with an airbrush vs a paintbrush? it takes me HOOOOOOOURS and hours with a paintbrush and its so much harder. the hardest part about an airbrush is mixing the paint.

painting is about time once you get to a certain level of control, and airbrushes take 1/8th the time and do it better... i call that cheating

[DWest]

painting is about time once you get to a certain level of control, and airbrushes take 1/8th the time and do it better... i call that cheating
Leaving aside that it isn't a competition, there are plenty of things on the typical model (and especially these harlies) to show off brush skills without deliberately making the work harder.\

More on topic, when applying a checkerboard pattern to something, I usually use a strip of low-tack masking tape as a guideline, just for laying the pencil lines, not for the actual painting as it can leave unsightly ridges.

[eosgreen]

Leaving aside that it isn't a competition, there are plenty of things on the typical model (and especially these harlies) to show off brush skills without deliberately making the work harder.\

More on topic, when applying a checkerboard pattern to something, I usually use a strip of low-tack masking tape as a guideline, just for laying the pencil lines, not for the actual painting as it can leave unsightly ridges.

for the record if i had not already put years into learning a brush, id be airbrushing in a second. i hate the time it takes and it is artificially "harder/longer".

have you tried scrapping the ridges? ive had times where for some reason one small area (only that i notice because we always notice our mistakes) on my models will somtimes have an uneven finish, ill just lightly scrape it and its fine. that sounds awful but it really works

i also wonderif the ridges would help keep my diamonds cleaner if i paint them on and then scrape them off

[DWest]

have you tried scrapping the ridges? ive had times where for some reason one small area (only that i notice because we always notice our mistakes) on my models will somtimes have an uneven finish, ill just lightly scrape it and its fine.
The one time I had a real bad time of ridging was doing a checkerboard on a Knight Titan's shoulderpad, and I ended up using a bit of fine steel wool to smooth it down. In the end the scuffing from the steel wool actually helped the model, giving it that "ancient and battered" look, but I don't think that would be a good look for Harlies.

[40kGamer]

I've actually used a few light coats of brush on Matte sealer to even out the surface when my freehand was too thick.

[eosgreen]

The one time I had a real bad time of ridging was doing a checkerboard on a Knight Titan's shoulderpad, and I ended up using a bit of fine steel wool to smooth it down. In the end the scuffing from the steel wool actually helped the model, giving it that "ancient and battered" look, but I don't think that would be a good look for Harlies.

i just mention it because i could show you a blend i did on a farseers wep that had a ridge somehow on the underside i didnt notice in the light and i scrapped it clean. its a white to blueish green power blade that basically mimics GW's plastic farseer style but just a bit better prob. i only mention the level because its not like its a flat coat. its a seemeless blend and scraping worked

so yeh what thin tape do you use? i even wonder if such a tape exists that would be small enough and prob a bit more hassle. ill try this pencil thing. what pencil do you think they use?

[DWest]

For the tape, I simply use standard low-tack masking tape, cut to size- I can generally cut a strip as thin as 3/32" and it will still behave. With this I use a standard mechanical pencil, and if I need a super fine line, I just take a piece of paper and scribble on it for a minute until the lead has been shaped to have a sharp angle to it, then use the narrow edge of this lead to draw the line and re-sharpen on the paper every time I have to reposition the tape.