Airbrush discussion - black armour

[KaiZie]

Hey folks, I've been toying with the best way to use an airbrush for black armour, such as Ulthwe Eldar or Raven Guard.

How would you go about doing this? Would you ditch the airbrush all together when it comes to black? Would it only really work on tanks and larger models or is it a universal technique?

[Captofthe8th]

My simple method for black wig my airbrush is to to a subtle zenithal highlight on a black base. I do a dark gray at about 45 degree angle, and then a slightly brighter gray at about an 80 degree angle. Then I do slightly brighter gray in a light dry brush all over the model.

It's quick and easy and looks really good to me once all the details are brushed in.

[KaiZie]

Sounds pretty solid. Are you hitting individual spots on the model or using it as a light source effect to give depth?

[Captofthe8th]

Sometimes I'll hit certain spots that I want to stand out, like knee pads, or the bottom part of the slightly flaring greaves on my Death Company models. Mostly it is to give some depth though. An unrelenting black is hard to highlight in my experience, and it looks unnatural. But highlighting a very dark gray is easy and looks decent.