Ravings of Insomnia

Well, it's 4:30 in the morning, and thanks to an utterly ridiculous pair of dreams, I now am awake and unable to fall back asleep. Insomnia sucks, but I figure I might use this time for something productive.

So, as I stated before, I love painting. It is my passion and my pride. As I have had several people complain about not understanding the articles, I shall focus on this aspect to see if it works better.

Anyways, One of the armies I'm currently working on is Space Marines. I decided to go with something a bit more interesting than what most people did, and am painting them in the colors of the Imperial Fists. Now, any 40k player can tell you why that is difficult. Yellow. They're predominately yellow, one of the most difficult colors to paint well. I'll be showing some pictures of a company champion (Used Emperor's Champion model with a shield attached) that I painted in the scheme. I managed to discover, with some assistance from Youtube, an amazing technique for painting the color well.

PAINTING YELLOW

The first step is to prime the model white. This is crucial, as it allows a good contrast for the following steps.

Step 2 is to apply gyphon sepia wash to the yellow areas. This is a light brown wash that will stain the white as well as shade the shadow areas in a very effective manner.

Step 3 apply sunburst yellow, diluted 1:1. You should have the consistency of milk for you paints, and for this and later steps, use a small amount of paint on the brush. I'm talking nearly a drybrushing amounts. Hit all the areas not seriously darkened by the sepia wash. Use a light brushing to apply, and hit the areas from multiple angles to eliminate brush strokes.

Once you are happy with the yellow (DO NOT MOVE ON till this layer is dry and you are happy with it. If there is any splotchyness after drying go over to make the color uniform. Super thin layers, don't gunk it on) use Bad Moon Yellow (Pale yellow) for step 4. Dilute again, hit the raised areas and broad expanses, we're talking everywhere the light will hit directly. Leave the original yellow in the non-direct light, and the sepia in the shadows. Same brush style for the new yellow as the first. Finally, you'll be using bleached bone for the highlights. Raised edges, corners of pauldrons, anywhere light would collect and reflect brightest get a very light layering of the bone white color. It's basically to represent the actual reflection of light, and as such use it sparingly. We're Imperial Fists, not Deathwing!. You can finish up by using a very controlled brush to reapply the sepia wash back into the cracks and any mistakes, and then painting the rest of the details, before sealing the model with varnish.

That's it for today, I'll be trying to hit the hay again. Next time I'll be covering gems, lenses, windows, and other assorted shiny bits!

Good night, and good luck!

PS The pics I promised. Need more with better camera, but this is what I've got!