Gems from the Deep

Well, I've been putting this off for a week and a half now, but I've finally finished the long expected GEM TUTORIAL!!! Trumpet fanfare, please!

So, as this is a similar tutorial to others online, I need to do something different from those to make it stand out! So, I'll be trying to simplify the process as much as possible, as well as making the tutorial readable by any Joe Painter off the street! This won't be getting any Golden Demons, but you'll be able to efficiently and effectively paint a full army of soul-stone bearing Eldar or windows on your Rhinos.

On to the tutorial!

Step one is to paint the entire gem black, as a base coat. This provides the depth and contrast. Personally, I wait to do this till after I paint the gem mounting, it's easier to get the detail that way. Use a 1:1 paint water ratio for this entire tutorial, you want a nice thin layer that will leaved a nice flat coat.

Follow the dried black with the shade. Take the black, and mix 1:1 with your gem color of choice. Then take this mixture, and mix with water again to achieve 1:1 paint water. Paint this layer on the lower two thirds of the gem. To achieve the proper look, alter the shape of the paint layer to mould to the gem/window. So for example, a square window will have an edge that looks like a boomerang or a sharpened chevron, while a circle would have a crescent shape. Turn the shape to the opposite 'corner' from the angle of chosen lighting, focus on one side.

Next, take the 1:1 paint water base color and paint a 1/3 mimicked shape , in the corner again. So you'll have a small shape on top of the larger shape ontop of the black basecoat.

Take the next shade brighter for your gem color (Orange for red, ice blue for royal blue, etc) and edge the gem color area. You want the effect of a final bit of inner color, to enunciate the shape and color. 1:1 water paint again.

Finally, take your finest detail brush, and put a fine white dot in the OPPOSITE corner from the color. This should be the effect of direct light bouncing off the polished surface. You can alter the shape if it is larger, but at the smallest sizes, it won't really matter.

You can also layer the gem in gloss varnish for more shine, but it's not necessary, unless you matte varnish the model for protection.

Here's some examples of the effect, both painted in green. Enjoy, and happy hunting with practice!

Good Night, and Good Luck!

Tuesday Picture Dump

Well, it's Tuesday, and I've been neglecting updating everyone on the latest of my painting exploits. I believe I've finally gotten the hang of painting yellow, and my Imperial Fists have flourished, but more on that later. I also managed to get some touch ups to damaged models, namely my black Legio trooper. I also managed to paint, very well in my opinion, my space marine Sergeant. Personally, I think he's one of my best so far!

On top of this, I took some pictures to notice the difference between a subtle black highlighting and a hardlined highlighted black. Left is Legio trooper, right is one of my commissars, actually the original one I ever recieved! I just love the model, it seems to fit Warhammer 40k in general, and the Guard specifically!

As you can see, the hard lined trooper has much starker lines, but also looks brighter, despite similar amounts of color. The commissar, however, is much darker and more befitting his menacing appearance. Mainly, this was achieved by skipping the final step of my black tutorial, the final codex grey highlight. Also, this is a key difference between hard armour, well maintained and polished in appearance, and a cloth/leather trench-coat, more likely to be dull and dark in the field.

Finally, we have some examples of my upcoming gem/glow tutorial. I've been practicing, and I believe I've gotten the technique down. However, close examination will show flaws, so for now this is tabletop quality only, unless you are feeling ballsy about entering a competition!

Gemmed bolter lens and eye piece

Gemmed eye piece

Gemmed Eye pieces

Glow effects on the back pack

In addition to commenting on the over all quality, please also mention your preference for my Tau paint scheme, I'm encorporating it into all my Tau army. I'll be posting more pictures of those when I have more finished.

Finally, the progress on my Fists as mentioned before. I was curious about the community's opinion on my choice of schemes. I have one painted as demonstrated by several tutorials, and one I developed on my own. I won't mention my preference, so as to not bias the decision, but the left, completed model is the tutorial. The right is my own test model, unfortunately unfinished. One of these will be the final look of the army, but that's up to you to decide!

The yellow coloration is the main thing I'm looking for, I've decided on every other detail. Also, the black trim is going to stay, as those are the appropriate colors. I hope to hear from all my readers in the comments below, but until then, this is Lord Fancy Feast signing off. Good night and good luck!

A Black Day

I know in my last post I said I was going to write a tutorial on gems and glow effects, but I need to do a bit more research and development stuff. Instead, I shall focus on painting black in an effective and dapper manner! This is effective on anything you want to paint black, from armour to cloth.

Step one is to start with a primer coat. This can be either black or white primer. I prefer a white coat, as it allows you to see the next layer better. The black will be easier though. In the end it's up to you.

Step two is to follow with a thinned layer of black paint. This can be applied with an airbrush, or paintbrush, whichever you find easiest. This is where the white coat comes into effect, you can see where exactly you need to apply the paint. The thinned paint shouldn't be quite 1:1, as that would run into the crevasses a bit too much, and would probably end looking dark grey. MAKE SURE THE COAT IS EVEN AND COVERING.

Step three begins with taking the black you used in 2, and mixing it 1:1 with codex grey. You can find the colors in whatever brand you want (I personally like Valejo, nice droppers for precise measurements) This dark grey is then applied to all raised edges, also called lining. Line all parts of the model that you wish to be black. This will take the form of turning the model to see just where the reflected light would come from, namely edges. This will be a difficult step, as the lighting and the paint are going to be very similar.

Step four is to take straight codex grey, thinned down, and hitting the extreme highlights. Hold the model at a specific distance and orientation to a source light, and hit all the spots that the light reflects from. DO NOT TILT THE MODEL in any fashion, as this will expose different highlights, making your over all effect a model standing in a white room, instead of a warrior on a battlefield. If you wish to, you can rotate the model around the vertical axis, giving an effect of a halo of light above the model. This is better for tabletop models, as the model can be viewed well from any position around the table.

Once this is finished, if the effect is too bright for your tastes, you can apply black wash to the model. This should be done after all other details are painted, to provide a dark shadow line for any changes of color (Between gun and hand, etc...) Black armour goes well with most lens and detail colors, the best being bright primary colors to stand out (Green, red, yellow). If at all possible, do not apply gloss varnish to the black armour, as the hard work you put into the highlights will be overshadowed by the near-mirrored light reflection of the varnish.

Another random hint, you can mix small amounts of other colors with the original black and greys to make an extremely dark version. This can lead to a black that seems red, green, of blue. Use this with care, and planning, as the new warm or cold version of the scheme will react differently to detail colors.

Pics of the only black model I have currently (His squad languishes in the torture box back home) and he needs some touch ups after a brutal move.

Good night, and good luck...

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!

A New Week

That's right, it's a new week, full of opportunity! Welcome to the final bit of July, and I hope it's treating you all well. So, as you can hopefully tell by now, I am not a competitive gamer. I don't have fun sitting around computing ultimate strategies to sweep whole tables at the nearest gaming con. I am fluffy. I love the story, I love the effort in making models that look beautiful, I love playing against friends and challenging opponents in a very casual setting. That is not to say that I don't like competitions! I've entered into several painting and modelling competitions (Local level, sadly) and won handily! Nearly swept a War of the Ring Opening painting tournament, Army, Monster, Unit, Character. Didn't have a monster to enter, but that's not the point. My point is, and some of you might have seen a similar post on BoLS tonight, that painting is an integral part of the hobby, and it breaks my heart to see the quality of paint jobs at my new LGS. Not the gobbed on paints, as those indicate a certain level of skill, and can be improved. No, I mean the primed only, or worse, unpainted naked models, grey plastic. It breaks my heart to see those neglected models. After all, if you buy the models, and don't paint them, you are buying for the sole purpose of winning tournaments, in which case why even use the expensive models in the first place?

Of course, there are exceptions. The guy who can't afford the paints, or can't afford the time off. The guy who works slowly, to excruciating precision. The kid who needs a mentor to show them what to do. The newbie who just bought his first squad, and is eager to try them out. These all make sense, and are totally acceptable! But when I come back, week after week, to new ranks of Dark Eldar, or a brand new Carnifex, without a single drop of paint, when I see purchases made, and no effort to paint, it really chafes my hide, because those models need attention too. If you really were a point-cutting, seat of your pants competition player, you'd understand that most tournaments have a painting score, a sportsmanship score, simple things that make the game more fun and more of a community. I can still name four guys I played with from my store 6 years ago, but I can't recall even the faces of my latest opponents, and their cookie-cutter army lists, primed pure white. There's no individuality, or passion, which is the entire reason why we, as gamers, enjoy this hobby that seems destined to ostracize us. If we don't have our creativity and unique style, then how is that different from a football player, or any other athlete. Oh, that's right, we're on the whole weaker than them. Not painting armies, I therefore postulate, is simply trying to emulate athletics without the actual exercise. If you're okay with that, be my guest. But realize these are the stakes.

I beg of you, please comment below. Thoughts, arguments, stories, anything at all. Just remember the cardinal rule, and Be Awesome. No flaming, got it?

For your patience in sticking with me through the wall of text, I shall reward you with one of the new Finecast Commissars, personally painted by myself. And just who am I? Well, you can call me Lord Fancy Feast.


Good night, and good luck.

More Musings

So, it's time once again for a new posting! End of the week, I'm thinking of having some fun with this one, so I'm proposing the following scenario. You have enough points for one Tau Sniper Drone Squad, and your opponent has the same number of points of Space Marines. In the comments below, describe a TACTICAL way to win the fight! You're on a small board with medium terrain, of a city-fighting nature. Let's see that community tactical genius at work. And remember, it's all fun and games, I don't need twelve posts of flaming or piss-measuring contests. Best idea (Measured by me of course and a panel of judges I have) gets a mention next week. GO!

News from the East

Well, to any of you who read Bell of Lost Souls, or other rumor sites, this won't come as a surprise, but to everyone else, apparently a new codex for Warhammer 40k is on the horizon. Chaos Legions, focusing on the original 9 Legions that led the Horus Heresy, will be released, supposedly in the spring of next year. This is superseding the Tau codex rumors of the same time, pushing my favorite army's book back to an unknown time slot. Of course, this is a blessing in disguise for me, as supposedly the summer after CL is T-10 and counting for 40k 6th Edition! All right, now we're talking! As far as I understand it, Necrons, followed by Chaos Legions, followed by 6th Ed! A good line-up, making this coming year a good reason to play!

Of course, plenty of people are going to be angry about this, worrying about Chaos Legions being broken come 6th, but I'm not one to complain! It gives us an opportunity to model and build and have fun! And isn't that what the hobby is all about, whether you're a fluff player or a comp player?

In other events, we've got Warhammer Fantasy Storm of Magic released now. It is, as described by other reviewers, an excellent addition, building magic up in a good way, allowing plenty of fun and wacky hi-jinks to ensue. Apparently, it isn't targeted towards competition, with all the insanity and randomness, but rather towards a way to take an existing army, and add the monsters and wizards you've always wanted, but couldn't because of army rules! I for one am going to enjoy slapping a dragon with my Brettonian horse lords!

That's all I've got so far, pulled from BoLS and Warseer. If anyone else have any comments, hit the button below. If you think I missed your favorite army's upcoming rumors, comment! I love hearing rumors about everything! However, I also would rather not have the comments turn into a massive flame war, so let's keep it civil! I'd love to have my comments turn into a debate club meeting, but if insults start getting thrown, I will start closing the comments.

Thanks for reading, and I'll be back later for more! G'nite all!