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This is a second installment in the ‘Painting Philosophy’ series in which I let you in on ‘how’ and especially ‘why’ I do some things in a certain way. “In my opinion a proper approach to painting is crucial to maintain healthy and rewarding experience. Final result depends on it in the same way as on techniques, know-how and tools used. Nowadays internet is full of painting tutorials yet it takes some inner understanding of our own capabilities to find what suits us best and fully benefit from all acquired knowledge. That being said – In this series I will reveal what works best for me as a painter. I hope you will find some wisdom in it…”
The edge, a plastic frontier between a piece of art and the rest of the world. It divides a miniature from the surrounding chaos. It defines the paint job. It underlines the final result of your work, enhancing the visual effect. In short, a properly painted edge of a base will enclose the miniature just like a frame around a painting. Can you imagine a ‘Mona Lisa’ in a dirty styrofoam frame? Well, that’s what I see each time I look upon a picture of awesomely painted miniature on a base, with dirty, unprepared edge. No matter the quality of paint job, a piece of art turns into a kid with chocolate smeared all over it’s face. I just can’t appreciate ‘that’. But is the difference so evident? Don’t take my word for it – see for yourself…
This actually IS the exact same miniature, with the only exception of one base’s edge being covered with a dirty base edge Photoshopped from a work in progress picture. But enough about ‘how I feel’ and let’s skip to ‘how I do’. For me there’s only one paint capable of fully POPing a miniature on the battlefield and it’s BLACK!
In light spectrum black is not even a color per se, being an ultimate lack of color instead. In the world of hobby paints black is technically a color, due to pigments used to create black paint. This particular colour will work with whatever color scheme you choose for a miniature, enhancing the effect of what’s on the base. It is worth mentioning, that black paint usually surpasses other colors when it comes to opacity, therefore it is much easier to provide a smooth, opaque layer using black than most other paints.
I go about it in a simple, old school manner – with regular medium sized brush and a good, trusted paint. After testing a lot of different black paints I chose Vallejo 74.602 Negro Surface Primer. It works great both with brush and surface. Usually one layer is all that is needed to fully cover the edge, if not – second one is always enough. This paint leaves a nice, smooth, thick layer, hiding some irregularities that might happen to cover the edge of the base. It is worth pointing out, that the base’s edge is always the last thing I paint, before finishing a project. First I thoroughly clean up my painting space of any project leftovers, then I apply varnish and just then move to painting black edges. This way both Varnish and edges are clear of any dust particles and unwanted stuff that might stick to them.
How do I deal with a situation, when a game requires the base to be marked / split or otherwise painted so that the arc of vision or other feature is clearly visible? I prefer to either:
* Use a modelled on-base feature to clearly indicate the direction a miniature is facing,
* Use a marker instead,
When painting a project for someone else I’m sometimes asked to add an ‘arc of sight’ on the base’s edge. If possible I provide small markings to minimize the other colors impact on the otherwise black edge. This seems to work pretty well and keeps the initial feel of a miniature being underlined.
So here we are, at an end of the second installment in the Painting Philosophy – a series that is meant to ‘infect’ you with some of my hobby ideals. Hope you found this one interesting and helpful.
As usual – I have put a lot of effort into preparing for this article, yet I am sure I missed something important. If you happen to have any questions or suggestions related to it – feel free to hit me with them. Also take note that what works for me, might not necessarily work for you – still there are many ways to accomplish certain things – mine is just one of them.
All right, sweethearts, you’re a team and there’s nothin’ to worry about. We come here, and we gonna conquer, and we gonna paint some, is that understood? That’s what we gonna do, sweethearts, we are going to go and paint some. All right, people, on the ready line! Are ya lean?
Here are some Colour Recipes for Necromunda scenery pieces from GALLERY: NECROMUNDA UNDERHIVE. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends inbetween, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guidline not a step-by-step.
METAL:
Black Undercoat,
Warplock Bronze (GW), *
Gun Metal (AP),
Shining Silver (AP),
Strong Tone Ink (AP),
Shining Silver (AP), l&p
Streaking Grime (AK),
ORANGE’ish elements:
Black Undercoat,
Cavalry Brown (Val), *
Orange Brown (Val), *
Strong Tone Ink (AP),
Orange Brown (Val), stpl
Lugganath Orange (GW), l&p
Streaking Grime (AK), 
GREEN lights:
Duck Egg Green (Val), *
Light Livery Green (Val), *
Waywatcher Green (GW),
Off White (Val), l&p
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
b – blend,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
stpl – stippling,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
In this article I would like to present to you an easy way to prepare and then paint your own Camo Markers for Infinity the Game.
Obviously, the preparation process was pretty simple. Using a ruler, pencil and hobby knife I first drawn and then cut five 25x47mm rectangles made of PCV. I then glued them on top of 25mm round bases. At this point Camo Markers were ready to get painted.
1 First step was to undercoat entire Camo Markers with Vallejo's Desert Tan.
2 Next I used a piece of synthetic hair holder as a stencil and airbrushed Vallejo Light Brown over the Markers.
3 Then I switched to Vallejo Earth and airbrushed it over the markers using a piece of net that I got patatoes in. This net should be easily obtainable in every grocery store and makes for a really cool stencil.
4 I then got back to hair holder stencil and airbrushed a layer of Vallejo Light Grey Green.
5 Next I airbrushed points of Vallejo Dark Flesh.
6 Some wet stippling went next. First I applied clumsy dots of Vallejo German Red Brown, then did the same with Games Workshop Pallid Wych Flesh. Afterwards I used Pallid Wych Flesh to mark edges of the markers and provide number to distinguish them from one another on the gaming board.
7 Basing came last. I used Games Workshop Agrellan Earth and Agrellan Badland, then drybrushed them with Karak Stone and Flayed One Flesh. Work done.
Here are some Colour Recipes for Infinity Haqqislam from GALLERY: INFINITY KAZAKS lvl 4. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends inbetween, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guidline not a step-by-step.
GREEN armour & uniforms:
Black Undercoat,
Dark Green RLM (Val), *
Interior Green (Val), *
Mix Interior Green (Val) 3:2 Dead Flesh (Val), *
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Mix Interior Green 1:1:1 Flayed One Flesh (GW) Pale Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
BLACK/GREY outfits & weapons:
Black Undercoat,
Skavenblight Dinge (GW),
Fenrisian Grey (GW),
Pallid Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
Dark Tone Ink (AP),
Pallid Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
White, l&p
BROWN elements:
Olive Drab (Val),
Gorthor Brown (GW),
Mix Gorthor Brown (GW) 1:1 Pallid Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Karak Stone (GW), l&p
SKIN:
Bugmans Glow (GW),
Dwarf Flesh (GW),
Dwarf Flesh (GW) + Pale Flesh (Val),
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Pale Flesh (Val),
Mix Pale Flesh (Val) 1:1 Pallid Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
b – blend,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
Here are some Colour Recipes for Infinity Nomads from GALLERY: INFINITY NOMADS lvl 4-5. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends inbetween, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guidline not a step-by-step.
RED armour:
Black Undercoat,
Sanguine Base (P3),
Wazdakka Red (GW),
Mix Wzdakka Red 2:1 Skeleton Bone (AP),
Mix Wzdakka Red 2:1:1 Skeleton Bone (AP), White, l&p
Strong Tone Ink (AP),
Mix Skeleton Bone 1:1 White, l&p
Red Tone Ink (AP),
Red Tone Ink (AP),
BLACK/GREY outfits:
Black Undercoat,
Skavenblight Dinge (GW),
Mix Skavenblight Dinge (GW) 1:1 Administratum Grey (GW),
Mix: Administratum Grey 2:1 Fenrisian Grey (GW),
Mix: Administratum Grey 2:1:1 Fenrisian Grey (GW), Pale Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
Pale Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
Dark Tone Ink (AP),
Pale Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
WEAPONS:
Skavenblight Dinge (GW),
Mix Skavenblight Dinge (GW) 1:1 Administratum Grey (GW),
Mix Administratum Grey 1:1 Flayed One Flesh (GW),
Mix Administratum Grey 1:1: Flayed One Flesh, Pale Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Flayed One Flesh (GW), l&p
Pale Wych Flesh (GW), l&p
SKIN:
Bugmans Glow (GW),
Dwarf Flesh (GW),
Dwarf Flesh (GW) + Pale Flesh (Vallejo),
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Pale Flesh (Vallejo),
Pale Flesh (Vallejo) + Pallid Wych Flesh (GW) l&p,
WHITE helmets:
BLACK metal:
TUTORIAL: PAINTING ‘INFINITY BLACK’
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
b – blend,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
There’s probably as many recipes for painting black as there are painters all over the globe. On top of that there are many different techniques to choose from. Painting a lot of detailed Infinity the Game miniatures, I have found one that works best for me. Today I would like to present to you a ‘Five Layers Technique‘ based color scheme that I myself use.
First of all some home brewed theory. Just like most colors – Black looks great when highlighted. Black surfaces make good impression, when we are able to see different overlapping layers and how color works with natural curves and detail. For this purpose I always use grey to highlight and texturize black. This leads to black effectively turning grey in the end, so I usually wash it with black ink/wash to deepen the ‘blackness’ in recesses and darken flat surfaces. That in turn lessens the highlights and flattens the entire impression. Here’s where I figured to follow wash with an edge of white’ish color to produce strong contrast and ‘pop’ the blackness.
* Chaos Black Undercoat (GW),
* Skavenblight Dinge (GW),
* Fenrisian Grey (GW),
* Pallid Wych Flesh (GW),
* Dark Tone Ink (AP),
! Important note: For this technique you don't need to re-paint entire surface with pure black. I use it on different, mixed colours - usually being previously airbrushed all over the miniature.
1 First I covered the entire target surface with Skavenblight Dinge. To fasten and ease the process I added a bit of watter to the paint. No need to cover everything with a strong layer - just smoother what's undeneath it with a nice dark grey.
2 Then I made some random strokes with Fenrisian Grey. Once again I diluted the paint a bit, to make it more transparent. This layer provides texture and some irregularities to all the flat surfaces.
3 I then edged with Pallid Wych Flesh. I tend to edge only the natural sharp edges and some easy accessible spots. the most important are the ones on top of the surface I paint. Added some random scratches here and there too.
4 I then washed the entire thing black with AP's Dark tone Ink. (no picture)
5 Finally I edged once again with Pallid Wych Flesh. Added some more scratches. Job done.
That is the entire secret behind my Painting ‘Infinity’ Black technique. Fast and easy. Sure, no perfectly smooth transitions, no none metallic metal, but still a very rewarding result. With a bit of imagination and practice – this might be used as a perfect starting point for a much more complicated paint job. Hope it works for you.
Here are some Colour Recipes for Infinity Haqqislam from GALLERY: INFINITY HAQQISLAM lvl 4. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends inbetween, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guidline not a step-by-step.
SANDY armour:
Black Undercoat,
Light Brown (VAL),*
Bonewhite (Val),*
White, l&p
Soft Tone Ink (AP),
RED elements:
Sanguine Base (P3),
Mephiston Red (GW),
Evil Sunz Scarlet (GW),
Troll Slayer Orange (GW), l&p
Fire Dragon Broght (GW), l&p
GREEN lights:
Sick Green (VAL),
Escorpena Green (VAL),
MIX: Escorpena Green (VAL) 1:1 Off White (VAL), l&p
Waywatcher Green (GW), glaze
Light Livery green (VAL), blend
WHITE elements:
‘Sandy Armour’ base,
Pallid Wych Flesh (GW),
White,
White, corrections
BROWN elements:
‘Sandy Armour’ base,
Off White (VAL), l&p
Dark Fleshtone (VAL),
MIX: Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
b – blend,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
Here are some Colour Recipes for Blood Bowl Human Team from GALLERY: BLOOD BOWL HUMAN TEAM. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends inbetween, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guidline not a step-by-step.
GREEN armour:
Black Undercoat,
Olive Green (VAL),*
Light Green Chrm. (Val),*
Escorpena Green (Val),*
Mix Escorpena Green (Val) 1:1 Duck Egg Green (Val),*
Light Livery Green (Val), b
Waywatcher Green (GW),
Dark Green (Val), b
Green Tone Ink (AP),
Skarsnik Green (GW), l&p
BROWN clothes:
Charred Brown (Val),
Calthan Brown (GW),
Gorthor Brown (GW),
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP), Lahmian Medium (GW),
Karak Stone (GW), l&p
SKIN:
Bugmans Glow (GW),
Dwarf Flesh (GW),
Mix Dwarf Flesh (GW) 1:1 Elf Skintone (Val),
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Flesh (Val), l&p
YELLOW clothes:
Moldy Ochre (P3),
Pale Yellow (Val),
Pale Yellow (Val),
Flesh Tone Ink (AP),
METAL:
TUTORIAL: PAINTING ‘FIVE LAYERS’ METAL
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
b – blend,
drbr – drybrush,
flbr – flatbrush,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
Here are some Colour Recipes for Infinity Panoceania from GALLERY: INFINITY NEOTERRA lvl 5. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends inbetween, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guidline not a step-by-step.
BLUE armour:
Black Undercoat,
French Blue (VAL),*
Light Sea Blue (Val),*
Mix Light Sea Blue (Val) 8:3 White,*
Mix Guilliman blue (GW) 1:1:1 Blue Tone Ink (AP), Lahmian Medium (GW),
Pale Wych Flesh (GW) l&p,
Light Sea Blue (Val) glaze,
White glaze & l&p,
Black Wash (Val) deep lining,
CREME/BROWN clothes:
Karak Stone (GW),
Flayed One Flesh (GW),
Flayed One Flesh (GW),
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP), Lahmian Medium (GW),
Flayed One Flesh (GW) l&p
Mix Flayed One Flesh (GW) 1:1 Pale Wych Flesh (GW) l&p,
Dark Brown Wash (Val) deep lining,
SKIN:
Bugmans Glow (GW),
Dwarf Flesh (GW),
Mix Dwarf Flesh (GW) 1:1 Elf Skintone (Val),
Elf Skintone (Val) l&p,
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Flesh (Val) l&p,
RED helmets:
Sanguine Base (P3),
Mephiston Red (GW),
Evil Sunz Scarlet (GW),
Red Tone Ink (AP),
Bloodletter (GW) glaze points,
Troll Slayer Orange (GW) l&p,
Lugganath Orange (GW) l&p,
RED lights:
Evil Sunz Scarlet (GW),
Troll Slayer Orange (GW),
Lugganath Orange (GW) p,
Pale Wych Flesh (GW) p,
Bloodletter (GW),
Lugganath Orange (GW) p,
BASES:
Administratum Grey (GW),
/ Skeleton Bone (AP),
Mix Skeleton Bone (AP) 1:1 Pale Wych Flesh (GW),
/Frostbite (P3) drbr,
l&p – lines and points,
p – points,
drbr – drybrush,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
Here are some Colour Recipes for Infinity ALEPH from GALLERY: INFINITY ALEPH lvl 4,5. Please take note that this is a simple colour scheme, not covering multiple overlapping layers and blends inbetween, that lead to the final product. It is supposed to be used as guidline not a step-by-step.
TURQUISE armour:
Black Undercoat,
Coal Black (P3),
Hydra Turquise (AP),
Mix Hydra Turquise (AP) 5:1 Pale Wych Flesh (GW) l&p,
Mix Hydra Turquise (AP) 1:5 Pale Wych Flesh (GW) l&p,
Coelia Greenshade (GW),
Pale Wych Flesh (GW) l&p,
DARK clothes:
Black Undercoat,
Dark Sea Grey (Val)*,
Barley Grey (Val)*,
Dark Sea Grey (Val)*,
Wolf Grey (Val)*,
Pale Wych Flesh (GW) l&p,
Dark Tone Ink (AP),
…DEEP dark effect:
Pale Wych Flesh (GW) l&p,
Dark Tone Ink (AP),
…BROWN clothes:
Dirt (Val),
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Off White (Val) l&p,
SKIN:
Bugmans Glow (GW),
Dwarf Flesh (GW),
Elf Skintone (Val),
Mix Strong Tone Ink (AP) 1:1 Soft Tone Ink (AP),
Flesh (Val) l&p,
GREEN OLS:
Sick Green (Val),
Mix Sick Green (Val) 1:1 Off White (Val),
Mix Sick Green (Val) 1:2 Off White (Val) l&p,
Light Livery Green (Val)*,
Waywatcher Green (GW),
Off White (Val) l&p,
l&p – lines and points,
*Airbrushed (with multiple layers and mixes)
