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Welcome to another entry in the ‘Painting Philosophy’ series, where 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 a healthy, rewarding experience and to produce satisfactory results. Today I will focus on brush handling and hand support during painting.
Handling a brush is a personal thing. It depends mostly on your experience, preferences and muscle memory. It would be inappropriate for me as a painter to tell you how to handle your brush, but I can definitely share some of my own habits. For starters, brush control and hand support, both heavily impact precision of the painting process. I found these skills worth practicing early on.
When painting, I usually hold a brush with three fingers (see pics) and control it with small movements of my fingers and wrist. This is where most of the brush movement originates from, regardless of inclination. I tend to hold brushes close to the “crimp” on the ferrule, which gives me better control over the tip. Most of the time I loosely support the handle of the brush on my hand, between the pointing finger and thumb. This decreases brush vibrations and makes it follow the movement of the hand much smoother. On occasion, in the midst of painting, I might raise the handle off of my hand to gain access to a spot that is otherwise difficult to reach (such as painting obscured eyes), but most of the time it stays in the resting position. All of this combined allows for a wide range of smooth, precise movements with which to work with.
Shaky hands or just unnecessary movement might render even the most professional brush handling ineffective. I always keep my wrists supported on the edge of a painting desk. This is to properly immobilize the miniature but also reduce any macro movement (breathing, elbows etc.) translating onto the brush. To make this a bit less uncomfortable for my wrists I use smooth edge covers for furniture permanently glued onto a working desk (you can learn more about this life hack here).
When in need of increasing precision even further, I like to ‘link’ my hands, supporting brush hands pinky on the hand that I hold the miniature with. Both hands micro movements synchronize and I get more control over the tip as a result.
Frankly speaking, the aforementioned methodology does not work the same for every painting technique. Depending on the size and type of the miniature I sometimes deviate from the norm. Some techniques, such as drybrushing or washing, might not require much precision, whereas detail heavy techniques will definitely benefit from proper brush handling and hand support.
I hope you found this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you’d consider sharing my content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally, if you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me via this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours. If you don’t see anything from me by then, please check your spam folder.
Third time’s a charm thus welcome to the third ‘Painting Philosophy’ article, where 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 being 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…
In last article I wrote a lot about the edge of a base and what it represents. Do not let yourself be fooled by a similar title, as today we’re talking a completely different topic. I introduce to you the ‘Edge highlight technique’. Something that I used to avoid, but at some point got lured by Games Workshop to try out. Before that I struggled to keep colors juicy and interesting, preferred dark, murky color schemes and avoided any type of lining, including edges. I was a bit disappointed with my own work as a result – so a not very healthy relationship with paints and miniatures. It all changed once I got my hands on GW’s Edge paints, which was the first step to realize how important strong edges, combined with proper lining, are.
Edge highlights is a technique of applying paint to the natural edges of a surface, resulting in strong contrast and nice surface outlining. I find edge highlighting, combined with lining, to be a great way to make a color pop and literally change how an eye can perceive it. It works especially well with multi-layered surfaces of detailed miniatures but should work for you regardless of what miniatures you paint. Here’s an example of edge highlights in action – two sets of miniatures painted the same, except one set was then edge highlighted (with barely few extras):
I’m not a guy that looks at miniatures through magnifying glass. Being a commission painter I paint projects related to gaming and this kind of miniatures should be able to catch an eye while being used on the gaming board. I like my miniatures to pop, to be sharp and ‘edgy’, to have personality and coherent color scheme. For me edge highlights provide all that and more.
First of all, like with most painting methods, I avoid overloading my brush with too much paint. This is very important as too much paint would run down and ruin a crisp, sharp edge. Other than that I try to:
Now you know how I approach edge highlighting and with that I would like to close third the Painting Philosophy article. Please 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. I encourage you to try and experiment with this technique. As usual I put a lot of effort into preparing this article, but if it helps at least one painter out there – I consider it a time well spent.
I hope you found this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you’d consider sharing my content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally, if you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me via this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours. If you don’t see anything from me by then, please check your spam folder.
Keeping a clean and tidy workspace might seem like a chore, but it does not have to be so. In this article I will share with you some tips on organizing your hobby workspace, based on my own experience. I will also let you in on what benefits are there from working in a well organized environment.
Before we start, it is worth noting that I am a full time, professional commission painter. For years now I have been testing different solutions to try and improve my personal workspace. Moving from town to town required me to build my workbench from the ground up multiple times and provided a lot of insight into what to aim for. You might not necessarily have space, funds or need to achieve a similar setup, but if my adventure has taught me anything, it’s that there is always the space for improvement. Here’s the best proof of that – some previous iterations of my trusty workspace:
Regardless of you being a weekend hobbyist or a professional, a workspace’s main purpose is to provide comfort of your painting process. This includes the ease with which you access tools, manage projects and even how you feel when painting miniatures. A tidy, clean workspace translates directly into your work and motivation. It is far easier to take on a new project when you don’t have to take care of the mess first. Less time spent in search of tools or bitz means more time spent on the actual thing you want to do. Most importantly keeping things in established spaces allows to train muscle memory, thus increasing productivity.
For the purpose of this article I have narrowed down the list of useful advice to a few tips that greatly improve the quality of life while not being too hard or expensive to implement. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
With how popular the hobby has become, a variety of innovative brush storage utensils are being introduced to the market every year. Still when it comes to it, there’s nothing better than a good old mug. Well… not entirely. Toothbrush cups come in a variety of shapes and styles, bringing all the best that mugs have to offer, but without cons. Bathroom cups are usually plain, without handles, occupying less space and being easier to store around the workspace. Plus, depending on your tastes, they might up the visual style of your hobby area.
Trays ain’t on a list of your typical miniatures painter must-haves, but they definitely should! One of the things that used to frustrate me the most was having to switch projects or move stuff around in order to dig for a tool. It became a none-issue once I introduced trays into my hobby. Nowadays groups of hobby tools, paints and even entire projects can be moved around freely, saving me a lot of time. More so, on top of clean and friendly work conditions, setting up ongoing projects on trays defines particular stages of the work, helps me to define goals and keep the motivation up.
Self adhesive, rubber cable organizers are a useful tool to help keep all those nasty air hoses and cables in check. More so, with a bit of a lifehack’ish mindset, they can be used as a fantastic mid-work brush holders.
And while we’re at it, airbrush air hoses are usually very difficult to tame. They’re rather stiff and tend to curl. Fortunately, it’s nothing that a sailing block can’t handle! These puppies will keep the air hose where you want it and allow for rapid airbrush deployment when the time comes!
It is easier to switch a cover than an entire desk. Respect your desk and it will serve you longer, plus there’s probably nothing worse than dusted, grainy, irregular, dried paint surface irritating your skin when painting. Don’t even get me started on a sharp desk edge cutting a side of a wrist (shivers internally). Personally I use a thick cutting mat and a self adhesive PVC corner cover, but anything will do as long as it’s water resistant, easy to clean and stiff enough.
‘Enlarge your p’ …ainting space with a single pull. This simple solution expands your working area when needed, but does not take up much space when not being used. I sometimes find my desk overwhelmed with miniatures and instead of transferring a part of work to secondary space, I just extend a shelf from underneath and continue working. It’s especially useful when I have something messy to do, like applying static grass or pouring resin, but don’t want to risk the entire project getting dirty.
These can be found in almost every house & decor store. Plastic baskets, food containers, tool organizers, clothes storage boxes. Instead of keeping all the boxes, packaged miniatures, spare paints and other stuff stacked on shelves and one another – why not keep it more accessible? Pulling a box from a shelf is much faster and more comfortable than ‘excavation’.
Some stuff is not very comfortable to stack around the workspace. This is especially true for large tools and packages of hobby tufts. There are of course some workarounds. Here’s a pretty simple way to store these items. These self-made tool racks are thin bamboo planks with small hooks and handles, screwed to the ceiling. For tufts I used a metal rod mounted on a piece of plastic on one side and inserted into a hole in a wall at the other. Tuft packages have then been cut on one side, as seen in the picture below, to allow them to be taken off and put back on the rack individually. This made an otherwise unused space into a nice storage area.
I think I should dedicate an entire article to the water bowl and how superior it is compared to a cup. Maybe even a book! But in all seriousness, the more water there is, the longer it will last. It is easier to clean an airbrush, or a regular brush in a larger area of water. Cups and mugs are prompt to topple and need to be cleaned and refilled more often. Plus there’s the lid. This magnificent contraption protects your desk from water when put on, allows for safe transportation to and from the sink and allows to use the space otherwise occupied by the bowl. Just epic!
When it comes to bitz, they tend to take up a lot of space. A good way of dealing with that is cutting all the separate parts from the sprues and zipping them in a thematic zip bag. These can then be stored in translucent plastic boxes to allow faster bag identification. Bitz of particular type in a single bag and a tray should let you fish out any bitz you need much faster, than searching through a room full of mixed, half emptied sprues.
At this point you might see a certain pattern so there’s no need for me to hide it anymore. I admit I might have a little fetish. I tend to bring home a fancy looking food container, a bamboo tray, or some sort of other cool looking stuff whenever I go shopping. If only you saw my kitchen… Anyhow, stylish food containers combine fine looks and functionality. They can be stacked on top of one another and tend to take up less space than standard, flatter boxes. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, made of either wood, plastic, metal or glass. There’s something to fit any workspace and they have a wide range of storage uses.
This is a well known classic, so I decided to throw it in. There is a variety of paint racks, tiny drawers and even entire Modular Workshop Systems in the market, such as the popular HobbyZone. Although dedicated painting racks can only be obtained through hobby related companies, tiny drawers and wooden organizers can be found at house & decor stores. In my experience these are similarly priced so there’s not much difference, other than looks, style and in compatibility with other Modular Workshop System.
Have you ever found yourself reluctant to throw out an almost empty drop bottle paint, because ‘there is still some left!’ ? Personally I dislike keeping two paints of the same type on a hanger rack, but am also not keen on wasting paint. To avoid diving into backup paint box mid-work, I ‘retire’ old paints to a special self made rack (a box with a few holes drilled in the underside). I keep them close, ready to use at all times. Took a while to make a habit of prioritizing old paints over the new ones on the hanging rack, but once it kicked in I started to save a lot of time.
I’ve been using the above solutions for some time now. They’ve been my allies in a fight against workspace entropy. Now it’s your turn to put them to a test. Let me know if any of these spiked your interest. Are any of the above completely new to you? Which, if any, do you plan to implement in the nearby future? I am eager to read your feedback in the comments below. I’m also available at Facebook and Instagram if you’d rather prefer reach me there. Finally I would appreciate if you shared this article with your hobby buddies.
If you are looking for a professional Warhammer miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me via this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours. If you don’t see anything from me by then, please check your spam folder.
When it comes to spicing up your miniatures naval games, there’s nothing better than nice looking scenery. This is especially true for games full of finely detailed miniatures, such as Kings of War: Armada. Today I would like to take you on a Step-by-step trip through the process of creating and painting an alternative scenery for Armada – the Sargasso. These can be used as either Sandbanks proxy, or as something completely new, as you see fit.
Some notes:
High end materials right from the get go. I do prefer my scenery to be durable and high quality, thus I went with laser cut translucent acrylics. That being said, there’s nothing preventing you from using a cheaper and more accessible material, such as clear plastic – maybe food packaging leftovers, or miniatures blister package? As long as it’s clear and sturdy enough you should be fine with any substitutes.
I started by applying some Citadel Militarum Green Contrast in a random pattern all over the base. I used a large, soft brush and applied few large drops of the paint, then added some more to link them.
Next I used a large, round brush to stipple Citadel Nurgle’s Rot paint on top of still wet Militarum Green. This was a bit tricky and I used a paper towel to clean the brush very often. The idea is to apply Nurgle’s Rot from the top by touching the previous layer, bot not smear nor mix the two paints too much.
Once the paint dried I decided to add more live to the mix. Using a large, round synthetic brush with a flat tip I stippled wet Vallejo Heavy Khaki paint all over the previous layer.
Next I applied a thick layer of AK Interactive Pacific Blue. I usually go with Atlantic Blue instead, but this time I aimed at a brighter, more translucent effect.
Finally I applied few lines of AK Interactive Water Foam texture. I then used a clean synthetic, flat tip brush to reduce volume and shape thin waves.
And that is basically all. Sargasso, Seaweed, alternative Sandbanks or some sort of awesome new Armada scenery is now complete.
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Welcome to Painting Swamp Bases tutorial. Here I will take you on a Step-by-step trip through the process of creating Swamp Bases the same way as seen at: Gallery: Infinity Varuna.
Before we start, some notes:
Step one: Undercoat
I started with a relatively smooth layer of Vallejo Elfic Blue. Any similar color would fit and I encourage you to experiment.
Step two: Underwater Plants
Next I applied spots of Games Workshop Militarum Green Contrast mixed with a bit of water, followed short by Games Workshop Nurgle’s Rot on top. I used relatively large, soft brush to ‘stipple’ Nurgle’s Rot on top of still wet Militarum Green. These paints do not mix well, precipitating and creating interesting patterns in result.
Step three: Water Effect
Once the previous layer dried, I covered entire base with a thick layer of AK Interactive Atlantic Blue texture and left it for half an hour to dry well.
Step four: Tufts
Finally, (after some black edge ninja painting) I applied some tufts. I used a mix of Gamers Grass Swamp and Dark Moss tufts to add volume to the base.
As you can see the process is super easy but provides an interesting, eye catching final result. I strongly suggest you take the process further and experiment with different colors and overall volume. I believe there is a lot of potential in this method.
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional warhammer 40k miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
One of the most exciting parts of Warhammer hobby is playing games on awesome looking scenery sets. Still not all of us can afford high end scenery outright, as usually the miniatures comes first. Fortunately a top tier looking scenery is not that difficult and time consuming to make from scratch as it might seem. On top of that it’s much cheaper than most hobbyists can even imagine!
In this article I will present to you an easy way to make highly detailed rock formation perfect for anything Warhammer and many other miniatures wargames as can be seen in Crimson Crags Gallery.
Some notes:
The Basics:
When making miniatures scenery with looks in mind a detailed texture and interesting shapes are usually my go to. These can be difficult to come by and might require a purchase of existing sets, but not in case of rocky formations. Fortunately for our wallets nature have come up with the best source of awesome looking, house budget friendly miniature rocks – Tree Bark. Unless you’re living on the North Pole there should be some sort of trees around. Bark, being the main source of shapes and textures, can be used as the main bulk of miniature rocky scenery, providing an abundance of layers to surround focus points with. This is why for the purpose of this tutorial bark and related know-how will be my main focus.
Bark preparation:
Depending on where you live and weather bark might come wet and dirty. In my case it’s early Autumn, everything is moist and hand picked bark does not cut it without some preparation. Because of that I started by drying bark pieces for about twenty minutes in a stove set to 100* degrees Celsius. Once dry I then brushed any dirt and residue with a hard synthetic brush. This left bark dry, clean and ready to use.
Composition:
I then created few basic compositions, using a pre-cut piece of hard paper pipe to measure overhangs height. This allowed me to fit any additional elements I had in mind, but also kept all the scenery at a relatively similar height. Once composed I drilled horizontal holes through entire scenery piece and put toothpicks through to ‘save’ the composition shape.
Gluing:
Using PVA glue on bark can be lengthy whereas Cyanoacrylate requires multiple layers to build volume sufficient to hold dry bark pieces. Because of that I took the best of both worlds and glued the compositions firm with a mix of PVA and Cyanoacrylate glue. The mix not only dries much faster than solo PVA, but also leaves rough, textured layer outside. It’s perfect for this kind of scenery.
Sealing:
Dry bark tends to cheap and crumble a lot, not to mention it doesn’t take paint that well. To ensure durability and sturdiness of my gaming scenery I sealed the surface by applying a mix of PVA glue with a bit of water. This left the surface a bit smoother, glossy and much more durable.
Extra detail:
Focus points are an important part of gaming boards, adding life but also variety to otherwise simple scenery. With sealing done I moved to adding detail. Because this particular set was meant for Kill Team and Warhammer 40k I added some damaged Space Marines vehicle elements, but depending on the game and setting – anything will do the job just as well. Simply pick a theme and follow up with proper details as you see fit.
Basing:
In my opinion nothing ruins gaming scenery more than being wobbly. No matter how good it looks, it gotta be playable and lay flat on the board. I cut simple bases for the scenery out of a 2mm plasticard and glued them firmly under scenery pieces. Any flat, relatively sturdy material will do. I chose plasticard because it is very easy to work with and lightweight.
Filling gaps:
Once based I filled gaps with Hey Clay. This one might come as a surprise to some of you, Hey Clay being a toy for kids. It is similar to plasticine but very lightweight and dries up to a semi-hard state in a matter of few hours. I found it very easy to work with and perfect for this kind of job.
Initial textures:
Everything looked fine already but I wanted to add some variety on paper and HDF elements. For this purpose I stippled Citadel Typhus Corrosion on some of the flat areas. Any texture will do and this step can even be skipped completely depending on what kind of detail is being added.
Undercoat:
There are few ways to go about it. Usually when it comes do Styrofoam and wood I tend to undercoat manually with thick acrylic paints. In this case I had entire thing sealed with a mix of PVA glue and water, which allowed me to go with a spray can. I sprayed everything with a cheap matt black spray. I always undercoat miniatures with Citadel Chaos Black. With DiY scenery I found crude cheap sprays work very well, providing a thick, hard layer and adding a bit of additional protection from scratches.
Painting and Textures:
This one I will allow myself to skip, as there is plenty of tutorials and color recipes available on my blog already. Painting is more about personal tastes and available tools. One thing of note is AK Interactive Dark Earth texture. I used it on this particular scenery set and I really recommend this product to everyone. You can learn more about this godlike texture in this article here.
Anyhow – that’s it! Pretty neat looking rocky formations, in this case fit for both Kill Team and Warhammer 40,000, are done! I wasn’t saving on extra detail, but if I did, the entire set would cost me pocket change.
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional warhammer 40k miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Space Marines are the very core of Warhammer 40k universe, not to mention the most popular army. For this reason, be it on the countless battlefields of 40k, or dust covered remnants of Horus Heresy atrocities, there’s probably gonna be plenty of dead Marines laying around. These could do for a very thematic prop on a scenic base for one of your characters, or even for an emerging theme across multiple bases of your army.
Today I will present to you few basic techniques of turning Space Marines into battle ravaged ones.
Some notes:
The Basics:
Before we fill the battlefield with uncountable dead Marines, let’s go through some basics. The techniques presented in this article can be used to create some outstanding looking bases but also to turn regular Space Marines into battle ravaged veterans. I focus on simple techniques that can be employed without high end specialist equipment and that do not require any advanced modeling skills. I deliberately used materials that are easily accessible and focused on presenting what can be done with a single out of the box Space Marine miniature without any outside parts. The goal is to take a cheap Marine and turn him into an awesome scenic base worthy of a character with low effort and fine end result.
Miniature preparation:
I started by cleaning all parts of flash lines and building a single Space Marine miniature. When gluing parts together I already had a pose in mind. This is why I glued Bolter hand in a rather uncommon way. Usually I would remove a limb or two, but in this case I just skipped on gluing one leg and left one hand.
Composition:
Once I had a build miniature in hand I could finalize the pose on a base. For this purpose I cut off the excess Bolter and a part of a backpack with plastic cutters. Looking back I wish I cut a piece of the left heel as well, thus leaving the intact leg less exposed compared to main body. Sadly I rushed through the process in order to drop the Tutorial as soon as possible.
Severed limbs:
Severed limbs are a good way to show large amount of damage done to a power armored fighter. I started during building phase by skipping on two limbs, but this can also be done later on by simply cutting the limbs off. Next I drilled holes into the the stumps. This was done to add depth but also ease the next step, which was cutting the edges with a pair of plastic cutters.
Battle damage:
This step can be done in a lot of ways including bones and cables sticking out of severely damaged Power Armor. I really wanted to keep the tutorial basic, thus concentrated on cuts and bullet chipping instead. I begun by drilling shallow holes, grouped together on one shoulder guard and one leg. Connecting few large and small holes adds additional realism. Next, using a hobby knife, I made some cuts on exposed areas and armor edges. The marine started looking like after a really rough day at work.
Blood and guts:
Next on the menu was the actual basing and the bloodied flesh sticking out of the armor. I used a mix of PVA and cyanoacrylate glue to mount the corpse on a base, then added just a drop of both glues into each wound to then rough it up with a tip of a toothpick. This created a nice wet wound effect, that can be further enhanced with a proper paint job later on.
Rubble:
I great way to fill empty space and set the corpse within a certain scene is to add rubble around and underneath it. For this purpose I used some decorative gravel obtained in a local house & garden store. Once again I applied a mix of PVA and cyanoacrylate, then slid few stones in place. The addition of cyanoacrylate makes the mixture harden rather fast, ensuring all stones stay in place without issues.
Finally I added a basic texture by applying AK Interactive Concrete. This is my go to when I want to build a volume of texture around a base. It can be further built upon with colored textures or simply painted for a great effect later on. Anyhow the miniature is now laying there, bleeding, power armor ravaged by enemy shots. Surrounded by rubble and own guts the Space Marine is ready to give his life for the Emperor and serve as a nice scenic base. Just like the one below…
Imagination is the only limit when it comes to modeling miniatures. On that note I would like to end this tutorial. Until next time friends!
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional warhammer 40k miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Kings of War: Armada is a fantastic game, full of beautifully crafted miniatures. Still some wargaming veterans might feel intimidated by the unusual scale and plentiful detail of Armada ships. Today I will present to you how easy it is to paint Armada Salamanders ships as can be seen in Gallery: Armada Salamanders. All techniques presented in step-by-step tutorial can be applied to different colors to produce a variety of awesome color schemes for your fleet.
Before we start, some notes:
Step one: Undercoat
I started with a thorough layer of Games Workshop Chaos Black spray. Chaos Black spray is my go to choice when it comes to undercoat, leaving a solid, durable layer with detail intact. Some might consider adding a zenithal preshade on top, but the techniques used in this tutorial would render such practice irrelevant.
Step two: Hull base
Hull, being the largest and most detailed part of the ship, was my choice of where to start the actual paintjob. I applied a solid layer of thinned Games Workshop Warplock Bronze all over the miniature, except for sails. I used an airbrush, but this can easily be done manually.
Step three: Hull highlight
Next, using a medium size, soft brush I applied a highlight of Army Painter True Copper. Flatbrush was my technique of choice for this one, as it applied a solid layer of paint sparing most recesses, thus leaving some of the previous layer still visible.
Step four: Hull final highlight
I then applied an edge highlight of Army Painter Shining Silver to make all the detail pop and provide a bit more contrast between recesses and exposed edges.
Step five: Masts base
I left the Hull for a bit and moved on to masts, applying a thick layer of Vallejo 72.045 Charred Brown. Once again I would like to point out that the colors I used are my personal preference and you can use any brand, or even any similar color, to achieve similar results.
Step six: Masts highlight
Another step was to apply a slightly blurry highlight of Vallejo 42.043 Beasty Brown. By blurry I mean a thinned down paint applied with a relatively large, soft brush. You can see in the picture how this layer seem a bit misty, partially translucent and not as strong as usual base application. This can be achieved by keeping a brush barely loaded with thinned down paint and sliding its edge up and down the surface. If I ever decide to have a Patreon this technique will probably be the first thing I would like to do a deep dive into, but for now my chaotic description must do.
Step seven: Masts edge highlight
Due to masts shape they do not have edges on their sides, but they still can be imitated with standard edge highlight of Games Workshop Karak Stone. If you struggle with edge highlights check out this in-depth article from 2018, where I describe the process and share some related life hacks.
Step eight: Wash
Here’s where real magic happens. I applied a strong layer of Army Painter Strong Tone wash over the miniature. This is probably the most important moment of the entire paint job. Wash applied en-masse blends all the colors beneath, toning them down a bit, adding coherency and that extra juicy look. One thing to look out for is large drops of wash forming on flat areas and lower parts of the miniature, then leaving stains of very dark paint while drying. This can be avoided by removing the excess of paint with a soft wet brush few minutes after application.
Step nine: Sails base
Once wash dried out nicely I moved to Sails and lower hulls. I applied a thick layer of P3 Coal Black, which is something between dark turquoise mixed with dark grey.
Step ten: Sails highlight
Next I applied a flatbrush highlight of slightly thinned Vallejo 309 Periscopes. This exposed most texture of the sails why also providing a more juicy color overall.
Step eleven: Sails highlight
Another highlight was applied with a 1:1 mix of Games Workshop Pallid Wych Flesh and Vallejo 309 Periscopes. A much more visible highlight to build volume.
Step twelve: Sails final highlight
Final highlight was applied with pure Games Workshop Pallid Wych Flesh. Similar to edge highlight this one was applied to most exposed detail and edges on the sails. Looks messy and ugly, but everything goes according to a plan…
Step thirteen: Glaze
Glazing is a topic on its own that usually refers to rather time consuming and precise application of strongly thinned down paints. The way I apply glazes is more simplified. I apply them with a large, soft brush just like washes, except I avoid applying too much paint. This way I both smooth up and juice up the colors underneath. In case of Salamanders I used a 1:1 mix of Games Workshop Akhelian Green nd Aethermatic Blue contrast paints.
Step fourteen: Green osl
Final color range to add onto the miniature was Greens. I applied four paints one after another to build volume and then add depth to weapons and any fire elements across the fleet. In this tutorial I deliberately linked all the steps into one, as this particular topic was just recently covered in Tutorial: Painting Green Glow that you can read in order to get a better grasp of the entire process.
Step fifteen: Bases
The paint job done and sealed with a matt varnish the last thing left to do was a base. Again, this is something I covered before in KoW Armada Water Bases tutorial that I invite you to read in order to get to know the process. In case of Salamanders I simplified basing by applying one thick, smooth layer of AK Interactive Atlantic blue, then another rough layer of the same texture to finally add waves with AK Interactive Water Foam effect. Very simple while also quite effective.
This marks the end of the tutorial. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below or via social media.
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
Oh those sweet looking puff of smoke. Such a fine detail. So much character. So many conversion possibilities. Be it fumes from magic cauldron, engine exhausts or freshly tossed smoke grenades. There’s only that many Kill Team Moroch boxes a hobbyist can get their hands on, am I right?
What if I told you there exists an unlimited source of similar, miniature scale puffs of smoke and they come as cheap as a bottle of PVA and Cyanoacrylate glue combined? Witness Me!
Before we start, some notes:
The Basics:
Just before we turn everything milky white with miniature smoke, a word of introduction. I recently purchased a Warhammer 40,000 Phobos Kill Team to add flavor to my existing army. Inside there was a single piece that really got my blood rushing. A tiny grenade with a cone of smoke. Such a wonderful piece. I wished to get more to use as tokens, but also cut and re-purpose for other projects. Sadly this piece is rare across the 40k range and I was left with only one way forward: Completely back engineer and make my own miniature smoke.
Fortunately it wasn’t that difficult and today I bring to you a relatively easy step-by-step tutorial so that you can follow me into the smoke!
The method described here requires a piece of wire, wire cutters, cyanoacrylate glue, PVA glue, hobby drill, tweezers and some tiny balls. The latter can be made with Green Stuff, but I strongly recommend you to read this article and save yourself the hustle instead: Unlimited Tiny Balls for Modelling
Let’s get into it!
Step one: Wire
I started by cutting a piece of soft wire into smaller fragments. The size of these fragments depends on the size and complexity of planned smoke cones. I also found that double twisted wire works better than single line, because it holds the cyanoacrylate plus PVA glue mixture much stronger.
Step two: Mounting place
Next I drilled a tiny hole in the spot where I wanted the smoke to originate from. In this case it was at the head of a tiny grenade, glued firmly to a base.
Step three: Mounting
Using cyanoacrylate glue I then glued a piece of wire into the hole.
Step four: Shaping
Once dried firmly, I then shaped the wire to resemble a basic smoke streak. This can be done with either tweezers or by using soft finger pressure on a wire rested on a rounded surface, such as a side of a brush etc.
Step five: The Mixture
Next I applied some PVA glue and then cyanoacrylate glue onto the wire, in this order. I didn’t wait for these to bind…
Step six: Volume
… and glued a bunch of tiny balls around to form volume. This step requires some creativity and precision, but gets much easier with a pair of slightly wet tweezers and a bowl of ready-to-use balls. Once again I advise you check this article out: Unlimited Tiny Balls for Modelling
Step seven: Finishing touches
Finally I used cyanoacrylate glue with activator to add more volume around the wire and finalize the shape. Activated Super Glue does not run down so easily, allowing it to bind larger areas with a nice, smooth surface.
Done! Prime, paint and ready to play. Smoke away!
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional warhammer 40k miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.
It is middle of the night. You and the boys just engaged Prey Sight and head out in search for the guilty. “In Midnight Clad”, but not without some fancy ‘fleshy’ adornments. Time to pimp that Night Lords armor.
If this sounds like something that tickles your fancy, or if you just want to make your Horus Heresy Night Lords feel like the real Eight Legion, then this tutorial is for you. Ave Dominus Nox!
Before we start, some notes:
The Basics:
Before we head into the night to wreak sculpting havoc, let’s go through some basics. Night Lords are all about skulls, chains, flapping coats of tanned flesh, hooks, bones and bat wings. Some of these are easier to get than others. Skulls come in a phenomenal package straight from GW. Bones and hooks are plenty amongst Games Workshop boxes, be it Drukhari, Savage Urruks, Kroot, Skeletons and more. Getting these is usually as simple as asking around friends who might have a pile of leftovers. Bat Winged Helmets are really something that you’d rather get 3d printed as the effort and time required to sculpt these greatly exceeds the value. As for all the rest, here’s where I come in, to help out my VIII Legion brothers.
Chains:
I’ve been searching for a cheap source of miniatures-compatible chains for a long time. Went through some of the classic wargaming related products, like Green Stuff World, but without good results. Most chains were just too big to fit the theme. Finally after a thorough research I found Trumpeter Universal Fine Chains and for the love of the Long War, my hobbying changed instantly. These come in three different sizes, are relatively affordable and are great to work with. They tend to come a bit rusted, but it is all the better as paint and glue stick stronger this way.
Ok, so we have them chains. This is how I go about mounting them on miniatures.
Step one: Drill
First I pick spots where I want to mount the chain and drill small holes with a hand drill. At times I skip this part and hide ends of the chain behind pauldrons, or in recesses, but most of the time I like to have a clear spot where a chain is mounted at.
Step two: Glue
Next I apply a small drop of Cyanoacrylate glue (Super Glue) on the hole and use tweezers to insert the end of the chain inside. This way I have a chain mounted strongly onto the miniature and doesn’t have to worry about keeping it in place myself.
Step three: Other end
I then fit the chain on the surface and between the holes. Once I am satisfied with how it looks I cut a proper length and glue the other end inside another hole.
Step four: Seal it
With everything dangling around it’s time to seal the chain in place. To do this I apply a drop of Super Glue onto a toothpick and slide the tip around the chain. This is also the last moment to add some shape corrections before it’s finalized.
Skulls:
Skulls are perfect to add a bit of character to your miniatures. They’re positive, always grinning and just funny to have around. Fortunately for us, the hobbyists, Games Workshop put out the best possible source of Skulls in the history of wargaming – the Citadel Skulls! Now what’s left is to siimply mount them onto our miniatures. Here’s how I go about it.
Option A:
I drill a small hole in the upper part of a skull to then mount it on a chain, partially supported by a piece of plastic in close vicinity to the point of contact. I use Super Glue to bind it in place.
Option B:
I mount a piece or an entire skull in place with Super Glue. This works very well as a piece of ornamentation.
Flesh:
Alright, here’s what most of you really came here for. Sculpting tanned flesh.
The process itself is rather easy and does not require sculpting skills. I started by mixing Green Stuff into an evenly colored green mass, then divided it into few small balls.
Step one: Glue
Similarly to other sculpting tutorials I begun ‘sculpting’ by applying a small drop of Super Glue into a chosen surface. This is to keep Green Stuff from coming off and sliding left and right during work.
Step two: Green Stuff
Next I glued a small ball of Green Stuff on top, flattening it with a wet finger. Keeping your tools (and fingertips) wet makes Green Stuff less sticky.
Step three: Basic shape
I then used the rounded tip of a sculpting tool to shape the ‘flattened ball’ into something resembling a butterfly. Four diagonal moves in total.
Step four: Upper edge
Next, using the same rounded tip of the sculpting tool I flattened the upper edge of the ‘batterfly’, resembling a flapping piece of skin. The more rough it is, the more texture it will retain later on so there’s no need to smoother it to perfection.
Step five: Lower edge
Finally I flattened the lower edge of the ‘batterfly’ just a bit, so there was a line of overhang below where glue kept Green Stuff in place.
Step six: Shaping
Using a pair of tweezers I then grabbed, teared and shaped the lower part of the sculpt to add an impression of movement. Job well done… although something still seemed missing.
Step seven: Studs
That’s what I’m talking about! A pair of studs to bolt a piece of flapping skin to the armor.
These can be made of anything really, starting with a tiny piece of a toothpick, or some sort of plastic leftovers. Personally I like to use nail cosmetic glass balls. You can read more about them in Unlimited Tiny Balls for Miniatures article.
Now look at this serious lad. All the skulls, a chains and some fancy fleshy souvenirs from previous raids. I bet no one will joke around this guy!
Below are some pictures of how I went about skulls and chains on my personal collection:
And if you require even more inspiration, why not check Gallery: Crimson Fists, for plenty more pictures of my heavily Night Lords themed 40k army. Ave Dominus Nox!
I hope you find this tutorial interesting. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook or Instagram. I would also appreciate if you considered sharing this content with your friends, who might find it useful. Finally if you are looking for a professional warhammer 40k miniatures painting service, be sure to contact me with this contact form. I always reply within 24 hours, after which please check out your spam folder.