onnad

There are a few things going on in my blending: 1. Water down the paint. I get the paint as thin as I can while still being able to control it. (I have no idea what the actual proportions are. It’s like the way Ray Charles defined soul music: “I can’t tell you what it is, but I can tell you when I feel it.”) That gives it a nice translucency as you build up your layers. 2. Lots and lots of layers. For the most part, I start with the mid tone and build the shadows down then build up the highlights in very, very gradual shifts of watered-down paint. I don’t keep count, but there are easily 10-15 layers for each blend. 3. Matte Medium glazes. I got this tip from a seminar I took from Jen Haley a few years ago and it was a total game-changer in my painting. Matte medium is basically paint without pigment, so by adding ink or paint to the matte medium, you’re creating a super-transparent glaze. After I finish all my highlighting, I apply two glazes. One of a very dark color—but not black—to all the shadows. (GW’s Devlan Mud is great for warm shadows, and VMC Transparent Blue mixed with a little GW Black Ink is great for cool shadows.) The second glaze is a very, very, VERY thin layer of the mid-tone color. Roughly 1 part paint to 3 parts matte medium to 3 parts water. I find this really smooths out the transitions between layers, creating smooth blends. 4. Final highlights. The glazing process tends to obscure your highest highlights, so I usually do a final highlight with a super-thinned white, ivory, or light yellow (depending on the base color.) If there’s interest, I can take some process photos as I’m doing one of my next models and post them.

Thanks. Like I said, these models are a joy to paint. The stockings are surprisingly simple. I forget where I read this tip, but instead of using flesh tones--which tend to turn green when you add black--I use Vallejo Model Color Brown Rose. (I haven't tried it, but I believe that PP Midlund Flesh would also work.) Just add a little black to the Brown Rose as a base, and then keep building up to a highlight of pure Brown Rose.

Greetings, all. I had the chance to demo Malifaux at Adepticon this spring, and was immediately hooked. Fast forward six months and I've finally finished my first crew. (Well, 25SS worth, anyway.) I've been painting miniatures, on and off, for almost ten years now and the one consistent thing with my style is that, no matter the subject, and no matter how hard I try NOT to do it, everything seems to comes out in bright pastels. (Vermin-plagued Skaven? Happy mice! Angry blood thirsty Ogres? Friendly giants! Feral warrior women of Orboros? Pretty, pretty forest princesses!) So imagine my surprise when I saw that Wyrd was kind enough to actually create an entire Crew of girls in pretty dresses! I almost had no choice in the matter... Sadly, I haven't had a chance to play with them yet--stupid life--but I'm having more than enough fun painting right now. With that, I bring you pictures: The gang's all here Collette Cassie Pointy Robot Girl 1 Pointy Robot Girl 2 The Duet A trio of metal chickens On deck: Performer and Mannequin, and an Arcane Gunsmith. (I'm liking the Girl Group vibe.)

This is a critical point. As frustrating as it seems now, you WILL get better at it.