Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The wonderful joy of moving

It's been already two years since I last moved. It seems like it was yesterday, but quite some time has passed, and now it's time to move again!

But I don't remember having so much trouble last time... what do I do with so many minis out of their boxes?

Seriously I had all this stuff in cabinets? Wait to see what's awaiting inside all those boxes...

Damn... moving is a nightmare for modellers. How do you guys deal with it?

Stay tuned because in this new place where we will be living, not only will I still be roomate to Adrián Prado (fantasy and miniature concept artist), but now also to Borja García (Fenix, painter from The Figure Corner). Fantasy miniature art grows even stronger in Madrid!

Adrián Prado, the loyal one

Borja García, the new one

Can't wait for those painting gatherings! Did I say gatherings...? How about everyday life! :D

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

WIP: Ellyrian Reavers Part 7

Previously on... WIP: Ellyrian Reavers

Moving on to the higher parts of the minis, here we have the blue parts around the torso and face. They will be painted in the same way as all the turquoise-blue parts of the elves.

I am going to try a different way of blending, just for fun. First I mark the colour areas very roughly (Space Wolves Grey on top, Dark Sea Blue on the bottom).

In between the areas, I introduce middle tones (basically 50%-50% mixes of Space Wolves and Turquoise for the upper transition and 50%-50% mixes of Dark Sea Blue and Turquioise for the lower transition). Then I glaze over to blend it.

The result stands out when you outline properly. Heavy definition with Dark Sea Blue mixed with blue and green inks.

The stripes that come from the helmet will also follow the colour scheme. I will go from dark to light, so I start over a coat of Dark Sea Blue.

The upper triangles will be white.

The lower ones will be turquoise.

Outlining according to zenithal lighting will do the trick.

I will use the turquoise and blue colours on my palette to paint the feathers on the helmets. Again, a basecoat of Dark Sea Blue.

I will place the light on the middle of the feathers, so my brushstroke will go from the outside to the inside, leaving the final drop of paint where I want the lightspot to be. With this tecnique, I apply careful layers of Turquoise to progressively light them up. The trick here is to control the brushstroke properly and the thickness of the layer. Watch and control the dillution of paint (with water) and the quantity of the mix on the brush.

If you do it correctly, it should work with one single brushstroke. It's cleaner and faster. If the layer is too transparent, then wait for it to dry and then go over it again with the same colour, like I do in this case.

Final highlights with Space Wolves Grey, again, with single brushstrokes, very important to ensure a clean and smooth blending.

Something really similar will be done on the horsetails. This is how it looks before any painting on top (just the priming work still untouched).

And this is how it looks once finished.

There's very little paint work left! Stay tuned!