Ravenwing Biker

[Captain Hwarang]

Hey everybody, I tried my hand at a new black recipe using the Andrea Black Paint Set, and I've gotta say, I'm very happy with these paints and the final results. Think I've discovered my new style of painting.

 

Pics:

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/RavenwingBiker01.jpg

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/RavenwingBiker02.jpg

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/RavenwingBiker03.jpg

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/RavenwingBiker04.jpg

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/RavenwingBiker05.jpg

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/RavenwingBiker06.jpg

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/RavenwingBiker07.jpg

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/RavenwingBiker08.jpg

 

C&C is welcome. Thanks for looking.

 

-CH

[Tyrannicide]

I think it looks great. Weathering is done well and the chrome details look very lifelike.

 

His right shoulder pad is looking lonely though. And I do spy a few small mold lines. Remember, no mercy.

[Zhoolda]

This is fantastic!

I got so bored with the normal way of doing black power arnour with highlights . So I started doing my Iron Hands with only mithrill chipping and highlights. It looks cool but it is nowhere near what you are doing!

Any chanse you can explain how you did this?

[Captain Hwarang]

I think it looks great. Weathering is done well and the chrome details look very lifelike.

 

His right shoulder pad is looking lonely though. And I do spy a few small mold lines. Remember, no mercy.

 

Aaargh! Rotten mold lines. I thought I had gotten them all, but I noticed them while painting and was so far into the process that I couldn't bear starting over. I seem to have trouble with them actually; I use a file - is the scraper tool jigger from GW better than a file for mold lines?

 

Also, I was thinking of freehanding a number on the blank shoulder pad, but I'm still worried about messing up the paintjob. When I get more confident, I will add a squad marking. Right now, the gradient on that shoulder is one of my favorite parts, so I really don't want to screw it up.

 

This is fantastic!

I got so bored with the normal way of doing black power arnour with highlights . So I started doing my Iron Hands with only mithrill chipping and highlights. It looks cool but it is nowhere near what you are doing!

Any chanse you can explain how you did this?

 

Thanks!

 

Sure I can explain, but it's quite labor intensive.

 

I discovered a new paint range called Andrea. They sell a black paint set with different shades of black and it comes with mixing directions and everything. They come in bottle droppers, a la Vallejo. In fact, I've read/heard that they're part of the Vallejo company. They are quite hard to find here in the states; the specialist hobby shop I frequent for Vallejo Model Color had not even heard of them. If you care to get them, you would probably have to order them online. I first heard of them from a tutorial by Bohun, one of my favorite painters at CMON, and I followed his tutorial for black, with a couple of tweaks.

 

At every stage of the process I used a water to paint ratio of 1:1 or 3:2.

 

1. Base Coat of Andrea Black Paint Set (heretofore referred to as ABPS) Base and APBS 1st shadow, 1:1 (and therefore 2 parts water)

2. 1st shadows with APBS 1st Shadow and 2nd Shadow, 1:1

3. 2nd shadows with APBS 2nd Shadow and 3rd Shadow, 1:1

4. 3rd shadows with APBS 3rd Shadow

5. Final Shadows with straight Vallejo Model Color Black

6. 1st highlight with APBS Base and 1st highlight, 1:1

7. 2nd Highlight with APBS 1st highlight, 2nd Highlight, and VMC pale grey blue, 2:1:1

8. 3rd Highlight with APBS 2nd Highlight and VMC pale blue grey, 1:1

9. Final highlight with VMC pale blue gray

 

Next I added glazes (which I think should be referred to as tints...) For these stages I used a water to paint ratio of 4:1 or 9:2.

 

1. Glaze shadows with VMC black and Liche Purple, 1:1 (so 8 or 9 drops of water...)

2. Glaze midtones with APBS base and Hormagaunt purple, 1:1

3. Glaze highlights with VMC pale blue gray, VMC Verdigris Glaze, VMC Glaze Medium, VMC Turquoise, 2:1:2:1

 

You can skip the glazes, but I think they make the black more interesting to look at. They also help cover mistakes in the shading or highlighting. For example, if you carry a step of shadows to far into another step of shadows, or even the base color, the glazes will help smooth the transition.

 

This took me a very long time. However, with practice I think it can be done in an acceptable amount of time. I spent a lot of time mixing paints, and also referring back to the original tutorial. Now that I have my recipe down, though, I think I can do it faster, and perhaps pump out multiple models.

 

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the equivalent GW paints are to the Andrea and VMC paints. If you have the entire GW range of gray layers, it would probably yield a similar result.

 

Hope that helps!

 

If anyone wants a tutorial with pictures, I be find time to make one.

 

CHeers, and thanks for looking.

 

-CH

[Tyrannicide]

I use a file - is the scraper tool jigger from GW better than a file for mold lines?

I feel that a sharp X-acto teamed with a set of small files can take care of any mold lines. Works for me. It's definitely my least favorite aspect of the hobby.

[Interrogator Stobz]

Damn you Captain H, I just finished my RW and now you provide most excellent advice on black shading ;)

 

He looks fantastic, don't worry about one or two minor mold lines, once you have done a squad or two no one will notice ;)

 

You will have to drill the bolt pistol barrel though, no mercy ;)

 

I'm going to steal some of your techniques for my HQs, my normal RW will have to stay boring with merely line highlighting.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

stobz

[Wolf Brother Spyrle]

Awesome job on the battle damage!

[GumbaFish]

Looks good! Glad to see there is another convert to the philosophy that the best way to paint black isn't to paint it black at all =)

[Zhoolda]

I think it looks great. Weathering is done well and the chrome details look very lifelike.

 

His right shoulder pad is looking lonely though. And I do spy a few small mold lines. Remember, no mercy.

 

Aaargh! Rotten mold lines. I thought I had gotten them all, but I noticed them while painting and was so far into the process that I couldn't bear starting over. I seem to have trouble with them actually; I use a file - is the scraper tool jigger from GW better than a file for mold lines?

 

Also, I was thinking of freehanding a number on the blank shoulder pad, but I'm still worried about messing up the paintjob. When I get more confident, I will add a squad marking. Right now, the gradient on that shoulder is one of my favorite parts, so I really don't want to screw it up.

 

This is fantastic!

I got so bored with the normal way of doing black power arnour with highlights . So I started doing my Iron Hands with only mithrill chipping and highlights. It looks cool but it is nowhere near what you are doing!

Any chanse you can explain how you did this?

 

Thanks!

 

Sure I can explain, but it's quite labor intensive.

 

I discovered a new paint range called Andrea. They sell a black paint set with different shades of black and it comes with mixing directions and everything. They come in bottle droppers, a la Vallejo. In fact, I've read/heard that they're part of the Vallejo company. They are quite hard to find here in the states; the specialist hobby shop I frequent for Vallejo Model Color had not even heard of them. If you care to get them, you would probably have to order them online. I first heard of them from a tutorial by Bohun, one of my favorite painters at CMON, and I followed his tutorial for black, with a couple of tweaks.

 

At every stage of the process I used a water to paint ratio of 1:1 or 3:2.

 

1. Base Coat of Andrea Black Paint Set (heretofore referred to as ABPS) Base and APBS 1st shadow, 1:1 (and therefore 2 parts water)

2. 1st shadows with APBS 1st Shadow and 2nd Shadow, 1:1

3. 2nd shadows with APBS 2nd Shadow and 3rd Shadow, 1:1

4. 3rd shadows with APBS 3rd Shadow

5. Final Shadows with straight Vallejo Model Color Black

6. 1st highlight with APBS Base and 1st highlight, 1:1

7. 2nd Highlight with APBS 1st highlight, 2nd Highlight, and VMC pale grey blue, 2:1:1

8. 3rd Highlight with APBS 2nd Highlight and VMC pale blue grey, 1:1

9. Final highlight with VMC pale blue gray

 

Next I added glazes (which I think should be referred to as tints...) For these stages I used a water to paint ratio of 4:1 or 9:2.

 

1. Glaze shadows with VMC black and Liche Purple, 1:1 (so 8 or 9 drops of water...)

2. Glaze midtones with APBS base and Hormagaunt purple, 1:1

3. Glaze highlights with VMC pale blue gray, VMC Verdigris Glaze, VMC Glaze Medium, VMC Turquoise, 2:1:2:1

 

You can skip the glazes, but I think they make the black more interesting to look at. They also help cover mistakes in the shading or highlighting. For example, if you carry a step of shadows to far into another step of shadows, or even the base color, the glazes will help smooth the transition.

 

This took me a very long time. However, with practice I think it can be done in an acceptable amount of time. I spent a lot of time mixing paints, and also referring back to the original tutorial. Now that I have my recipe down, though, I think I can do it faster, and perhaps pump out multiple models.

 

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the equivalent GW paints are to the Andrea and VMC paints. If you have the entire GW range of gray layers, it would probably yield a similar result.

 

Hope that helps!

 

If anyone wants a tutorial with pictures, I be find time to make one.

 

CHeers, and thanks for looking.

 

-CH

 

Thank you!

Looks so dynamik, I have to try this out :-)

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

Best black I've ever seen, no lie. Awesome work. Like the subtle readjustment of the left leg as well! More please :tu: Would love to see an army like this... :lol:

[Validar]

looks good - I do feel the model is a bit too dark. It seems a bit black-on-black. I would paint the details to really pop, maybe use a really powerful colour for some things (a very bright red for the eyes, a really bright blue for the screen, etc.), on such a dark model they're likely to really pop up.

[Captain Hwarang]

Awesome job on the battle damage!

 

Thanks man!

 

Looks good! Glad to see there is another convert to the philosophy that the best way to paint black isn't to paint it black at all =)

 

Thanks. Yeah, it's not necessarily the fastest way to go, but I prefer the end result much more. Even the studio black is kind of lame in my opinion.

 

Thank you!

Looks so dynamik, I have to try this out :-)

 

You bet man. Hope it works out for you too. Good luck finding the APBS color equivalents though. They are a bit warm in hue, whereas the GW line of grays seem cooler to me.

 

Best black I've ever seen, no lie. Awesome work. Like the subtle readjustment of the left leg as well! More please :) Would love to see an army like this... ;)

 

Really, the best? That's a bit strong, I think, but huge thanks nonetheless! I actually am planning to put together a pure ravenwing army, but I've got so many projects going at the moment, I have no idea when I'll finish. Or even start the next model...

 

But thanks again for the compliments. But trust me, there is FAR better black out there:

 

Check out this guy.

 

The tutorial I followed/tweaked for this model was written by this artist. Alas, it was nice to paint the best black in someone's eyes, if only for a moment. ^_^

 

looks good - I do feel the model is a bit too dark. It seems a bit black-on-black. I would paint the details to really pop, maybe use a really powerful colour for some things (a very bright red for the eyes, a really bright blue for the screen, etc.), on such a dark model they're likely to really pop up.

 

THanks for the tips, Validar. I've gotta say though, it's funny to say it looks black on black, when there is in fact very very little black in it! But I know what you mean. I'll keep your advice in mind for future models, definitely, as it is good all around advice, although this guy is unlikely to change. I've more or less achieved what I was going for though, which was two fold: to paint a nice black, and to paint something that is entirely one color, without making it boring. I also feel the darkness kind pairs welle with the idea of the ravenwing. I have the conversion kit, but I don't plan to paint the feathers white as in the studio models, because it seems kinda un-stealthy. And raven wings are black anyway, right?

 

Thanks again for looking/commenting.

 

-CH

[Dosjetka]

Wow, great model CH :woot: And I think you've done a better job than that dude with the Dreadnought as it looks like it's just been for a wash and a scrub! Pansy stuff! :D

 

And thanks a lot for sharing the recipe, though if you can, a tutorial with pictures wold be super :wub:

 

Ludovic

[KingDeath]

The biker looks awesome and your modification of Bohun's tutorial makes sense to me ( the original frustrated me a bit because i never quite manage to achive truly dark shadows with it ).