GrimDark Blood Angels Blog 24/09/19 *new warlord conversion*

[neonmole]

@Jonke - thanks for the kind words! I didn’t write up my red no, but as far as the recipe goes it’s what Luther outlines in the tutorial on his blog “the mighty brush”. Having used the technique for a while now I think mine looks quite different from his, despite being the same colours. I guess it’s how heavy they are applied and the differences in our two hands! All credit to him for the recipe though of course, copy that if you want something close to mine :)

 

@Indefragale

 

1- yes it’s Primaris chaplain based. You can find a breakdown of the bits used earlier in the thread.

 

2 - if you mean the actual base, I made it using miliput and green stuff. If you mean the base for th mini it’s just sanguinary guard.

 

3 - haha, it’s simple. It’s a just a couple layers through an airbrush with pure stormhost silver as the brightest. (Vallejo air gun metal > nuln oil > Vallejo air gun metal > 50/50 gunmetal/stormhost > stormhost).

 

 

In other news, made great progress on Dante today! Expect I will be posting some pics of him painted soon! :)

 

Cheers

Joe

[Jønke]

Thanks. I've been looking at his aswell and defo see the similarities. Guess i better just try it out on my own.

[cezrulez]

This is all looking amazing, the gold on the SG is such a nice finish, how did you get it? (Sorry if it was asked earlier, I couldn't see anything about it.)

[neonmole]

Im glad you like the gold! The SG are some of my favourite models.

 

If Im honest though, I somewhat regret the recipe I have used for them (which I can't change for consistency sake) Basically I find it very hard to replicate across multiple painting sessions, meaning I am prone to screwing it up given I don't actually paint full gold models very frequently. This is top of mind right now as I am trying to paint my Dante conversion and struggling to get the finish where I want it.

 

How I do it though :-

 

1 - airbrush Balthazar gold

2 - airbrush retributor armour (you probably could skip both these and just use the retrubutor armour rattle can, probably would give a more consistent finish tbh)

3 - Agrax earthshade all over

4 - paint all other base colours (not much in my scheme)

5 - airbrush gloss

6 - nuln oil gloss all over, wiping off the flat surfaces

7 - paint most of the non recess with retributor armour (this is the tricky bit, I love the colour but its tough to get a flat even coat with a brush as its very dense paint)

8 - highlight corners with stormhost silver (this is easy to go overboard with, conservative will give a more impactful look.

 

Good luck!

 

Joe

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The conversions look great. I especially like your Dante, and hope to see him painted.

[Jønke]

Im glad you like the gold! The SG are some of my favourite models.

 

If Im honest though, I somewhat regret the recipe I have used for them (which I can't change for consistency sake) Basically I find it very hard to replicate across multiple painting sessions, meaning I am prone to screwing it up given I don't actually paint full gold models very frequently. This is top of mind right now as I am trying to paint my Dante conversion and struggling to get the finish where I want it.

 

How I do it though :-

 

1 - airbrush Balthazar gold

2 - airbrush retributor armour (you probably could skip both these and just use the retrubutor armour rattle can, probably would give a more consistent finish tbh)

3 - Agrax earthshade all over

4 - paint all other base colours (not much in my scheme)

5 - airbrush gloss

6 - nuln oil gloss all over, wiping off the flat surfaces

7 - paint most of the non recess with retributor armour (this is the tricky bit, I love the colour but its tough to get a flat even coat with a brush as its very dense paint)

8 - highlight corners with stormhost silver (this is easy to go overboard with, conservative will give a more impactful look.

 

Good luck!

 

Joe

 

 

Black undercoat or?

[Fahlnor]

 

Im glad you like the gold! The SG are some of my favourite models.

 

If Im honest though, I somewhat regret the recipe I have used for them (which I can't change for consistency sake) Basically I find it very hard to replicate across multiple painting sessions, meaning I am prone to screwing it up given I don't actually paint full gold models very frequently. This is top of mind right now as I am trying to paint my Dante conversion and struggling to get the finish where I want it.

 

How I do it though :-

 

1 - airbrush Balthazar gold

2 - airbrush retributor armour (you probably could skip both these and just use the retrubutor armour rattle can, probably would give a more consistent finish tbh)

3 - Agrax earthshade all over

4 - paint all other base colours (not much in my scheme)

5 - airbrush gloss

6 - nuln oil gloss all over, wiping off the flat surfaces

7 - paint most of the non recess with retributor armour (this is the tricky bit, I love the colour but its tough to get a flat even coat with a brush as its very dense paint)

8 - highlight corners with stormhost silver (this is easy to go overboard with, conservative will give a more impactful look.

 

Good luck!

 

Joe

 

 

 

Black undercoat or?

Always prime black for metallics.

[neonmole]

Actually not. I prime using Vallejo German red brown (used as it is what I was using for my normal bros). Black would almost certainly yield similar result though.

 

Cheers

Joe

[neonmole]

Hello friends!

 

Today I feel triumphant... I finally finished my Dante, and am happy with him!

 

This is the third attempt to paint him. One messed up model, and a strip job on the second down, and we are done. It was not without issue though, several parts gave me real trouble, and there was a long period when I feared that it might be a second trip for mr. Dante into the methylated spirit.

 

I think it was very hard to feel like I was happy with this model as it just feels like he deserves the best paint job, being the boss and all, so when he felt sub par to other basic dudes it just didn't feel right.

 

Here he is though, happy with him.

 

 

 

 

Heroes of Baal! I thought they deserved a shot together :)

 

 

And finally, my progress so far... Come a long way since finishing the first tactical squad. Didn't think I would get this far to be honest!

 

 

 

Thanks guys, would love your thoughts on how Dante turned out. He's no different from the Sanguinary guard really in terms of paint job (though it felt like a lot more), but hopefully you think my efforts befit our glorious lord!

 

Cheers,

Joe

[swordofmandulis]

loving your work, your Mephiston is particularly awesome, Dante is excellent too. your paint work is superb.

[9x19 Parabellum]

Personally, I don't like how you leave a lot of your details unfinished.  I hate to be the pooper here, but since you asked for opinions...

 

Your work is fantastic, insomuch as what you actually lay your brush upon. I just don't understand why, for example, you didn't do the scrollwork on Dante's left shin, or the blood drops on his right pauldron, or the wings of the right pauldron. 

[neonmole]

Personally, I don't like how you leave a lot of your details unfinished.  I hate to be the pooper here, but since you asked for opinions...

 

Your work is fantastic, insomuch as what you actually lay your brush upon. I just don't understand why, for example, you didn't do the scrollwork on Dante's left shin, or the blood drops on his right pauldron, or the wings of the right pauldron. 

 

 

 

Hey mate, its all appreciated! I totally see where you are coming from, I think its a preference thing.

 

I dont leave them the same colour out of a desire for speed of completion, but rather because I enjoy the aesthetic (at least with this project) of working within a limited colour palette.

 

For example, one of the reasons I am enjoying this project so much is simply painting the red! Playing with lots of contrast and light within that single colour and trying to get it to all pop with the highlights. As far as the SG goes, I just had this picture in my minds eye of golden warriors head to foot. Similar with the DC, all black, to drive home a sinister, menacing vibe.

 

I guess the short version is that I like a limited palette, with lots of tonal variations within it, rather than what I would call a "busier" look. (not in a negative way, just personal pref.)

 

That said, totally get why others like to go in the other direction and play with lots interesting colours etc!

 

Thanks for your thoughts! Everything is valuable & appreciated

Joe

 

 

* in response to the last part - I guess its worth pointing out that those things (scrolls, blood drop etc.) have been highlighted, just not in a different colour!

Edited November 10, 2017 by neonmole

[Charlo]

Looks awesome buddy, really nice gold - I quite like the mass gold on the detail, it keeps him very clearly the leader.

 

Couple things from me tho:

• Get a power effect on that axe - it's been either blue or red in the fluff.
• His pistol needs to be a different colour (Black?) the gold is making it get lost on him.

[neonmole]

Cheers Charlo,

 

I agree about the axe, a bit of a an effect would be a really nice flourish. Much like Mephistons sword thigh; I am very nervous to add anything for fear of messing it up... if I pluck up enough courage I’ll give it a go.. probably blue rather than red, red would be harder to pull off methinks, but potentially a better result? Hmm.

 

I’m not sure about the gun though! I kinda dig the bling of it! Man with the golden gun ;) Haha.

 

Cheers

Joe

[Panzer]

I agree with Charlo. The gold needs to be broken up. You could leave the main part of the gun in gold even if you'd paint all the other details you left in gold.

[neonmole]

Hi guys,

 

It’s been a while! Finally got something new to share. Finally finished the big boy! (Land Raider)

 

This thing took absolutely ages... mostly because I messed it up several times. There was some stripping involved, I feel like I’ve painted 3 at this point but only have 1 to show for it! Oh well, such it life, I’m mostly happy with the result!

 

Let me know what you all think!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There you have it!

 

Next on my painting list... i quite a few things ready to go, some intercessors, trio of predators, as well as some ASM. I think it’s gonna have to be the preds next as I need them for a couple of tournaments in the new year. Following that I might take the plunge painting my first Primaris! Gotta say, I’m looking forward to it, the intercessors are a joy to build, fantastic models. I like them a LOT more than I thought, seems to be a pattern with the Primaris stuff. Need to up my game for them!

 

Cheers guys.

[Aqui]

Just the right shade of red in my eyes ^_^

[brother_b]

Do you just lightly airbrush black over the red? It looks wonderful.

[neonmole]

The red is airbrushed using a pre-shading method that I got adapted from Luther’s (another poster here) method.

 

If you check back in the thread there is an explanation / link to how it’s done!

 

It’s a bit different for vehicles, but not massively so. The only key change is that the nuln oil is applied in a couple of thin layers using the airbrush rather than by hand.

 

Glad you like it!

Edited December 29, 2017 by neonmole

[brother_b]

The red is airbrushed using a pre-shading method that I got adapted from Luther’s (another poster here) method.

 

If you check back in the thread there is an explanation / link to how it’s done!

 

It’s a bit different for vehicles, but not massively so. The only key change is that the nuln oil is applied in a couple of thin layers using the airbrush rather than by hand.

 

Glad you like it!

 

I'd love to see a video of this. It looks like the black is over the red, a very light color. If that was pre-shading then wow, great effect. If its the nuln oil, it also looks awesome applied that way.

 

Anyway, cheers!

Edited December 29, 2017 by brother_b

[neonmole]

The main work is the pre-shade. The reason for the nuln oil is that I use it on infantry BA to create shading, it doesn’t really shade the flat surfaces of the tank, but it is necessary to bring down the red a bit and make sure the tone is consistent with the rest of the army.

 

I don’t have a video; but here are a couple of pics of what it looks like as a WIP:

 

Here’s the pre-shade-

 

 

*there is an in between state when you spray the whole thing yellow over the pre-shade to create the base for the red, I do not however have a picture of that thogh*

 

And here is what it looks like once you cover the pre-shade / yellow with red -

 

 

As you can see, it’s very bright after you lay the red down on the yellow, and while a cool look, not really what I’m going for with the whole grimdark thing. The nuln oil (gloss) which is applied after all the base colours/weathering is laid down, serves to bring all the colours together, bring it all down a little bit, and by the end give a satin-ish(after final light varnish of Lahmiun Medium).

 

I hope that helps. I take the WIP pics for reference as otherwise I find it quite hard to replicate later!

[Claws and Effect]

Dante looks great.

 

Only thing I'd change is to make his wings white. The gray kind of makes them look unfinished. And white wings would give him a more angelic vibe.

[Aothaine]

Fantastic work as usual. I want to copy this paint scheme so bad lol! Saving up for an air brush now. I have a lot of work ahead of me. ^_^ Keep it up man! Your work is an inspiration!

[brother_b]

 

I hope that helps. I take the WIP pics for reference as otherwise I find it quite hard to replicate later!

 

Very amazing, and great explanation. The pre-shading alone is artwork lol! How long had you been using an airbrush by the time you picked it up for minis?

 

Thanks again for the great information.

[neonmole]

Thanks brother_b. Your really kind.

 

The honest answer is I have owned an airbrush for about 6 months. This Blood Angels project is the first time I have ever used one (in this thread you can see literally every model, barring failures, that I have done with my airbrush)

 

I wanted to do a BA army and decided I needed to buy one after seeing Luther’s mighty brush blog, I loved his look and wanted to borrow from it, but realised I couldn’t do it by hand.

 

I messed up quite a few minis in the beginning, probably went though 5 or 6 tactical marines learning it, and I think I ruined my first rhino too, so it wasn’t all plain sailing.

 

I think a big big big part of getting started so quick was not having to worry about the recipe, or colours etc, since i borrowed so much from Luther to get started - meaning I could concentrate entirely on execution. I mean, I would never in a million years have come up with his method of pre-shading/achieving red in a million years.

 

Short version... I’ve ramped up pretty quick, so it’s definitely possible. It’s a learning process; but one that is manageable due to how much incredible information is out there now (YouTube, blogs etc) from people with far far more legitimate talent than me, and have put the time in to figure things out!

Edited December 29, 2017 by neonmole