Painting Eldar

[dbecer01]

So, I have been thinking about getting and painting some Eldar, but I am worried about a few things.

 

1) I do not own an airbrush, and I see that most peoplr are airbrushing their vehicles. Also, it seems that the Eldar aesthtic lends itself to that airbrushed look.

 

2) Unlike my IG, it seems that Eldar Vehicles and troops are much more elegant. I am worried that some of the sloppiness that is hidden by my troopers and vehicles as dirt and damage, may be much more evident on the much sharper-looking Eldar models.

 

What do you guys think. Any tips?

[Grotsmasha]

I think you'll surprise yourself with what you can achieve with a little patience. Jump on eBay, find 3-5 second hand models and practice a couple of different methods to see what works for you with the new painting styles.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Bryan Blaire]

Something I tell people both for freehand and just painting in general: don't be afraid to clean up (for free handing, this also generally includes "don't shade or highlight anything you are freehanding on first" because it makes clean-up sometimes near impossible to blend mostly seemlessly).

 

Personally, I don't have or use an airbrush on my Eldar, and while I try and do some good gradients on the rounded surfaces, I don't stress too much over visible layer changes, and you can always go back and try and hide those with a mix of colors between your two layers, or use a glaze to tie all the layers together. You can also clean up tide lines carefully with a very slightly damp brush as you paint your layers.

 

Don't worry about what others are doing on their models, unless you are wanting to do the same, and pick a scheme and paint methods that you are comfortable with and get you the results that you want. Also, don't be afraid of some constructive criticism if you want to push your painting forward a little bit, and don't be afraid to try new techniques - layering, glazing, wet-blending, etc., are all achievable techniques that do take some extra time, but can be used to good effect without an airbrush to provide you nice, mostly smoothly shaded to highlighted models.

 

Do you have a specific scheme you are looking at doing?

[dbecer01]

I haven't started collecting anything Eldar just yet. I'm actually at least a few months away untul I can finish painting what I currently have.

 

I typically just follow the best youtube tutorial that I can fibd, and try to follow it as close as possible.

 

I would prefer some lighter colors on them though. I like the white and green on the guardians.

[Imren]

I strongly recommend you to spend 150 USD / 120 GBP / 150 EUR and get your self a basic airbrush set up with compressor, airbrush, hose, mask and start airbrushing, it will save you many hours of priming, basecoating and highlighting.

 

For some eldar painting inspiration, check this out (done with airbrush, but could be done with paintbrush too if you're a proficient glazer and willing to spend 5x the time):

 

 

 

[Spiritual Liege]

Yes, I also suggest getting an airbrush. Handpainting can also look nice, but I myself really dislike hand painted Eldar (my opinion, nothing to do with peoples' painting skills but the models themselves) and also the airbrush is so much quicker.

[Xenith]

Make use of the GW coloured base sprays. Imperial vehicles look ok a little rough and ready, but eldar's smooth lines, brush strokes can look out of place. 

 

Pick an eldar faction where you have easy access to spray basecoat.