Help with Stage 1 highlighting

[DEL 707]

I'm working on a Blood Angel Intercessor.
I've just started the the 1st highlight for the red armour with Evil Sunz Scarlet. Still very early, only really done 1 leg and a few other bits and pieces. Loads of tidying up to do.






Now I'm wondering on what bits I should be highlighting, there are a few armour edges that are very small and I'm not sure if it'll look right if they are highlighting.



Should I be aiming to highlight around the little square below the knee pad? Also should I be going around the *top* of the bottom of the shoe?
Directly below the knee pad, should I be highlighting the red armour?



Again, should I be aiming to go either side of the recessed line? The same for the indent box below it?

On another note with highlighting, I aim to do a 2nd stage highlight with Fire Dragon Bright.
Are my 1st stage highlights the right kind of thickness? Do they need to be thicker or thinner?

[Gongsun Zan]

Based on the official box art, all the areas you've identified are meant to be highlighted. But I would say that the real answer depends on (i) how much time you want to spend on each mini, and (ii) what looks good to you. It's the same with the number of highlights - some people like Darren Latham would say that the minimum for army painting is 3-4 levels of highlights, but to me I think two rounds of highlighting is "good enough" unless you're working on a display piece.  

[Firedrake Cordova]

Probably your best bet is whatever the box art says, and you're able to do.  Sometimes it's worth looking at official images of other armies with more contrasting highlighting/shading (e.g. Dark Angels) as it can make it more obvious what is being highlighted/shaded.

 

Blood Angels Intercessors

 

Dark Angels Intercessors

 

(you might need to scroll through the image gallery to get the full image of the marine)

Edited August 23, 2020 by Firedrake Cordova

[jaxom]

Caveat: I paint for the table top and am not the most patient person.

 

Now I'm wondering on what bits I should be highlighting, there are a few armour edges that are very small and I'm not sure if it'll look right if they are highlighting.

 

If your goal isn't pictures or competition painting the don't sweat the small stuff. The shading you have already provides enough contrast.

 

Should I be aiming to highlight around the little square below the knee pad? Also should I be going around the *top* of the bottom of the shoe?
Directly below the knee pad, should I be highlighting the red armour?

 

Highlights should depend on light source location. Generally this means a top-down approach. Think about whether the location would be exposed to light compared to other parts of the model. The top of the bottom of the shoe probably would be (along with the top of the shoe).

 

Again, should I be aiming to go either side of the recessed line? The same for the indent box below it?

 

Personally, with marines, because of the usual angle they are seen at and the power pack I don't spend a ton of time on the back of the legs. I think what you have looks fine.

 

On another note with highlighting, I aim to do a 2nd stage highlight with Fire Dragon Bright.

Are my 1st stage highlights the right kind of thickness? Do they need to be thicker or thinner?

 

The first highlight should be thick enough to accommodate the second highlight and so on as each successive highlight gets thinner. The idea is that your creating a colour gradient that tricks the eye into thinking it's a continuous spectrum. The farther out the viewer is then the less gradients are needed to achieve the effect. You effectively need to think backwards from the width of your last highlight.

 

 

[summercampcrush]

I always found it helpful to take a picture of the mini in a well contrasted but not overexposed light - using a lamp for my source lighting. Then I take the picture and turn it to grayscale, use a filter to isolate shadows into defined sections (usually just by playing around with the preset filters on my phone). It really helps to define the areas where paint goes and doesn't. I have a bad habit of painting over stuff that could have been set for the next step.

 

By the way, your SM looks really nice. don't be afraid to go in and define your details over top work that you already did really nicely. I have to always tell myself to "Paint more bravely!".