Shading the underside of creatures

[Magos Takatus]

Hi, sorry for the rather weird title, I didn't know a good title to start with.

 

Right, I'd best get this out of the way, I'm not currently painting a 40k model but I ask a question about basic painting principles that could be applied to Sslyth or Tyranids, Exodite conversions and so on.

 

 

Right, here's the model in question. As you can see I am establishing a basic colour that transitions to a lighter colour for the underbelly. I am however not sure how to paint shadows in the folds and recesses on the underside. How do I go about this? If I just shade with a darker version of the colour it will just look like the gradient I am going for is patchy. Should I shade with a different colour and if so, what should I go for? Do I need to use a cooler colour like a grey? 

[Bryan Blaire]

Magos, you may need to break up your thoughts on it a little (something I'm about to have to try for my 'Nid Swarmlord).

 

So my first thought is that even though you are building a gradient, you probably want to have a single neutral shading color that works for all the colors in your gradient - this is probably best applied thinly overall to all recesses in the model and should help to unify them.

 

For shadowing - shadows are typically darker and cooler, so perhaps something like a dark purple or very dark grey-blue might work in just the very darkest recesses to give the impression of shadow.

 

BTW, I'm assuming you are working with a brush, I really don't have anything I could say with regards to an airbrush, never used one.

 

That Exodite mount looks really good (although it also looks like maybe you started with a brighter than your midtone color?)!

[Jings]

Would a brown wash on top then beige on the bottom with a 50/50 mix to blend at the transition areas work? 

 

As Bryan says above, I generally use a uniform wash to blend colours as it allows for consistency across the area. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Jings

[Bryan Blaire]

Jings suggestion of the mix at the blend area seems like it would also work well - question though, are you looking to do an all over wash for all the painted areas, or only a recess shading effect with the wash?

 

The "all over" idea is more like a tint/color filter, in which case there are other techniques that I've seen folks suggest to do those, and from what I understand, they all start with "varnish your model".

 

A blog thing I found talking about both (maybe info you already know): http://www.scalemodelguide.com/painting-weathering/weathering/paint-washes/

[Magos Takatus]

Thanks for the replies, I was feeling a bit lost how to give the impression of lighter skin in shadow rather than just darker skin, I have been trying to think about lighting more in models recently so I appreciate the help.

 

Just to clear up a few things yes, I have started off lighter than my midtone this time, I decided it would be easier to apply shading to a light colour rather than lighten up a dark colour. I was testing out my new pot of Typhon Ash for the first basecoat so coverage could have been an issue. Additionally yes, I was too lazy/impatient to grab the airbrush for the first few layers. That would have improved the coverage of the first layer for sure.

 

Thanks again, I'll keep working on it.

 

Edit: Thanks for the link, I was intending for the shading to be a bit more targeted than a typical wash. In truth I am not entirely sure what technique I wish to employ to get the effect I am after. I usually end up relying on GW shade paints to darken an area.

 

Here's an example of where I'm hoping to go with this:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/361565

 

Although I'm not copying the colour scheme of the model I do like that the underside of the creature looks paler but it looks to me that it's still a bit darker under there without taking natural light into account (Since I think it's was a pretty large model the natural shadows might be having mode of an effect?). I find that I struggle to break down people's work into steps I can repeat myself. I've never really tried using filters myself, I never really understood what the purpose of them was.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Magos Takatus

[Bryan Blaire]

If you can find some, and the effect you are going for is a more natural/realistic one like scale modeling (as opposed to the more artistically stylized finishes), I'd try and get some lizard reference photos to look at that very subject - how do lighter underbellies in shadow actually look, how does the light interact with the curves, etc.

 

I've always found that hard on 3D miniatures, personally, because unlike when I painted canvas to replicate photos, you are trying to replicate the impression of light falling on a surface, and that surface then moves and light falls on it a different way - it makes it hard to me, the impression from the "light" is only correct when viewed from a single viewpoint, so while gaming it ends up looking wrong, IMO.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Is Angel Giraldez' dino tutorial any help? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTSX7zoPXRo

 

Or GW's Mawkrusha video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qollOdPJ8Oc

 

Or Cold One video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vA0kbijHy0

Edited September 16, 2020 by Firedrake Cordova

[Magos Takatus]

Thank you! I have to take a look at these. I ended up thinning some of The Fang paint and glazing the underside of the model in places. I'll take a look at those tutorials for future though.

 

Edit: I found the dino tutorial interesting in particular, if I build any more dragon/monster models I will have to try to remember these techniques. The grey used in the shadows was a bit more neutral than the blue grey I used and I probably over thinned my shadows into a thin glaze.

Edited September 17, 2020 by Magos Takatus