Giving guard colour schemes realistic 'pop'. How to stand out on the table?

[Beaky Brigade]

So I'll start, not with guard but some Space Wolves my friend has painted. It's his first 40k army (not his first minis though) and he's stuck to a very Eavy metal edge highlighting style and they look great in photos and in person and on the table, even in an unlit ikea cabinet lol. He says he does about 8 hours per mini. 

 

 

 

Is it possible to give guard models the same pop? I'm much more drawn to  realistic military colours and they end up feeling a bit dull in comparison. 

 

I'm mainly wondering because I've generally experienced the hobby through well lit photographs and it's hard to tell if guard models with the smaller surface area and size are just going to be like this, or I just need to exaggerate highlights. 

 

 

What's the experience of the guard generals here? 

 

[duz_]

There is less of an opportunity for edge highlights on guard than marines or even battle sisters because they wear less armour. 

 

However you can try other ways to give them pop. Such as zenithal highlighting, blending colours and choosing brighter colours to begin with. 

 

I have done this with my Mordians. However, that is also the reason the 30 I started 4? Years ago still aren't completed 

[Brother Tyler]

If by "realistic military colors" you are referring to modern military combat uniforms, then yes, things are going to look somewhat drab. That is the purpose of the colors used for those uniforms, after all. Your painting technique might be just as effective in setting up highlights, blending, etc., but the overall "pop" will be limited if you're limited to neutral colors.

 

If, on the other hand, you consider dress and ceremonial uniforms or the colorful 1st and 2nd generation warfare uniforms such as were worn during the Napoleonic era, you have plenty of opportunities for colorful uniforms with a lot of "pop." After all, many of the dress/ceremonial uniforms of modern military units have their roots in colorful uniforms that were once worn in battle.

 

A compromise of sorts would be to include some spot colors here and there. The Space Wolves, for example, would be pretty drab if they were only blue-gray. Instead, they often feature spot colors in the form of pack and great company markings as well as on their weapons and fetishes. The trick with this, though, is to preserve the eyes/face of the model as the focal point while having a splash or two of color here and there to break up the predominantly neutral color scheme. Another compromise is to use slightly less colorful, but not totally neutral color schemes. The Mordians that @duz_ mentioned are a great example for the Astra Militarum, but there are other planets whose regiments might choose (slightly) more color than the Cadians and Catachans. Consider the Vostroyan Firstborn, for example, as well as any number of regiments from primitive/feudal/hive worlds where bright/gaudy colors might be displayed on uniforms. Or you could consider things like headgear (who doesn't like a nicely colored beret?), rank insignia, or other small markings to give a little bit of color to an otherwise drab uniform. You might even use hair color (ginger brigade!), eye color, or even tattoos to give your models a bit of color.

 

Another thing you might consider is putting your models on bases with brightly colored terrain/flora (again, without making the base the focal point at the expense of the person). Camouflage, after all, is (or should be) based on the terrain in which the military force is operating. If the military force is going to be operating in terrain that has certain colors, they're likely to use similar/matching colors if their intent is to achieve some form of camouflage.

 

Ultimately, the color scheme on your models won't really affect the rules, so it's possible to have some bright colors here and there, or even all over, without losing any camouflage rules effects.

[Hiroitchi]

I paint modern Guard all the time. Often I find that painting them in that manner repetitive and tedious. Making them pop and to that standard can be done, it’s just a lot. However per your concern about the army popping, for experiance Space Marines(small elite armies) get that pop because of lack of volume. However guard gets that pop with sheer volume.

[Gamiel]

6 hours ago, Brother Tyler said:

If by "realistic military colors" you are referring to modern military combat uniforms, then yes, things are going to look somewhat drab. That is the purpose of the colors used for those uniforms, after all. Your painting technique might be just as effective in setting up highlights, blending, etc., but the overall "pop" will be limited if you're limited to neutral colors.

But something we have to remember is that the galaxy is a big place with lots of different environments and flora, some which is very different from our Earth.

 

A planet where most of the flora is pink instead of green means your combat uniforms will be pink. On a word where the chemicals in the environment makes the snow blue would winter uniforms be blue. High sulphur worlds possibly lead to yellow uniforms. Etcetera.

[GreenScorpion]

I am far from being a great painter, but I often find that using contrasting colours is something that helps to highlight some of the details and while it doesn't necessarily mean that the contrasting colours are bright, it is often easier if one of the colours chosen is not your typical camouflage given the intention of camouflage is the opposite of highlighting stuff.

Often using the natural details of the model is also a good way to highlight some things, by simply allowing the edges of the miniature to provide some shades or slight contrast.

 

I am a worse photographer than painter, but below are some examples of what I have painted recently using the mindset I mentioned:

Spoiler

 

 

 

When everything else fails, just go crazy on the bright colours:
 

Spoiler

 

[Brother Tyler]

9 hours ago, Gamiel said:

But something we have to remember is that the galaxy is a big place with lots of different environments and flora, some which is very different from our Earth.

 

A planet where most of the flora is pink instead of green means your combat uniforms will be pink. On a word where the chemicals in the environment makes the snow blue would winter uniforms be blue. High sulphur worlds possibly lead to yellow uniforms. Etcetera.

 

It's almost like you read the fourth paragraph of my post, the first part of which you quoted. 

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

I used my rough riders to bring some color to my army

[spafe]

If I remember I will try and get some pics of my cadian (122nd) this evening, two lessons (one already mentioned above) I learnt with them is: spot colour, I choose to do the left should pad in a bright red (similar to the old city fight cover rather than the later art for the 122nd), and also if you do camo, dont to realistic camo. By that I dont mean bright pink, I mean use over sized stripes so that it can be seen easily from a distance (as actual camo done to scale will merge unless looking really close). 

 

The bright colours part, honestly, I'd avoid crazy bright colours (but thats just me), but would just use slightly exaggerated colours, so a brighter green, blue or grey that technically correct, so that it is more epmhasied and obvious on the table top. This ties into the oversizing any camo pattern to just make it stand out.