Color Builds

Armor

Here was an important piece of advice that Ali McVey offered me while I was testing this scheme in the beginning.

"Don't highight it so much as to lighten the overall colour too much. We don't want to take it too close to menoth white. Just sharp edges and hard lines on the shield like you were doing armour plates on a Jack."

While I've evolved this over time, the concept remains the same. Over highlighting this color is a no no. How much is too much? Well watch and see how far I'm willing to take it.

• GW Vomit Brown (P3 Rucksack Tan is close)
• GW Chestnut Ink
• GW Bleached Bone (P3 Menoth White Base is close)
• VMC Glaze Medium (GM)
• VMC Matte Medium (MM)
• water (H2O)

Important note: I express my mixes in ratio format, such as 10:1. This means 10 parts of one color to 1 part of another color. I have all of my GW paints in dropper bottles, so my "parts" are drops of paint / medium / water. Precision isn't really that important, but I used this method to try and maintain reproducibility over the whole army. Even using this method, there was some variation in how things came out, so don't stress too much if it looks a tad different from session to session. The mixes I'm listing make enough of that color to paint a 10 paint unit at once on average. If you want a smaller batch, just cut the numbers in half, rounding up.

Step 1: The first step of any paint job is a solid base coat. You don't want it thick, but you certainly don't want it patchy. You want a smooth consistent color to work over. My base color for the armor is not really solid, as it's based on Vomit Brown and Chestnut Ink. Over black primer it takes me 4~5 thin coats to get a nice base. I've recently started using a thin base of P3 Rucksack Tan, and then 1~2 layers of the base color over that. It saves a ton of time, which is important when you're painting a commission on a deadline.

Step 1 color mix: 10:6:1 Vomit Brown : Chestnut Ink : GM

As you can see, a nice even flat coat to work over, and it looks nothing like the final color. The color depth is important though, as it gives the overall warm tone in the end. This has been applied to the trim areas as well. This saves time later on when applying the trim base coat.

Step 2: Now comes the "wash". I use quite a bit of Matte Medium (MM) in this, as I want it to stick where I put it, not run all over the place as inks like to do. The main keys here are to try and get a good thin coverage, even over the flat areas and make sure that it gets into ALL of the recesses. I don't black line the armor plates, I rely on this wash to define them so it's very important to do this. If you miss a spot or slop paint over it then you'll need to tidy it up later. That takes more time, so try to be careful as you go.

Step 2 Color Mix: 6:4:4: Chestnut Ink : MM : H2O

I've tried hard not to let the wash puddle anywhere. It's important to not "overwork" the wash though, as the edges of a puddle can dry first and then you pull out the middle of it, leaving a ring. As you play with it, you'll get the hang of the consistency and how it works. It still flows nicely into recesses, but sticks to open areas. It's a nice balance of the 2 things you want from this. This is the darkest shade in the entire color build, so once again it's very important in order to get it looking right.

I like to let my wash dry overnight. I usually use a hair dryer if I'm in a hurry, but with ink you can still have wet stuff down in grooves and such if you are not careful. I like to be safe if and when I can. It's better to lose a few hours than to spend those same few hours redoing what has already been done. ;)

Step 3(a): I list Step 3 in 2 parts, but it's the same mix. It requires 2 passes to get the color opaque enough to move on. As such, this step is the most tedious, but very important. I can't stress enough how you need to have solid smooth coverage. I normally do this on the fly. For example, I'll paint one plate like a foot and move on to the next, like the knee. Once I finish with the knee I go back over the foot as the color is dry enough to apply more paint. Working quickly like this is the key to speed. Since I'm teaching here, I'll do the entire model with one pass and then show what it looks like. Step 3(b) will be nothing more than a second application to show the difference. Apply this color everywhere, but keep the recesses open and showing the Chestnut ink color. Use a 2nd brush to clean up any mistakes quickly as described above.

Step 3 color mix: 10:2:1 Vomit Brown : Chestnut ink : GM

As you can see the coverage is very sketchy. You can see brush strokes, especially on the flat areas. Looks like I missed the inside if one of the knee plates. Not good.

Step 3(b): When going back over the areas you've already painted, try to apply the paint in a different direction if you can. Cross-hatching your brush strokes on a large flat area will give you much better and smoother coverage than simply painting in the same direction for each coat. The same principle applies to mowing your lawn. Cutting the grass in differing directions each time helps avoid wheel ruts as well as giving a better cut. (Bet you didn't think you would get home & gardening tips in a painting lesson! :D )

Some of the deeper grooved areas I've not applied the second pass to, such as the grooves in the foot armor. This just helps to deepen the color as it lets more of the ink color show through.

Step 4(a): Step 4 is actually laid down in 3 thin passes. It's a bear at first, but once you understand why thin layers work and get the hang of it, it's really not so bad. Promise.

What I decided to do instead of doing the entire model with each pass was to paint one foot and knee guard with all 3 layers and the opposite foot with just one layer. The difference should be apparent, despite my darkish pics.

Step 4 Color Mix: 10:2:2:2 Vomit Brown : Bleached Bone : GM : H2O

Obviously, the planted foot is considerably lighter than the raised foot. Why? It's got 3 more layers of paint on it, and the raised foot only has one. This is an easy trick to use. By not making your paint mix completely opaque, you reveal some of the color underneath. I've mentioned this before in the previous postings, and you see it in action here again. Instead of mixing dozens of shades, each slightly lighter than the last, I'm using much fewer shades and varying the density of the layers to get different shades of the same color. The end result is a much smoother color transition with less mixing. I'm fairly certain that I'll have to write this concept up on it's own at some point in order to explain it as best I can. For now though, the raised foot has one layer of Step 4 on it.

Step 4(b): Now I'm adding the second layer to the raised foot, pulling the edge back just a bit from where I applied the first layer to leave a thin strip of it showing.

Still a bit darker than the foot with 3 passes, but showing progress.

Step 4(c): The 3rd and final pass with this color on the foot.

Now there's no visible difference between the feet. I've hit my target color. I'll move on and hit the rest of the armor and not bore you with the small play-by-play.

Step 5: More Bleached Bone = lighter mix. I tend to apply this in 2 passes, the first hitting the highest areas, and the second is pretty much just the edges.

Step 5 color mix: 10:6:3:3 Vomit Brown : Bleached Bone : GM : H2O

Things are starting to look really good now. In fact, this is where I typically stop on rank and file troops. Since this is a warjack and a stand alone display/gaming piece though, I'll be taking it a couple of notches further.

Step 6: This time just hitting the very edges of the armor plates and wherever I feel the sun (directly overhead) might leave a reflection highlight.

Step 6 color mix: 5:5:1:1 Vomit Brown : Bleached Bone : GM : H2O

Hitting those edges really helps them to pop a bit more. It's still not quite enough for a display piece though...

Step 7: The final pass on this bear of a color. All I do is add a spot of white to the Step 6 mix. It should still be wet on your palette, so just add a bit. It doesn't take much, just enough until you see a noticeable difference. Now I'll hit the edges one more time and see the difference it makes.

That just sells the final transition in my opinion. I tried it out for the first time on Feora and I was very pleased with the results. So much so that I immediately added it to my notes. ;)

I thought it might be fun to show what my palette looked like after I finished, so you can see the full range of colors used in this color build all side by side.

Now, if you don't use Testors DullCote, DO IT!

Hit the entire model with a thin layer before continuing on. This does three things:

• Protects your hard work from rubbing and scratching. (More than no sealant.)
• Lets you mop up slips from neighboring colors easily without the need to redo a section you've already done.
• Lets you see what the color will look like after it's sealed. Sometimes sealant can alter a shade. Better to find out now than at the very end.

Finn turned me on to this trick several years ago and I've thanked him for it ever since. Sometimes I get in a hurry and skip on. I always end up regretting it. If you're skeptical, do yourself a favor and give it a try.