Back to the
Overlord, this week I'm going to be focussing on the weapon head. I
wanted to have a strong alien appearance, making it clear that this
isn't just some metal club that he hits people with! I decided to use
strong orange and red tones to make it really jump out. You can see from the pictures that I've also painted the gauss areas of the miniature in an icy blue, the orange blade will contrast nicely with this.
I started with a
base coat of 09005 Phoenix Red from Reaper Master Series, despite the
name this paint is much closer to orange than red. If you wanted a GW
equivalent then Jokaero Orange looks to be pretty close but I haven't
used it myself.
Once that had dried
I started working in the light areas using the base colour with
increasing amounts of white and a little yellow (I used GW Flash Gitz
yellow but it isn't really that important, I just had it close to
hand). This lets us lighten the base colour without desaturating it
too much. The paint consistency is pretty thin here, once I apply the
paint I then use a second brush that is just wet to help feather the
transition out slightly.
Now onto the darker
areas. Using 09003 Blood Red, again from Reaper and a little black I
blend the shadows in the same way as the highlights. All the way to
about a 75:25 mix of black to red. You can see one of the highlights
in the bottom right changes pretty significantly, I got my brushes
mixed up and managed to get some black on it so had to redo it!
Once I'd done the
shadows I went back in and pushed the highlights closer to white to
really improve the contrast. I also used some thin red glazes in the
mid tones to help tie things together. I've also attached a picture
of my wet palette here so you can see the kind of transition I was
using.
The final step is
perhaps the most terrifying. I went back in with white with a slight
touch of orange in it and edge highlighted the blades as well as
painting a thin line down the central ridge. It's very intimidating
doing this as a mistake can be very difficult to correct. It is
important to use slightly thinned paint so it flows easily as well as
using a brush that has a good point. Just find a comfortable position
and take your time. I still find this very difficult to do but like
any other technique you have to practice to improve.
With this I'm
calling the blade finished! If you have any questions or constructive
criticism please don't hesitate to share them in the comments.
