The second in a series of modeling and painting posts by Fade_74
The Average Guardsman - Part 2 | Color Selection and Base Coating
Hello people! Following up on part 1 of this series, today we are going to talk a little about basic colors and then start base coating our average guardsman. By using just a few easy techniques, you easily achieve an above average look for your Imperial Guard, or whatever else you are painting.
Color Selection
Let's talk a bit about color selection. I like to use 2 main colors, one for the uniform and one for the armor and helmet. Any more than two colors and your paint scheme might look a little funky to the eye. Remember that most of the time people will be looking at it from 2-3 feet away. Always use colors of the same tone. A red-brown and a greenish brown won't look right together. Colors that are sold together will be your best bet. All paint companies try make colors that complement each other, including GW. For example:
-Codex Grey goes with Fortress Grey
-Scorched Brown goes with Bestial Brown
-Mordian Blue goes with Ultramarines Blue, etc.
-Scorched Brown goes with Bestial Brown
-Mordian Blue goes with Ultramarines Blue, etc.
Avoid clashing colors. Yellow and purple, red and green, etc. If a normal person wouldn't wear those colors together, then your models shouldn't either. If you are having problems deciding on a set of colors, look at GW's website. The 'Eavy Metal team has a real eye for color, look at their stuff. Look at the winning models from Games Day. Find a site that shows real world military uniforms. There are a million places to find inspiration. I got my color scheme at Wal-Mart. I looked in the craft paint rack and lo and behold came up with two well matched Greys that I thought would look great together in a city-fight themed army. Once you have your colors picked we can move on to painting.
Priming
Priming
The first thing you need to do is prime your mini. Black. Period. Using black primer allows you to add a touch of shading and all your black lining right from the start. Whether you spray it on, or brush it, make it a thin coat. If you use a brush, water down your black quite a bit and go over it a couple times. You should have just enough paint on the mini to color it black and not obscure the details. Don't forget to primer the edges of your base also. It will help paint stick to them later on in the process.
Base Coating
Base coating the clothing and armor always comes next for me. Take a fine brush and outline the items that won't be getting painted. Belts, hands, face, etc. You can do this with paint straight out of the pot, as it will be a little thick and it will create sort of a dam that will help you from getting your colors in places they don't need to go. Don't forget to leave a very thin black line between everything. It will add definition and a clear demarcation between things.........DOH! I was going to have a pic of this step, but I went into a trance and did this and the next step without stopping lol. You will be able to see how I left the black lines in the next pic.
Once you have your outline complete you can start blocking everything in. Now is the time to thin out your paint a bit. The thinner your paint is, the smoother the finish will be when complete, but you will have to paint more coats. I would suggest something a little thicker than milk for most applications. You don't want to have to paint more than 4-5 coats of any one color but you don't want the paint to be globby either. I know this seems a little tedious but the results will be well worth it in the end.
Shading
Now that we have a nice base to work with let's shade a bit. Your shade color should be warm for warm colors, reds, browns, olive greens, and yellows should always be shaded with a darker version of that color, or brown. Cool colors like blue, blue greens, grey, and brown should be shaded with black. You can either use very, very thinned paint (10 to 1), or you can buy a ready mixed wash. I find that the citadel washes work great for me. The one thing you want to watch out for is putting to much wash on. Don't just slop it on. It won't look good. A wash should be painted into the low spots of your mini not painted over the whole thing. If you want to avoid the wash ring effect, put just a drop of dish washing detergent into your mix. It breaks the surface tension of the wash and allows it to flow easily. Allow your mini to dry thoroughly before you move on. And don't worry about any wash that gets in the wrong place. Leave it, as the next step will remedy it very easily.
Next time, we will delve into highlighting, but if you have any questions or comments on this step or others, feel free to post, I will get back to you ASAP! See you around!
P.S. Here are some pics of my finished Macharius tank. It turned out so well that I feel the need to show it off a little. http://www.coolminiornot.com/216478
Please feel free to vote or leave a comment!
Fade_74 has been an avid gamer for 20 odd years. He plays just about everything. His favorite 40k army is Imperial Guard, but he has also been known to collect and play Necrons, Space Marines, and Tau. If you would like to check out some of his other work just follow this link. http://www.coolminiornot.com/artist/Fade+13
~Lets give it up for Fade_74. He's pressing forward with his painting series aimed at everyone, not just the high-end painters and converters. Comment away guys, I'm sure he will be along shortly to answer any of your questions.
