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Feeling pretty peeved off with painting figures right now...

I'm not sure if I should be 'shading' the purple in some form, or if I even know how to do it right. I am slowly tightening up my highlights [evident if you look at my Eldar from last August!] and I am comfortable with it. Hell, even my lenses are slowly improving. What really irks me though is that my models feel untidy and just not ... neat? There's always something really uneven about them, maybe it's the application of paint, my primer, my burning self-flagellation? I posted some of my concerns here, it's really a bone of contention for me.

Here is a comparison shot, if indeed anything can be pulled from the image. I always suspect that I am doubly harsh upon myself when I probably shouldn't be.

From left to right;
Mk.V painted up a couple of months ago. Nothing fancy, just the purple painted up and roughly highlighted.

Mk.V//Mk.IV Assault is the most recent. I've hit the dead-end with these. My method for painting is in the link above, I wonder if I am making it too arduous and complicated? Currently washing the model with a mix of vallejo black wash, vallejo black and water at a ratio of 2:1:2. Can't really say that it gives me the desired effect. [What effect do I want? feth me!]

Mk.IV from a couple of weeks back. Again, simple paintjob.



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The Apothecary and Champion that i posted above two weeks back were given a quick and light pure black wash after the first coat of my personal purple mix. The purple was then carefully reapplied over the top in two layers, leaving some shadowed recesses. I can't help but think that that quick method is probably the most effective?

Please, any criticisms, comments and gribbles are wildly appreciated! I'm pretty frustrated right now and feel like sticking them all in a microwave for sweet revenge. "HAR HAR! CHAOS SPAWN FOR YOU!

Edit; Also, does anyone have a hint as to how to stop washes pooling on flat surfaces? I read that the new GW washes are pretty damned good, is there some trick to using Vallejo wash?

I think washes are a useful tool and I do use them quite a lot now. I haven't used the Vallejo paints and washes so I can't comment on them but I find that if you are getting the pooling on flat surfaces then it needs a bit of watering down and take a bit more time and pull it to the edges with a brush. Highlighting over the top again will also cover pools. I think your top highlight is too big a colour change and a little blocky, there is no blending going on there. My favourite of the three is the guy on the left. Try another darker layer before that top highlight and then use the top highlight really thin, probably using the edge of the brush rather than the tip just to pick out the edges.

Hope that is helpful!


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Oh and I always find that the models look better in the flesh rather than in these pics where it is blown up over size so we might be worrying about nothing!

Thanks, Reaper, for taking the time to comment.

I've often wondered about the top highlight too, it does seem a little stark - especially when I've been less than careful in application. I'm currently using a ratio of 1:1 bonewhite:purplemix for the highlight, s'pose I should drop it down and skew the ratio towards purple again. Apologies over the Vallejo terms, I prefer them over GW for most things.
I'm still waiting on some replacement parts to arrive from Forgeworld. They'll hopefully land tomorrow, then I can build my first Assault squad and really think about my shading and highlighting.

Again, thank you for the comments Reaper! They are always most helpful.

Looks good eiríkr, may I suggest going a lighter gold color, it might just be te photos but it would really make the purple pop.

On a side note, are you still interested in all those bits you asked me for?

Keep it up, consider me subscribed.

Eirikr, this is some great work dude. Can't wait to see them on the table top in december!

Ach, thanks geordie! I am still wrestling with the damnable purple, hoping to 'crack it' soon and in time for the 'hopeful' Chaos Codex release. Then I can lay down money for the army in one pop.

I'll have a new picture up later tonight, hopefully. Been working and playing around painting these differently.

Very nice painting. And anything with this much FW in has to be good

After following the advice of finnan in his wonderful Golden Demon thread, I decided to try out a new method of painting on a spare Marine. I think I could apply a few more layers of purple in consecutively smaller areas, especially upon the shoulders, the helmet and so on, just to really 'pop' that purple. As always, any and all criticisms, comments and biscuits are appreciated!

The eyes are so cool... very nice!

i don't think that they look untidy or unfinished, but I know what you mean when you get that vague feeling that something more needs to be done to a piece. Having said that, stuff can be overworked that way too... simple is often the best.
I like these, I really do. Hard highlighting is tricky because it does look good, but at the same time you kind of want it to look subtle too... I tend to go for tip of the brush and stroke up and out of the area, fading from the mid tone to the last highlight...
Thumbs up form this lad

Much better than the previous models! The fade upto highlighting is much smoother and it just looks better all round. Once you put the markings on the shoulder pads it will look much more complete!

Still playing with the purple...

Still need to work on lenses and have a tidy up buuuut eh... It came out possibly a tad shade too light, especially compared to the chap whom I posted up last week here. It's the same purple, believe it or not, I just didn't apply as many layers to this one. What do you think? I kind of like it, not sure yet. POST EDIT: I would have preferred a little darker, most definitely. Bummer...

Also noted: My finishes on FW stuff always seems so rough compared to Citadel plastics. WHY?!

I approve of the Sonic Dready. I always loved that model, but never kept my Emperor's Children long enough to purchase one. You find Forgeworld's Resin harder to paint? I ask entirely out of curiosity. As I plan on getting one of their dreadnoughts the moment I have a sizable marine army. I always liked the regular purple and gold scheme and you've delivered.

Also what do you coat your models with? It looks like Nuln Oil, but I could be wrong.

I always find FW more pleasurable to paint, though thats generally due to the increased detail level.

As long as you wash the resin first, paint behaves exactly the same as on plastic.

i really like the purple you've used and your painting skills are really impressive - consider me subscribed!

out of curiousity are these guys going to be made more unique or are they going to be just purple and gold? i only ask because i have always imagined the EC to be an army of individuals.

@Shadowbrand

I give them a wash with the 'new' Druchii Violet from GW. Must say, their new washes are excellent.

@Vitruvian XVII

I wash and soak the models for an hour or so then scrub them off with a toothbrush!.

@Bores

I have full intention towards the individual customisation. Pretty much everything you see in this thread has been done for testing purposes, colours, techniques, blah blah blah. I really want to give some pop and flair to these with good time and practice.

I found the same with all my FW stuff other than the Decimator I recently painted. I wash everything but gave that a much more intense tooth brushing!

Its a great colour scheme you've got going on even if it is still testing!

Ah, maybe i should have read abit more...

Anyway, as far as test schemes go i think these are better than anything i've painted

I look forward to seeing some nice unique EC as they should be

P.s. it has just occured to me that my first post seemed rather rude; so i apologise if i've offended you, i think that your test models are great even as they are.

Not a problem, Bores! You didn't come over rude at all, in anyway.

I'm always on the edge of going "feth it all!" and shelving the lot. Currently deciding between the following two differing applications:

Black undercoat, lots and lots and lots of thin layers to build up the colour. Problem therein lies with the shading, I either need to learn to do it properly fast or I scrap it.



White undercoat, roughly same applications of purple and washed rather heavily with Druchii Violet for the shading.



As a side note, I actually have my own mix of purple [magenta & dark violet] that creates a slightly-later-varient of royal purple. It's actually my favourite but I worry about running out of the mix and never quite matching the tones again. Has anyone else experienced this and//or has advice? These two were painted with said mix.

Personally i really like your own mix, although i understand what you mean with your concern about not matching the recipe.

As a side note, the legs on the black basecoated marine; what set are they from?

Either Death Company or Sanguinary Guard from the BA.

Feel comfortable enough painting now... Spent the afternoon whacking together various parts from various purchases from various... Yeah, well...

Okay thanks. I like your new models, especially the 4th guy along who looks like he's giving a thumbs up from this angle. Hopefully you'll get some paint on these guys soon

First Assault done.

Be harsh. Give it to me hard...

Awsome man keep these coming

Eiríkr wrote:
Be harsh. Give it to me hard...

Haha, i think you may have the wrong forum bud....



Theres not much i can critique to be honest! I love it. The inside of the jet pack looks a bit dull/ unfinished though.

Vitruvian XVII wrote:

Eiríkr wrote:
Be harsh. Give it to me hard...

Haha, i think you may have the wrong forum bud....



Theres not much i can critique to be honest! I love it. The inside of the jet pack looks a bit dull/ unfinished though.

In total honesty; I've been playing ARMA:II for awhile, the frustration that it generates is immense.

If you mean the inside of the jets, I agree. Not sure what to do or how to approach them.

Looks ace man.

For the jet efflux maybe a simple Regal Blue base, Drybrush enchanted blue, drybrush ice blue then edge Skull white! It's just an easy way of adding colour to the inside... I've used it, its not bad.

Good choice of helmet too, fits the individual style choices some dude mentioned earlier in the thread too.

Bit of an update!

Made progress on a few more Assault Marines. Aside from the one I showed earlier in the week, they are all in varying stages of finishing. I've again wrestled with the purple, it's come out slightly darker/lighter on varying models. It's not a huge difference and probably not one worth noticing on the tabletop but, for my own eye, it's noticeable. However, I don't find it terribly annoying and even perhaps re-conciliating it with the fact that they are Chaos Marines after all. I want each Marine to be different, whether it be armour choice, slight colour variation through natural application or other factors. Hell, some of these Mk.V Assault shoulder pads from FW that I have are knocked around and 'corroded' along the rims. Works for me...

Latest work may be found in this thread here!

This is some cool stuff I think the smooth color scheme is really good. But where'd you get the power sword for the assault marine?


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This is some cool stuff I think the smooth color scheme is really good. But where'd you get the power sword for the assault marine?