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Hey all

I'm really struggling to get the fine line highlights done on my dark angels, they just don't seem to look right. Either they appear too thick, unclear, uneven or just as though they should not be there. I know half of it will come with practise but has anyone got any tips?
I have never painted anything like the dark angels either, often painting fantasy or more fleshy models, so the entire think is new to me.

Thinning your paint with water is a big one, and it's better to do multiple coats of a thin highlight if you have to.

Ron has a ton of good info about highlighting on his site, here's a link to his tutorial page so you can browse it:

http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/p/archives-and-tutorials.html

I find cleaning my brush often helps with consistency of the paint and the lines. Thin your paint for sure but the paint flows off the brush differently as it gets dirtier.

Don't worry about uneven or too thick. You can fix the highlight using the base color again.

Cheers guys. I got pretty frustrated with the whole thing but think i am willing to give it another go in the morning, when the light is on my side too.

Can we get some pictures? Might help us help you better

Here we are. I tried this yesterday, never fully sure what edges not to highlight. Have yet to try all the new tips i've read today.

Not bad for a first attempt!

Tips:
1. As others suggested, make sure the brush is clean, so the paint flows off properly.
2. Thin the paint down a little, so it's not too chunky and again, so it flows properly.
3. Where the raised surface allows, use the side/edge of your brush, and draw it along the edge sideways. This often allows you to get a straighter line more easily.
4. If the line is too think initially, that's not a big deal. You can do two things:
4a. Go back with the original base color and paint away the thickest parts of the line.
4b. Paint a wash over the highlighted edges, which will tone them down and blend them in more. Then, optionally, you can highlight the very edge again. This will give you a two tone, two layer basic blended highlight.

I too have trouble determining what to highlight, but I found these pictures to be quite helpful:

(Credit to Ron's blog "From The Warp" for these pics: fromthewarp.blogspot.com)





This is a good approach to keep in mind what you are trying to highlight. Granted, this is for blended highlights, but it works equally well for line highlights. Just find the hard edges from this perspective, and give those a highlight.

These pictures are from his article "How to do basic zenithal highlighting" http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-do-basic-zenithal-highlighting.html

Looking good so far though!

(EDIT: broken pic link)

Cheers for the links and tips guys.

I'm pretty hard on myself but i'm determined to get it right eventually, even if i'll probs lose my mind first lol.

Please excuse the delay but here are my lastest attempts using warpstone and moot green.

Looks good! Now to finish up, use Blazing Orange (or whatever the equivalent is now) on the boltguns and shoulder symbols to bring it to life! Really good job for your first try, looks ace!