Hey Guys,

Comments welcome on both the mini and tutorial!

Tutorial article linked here
http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Zenithal_Airbrushing%2C_OSL_and_Snow_and_Ice_Tutorial%2C_subject_-_Grey_Knight

I did this piece as a request to btemple0, who kindly provided the mini for this (and a few other bits for my BA )

It was also a testbed for several things I have never done before:

Airbrushing in general
Zenithal Highlighting
Airbrush Power Weapon Effects
Bark basing
Snow
Icicles
Airbrushed OSL

And here it is, feel free to give'er a vote on coolmini too if you don't mind! http://www.coolminiornot.com/276277








I think I was pretty successful, but, there are a few things I'd do differently next time. Still, great to take the airbrush for a spin! I am going to have a lot of fun with that thing



Cheers for looking -

Pretty.

Whoa!

Looks great, awesome job, especially on the OSL on the power weapon.

damn nice work.

Wow, dude-- you're a really good painter!

Just another reminder as to why I need an airbrush. Lovely work.

Nice job keep up the great work

Thanks guys! I am relieved to have done this test mini, I am now comfortable adjusting the airbrush, pulling it apart and putting it back together, thinning paints etc. It takes a bit of getting used to, but the speed and results are worth it, as long as you don't expect miracles it is a great tool to add to your repertoire.

Appreciate it boys, Cheers!

Well, I wouldn't expect miracles either way, but it sure as hell would make doing the armour on my GKs a lot easier (based on my method, not yours).

Fantastic work there MajorTom11, great combination of techniques and a very concise tutorial to help the rest of us attempt the same kind of work.

Bloody hell! majorTom that looks fantastic! a job well and truly done to perfection, I love the osl and that blade is excellent, it's good to see as I have just gotten an airbrush myself thanks to looking at Eggroll's work, so i'm keen to try it out, although I doubt i'll be attempting anything quite that involved to start with, but I shall be trying to do my blades the same way you have done, it just looks so good on power weapons! do you intend on doing more grey knights the same or was this a one off test piece? I am seriously impressed with what you did, it looks amazing! well done Major, I salute you!

Nerdfest09

Woot Woot!

Nice work!

Me like! I can't wait to paint them but seems like there's some delay so they're not here yet! EEK!

Looks amazing , what paints did you use for the armour? And how was it done?

Holy S**t on a stick!
Tom, that's freakin' amazing. I love it. The subtle OSL, the Force Weapon, the base, the paintjob. It's so simple and understated yet it looks amazing. This should get into the CMoN annual.

Seriously man, it looks amazing. I know you're not that amazed by it, but its one of the best looking models I've seen for a long time. hands down.

Nice work as usual.

Thamor wrote:Looks amazing , what paints did you use for the armour? And how was it done?

Tutorial linked in first post , and thanks!

Just Dave wrote:Holy S**t on a stick!
Tom, that's freakin' amazing. I love it. The subtle OSL, the Force Weapon, the base, the paintjob. It's so simple and understated yet it looks amazing. This should get into the CMoN annual.

Seriously man, it looks amazing. I know you're not that amazed by it, but its one of the best looking models I've seen for a long time. hands down.

Thanks man, that's pretty high praise! But remember, the first rule of DCM fight club is...

How did you do that sword?? And best gk I have ever seen

Tutorial Article linked in first post bud, step by step on pretty much everything!

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Zenithal_Airbrushing%2C_OSL_and_Snow_and_Ice_Tutorial%2C_subject_-_Grey_Knight

UGGGH so awesome!

I so need someone with an airbrush to do my "glow"ing!

super nice!

Total hotness and a great article

Beauty!

Very good tutorial - but just to clarify after you had done the zenithal highlighting, did you then paint any part of the remaining black primer metalic, or did you leave it plain black?

I can't quite tell from the pictures if they remain black or not and it is not mentioned (that I could see ) in the body of the text.

Thanks

Oh, yessir I left the blacks black. You can only really see in some of the recesses and the parts facing directly downwards. Feel free to edit the article! That's what it is there for!

Cheers boys, I am happy with the reception the mini is getting, but I am much happier if someone gets some use out of the article, so I am glad you guys took the time to read! I tend to write a lot... fast typer... hope it was concise enough!

MajorTom11 wrote:Oh, yessir I left the blacks black. You can only really see in some of the recesses and the parts facing directly downwards. Feel free to edit the article! That's what it is there for!

Woo, I shall make my first article edit

And I shall be giving this a go now that I have seen it done step by step... I think my Eldar shall be subjected to my feverish testing

Oh man, you are going to LOVE it! Eldar are probably the absolute best suited army for airbrushing, bar none! Uniform colors, big smooth surfaces, overall aesthetic... I can't wait to see that actually, make sure you pm me when you get started!

MajorTom11 wrote:Oh man, you are going to LOVE it! Eldar are probably the absolute best suited army for airbrushing, bar none! Uniform colors, big smooth surfaces, overall aesthetic... I can't wait to see that actually, make sure you pm me when you get started!

Don't worry, I shall be coming crying to you when it all goes horribly wrong asking for help

It's absolutely stunning, great stuff I have thought about getting an airbrush myself, since it seems like so much more fun, than painting the normal way.

brilliant work.

The F.A.Q Modulation Airbrushing video by MIG is awesome. As is the Miniature Mentor Dreadnought tutorial by Mathieu Fontaine, the Speed Painting tutorial by Miniature Mentor, Les Burseley's www.awesomepaintjob.com and of course, our very own Eggroll, airbrush Sensei are great places to look at if you want to really study before getting started.

I know I felt far more comfortable because of it -

I really like that mini!

I have been thinking of getting me an airbrush for quite some time, but the thought of learning how to use it is frightening.

Could you post some links of the above tutorials. I would very much like to check them out.

Only Lbursley's is free @ www.awesomepaintjob.com. He has a youtube channel linked there -

http://www.miniaturementor.com/painting_tutorials.html
- Mathieu Fontaine Rust and Weathering techniques, Dreadnaught, about halfway down, pic of a white rusty dread. Teaches good basic airbrushing, particular modulation style and masking, also oil washes.
- Thomas David, Art of Speedpainting, 3 quarters of the way down, teaches zenithal techniques.

http://migproductionswebshop.com/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=a7aa590d68a8e74b2bee07aa8e1a19dd

MIG Faq vids, both excellent, modulation one is particularly good!

And finally our good friend Brandon, from GMM studios just put out a new tutorial disk on CMON -

http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/dvds/the-7-day-army-painter-with-brandon-palmer-elysian-dropship-troopers.html

I have ordered it, but haven't seen it yet, but I think it will be awesome.

Other than that, just go to youtube and start searching airbrushing, weathering, pigments etc etc, there is tons of stuff on there. Most of it is from military modellers, who have been doing this far longer than the 40k community. They really, really know what they are doing and achieve stunning results!

Other than that, check out Eggroll, Gitsplitta and few others here on Dakka, and the search MistressofMinis' posts, she really knows what she is talking about, is full of info and tricks on the logistical side of things, and is generally all around awesome.

Not a fan. Looks like a rush job to me. You need to work on your skills and then you might produce a figure with a good paint job.

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Only joking!! Thought I would shock everyone by adding a Negative comment in one of your threads for a change! Really impressive work. Thanks for taking the time to produce a great tutotial for us. I want to try this when I have some time.. and an airbrush! Great work as always MajorTom.

Regnak wrote: Not a fan. Looks like a rush job to me. You need to work on your skills and then you might produce a figure with a good paint job.

Yeah, could do with a wash or two

Lol, there is plenty to pick on if you wanted to! Definitely not above reproach lol, but thanks

Just a question regarding airbrushing: Should one be a pro with the normal brush before considering the airbrush, because I most certainly am not. The airbrush just seems much more apealing to me.

Beautiful

Well I am no expert, honestly it was my first time, but I would say you could adjust yourself to using it as your primary tool if you play things like marines, eldar or d-eldar. Things with pretty uniform colors and smooth surfaces and shallow relief detail. You will still need to use the brush for certain things, but you can certainly do most of it with the airbrush if you wanted to.

Do you have to be a pro? Well, it would help if you had some skill, but more important I think would be ability to make wise color choices and intellectually understanding how to achieve what you want. The airbrush itself is pretty forgiving if you just want to get your Eldar blue, or your marines red. Less so if you are trying to do osl or weapon effects etc, that is a little more fine work and hand eye.

Ok, thanks for the reply, and keep up the good work

Thank you sir, and good luck!

MajorTom11 wrote:Hey Guys,

I think I was pretty successful

Cheers for looking -

Pretty Successful? That's just too little to say about such an amazing job!

Looks awesome. One question, you mentioned in the tutorial that the under areas were left chaos black. It is not at all obvious in the pics that they are pure black. Is that just an effect of the angle of the pics?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Not doubting, it just looks way better than I would have expected!

Fantastic! I need to get me some model air colors!

Nice tutorial too!

A great simple but effective overall paintjob with just the right amount of extra detail to take it well above the standard.

How did you do the snow? is it baking soda and white glue?

That is absolutely stunning.

I love the "glow" effect from the power sword! VERY IMPRESSIVE.

Thanks Major...

I really appreciate you taking the time to take pictures of the steps and to break it down for us all.

It looks fantastic and has given me lots of motivation/inspiration for other projects.

Kolath wrote:Looks awesome. One question, you mentioned in the tutorial that the under areas were left chaos black. It is not at all obvious in the pics that they are pure black. Is that just an effect of the angle of the pics?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Not doubting, it just looks way better than I would have expected!

Thanks dude! Yes indeed, looking right under the mini, there is still black to be seen. The reason it doesn't show up in the pics is that they are all from slightly or not so slightly elevated angles, so the parts that are still black are consequently out of view. Thanks for asking though, it is something I had not made clear, should prob take a pic from under before I send it off to btemple0.

Shep wrote:Thanks Major...

I really appreciate you taking the time to take pictures of the steps and to break it down for us all.

It looks fantastic and has given me lots of motivation/inspiration for other projects.

I love to hear that dude, I think of all the people that helped keep me interested and inspired and it feels good to think I could do that for a few peeps. Be sure to keep us up to date on how it goes!

Thanks again to everyone for all their kind comments, really helps keep me motivated!

Awesome

Most excellent job, Tom. Your other stuff is great, but this is plain amazing. Very good work, almost tempts me to get some GK Termies (the ones assembled by GW look terrible). This one doesn't look like he has the old McDonalds styrofoam container stuck on top of his shoulders! Great pose, great paintjob, great base!
Keep it up!

I have a feeling that where appropriate, my other stuff will have visits with the airbrush too lol! I tend to go back over things if I learn something new

Thanks!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, another good airbrush article, explaining the ins and outs of the equipment for beginners - http://www.akaranseth.com/blog/tutorials/airbrushing-for-figurine.htm

Damn, that is seriously impressive. You must have excellent control over your airbrush.


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So what kind of tape are you using to mask?

Tamiya masking tape, blue painters tape and silly putty were all used.

Seriously though, almost no control is required to pull this off, all you have to do is make sure you spray from the same general direction and it practically does the work itself! I can honestly say that isn't false modesty or anything, it truly is that easy so long as you just keep a light finger on the trigger!

MajorTom11 wrote:Tamiya masking tape, blue painters tape and silly putty were all used.

Seriously though, almost no control is required to pull this off, all you have to do is make sure you spray from the same general direction and it practically does the work itself! I can honestly say that isn't false modesty or anything, it truly is that easy so long as you just keep a light finger on the trigger!

Alrighty then when i get my airbrush issue worked out i'll be trying this for my BA.

That is exactly what I'll bevdoing too! I gave 3minis to finish up for my space hulk project, then I have a massive ba army waiting to be painted.

If you havent seen it already, make sure to go right away to p&m and check out eggroll's airbrushed ba... The man isa true master and my main inspiration in attempting this!

MajorTom11 wrote:If you havent seen it already, make sure to go right away to p&m and check out eggroll's airbrushed ba... The man isa true master and my main inspiration in attempting this!

Added link

yeah i saw his thread and its sick.

Looks really, really nice! How long would you guesstimate it took you from start to finish? I'm thinking of investing in an airbrush myself (it seems to be the hawt new thing!) so am reading as much info as possible before I make my decision.

Again, excellent work dude!

L. wrex

Oh my days, why did they put such basic words all over the armour, like Grey and Titan... incase they forgot who they were? Painting is astonishing though, very inspirational.

Ok, that's it. I'm going to start toying with my airbrush.

My god, please kill all my models on the table with that please!

lol I don't actually play anything, I just like building tiny little soldiers with ray guns

Article is updated with lots of info based on questions asked -

Pardon me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.

Very very very nicely painted. Good job

Are there any airbrush equivalent paints to the GW ones that you used for the glow effect?

I do not trust my mixing skills.

Wow. This is just incredible. I have nothing more to say.

/jawhitsfloor

I know the light source is the power weapon...but where is it coming from? It looks like its coming front right behind the blade where it meets the top of the staff. Is the blade one sided? There is more light, or it appears, on the front then the back of the model.

You are right, there is more light on the front, if viewed from the top, the blade angles in such a way that it doesn't have much line of sight to the back.

One thing I would do differently for sure is to make the blade more glowie next time around, as I feel it is not bright enough to justify the OSL -

Good eye!

btw, are you the same lunchbox from b and c??

I love everything about it except the herald, it seems a bit boring, with just a sword with white background...
Awesome paint job tho.

Beautiful.

I plan on doing something similar, with Space Wolves.

I picked up a Runway 13 Airbrush and compressor at AUSCON on the weekend and I am keen to give this a go.

Put her up at the Brush Brother's GreyKnight contest, vote for your favorite (which shouldn't necessarily be me!)

http://thebrushbrothers.blogspot.com/2011/05/grey-knights-competition-entries.html

Cheers!

Well I considered the others but tbh I still had to vote for yours, it just seems head and shoulders above the rest tbh. Again, great work Tom.

Thanks dude! 6 is very nice though, I'm not gonna lie!

Oh yeah, 6 and 18 were the others that I considered voting for, but yours still won it for me...

Appreciated dude, honestly I hope people vote for the one they like best, I'd prefer the contest get a little advertisement (and brush brothers too, I love their work!) than artificially win!

Woo hoo! I just put you in the lead!! (by one...) *grin*

Do I win a prize??!



Nice figures up... I'm not usually one for gore but the second to last one appeals to me for some reason.

Lol thanks Gits! Your prize will be virtual hugs and possibly nude pictures of Alpharius.

#18 has some beautiful subtleties on the metals too, they are hard to see unless you zoom in, but wow -

Unless Alph is a 24 year old attractive woman... I'll pass. But I do appreciate the offer. Do you have a collection of naked pictures of the mods or is Alph just a "special" friend?? ;-)

I'll have to go take another look at that one. It would have been nice to have all the pics displayed in a bit larger format so you wouldn't have to zoom in to appreciate them (sometimes you may just not realize by glancing at them how good they really are).

I assure you he is neither 24, nor a woman. Offer still stands.

I think I have some candids of GreyDeath running around too lol (I am pretty sure I am about to be banned, nice knowing you btw!)

Larger pics I think would make a few others contenders as well, unfortunately it is a blogspot driven site, so there is only so much to be done... still, very nice of them to have this contest, considering they are painters themselves!

Absolutely. Those GK termie figures are so iconic... showcasing them is a fine idea in my mind. I think the small photos actually works to your advantage as the OSL really makes yours stand out in the smaller format.

I did notice that you actually had a shadow across the leg from the halberd haft... very nice touch!

Can't take too much credit, that kind of thing just happens naturally with Zenithal!

I don't know how I missed this thread but...


...I'm glad I did!

LOL

MajorTom11 wrote:You are right, there is more light on the front, if viewed from the top, the blade angles in such a way that it doesn't have much line of sight to the back.

One thing I would do differently for sure is to make the blade more glowie next time around, as I feel it is not bright enough to justify the OSL -

Good eye!

btw, are you the same lunchbox from b and c??

The one and only. But not the one from Texas,(not really the only LOLOL ) the other one from the west coast.

Let me rephrase -

Purple Marines Dinosaur drawing avatar Glaze master Nmm master hates metallics selling some of his marines on ebay right now Lunchbox? lol

If so, welcome to Dakka! Great to have you here! All we have to do is tempt Chap Des, Commander Y and Madscuzzy over here and my collection of BandC favorites will be complete! (Bushido is already here lol)

diff lunchb0x most def. It happens. I am still a halfway decent painter!!! lololol ...I just dont post my stuff online.

Absolutely amazing
great job

Hey MajorTom11 - big fan of all the work, and I've been going over the Zenithal HL tutorial religiously. I've got an account on CMoN, but don't use it often... (kinda tapered off as soon as I got on here... ) Don't know who the hell voted your mini "sub-par"... but I rated it a solid 9. The lighting is great, and you managed to turn a regular table mini with very little conversion into something close to a centerpiece.


I'm hoping I can learn something about airbrushing to apply to my Eldar... and near-future 1K Sons/possibly daughters too... ( HERESY )

Either way, back to the mini- it looks great! Your standard of work in GS/conversion/painting is a great benchmark for mine, and I hope to keep looking towards it for inspiration.

Good luck with the contest- I agree. #6 is a contender, and #18 (don't know what you're seeing though) maybe...

Hope you win, Tom!

-Remi (HF Iz)

What's the point of putting up a mini on CMON? I'm just curious... Do (normal, good quality) painters get anything out of it or is it just a painting nerd pissing contest where you're asking for abuse??

What's the point of putting up a mini on CMON? I'm just curious... Do (normal, good quality) painters get anything out of it or is it just a painting nerd pissing contest where you're asking for abuse??

Lol… that’s funny you should ask that.. I actually asked the same thing to my younger cousin after I regrettably put miniatures that weren’t “up to standard” on there and got bit-up…

He gave me an answer related to Spartacus. And I quote, “Dakka, Warseer, B & C, they’re the provincial combat arenas… like Capua… Still very respected... but CMoN is kinda like the Coliseum… the best of the best can be found there..."

…aka nerd pissing contest… but one that I’d dearly love to participate in, in the near future… (and that sounds… absolutely wrong)

LOL!! If I had any room I'd sig that last bit!

*snicker*


Thanks HF...

Cmon is far more controversial than I realized, issues have been brought to light recently...

In any case, the primary reason I go is to of course oggle incredible work and be inspired.

Second reason is to keep an eye out for auctions I would be interested in

Third reason is post auctions for advertising

4th is to put minis up. I only have 3 on right now, but I do enjoy the challenge of seeing how well I can do, and also the occasional helpful criticism. I am not trying to beat anyone in particular, but I do feel it is good to challenge yourself... I.e, this model has to be an 8 at least, make it happen.

This contest on the other hand is just for fun, I did the GreyKnight recently of my own volition, then the contest popped up and it was eligable, so I figured why not!

That being said, I am starting to trail into 2nd now, 77 to 90, which I take as inspiration to do better next time

Hey Majortom, been looking over your tutorial - really great stuff, very useful.

I've been thinking if doing my Grey Knights by airbrush, as quite recently bought a kit for doing tanks but would like to branch out... Just about a couple of things which you might be able to give me some advice on

- Any special advice in buying a compressor? I'm probably just going to get a reliable ine with a watertrap, and try ti work with that

- I'm going to follow your tutorial but would like to incorporate the GW Asurmen blue wash into the armour. If you were going to do that, how and where would you incorporate the wash?

Cheers again for doing such a useful article

Hey Gorman, first, welcome to Dakka!

Second thank you for your kind words.

So, to answer your questions, I do not have ton's of experience with compressors, so my answer is somewhat limited. There are several links in the article/tutorial itself that may be able to help you out so far as studying goes.

As far as legit answer goes, and so long as budget is ~300, you would want an oil-less zero maintenance ab compressor (it's quieter than a garage/tool compressor). Single piston should be fine for almost anyone, and a built in air tank is also good as it ensures steady pressure and reaction. I own a Sparmax TC-610H, and am really happy with it. Sparmax makes the actual compressor parts for Iwata, so you know the quality is good.

If you would like to incorporate blue into your scheme, I would suggest one of 2 things.

1. Substitute a dark metallic blue in place of the tin bitz first layer. That way, the blue will naturally occur in the shaded areas, I think it could look quite cool!

2. If you want to use a wash, do it at the end, as the airbrush is not a precision instrument, you will end up covering over your washes with it. So right at the end, thin wash near the top quite diluted, then thicker less dilute wash towards the bottom.

That should about do it, good luck!