Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm going a bit crazy over my CSM highlights and shading, and would like some suggestions please. I'd like to make a nice, clean looking power armor effect, but I'm having trouble understanding where to paint the highlights and shadows...do the light areas on a shoulder pad show up at the edges? In the middle? Is there a dark border on all the edges?

Here's what I can do:
1. Good at color schemes, so I've got a few that will work.
2. Good at painting skin and cloth. (blending for highlights and washes for shading)
3. Good at weathering.

Here's what I can't do:
1. Power armor.

Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I have tried 10 different schemes on these guys and just don't like them. My latest triumph which seemed great on Sunday now seems like garbage.

Any help is appreciated.

pics?

you could always try the old hold a light over it and see where the light hits it from. I always try to highlight the edges where they stick out farthest such as the tip of a marines helment, keep in mind on rounded surfaces iuts best to use a blending technique bring it light at the highest point and lower it from there.washes to darken recesses also helps. aswell as black lining.

I find with marines, that if you keep the highlights consistent, you can get away with a bit more.

What that means is if everything is done the same, and your highlights aren't razor thin, but at least consistent, it won't look bad.

Might not win golden daemons, but it will make for a very striking army.

However if you are really looking for the clean crisp highlights, consider thinning your paints, investing in good brushes (GW ones are pretty good actually) and spending some time practicing.

Draw some lines on paper, make them as small as possible, try to get consistency, essentially train your hand and eyes to do what they have to.

And as others have said, paint with a nearby light source to see where you should be highlighting, you can save a lot of work by only highlighting the areas where light would actually catch. No sense highlighting every angle, marines may be superhuman but rarely fight inside a Star

Thanks for the info, I'm going to try the thin line highlighting. No pics available right now other than weathered/rotted CSM, I'll try out a couple of these techniques and post the results.