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.

The last checker i painted was my ork killa kan , a few suggestions have me abit confused,
so guess i'll ask now while i still remember :"P

K, say if the checkers are paint scheme ( not ork glyphs ) , how would they have
shading as if its not a flat surface they are supposed to represent?

I understand there would be shading if they are near edges or corners, but
on a flat stretched spot, how would the black get gray, and white get brown "L"
shaped shadings o_o?

Basically pick one angle to highlight them all from, for example the upper right corner. Going with this example, you'd paint a thin highlight onto the top edge of each square, and the right hand edge of each square. The checkers on my goblin and night goblin big bosses (shield and hood, respectively) are painted that way.

Thanks for replying xD

My question is more towards why do we shade the flat surface?

I know shading and highlight help create illusion of depth, but
flat surface have no depth right?

I'm with you here. I don't get the shading/highlighting of flat surfaces. Feel free not to do it if you prefer a more realistic looking model.

Ahh Redbeard , i see you have slanesh greater demon in gallery!

Do you have any tips for painting it? especially with the large area of flesh.

*edit going to bed , hope to understand it tommorow xD

Well, apart from painting a shadow on the opposite edges to the highlight, I'm not sure. Maybe I just don't understand the question.

I've seen similar type highlights added to Iron Warriors "Caution Stripes" schemes. I'm not sure it's to simulate depth (though it might) but more just to blend the transition and make it less stark.

You dont have to shade the checkers; I paint checkers on my ork boyz, I dont shade them (Although I blend the white up from astronomiconto Skull), and they look fine. As for why you would shade a flat surface- I suppose that there is depth to flat surfaces. Granted if you look at a flat surface that is parallel to your line of sight (and therefore curved so that all points on the surface are equidistant from your eye) there would be no depth, but when you look at flat surfaces like a table, it has depth, despite being a flat surface. Highlighting raised surfaces is simply an easy way to display depth in a model, in real life even flat surfaces display depth, in that their coloration, at least that which you perceive, is different depending on how far away the point you look at is from you.
Thats my two pence anyway, I might be wrong.

You are forgetting one thing here: there is realistic and then there is the mini painting. There is nothing realistic in highlighting it is just a technique to make the shape of the mini more prominent to eye.

The highlighting of the checkers is to make them more pleasing to the eye, it has nothing to do with realism. Just go with what seems better to you, as this is more of a personal preference.

I agree. Personally highlighting checkers (specially the flat variety) is kind of lame to me. Highlighting on clothes,guns and the like make sence because it "pretty-fies" the mini

Highlighting on a flat surface can represent the difference between the surface textures and colors (being that different colors reflect light differently-hence highlights on flat surface).