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.

well done on that salamander the flame icon on his little shield has been done very well :

ok, I think I must be missing something fundamental. here's my stab at a directed wash, as per what winterdyne described:



I used about one part devlan mud to 3 parts water. on the knee, I started the application from around the middle of the knee and dragged the brush down to the joint. that's 5 layers and it's barely visible to me. I also didn't end up with a hard shadow in the joint, so I guess I'd have to add that later.

I made a few more attempts on the back side:




on the bum plate (never thought I'd say that...), I used about 1 part devlan mud to 2 parts water and started from the center of the plate and pulled out towards the edges. that's 6 or 7 layers, I think. I tried glazing the middle area with GW's new waywatcher green glaze, but it didn't do much beyond dry patchy :( I added the edge highlight just to see where things stood. I think it looks better in the photos than in person. in person, it looks more like dirt or weathering; it doesn't feel dark enough to be shading.

the model's right leg was done the same way as the bum plate, including the glaze. the left leg was done with my old method: a single application of un-thinned devlan mud straight into the recesses. it's the cleanest shading on the model so far, but, of course, it lacks the gradient effect I'm trying to learn. I just slapped it on there so I'd have something to compare against.

so... where am I going wrong?

On the bum plate, it's looking about right to my eye for the gradient. In the very deep recesses, if you want to be quick do a neat application of the wash for the hard line as you did on the leg, but I'd keep that for deep recesses, not for outer plates.

It's one of those things that in isolation (ie before the all the surfaces are done) can look a bit weird.