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The only problem is, Blood Angels are already RED lol so red blood won't work so well. I want to use the "flicking method" that I read about for the first time in my Legion book (warmachine). I tested out on some old minis and it looks really great, very realistic.

That being said, I was thinking of substituting red humanoid blood with xenos blood, something along the lines of maybe a purple hue (to represent Tyranid blood) or a green hue (to represent Ork blood).

Any comments or suggestions are very much appreciated! Also feel free to suggest specific colors or washes to use that look good. I experimented with the GW red wash (can't remember the name atm) and it "flicked" really easy. Blood Red didn't flick too easily, maybe when watered down it would, but at that point I figured I might as well use the wash.

Thanks in advance!

OIF Knight wrote:or a green hue (to represent Ork blood).

if i remember correctly, ork blood is black

You could try, but try not to exaggerate, paint in the most sensible areas (more for assault units rather than ranged).

Try to post some pictures when you've done a few

Lol it may be black, could have sworn I read somewhere it was a dark greenish hue since they derive from some kind of plant organism originally. Although I may have dreamed all of that!

Fortunately my BA army is all mech and has 30 assault marines and 10 honor guard (CC equipped) so each marine would get a spattering of gore on him.

Any comment on good colors that would contrast well with the BA red scheme?

what is flicking?

anyway, id go for purple nid blood

...or necron blood

Black, or very dark red can typically even pass for blood on red surfaces. I think a very dark red would be your best bet.

"Flicking" is the process of literally flicking paint from a brush onto a model. It produces great and random blood spattering effects.

Hold the brush an inch or so from the model, with paint on the brush. Pull the bristles back with your finger and release. the paint will be flicked onto the model.

Be sure to experiment on paper or old models before going for record. Takes a few times of practice to get the desired technique down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2bByaudXSA

This link shows, on a rather large scale, the final product. Just make sure to scale it down to mini size for the proper look.

I did this to my BT army a while back. I sold the army, so unfortunately have no pics, but it produces a cool effect.


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Any idea what 'dark dark red' GW color would work? Or would a red/black mix be ideal?

You could also try a 2:1 mix of black and red, also adding a drop of ardcoat could help. For dried blood, try regular baal red wash with the flicking method.

What exactly is ardcoat? Never used/heard of it before. I'm guessing its a gloss varnish type substance?

The 2:1 black to red seems like the best bet.

The red wash (which I've used before) is a little too flat for my intentions, and wouldn't show up well against red armor I'm assuming.

Ardcoat = Gloss Varnish.

OIF Knight wrote:"Flicking" is the process of literally flicking paint from a brush onto a model. It produces great and random blood spattering effects.

Hold the brush an inch or so from the model, with paint on the brush. Pull the bristles back with your finger and release. the paint will be flicked onto the model.

Be sure to experiment on paper or old models before going for record. Takes a few times of practice to get the desired technique down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2bByaudXSA

This link shows, on a rather large scale, the final product. Just make sure to scale it down to mini size for the proper look.

I did this to my BT army a while back. I sold the army, so unfortunately have no pics, but it produces a cool effect.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Any idea what 'dark dark red' GW color would work? Or would a red/black mix be ideal?

lols, i actually use flicking, i just didnt know people called it that. But i use an old toothbrush for the job, as it seems to work better....

Toothbrush actually sounds like a great idea! The stiffer bristles definitely seem easier to "flick"

OIF Knight wrote:Toothbrush actually sounds like a great idea! The stiffer bristles definitely seem easier to "flick"

thats the point

Late to the conversation but my take is to use black with a little bit of red ink in it. Black can easily look like dried blood at this scale and add a little red ink and you've got drying blood instead of dried blood.

I'd also recommend the toothbrush method. Keep a water saturated brush on hand to wash off anything that sits wrong.

My .02

@DaBrode- Thanks for the advice. Do you have a recommended ratio of black:red ink? 2:1 perhaps?

This approach, coupled with some gloss varnish mixed in would seem to give a great drying blood look...

I'd heard that ork blood was originally a dark green, but that was also back when bolters used casless ammo. I think people couldn't associate "green" with "blood" so, GW turned ork blood red. Playing the Space Marine PC game, the ork blood is definitely red.

Anyway! Flicking with a toothbrush is definitely a good idea. I'm planning on doing that to get a sort of star field effect on some Eldar tanks I'm painting for a friend.

If you want some truly weird xenos blood, try picking up some fluorescent colors. Any bit of light (especially sunlight) will make them pop and stand out from a model. Plus, if you happen to have a black light, they'll glow!

http://www.testors.com/product/136644/9132X/_/All-Purpose_Fluorescent_6_Color_Paint_Set

Wal-Mart used to have these really cheap laser-pointer/flashlight keychains near the cash registers. For a while, the flashlights hit part of the UV spectrum, enough that if you shined it on a model, the model would mostly be lit, but the fluorecents would really glow. I don't think their current keychains do this, though.

Anyway! Splatters and don't forget streaks along the chainswords where they'll have the most splatter! Good luck and looking forward to seeing the results!!

@JustPlainJim- Awesome! The xenos blood idea sounds really cool. That was my original plan since at first red blood seemed hard to make stand out properly against blood angel red. A flourescent green or purplish blood might work well too! Although now I'm at the point where I can't decide between xenos blood or red drying blood!

Its a good dilemma to have I suppose!

Ork blood is now red though. Tyranid blood though is a dark purple-black ichor. It would stand out rather well on the bright red of the Blood Angels.

Trick is not to go overboard with it, they're not chaos and too much makes them look too messy and detracts from the model.

@n0t_u- Good points. Have any idea on which purple color(s) to mix with the black and a ratio of the mix?

Whatever that dark one is called, hormagaunt I think. As for the ratio not sure, maybe try 1:1.

Should look like black with a slight purple tint in my opinion, but haven't mixed it myself so not sure of the ratio.

OIF Knight wrote:@DaBrode- Thanks for the advice. Do you have a recommended ratio of black:red ink? 2:1 perhaps?

This approach, coupled with some gloss varnish mixed in would seem to give a great drying blood look...

I'd feel it out actually. Try it on something. I'm tempted to say 3:1 but it depends on the Black you use.

i used hot glue painted red then brushed on GW water effects to make it look wet.

I like a product called Tamiya Clear Red.

I mix it was a few drops of black paint and you can slap it on. It is glossy and really great consistency. It should show up well against even a red back ground and deliver the effect you want.

Also, if you want to concentrate the application around the chainswords or other areas that might not be red, you'll still get a good feel of blood.

a couple examples of the product. The blood letters give you an idea that the blood can stay on the weapons.

http://jgemrich.smugmug.com/Hobbies/Miniatures/Minotaur-007/777485536_yb6ZM-O.jpg
http://jgemrich.smugmug.com/Hobbies/Miniatures/P5010064/287907318_GMpqB-O.jpg