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Hi there
No doubt its obvious to many of you, but can anyone tell me the name of the technique used on the wing blades here please, and point me at a tutorial (preferably a video)

http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/aphelion/6588295405/

I want to try and replicate this but using greens instead, looking to give off a glass blade effect.

Thanks

Looks airbrushed to me.

Can it be done with a normal bristley stick? Layering / blending / something like?

You could probably do it with some wet blending. I'm no pro, so just go to youtube and search "40k + wetblending."

I can't do any wetblending, so best of luck.

That was definitely airbrushed. You can do gradients with a regular brush using wet blending techniques, though these are best done with oil paints. It is never going to look the same as airbrush though (it might look as good or even better, but never the same). Those geometrically perfect gradients are nearly impossible to pull off by hand.

Yeah, the only way to really get them looking exactly like that is with an airbrush

Damn, I'd hoped that wouldn't be the case!

Any thoughts a budget air brush that's cheap to run, easy to use & maintain, that gives good results?

Thanks

well i have this, and it has served me very well for the last two years or so.

http://www.airbrushcompressorshop.co.uk/products/compressor-kits/aibrush-compressor-kit-ii-studio/

I'm afraid cheap and airbrush area contradiction in terms. It is one purchase where you get EXACTLY what you pay for, so it is best to do it right the first time. The cleaning and poor performance of a cheap paintbrush are enough of a headache it really isn't worth it, not because of the awesome gradients you can do, but in time saved. However, a good airbrush is worth it's weight in gold to a mini painter.

The Paasche Talon is an excellent starting brush. Badger is another of the commonly recommended brands. There have been a ton of threads on this lately, so search the archives for some excellent advice.

Laughing Man wrote:Looks airbrushed to me.

Would be my first guess too - just looks to smooth to be done with a regular brush.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

Actually, you can get blends smoother by hand (as you're actually mixing paints on the surface). I can't see the image so I couldn't tell you whether airbrushing would be faster or a better technique. Just pointing out you shouldn't write off hand blending.

you can do seamless blends with layering, it will just takes you days on something that scale.

winterdyne wrote:Actually, you can get blends smoother by hand (as you're actually mixing paints on the surface). I can't see the image so I couldn't tell you whether airbrushing would be faster or a better technique. Just pointing out you shouldn't write off hand blending.

I'm not writing it off - I just found, that wetblending with acrylics is a major pain - it looks spectacular when done right, but even the slightest flaw will ruin your overall look. I'll have to give oil paints a try, as they are supposed to be awesome for this kind of thing.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

I've heard the same about oil paints, it may be a future investment for me. In the mean time i reckon ill give it a go with acrylics, maybe some of the eavy metal glaze.medium will help to get a better result than with normal water

winterdyne wrote:Actually, you can get blends smoother by hand (as you're actually mixing paints on the surface). I can't see the image so I couldn't tell you whether airbrushing would be faster or a better technique. Just pointing out you shouldn't write off hand blending.

I'm not saying you can't get stunning blending from brushwork, I even noted in my response that it might look superior. But you are not going to get the look in that picture, it just isn't going to happen. Airbrushes have their own look, and you aren't going to be able to do it by hand. It isn't a matter of getting smooth gradients, it is a matter of layering, and the geometric precision that comes as a side effect from spraying through a nozel.

Now I'm not saying to write off hand blending, or that airbrushing is better. I honestly think oil blending gives you the best look of all. I'm answering the question the poster asked: what technique is this and how can I reproduce it. The answer: with an airbrush. If he can't afford an airbrush he can try acrylic wet blending (it is a pain, and will take forever, but can look great), oil blending (much easier, looks fantastic, but you have to buy new brushes, thinner, and new paint), or layering (looks good if you put enough time into it, but is going to take forever on a model this size). All of these methods will take orders of magnitude longer than airbrushing, but are also an order of magnitude cheaper.

But in the end you are not going to get THAT effect without an airbrush.

Defo airbrushed, theres loads of tutorials on very similar effects, a good place to start on youtube would be "airbrushing power weapons" as many people use this effect or very similar for them.
example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxe8mlAduUw