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I am painting my first army and I think I am doing pretty good on everything but the sept marks. I just don't know how to paint them. I want to make them look like tau lettering or like the sept marks from the transfer sheets but every time I paint thick sept marks they look like smuggs and every time I paint thin sept marks they just look like lines. Any advice? Here is a pic of my sept marks.



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Do people use stencils or masking tape to make them real sharp and regular sized?

I've never painted Tau, but I'd assume that making yourself a stencil out of masking tape and painting it in a very bright color will make it stand out and have very sharp edges. I'm pretty sure the Tau Sept markings aren't just straight vertical lines like a bar code. Try having angles on it where they get thicker and thinner throughout the design.

 noneoftheabove0 wrote:
I've never painted Tau, but I'd assume that making yourself a stencil out of masking tape and painting it in a very bright color will make it stand out and have very sharp edges. I'm pretty sure the Tau Sept markings aren't just straight vertical lines like a bar code. Try having angles on it where they get thicker and thinner throughout the design.

I will try the masking tape and see how it works. Hopefully it will look more tau.

Those look pretty good to me in the pic.

Nice lens effects on the helmets as well.

Great looking minis.

davethepak wrote:
Those look pretty good to me in the pic.

Nice lens effects on the helmets as well.

Great looking minis.

They look fine but I think real tau lettering would look better, the masking tape idea didn't work, the cuts were so small it just ripped the tape.

What sept is that, Sa'cea? Looking handsome. I wish I had someone to play with that didnt just base their Tau off of anime.

My way to do sept markings (I use bone for the base and white for the highlight)

I think theyre similar to what you're after

I do two very thin lines of bones with a fine detail brush

Then I do a line next to each line, slightly higher than the one next to it

Then I slightly paint over the taller line with white, I think it might work for you, Also your fire warriors are beautiful so im sure you're more skillful than me and could make it work far better with two shades of orange.

Ill upload pics of two of mine in a sec, not the best just taken with phone and a lamp


Basically to sum it up, keep it simple, keep it clean. Less is more with tau imo. It looks like you've not done enough but suddenly it pops and looks great.
Realised I missed the sept markings on dude number 2's rifle... :l

Bobug wrote:
My way to do sept markings (I use bone for the base and white for the highlight)

I think theyre similar to what you're after

I do two very thin lines of bones with a fine detail brush

Then I do a line next to each line, slightly higher than the one next to it

Then I slightly paint over the taller line with white, I think it might work for you, Also your fire warriors are beautiful so im sure you're more skillful than me and could make it work far better with two shades of orange.

Ill upload pics of two of mine in a sec, not the best just taken with phone and a lamp


Basically to sum it up, keep it simple, keep it clean. Less is more with tau imo. It looks like you've not done enough but suddenly it pops and looks great.
Realised I missed the sept markings on dude number 2's rifle... :l

This is the exact look I am going for. It seems so simple when you say it but I have been trying to move my brush to make one side larger and it just never works. I will also try making the top part bigger than the bottom but that seems a lot harder. Thanks and I will post pictures of my results when I am done.


@6^ they are not Sa'cea, those are more of a blue and grey scheme mine is just grey. I pictured my army coming from a massive forge world run by the Earth cast. There are lots of factories and buildings and that is why the bases have different warning strips and wires and metal sheets.