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I want to make my minis look more metallic, so I bought some marine and tried some ways
including coating a thin layer of Ironbreaker, or just mixing it with some main color, and end up look like this


Sorry to hurt your eyes
But can anyone tell me how I can improve it, or maybe a tutorial link?
Thanks in advance!

Highlighting the metallic areas will bring out detail. Use a lighter coloured metal and make sure to only cover areas where light will his and make a major reflection, like edges or the topmost point of surfaces.

Hi, Deunstephe!
The third the forth guy were painted just like that.
Maybe my paint was not thin enough or painted too much, I guess?

Got two ideas.

First one is not that great for small minis, but works damn well on big ones: Bare Metal Foil. It's actual metal. I have a post on it somewhere with some do's/don'ts tips.

The second you should give a try: Pigments. The right color pigment rubbed over the "highlight" areas of an otherwise dull acrylic metallic paint can really make a mini "pop". They're made to blend in well, which is great for painters like me who couldn't blend a margarita, and if you goof up, they come right off with a Q-tip and water. To get them to set and be permanent, you can either wait til varnishing time or you can dip a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol or they sell "fixer" at the hobby store. That way if you get one bit "perfect" you can nail it down so you don't accidentally goof it up while you paint the rest of the mini.



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hallodx wrote:
Hi, Deunstephe!
The third the forth guy were painted just like that.
Maybe my paint was not thin enough or painted too much, I guess?

Or go thicker. A.K.A. Drybrushing.

Createx makes a pearlized paint which can be added to any color to make it metalic.

 Rickfactor wrote:
Createx makes a pearlized paint which can be added to any color to make it metalic.

It also looks great on Tyranids. I have a friend that did his whole Nid army that way and it looks spectacular. Pearly spectacular, not metallic...you know what I mean!

Another technique I've seen used, but never tried, is to use an airbrush and basecoat the whole thing with enamel metallic (like for RC aircraft), then use acrylics and washes to give contrast to the creases/edges/etc.

There's also some metallic paints (enamel again) that you "buff out". I accidentally bought some (Dark Iron) and ruined a brush, but my Dark Eldar came out looking pretty bad-ass. You paint it on, then put a little t-shirt material over a Q-tip and rub it (after it's dry, of course). Since you can't really get in all the creases with the Q-Tip, all the raised areas have a nice, shiny aspect while the depressed areas stay dull. I'll try to post a picture tomorrow and show you how it turned out.

It is hard to see on those pictures but have you tried washing the metal. Try Nuln Oil shade over the metal and after that repaint the metal color on the areas where the light hits.( light from the top is mostly the best). And then on top of that highlitght it with a lighter metal color like Deunstephe suggested.

Also you might want to add some non metalic details to create some color spots like the armor trims, eyes or other dercorations.
The same is with the bolters. Maybe a black or red casing on those will break the all metal look.

Hi, Maxim!
Never try that before! Sounds like when I rub my paint when I sketch?

Hi, btdoomhammer!
The last guy was washed by Nuln Oil actually. I admit it shows the most decent color of CF chapter, But not as "Metallic" as I want...

I appreciate ideas from you guy, maybe it's just my problem for not being skilled... I should paint more.

hallodx wrote:
Hi, Maxim!
Never try that before! Sounds like when I rub my paint when I sketch?

Actually it's more like taking a flat/frayed brush (like a tatty one you don't really care about because the bristles aren't straight), dipping ONLY THE TIPS OF THE BRISTLES into the paint, wiping off most of the excess, and lightly feathering it over the model. The paint will only hit the edges and bring out detail wonderfully. It's great to use a fan-shaped brush or one with very short bristles to do this. There is also a "heavy drybrush," which is basically the same thing as a normal one except you don't wipe any of the paint off. This is best used for large models like tanks or anything situated on a 60mm base.