I bought my space wolves 1 week ago (so I'm not that far with finishing my army just yet) after I bought and read the space marines and wolfs codexes on my holiday. They do not only visually appeal to me but also there characters as described in the codex are really thought out well. Fare, just, un-influenceable by the chaos gods and above all fearsome warriors with wolf-like characteristics. And although the
GW color scheme did not seem to fit my vision of the space wolves at all, that was something I could easily overcome.
Every one does this different I think, but I tend to do more research on the background/color schemes before I even start painting my first model.
So first thing I did was to write down what I though the space marine wolfs needed to look like:
- There ancient, and there suits and weapons tend to last for centuries. So it should show on the models, paint chipped off, scars, dirt-stains, etc.
- There fearsome and feral warriors. So no "happy or clean" colors could be used. But there still a space marine in there core so not to dark either.
- They certainly are the agressors on a battlefield. So the models should be intimidating. (Thanks Bognut! I think mission accomplished
)
- Also some of them (the older they get) tend to get more wolf like features and start to look like characters in there own right. So not one model should look identically the same.
- And last but not least; the are space marines at the core. And due to the K9
gen they are loyal and accept natural order of hierarchy. Therefor should have a clear indication on there suits to what unit they belong and to what there function is within the army but with a more of an unique twist to it because they tend to switch leaders as they follow the strongest around.
After that I started gathering all sorts of Images on space wolves and marines that appealed to me and seem to fit the space wolves description better. After reviewing all those images I tried to put down what I really liked about every image.
- I liked the dark dirty gritty mean but still some what space marine like colors and idea's. So I wanted to have a grey base tone that looked a bit used and darker than normal but not clean black.
- Second thing I liked about the images I gathered where the Ice-colors and snow basses (also because there home plannet is a frozen world).
- Third thing I learned to like about the images where the simpeler color schemes where the better ones, and they tend to direct your eye to the details much easier. So I tried to stick to a simple 2 tone color scheme the darker gritty grey and the sand/bone colored details. So no extra colors added on the shoulder plates or other accessories that where of no big importance.
So first off, after the black spray paint base coat I started putting on the watered down Dryad Bark brown on the entire models elements bottoms. (as a shade color)
Next I painted the top highlighted parts of the model with a grey basetone Stormvermin Fur. After that I've used Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade to blend the brown and grey colors into a smooth transition.
After that I went back to highlight and dry brushed with Stormvermin Fur and then a really light dry brush with Dawnstone grey. To finish of with a Celestra Grey trim on some important parts (always keep the most important parts the lightest; head, eyes, icons etc. Or darkest in a reversed color scheme).
After that I painted the armor details with Baneblade Brown and highlighted it with Karak Stone. Then I added depth with Agrax Earthshade and Seraphim Sepia. And went back to highlight again with Karak Stone and Screaming Skull, finishing of with some points of Ceramite White.
Done some Icons with multiple layered watered down Celestra Grey.
The blueish turquoise parts and light sources I did by watering down the Teclis Blue and giving the area around the light a quick wash. After it dried up firmly I added a solide Teclis Blue layer followed with Temple Guard Blue and a Nihilakh Oxide finish.
For some details I also used the Bronse metalic tones with the oxide finish to make it look weathered. And after I was done I started to create the damages and dirt stains on the armor. For the damages I used the Runefang Steel on top of a black base color. And for the dirt stains I used the same color as the finishing color on my base which are Stormvermin Fur and Baneblade Brown watered down and used really thin only on the utter most bottom parts of the model.
About your color scheme. I like the two colors because they match quite good I think. But as I described above I take in account allot more than just two colors that seems nice to me. So I don't know what you are looking for in its appearance, but I'm looking forward into seeing your test model or hearing what you want your model to characterize on the battlefield.
Hmm didn't knew it was going to be such a long post when I started it
hope you where not bored by it and it answered your questions.
Now I'm going to start on my General on a Thunderwolf. I've finished the base diorama and prime-coated the slightly conversed model. I'll post images from the progress later today.
