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After getting tired of looking at bare plastic, I decided to try to paint my bad moon boyz. I have some experiences painting some Eldar, IG, Nids, and now Orks. What I'm finding though is my colors seems to be coming out much darker and not quite as smooth as the Citadel guide photos.


http://i.imgur.com/95UU4yj.jpg

After painting the skin and the yellows components of the model, you can see it's much darker than intended. I realize that I applied too much shade, but this was a futile attempt at attempting to correct the color.

http://i.imgur.com/LLkJvnz.png

This is what it should look like, according to the guide. It seems the initial coating of steel legion drab was too dark, but it seems they used a spray gun and - not possessing one - I'd have to mix it with white to get such a light color. I realize I'm not an 'eavy metal painter but was hoping to at least get somewhat close to the lighter results. I am thinly watering my paints, but refrained from using a liquid medium or paint thinner other than water as I assumed however was painting for the guide did not either.

Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

Which guide are you following? It'd help if you linked one.

As for doing yellow, there's quite a few techniques. My roommate does a very thin layer of Ushabti Bone before layering up his yellows, it might help.
If you're mixing as you do layers it might help to use an off-white like Bone instead of a straight white. But like you said, I'm no 'eavy metal painter either

Im willing to bet that they painted over white, while you painted over black.

It will lighten up once you get to highlights.

The guide is from the official 'How to Paint Citadel Miniatures - Orks.'

They primed black in the pictures, put applied a layer of Ushabti bone over it before. Even when I applied the layer though, it was much darker. I'm assuming they used an airbrush, which I do not have, to create the even coat that pictured below. However even the Ork skin is much lighter in that picture, and that's supposedly painted directly over black. Either they're not telling me about a step, or I'm doing it wrong.

I included some pictures from the basecoat in the guide, and as you can see it's very vivid coloring.

Try multiple thinner layers. Something like 2 or 3 very thin layers of bone. You don't need an airbrush, just patience. The first couple layers will barely look like you did anything at all but by the 3rd you should see it brighten up.

Am I missing something, or did you completely overlook the layer of Steel Legion Drab on black before the other colors?

...?

Somehow, your Warboss Green is darker than their Warboss Green. Airbrush or not, in their picture, thats what WBG looks like, but somehow, yours looks like Waaagh! Flesh.

Also, a Citadel guide that doesnt use Waaagh! Flesh for the basecoat. Interesting.

I've painted Bad Moon boyz various ways, including More Dakka's great speed-painting guide.

That gives great vibrant yellows, although I have real problems with blacks adhering to AP Daemonic Yellow spray, so after wear you get bit of yellow poking through the edges of guns etc.

For my next batch I plan to simply prime white. I can't see it will look that different from the GW way, of undercoating black than coating it all in Steel Legion drab.

This seems a good guide. It gives bright colours, and I figure I can paint skin and tunics/helmets etc yellow, wash the skin green, and the tunics/helmets in flesh or sepia.