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Hi guys, so still working out the layout for my ynnari colour scheme. My main problem now, is black and bone. I come from necrons, so my exposure to non metallics is limited, but thankfully gauss has enabled me to practice my blending to a point where I'm confident to tackle them.

How do you paint black so it looks good/has depth? Am I correct in thinking its actually multiple different dark shades of grey over a black base with a fairly bright edge hi-light?

Also bone, I want my harli masks, wraithblade head pieces etc to be made of bone, how do I paint this up? Brown base working up to a cream-y top layer with a fairly white edge hi-light also?

What paints would I need? Im confident in my blending, and usually work with 3-4 different colours to get a good gradient.

Thanks frands!

For black:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb_MSdZhyz0

Yes you are correct. The trick to painting black is to basically never actually paint black. Use very dark greys/blues/greens/browns/reds/etc.

I paint black by priming with Army Painter black spray. That way I can use Army Painter Matte black to touch up and mix highlight colors. I mix black with turquoise to build up raised surfaces, with a final edge highlight of about 50/50 black and turquoise. You could do the same thing with blue, green or probably even red. Just depends on the tone you want to give the model. After some experimentation I've decided I don't really like highlighting with grey; it kind of gives the model a dull, dirty look. Obviously good if that's what you're going for, though.

For bone I start with Vallejo Heavy Brown, then work up with to Vallejo Deck Tan with or without another lighter brown in between. After a Sepia wash, I highlight with Vallejo Bone White.

If you're blending as opposed to simply layering like I am, you will probably get some neat results.

These are the paints I use for black:

Army Painter Matte Black (leaves a very nice finish and perfectly matches their black primer)
Vallejo Game Color Turquoise

And for bone:

Vallejo Game Color Heavy Brown
Vallejo Model Color Dark Earth (sometimes)
Vallejo Model Color Deck Tan
Vallejo Game Color Sepia Ink or Army Painter shader
Vallejo Game Color Bone White

Few tips.

Undercoat black. For everything.

Black:
The trick to black as you guessed is two types of highlight - a VERY subtle 'diffuse' highlight, which is mostly to give the impression of whatever texture the surface has, and then a sharp, bright specular highlight (which is stronger on shinier/harder surfaces like armour).

Over the undercoat, apply a block highlight of dark grey (add yellow/tan or light blue depending on the tone you want - I'd suggest blue-grey as it'll help contrast with the bone) to the higher portions (sort of zenithal style) of armour plates, centre of panels.

Blend this back with thin glazes of pure black, having your stroke go away from the highlight. If you're in a rush or want a weathered / beaten sort of texture, you can feather this (thicker paint, streakier strokes).

Once it's relatively smooth, apply a broad edge highlight (around 1mm) with a mid grey. Blend this back with the very dark grey then the black.

Now very sharp edge highlights with very light grey just toward extreme edges (making small L shapes on corners). Soften these out by either glazing toward them with the light grey or using thin mid grey.

Now dot highlights with just-off white on very corners and hot spots.

Bone:
Bone is simple.

Rebasecoat area in a mid brown avoiding eye sockets etc, if desired apply a little agrax earthshade to recesses/undersides. then highlight with a light yellow-brown (sand sort of colour), then finally with off white.

Thanks so much for your help guys!! Going to give it a go very soon. Some really good tips here

I feel edge hi-lighting is much more important on black than with other colours? Like on other colours its to draw out the lines, but with black it seems to be the most important part as it is the main 'feature' of the area?

Yes and no to that; light *direction* is far more important on black than other colours - we generally see black objects more by their reflective properties than anything else - this means you really, really need those lightward edges sharp and contrasting.

The 'shadeward' edges should be more subtle, and they're there just to reinforce the shape by lifting edges to exaggerate recesses. It's a contrast trick - dark looks darker next to something a little lighter.

That makes a lot of sense, I never thought of it that way! Cheers man

If it helps at all, even though Winterdyne is a much better painter than me and basically nailed it on the head:

I like to make sure that black has harsh highlights, very sharp and precise. Its easier to make flowing blends as highlights on cloths and other forms of flowing fabric. Stick to blending to make the illusion of shading, and highlight with very precise highlights.

Bone is one of the few things that really benefits from drybrushing. The dry, dusty texture typical of drybrushing emphasizes the dry, dusty nature of most bones.

I start with a black basecoat, then do successively lighter drybrushes with khakhi, bone or eggshell, off-white, and finally pure white. A VERY thinned down glaze of brown can help redefine small features.

I found this article about painting black to be very useful:

http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/tutorial-painting-colour-black.html