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Hey everyone, looking for some more advice on my Chaos Warriors learning spree! Cloaks seem to be a pretty well-covered topic, but I haven't seen an answer to this specific question:

When applying a wash over a base coat on a cloak, should the model be upright (cloak is perpendicular to the table) or should it be laying flat (cloak is parallel to the table)?

The shading of the cloak should be in those creases, recesses, and holes. If the model is upright and I apply a wash, gravity runs its course and it will settle down toward the fringes. If the model is flat, would that cause the shading to be inaccurate since it's obviously meant to be upright?

Should I not use a wash over the base coat for a cloak and instead go base coat --> layering, let the shade come from that, then maybe glaze over it?

Thanks in advance for the tips! Attached is a reference of the cloak.

From a theoretical point of view, if you want a natural looking shading, like the model is standing outside in natural light, I would say the cloak would become a little bit darker towards the bottom. But if the surface it is standing on is reflective, the bounced light could make it lighter even.
Neither is wrong or right I would say.

For my preference, I like bright miniatures so I would just shade strictly in the deepest recesses and not do an all over wash.

 DanceOfSlaanesh wrote:
From a theoretical point of view, if you want a natural looking shading, like the model is standing outside in natural light, I would say the cloak would become a little bit darker towards the bottom. But if the surface it is standing on is reflective, the bounced light could make it lighter even.
Neither is wrong or right I would say.

For my preference, I like bright miniatures so I would just shade strictly in the deepest recesses and not do an all over wash.

Hmmm okay, I understand that. Most cloaks I see in tutorials have larger ripples, fewer ripples, so it's a little easier to understand the lighting. These have been deceptively tricky. I thought they'd be good beginner units. There are some very fine ripples and the cloaks flare out a bit at the end. Trying to rectify that has been tough.

I'm getting the sense that an all over wash won't work for this. I'll experiment a little bit off of what you said.

One thing I'm trying is a very, very dark brown as the base (a wash over black primer) then dry brushing bright white over it. Then gradually build up with very thin layers (with an airbrush). The first layer seemed pretty promising, which would make my shade question irrelevant!

You can also think that when adding very dark paint in the ripples you are creating the illusion of more depth in them.

If the cloak looks flat and toyish, add some shade to create the sense of depth you desire.

For example where the cloak meets the fur, you need a fairly thin dark line if you want to give it a feeling that the fur overlaps the cloak and not just a moulded piece of plastic.

And on top of that some smooth blended and broad highlights.