Dark Powers

The latest Painting Dark Sword tutorial is now up for viewing on the Patreon Page!  Since I have focused a lot of recent tutorials on painting white, I thought it would be interesting to go in the opposite direction, and discuss painting those very dark colors!

It is not very difficult to get a nice variety of tones in what is perceived as "black", especially if you utilize the Reaper Miniatures Liner paints.  These are very dark colors which also glaze very well.  They make an ideal start to getting those darker tones, and making sure there's more warmth or coolness in a given area.

That is how you can get that added interest, by making some parts more of a warm dark grey, others a cooler blue, or even a blueish green.  At one point I even use purple to create additional accents.

There are a few little twists in the video, such as the Object Source Lighting, but the home made wet palette is quite the surprise!  It was all very accidental, which I explain in the video.  I took just a few household items and put that together in a matter of minutes!

While it was not essential by any means, an earlier marathon painting session (working on 2 dozen figures at once!) showed that it could be useful.  Those figures all had different color schemes, so it was nice to have the wet palette on hand to work with all those different tones.

With each episode of Painting Dark Sword, I try to take on a few different techniques, or discuss a certain principle.  Several of the Dark Sword videos have gone into great detail on a specific color, such as yellows, reds, greens, blues, and so on.

There are other videos that show how to combine multiple techniques on one figure, and others that show how to deal with multiple light sources for an OSL effect.  I also have a few that dive into Non Metallic Metals, as well as a few videos that show how to use oil paints!  In fact, the next episode will be an oil painting tutorial.

You can see how the use of the cooler, more muted dark grays can be used to intensify the "fire" effect.  I talk about this every time I do an OSL tutorial, as it is so important.  

There is even a quick little demo on how I made that wet palette, which was essentially free!

That Dark Sword pledge is $10 per month, and will also provide access to other "one off" tutorials produced which focus on specific techniques, such as blood spatter, weathering, etc.  You can find that here on the Patreon Page: www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

The Sorcerer's Fire

The second installment of Painting Nocturna Models is now up on the Patreon Page and ready for viewing!

The two episodes of The Sorcerer's Fire are about 4 1/2 hours total, and to covers the entire process of painting the double Object Source Lighting effect!

It is always a challenge to paint multiple light sources, but even more so when those light sources are very different colors.

You also have to consider the colors of the miniature itself, such as the pants, cloak, tunic and so on.  It is vital to make those complimentary to the effect that you want to achieve, but they still have to make sense as a clothing item as well.

This is discussed at length throughout the videos.

You can get a hint in this image of the striking difference between the two light sources, even though they are being painted on the same section of the figure... just on opposite sides!

With the floating rocks and billowing cloaks, hair and tunic posing even more challenges, we have to think of those as opportunities instead.

I explain my color choices on the clothes, and go over the strategy behind them.  While the cloak is technically a cooler color, I still highlight it with a muted warm tone to keep it on the warmer side overall, and act as a secondary type of contrast to the much more saturated blue glow.

The pants would be considered a war color as tan, but it is far more muted and cooler than the fire glow.  Some greens were added in that area to accentuate that subtle contrast.

This image shows what a logistical nightmare the cloak could pose, since the undulations are very numerous, and they are also at different "heights".  This meant that some areas of the cloak would be in 'shadow' from the blueish glow, but still need highlights from the ambient light.

I have a number of these large scale figure tutorials under way, including a series from Big Child Creatives (those will be mostly painted with oils).  These will all be available to my patron on the Patreon Page.

If you want to see how this miniature was done, as well as many more elaborate pieces, be sure to sign up now to the Patreon Page and watch these very complex figures/color schemes be broken down into something far more manageable!  Here's a link to the page: www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Arcane Basing

The very first Army Painting series was an interesting phase in my journey of creating miniature painting tutorials.  This is the moment where I had to decide what sort of format I would use, and just how I would demonstrate my approach to painting units.  Ultimately I chose to do them in five 2 hour episodes.

As many of you already know, I really love basing, so I figured that it would be a good idea to begin with basing!  Here's an example of one of those episodes:  https://youtu.be/fj2dJEQ3x_c

With the basing complete, I shift to the color test figure.  This is where I decide what kind of effects I want to do on the figures.  I discuss the "Currency of Time", where I keep track of how much time a given effect takes, and how that might effect the overall time of the project.

For example, the champion figure needed a lot of decisions.  Should the "familiar" be glowing... and if it is, should it be a different color.  Ultimately I decided to make it the same color as the magical runes on the bases, since that seemed to make the most sense.

Even choosing which figure goes on which base can have a large impact on your choices.  Since the snake parts of the figure didn't see as detailed or interesting, I definitely wanted to have the glowing effects.  That gave me some options for creating more dimension in areas that did not quite have the cleanest textures.

Where the figure should be placed on the base was also discussed.  These views show you how much of the fantastic design can appear if you place the figure in the right spot.

There was some Non Metallic metals included in the series too.  This is another aspect of the videos, and that is to include as many different techniques as possible.  However, I try to make these less "scary", and treat them like any other effect, like snow bases, freehand, etc.

Pulling together all these different techniques in a cohesive manner is what makes the difference between a nicely painted unit and a pretty amazing one.  I try to tie in all these individual techniques into other stand alone episodes also available on the Patreon Page.  That includes the Dark Sword series, which is now on Episode 13!  These take things like OSL, color theory, etc, and focus them onto just one miniature.

All of those additional tutorials can be seen if you sign up for the $15 Army Painter monthly pledge.  This includes an average of 13-20 hours of tutorials each month!

The Army Painting pledge level is available on the Patreon Page, and Series 8 is well under way!  You can check that out here: www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Combo Platter

The latest Painting Dark Sword tutorial is up on the Patreon Page now!  I really love using the Dark Sword figures as subject matter, because they have a lot of fine detail, and always plenty of character.

In this episode, I was trying to show how to combine several techniques that are usually broken out into individual episodes.

This time around, I wanted to show how to combine Object Source Lighting, Freehand and Non Metallic Metals all in one lesson.

I showed how I go about transferring a pattern onto the figure, sketching it out first to get the "muscle memory" and also a sense of what might have to be eliminated or added to make it work.

It is not unusual to have to put several major techniques into one figure, which is something I have to do every day.  The idea is to give you a few easier ways to execute these techniques, so that you feel more able to do so yourself.

I think most tutorials only do this kind of combination on huge figures or busts.  Very seldom do you see 28mm figures get the same treatment!

Well, since 28mm figures are what I use (and my commission buyers), that means doing all those nifty things you see on 75-100mm figures on the "little guys".  It also has to be done in a timely fashion!

None of us has infinite amounts of time to spend on our figures, even though we wish we did.  In this lesson, I show you some ways to do that... and even play around with some home made static grass tufts!  If I can bring in the funds to set up a second recording station, I will be able to make an entire video series on creating those tufts as well!

When you pledge to my Patreon Page, you will get a great deal of content, in the form of one video tutorial after another (the Army Painting pledge is about 15-20 hours of videos each month!).  I try cover all aspects of miniature painting... basing, oils, acrylics, weathering powders... whatever it takes to get the job done.

The special $10 Dark Sword miniatures pledge not only allows you to check out all the Dark Sword tutorials, but all of the other 'general technique' episodes.  These often focus on experiments with new materials or techniques!  That's all right here on the Patreon Page:  www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Color testing: Army of the Dead

Exciting times in my Lord of the Rings rebuilding process continue with the Army of the Dead!  With the first episode of the Army Painter Series 5 (which focused on basing) completed, it was time to create the "Color test" figure.

This is something that I do for each series, which is usually 5 episodes long.  The idea behind a color test figure is not only to work out a color scheme for the unit or army, but to judge how long it might take to achieve a certain effect or look.

Since we all have a limited time to work on our own armies, that "currency of time" is all important, and has to be spent wisely.

As you work on that color test figure, you can figure out what you might be able to leave out, or a better way to go about an effect which might be more elaborate.

When you get into things such as Non Metallic Metals like my previous series on the Lannister Halberds and the Sky Earth Non Metallic Metal effect, time will have to be conserved in other areas.  In the case of this Army of the Dead, the time will be spent getting the glowing ethereal effect using the Vallejo fluorescent paints.

While I am creating new armies for use in battle report videos in the future, my goal along the way is to find new ideas and concepts to demonstrate with each series.  Some feature oils, others more complex basing, Object Source lighting, freehand, and so on.

I also try to build on previous series, and this one ties into Series One, where I used a similar greenish glow on the bases and on one of the figures in the set.

Now that I have the color test episode loading to the Patreon Page, I will move on to the next 3 episodes, where I take you through the Shaded Basecoat stage, middletones and weathering, and the final highlights.

These "Army Painting" series have been available to my Patrons at a $15 pledge level.  Between these and other related videos done each month, that means about 18-24 hours of video content every month!

However, there is a lot more work involved than simply turning on the camera and painting...

Once filming ends, several more tasks begin as I have to transfer photos and video segments to another machine to create title screens and overlays.  After creating those, I can edit and render the video.

This is a process that takes several hours, and it is something that is done many times each month. The Army Painter series alone have compiled over 20 episodes!!  As you can imagine, that is a lot of effort, which is why I have the Patreon page.

Should you be interested in the Army Painting pledge, that is found on my Patreon Page at the $15 level: www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

A Little NMM: Unit painting videos

The Age of Sigmar Medusae unit was a fun way to begin the Army Painter video series!  As with each set of tutorial videos, I start out with the basing.

This involves more than just making a batch of bases... I try to go deeper into how to manage time and thereby your choices.  I give examples of how much time is added by adding various extra effects, and if it is worth spending that additional time.

We all have very little of that precious resource to spend on our own armies, so understanding the implications of each choice can mean the difference between getting it done when you need it or never completing it in the first place!

I attempted to show what impact adding things such as Object Source Lighting and Non Metallic Metals can add in a visual sense, but also how that makes each piece potentially take longer.  

Of course, I am also trying to show how to make those extra effects take less time, and where "savings" can be found!

You can check out all three Army Painter series here on the Patreon Page:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel