Thursday 12 November 2015

Fresh blood and a tutorial for the champions of Law !



So here we have 3 more members for my warband of champions of Law ! Since I've been painting those for some time now, I'm thinking about making a break to avoid making this a habit or something tiring and since I'm making a pause I thought I'd do a little tutorial on how I paint them. Make no mistake, they're not up to high standards or anything and I intended them to be speed paints from the start but I find the recipes I used served the purpose of having a nice warband rapidly so why not share ?

As a little reminder here are the other posts including champions of Law :

Post one : The Test model
Post two : A new warrior

Just to be sure I'd stay in the theme, I selected models that were either chaotic or sculpted by Jes Goodwin. First on the left is Erekose from the Eternal champions range. I chose to give him a dark skin because I thought it suited the face and it gave some variety to the group with a slightly more tribal element (huge pelt over the head rather than one thrown over the shoulders).
The second one is a Menilbonean, still from Jes Goodwin and still from the eternal champions range as the archer before him.
The third is rather peculiar, it's actually a Khorne fleshound body and forequarters and head on top of a Bloodletter body ! The parts fitted so well together I couldn't help but glue them together. I really like the strange look it gives to the model and it enables me to have a sort of demonic creature in the group. I like to think that the patron god for this warband has somehow elevated a normal hound for the good services and that the creature is now a half humanoid and therefore fully grotesque. I owe the parts to the excellent Steve Casey who gave me a good load when I was looking at broken pieces for chaos conversions



Here are the models at the start of the session, I cleaned and prepared the models (removed flashes and mouldlines) and glued them on their base before adding sand with PVA glue. I always base my models at the start as I like the model to fully integrate in the basing and find the basing process to be too messy to do when the model's done that and the other steps help seal the sand).


Then a sunny (and windless) day and a spray can of AP grey and you can reach the next step !


Models are primed in grey as most of my colour swill be earthy. I've come to prime most my models in grey now as I find it offers a good base for both bright and dark colours alike and it's often finer than black paint, leaving details in a better state than with other colours. The adherence is not as good though so you'll want to be careful with how you handle your models.


First step once the priming layer is fully dry is to give a generous wash of black thinned with water on the bases. This has 2 purposes : first one it to give good shadows when we'll drybrush the sand, avoiding to have sandy colours in the recesses. The second reason is that it seals the sand properly. The mix will melt the PVA that holds the sand and will let it dry in a stronger way. The base will be very fragile after this step though so you'll want to wait for a good while before drybrushing the sand.


Once everything is fully dry, you can start with the drybrush, first one being a very coarse one with skragg brown (or similar) :


 Second drybrush will be lighter with a 50/50 mix of Skragg brown and PA Stone grey :


Last step is a light drybrush woth stone grey alone :


Then we can move onto the next step which is blocking in all base colours. This is not a process I use when I paint models in general but when I have a colour scheme that allows me to do it I sometimes do. As you can see below the base colours are somehow all related and earthly. This will allow me to save time so here we go, let's just paint everything flat !
(last pot has lost its tag but it's brass scorpion something from GW)


For this step I just ensure to keep things as I did on the others models so armour is in brass, leathers in brown and fabric in either white or brown depending on what I need to avoid conflicts with the other parts (hence why some models have brown hoods and other white).


As you'll agree, models already look spectacular at this stage and could easily be varnished and played as is but let's ad a couple more steps to give a little 'je ne sais quoi'.
First help will come from a good wash with agrax earhshade from GW. Just dilute it with water (50/50) and wash the whole model (not the base though) with it. Make sure to leave no part unwashed but avoid at all costs any puddle. Take a fresh brush to avoid having any area drowned or you'll regret it and will have to deal with white areas where the medium has separated from the pigment. You can't use this shade too often but you can definitely use too much of it.


The wash being dry, it will leave the model dull but with the colours somehow blended. We're good to start highlighting the first colour. I opted for the off white parts as they include the furry parts that can be messy (drybrushes).


I use 3 highlights with the base colour (stone grey) one with a 50/50 mix with white (PA air white here, favourite white so far even with a brush) and a light highlight with pure white to finish.


Nest step is the brown parts that are highlighted from my light brown  to a 50/50 mix with stone grey and a final highlight with a 33/66 mix of brown/grey.


 For the metallics, I wanted a very rich gold so I decided to cheat and start from a brass base up to silver with rich colours in between. For this, I use no mixes, just diluted versions of each paint to blend them by transparence. (first one on the left is still scorpion brass)


With the main colours blocked I can move on to the funnier parts and with one of the elements that have become a signature for this warband : the eyes. The technique here is based on oriented source lighting but with a cool and easy approach. Here are the colours I use for an electric blue effect :


First step requires to thin the russ grey until it feels like milk and glaze all the parts around the eyes that should be hit by light if it was coming from the eyes, getting a little further won't hurt much so don't be too nervous at that point.


The second step will use the ice blue which will also be thinned a lot and be added in the recesses around the eyes (and all glowing parts). Do not go as far as you did previously with the light grey, halfway will be good.


Next step, I'll use my electric grey which will go on the glowing part (the eye itself) and the very centre of the recesses (do not make it go any further). A touch of pure white in the middle of the glowing part will help give that contrast and feel I'm looking for.


Once you have all that done you basically just have a couple of details like teeth, arrows or a couple of simple things to do. Shields are painted the same way as the rest but seperately and then freehands are added.
I'll also blackline between areas at that point to help define the models a little better and to clean a couple of transitions.
The final touch is to paint the base rims in black and add little tufts of grass and birch seeds (you can find those everywhere) to decorate the base.


And here you go, a full warband for the champions of Law ! I somehow feel 11 is a good number for a warband of Law, it's a whole number and symetrical when written (even parrallel). Graphically and symbolically satisfying for now.


I hope you guys loved following this warband as much as I loved doing it ! It's not over as I want to add a beastman or 2 and some mounted character as well but for now I'll finish a couple of things that require my attention.

I cannot resist showing what I received the other day though :


This baby will ot receive my attention right away, I want to carefully plan how I'm going to procede with it. It's in pristine condition and in all honesty it's quite a breathtaking model to have in hands so I want to things right with it.

38 comments:

  1. The whole warband is a visual treat - great sculpts, carefully selected, and beautifully painted with a very focussed palette that harmonises the group.

    The hound of law is my favourite though - a deceptively simple conversion with a really striking and unusual look. He really does have that creepy look of a dog walking around on its hind legs!

    The tutorial on the glowing blue is great too - looks very easy to replicate. I'll have to find a subject to try it out on.

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    1. I'm very fond of the hound myslef but I was afraid he'd look out of place. To avoid him looking to silly I didn't paint him leopard spots on the fur and inverted the colour sfor him (with a brown mane instead) so that it looks a little more like a natural creature that's been elevated above its condition by great powers.

      Hope people find the tutorial useful and don't expect too much of the glowing eyes recipe ^^'

      Thanks.

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  2. The finished warband does look awesome. If probably lock it at 11 (Malal...?) and start a fresh one if I felt the call of Law again. Like you said: to avoid making it repetitive.
    Thanks for the tutorial as well, especially the glow (finally something I can use that VMC electric blue paint!). I'm toying with Vallejo verdigris glaze for a similar effect - it has the asvantage of also being slightly fluorescent.

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    1. Cheers, I think you're right and I could probably use the ideas I have on a different Lawful warband (actually have new colourschemes in mind).
      There are many ways to paint glowing tings and this one ids just the one using the paints I have honestly !

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  3. Tuto très sympa, le truc pour les yeux est vraiment très simple à réaliser et très efficace visuellement. Pour la bande, elle est pas mal aussi :) J'aime bien car toutes les figurines sont choisies avec bon gout. Forcement au final ça claque. L'ajout de la bête de guerre est une bonne idée... L'ajout d'un enfant du Chaos (of law) serait carrement top :) Genre un chérubin hardcore ... Bref ... Je trouve que tu as choisi un bon thème.

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    1. J'avais pas pensé à çà mais le coup du chérubin poussé me botte carrément, je sais pas si tu lis Berserk mais il y a un perso dans ce goût là qui pourrait être sympa.
      Pour les figs j'ai pris presque exclusivement du Goodwin donc y a pas de mystères ^^

      Merci à toi.

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    2. J'ai beaucoup de vices mais pas (plus) celui de la BD :)
      A+ Nico

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    3. T'as de la chance !
      Je pense utiliser le corps de ce minotaure (body1) d'ailleurs pour me fair un chérubin un peu hardcore :
      http://www.solegends.com/citcat912/c20296minotaurlords-h.htm reste à trouver une tête et des ailes !

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  4. Yeah, that hound rocks JB! I've been hankering to do a similar conversion to that one too. The only variation being to use an old Slaanesh Fiends' head instead. I must admit that I didn't come up with this idea.I came across it online a few months back, but it looked ace! Must be something about those Bloodletter legs & torso that suits that sort of conversion? John Blanche did a minotaur head conversion of one back in the day too I think?

    Anyway, it's a great warband you've managed to assemble JB. Stella work as always.

    Cheers buddy :)

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    1. Hadn't seen another version with Fleshound parts before, thought mine was a first... the body and hindquarters part do fit well together and only minimal gap filling was required honestly.
      Isn't the mino+bloodletter a Pete Taylor conversion ? I think there are 2 versions with a later one having a carion wraith standing on it.

      Anyway, thanks a lot mate, glad you like it !

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    2. You might be right about the mino conversion. I just thought it was JBs' because of the use of reds & thick gloss coat.

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    3. In all honesty it would have been my belief too but I think this has been discussed somewhere not long ago and it brought the subject of the later addition to light too ;)

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    4. Just caught up on the news JB. I just wanted to say that I honestly feel so sorry for what's happened to you & your countrymen. I hope you're government can figure out a way to stop it happening again.

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    5. Cheers mate, only cure for stupidity is intelligence but there seems to be a shortage right now...

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  5. What a fantastic looking warband - as always the choice of models is exemplary and now I really like how you have tied them all together with your earthy palette and those ice blue eyes. It's great so see a tutorial from yourself too, I need to get back into the small batch painting technique to get more figures finished and this is a great way to go about it. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks Stuart ! I 'm not reinventing the wheel here but I hope it shows how I cut corners for those. The level is definitely not top class but it got them all painted in little time (for me) so that's a point.
      Model selection does impact a lot on the whole effect so I'll probably pay a little more attention to that in the future.

      Cheers ;)

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  6. Well done JB! They really are a well selected bunch. I think you've picked a good time to move on; they look like a complete warband plus you can now always add to them if you feel you need to at some point further down the line. The 'Fletter' is a wonderful conversion; love the subtle grey tones to its body. Great to read a detailed tutorial as well. The secret of the eyes are finally revealed!

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    1. Cheers Ed ! I think you're right, better come back when I really feel like it or when I have that super cool idea than continue doing things like a robot. It's been a refreshing exercise though and I will certainly try to make it again with other factions (thinking about undead).
      The secret to the eyes is out indeed but in all hoonesty there never was no big mistery behind it and others will probably have better ways to do it !

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  7. Jb you have out done yourself with that Fleshletter! That thing is so creepy cool. The overall warband has turned out brilliantly. I'm staring at the maximised pics as I type. ;) The tutorial was quite refreshing as well. Excellent post good sir.

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    1. Fleshletter is a good name ! I'm relieved people like it too, I thought it was close to being a little too werid or silly but you guys must be as nuts as I am !

      Thanks a lot buddy ;)

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  8. Hey ! Great tutorial on the eyes ! Nice to see it finally done :) And the models are very nice too. I didn't know about the Erekosë version, I just own a version of Hawkmoon. The beast is very nice too, like a mythological monster of old. Over all of this, the painting perfectly mixes the miniatures together.
    As for the bases, I proceed differently, painting the miniature first and then building and painting a proprer base for it.

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    1. Cheers mec !
      I've had the eternal champion set for some time now and haven't done any model until now, Ithink I'll be bettre using them in different settings to get them all done.
      I change teh way I paint depending on the level I want but one thing is constant : I never base after the model is done unless I really must. Basing is the only consistent thing in a setting for me so I want to have that visual information present when I paint the rest of the model. That and it's messy to drybrush next to an already painted model but there's of course no good or bad way to procede, just what we like or not.
      Glad you liked it.

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  9. That hound is an amazing conversion. I always love when incredibly simple conversions come together so perfectly and effectively.

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    1. Cheers, funny thing about him is you don't really know if he's gonna bite or punch with his paws given the pose...
      I love it when a planc comes together ;)

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  10. I can't believe how much work you put into a 'speed' paint! No wonder your mini's look so good.

    Definately hope to use you eye effect in a future miniature.

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    1. Cheers mate ! It's a speed work because I don't ry to blend highlights together and because I'm using colours which enable to do all the shading at once, I also use no fancy things like complicated freehands (just checkers and arrows) or things of the sort.
      I really hope to see how people find my glowing eyes !

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    2. thats a LOT more complicated then my 'Army painter, primer and Agax earthshade' speed technique, but then again your mini's look much better then mine!

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    3. I should have added it is a speed technique compared to my usual very slow process !

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  11. Damn nice work there! :O It strikes me how you got all this bunch of minis look integrated as part of the same project... and you made them work together!!
    I'm gonna buy a hat just to take it off in front of you.

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    1. Well Jes Goodwin helped quite a lot by sculpting most of them with his recognisable style !

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  12. Lovely job mate, fantastic warband and thanks for the guide - informative and useful! Love that Fleshletter, that one model in particular sums up the bonkers glory of Oldhammer in my humbe opinion, bravo sir!

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    1. Cheers buddy ! With all the support about the fleshletter, I actually have one last idea I really want to do to serve as a greater demon/spawn, I think it could look cool ! Just need to find the proper elements now !

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  13. It was very interesting watching the warband grow. The Fleshletter is ace. :)

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    1. Thanks a lot ! I have to say I was influenced by works like yours with a more "focused" approach even if in this case the subject and colours are different from what you're usually doing ;)

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  14. Hi JB, I was just re-reading this because I want to do some OSL and I think I noticed an error in your description of the technique. The first two steps say to use thinned blue to glaze around the light source, but the pictures show the Russ Grey and then the Ice Blue.

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    1. You're right, I just corrected it thanks !
      As a matter of fact the russ grey is more a blue than anything else to me hence my mistake.
      Thank you for telling me, I hope the description proves useful !

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  15. These minis look fantastic. Love the paint job. :)
    By the way that yet to be assembled dragon looks really interesting.

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    1. Cheers, I had great fun with those !
      That dragon is looking great indeed, I have to figure out a plan to work on him efficiently as it is quite a task though !

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