My workload is rather high and the moment.
This isn't the place to go into details - but I am practically drowning in the stuff. Oldhammer time is extremely limited but I shall grab a few moments to type this missive while I watch the bath run.
Painting gold is hard isn't it?
Last Sunday, I cleaned up this chap, Sir John Quicksure from my McDeath collection. Now, I wanted to paint him a gold colour for two reasons. One - because it seems a suitable colour for the fantastic armour of the leader of the alliance. Two - because metallics are most definitely something I need to work on.
As you can now doubt see.
So, really what I am after is advice for achieving a decent gold finish on a miniature. How do you do it?
Painting gold is hard isn't it?
Last Sunday, I cleaned up this chap, Sir John Quicksure from my McDeath collection. Now, I wanted to paint him a gold colour for two reasons. One - because it seems a suitable colour for the fantastic armour of the leader of the alliance. Two - because metallics are most definitely something I need to work on.
As you can now doubt see.
So, really what I am after is advice for achieving a decent gold finish on a miniature. How do you do it?
In the past I used a light brown base color followed by a drybrush with gold. Final highlights with silver. Now I use Vallejo Liquid Gold alcoholic paint followed by suitable washes (mostly brown).
ReplyDeleteThe painting of the gold seems ok, I just think there's too much of it on the model.
ReplyDeleteI like adding a touch of green to take away that orange glow you get with most gold's nowadays and then give the gold a very watered down wash of purple just before that final highlight. Saying all that I would agree with above comment it looks fine but maybe getting lost with so much of it on one figure.
ReplyDeleteI start with a yellow base and then a sort-of drybrush with gold.
ReplyDeleteLess is more with metallics I find. Pobably parroting advice here, but start with something near the color of the metallic, and then use the metallic as the highlight.
ReplyDeleteFor this guy I'd try real hard to tone done the gleam. Brown ink washes (times many). Hopefully it will matt it down a bit, and you may choose to highlight with unadulaterated metallic gold again.
Looks fine to me! My system is to base coat with brown...the gold and highlight with gold and silver mix up to nearly pure silver for the edge highlight. Then hit the whole thing with a gryphone sepia wash...or equivalent. Done and done.
ReplyDeleteA quick way I use is to paint gold over black (or silver if I want a brighter look) and then apply a brown or green ink depending on the result I want.
ReplyDeleteOnce dry, I higlight in Gold and then in Gold+Silver. It is quick and gives good results.
I use a (rather ham-handed) version of this: http://www.blackmoor.ca/articlesnmm.htm
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the more basic recipes I've found, so it's not too intimidating (unlike a lot of NMM tutorials out there), and handily allows me to avoid having to buy metallic paints special (I use craft paints and W&N exclusively). It gives a nice result depending on how much effort you put into the blending and the delicacy of the highlights. I usually only bother with about 4 layers, 5 max.
Hope that helps.
There is a slightly severe highlight on the kneepad but I'm being picky and otherwise like the effect you've already got on this one.
ReplyDeleteYour metallics are fine sir, anything more than 5 steps to a single element of a figure is a bit much for battlefield ready, more suitable for a cabinet really.
ReplyDeleteThe method I've used for a few years is
Vallejo model colour tinny tin, wash army painter strong tone, base coat again Vallejo model colour tinny tin, 50/50 tinny tin/GW shining gold on raised areas, shining gold edging on raised areas corners etc, last step 66/33 shining gold to mithril silver on extreme fine edging. Very quick and when done right, for battlefield I rarely go beyond step 4; unless it's a character etc.
That's it, can't tell you how many people have complimented me while there are NMM standing on the same table unrecognized.
Vallejo Liquid Metals. They are alcohol based; but cover in one coat and when followed by a wash are just lovely. They are the only metals I now use. You can avoid the clumpy detail obscuring layers that come from acrylic metallics. Give them a go. My favorite is "old gold". Followed by a Devlan Mud wash. Good luck
ReplyDelete