Sky-Earth NMM

This article was written in February 2002, so if you read it later (yes you do), some information may have changed in time (like Jen Haley not painting this technique). Anyway, here it is.

In recent time the best painters adopted the so-called NMM-technique of painting metal surfaces. Instead of painting them with metallic colors, they paint them with normal colors, using transitions of shades to imply the impression of metallic surface. Hopefully you know many examples of NMM, just to remind you, look at anything painted by Rackham painters (for Confrontation game), or stuff painted by Bobby Wong, Jen Haley, Matt Verzani, Vaitalla and others.

Oh yes, this way of painting metal is excellent, you just love it, don't you. Much better than metal painted normal way, just using metallic colors. BUT! There is still something more that can be done with painting metal.

Blasphemous Heretic

Oh, now I hear you all! How can this poor Honza criticize Bobby Wong or Jen Haley! They are the best painters in the world!

All right! Yes, I agree, they are much better than me, I learn a lot from pictures of their miniatures. But the way NMM is painted is not right. Metal in real reflects its surroundings and there is probably no such place that would be reflected this way.

Let's analyze it. They painted the minis as if the metal reflects the light the way most of the light would come from above the model and then it passes into darkest color just below the model. The reality is different.

Continue to next page to find out how I think it should be...