fustrated with black fur coats

[Otter]

I\'m trying to do a pitch-black Confrontation wolfen and I\'ve started ramming my head into a wall. I can\'t get the coat right - Canine black coats are wirey and have so many highlights in light that they look stark white in places.

I\'ve got a good example on hand with my own big black dog* but the coat DOES NOT translate well to a mini. There\'s no real transition between the highs and lows, and if I blend it up it looks like crap (and comes out gray), and if I run highlights against lowlights as it happens in life it looks completely unrealistic.

Advice or examples of successful black-coated animal minis would be great.

- Otter
\"Never send a ferret to do a weasel\'s work.\"


*(This is not my dog. When I take pictures of my dog, I capture this \"Please stop beating me with sticks and rocks\" look which will eventually land me in prison for animal cruelty.)

 

[Nelson]

Well, I think the best advice I can give you is to forget about the harsh highlights, and do a bit of blendin\'. I think it\'ll still look fairly realistic, and nice n\' glossy as long as you take the highlights up to white (while blending them in) When I do shiny hair, I highlight it as if it\'s nmm (senmm could look good) by drawing thin squiggly white lines, then shading them back down to the hair colour.

 

[vincegamer]

OMG!!
Sorry I don\'t have any advice, but please please please paint a wolfen with that pooch\'s color pattern. That would be SOOO cooool!
If you don\'t do it I\'m tempted to try it myself (it just won\'t look good).

 

[Sand Rat]

Let me do some digging - I\'ve got a dire wolf I did a while back in the pattern of my own dog, and I\'m working on an Anubian from Crocodile games with the same pattern so . . . . . .

 

[Flashman14]

That looks like Vallejo Luftwaffe Blue to me. Do some generations of that with black and leave Luft Blue as the final highlight . . .

no? ok . . .

 

[Flashman14]

Cute dog anyway!

 

[Otter]

Does Luftwaffe have a karmic equivalent in GW? I have made the switch and love my Vals, but the local store carries a limited range of around 30 colors.

- Otter
\"Never send a ferret to do a weasel\'s work.\"

 

[supervike]

well..

*in my best \'talking to a dog\' voice*

oh whos a big sweetie...

*end goofy voice*

We used to have a rottweiler. She was such a good dog. I have no painting advice, just though I\'d comment on the great looking pooch.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Hmmm.. might try getting some of that blue for my next black wolfen. Here is Onyx, painted black. The photo isn\'t really very good but this might help a little.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/index.php?id=27093&c=All&m=All&nm=none

Regards

Kat

 

[Vidja]

OK, I know it\'s no miniature, but have a look at this...

(nope, I didn\'t paint it!)
The person who portrayed this dog told me that it was done by simply scrubbing a dark blue on the black base where the highlights should be, then adding the white fur lines amid the blue mass...

 

[Flashman14]

Originally posted by Otter
Does Luftwaffe have a karmic equivalent in GW?

Alas, no. Shadow Gray is the closest but adding some black to it should get it. But add a little more black as I think Luftwaffe on it\'s own is as high as you want to go.