Tyranid Hive tyrant First time painter WIP

[Darkfenix]

Hello everyone,

I'm a first time painter and am looking for input and advice on how to improve my skills for my future models. I am posting pictures I've taken over the past 2-3 weeks as I've worked on my Hive tyrant. The final colour scheme is going to be a white/cream skin with dark blue carapace with some chitin highlights. For the weapon I'm leaning towards a pale flesh tone but I don't know how that will mesh with the dark chitin plates on top. Thoughts? I am also unsure of a colour to do the blades and hoofs. I was thinking of a dark blue again with similar highlights??? Any thoughts or comments are welcome both positive and negative.

This first picture is just the model primed with chaos black from a range of about 1ft/30cm with light off and on spraying to get a thin coat. Total time so far is about 1hr for cutting parts off the frame, gluing with super glue and priming outside. If i could do it again I would not glue the legs to the torso as they became tougher to paint later on.

This picture shows the first base coat very roughly done with a plain white to make the next few layers brighter in contrast. It took about 1hr to do as I was trying to apply a thin layer so as to not clog the details.

After applying a second white base coat as seen on the left I went over it again with a cream colour as seen on the chest area. Again it was still messy and needed touch ups at this point. The second white coat plus the next two cream coats took about 2-2.5 hours to do since the model has a lot of little groves and the legs being attached didn't help.

After the cream colour was done I applied a wash to the little vent things and to any pocked holes and rib areas on the model with a flesh toned wash. I used a very fine tipped brush for this to avoid getting excess wash everywhere. It was still a bit messy so after I was done I went over the areas with the cream colour once more to hide those marks.

Just a shot of the head with the wash applied.

Here is the weapon with the wash. The weapon is still white but as I mentioned before I'm thinking a flesh tone for it might be good or perhaps a red/green colour? Still not sure so if you have any suggestions I'd be interested in hearing them.

This is where the model currently stands with two blue coats of paint and a body that again needs some touch ups. I intend to apply a dark wash to the carapace to really darken it up. If that fails then I will probably paint it either very dark blue or go back to black. The idea being to add highliights from dark blue to light blue to a white/grey. Again weapon needs its base coat soon But I want it to mesh well with the colour scheme but still look independent of the tyrants exoskeleton. As for the claws I am still unsure if they would be better as a grey colour with a dark wash over them or as perhaps as a red for contrast? Whatever colour the claws/talons become the rest of the hoofs and little blades on the body will follow suit. To this point I'm probably at 8-10 hrs of work and feel like that's a bit too slow?

This is a link to another model on here that I have been looking at from Slawek which I have been using as a guide on certain aspects:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/371344?browseid=11058681
I'd like the final outcome to be similar in style but with my own paint scheme. As for basing I'm leaning towards a similar platform that this model is standing on but not as high as I'd want it to be more functional for table top play.

This week I am hoping to base coat the weapon, get the carapace all darkened up with a wash then highlighted. If time permits I will do the talons/ little claws as well. Again any input on this WIP is welcome be it negative or positive. Thanks

 

[Quiarcus]

Hi Darkfenix and welcome! I'm not sure if it's just me, but the pictures aren't showing.

 

[Darkfenix]

Thank you Quiarcus for the welcome. I've re uploaded the images so hopefully they work. Not exactly the best camera in the world but I'm working on borrowing a friends for a final shot once the models done. Thanks again for for letting me know the pictures weren't working.

 

[Darkfenix]

New update on the hive tyrant I've been working on. The venom cannon is going to be white as the shading and washes used all made it look awkward and didn't mesh with the figures colour scheme. Painted the tiny talons and hoofs as well as added the first set of carapace highlights in a lighter blue to most areas (I still have a few pieces to do). It will be followed up by a white highlight to brighten it up a touch. I'm hoping to have 95% of the model completed by the end of next week and have been toying with the idea of an ice themed base for it. Again any thoughts or comments are welcome here.

 

[Quiarcus]

Looks like a solid start there. I never know what to do with tyranids, even though I quite like a few of the models. You may want to work a darker, near black, blue into the recesses between the overlapping chitin plates to help bring out the highlights a little. Other than that I look forward to seeing more.

 

[Darkfenix]

Thank you for the input. Once I do the white highlights on the chitin plates I will go over those grooves with a little more wash to darken it up just a touch. I agree that figuring out what you want to do with the model is probably the toughest part. I have debated the colour of the venom cannon for what seems like forever and eventually settled on it being the same exoskeleton cream colour. Thanks again for the comments

 

[Darkfenix]

So it has been a little while since I updated this as it has taken me quite some time to get any visible progress. The white highlights on the chitin looked odd so i scrapped that idea. I did decide to do a dark blue to light blue transition on the claws and learning how to do so took quite some time to master. Here are a few photos of the model as it currently stands.

The main body of the model isn't glued yet just stacked in place to give an idea of the models potential look.

As always thoughts, comments and critique are always welcome so that I can improve.

 

[EpicMiniArt]

Looking great so far. I love the Tyranid mini's. Adding a little black/purple thin wash into the recesses of the carapace will boost the contrast somewhat but look like an awesome start. can't wait to see it finished.

 

[Darkfenix]

Thanks Epic for your comments. I really do need to work on the carapace a bit more in the coming days. I have been debating on if I should try and redo the etching marks around the carapace edges as it feels rather sloppy when I look at it. I'm excited to see it done too as I plan to enter it into a local competition on Feb 28th. So here is hoping it is done by that point.

 

[oistene]

This is a very good start. Your paint is nice and smooth, which is essential for good painting. I like the whites, but the highlights on the blue can be improved. Firstly, use several shades of blue, and make it lighter and lighter, all the way to white. Water the paint for more control and use very little paint on the brush, paying many layers. Try to read some tutorials on glacing or juicing, that will give you the desired approach. It might seem unachivable at first, but these tyranids have many surfaces that let you practise it.

 

[Darkfenix]

Hey Oistene thanks for the comment. I did my best to attempt the feathering type technique you mentioned though I found that the white feathering was too much of a contrast. I washed over the previous etchings on the carapace to get a smokey get and then added the blue in two layers and it seems to have come out alright. I most certainly need to practice on more models. Since then I have tried to clean up the body a bit and I have added smaller details like the eyes on the venom cannon and the whitening of the teeth. I am debating between putting some brown age spots on the shoulders and tail but I have some time to work on that. I have also been working on the cracked ice base which has seen quire a few draw backs. If it doesn't workout in the next two or three days I will be scrapping the idea and going with either a grassy plains style or a ruined city style base. The model is being submitted for the local competition in 9 days time so I should be able to finish it! :smile-big: As always here are some pictures to go along with the update.

If there are any comments or tips please share them so that my next project (3 tyranid warriors with devourers) will show some more improvement. Thanks!

 

[oistene]

You are on to it, as you say it takes practise. I wish I could explain it better to you, but I am by no mens an expert on this technique myself.

 

[Demihuman]

Hey Darkfenix, Welcome to the hive

I think you should do a lighter highlight on that edge. By highlighting smaller areas a shade or two brighter you will make the edge stand out more (build contrast) and you will also make your blends, or feathering, look smoother. Because there is more of a transition from dark to light for your eye to see it will notice the difference between each shade less. ( I think) I took the liberty of 'shopping your pic a little:

I just did the bit inside the circle. and I just added some light blue and then white white. What do you think?

 

[Darkfenix]

Thanks Oistene for turning me onto this technique it is definitely a better method then the way I initially had it.

Hey Demihuman thank you for the welcome into the Hive. I do like the way that the highlight blends together the feathering on the edges. Hopefully I can find some time to get that idea onto the model before the end of the week! I still have the base to do but I am pretty sure if I really buckle down this week I can polish off a good amount of little details and the base before the mini is due for submission. I plan to assemble to mini in about 2-3 days so it doesn't leave me much time :dazed:. If nothing else I can always apply the technique after the contest is over. Thanks a ton for taking the time to post the edited picture .

 

[Darkfenix]

So just a quick update as the only new work is the completion of the base for the model. I would like to add a bit of static grass from one of the cracks in the cobblestone but not sure. A friend suggested a small rock might break up the emptiness near the front of the model? Thoughts?

 

[Demihuman]

Egg pod? Dead space marine? IG helmet? Skullz? Dead baby tyranid? I have been really thinking about casting some brussel sprouts lately I bet a fleshy pink brussel sprout coming out of that ooze would look awesome!

 

[oistene]

I agree, something organic would look great here. If this is a display pieces, you can really knock yourself out here, add as much as your time permits. Browse around the gallery here and see what others have done.

If it is for gaming as well, you might have to tone it down or you'll have to repair it all the time... But still, a neat base will get you lots of attention. People liked my last base more than the model itself... And that was a precast from Secret Weapon.

I tried to reply here earlier, but my iPad ate it... I was going to point out that of you are short on time, work on the attention points, that can score you a lot of votes, particularly if it is an open vote and not judges.

I'll try to look for some of the articles I've read... Demi has given you some great advice already, I see - and this guy knows what he is talking about.

 

[Darkfenix]

Thanks everyone for your input. In the end this will be a table top model so being to elaborate will likely result in damage. That being said a space marine helmet or something small would certainly look good. I will have to take a look at the store for second hand models to chop up haha. Anyways I have glued the model, done touch ups and applied it to the base! Enjoy the handful of pictures and feel free to comment!