Wraithlord advice

[rolling thunder]

hey guys, i finally got the guts to post my first eldar model that ive painted.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/222358

From the pic i can see its nowhere near shaded enough never mind trying to photograph details on a model with a crisp white scheme is a bit difficult. So im posing the question here. How should i go about adding some more shading without making my crisp white look dirty? i had thought of grey paint washes but they dont usually dry smooth.

 

[freakinacage]

looks great, not sure if its the pic but purple looks flat. a whole army painted like that would look awesome

 

[rolling thunder]

thanks Mr Freak well the purple is quite dark as it is litch purple layered over a white undercoat with a dark purple wash run into the creases for depth. easy and effective as i cant really blend yet.

 

[freakinacage]

just freak will do, no need to be formal!

maybe do a few layers of highlight before the wash?

 

[cleen X]

Very smooth white An army painted like this is going to look pretty darn good! The gems though, they are not as good as they could be, it is quite easy doing gems actually! For the red ones I would use, GW scab red as a basecoat, then paint one half blood red (as it looks like you have done!), the paint a thin line of blazing orange (or any other orange you prefer) in the bottom, like a thin line and then paint a little white dot in the to corner to represent the light hitting it, this makes it look somewhat shiny but if you want to go all the way paint some gloss varnish over the gem to make them stand out even more I\'ll think you\'ll find it rather simple after a few tries

A matt varnish over the entire model could also be smart, I\'ve heard that it will hide the edges on the decals and make them look like you\'ve painted the decals on, I\'m not sure but i think I can see the edge on some of your decals..

 

[rolling thunder]

the decals unfortunatley didnt go down well, and the model has 3 coats of matt varnish. but i have stuff to improve that on my next models. for now i may just carefully run round the edges with paint. I had almost sourced a guy who was going to supply me actual oval shape gem stones to use, but unfortunately they were too big. Maybe that would have added too much bling? But yeah i will redo those gems like you said Cleen. I am all proud of the white tho! spray of white primer some washes made into the joints in the body before going mad and doing 5 layers of white. going to regret that choice about 50 hours and 10 guardians later!

 

[cassar]

white shading

hey, you should maybe see black dagger,s storm giant marine its one of the nicest whites ive seen painted he may be able to give you some tips, try \"clairs\" the diaomond centre for cheap costume type bling

 

[rolling thunder]

oh believe me Phil i\'ve been in every shop asking, getting odd looks then leaving feeling slightly ashamed and uneasy

 

[cleen X]

You should be proud of that white Most painter despise white, me included, if you paint an army to this standard it\'s going to look amazing on the battlefield I\'m not a fan of playing with minis that is not painted to a certain standard but your standard is great Just keep it going on those guardians and give us some more pics of the army when it\'s done

 

[rolling thunder]

oh i will. i thikn after gaving played some games with the built army they are becomming my baby. i love my other armies and how they turned out but the eldar are so far from my comfort zone im really jumping to the challenge

 

[cassar]

keep at it you seem to be doing a good job so far the paints smooth and clean remember the eldar are old but not tatty they look after their gear, personally i think its in your head but you can always try different photography you can get cheap tripods from asda that are about a foot long when fully extended they are ideal for mini photo\'s i find the slightest shake throws off the focus , personally i think the effect you have done on the wraithlords head is smashing but difficult to pick up on due to the photography try throwing in a few macro close ups:beer:

 

[rolling thunder]

I\'ll bring it round for you when i have done some touch up work. Maybe i\'ll even have that HB Marine done by then lol. i really want to finish it.

 

[cassar]

no problem maybe you will share the secret of the speckle effect on the wraith lords head, one project at a time\'s hard enough lol keep up the good work