Paint Schemes

Setting up

Lay a strip of standard oven paper over the classier wet palette paper

Paint at eye level, up until the contrasting stage

 

Before any temporary basing, undercoat the entire army at the same time, all over in Basalt Grey (airbrush, rattle-can or paintbrush)

Choose two base colours for the army (or the block of figures), avoiding white.  Both base colours should tolerate the same hue for the drybrush phase, which cannot be white.

Don't hesitate to mix Contrast paints to obtain the required hue.  Always mix Glazing Medium into the Contrast paints, and do not use water.  Do not thin down too much, so as to retain a richer colour.

The glaze can run over belts and equipment, it won't help, but it won't hinder either.

There will be some overspill, but this is tided up during the highlighting phase. 

The highlighting phase is made up of light touches; the previous steps have already created a fair bit of contrast.  Use fairly thin paint in consequence; if double highlights are required, the second batch can use thicker paint.  Highlights are used to accentuate a few areas, touch up overly faded areas (which occur if the Contrast paint is too thin, or has acquired too much water from the wet palette), and also correct overspills.

Highlights on objects and equipment use more classic direct painting techniques. 

 

A slightly different technique is used for Horses.  Undercoat the rider separately (at least the lower half), before gluing on to the horse and undercoating it.  Use different Undercoat colours for the horses (grey, brown, red-brown, yellow-brown,...), different Drybrush 1 colours and different Glaze colours.  At the glazing stage, for some horses the glaze is drawn over the mane and tail, for others no.  Then mane and tail are glazed (or re-glazed) in a second, dark coloured glaze.

The horse is then finished off with black hooves, 0-4 white socks, 0-1 white blazes, and dappling on some horses.

The Highlight on the horse uses a sort of swift line-stippling to bring out key areas

 

 

Arabs in North Africa and Sicily

Base colours : Red and Yellow-Brown

 

Drybrush 1

With a normal sized, sable brush (to ensure soft and supple).

Generous drybrush in AK Purulent Yellow, over all areas except armour.

Drybrush in Vallejo Pale Blue for armour

 

Drybrush 2 

Using a large makeup brush, drybrush off-white over the figure.  The brush should be large enough to only affect the most raised areas.

 

Glaze

Over cloth intended to be red : Contrast Blood Angels Red 

Over cloth intended to be yellow-brown : Contrast Aggaros Dunes / Nagzped Yellow mix 

Over armour : Contrast Black Templar

Over weapons : Contrast Snakebite Leather

Over flesh : Contrast Snakebite Leather / Gryph-Hound Orange mix

Over shields, bowcases & quivers : Contrast Gryph-Hound Orange / Snakebite Leather mix

Over footwear : Contrast Militarium Green 

Over leather helms : Contrast Snakebite Leather 

Over base : Contrast Aggaros Dunes 

  

Paint on details 

Scabbards, sheaths : Black, then classical highlight

Spearheads, swords : Black then Army Painter Gun Metal 

Bowcases & quivers : patterns if required, classical highlight

Belts : AK Green Sky

Flesh : T+cheeks in mix of Army Painted Tanned Flesh and AK Purulent Yellow 

 

Highlights 

See above

 

Shields

Shield patterns 

 

Varnish 

Matt varnish with no added medium

 

Banners 

 

Horses 

See above for the initial stages (undercoat, drybrush, glaze, coat details, highlight).

Horse furniture and tail ties : different colour for each "squadron" to give some differentiation.  Metallic parts too small to worry about.

 

Austrian Infantry 1809 

Base colours : White (hey, not my choice !) 

 

Undercoat 

Since these are not "quick paint 15mm", skin, pack and musket have their own specific undercoat colour

 

Glaze 

Given their white base colour, and the fact these are not "quick paint 15mm, an initial Contrast Black Templar glaze goes down over all grey undercoat, before the drybrush phase.  This must saturate the future white webbing, so an upwards brushstroke is best.  

 

Drybrush 1

With a normal sized, sable brush (to ensure soft and supple).

Generous drybrush in Off-White

 

Drybrush 2 

Using a large makeup brush, drybrush Off-white over the figure.  The brush should be large enough to only affect the most raised areas. 

 

Paint on details 

Headgear, boots, ammo pouch, bayonet holder or scabbard, helmet strap, bayonet : Black, then classical highlight on ammo pouch and bayonet holder / scabbard.

Helmet Comb : Yellow

Helmet : paint details 

Backpack : drybrush with Rouge Amarante; glaze with Contrast Snakebite Leather 

Musket : glaze with Contrast Snakebite Leather / Aggaros Dunes mix.  Paint on metallic parts with Army Painter Gun Metal. 

Skin : glaze with Contrast Gryph-Hound Orange / Snakebite Leather mix; add some rosy cheeks

 

Paint white cloth 

Use an initial coat of Vallejo Pergamo Off-White, which has the advantage of being quite watered down out of the bottle.

Then highlight key areas using Vallejo White, without any watering down. 

 

Paint additional details 

Facings (collar, cuffs, turnbacks) : in facing colour, plus Black triangle in collar 

Canteen cross-strap : Grey

Buttons : according to colour

Specific details on Officers, Ensigns and Drummers 

 

 

Varnish 

Satin varnish

  

Horses 

See above for the initial stages (undercoat, drybrush, glaze, coat details, highlight).