Need help with color

[Trenchknife]

 

Here's my goal. I wish to use this color scheme for some 40K-Tau that I am putting together. The issue I'm having is how to get the colors I'm seeing here.

 

I want a lacquered look to the green, and the yellow needs to retain that sense of...subdued shininess(?) of silk.

 

So...anyone got any real good ideas. I'm up to buying paints, so don't feel shy suggesting different combinations or techniques as I plan on practicing a bit before I start on the army.

 

Thanks for the help.

[Vaitalla]

What paint line are you using, for starters? That will help us to know which colors to recommend.

 

For a lacquered effect with an army scheme, I would normally suggest using a thinned green ink over the top...but as these are Tau I would not. It's seldom that smooth armor with almost no relief sculpting looks good under ink. If you're an experienced painter, though, you could still do it...it would require a very smooth coat with no brushstrokes so I would recommend using a large brush to cover the figure fast before the ink begins to dry.

 

Silk is not for the faint of heart, but if you want subdued then merely don't take your highlights all the way up to white. It's the bright white points that help something to look shiny and if you are lacking them the surface will naturally appear more dull.

 

--Anne

[Rastl]

You could take a page from Faberge and automotive painters for the enameled green.

 

Paint it up with shadows and exaggerated highlights. Then put down a good coat of gloss varnish with a bit of clear green to give a 'candy apple' effect. You'll have to make sure the gloss stays where you want it to make the effect work.

[Trenchknife]

What paint line are you using, for starters? That will help us to know which colors to recommend.

 

For a lacquered effect with an army scheme, I would normally suggest using a thinned green ink over the top...but as these are Tau I would not. It's seldom that smooth armor with almost no relief sculpting looks good under ink. If you're an experienced painter, though, you could still do it...it would require a very smooth coat with no brushstrokes so I would recommend using a large brush to cover the figure fast before the ink begins to dry.

 

Silk is not for the faint of heart, but if you want subdued then merely don't take your highlights all the way up to white. It's the bright white points that help something to look shiny and if you are lacking them the surface will naturally appear more dull.

 

--Anne

 

 

I used to just use the GAW paintline, but I've been slowly converting to the Reaper Master series so that's likely what I'll be using.

 

So for the green, I should primer then use a green (medium to dark) as a base coat. After that brush over with a thinned green ink. Just making sure I'm not missing steps here.

 

If that doesn't work out do to the smoothness, do you have any other ideas for the green?

 

As for the silk, I'm not a hugely experienced painter, but I'm trying to develop my skills. So....by highlighting your talking about a sequential lightening of the color to white, but in this case leave out the white?

 

Thanks for the help so far Anne.

[Trenchknife]

You could take a page from Faberge and automotive painters for the enameled green.

 

Paint it up with shadows and exaggerated highlights. Then put down a good coat of gloss varnish with a bit of clear green to give a 'candy apple' effect. You'll have to make sure the gloss stays where you want it to make the effect work.

 

Huh, never tried mixing color into a varnish before...not sure why I haven't thought of it either. :) What sort of proportions would you recommend as a starting point for experimentation?

[tanker22]

Not sure if this will help or not. I painted this guy up a while back and he just happens to have green armor that was also my frist attempt at a lacqured effect. I actually used a thinned down wood varnish over the green and then went back and highlighted over it. It dries with a shine but not overly so to stand out like a gloss coat IMO. It also adds a bit od shading and depth as well.

I use future floor wax a lot as well for stuff like this and works pretty well most of the time. I tend to improvise stuff when i paint

For silk I've used a thinned down metallic pearl over the base color thats gives a pretty decent effect in the past.

 

Hope that helps you out, good luck with your work.

 

[Rastl]

Huh, never tried mixing color into a varnish before...not sure why I haven't thought of it either. :) What sort of proportions would you recommend as a starting point for experimentation?

Remember you're looking to tint the varnish so you're going to need to look at inks and possibly the clears. When I'm casting clear resin as water I've found that I need very little color to do the tinting.

 

Put a puddle of gloss varnish in your palette and use a toothpick or other pointy item to bring the color into the varnish. Mix well and see how it looks.

 

Future Floor Finish is very glossy but very thin so it runs all over the place. Acrylic varnish that you get with the craft paints is thicker but will creep up the edges if you're filling a space. Since you're working with armor sections I'd recommend getting a bottle of Future and giving that a try. It smells good too.

[Trenchknife]

Remember you're looking to tint the varnish so you're going to need to look at inks and possibly the clears. When I'm casting clear resin as water I've found that I need very little color to do the tinting.

 

Put a puddle of gloss varnish in your palette and use a toothpick or other pointy item to bring the color into the varnish. Mix well and see how it looks.

 

Future Floor Finish is very glossy but very thin so it runs all over the place. Acrylic varnish that you get with the craft paints is thicker but will creep up the edges if you're filling a space. Since you're working with armor sections I'd recommend getting a bottle of Future and giving that a try. It smells good too.

 

Heh...used a bit of Future when I was in the army. That smell is likely to bring back some memories. Well, I'm off to purchase some paint and other sundries. I'll post some pics of my experimentations for perusal when I get them done up.

 

 

Thanks for all the tips folks. I appreciate the help.

[Vaitalla]

Also...your ink or color you mix into the gloss should be darker than your basecoat. That will result in the panel lines and shadows on the Tau being appropriately darker. I would make the basecoat a medium green, probably akin to MSP Shadow Green judging from the picture. Add yellow into the Shadow Green to get your highlights instead of using the triad (again basing this on the pic you posted).

 

Yes, re: the silk, a sequential lightening by adding white or another pale color into your base color. How far short of white you stop is up to you, your tastes, and the mini itself.

 

--Anne