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zenosanalytic · 1 year

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Paintbrush, PlasGlue, and Holy Clippers: Sparse Marns Part IV: Basecoats Part I

Heya! So my painting project's going well, but the steps are... So Much, and my time to paint each day is So Limited, and the photos Im taking are So Numerous, so I'm changing the terms of the deal and covering the painting in multiple posts instead of one OvO

Ok So: Here's an idea of how they all looked just before I started painting, via Stumbly and Done, with I think two days of the prime drying, and in Crispier, more artificial light than I've been shooting:

And now: The Team

Brushes

These are two different packs, from two different brands, from the local Michaels, in a paintcup from Lowes. I think the orange ones were 5 bucks(Hodge-Podge I wanna say?) and the white ones were 8? I should have probably recorded prices at time of purchase -__-

Next: Some towels for wiping my brushes with and general cleanliness-Utility:

These are disposable microfiber cloths, again from Lowes. Im pretty sure paper towels would work just as well but I've found myself in the painting section often of late, was curious how these would do, and they were EXTREMELY cheap.

Then: some jars for cleaning my brushes.

I used two so that I would have a jar of absolutely CLEAN water for wetting my brush after I've washed it in the other one and dried it on the cloth. Im using exclusively water-based paints so it's just water in these jars; there's no reason to use a mask for the painting part of this project as no turpentine or other such solvents will come anywhere NEAR this project(except for Mr. Dissolved, of course, and we're passed that uwu uwu uwu)

Ok next I wanted to try using a wet palette, something I've never done before, and, while I COULD just go buy one, I figured I'd try making one instead as it seemed fairly easy to do(actl it seems easier that the official version? Looking around at Michaels the "Acrylic paper" they use for wet palettes requires soaking in BOILING WATER for like 15 MINUTES before use??? Maybe I found the wrong stuff tho). So, I went and got a rubbermaid box I wasn't using

(Pentel R.S.V.P. bk90 Fine for scale), Put a paper towel in it like so

Got it wet(just damp; not soaked), poured off(and wrung out) any excess, then cut a piece of waxpaper to shape and pressed it in

The idea here is that the paint will sit safe from slurp and dissolution on the waxpaper while water wicks up SLOOOOOWLYYYY through it from the paper towel, keeping it moist without diluting it. This generally worked well, tho it took me awhile to get used to it and to working with the paint, which I got anxious/paranoid over a few times.

And lastly, of course, because one should NEVER go ANYWHERE without at least 3-5 notebooks on their person, a memobook and pen

Obvsl I'd include these purely on Principle, but as a practical matter it's useful to have a method for recording how many Parts of Which Color go into any colors you might mix in the course of painting u_u u_u

OK: Now it's time to make some Motherfucking CHOICES >:3

Originally, my plan was to paint these as Ultramarines. They're a Pretty Basic Blue, Red, Gold(with some white accents; GEE I wonder where that color scheme comes from???) scheme, which are all really Solid, Vibrant, Reliable colors. This subfaction is also quite literally the Model Spess Marins and posterboys for the whole model line/faction, and so there are LOTS of painting tutorials and examples out there for them and also-also I could use the box art as a handy painting-reference :> :>

BUT!

If I ever decide to play WH40k, I wouldnt want to do it with Gillman's Legionnaires(no offense to them; they're about the closest things to 'Good Guys' as Spess Marins[and WH40K humans generally outside the Adeptus Custodes/sisters of silence] GET), but rather with mine own Best Lad brainfruits: the Nova Paladins uvu uvu uvu

if I painted them as Ultramrines, I could never use them as part of that army(well I could, but only as an allied detachment, which would cause all sorts of complicated rules Shenanigans that I dont want to get into, unless I played the NPs under UM rules cuz, obvsl, you cant just PLAY your own madeup ruleset with other ppl--- It's Complicated Alright >:| >:|)

This is supposed to be a Fun and Learning experience and, as Dear Old Bob was so fond of saying, painting is about Doing What You Want; this is my own world with ALL the Happy Little Trees I WANT godsdammit so:

I decided to paint them as the Nova Paladins :3

But this Immediately presents a problem! The Nova Paladin paint scheme is (a skeletal, yellowish)white, yellow, and orange, and these are the three MOST finicky and difficult paints to paint with(allegedly u_u u_u and, spoilers, they SORT of are but theyre not THAT bad u_u u_u u_u) u_u My solution was simple: I LIKE difficult and finicky things and thus Do Not Care >:3 >:3

SO:

The Paints: and oh no! The initial pictures I took of these SUCKED so I just took some new ones with better, more LEGIBLE, lighting X| X| X|

These are my basecoats. I Know this looks intimidating but plz calm down!

The general concept for the Nova Paladins is a Bright, Warm, Friendly, almost EXPLODY(hence the name) "Heroic" color scheme: Knights in Shining Armor, vaporizing everyone they meet with the fury of 10000 Suns(ie: concentrated plasma rifles). The majority of each model(like 90% of them) is going to be the corax white there on the left: that's the "Primary" color which I planned to use for their armor. Then the imperial fist yellow would be my secondary color, for their pauldrons(the big shoulder bits), and for the sergeant's helmet. The Orange I planned to use as an accent color, tho at the time I hadn't really decided WHAT I'd be accenting with it. The mid-brown(bloodreaver flesh) I'd use for any leather details, such as their belts and pouches. The light beige there(Zandri dust) I'd use for any scroll or ribbon details. The red is a sort of secondary accent I planned to use exclusively for their grenades, and I held to that. Next to it, entirely illegible(X| X|), is Screamer Pink, which Im going to use for the seals/rosettes(which they are is a question whose answer properly lies only in the heart of each individual painter, and dont let anyone tell you different u_u) any ribbons will be attached to, and then the abaddon black I planned to use on the joint-bits showing through the armor, any tubing, and the Iron Sights on the guns, because Im Insane -__- I would MOSTLY follow this plan, but not entirely u_u u_u u_u

So, using This brush

I applied the white-layer, and here's Sarge to show how that looked

Pretty Spiffy! This was, I think, after the 2nd coat, and unfortunately a mouldline managed to survive through my ministrations on this one |:T It's not a HUGE deal; it disappeared as I built up layers.

I didn't find the white PHYSICALLY difficult to work with as others warned(it pretty much went where I wanted it too and didn't slink around), but it DID take me awhile to figure out the proper paint-water ratio with the brush, and I had a really hard time seeing it on the palette. Also, most painting vids will tell you to paint in "two thin coats" of each color, both to avoid globbing/unruly paint and to get a smoother, fuller finish without visible paintstrokes, but I ended up doing... A LOT of coats on these. Somewhere between 4 and 6 per model, and some sections maybe even more. Probably should have taken notes in my memopad during the painting for the sake of later accuracy :p :p That MIGHT have been the paint, it might have also been me using the wrong brush(I felt it worked fine, but it's a little short and bristly and its possible that's meant as a drybrush) but honestly it felt more like a combination of my learning how to properly work with the paint and my obsessive meticulousness. Building up progressive thin layers to a creamy full coat was... Satisfying OuO

Also, obvsl, I really struggled with workflow on this bit. My idea was to do All The Armor on one, then All The Armor on the next, etc etc, but I kept both circling back to sections I wasn't satisfied with AND forgetting sections I intended to paint with that approach which is BAD cuz you need to give the paint time to set; it was simply Too Broad a remit for my brain's Tendencies and I needed to pare it down. I would Form Resolves, considering this.

This step was my longest; my painting times have been deeply uneven day-to-day, but I'd say I easily spent 8 hours spread over 2.5 just on this. Again: I AM VERY DETAIL ORIENTED AND FINICKY: most ppl would NOT take this long on the primary base coat on their minis, even using white paint(which I'm pretty sure I was thinning down WAY too much at the start), and nor should they. But: I got the results I wanted, gained valuable experience with the paint and brush, and realized I needed to think harder about my workflow to get it Efficient. Also I think the black-grey-white tonal I used for the priming may have been too dark for such a bright scheme, but I'll get into that in my concluding/future projects post.

Once I was satisfied with the white coat, I turned to the yellow, and a different brush

This fellow. It's a longer brush, but the tip is finer and I thought that would help with the more detailed work. Generally I feel it worked well, tho there were moments where I or it slipped, and it painted where I didn't want it to. Not to worry! The base layer's just the start and touchup is always possible later. If, in your painting, you do get paint where you dont want you can either just paint over it once it dries with the color you like or, if you're fast enough and have a clean brush handy, try to swipe some of that paint off onto a brush, or even push some water into it to dilute it.

Immediately I recognized that Imperial Fist was too thin for what I wanted, especially with the prime I'd given it. tl;dr: Imperial Fist is a "Contrast Paint" and Contrast paints are a new line by GW meant to compete with "speedpaint" lines from other manufacturers which,building from a full-white prime, allow you to quickly paint up allot of figures. As thin paints(practically inks and nearly washes, imo) they settle into the recesses of the model giving you, as the name implies, good Contrasts and gradients across the model as a whole with just a few coats of a single color, and eliminating the need for lots of shading thereby. Imperial Fist just did not work with the prime I had. I thought this might be the case(despite some of the GW painting guides I'd found reccing it) so I bought a backup yellow which I now turned to:

Yriel yellow was much thicker, though "cooler" and not as red/orange/redgold a yellow as I really want for this scheme(IF absolutely has that sort of punch). I decided to give it a shot though, and it worked fine.

As I began to paint, I put my Resolves from the white layer into action. I would start painting section-by-section model-to-model (ie left shoulder on all of them, then right shoulder, then gun, etc etc). This approach worked allot better, for Me: it helped me to stay focused on One Thing and to move btwn the miniatures, letting each layer lay as it lie, knowing I could come back to "fix" any issues I had with it once dry, and preventing me from endlessly circling one model, trying to get everything Just So. Also: I began to move the minis from one side of the workspace to the other as I finished a layer, which helped me to keep track of which ones were done and which ones still needed work, and gave a satisfyingly tactile, concrete, and repetitive aspect to my progression. I feel like this approach would have sped up the white layer SIGNIFICANTLY.

It took about 3-4 coats until I was satisfied with the intensity of color on thier shoulders and the sergeant's helmet...

...and that was when I decided to do their guns in yellow too. GW aims for a bit of a 'Tacticool' aesthetic these days and as such the guns tend to be dark and metallic, but back when I first started following the hobby they were much more colorful and cartoony(with DANGER STRIPES, Even!), and I thought it'd be kind of a waste of that great yellow to just put it on the shoulders, and and I always preferred that more colorful approach anyway, so I painted the gun casings too :> :>

...and THEN I decided to paint their knees, also, in this yellow, cuz why not >:> >:> >:> Sometimes having one knee painted in the secondary color is used as a rank signifier for Spice Mariners, but I didn't care and different chapters do thing different all the time so It's Fine.

... and THEN-then, I decided the circle bits at the ankle of Primaris marine boots would look Neat in that yellow, too, so I painted THAT yellow also >:D >:D AND the matching interior circles >:D

Then, glutted with my POWA, I took some pics maniacally giggling ONLY SLIGHTLY:

Starting to come together >:> >:> I thought this looked really nice, but I still wanted that reddish PUNCH the Imperial Fist yellow had, and it occurred to me that, seeing as it looked like a wash and ACTED like a wash, I might as well try USING IT as a wash, so I did! And this is after that:

I think that IF contrast wash really gave the yellow bits a fuller, warmer, Snappier tone ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ Or at least I hope so: again, the pics are pretty blurry in the editor so idk how they look to y'all.

Anyway! I think I'll stop there for today cuz this post is Huge and has lots of pictures in it. Basecoats part 2 will include the Accents, All of the 8its, and also the Metallics :> :> Seeya then ^v^

#zA Paints #zA Hobbies #GamesWorkshop #WH40K #Space Marines #Heavy Intercessors #Nova Paladins #Base Layers #Hobbyposts

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