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Author Topic: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC) Very Pic Heavy  (Read 24944 times)

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Offline -V-

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Well I am at it again.  I enjoyed doing my last tutorial so much that I thought that I would do something similar with my wave serpent as my Farseer thread recieved a fair amount of interest.  I think though, what I enjoyed most was the blogging type aspect of that in taking WIPS and showing my progress.... its not something I had done before really so I thought I shall turn this into more of a blog than a tutorial.

Anyways I've had this laying in a draw waiting for attention since before last christmas and I figured it was about time that it saw some love.



So I started off undercoating everything on the sprue before cutting all the pieces of to do a dry run to figure out how this thing goes together.  The areas that were mainly going to be yellow were given a white undercoat and the underneath parts of the chassis were primed in Black. 



So far all the yellow areas have been given a Yellow Ink wash, this makes my life so much easier when it comes to the next stages with the yellow because it gives a strong basecoat to work from.   Also Yellow Ink is my faveourite of the old GW inks because its very strong but strangely it doesnt dry glossy unlike the other inks.

After this all the blue areas were given 2-3 thin washes of Regal blue.  This had to be a minimum of 3 thin coats because the first 2 layers do not cover all the yellow and so the first 2 coats have a slight greenish tint to them. Also because we are dealing with an Eldar vehicle you cannot get away with one thick coat because it will make the model look rough and instead of having a nice, sleek look.




I will paint all the blue areas up to their final highlight before I begin the Yellow areas highlights... this is for one simple reason.... blue is easier to correct mistakes on than yellow... If blue gets on yellow that would be hell... where as if yellow got onto blue that can be cleared up very easily with a couple of thin licks of paint.  And it should end up looking like this (from my Fire Prism that I finished recently)





More to come soon
« Last Edit: August 7, 2008, 02:53:54 AM by Valar »

Offline Blaze182

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #1 on: August 1, 2008, 08:06:39 PM »
Looking pretty good so far, nice clean job. Looking forward to seeing the rest XD

How did you prime black? as in.. did it manage to cover most of the parts well with it on the sprue??
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Offline -V-

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #2 on: August 2, 2008, 04:35:04 AM »
undercoating on the sprue is what I ussually do, and it gives great coverage.  The only tiny tiny problem with doing it that way is that you are left with tiny dots of un-undercoated parts because of where the sprue joins the pieces.  But thats very easy to sort out with a small amount of paint any way.

Offline Arkion

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #3 on: August 2, 2008, 09:18:49 AM »
I actually like that I can see the brush strokes.  Dynamically painted.  Iyanden is my favorite eldar color scheme, so maybe I'm biased, but so far so good!

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #4 on: August 4, 2008, 04:04:26 PM »
Here is a small update:

The blue areas have been done.... although I am not very happy with them... I experimented with glazing for the first time on this model and it was a disaster... I dont know whether I watered my paints down too much or if it was because I didnt use a releasing agent but I ended up getting 'tide' markings in the areas I glazed... so I had to go over this with the same watered down paint about 10 times to get a solid non wavey colour back and I then hit it with another highlight.... I will keep experimenting with Glazing because I need it for an upcoming army project so if anyone has any advice at all about glazing and can help me out at all........ there are cookies on offer....... so please help.





I also got the Pilot done, he is probably my least faveourite bit of the Eldar tank kits to paint because hes so boring and doesnt really add much to the model apart from making the see through canopies look more realistic and characterful.



Now some one earlier... forgive me I cannot remember your name off hand right now was asking about magnetising the weapons options on a wave serpent.  I decided when I started this model that I was going to experiment with magnets, again, practice for my upcoming project... and have done so with some degree of success.  Here is where I put the magnets and its worked fairly well although I think I can do better in the future.




I drilled a hole into the side of the weapon casing through the slot for the weapons axel.  I then magnetised both ends of the weapon axel and the magnets in the casing and the axels then meet.  I used 1mm X 1mm magnets from e-magnetsuk.com and they are incredibly fiddly... so next time i might go a little larger or find some other way apart from my fingers to hold and position the magnets where I need them.  I hope that helps you mate.

Thanks everyone... comments, criticisms and all the help I can get on glazing will be much appreciated.

P.S since these pics I have glued the chassis and the fuselage together with the pilot tucked away inside his cockpit.

Offline Avatar of the Eldar

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #5 on: August 4, 2008, 07:52:36 PM »
Here is a small update:

Now some one earlier... forgive me I cannot remember your name off hand right now was asking about magnetising the weapons options on a wave serpent.  I decided when I started this model that I was going to experiment with magnets, again, practice for my upcoming project... and have done so with some degree of success.  Here is where I put the magnets and its worked fairly well although I think I can do better in the future.

I drilled a hole into the side of the weapon casing through the slot for the weapons axel.  I then magnetised both ends of the weapon axel and the magnets in the casing and the axels then meet.  I used 1mm X 1mm magnets from e-magnetsuk.com and they are incredibly fiddly... so next time i might go a little larger or find some other way apart from my fingers to hold and position the magnets where I need them.  I hope that helps you mate.

Thanks everyone... comments, criticisms and all the help I can get on glazing will be much appreciated.

P.S since these pics I have glued the chassis and the fuselage together with the pilot tucked away inside his cockpit.

Big thanks! I can see what I was missing. My smallest magnets are 2mm diameter.

Yes, even the 1/16th (2mm) are fiddly. Can't count how many times I've glued them to my fingers instead of the model.

Amazing magnets only goes down to 1/16th diameter, not 1/32.  I'll scour the net.

By the way, beautiful layering with those colors. Thanks for taking the time to post these photos.

Offline moc065

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #6 on: August 4, 2008, 10:44:22 PM »
Valar, this is great stuff, as it will help many people paint better and inspire many of use to actually get back to work..

I do have one suggestion though, more pics... I know it sounds weird but you may want to pic one very small area and show 5-15 pics just the process of working the one colour (Blue or Yellow). Your didscriptions are great; but pics would just help those newb's that much more.

PS... I will be doing a Saim-Hann Fireprism soon, and although I have painted plenty, I will be using some of the concepts you went over in this article, so thanks for the reminders and the insiration.

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Offline XCrusaderguy01

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #7 on: August 4, 2008, 10:50:58 PM »
If you hate painting cockpits, maybe try doing some simple lighting effects? I saw a WS or Falcon in WD that had a positively amazing look for the cockpit. It appeared to be flooded with green light, like night vision or a heads-up display. It looked great. However, it was a black vehicle so im not sure it would go with yours. maybe a blue glow?

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #8 on: August 5, 2008, 04:57:10 AM »
If you hate painting cockpits, maybe try doing some simple lighting effects? I saw a WS or Falcon in WD that had a positively amazing look for the cockpit. It appeared to be flooded with green light, like night vision or a heads-up display. It looked great. However, it was a black vehicle so im not sure it would go with yours. maybe a blue glow?

I had previously tried painting the cockpits to show reflections of the terrain as I had seen some pretty effective paint jobs with this done but it didnt go well so I had to pull apart my fire prism to get the canopies off and then I was stuck without canopies for a while until I was able to get hold of some... Thanks Moc and Laz.

Valar, this is great stuff, as it will help many people paint better and inspire many of use to actually get back to work..

I do have one suggestion though, more pics... I know it sounds weird but you may want to pic one very small area and show 5-15 pics just the process of working the one colour (Blue or Yellow). Your didscriptions are great; but pics would just help those newb's that much more.

PS... I will be doing a Saim-Hann Fireprism soon, and although I have painted plenty, I will be using some of the concepts you went over in this article, so thanks for the reminders and the insiration.

CaHG


Thanks for the encouragement Moc, its great to have some one of your experience and standing getting behind me to encourage me and offer advice on how to make the most out of this.  I will see what I can do about more pics... Ive just started doing the yellow areas so now would be a good place to start that.

More to come today me thinks.

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #9 on: August 5, 2008, 10:12:44 AM »
I know this is a double post but its an important update.  Taking what Moc065 suggested I have taken lots of 'wonderful' pics of the next stage that I did.  I very simply went over the whole model with 2 - 3 thin coats of Golden Yellow to build up a strong base which I work up from.  I also improved the Blue areas and Im much happier with it now.

Also I took a pic to show the magnetised undercarriage where I can swap out the shuri cannon and catapult depending on my primary armament.

First three pics show where I am overall, The blue is finished although i am thinking of doing a final extreme highlight on the very edges of certain plates but I dont know if I want to touch the blue any more lol.





These shots show the final effect on the engine plates, I love the blue around these bits now, the glazing here didnt turn out as bad as the rest of the model for some reason, I think maybe that was because it was on a smaller area and so I had more control over where the paint went and less movement in the water.  I am almost certain now that the tide marks were caused because I didnt use a releasing agent such as Glazing agent or dishwashing liquid to break the surface tension of the water.... lesson learnt.




Magnetised weapons option.  This was done by placing a magnet into the weapons pivot underneath the chassis and then I trimmed away the little nubs on the inside connection of both the shuri cannon and catapult, lastly a magnet was added in to the bottom of the weapon... I cant word this very well so I will take some pics to really show exactly where the magnets went on the weapons.








As I said much happier with the blue... particularly around the engine areas and starting on the next step of yellow which is a highlight of sunburst yellow.
« Last Edit: August 5, 2008, 11:47:03 AM by Valar »

Offline Avatar of the Eldar

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #10 on: August 5, 2008, 11:17:45 AM »
Although I've never been a fan of Iyanden's color scheme, I have to say your painting is very compelling.  Nice depth to those colors.  Also, I applaud your patience with the unsatisfactory results from the glazing experiment.

I might have walked away from the model for a month or two in disappointment, but you soldiered on with multiple coats to cover it up.

Let me know if you get any tips on this technique as I'm venturing into it myself.

Well done and thanks for sharing!

Offline moc065

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #11 on: August 5, 2008, 11:24:24 AM »
Great, no add some comments between each pic to tell the viewer exactly what to look for.

And I find it hard to believe that you are not going to try and shade the recesses next, as if you do the Highlihgts and fudge the Shade, a lot of time/work will be lost...

Seriously, Shade the Recesses, then one last coat of Golden to touch up, and then go into the highlights... Sunburst Yellow, and even add some white to it for final touches.

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #12 on: August 5, 2008, 11:53:47 AM »
Although I've never been a fan of Iyanden's color scheme, I have to say your painting is very compelling.  Nice depth to those colors.  Also, I applaud your patience with the unsatisfactory results from the glazing experiment.

I might have walked away from the model for a month or two in disappointment, but you soldiered on with multiple coats to cover it up.

Let me know if you get any tips on this technique as I'm venturing into it myself.

Well done and thanks for sharing!

Ha patience... it was more like desperation... lol If I hadnt been doing this blog and there was no pressure for me finishing this model I'd probably have thrown it aside out of frustration but thankfully I didnt and I have learned alot from carrying on with it regardless, and I think this will help me in the future.... And thanks for the compliment of my scheme, the Iyanden scheme has always  been my faveourite for some reason I honestly dont know why but I think it can look awesome if done right, its a shame because in the latest Eldar codex the models shown for Iyanden are done awfully and I can imagine put lots of people off.

@Moc comments added between pics to briefly explain, now I dont know if I will be going back and shading.  The yellow is darker in real life, unfortunatly its been made lighter by the camera and already there is noticable difference between the sunburst and the golden yellows... I take my Iyanden vehicles up quite light to a final 50:50 bad moon and white extreme highlight so the shading between the plates will be much more noticable as things go on... but saying that if I dont think there is enough shade I will go back and using thinned golden yellow and perhaps a touch of brown added into that paint the recesses between the plates very carefully, its what I did to rescue the blue and finish it up so I know it can be done.

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC)
« Reply #13 on: August 7, 2008, 02:47:45 AM »
Another major update.  So last you all saw I was up to the 2nd basecoat of Golden yellow.  Since then I have gotten up to badmoon in certain areas but the majority of the model is still in golden yellow.

I spent monday evening working on a base for this, I had a very old well beaten falcon laying around.  It was one of my brothers friend's before he gave up.  Thankfully my brother is still interested and carrying on regadless.  This thing had a hideous lumpy green paintjobwhich I scrapped off using a hobby knife and then I went about making it look like a heavily shot up damaged engine, it will be painted to show heavy heavy battle damage.... but first Ive got to work out a way that I can paint my scheme with battle damage since its not something ive ever done.




Here is where I am up to on the right hand side of the model (when facing towards me).  Ive got up to badmoon yellow highlights.  I worked through Sunburst yellow highlights and then onto badmoon.  Each highlight is about 5-7 layers of very thin paint to build up a gradual but defined shaded area and highlighted area.

Unfortunatly I havent been able to get photos I am happy with, it might be the camera I am using, its not the one I used to show my Farseer and its very old, or it might be that I am photographing it on a white background which is bleaching out the highlights and shade making it look like Ive not done much.  I will try the next few pics on a dark backgroud.





Hopefully this image will show you the difference between the left and right hand sides.  The right hand side has been highligted up to badmoon yellow.  I think I have 2 more highlight stages to do on it.  One more tone up using a mix of white and yellow and then and even paler extreme highlight on the very edges of some plates.





This one shows the overall effect on the right side quite nicely.



Ive decided to paint the rear part (I have no idea what the name for this part is) blue because otherwise I think there will be too much yellow and the paintjob will be unbalanced.





Thats all for now, I hope you all enjoy this update.  The model is definitely coming on quite quickly and if I have a good day working on it today I think I can finish the entire right hand side.  Im looking to having this tank finished in the next week or so and once it is finished all I have to do is paint 5 Wraithguard and my entire 1500 point Iyanden army is fully painted.  Then its time to start a new Eldar army... in a wraithbone colour scheme I think.... unless I find it too hard to leave my Iyanden painting ways behind.

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC) Very Pic Heavy
« Reply #14 on: August 7, 2008, 07:55:16 AM »
Now your tutorial is really getting there as you can clearly see some of the layered effect in certain pics... They are really looking very very good.... Nice to see that your taking your time and your tutorial has brought up a few good points, so let me fire some stuff back at you.

1... The pics and "Bleaching" of colours.... The #1 reason for this is Lighting, although a Darker backgroudn may help, true light is different from the light you get off of a Bulb. Now you can go and get a "True Light" bulb to help with this, or you can use different backgrounds, difusers, flashes (or lack there of), etc... there are several methods I have been exploring; but seriously I am no Photographer and my work is a long wasy from being excellent either. I suggest you experiement with it, take stuff outside, whatever to see what works best for your camera.

2... The rear section being Blue or Yellow.... or Ratios of Paint..... You hit the nail right on the head when you said that the figure would look overly yellow if you had taken that route.... and many people do not understand that all paint jobs requrie "Off-sets" to show their true beauty... Well done in recognizing this; but even better done to point it out to others.... Cheers.

3... Thin Layers... Maybe you should let people know that you paint is so thinned out for the progressive layers, that you can actually read a newspaper through it (if you happen to put some on a newspaper)... Anyway, you get my point, the thinner paint used in layers is exponationally better than trying to use thick paint and some fancy technique (for the average guy). And don't get me wrong, the gusy (like No Remorse) that can succesfully Blend any paints are awesome; but not all of use (me included) can do this well. So progressive use of thin paints is often just as good ro even better for us to use.

4... Battle Damge... and this is just a sugestion, on amethod I have used.... Paint the area as you would normally paint (use the Yellow and Blue's your using on the figure) Do the area with shade and highlights; but it doesn't ahve to be prefect.... Then use Black in the recesses of the battle damaged areas themselves.... Then use Gunbolt Metal inside the black (leaving a thin edge of black) to show the damage itself.... Then use a Wash or Glaze aroudn the area to show burns, scortches, or soot marks....  It may not be the best method; but it works well enough and its easy enough for the average guy to pull off well.

I hope that helps, and the figure is looking great.

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC) Very Pic Heavy
« Reply #15 on: August 7, 2008, 10:06:56 AM »
Wow. I respect anyone taking on a yellow army, but you've gone the extra mile on this one. Beautiful job. Very subtle highlighting.... the type that has a nice overall effect on the model without being 'obnoxious' when viewed from up close. I really like how you've done this so far. Nice job.

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC) Very Pic Heavy
« Reply #16 on: August 7, 2008, 11:43:47 AM »
   Very nice looking work so far Valar, I am amazed of your patience with coats after coats of thinned paint job, wow.
   I refrained to comment up to now since I'm not that great a painter and wouldn't have added something significant (just like now) to the thread but I am following it closely though, thanks for the work and effort. :)

   On a final note, I quite like how you managed the yellow highlighting and you succeeded a very good job on the blue parts too.
   Also, do you, or will you paint colors on the Serpent's underside apart from black? I think it would be nice to have at least on pic from the finished underside with the highlights and all, just for show.

   And pray continue, that's great work!

   Starky

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC) Very Pic Heavy
« Reply #17 on: August 7, 2008, 12:18:00 PM »
Wow, thanks for the play by play. It's looking really good so far. I'm looking forward to seeing the completed pic, especially on the base.

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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC) Very Pic Heavy
« Reply #18 on: August 7, 2008, 12:52:39 PM »
Beautiful work, Valar.  It is always a risk to paint with blue and yellow.  Too many chances for messing it up.  But your model looks fantastic.  Very sharp and clean!
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Re: Painting an Iyanden Waveserpent (Blog for the PoC) Very Pic Heavy
« Reply #19 on: August 7, 2008, 03:27:32 PM »
Thanks every one for the encouragement and feedback.  Its soo good to hear that youre all enjoying this and all the complements are keeping me really motivated.  Thanks Guys. 

@Moc, thanks so much for your kind words also.  I will take on your advice for photographing the model and have a play with the camera tomorrow probably.

@Starky.  The underneath will probably remain black as its a nice contrast to the yellow and my Falcon and Fire prism have already been painted with a black underneath.  Although naturally this will be highlighted and given some attention and I will not forget to show this in some pics and explain what I did.

More to come soon... I havent had a chance to work on it today.... unfortunatly I was distracted by Tenchu Wrath of heaven (awesome game) and changing work stations (some may know that I paint at both mine, and my girlfriends house while she is busy writing and to go from one house to the other requires packing and unpacking everything which gets a bit tedious.

But I promise an update probably tomorrow evening and hopefully I will have the right side finished apart from gems and black areas (and if im lucky or work like a demon even they will be finished).


 


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