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Painting Blues Made Easy For Busts & Minis

By Drago | September 21st, 2017 | Categories: How To Tutorial, Next Level Painting, Privateer Press, Videos

Painting blues and whites is easy with these great techniques and use of minimal colors. Using blues to create OSL is even easier!

Commander Nemo’s armor is brought to life with a series of blue and white paints using a combination of brush, airbrush, and washes. For a bonus, bronze trim is added and object source lighting brings some of the neat details to life! Scroll down and press play on the video below to see each step in detail!

Starting with Gravedigger Denim, from P3’s new Grymkin color line, is brush painted onto the armor to “prime” the base color in a thin layer all over. Over the top, the airbrush is used to fill in the rest, bringing in the more vibrant blue and giving a great base to work from.

Next, Arcane Blue from P3 is used to begin building transitions. Mixed 50/50 with the Gravedigger Denim, the transitions begin on the chest plate to create a gentle highlight. The highlight then slowly extends to the shoulders. Remember, these transitions are achieved by using mostly air and very little paint, using a very slow workup.

Sickly Skin is the next tone used for a highlight on the bright colors to prevent too much of a pastel from appearing. Sickly Skin is an off-white that gives a nice hue. Marrow White is added to the mix to bring in an even brighter, subtle glow. With a brush, a thin coat of the Sickly Skin mixture is used to block in all the white spots on the armor trim. Slowly, over several layers. more white combo Sickly Skin/Marrow White is used over the trim and the white/blue mix from the paint pot is put aside, giving the trim a gentle layering of white. Each additional layer is added after the previous has dried completely and gently glazed on to enhance the white trim.

Pig Iron from P3  is used to block in the metal details, giving an almost NMM feel. Deathless Metal from P3’s Grymkin set is mixed with the Solid Gold to create a new bronze color, which is then mixed with some medium. This is added thinly to the trim on the coils and on the front metal vents. Thin coats are added with a brush to create a clean, smooth color on top of the “battery pack”.

Arcane Blue is added to the coils in a thin coat as well as to the intake valve in the front via brush. After using Army Painter’s Flesh Wash and Strong Tone to wash the bronze metal, creating more of a dark copper feel, the airbrush is used to smooth out the Arcane Blue on the coils and lightly brought onto the bronze for a tight OSL effect. White is once again added to narrow the focus and create a stronger glow within the coils itself. Thin paint in a 99% air, 1% paint creates a strong glow effect on the coils.

Finally, a bit of gold is sprayed onto the top of the coil pack and the Deathless Metal + Solid Gold mix is used to paint all the nuts on the pack itself. The mix is used to highlight a bit on the case, bringing out more details to enhance that OSL glow from the pack itself. Secret Weapon Miniatures’ Blue and Green washes are painted in between the high coils to create higher contrast in the coils itself. By placing these exactly where you want them, the glow is brought out heavily. Adding a bit of the washes to the blue nuts on the front plate and tracing around the trim create more of a pop! Finally, lightly highlight the nuts and this stage is complete!

By using a combination of Formula P3, Army Painter, and Secret Weapon Miniature paints, Commander Nemo is coming to life! To see the entire tutorial on how to paint amazing blues, press play on the video below!

About the Author: Drago