Wyatt is back with more painting secrets! This time he’s showing us some “secret” Airbrush Techniques for miniature shading and stencils!
Jack of Clubs Painting is a regular here and normally shows us how to paint our favorite models. This time though, he’s giving us some of the techniques he uses regularly with his airbrush while painting one of his new models.
Secret Airbrush Techniques: Shading & Stencils
First up prime the model a neutral brown. Nothing too special here.
Watch Jack of Clubs Painting
Next, take some black primer and do some pre-shading on all the dark or shadowy areas. After that do the opposite with white primer pre-highlighting the bright and highest areas. This is setting up a technique called color modulation, we can abuse this undercoat by using semi-transparent paint to give it shading, instead of the usual method of layering paints.
The first color is Ammo by MIG Dunkelgelb and a generous amount of flow improver to heavily thin it down. Take that same paint with a little less thinner on the brighter areas just to tint it ever so slightly. Cremeweiss by AK Interactive is the next color ad we can use that to apply a realistic highlight on the brightest areas.
Now we can do the first of the brush painting with Pro Acryl Burnt Red on some of the armor panels. Follow that up with the airbrush again, this time with Pro Acryl Bold Pyrrol Red and just do a center highlight on those armor panels we painted red. After this step spray varnish over the model to protect the progress thus far.
Next up, use a checkerboard stencil and some cardboard to stencil in the shoulder pads. With that in place just airbrush over the top. Follow that with a layer of gloss varnish.
With that, the painting is done! If you want to hear more of Wyatt’s insights, watch the full video tutorial below!
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About the Author: Andrew Schrank
Andrew Schrank
Job Title: Miniatures & Warhammer Hobby Staff Writer
Socials: Facebook
About Andrew Schrank: Over the past 15 years, Andrew has played all the games, including tabletop and video games, and immersed himself in the associated lore. Andrew joined the Spikey Bits team in 2018 and covers the Warhammer hobby and tournament scene, along with the latest in tabletop miniatures, each week.
Aspiring diplomat, Lord of Fluff, and Master of Ice Hammer, He loves Star Wars, Chaos Undivided, and Gundam. During his free time, he hunts Platinum trophies on PS5 and reads international news. On weekends, Andrew plays commander and cEDH games, often with unique strategies that push the limits.
He believes each day presents a new opportunity to grow and be challenged.
