"highlighting and shading" Topic

Hi all,i need some help with shading and highlighting,i have been painting for years and love the hobby,i normaly paint my figures and then paint on some army painter which gives pretty good results but when i see some of the excellent figures painted by others and the great job of shading and highlighting they do on figures and especially horses i am baffled as to how they do it,so could anyone steer me to a good source for tips on how to do shading..any help would be gratefully recieved
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Despite my usual disdain for their business practices, the Games Workshop painting guides are actually quite useful. And widely available of course.

Or you could try the Foundry painting guide – a bit stylised, but clearly effective. Dave Ryan at Caliver or Foundry direct.

There are a host of good painting blogs, but IMHO a book is a better staring point.

What I usually do is just take a darker shade of what ever color the thing is you are shading and position a light so that there are some shadows on the figure and then just paint on the shadows with the darker shade.

As you are already using army painter, paint your main colours as normal, then slap the army painter on, then go over it again in the "same" colour, leaving the army painter in the recesses. This gives a good shade without having to mix. Then, if you want to highlight it as well, just add some white to the main colour (or other, suitable colour) and et voila!

I reckon that looks good without getting 'technical' as it were!

I find that, since I started using Army Painter, I prime in white rather than black – as Brummie Lad notes, touching up with the original colour is a good idea, especially for character and command figures

Right now I am doing an experiment with Army Painter, MiniWax and GW washes to see which one I like the best – will update when I get it done!

You should look to amazon for Dallimore's book! This helps greatly in all aspects of painting. I can give you some advice. It is only one painter's advice not the last word, obviously. I need to disclaim so guys don't get crazed and hate me more.

I like the three color method which some painters turn into a 6 color method. It is pretty easy. Pic a figure and get a dark base then a medium and a light. The Medium should be the most prevalent. The light is up to you to scan the figure and choose where to add it. Not good to overdo it! Big tip of the day:use a wet palette. This will add a nice soft transition from one color to another.

The way I learn to paint is by studying other painters. I go to cons take a magnifying glass and study the colors lines and such and try and replicate what they do. With time you fall into a style which satisfies your expectations of what a painted figures should look like.

Also, it is good to frequent painting forum where people upload tutorials like "Coolminiornot" or "Flamesofwar."

These places will help you big time if you pay attention. Also, always watch other painters as they change and learn from them. Then try all the styles to see which style suits you the best.

Practice, practice, practice… Also, consider the figures you are painting. They may have certain flaws which your best work cannot overcome. Look to buy the best figures you can-Artizan, Crusader, Foundry, Bob Murch, BAM,Eureka, brigade Games, Copplestone, Battlefront and many more out there.

This will help you tremendously. Also, go on painting sites like the "Stevedean" site. They have lots of helpful hints.

Hope some of what I said helps you.

Kindest Regards,

Combatpainter@aol.com

PS You can always contact me if you need more info or any questions.

Check out my galleries at

displacedminiatures.com/combatpainter/galleries/

I mainly use a 2-color method. I block in the basic color in a darker hue and then lightly dry brush the highlight color over the basic color.

For example, with anything white, start with a medium or light grey as your base color and then dry brush with white as your highlight.

For blue coats, I would use a dark navy blue as the base color and then a medium "True Blue" or royal blue as the dry brushed highlight. If I wanted to take this to a third level, then I would go one more lighter blue and with a fine brush, pick out some of the raised detail for paint treatment.

I would second the recommendation on the Dallimore painting guide. It provides three different painting methods done in a step by step fashion.

Didn't you just ask this same question a week or two ago?

Here's how I paint horses:

link