"2 Questions: Painting silks/satins/cloth and painting elves." Topic

Years ago some company had a silks and satins paint line for miniatures, and the paints really did seem to have a different sheen to them. Any ideas how to paint cloth so as to look like silk or satin? Or to have "texture"? I've seen some highlighting techniques….

Also, for painting elves: A. I want to avoid the GW white/blue/teal color scheme. B. I also want to avoid the greys, light blue, black color scheme. These are high elves, so the greens would also not be high on my list. What kind of color palette would make elves look good/otherworldly?

I think it was the Armoury that made that paint set. Mix silver in with your color of choice to get a similar effect.

Hi,
from what I remember either from Tolkein or The Middle Earth Role Playing Game, the Noldor often wore bright colours especially red. I think reds, yellows and oranges might work to create an impression of rich fabrics favored by a rich, old and powerful race.
All the best,
George.

Go with a purple/red/yellow scheme to make them look regal yet different.

Go to someplace that sells paints and get some pearlescent and mix it in.

Ral Partha had a paint set of 6 silk/satin colors. I still have mine all these years later, their paints were made to last.

No suggestion on color scheme but I make my elves wear bronze armor. "Cold iron" being inimical to them and all that. The only iron or steel they use has to be meteoric in origin so is very rare. Painting in an otherworldly palette is very difficult because it will never look good to us human observers.

Fisherking that's an intriguing idea.

One of my frustations right now are the lack of 28mm elves for wargaming. GW figs are out, I want to avoid LOTR because of the same reasons I loathe GW ( skirted elves).

So I'm planning on kitbashing elves from various plastic mini's. The original plan was for armored elves to use FireForge teutonic/templar figures with a head swap, and convert Mongol Steppe Warriors of unarmored.

I have thought about finding Greek style cuirasses and doing some kind of plate. I also thought about making them wear magical wood armor ( there's a pic somewhere frmo the old cartoon Hobbit movie where the Elvenking was wearing a wooden breastplate). Your point about the cold iron is making me rethink my original armored ideas….

For silk, try colored ink over white base coat.
The green and blue on this wizard were done that way.

Silks and satins can also be done by mixing in some metallic paint (or Vallejo metallic medium). Not too much and shades should have a little less as darker colours have a little less reflectivity.

Coloured metallics work well here. Yellows do well with gold paint.

It's pretty hard to make this look right in a photo – at least that's todays excuse for not showing an example.

John