There were some requests for a tutorial on how I was painting my Legion. As is the Combo Smite way, the guide will be excessively long with way too many pretty pictures.
If you think I’m a shitty painter and don’t think I should be writing how-to guides that you are not alone. But some guy on the internet asked for it so that’s what I’m doing.
I start with my signature method for infantry models. I base the model with some sand and kitty litter, then prime it white and hit the whole thing with a wash of Badab Black to give it the “Greyscale” look. This brings out the details in the model so I can better plan out what I’m going to paint how and also provides a bit of pre-shading.
Next I give the base a quick paint job. It gets a full coat of Ironhull Grey on all of the sanded areas. This point I will usually go over it with a “Wet-brush” of Bootstrap Leather on the sand parts (avoiding the larger stones) then give the whole thing a dry-brush of Hammerfall Khaki. But this time I got antsy and moved on to the Red first. I also go over the base with some Thalmar Black just because I’m a bit OCD like that and I don’t like to have the base messy even when I’m still painting the mini.
Next up I go over all the cloth areas on Vayl with Skorne Red. Including her dress, a bit of stuff on her arms and both sides of her cape.
All the cloth then get a light dry brush with Khador Red Base to bring out the highlights.
The feather trim is done with Hammerfall Khaki,
Next I do all of her armour with Pig Iron.
I wash all the trim and armour with Agrax Earthshade.
I do the leather bits under her armour with Panzer Grey from Vallejo Model Air.
For her skin I used a thinned out Underbelly Blue.
I go over the feather trim with Sepia wash.
The trim on her armour and her Oraculii get highlighted with Brass Balls.
The magical effect around the Oraculii gets a wash of Turquoise Ink.
Finally I wash her skin with a 1:1 watered down mix of Army Painter Blue Ink.
At this point I touch up the base and add on the front arc markers.
I spray the model with a heavy coat of Krylon UV Resistant Matte Varnish. The difference is subtle but you can notice a darkening of the darks with the clear coat and it brings out the highlights just a bit.
For the finishing touches I use a few drops of watered down PVA glue and add Dead Grass static grass then do the same for the snow using baking soda. The model also gets a light coat of Matte Varnish between each of those.
And that is how it’s done. I hope you enjoyed the guide. Again I will say that my painting is firmly in the vicinity of “Tabletop Quality” but some beginning painter could very well get some use of it.
Thanks for reading.
Damn your stuff looks great… and in half the time it takes me to put my stuff out.
I am very impressed, Nick. And a great demonstration of what people who win your prize in the giveaway contest can expect (although obviously a Kaelyssa, not a Vayl).
Thanks for posting the tutorial, and a big thank you to whoever asked you to do it!