A good Scheme?

Before you ask there are not any pictures

Im going to be painting my Dark Eldar for the first time. So I just wanted to ask the fellow Dark Eldar players what you guys think

Firstly my Kabal name is Poisoned Angel ( Is it racist, because some of my friends say it is )

Im trying to go for a White coloured look because my DE will be based on a Snow Base... And I was planning to give them a good white look for there armour, but not to bright as Skull White is, so will undercoating my Kabal Chaos Black and then painting the armour Skull white give them a good thick, not to bright a bit dark look (that was what I was planning for)?

Any criticism is appreciated

Methinks I would prime them white first and then do the black bits. You would get a much purer white that you could then tone down or shade any way you liked, and much easier.

Prime=Undercoat? 1.) Firstly undercoat it Skull White?
2.) Put Chaos Black where?

If your wanting just off white for the armour I'd say just undercoat white and then use washes. Devlan mud or the Sepia one depending on what colour your after and watered down to your preference.

My only criticism would be white armour on a snow base may be a bit overkill and its sometimes handy to give an opposing base to make the model "pop". I.E. Dark model - Snow Base, Light Model - Dark Base. This isn't always right but it can sometimes just look odd especially a white model on white base and take away from some of your painting.

Just my 2 pence though

Will a red-ish white look good?
Basecoat white then tone until red-ish?

Only if it would not look pink (unless intended)...

I would try green or blue/teal. White don't mix too good with "hot" colours.

Ok thanks for your help guys, really appreciated it =D

As a quick aside, IF you were to basecoat black, the only way you will get the white to show up is either tons of layers of white, or using one of the foundation colours.

Unfortunately no true black or white, but I've always had success using Astrinomican Grey as my basecoat for white. It may even fit the off-white you are looking for.

Oh. One tip how to make white "right" AND not be bored to death.

Zenithal Highlight


Basically You spray figure with black paint/primer , then whole thing recieve "rain" of white spray paint fron top. On picture You have black-white example. We would like to go one step further, so whole thing should recieve paintjob with diluted white paint so you would blend whole thing (spray tend to make small "drops", just like rain.).

Not sure if *just* light grey "shadow" + white can substitude that but You may try it on one model/extra bit and see if this work. For sure it would work with airbrush (it does not make "rain" effect), I've tried grey-white, black-white and three stage black-grey-white.

DarkVect wrote:

Firstly my Kabal name is Poisoned Angel ( Is it racist, because some of my friends say it is )

...in what way?

xzandrate wrote:

As a quick aside, IF you were to basecoat black, the only way you will get the white to show up is either tons of layers of white, or using one of the foundation colours.

Unfortunately no true black or white, but I've always had success using Astrinomican Grey as my basecoat for white. It may even fit the off-white you are looking for.

Yep. This is the best advice. If you don't spraypaint it white to begin with, you're best off using a grey base and highlighting up the your "not quite skull white".

@Foo, Some German or Russia country getting blown up in some war...

Ill spray paint my Kabal Chaos Black then work up with Astrinomican Grey, thats my best bet?

DarkVect wrote:

@Foo, Some German or Russia country getting blown up in some war...

? I have no idea what this has to do with WW2, but it was the title of a really crappy Winger song back in the hair band days.

I second(or third or fourth) that the white on white would be too much. Teal or turquoise ink washed over a black undercoated model dry brushed with a light grey like Fortress Grey looks really good. A chap at the local store did this with his SM's years ago and it looked great while taking little time.

Ty!

I wrote and Article for BOLS last year about using white. Its still floating around somewhere on there sight.

That being said, if you are going to go white, don't prime in black. Use white or grey.

My basic white recipe is

base color P3 Frostbite,
shade with P3 Trollskin or GW hawk Turquoise
Highlight with P3 menoth White or GW Skull white.

Its simple, but it results in a nice cool white color.

Thanks

hey,

theres actually a couple different ways of painting white. both of the ways i paint it are generally the same.

I usualy prime with black when painting white (eiather way you need a few coats of paint)

this is it:

Undercoat: White or black primer (if white, give it a black wash)

base coat: codex grey, try not to get in the recesses (i don't use GW paint as i really sucks, but i know the names and have had experience with them)

second coat: 1:1 mix of codex grey and skull white

NOTE: keep adding skull white to the mix until it is at a desired tone (i.e. 1;1, 1;2, 1;3, etc..) though i recommend just getting it to pure skull white for your ''final'' layer.

also take your time and allow each coat of pant to dry before the next, even if you can see through the layer and ALWAYS water down your paint (i usually water mine down to ALMOST the constancy of milk)

Now, you say you don't want it as bright? i recommend a grey glaze over the white.

If you don't know what that is, its a way to change the tone or hue of a color. basically you water your paint down (in this case codex grey, or any grey your comfortable with, though NOT to dark like black as it will just make the white look dirty) and apply it to the area like you would a wash, BUT do not let it pool in any area, like the recesses or center( though a LITTLE could be put in the recesses, but id leave that for inking.

Thanks!

Hey Ork could you maybe post a more in depth tutorial on the white "rain" over black idea? cause that seems like it could look awesome as a sort of statuesque paint scheme.

O(r)kay.

Not mine but in near future I may make PIP of something... nice I'm secretly sculpting.
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2010/08/tutorial-zenithal-lightning-work-order.html

Actually this "zenithal lightning" is used as preshade miniature for washes and/or airbrush, but as You've observed it can be easy way to paint stone due to "grain" texture.

I know it's a marine, forgive me. I painted the Red Scorpions model with a white helmet, starting with a dark grey undercoat. Here are the colors I use to built it up:

Vallejo Neutral Grey 992
Vallejo Light Grey 990
Reaper Master Series Ghost White 09063
P3 White (any white)

My WIP shot has a better shot of the helmet than the finished pic, so I'll post that one. Hope this helps in your journey. I have been playing with the idea of light grey armor too.

Okay I think I understand the theory behind the technique but I guess I'll jut have to practice it on some test models. The idea behind statue like models has given me some other interesting ideas for some the fluff of my army. And thanks for the input baraccas, it wasn't quite what i was looking for but its an awesome model none the less.

Kinda hard for me to visualize what you are intending, but as others said Astrimonicon Grey is a good base to build up from a primarily dark model. Lots of thin coats are you friend, go too thick and the white will look like toothpaste.