Cockroach Coloured Tyranids, a Blackadder Work in Progress

[Blackadder]

Separating the Men from the Boys:

Well the artists from the tyros anyway. My first attempt at emulating Mr Jaro at fine line spraying on the spine of the carapace was a fiasco new airbrush not withstanding.


What worked well delineating fingers and tendons doesn't hold true for the relatively large flat expanses of the carapace segments.


There over-spray sticks out like so many sore thumbs and it's going to require a lot of practice to emulate Mr Jaro's quick and steady hand.



http://i.imgur.com/iyI0FeT.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CdYQXTI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qxcauqm.jpg

I displayed this just to demonstrate it's not all beer and skittles with the learning process and I hope to show better in my next post............

 

[Demihuman]

That head looks good!

 

[Blackadder]

Thanks Sir, you are kind.....

Yeah I'm not that disappointed in the head and tail its mainly the accent highlights on the spine of the carapace that needs rework. Granted the Carnifex is a smaller model than Jaro's Tyrgon but I was hoping to do better.

I need to review the video and try again.

 

[wargamesculptor]

Have to agree with Demi, has a very natural look to it.

 

[Blackadder]

Thanks,


What a Difference a Day Makes:


After yesterday's fiasco painting highlights I tried again this morning with acceptable results. I will have to touch up the dark after my German Camo Black Brown paint comes. Amazon sent the wrong colour than what I ordered and I didn't notice until this past weekend.

No Problem............


Anyway I acquired a bit of finesse over night and the highlights shaped up better


http://i.imgur.com/6kGsKI6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/SB72GfD.jpg

so well in fact that I attempted the Trygon carapace as well with better than hoped for results...............


http://i.imgur.com/q0Yi3g3.jpg

I'm getting the hang of this I think.

BYW why am I having so much trouble getting my links to work lately?

 

[Blackadder]

Giant Silurian Centipede:

The more I work on this the more I am reminded of the giant centipede Arthropleura which attained a length of ten feet . The Trygon is quite a bit longer but most of it is tail which I consider cheating............

Anyway I have finally put the finishing touches on the basic painting of the Trygon and am ready to apply the various coatings of orange wash, satin varnish, and an oil/brown wash so it's time to pause for photos.........


http://i.imgur.com/4l0nbS3.jpg

I should really have my head examined for practicing on my most expensive piece but it didn't come out that badly for a first effort considering I've only been using an airbrush for less than a month..........


http://i.imgur.com/JZ8mOjV.jpg

I don't know what I was afraid of, the basics of airbrushing are relatively simple to pick up


http://i.imgur.com/WRGT6uC.jpg

Of course I had a good instructor in Jaro and all I did so far is copy his work..........


http://i.imgur.com/u1nqPMp.jpg

Now I need a course in photography, why did the colour change from red to green and back to red again with out changing the camera settings?

 

[heavybolterbob]

Now I need a course in photography, why did the colour change from red to green and back to red again with out changing the camera settings?

Without knowing more, I'd guess that the problem is the white balance on the camera is set to "auto." In auto WB the camera "reads" the scene each time you take a photo....usually slightly different each time so your colors change. It is particularly bad indoors with 2 or more light sources. If the multiple light sources are different such as tungsten mixed with florescent bulbs then the problem is aggravated.

 

[S Dalsgaard]

Agree with heavybolterbob. The white balance is probably set to center-weighed so when you turned the model so the bright part of the mini was centred, the camera changed its settings.

 

[Blackadder]

Yeah I figured it was something like that but what surprised me the most was that the reddish hue came back in the fourth photo. And no; I didn't move either the lights or the tripod.....

 

[Zab]

Yeah but these are just wip photos. If you wanted to you could sneek something white in there near your subject for each shot and then just use the remove color cast while processing. Again it's wip thread so, really not worth the effort IMHO

 

[Blackadder]

"Wanna See Everybody From Behind":

Okay three of the major players have their base coat applied. That leaves just the Tyrranofex and the three broods to base coat the carapace highlights. Hopefully today..................


http://i.imgur.com/fT2FLf2.jpg

 

[Blackadder]

The Broods:

I notice Jaro (whom I consider an artist) confines his projects to the larger models.


I would like to see him tackle smaller figures such as these Tyranid Broods. I find it impractical to attempt to paint the highlights on these with an airbrush so I went back to a technique I call dry brushing.


I painted the entire twenty two pieces with a few drops of paint and a medium sable brush but what I did is drag the brush from ridge to ridge instead of following the line of the ridges. This deposits a fine glaze of pigment on the high spots but doesn't look like a continuous line of paint.


http://i.imgur.com/8YZ2k2c.jpg

I hope to get better pictures as the brown tones look washed out and blotchy in these images.


http://i.imgur.com/4dWCjwh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VOhTD8S.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nyseQa4.jpg

 

[wargamesculptor]

These are coming along really nicely sir, will be a fearsome looking army when there finished

 

[Canny]

Nice work with the AB, after a few washes and inks its going to look even better!

 

[Demihuman]

Nice work with the AB, after a few washes and inks its going to look even better!

that is exactly what I thought. Blackadder, does the video have inks and washes?

Also did you mask every edge or did you just keep it really tight with the air brush?

 

[Blackadder]

The large figures were all masked with adhesive putty (3M) but the small 'Brood' figures I used the 'dry brush' technique.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drybrush

Even if I were willing to devote the time to masking and airbrushing the broods I think the dry brushing looks better on such tiny figures.

 

[Blackadder]

Tyranidae:

My first attempt at orange glazing the highlights has produced mixed results. The recommended paint applies a nice and thin transparent coating to the light brown highlights:


http://i.imgur.com/RHI8bCz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CAgcTSR.jpg

The effect looks somewhat blotchy and needs touching up in my estimation but I am going to go ahead with the procedure on a few of the broods to see how they finish up.


What is particularly nice is the satin sheen that the orange spray give to the carapace.


http://i.imgur.com/zbcSIbs.jpg

Below is the only gargoyle to receive the treatment and I am very pleased with how that is turning out.


http://i.imgur.com/3pljzrV.jpg

 

[Blackadder]

Gargoyles Have an air about them:

Well at least this step is half done. Making the wing membranes look like parchment is a bit of an involved process. After brushing a thin coat of Umbral Umber on the arms and finger bones using a combination of dry brushing, buffing and hard rubbing with my thumb I managed to get an appearance that have prompted some to ask what kind on glazing am I using.

http://i.imgur.com/PEWXKwU.jpg

In keeping with my policy of keeping nothing back......


Much as I hesitate to admit this the truth is I wet my thumb with saliva.


Ewhew! Yeah that's right, he said spit.


http://i.imgur.com/E7yx92d.jpg

Face it, it could be worse...........


Never the less incorporating a bit of DNA into the bio-denizens seems almost poetic.


http://i.imgur.com/BEORZyF.jpg

Wassamatter never heard of spit-shined shoes?

 

[Zab]

Sold! I'm switching from tears to spit from here on out!

 

[Meph]

Never underestimate the power of a wet thumb!