gold metal recipe
- Thread starter Pogue
- Start date
airhead
Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
To make gold, you get some lead, then a Philosopher's stone and you can make all the gold you want....
(sorry, couldn't resist).
Some of the NMM painters will be along shortly to tell you how to use yellows, whites and browns to make gold.
I use the metalics, but shade and highlight them like you would any other paint. I like to mix inks with them to darken.
(sorry, couldn't resist).
Some of the NMM painters will be along shortly to tell you how to use yellows, whites and browns to make gold.
I use the metalics, but shade and highlight them like you would any other paint. I like to mix inks with them to darken.
Pogue
New member
Hey Airhead,
Thanks for the reply. I don't think I am quite ready for NMM just yet. I was looking for a real metallic metal recipe. I found Automaton's awesome tutorial on steel, now I just need a good one for gold. I tried washing gold with brown ink and re-highlighting it with the same color mixed with silver but it just didn't have any depth to it.
On a side note, can anyone give me any advice on painting the sword handle? I thin my paints pretty well, but when it comes to that particular texture (wrapped handles) it always comes out looking like white and brown stripes instead of a textured handle if that makes any sense.
Thanks very much for any help on this
Here is a pick of what I am getting
Thanks for the reply. I don't think I am quite ready for NMM just yet. I was looking for a real metallic metal recipe. I found Automaton's awesome tutorial on steel, now I just need a good one for gold. I tried washing gold with brown ink and re-highlighting it with the same color mixed with silver but it just didn't have any depth to it.
On a side note, can anyone give me any advice on painting the sword handle? I thin my paints pretty well, but when it comes to that particular texture (wrapped handles) it always comes out looking like white and brown stripes instead of a textured handle if that makes any sense.
Thanks very much for any help on this
Here is a pick of what I am getting
Last edited:
Stewsayer
New member
Hi Pogue,
I don't have any of the VGC metals and i have been mainly concentrating on NMM for a good while. So take my advice with an ample measure of salt. Given you want a clean bright look, I would start with the brightest metallic gold and mix a little brown into it. Something orangey like GW Beastial brown (I'm sure there is a VGC similar to it). Use that for a base coat. Then shade using the same brown to star and working down to a darker brown (either another out of the bottle shade or add a little black to the brown you chose). Do this with the flat paint as in the shadow areas you want to kill the shine of the metallic. Do this in glazes, thin the paint a bit more than you usually do (maybe 5:1 water to paint or more) and apply it only to the areas you want your shadows. But make sure to use a rag or paper towel to wick any excess off the brush first. For the highlights start by adding a little more of the gold metallic to your base and work up to straight gold metallic using thinned glazes once again. The for the very brightest spots place small silver highlights.
For the sword wrapping your white lines are too wide at the moment. If you make the brown lines that wide and the white the more like the brown is it will look better. To go a little further try using the dark brown you have and a much lighter brown rather than the white. Work out where you main light is coming from and and use white sparingly to pick out the upper edges of the wrap that face the light source. Use a thin black line to separate the layers of wrapping.
Hope that helps a little.
I don't have any of the VGC metals and i have been mainly concentrating on NMM for a good while. So take my advice with an ample measure of salt. Given you want a clean bright look, I would start with the brightest metallic gold and mix a little brown into it. Something orangey like GW Beastial brown (I'm sure there is a VGC similar to it). Use that for a base coat. Then shade using the same brown to star and working down to a darker brown (either another out of the bottle shade or add a little black to the brown you chose). Do this with the flat paint as in the shadow areas you want to kill the shine of the metallic. Do this in glazes, thin the paint a bit more than you usually do (maybe 5:1 water to paint or more) and apply it only to the areas you want your shadows. But make sure to use a rag or paper towel to wick any excess off the brush first. For the highlights start by adding a little more of the gold metallic to your base and work up to straight gold metallic using thinned glazes once again. The for the very brightest spots place small silver highlights.
For the sword wrapping your white lines are too wide at the moment. If you make the brown lines that wide and the white the more like the brown is it will look better. To go a little further try using the dark brown you have and a much lighter brown rather than the white. Work out where you main light is coming from and and use white sparingly to pick out the upper edges of the wrap that face the light source. Use a thin black line to separate the layers of wrapping.
Hope that helps a little.
TOPC Gallery
New member
Hey mate, to get a nice white gold colour. base it with a bright / flesh type undercoat.
paint VGC polished gold straight on, couple coats if needed.
And one wash with GW nulin oil, then another wash with Agrax Eathshade, or the the VGC equivalent.
maybe add a wash of brown or red to add that tone, but attached is a photo of my recipe.
Hope it is of use, if not for what your doing but something els.
zac
View attachment 12884
paint VGC polished gold straight on, couple coats if needed.
And one wash with GW nulin oil, then another wash with Agrax Eathshade, or the the VGC equivalent.
maybe add a wash of brown or red to add that tone, but attached is a photo of my recipe.
Hope it is of use, if not for what your doing but something els.
zac
View attachment 12884
TOPC Gallery
New member
Thanks mate !
when your replying, in the tool box above the type area ,there should be a picture icon nest to 2 little world icons.
Just click that and upload or add a URL
airhead
Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
for the sword leather wrapped handles, I paint with a medium brown, then a dark brown wash to bring out the wrap.
At a larger scale or for a much more than tabletop model, I'd do more.
p.s. get rid of the white highlight alltogether. Use a tan as a very lite highlight if you really need it.
At a larger scale or for a much more than tabletop model, I'd do more.
p.s. get rid of the white highlight alltogether. Use a tan as a very lite highlight if you really need it.
Dragonsreach
Super Moderator
I used VMC Old Gold 173 and Gold 172 thinned down and applied carefully.
Due to the metallic pigment size I'm usually not particularly willing to go too heavily with either of these, but I also use Vallejo Airbrush paints and prefer those metallics for the smoothness. Having said that the Airbrush metalic Gold and Brass leave a lot to be desired in depth of colour. However I have discovered through trial and error that the combination of golds can be enhanced to make a really strong Gold apperance by the use of strategic other colours so here's a method I've used:-
Basecoat: VMC Old Gold (Nothing wrong with drybrushing if you have too, just remember to move the brush in circles not up and down for better coverage)
Next coat: VMC Old Gold & VMC Gold picking out the first highlightable areas.
First toning colour: GW Snakebite Leather. Don't add this as a wash, work it into the shadow areas and recesses. Extremely thin paint and tiny strokes are your friend.
Second Toning/Darklining colour: You have to choose what colour effect you want as Gold does have variations, I've used VAC Tank Brown (a very dark Red Brown) VAC Camo Black Brown, GW Scorched Brown, VMC Imperial Purple and VMC Russian Green. Again this has to be worked into the recesses not just washed on.
Rework the highlighted areas: VMC Old Gold & VMC Gold.
Next Highlight: VMC Gold
Next Highlight: VMC Gold & VAC Gold
Highlight Glaze: VMC Transparent Yellow. This is an increadibly intense dilute colour and you will need only a tiny amount worked over the highlights but the effect on gold paint is eyepopping.
Final highlight: VAC Gold
Flare: (Optional) if you want to take the highlights up to a Flare point Add VAC Chrome into the VAC Gold or spot a tiny amount brushstroke of VAC Chrome at the point where the reflected light fare would be strongest.
Hope it helps.
MAXXxxx
New member
when using only VGC paints one of the best ways I found is using a 'gold' that you like (polished/glorious/dwarf bronze (or something similar)). I'd take the glorious one.
Shade it with normal colors to match a feeling you'd like (traditional: browns, cold/noble feel: purples and blues, etc.), I really like the extra colors the following bring to shading gold: darkflesh, imperial purple, nightblue, dark-green-ink.
The tricky part is highlighting it, for that I'd simply mix Vallejo-metal-medium to the chosen gold and go as high as you like (up to almost pure medium)
Another way (I like this one much more, as for me shading is easier than highlighting, no idea why): Get VAC-Gold. It's a really-really light gold, then shade the hell out of it with the colors mentioned earlier or with different inks.
It helps a lot if you do a little sideproject just to practice working with metallics. Here is one I did in 2009 (first serious try at using a metallic color and a lot of glazes): https://picasaweb.google.com/104987920342761668493/Festesek#5463768367727139442
Except for the base-eyes and plasmapistol every part is made with metallics. The effect is really visible on the 3rd part of the pic (rest is too dark).
What I tried here:
- base with a bronz colour (dwarf bronze),
- shade with: VMC RedTransparent, VMC Violet, VMC Blue Transparent in this order
- retouch in a few places with the base+metallic medium
After being finished with the excercise I gave it away to a friend.
as a side note: you can make really convincing looking golds when mixing for example mithril silver with yellow and red inks or even mixing it with a brown (snakebite, bestial turn out to be good)
Shade it with normal colors to match a feeling you'd like (traditional: browns, cold/noble feel: purples and blues, etc.), I really like the extra colors the following bring to shading gold: darkflesh, imperial purple, nightblue, dark-green-ink.
The tricky part is highlighting it, for that I'd simply mix Vallejo-metal-medium to the chosen gold and go as high as you like (up to almost pure medium)
Another way (I like this one much more, as for me shading is easier than highlighting, no idea why): Get VAC-Gold. It's a really-really light gold, then shade the hell out of it with the colors mentioned earlier or with different inks.
It helps a lot if you do a little sideproject just to practice working with metallics. Here is one I did in 2009 (first serious try at using a metallic color and a lot of glazes): https://picasaweb.google.com/104987920342761668493/Festesek#5463768367727139442
Except for the base-eyes and plasmapistol every part is made with metallics. The effect is really visible on the 3rd part of the pic (rest is too dark).
What I tried here:
- base with a bronz colour (dwarf bronze),
- shade with: VMC RedTransparent, VMC Violet, VMC Blue Transparent in this order
- retouch in a few places with the base+metallic medium
After being finished with the excercise I gave it away to a friend.
as a side note: you can make really convincing looking golds when mixing for example mithril silver with yellow and red inks or even mixing it with a brown (snakebite, bestial turn out to be good)
MightyChad
New member
I start by painting the surface black, then I do layers, with mixing between, starting with Hammered Brass to Brassy Brass to Bright Bronze to Glorious Gold to Polished Gold. But I used Brown, Green, and Purple inks (all watered down of course!) in between layers, to add depth. Then I did a Chestnut Ink wash, before highlighting the highest points with Polished Gold. I still use inks for my metallics, as it doesn't dull the metals like the washes do. A lot of steps, but I feel it is worth it.
