Hi folks, have a look at my recent army, Harlequins! I always wanted to paint them, because of their dynamic poses and checked patterns – in particular the small checked patterns on the Troupes, I love to paint such little details :)).The color scheme is from the troupe “Frozen Stars”. The main colors are black & white and the secondary colors are purple and yellow. I also used blue for the third Harlequin Troupe to differ them from the other troupes, but you can choose any other color you like. With Harlequins you can really play with colors, all look simply fantastic 🙂
I used an Airbrush, Harder & Steenbeck Evolution 0,4mm and 0,2mm. Brushes were Windsor&Newtons Series 7.
Starweavers:
1. Start with black primer and apply the masking tape on the models. For the pattern I used my plotter to speed up the process. Of course that is not strictly mandatory, you can also cut the pattern with a scalpel.
2. Then I used the pre-shading technique. Carefully apply several thin layers of white.
3. Now to the colors. First apply a strong yellow, Gold Yellow (Vallejo). For shading use two (or three if you like) colors for a smooth gradient: First Sand Brown (Vallejo), followed by Sand Brown mixed with black. The paint for the last step has to be very dark.
4: On the other side I went for a strong purple paint, for which I used Liche Purple (old Citadel paint). Take care that you apply only one layer, otherwise it will be too dark. A suitable substitute which comes very close is Hexed Lichen (Vallejo). Remove the masking tape, then you might have to tidy up the black pattern with a brush.
5. Important step: Apply light grey on the edges of the check pattern for the depth effect.
6. Gemstones in 4 steps:
6.1. A very dark blue: Midnight Blue (old Citadel paint)
6.2. Mix Dark Blue with Deep Sky Blue (Vallejo)
6.3. Deep Sky Blue (Vallejo)
6.4. Clear paint Calth Blue (ForgeWorld) over the whole surface of the stone. Then add a white dot on the darkest part of the stone.
7. Airbrush Satin Varnish to seal the colors. Apply Gloss Varnish or Vallejo Still Water over the stones.
Wraithknight:
For the helmet use a fly-screen with a honeycomb structure as a stencil:
1. Black Primer
2. light Grey
3. White
You have only one attempt, so make sure that the fly screen doesn’t move.
I look forward to your comments, and hope you enjoyed my short tutorial! 😀 Also check out my CoolMiniOrNot gallery.
Cheers,
Aurélie
Awesome post. Very inspiring!
I do the same thing with the mosquito netting for my Wraith units in my Eldar army.
Always gets a compliment and a "how'd you do that?"
Wraithknight fly screen great idea, and wonderful tips on rest of your great work, thanks!
Cheers
Kevin
Wonderful, awe inspiring. An inspiration to complete my small troupe. How do you do the diamonds on their legs?
Thank you! the gems are like in step 6. For a smoother blending, just mix the paints much more.
Great looking models! Thanks for the mini tutorial too!
Beautiful scheme!