Tutorial: Washes

July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 DebbieForster1 Comment

So, I want to talk about washes. A friend of mine who has just started painting was asking me about washes and I thought it would be easier to make a post about it for reference.

First off, let’s talk about the consistency of the wash style paint itself. It’s thin, high in pigment and will run if you let it. Paint in general wants to go into the lowest part of a miniature and will try its best to get there if it can. The thinner the paint, the more it wants to do this. Something to keep in mind while using a wash.

Second. The purpose of washes: It’s to alter the shade of a paint that is already on a miniature. This creates shaded areas and adds depth to the miniature in question. When you apply a wash, you’re changing the colour underneath to a darker tone, regardless of the colour you are using to wash with.

Still with me? Good.

I am going to use one of the Gellerpox Infected to show what I mean. I will be using a wet palette, Carroburg Crimson and Nuln Oil. I am focusing on his stomach adn the great big tear in it:

First thing I am going to do use the Nuln Oil to recess shade the tear in his stomach. I am using one of the smaller brushes I own and putting the wash in that gap only. I am being careful with it, but I do not need to put the brush in every spot on the gap because the paint is thin enough to run along it by itself. Capillary Action Baby!!

I have also gone aorund the staples too!!

Next, I am placing some of the Carroburg onto the wet palette and watering the wash into a shade. I do not want to put the neat wash onto the miniature at this point because the pigment is too strong. I don’t want to kick off the lovely base colour too much, so I thinned the wash. I then applied the much thinner colour over the entirety of the stomach.

The shade is at the bottom underneath the red!

My next step is to create a redder effect around the cut itself and I do this by layering up the colour gradually. Here are a couple of the stages. I used the shade for doing this:

Last of all, I wanted a real red sting around the cut itself, so using a smaller brush, I used neat Carroburg in select places to bring out the colour.

I have a lot of work left on this guy, I want to blend out those lines where the red is a bit harsh and of course, there is the rest of the mini to consider as well. I hope this has helped though.

If there are any questions, feel free to get in touch!

Teaching Painting!?

July 23, 2019July 22, 2019 DebbieForsterLeave a comment

Last week, I met with my good friend Rhiannon (https://rhiapaintsminis.blogspot.com) with the intention of showing her how I do non metallic metals and layering. I was a bit unsure about doing so, as I have only just acquired the technique myself and it is by no means perfected. Still, I had the rough idea of what to do and there is no harm in showing someone what you know. We could learn together after all.

So, I started with the layering principles: Using very thin layers, blending back and forth until there are no seams in the colours and being patient with it. Also, not worrying if it goes a bit wrong because you can add more layers to correct it.

I always keep some old Chaos Space Marines around for testing things on, so I took a couple with me and we got to work on layering.

We used the same iniatures for Non metallic metals as well. Explaining that knowing how light behaves and where it hits is key was easy enough, and then we talked about using a picture for reference – Pinterest is everyone’s friend I think when it comes to learning techniques and finding pictures. Why not use expert pictures as a reference for your own? We also talked about starting with dark shades and working up.

It was just a case of trying it out and seeing what happened, keeping the brush strokes in the same direction and practice!

Here are the results:

The above two are my efforts

Rhiannon NMM

This one is Rhiannon’s. All in all, I think we did very well considering that neither of us are ‘experts’. It is a case of refining what we tried out today and just keeping at it!

40K · fine detail · miniatures. · Painting Tutorial

Tutorial: Freehand Skulls

June 19, 2019 DebbieForsterLeave a comment

So, building on what I wrote about painting bone, I thought I would share how I paint freehand skulls next. This is just my thoughts on the subject, and I am sure there are countless others out there. This is what works for me.

First off, you’re going to need the following:

As well as a wet pallette, brushes, paint thinner and clean water. You will also need a picture to follow. I used the Legio Mortis one I used the other day for the freehand on the top of the Reaver, but there are plenty of good pictures out there on Google too.

Step 1:

Use the pencil to sketch the outline of the image on the panel you’re going to be painting on:

The shape does not have to be perfect, so long as it is a guide.

Step 3: Shade the skull shape in with thinned Rakarth flesh

Don’t worry about the thinner parts, they will be covered up as we layer the paint!

Step 4: Mix Ushabti bone with Rakarth flesh 50/50 and start picking out the bits that are going to be highlighted.

Step 5: Add extra highlights to the lighter spaces with Ushabti Bone – wet blending comes in handy here.

Step 6: Mix Ushabti bone and Screaming Skull 50/50 and continue to add lighter patches, they should be getting smaller each time. You might want to add some white in as well, depending on how light you want the skull to be. I only added a tiny bit to this stage, but neglected to take a picture.

Step 7: Mix 75/25 Rakarth flesh and XV-88 and start shading down the darker parts of the skull.

Some of the blends here look a little harsh, that will be fixed next stage.

Step 8: Add a little more XV-88 to the mix and keep shading down those key areas in the design – refer to the picture as a guide as well, it is what it is there for after all.

Step 9: The final stage is to use black to define the eye sockets, the nose and to tidy up around the edges as well, seeing how this is on a near black backing.

My main points when doing freehand would be: don’t rush it, thin layers are always better, and have a picture to refer to as well!

Like my tutorials? Consider funding my terrible coffee addiction: Ko-fi.com/hereticdeb

miniatures. · Painting Tutorial · Warhammer 40k · Wh40K

Resin Wash 101

May 22, 2019 DebbieForster2 Comments

I make a daily to do list on twitter so I can keep myself focused and know I am achieving things. On my list today was wash and assemble the NL guy, and I was asked about how to clean resin. I decided to do so in a blog post in case there are other people out there who don’t know how to do this but don’t want to ask. Here we go, a step by step guide to cleaning up resin:

1 – Equipment: You need the following – A bowl of luke-warm water, an old toothbrush, some washing up liquid and a tea-towel or other type of towel and the mini you want to clean up:

2 – Put a small drop of the detergent into the water.

3 – Add the mini to be cleaned up.

4 – Use the toothbrush to scrub over all parts of the mini. Try not to be too vigorous else you’ll end up with breakages and that would be a disaster. There are no pictures of this as using a phone with wet hands is going to be troublesome.

5 – Place clean parts on tea-towel to dry.

6 – Throw away the water and wash your hands. Resin tasting water is gross and leaves a weird taste in your mouth as well.

I hope this helps. I may well write one on bending miniatures back into shape. Resin is pretty easy to reform and it is oddly satisfying as well.

I also realise that my Reaver Titan is made of resin… it has many, many parts, some large… I need a bigger bowl.

40K · hobby · Wh40K

Time for a Change.

April 7, 2019 DebbieForsterLeave a comment

Usually, I keep this blog for my hobby related exploits, but I feel I need to speak about the largest change I have made in my life and the uncertainty that brings. As many of you are aware, I have been in the teaching profession in one way or another for the last seven years. It had been a rollercoaster and I hace decided, for health reasons, that it is time to step off and do something else.

The last week has been difficult for a number of reasons. The class I have taught this year have been th best set of children I have ever had and I will miss them. I know they will miss me too.

One of the hardest parts was Tuesday, when it was the last Warhammer Club. The children were confident enough to run their own game, using the miniatures they had bought and painted themselves. I spent the hour showing those that were not playing how I would go about painting one of the ghouls a member had brought in.

I introduced wet blending and some drybrushing before leaving the little guy on my desktop to dry. Bob was concerned about this intruder but thankfully, there was no trouble…

I also let the children take the miniatures home and I certainly hope they continue with the hobby. They certainly seemed interested in it and it had been a true honour to show them how much fun miniature gaming is.

The rest of the week was a mix of fun. On the last day, we watched Disney’s Robin Hood, had a Just Dance contest and played a lot of games. I was thoroughly spoilt and saddened to see the children go. I shall miss collegues and have made some great friends as well. I have packed away the post it note pictures, brought my miniatures home and managed to relax a little too.

There is one thing on my mind at the moment however, and that is ‘What now?’ Education had been the centre of my life for seven years and now I am left wondering what to do. I am fortunate enough to not need to find work immediately, however that is not indefinite. I know something will come along when it is ready and I will find work, until then, I am going to try and take some commissions and spend some time in the hobby room painting.

Incidentally, if you are interested in commissioning me for painting, here is a link to the information you need:

https://blackhandmarines.com/commissions/

40K · Age of Sigmar · Uncategorized · Wh40K

Warhammer Club.

March 26, 2019 DebbieForsterLeave a comment

As most of you know, I am leaving the profession of teaching in search of pastures new. I have a few reasons for doing so, which I will not go into here. One of the saddest part of this change on career will mean I am no longer able to run Warhammer Club on Tuesday lunchtimes. I told the children today and they were suitably disappointed. This club has become the best part of the working week and I will be sad to see it end.

Today, we used our miniatures to play through the first Age of Sigmar tutorial game. It takes the form of a race and is designed to get the children used to moving their miniatures around.

Here are some action shots – though I have not put the children in the pictures for Child Protection reasons:

We didn’t have any scenary to put in the way as obsticals so we used paint pots instead. The game was easy to play, a lot of fun and highly enjoyable. The boys didn’t stop laughing at one another’s dice rolls, one boy in particular rolled terribly all the way through. It was wonderful to see them enjoy something that I have gotten a lot of joy from too.

The other reason I love doing this club is it gives me the chance to inspire the next generation of Wargamers. Without them, our hobby dies out and that would be a true shame. After introducing them to the hobby using the Warhammer Alliance starter kit, they boys went out and bought their own gear. They always bring it in to show me and enthuse about releases and what they have learned and discovered. I’ve spent many a play time ‘geeking out’ with the club members.

Here are some pictures of their work:

I have also taught them some of the basic painting skills, including how to dry brush. It’s been a real honour inspiring these kids and I really hope they go on and continue to enjoy the hobby.

This is one of the parts of my job I will truly miss.

40K · hobby · painting · Painting Tutorial · warhammer

Tutorial: Wet Blending.

February 9, 2019 DebbieForster5 Comments

I was asked the other day about wet blending and how I do it so I said that I would run through how I do it as best as I can. I’ve taken some pictures to try and illustrate the process.

Step 1:

Wet Palette. Nothing fancy, just a take away tub, a sponge and some baking paper:

When adding water to the wet palette, I keep the water just below the top of the sponge. This is my personal preference and it is a case of finding what works for you.

Step 2:

Select the paints you’re going to use. I am painting a cloak on a Stormcast for the purpose of this tutorial and I am going for dark purple.

Step 3

Paint the darkest colour as a base on the area that is going to be blended. Don’t worry if it looks watery or parts of the undercoat show through, this will be fixed when blending.

Step 4:

While the paint is still wet, get the next lightest colour on your brush – not too much of it though – and mix it in the spaces you want to be lighter on the miniature. Try and make the two colours mix without any clear lines between the two.

Step 5:

Repeat this with the lighter colour for the places you want to be lighter. Again, try to do this without leaving any clear lines. I always try to get as smooth a blend as possible.

Step 6:

I also added some darker blends with dark blue because I wanted to add depth to the purple. You can see it in the second image above.

That is how I wet blend. I am aware that this is a tricky skill, or can be, for some and it takes a lot of practice. I’ve popped a couple of examples of what you can do with wet blending, though the limits are just your own thoughts. I hope this has helped!

Larry was a speed paint in half an hour – his blend is less than perfect!

I use wet blending for the base of all the galaxy cloaks I paint.

40K · warhammer

Warhammer Club

January 23, 2019 DebbieForster1 Comment

One of the aspects that I truly enjoy about my job is the ability to shape and influence young people. It is a true priveledge to be able to guide and shape young minds and hopefully leave them with positive experiences that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

I have never hidden my interests from the children in my class and although some of them are a little ‘what do you do that for?’ they all understand how important it is to have aspects of your life that are not just work or playing on Fortnite.

When two of the boys, one in year 6 and one in year 4 came up to me and asked ‘Could we do Warhammer in your class at lunchtime, I practically jumped for joy and agreed. There was no bribery involved. I had toyed with the idea of joining the school alliance before and so now I had the motivation to do so.

Games Workshop were very helpful in arranging the pack to be sent to us and it arrived just before Christmas. The club started properly in January and we now have more than 2 members. 7 lads aged between 8 and 11 are now fully enjoying what it means to assemble and paint miniatures. So far, we have undercoated the figures we have been sent in Abaddon Black. Yes, I have shared who Abaddon is and they were all suitibly in awe! We are not yet at the stage of learning to play yet but I am sure we will get there very soon.

Even better, was when these lads have gone into GW on their own and brought miniatures that inspire them. I have a mix of Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40 000 so far and I can only see that growing. To be able to inspire them to want to do this in their own time is a power I never sought to have and is humbling in many ways.

Of course, I am unable to share pictures of the children, but that does not mean I cannot picture their work and share it. Here is our efforts pictured together, along with a couple of intruders!