Step by Step Tutorial - Eldar
by Roman aka jar
posted by roman, jarhead, kong
1. Undercoating
Has been done with black primer, after dried, followed by white primer carefully from above to set the light overview for the following painting (i have used here both from GW).
2. Basecoating
Painting so far has been mostly made on the armour. I have started here:
Basecolour on armour/trousers:
Hawk Tourquise + Bronzed Flesh + Bleached Bone
First Shadows (glazed twice):
Hawk Tourquis
Also i have started to paint some parts in total black again - will do this later one a bit more... weirdo working style as i told you:
3. Painting
Second Shadow on the armour (glazed twice):
Hawk Tourquise + Regal Blue
Third Shadow (glazed twice):
Hawk Tourquise + Regal Blue + Tip of Chaos Black
The browns are so far done by a wet in wet mix of Schorched Brown, Hawk Tourquise, Bestial Brown, Snakebite Leather... please excuse me and my camera here, the strong white parts come from the lightning and the non patience i have used while taking the photo...
You see i am always working really dirty - some might say wild - in the beginning of a paintjob. I really like to let the colours choose their way so i am often without a direct plan to the end. I let the colour chose her way through the moments that happen. Further i went this way:
First light (glaced twice):
Hawk Tourquise + a tip of Andrea's 2nd Light from the Skintone-set
Second light (glaced twice):
Hawk Tourquise + a tip of Andrea's 2nd Light + a tip of 1nd Light's skintone
Also i have began to make the base more rusty with pigments. I have used Sepia and Ironoxid pigments for that. Also i put some tiny places of tourquise pigments i got from pastellic chalk on it to repeat the colours of the Eldar in the end and bring base and miniature together.
Additonal to that i have startet to paint parts i want to be metallics in the end and started also the gems with chaos black. I take care to - better i try - to be patient here and try to make this step clean, instead i would have to correct later on.You see metallics have been planned but not done in the final model, haha. Weirdo!
Little white dots on the armour, don't know why the hell i did that, i work on them later on.
More intense final shadow (glaced twice):Regal Blue + Chaos Black
Intensed light on the edges with pure white with a really small tip of hawk tourquise.
Started the OSL from the weapons with the airbrush (Bilious green).
Browns, did get more highlighting by:
using 2nd and 1st Light from Andrea's Skintone in the basic mix from above
Face mask:
basecolour with pure white with a really small tip of hawk tourquise, left eyes black, painted eyes basecolour white for orange glowing eyes in the end.
I am real sorry about my weird explanations of my detail work in the end. I know myself about that and i think the only thing which helps here will be some detailed tutorials on really small things. So please be patient with me and my ideas for MASSIVE VOODOO...
Hope this view on my thoughts through a full miniature helps or can maybe inspire - i am looking forward to feed this blog more with tutorials like this... maybe a bit more detailed :)
So far, keep on happy painting!
Regards
Roman
Finally,
a moment of concentration, some strong will and a hard morning coffee with the thickness of yoghurt bring me back to the Eldar, which i will write the Article for now. I hope it won't be to chaotic and i am sorry for my english and some maybe not very good photos - i'll try my best to fix it somehow... I have done some better Step by Steps in the past and will do in the future - this is just an impression on how i work, what i think, what i do and not a totally fixed Step by Step Tutorial like you find somewhere else. My main problem is that i am painting a lot from the heart, from my emotions, music and feelings bring to me so it ain't easy to describe that in complete.
The Eldar here is done from GW's parts i have found in a friend's box of parts and he was so nice to give them to me. I think - i am not sure - the legs are from an normal gardist because i had to cut off the torso and added the single torso i have found in the box, i guess Asuryans Hunters chief or so - still not sure as you can read. So everything i had found was glued together. Then i had a not so nice area where i had cut of the torso from the legs. I have used Green Stuff belts, which had been prepared before (other story, but BIG thanks to Picster for his support at this), to set some more dynamic influance on the model itself and also hiding the not so nice area :) - i am always painting my model on a cork or something from wood to have a better grip while painting, there will be also a tutorial someday about the basics thoughts and things i have seen, tried and allowed them to influance my "style" in the end... sure to come, urgs, back to the Eldar... (i did score out thoughts of mine in here which aren't really necessary for the Tutorial - weirdo style again)
1. Undercoating
Has been done with black primer, after dried, followed by white primer carefully from above to set the light overview for the following painting (i have used here both from GW).
2. Basecoating
Painting so far has been mostly made on the armour. I have started here:
Basecolour on armour/trousers:
Hawk Tourquise + Bronzed Flesh + Bleached Bone
First Shadows (glazed twice):
Hawk Tourquis
Also i have started to paint some parts in total black again - will do this later one a bit more... weirdo working style as i told you:
3. Painting
Second Shadow on the armour (glazed twice):
Hawk Tourquise + Regal Blue
Third Shadow (glazed twice):
Hawk Tourquise + Regal Blue + Tip of Chaos Black
The browns are so far done by a wet in wet mix of Schorched Brown, Hawk Tourquise, Bestial Brown, Snakebite Leather... please excuse me and my camera here, the strong white parts come from the lightning and the non patience i have used while taking the photo...
You see i am always working really dirty - some might say wild - in the beginning of a paintjob. I really like to let the colours choose their way so i am often without a direct plan to the end. I let the colour chose her way through the moments that happen. Further i went this way:
Fourth Shadow (glaced twice):
Hawk Tourquise + Regal Blue + more than a tip of Chaos BlackFirst light (glaced twice):
Hawk Tourquise + a tip of Andrea's 2nd Light from the Skintone-set
Second light (glaced twice):
Hawk Tourquise + a tip of Andrea's 2nd Light + a tip of 1nd Light's skintone
Also i have began to make the base more rusty with pigments. I have used Sepia and Ironoxid pigments for that. Also i put some tiny places of tourquise pigments i got from pastellic chalk on it to repeat the colours of the Eldar in the end and bring base and miniature together.
Additonal to that i have startet to paint parts i want to be metallics in the end and started also the gems with chaos black. I take care to - better i try - to be patient here and try to make this step clean, instead i would have to correct later on.
More intense light:
Hawk Tourquise + a tip of Andrea's 2nd Light + a tip of 1nd Light's skintone (more of it)
Little white dots on the armour, don't know why the hell i did that, i work on them later on.
More intense final shadow (glaced twice):
Intensed light on the edges with pure white with a really small tip of hawk tourquise.
Started the OSL from the weapons with the airbrush (Bilious green).
Browns, did get more highlighting by:
using 2nd and 1st Light from Andrea's Skintone in the basic mix from above
Face mask:
basecolour with pure white with a really small tip of hawk tourquise, left eyes black, painted eyes basecolour white for orange glowing eyes in the end.
At this point everything still looks dirty, untidied and weirdo. I know put my patience on the detail work like bringing out soft highlights, fade to strong ones, gems, a bit of dirt and scratches, eyes and so on... so everywhere detail work began:
4. Detailwork
As i am not working with a full plan the end is most hard to describe for me, as mostly i am sitting with good music the last final hours on a model and forget all my world around - pure happy painting, i guess, but wihtout thinking at the Tutorial, damm, haha. I'll try to explain the steps i have gone through, please never hesitate to ask a question...
Painting all gems black, carefully to not damage the armour colour.
Using Regal blue + black for the lowest part of the gems.
Brought in a bit ice blue in that mix to lighten it up in the middle area of the gem.
Set a strong white point at the place where the light source hits the gem (above mostly).
Then i have put the Gloss Varnish from Model Colour 510 on the gems (2x times, let them dry)
I have soften the colour transitions in the armour by looking at it carefully where i find a place where to tones (bright and dark) are going to quick into eachother. That often makes not so nice areas. Sure my blendings are not perfect or godlike or something else a lot of great other painters around the world do, but i have taken my time here and did realize that time is needed... but time without passion is ... nah, no Hobby Talk here, haha.
I have went in the middle tone between those too hard transitions with trying to mix the tone in between, then put it there carefully without destroying the areas below. I will write an article sooner or later on how i work with colours and how i apply them for different use.
I brought the lights on the armour next to clear white by mixing in a tip of ice blue and skull white in the last mix of the armour. Always went back to get the thing done with the middle tones. As i can remember this took me most of the time on the model, puh! I have also intensed the shadow parts with a mix of regal blue and chaos black. Same procedure with the middle tones.
The blade has been made with tiny white dots from the lower part and has been glazed with orange there afterwards, while the glazing in the upper part went with purple.
The black parts which have been supposed to be real metallics in the beginning of the paintjob have been made with chaos black and a tip of ice blue, slowly highlighted with bringing in more ice blue and a small tip of white in the end.
The eyes have been glazed with fiery orange, glazed, painted back white, glazed, painted back white, glazed...
Hope this view on my thoughts through a full miniature helps or can maybe inspire - i am looking forward to feed this blog more with tutorials like this... maybe a bit more detailed :)
So far, keep on happy painting!
Regards
Roman
Great tutorial man! Don't worry about your english because it's quite good and understandable.
It always amazes me, how the top painters get such rich and vibrant colours. This fact added to the great way contrasting colours are used to give depth and variation on what could be a very 'flat' mini. These techniques are really the sign of a top painter in my mind, and you have them all.
I am pleased to see though that the techniques you use to get such great results are 'simple'. There is no good painter tricks or secret processes! It seems that the secret is good colour selection and practice really.
There is hope for us all! :)
I will add to Vinny's post that moreover there are people born to paint. And you are one of them :)
PD: Jar, I am following all your posts here. And, I will try to participate by giving you my thoughts and asking you my questions^^
Keep on happy painting :P
@Vinny
Thanks for the hope you give to my english. Sure it is my pleasure to show here that painting never has secrets, either patience and practice... and passion is needed to do so. That's all - i am greatly thankful for your feedback to this tutorial.
@Edgart
Haha! Thank you very much, edgart. That compliment is awesome, can't find words to react on and that doesn't happen very often...thanks for joining!
Regards
Roman
I know it is a long time after you posted this, but I am just coming back and re-discovering all your fantastic tutorials!
Amazing work, and thankyou for all your time and effort making all these articles and step-by-steps. I think the online painting community is really in your debt!
P.s. I agree, good music is necessary for painting. Almost as important as brushes!
Hi, first let me say thanks for all your great articles and inspiration. I really like this one and wanted to do this step-by-step but...^^. There is no Eldar Autarch model like this. And none of the gw emplayees remembers one like this. So could you tell me where you got it or how the name of this model is?
@Morsvenit
Ahh... remembering mode activated: As far as i know i did build him out of plastic, so i guess it was a normal Eldar Dire Avenger Aspect Warriors - yepp, that he is :)
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landingArmy.jsp?catId=cat440172a&rootCatGameStyle=
Hi Roman. This site is such a fantastic resource, I really cannot thank you and the others who contribute enough for all these wonderful tips. I can safely say it has changed my outlook and increased capabilities as a painter in a most positive way.
This tutorial in particular is just full of little gems of help, the colours, the glazing, the little details such as the gem work itself. Its all extremely useful! Thank you!
I also need to add - Stop saying your English is bad! Its better than my German!
I think he looks great, I'm probally gonna use this for my youngbloods entry this year!
Just a little question, (you are probally not reading this but its worth a shot!) what did you do to get that little rust effect on the armor? I noticed it but it doesn't say it in the tutorial!
Yay ... I think this was thin glaze of Scorched brown + Bestial Brown to the edges where the rust can be found ...
"scrotched brown + Bestial Brown" what is the mix 50/50?
Yeah roughly 50/50, but you can also go with 60/40 or 40/60, as you prefer ...