Diamonds, Checkers and Blends oh My!

Here are a few tips that will get you going on replicating some of the colors and patterns I've applied to my quirky Veiled Path Harlequins. First off, lets talk diamonds....

Diamonds

• Practice makes perfect. I've probably painted a couple hundred diamonds so far. Keep the faith! I promise you will get faster and better with more practice.

• If you are right handed, paint left to right (rotating your miniature to do so). Your brain is already accustomed to moving your hand that way.

• I paint one diamond at a time, keeping both colors ready in case I need to adjust back and forth. 

• Keep your paints thinned a little or at least fresh...paint applied thickly or slightly dried can give the surface an unattractive texture.

• Don't be afraid to stop when you are tired and come back later with fresh eyes. 

• Make sure you have the right glasses/magnification. I stack two reading glasses on my nose that is well equipped for the task!

• The iphone lens doesn't lie. I often take pictures to see details I've overlooked. It's painful and humbling experience, but worth it.  

• I don't see a good way to batch paint them to save time, so be prepared to take time for each mini. 2-3 hrs. I know this is a lot, but it is always about prioritization and what is important to you.  I often paint when my family is watching a movie or when I'm out of town for work (yes, I take my minis with me...upping my nerd ranking at least a few notches. )

Colors

• Green: Moot green base coat. Biel-Tan green wash (keep it even). Go back with moot green and blend up using Gauss Blaster edge highlight. For the green I only get a few of the raised areas for highlights. Don't kill yourself creating creamy blends here.

• Purple: Screamer pink base coat. Nuln oil wash (or if you are feeling fancy, mix Fuegan Orange with Drakenhof Nightshade for a lush purple wash). Go back with screamer pink and blend up using Pink Horror.

• White on Mask: I tried an alternate approach for this mask that worked well. Base coat ulthuan grey, then gave it a wash all over, then went back and layered up using the gray and white.

• Tips: The first blend after applying the wash and going back and applying the base color again is key. Gives it a really rich look. Apply the washes evenly--you only want pooling in the crevices, but you want to darken the ENTIRE area of base coat.

Gallery

I started out testing out some color schemes. After playing around with silent shroud, I landed on the colors I liked for this scheme. So far I have a battalion with 3 troupes (one 12 man unit), six skyweavers, two starweavers, death jester, 2 troupe masters and 1 Shadowseer. Around 1500pts.