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Black that isn't black

701 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Killswitch 
#1 ·
I'm working on some Dark Eldar Wyches, and they're the first models that I'm trying to paint to a higher standard (than just flat colours with no shading/highlight/etc).

I've gone the fair skin and red armour, like GW does, and I'm about to deal with their hair. I want it to be black, but painting it just black (or in this case, even just leaving the undercoat there) obviously doesn't look crash hot. So I'm wondering how I can have black hair, with a bit of depth to it (not just single colour). Can anyone help me out?

Some other real noob questions I've got are:

- How do you deal with the paints drying out? I always get the hard, dried paint around the rim of my pots (Citadel paints). Is adding water enough to re-hydrate dry-ish paints? Or do I need to seek a specialist product?

- When people drybrush, how do they dispose of extra paint? On paper? Plastic? Tissues? I've tried everything but it either leaves it such that there's still plenty of paint/water when I use plastic, or if I use paper it takes almost all the paint and the drybrushing becomes a VERY tedious affair...

Thanks in advance!
 
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#2 · (Edited)
1. For paints that dry out i personally just add a few drops of water every now and again when i see a paint pot drying up a bit and for me it works fine. I do know however that there is stuff you can buy from hobby shops for diluting down acrylic paints but i think its main application is for revell acrylic paints which (for those of you who have used them would know) are very different to GW paints.

2. With dry brushing, for me it depends on how heavy a dry brush i want to do. If i want a really light dry brush i will wipe all of the paint off with a tissue. For the black hair i would be doing this with a bit a grey of your choosing. When dry brushing it is important to use an old brush because it totally wrecks good brushes. Paper i think sometimes is the best way to wipe paint from your brush because you can gauge how much paint remains on your brush. Going back to the hair if it were be i would first do a quite heavy but not too heavy dry brush of a darker grey (or black with a little white) and then a light dry brush (wipe off all the paint) of a lighter colour.

dry brushing is a technique which takes a little practice to master. It might be good just to experiment a bit on something else first. Once you have mastered it though it is quite easy and it is a fast way to highlight small details.

Hope this helps a bit:)

IMPORTANT EDIT:
Another thing i forgot to mention is do not water down your paints when dry brushing, this is very important. Make sure that your brush had been cleaned of all other paints (particularly metallics) and totally dried off with a tissue. Then get your un-diluted paint either straight from the pot/pallet, wipe of the excess paint as described above, and have a druy brushing fest!
 
#3 ·
That dry paint around the rim is inevitable in 'potted' paints. I try and keep the paints closed at all times, only opening them to fetch up a smidgen or so and then placing it onto a wet pallet (google wet pallets, if you haven't tried them. They make painting so much easier, and they're simple and cheap- $5.00 to make)

For black hair, you *can* highlight with gray, as Frost mentioned. However, this can result in your model looking aged, which isn't a bad thing, if it's the look you're going for. If you're wanting more depth in the black without adding the senior citizen terminator look (heh, my own coinage :p ), then you might try adding a bit of color. Depending on your scheme, you can add a complementary color that subtly highlights the hair. Blues and brown/green/yellow mixes work very well, though, be careful about adding too much, which can produce the appearance of a neo-punk :D.

With blue, for example, I'd start with the darkest shade in your paint collection for the first set of highlights, and then add something like a 1:2 or 1:3 mix with your next darkest blue for the secondary highlights (darkest blue: next darkest blue). This is the same philosophy that professional painters use when creating NMM (non-metallic metal). For instance, the image below is by our veteran painter, Hashmallum. He uses black and snakebite leather to create the illusion of gold metallic armor. Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

EDIT: The final highlighting is done, I believe, with a yellow/bone white mix.



Back on topic: The first image below uses a gray highlight. You can see how the model looks slightly aged. The second and third images use a blue highlight. You can see how it creates depth to the hair without adding years to the models' appearance.





 
#4 ·
Rabbit is biting the carrot as usual, but I tend to use more of Scorched Brown mixed with a little Black for a subtle highlight, working up to almost pure scorched. I like it, and it adds depth.

Also, technically, 'black' is just a really dark gray. 'Black' absorbs all light, so therefore it is invisable. So, yes, the air you are breathing is 'true black'... Just a little colour information. =P

-J
 
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