Bestiarum’s August release is up and I wanted to put together a bit of a step-by-step for how I’m tackling the Keliterians. I was certain from the moment I saw them that I wanted to do a strong glossy black chitin scheme, similar to an Emperor Scorpion.
Looking at this reference, the prevailing colour is of course the deep, glossy black but, what’s interesting me most is those slight brown/purple hues you can see in it’s limbs.
Before we get into it, here’s a quick list of the paints I’m using:
Black Templar Contrast – Games Workshop
Wyldwood Contrast – Games Workshop
Skeleton Horde Contrast – Games Workshop
Dawnstone Dry – Games Workshop
Flayed One Flesh Layer – Games Workshop
Black Wash – Vallejo
Druchii Violet – Games Workshop
Agrax Earthshade – Games Workshop
Athonian Camoshade – Games Workshop
Blood for the Blood God Technical – Games Workshop
Nurgle’s Rot Technical – Games Workshop
In addition, I’m using Vallejo black primer, Model Air White and Gloss and Matte Varnishes.
Step One – Zenithal Basecoat
Per usual I’m starting with a zenithal basecoat to lay out my shadows and give the contrast paint something to interact with.
Step Two – Contrast
From here, I’m going to quickly slap down some base colour with contrast. In this instance – Black Templar on the carapace, Wyldwood for the dirt, Skeleton Horde on the skulls and Basilicanum Grey for the stones.
The release itself is more of a desert theme, but I opted for a dirt base to match the rest of my collection. If you’re following along and wanted a desert look, try subbing out the Wyldwood for Aggaros Dunes or some other yellow-brown. Otherwise steps should be the same.
Step Three – Drybrush
Once the contrast dries, I hit the model with some drybrushing. I’m starting with a light grey on the Keliterian and the stones, then an ivory on the base. I’m also applying a very small amount of ivory to draw out the key features of the sculpt – head, claw tips and stinger.
Step Four – Shade work:
I’m now going to slap down some initial shade over the model. I’m starting here with an overall layer of Vallejo Black Wash on the Keltrian, taking care not to let it pool.
Mini review – I’ve only just swapped to Vallejo black wash and it’s pretty decent so far, it’s a little more flow-y than Nuln oil and dries lighter than it applies, but for a better paint-pot and price point I’m happy to make the swap.
Next, some Agrax Earthshade on the base, I’m also applying this to the stones, note how this tonal change helps separate the black scorpion from the grey rocks.
From here, I used some Druchii Violet (purple) shade on the fleshier parts of the Keliterian and between the carapace plates, using the reference image from earlier as my guide.
Step Five – Building up the Black.
Here, I’m going to build up the black on the carapace, I’m going to do this initially with Black Templar contrast paint.
I’m adding a few more thin layers of Black Templar to the areas I’d expect the chitin to be smoothest and hardest, I’ll be hitting these with gloss effects later. I’m aiming to get pretty close to pure black.
Next, we’re going to apply some more Black Templar contrast to edges where two parts meet, for instance, I’ve increased the darkness on his shoulder, where it meets the head to help draw attention to head itself. As we’re working with black on black, the main tool in our arsenal for definition is tonal variation.
Next, we’re adding another layer of black wash/shade to the model. Instead of an all-over coat, we’re focusing our efforts on areas of texture and shadow, this is serving to further increase that subtle tonal variation between the chitin plates.
Step Six – Green
To finish off the shade work, I add a bit of green shade to the base with Athonian Camoshade. As green won’t be present on the Keliterian, this will serve to further bring the sculpt out from the base and draw the eye.
Per usual, I’m applying the green in patches to flat surfaces, using the shade more as a tint than to darken the crevices.
Step Seven – Basing Elements
To cap everything off, I’m adding a little flock to the base. This is great to help settle the piece and add a new, natural texture to offset the digital look of a 3D print.
Outside of desert species, Scorpions tend to live in damp locales with plenty of leaf litter, so I’m using a brown flock-ish material.
It’s fixed with some PVA, allowed to dry then coated with another thin layer of PVA to fix it in place.
Once dry, I’ve given the flock a quick Drybrush with light brown, then washed with a bit of Agrax Earthshade.
Step Seven – Varnish
Next up, I’m giving the whole piece a varnish with gloss (for protection) then matte varnish through my airbrush, this will standardise the paint finishes and augment the next step – more Shades and Washes!
Step Eight – More Shadwork
We’re going to back in for some more shade and wash work now, focusing on crevices and shadowed areas of the mini that need more definition, so no all-over washes. I’m concentrating my efforts on the Vallejo Black wash and Agrax Earthshade, but you might want to work in a little more purple, or your chosen accent colour too.
Step Nine – Gloss Effects
I’m finishing everything up with a bit of gloss effect paint, starting with my old staple, blood for the blood god, I’m running the paint along the seams where chitin plates join and softer bits are exposed.
Finally, a little more gloss effects, this time clear varnish, thickly applied in patches on the base to create puddles, then a drop of Nurgle’s Rot on the tip of the beast’s stinger for a little drop of poison.
Step Ten – Finished!
At this point, I’m calling the model done. Overall I’m pretty happy with the results, painting all-black schemes is loads of fun.
Hope my step by step helps a bit with figuring out your own techniques, as far as key tips I’m hoping this expressed –
– The impact vivid colours can have on an otherwise drab scheme, particularly the purple over black was a lot more impactful than I expected.
– A paint scheme doesn’t have to have too many colours to get good results.
Finally, here’s all the steps collected together, so you can better see the way the scheme develops more clearly –
That’s about it. I’ll likely be focusing the rest of my painting work from this release on the Giant Vultures so keep an eye out for updates!
Cheers,
Marcus.