Proof of concept - Dai Dai Chi Atlas AS7-RS

[worktroll]

Okay, so I'm going to do a Clan Invasion era Capellan battalion, and as usual did a "proof of concept" job to see if
a) I liked the result, and
b) could do it consistently over a pile of units.

This is the result:



House Dai Da Chi's colours are "green-tinted gold, with green or black details". So I tried this:

1) Primed & based black
2) Drybrushed gold
3) Washed with very weak green ink - a couple of times
4) Added details.

While it looks OK, I'm not sure it really looks "green-tinted gold". I tried adding some gold highlights on the upper right shoulder, upper arm & chest - not sure if that helped, or just made it more gold. 

The mini pose came out wonderfully - so easy with a plastic Atlas. One lower leg swung back, both arms sliced and put back swung. Great detailed mini, now much more active looking.

Comments on the paintscheme actively sought - what have you done?

Cheers,

W.

[cavingjan]

I like the look and the pose but I think it is more green tinged gold rather than the other was around. The green trim may make that harder to be honest. When I did mine, I did the black trim option. I'm looking through my notes. I did a dark green with green wash. Then I started dry brushing a mix of the same green with gold paint. 2:1 green to gold at first and then started adding more and more gold.

[agen2]

I call it very fast job.
What kind of primer did you used?

[worktroll]

Cheap auto spray primer (grey) from the local K-mart, then black Lifecolours done by hand.

It's not 'speed' specifically, but it is 'simple and not tricky and repeatable' that I'm aiming for. Blending paint involves getting the same process right 40+ times ... :(

[agen2]

Cheap auto spray primer (grey) from the local K-mart, then black Lifecolours done by hand.

Why?This make no sense.
You should spray the 1st coat on black,waiting at least 12 hrs and than a coat of grey or white it's up to your PS or whAT you have.
I think give some importance at this steps it helps to pop out details very easly  in later steps.
 PS
We have a good tutorial on this forum btw  :)

[worktroll]

The primer basically just preps the mini. I may have been a little short in the description, make it:

1) Prime
2) Let dry overnight
3) Base in black - I want the 'free' panelling from the drybrush
4) Let dry (acrylics; a couple of hours is good)
5) Drybrush gold - getting the panel lines emphasised as a byproduct
6) Dry - an hour's good for drybrush
7) redo bits that will be metallic in black
8) let dry, one hour
9) apply weak green wash
10) let dry overnight
11) drybrush gunmetal over black for metallics
12) apply green details

Remember, I'm not CamoSpecs quality, nor is it appealing to me to aim for that. I'm after a good, reproducable outcome.

You do much better than I do, but you invest far more time, and with better results than I can achieve. I will push myself on occasions, but I have demonstrated a lack of physical motor control and/or painting skill to achieve high level work. If you see it against my name, it's done the simple way.

W.

[agen2]

WT I'm just talking about primering.
My intent is to pointing out the importance of this key step instead of offend the OT.
Apologize if this happened,I'm not even try to compare anybody,just discussing about improving results. ;)

[worktroll]

Oh no, no offence taken. Trust me! Just that my concerns may well differ from people like yourself & cavingjan, who put more effort into individual minis than I intent to.

Cheers!

W.

[agen2]

But the primer session isn't going to interfere in your painting style. Primering black 1st  and later grey or white is just improving the final result even in a short time.

[worktroll]

So you're recommending a lighter base, before the drybrush of metallic? Won't the panel lines then not be dark and defined, as they would be with the black base?

I do tend to work either in terms of wash or drybrush, or neither. For example, the Marik Militia scheme I do uses a dark purple base. I then add details, then use a very very light white or light grey drybrush to hit raised highlights - the embossed lines then are darker than the surrounds. I wouldn't use a dark wash on that scheme, as it would make the purple even darker. Similarly. the Wolf Dragoon Epsilons I did were a light tan base hit with teak varnish (aka off-brand Army Painter magic dip); in this case, the surface tension of the liquid means it collects in lines and in the centre of panels, effectively making those areas even darker.

I have a vague suspicion we're talking across what each other means here. Not in a bad way, but I'm aiming at much more low-skill solutions, which I am happy with.

W.

[Nomad]

You have a good start there, but the green wash looks more like a patina effect (it still looks pretty cool, like a giant old bronze Atlas). I know Vallejo has (or had) a green-gold paint that you could use, which is probably more the effect you're going for. You could also directly mix a tiny, tiny drop of green wash or ink into the gold and use that as your base.

As for priming, I would always use black whenever you're covering in a metallic. At least from my experience, metallics tend to look a little "washed out" when you try using them over a lighter primed surface, especially white.

[agen2]

So you're recommending a lighter base, before the drybrush of metallic? Won't the panel lines then not be dark and defined, as they would be with the black base?

WT,I'm not talking about painting process,but primering process.
If you take care of this than you are going to have more fun and results.
I think pictures are better than thousand words and can help break language barrier.
Here an example of a Glory tank where I give a coat of black and grey.
misto update 14 6 16 020 by agen2, su Flickr

[cavingjan]

Don't be afraid of mixing. With dropper bottles, it really is easy and reproducible. You do need to keep notes. With regard to time, it may be pretty close to even. Your multiple washes probably take as as long as the three dry brushes I do. You could probably cut my process down to two dry brushes.

I do a mixed bag of painting. I've done a lot of batch painting and it is different but only in regard to what I will call middle steps.

[NeonKnight]

You could always go the route I went with my Da Dai Chi:

Paint them a base of green (typical sort of Liao Green in the lighter shade)
Give them a coat of DECOART FESTIVE GREEN PAINT:

http://decoart.com/metallics/dazzling-metallics

This is a gold/green color goes on thin/transparent-ish allowing the underlying green to come through.

[jimdigris]

 O0