Eldar Avatar

I just started work on a new project, my Avatar. I realized that I owed it to myself to post, as the painting is getting sort of complicated.. And it would be a good idea to have a log of what I was doing for future reference.

First, some images:

From Eldar

From Eldar

From Eldar

The painting details.

- Prime black, with a Mechrite Red basecoat.

- Cracks start as Blazing Orange and work through fiery orange, Sunburst Yellow, Bad Moon Yellow, and then really hot zones get white mixed with yellow ink. The mix should be mostly white, but should have very noticeable tones of yellow. Too white ends up looking blue.

- Armor plates will start as Mechrite Red, with the edges highlighted with blazing orange (during the initial crack painting. Over this is a mix of Mechrite Red and Chaos Black. The mix should overshoot into the red compared to the end product. Badab Black wash is then applied to the plate. The edges are progressively layered and highlighted with Scab Red, Blood Red, then Blazing Orange again, and then the entire plate is covered (again!) with Badab Black.

You can see why I wanted to detail this. The armor cracks are largely just a progressive highlight, but it took some work to figure out a good coloration of the armor plate that would look hot, but be mostly black.

My opinion on the end result is that the armor plate is damned near exactly what I wanted (I'd prefer a blending approach instead of a layering approach, but I'm human,) but the cracks need to be better integrated. The white needs some colors on top, and the cracks that run into the white are too abrupt.

More updates to come later!

Workspace

From Workspace

I guess a rundown of what my workspace looks like is in order. As you can see, I don't really stick to one thing. On the 40k table, you can see some Eldar objectives in the process of being painted (using three different methods of painting,) Krieg in the process of being assembled, Sisters of Battle being stripped (above the paint tile,) and a Soul Grinder waiting for some extra spiky bits.

Out of frame are a bunch more things that I've shoved out of the "clear" space in the middle. To the right is a light and a bunch of sprues and Krieg ziploc bags. To the left are a bunch of tools, including a box of backup paints that I got in a nice little trade. And below is the plastic drawer of parts, ranging from bits and magnets to a lonely Vyper in a drawer.

One thing I've discovered about any project I pick up is that my interest in it waxes and wanes. Therefore, in order to keep on with a hobby that I like, it's best to have lots of projects going at once. Then, when I'm bored with one thing, I can easily pick up another that I haven't touched in a little while.