Night Lords "Tenebrous Winter" (GREY KNIGHT 08/12)

[Forté]

Wow that was fast.

That's what happens when you get your scheme nailed down.

[GrandMagnus]

 

Wow that was fast.

That's what happens when you get your scheme nailed down.

 

No doubt, I always forget to write down my colour scheme :P 

[Forté]

 

 

 

Wow that was fast.

That's what happens when you get your scheme nailed down.

No doubt, I always forget to write down my colour scheme :P

Same here. I mix too much for that too.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Wow dude, that *was* fast. Nice job on the entire claw and OF COURSE we want pictures of it in it's entirety! Looking forward to the rest, especially the bikers and the rhino. (I love vehicles)

[Barabbas Sogalon]

Great job!

 

Now I want to see a group shot.

[Flint13]

Oh wow, that bronze is my absolute favorite. Good job!... Totally won't save you though ^_^

[Hexagon Sun]

It's a completely minor thing but I've just noticed how good it looks having metallic soles on the boots. Especially with the contrast to dark blue.

 

Awesome work on ploughing through these, definitely post a group shot of first claw when you get a chance. Good luck with your vow, sure you'll smash it.

[AlanofAngels]

@Anaziel: Thanks! Those FW helmets are really great!

@Forte: I'm hoping at this point I have this blue tone nailed down

@Augustus b"Raass: I'm really excited to get to the rhino and bikers, too! I think I'm going to do at least half of Second Claw before I do though.

@Barabbas Sogalon: Thanks, man!

@Flint: Thanks! The bronze is so easy to do this way I'm finding! It's mainly washes Oh we shall see...

@Hexagon Sun: Thanks, dude! The edges of the boots really help to blend the legs into the rest of the model, in my opinion. With so much brass on the torso, head, arms and shoulders, I felt the legs needed to have a little brass to tie it into the rest of the model. Hopefully I'll get through the vow!

Anyways, here is the completed First Claw!

First Claw, Night Lords XCI "Tenebrous Winter" Company:

And some combat squaded shots:

So with them done, I'm going to move onto Second Claw! More to come guys!

[Argent aquila]

that is a very satisfying squad of night lords.

 

MOAR, MOAR!

[Flint13]

* Neither your gorgeous bronzes OR your disgustingly precise highlights will save you :p

[Brother Heinrich]

Cleeeeaaaaaan work man. Can't wait to see this army expand more.

[Midnightmare]

Excellent looking squad, big kudos. Your painting is so crisp!

 

Great work!

[Marqol]

I keep planning an Ultramarine Heresy army, but when ever I see these I feel a slight lure to Night Lords..Must stay true..

Awesome group shot, great to see the claw finished, cannot wait for what you have planned next!

[Augustus b'Raass]

Wow. Just wow. You've managed to nail the Night Lords very well. Your painting is crisp as can be, your poses (something I always look for in mini's) are superb, and I love the fact that you've mixed components from all these different kits and marks, giving the squad a ragtag yet unified look.

 

I hope you're open to some constructive -albeit totally subjective- feedback (and I feel almost embarrassed offering it unrequested). *Breaths in, breaths out* - ok, here goes: 

a. Your bases are simple but very effective. They complement the model very well both in terms of tone and feel. However, I do notice the cork doesn't completely cover the plastic bases everywhere and I feel the bases could benefit from some sand in the spots where the cork doesn't cover the plastic base - to give them a more finished look. 

b. You've accomplished something I feel is very difficult: painting crisp, neat highlights on a model, while retaining a sense of realism in the model overall.  I feel there´s something that holds the realism back a little, and I´ve thought long about what it is exactly. In the end, I realized you´ve painted the lightning in nice thin stripes, with relatively long lines and relatively few angles. This in my humble opinion makes the lightning look -for lack of a better phrase- 'painted on'. Lightning almost has no straight lines so I feel with more angles and shorter lines, the lightning on your mini's would become more realistic looking. Your skills are definitely up to it, so perhaps you can give that a try? 

 

Few, that felt weird. I hope you take this feedback the way it is meant to be - as encouragement to keep improving yourself and your already outstanding miniatures -and as faith in your outstanding abilities to do just that. You're definitely up there  in my book with the best, my friend. Superb work. 

 

EDIT: changed a period into a question mark... :D)

[Chickenleg]

Awesome! I can imagine them stalking in the eye of terror.

[AlanofAngels]

Wow, thanks for all the feedback guys!

 

@Argent Arquila: Thanks a lot! Moar is definitely on the way!   

@Flint: What about my vibrant reds? 

@Heinrich: Thanks a lot, Heinrich!
@Midnight Runner: Thanks, man! 

@Marqol: Ultramarines look similar enough to Night Lords, just brighter and throne-enslaved    

@Augustus b'Raass: No worries, man! I like getting constructive criticism! Regarding the bases, I did that *somewhat* deliberately  Originally the plan was to cover the remainder of the base with snow, but I never got around to it and since then have kind of grown to like the "personal plinthe" kind of look. I still need to get around to adding snow to the bases though! With the lightning, I hear ya. I've been giving some thought to changing it up some. Right now, I really like the starkness with which it pops off the armor, but I know what you mean about the angles. Thanks for the feedback! Don't be shy about it 

@Chickenleg: Thanks, sir! 

 

I'm getting the first member of Second Claw assembled right now so more to come! Thanks for all the feedback, guys! 

[AlanofAngels]

Hey guys! Got the first member of Second Claw all ready to go!

I'm gonna do my best to get some WIP shots of his head and the skin tone since people asked, so stay tuned for that if interested! More to come!

[Marqol]

I almost missed the helmet and got excited thinking it was something super crazy, but I saw it in the end there. All that grey blends in, needs some colour

[HellChyld]

one of my favorite heads. looking forward to the painting

[AlanofAngels]

@Marqol: Hahahaha yes, the headless Night Lord!

@Hellchyld: I really dig it, as well! All of the respirator heads seem pretty evil-looking to me, even the loyalist ones

Andddd in record (Alan-painting) time, number one of the second squad is done!

I really love that head, as Hellchyld mentioned as well! It looks perfectly evil, but strangely comes in the tactical squad kit And, as requested quite a while ago, I threw together a quick tutorial on how I paint the Night Lord skin tones:

So, I start with a grey primer (though I'm sure white works, too) and give it a few watered down layers of Kislev Flesh:

Once you have a solid base of Kislev Flesh, give it a wash with Agrax Earthshade, concentrating around the face as that is where all the main detail is and if it pools on the top of the head it can be a big ol' pain to deal with later:

After the wash, blend the Kislev Flesh back into the head, making a nice even coat. Here, if you're interested, I also wash the top of the head with Dawnstone Grey to create the stubble effect. It takes several thin washes to achieve, and I then wash it with thinned Kislev to blend it back toward the skintone (it is stubble, after all):

At this point, I highlight and blend the skin up with GW's old Bleached Bone (you can use whatever the new equivalent is ), concentrating on raised areas, but all of the skin gets it, leaving the recesses alone and leaving a thin line of Kislev at the edges of the hairline to create a bit of a painted-on shade:

Add the rest of the details like eyes, respirator and cowling, and presto!:

While the skin itself is obviously important to do properly, in my opinion it's always the small facial details that help to bring it alive! Anyways, I hope that satisfies all of you who were curious about the skin. Sorry it isn't in more depth, but my camera is sort of funky with things as small as 28mm heads So that's squad member one of Second Claw! More to come and all C&C welcome!

[Kizzdougs]

Awesome work dude! It's great to see you progressing so well with this project. Inspiring stuff :)

[AlanofAngels]

Thanks, Kizzdougs! I'm really loving the VIII! I'm starting a new job here soon, with a lot of training, so updates in the next few weeks may be a little slower! More to come, though, rest assured!

[Marqol]

I would like to say I would use that tutorial as the skin looks really nice, but sadly I refuse to give any of my marines bare heads. Maybe I need to start a guard army just to use it ^^ Looks a good tutorial, will have to give it a try for sure.

 

Also Headless Night lord? Well, it is Halloween and nothing says terror like no head.

[Grizzly_bear]

Nice skin tutorial there fella

[Forté]

Now to remember to add that tutorial to the Chaos Resources!