Weathering, for that 30k look

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Some people feel it's a de rigueur for 30k models to be heavily weathered and some don't, but I'd like to start a thread to begin collecting techniques to eventually put them into a stickied thread. Whether or not (haha) they're your own or something you saw on the internet, drop it in here and let's all get better at it.

[depthcharge12]

I'm quite curious on how to do actually use weathering powders, and while I'm sure there's a million videos out there that show it, I'd like to see tried and true methods of our frater as well.

 

I'm not a fan of over weathering myself (painted weathering) except for Death Gaurd.

[DuskRaider]

I'll start off, I guess. Seeing as I play Death Guard and they're known for leaving damage and wear & tear on their armour as a mark of honor; along with frequently employing chemical and biological weapons which may cause corrosion or other effects to ceramite (we obviously don't know as it's a fictional material); I wanted my Death Guard to look well worn, pitted, and as though they haven't seen a supply line in quite some time. So my weathering process is as follows:

 

1. Prime model w/ matte black primer

2. Create a medium base coat over the entire model using rust pigments (I currently use MIG Aged Rust, although sometimes I'll stipple FW Light Rust on this to add some variation).

3. Seal the model. You can use a matte sealer for this, although I've also used Vallejo's Crackle Effect to give it an extra detail in the coming steps. It works well as a sealer as well.

3. Heavy drybrush of base color. For my Death Guard, I use Ushabti Bone.

4. Wash of Agrax Earthshade. This can vary depending on what your base color is, so it can vary from Legion to Legion

5. Light drybrush highlight. With my Death Guard, I use Pallid Wych Flesh.

6. At this point, this is where you decide how worn or damaged you want your Astartes to be. You can go very light in crevices or a specific area or you can just go wild. I use Lahmian Medium for this. Coat an individual area at a time and let the thinner pool for a determined amount of time. The longer it's there, the more paint it will thin down to the sealed rust base. It may even eat through the sealant, which will cause the rust to leave stains around the area where the paint has peeled back to show the rust. This is also where using the Crackle Effect is nice, because the thinner will cause the Crackle to activate in these areas and make the chipping look much more realistic.

7. Once the Medium is applied, you may want to LIGHTLY dab it off the model, as the longer it's on the model, the more it will strip. You can use a variety of tools to gently reveal the rust. I use a small wire brush as well as pick tools used for clay sculpting. I'll usually pick areas on the armour where I can imagine the Astartes taking damage or corrosive chemicals kind of settling in and eating away at the paint / armour. The thinner can act very organic with this and take on it's own chipping path, which makes things a bit more random.

8. After this is done and dry (give it a day), I go back and use washes or Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade (in that order) in the crevices of the armour to simulate grime, oil, chemicals, and dirt buildup. It will work well with the revealed rust as well.

 

Here's some pics of what it looks like when done. I've probably over complicated a lot of it, but hey... it works.

 

Before shading, etc.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20151124_242736282_zpswzy1pyu5.jpg

 

After:

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/IMAG1018_zpse63nqz3n.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/IMAG1014_zps2fer3c5a.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/IMAG1025_zpsbgt4q5rq.jpg

[Marshal Rohr]

Damn! I converted the old sponge bob weathering technique article into librarian format with pictures and everything, but it's been lost to time. I even had the weathering black armor article from Gw olds Templar page too in my blog. Anybody know a way to retrieve those?

[Amayasu]

For vehicles and larger models (like dreads) i'm a huge fan of chipping medium/fluid.

 

Base coat in rust, metal or a contrasting colour of your choice. For Death Guard rust is a good idea. For Word Bearer's metal is a good idea... etc etc. Apply a couple of coats of chipping fluid, leaving each to dry completely. An Airbrush helps a lot here.  Apply your desired legion colour, let it dry, then using a brush and some clean water start to soften areas of underlying chipping fluid.

 

http://i.imgur.com/8X8eTQR.jpg

[Brofist]

Like a lot of things it comes down to personal preference!

 

I love weathering, but my favorite techniques are oil washes, pigments, scratches, and lead pencils. These are easy to use and give great results. I don't really like sponge weathering, but there are some really good examples of it done well on this forum. I use chipping fluid (silicone) for most of my models as well, but for the time commitment I'd say pigments and oil washes are better bang for your man-hour of work.

 

I wrote up some tutorials for how I weathered my vindicators a few years ago. I've come a lot way since then, but it's still pretty relevant if you want to see all the techniques used from start to finish:

 

Part 1: Steel wool, dental tools, and chipping fluid

http://www.powerfisted.com/?p=38

Part 2: Alcohol Paints, Scratch Highlights, Glow Effects, Lenses, and Custom Decals

http://www.powerfisted.com/?p=41

Part 3: Oil Filters, Pin Washes, Lead Pencils, and (more) Metallic Alcohol Paints

http://www.powerfisted.com/?p=44 

 

 

For smaller models I use the same methods, just scaled down a bit:

http://www.powerfisted.com/public/content/P14/Iron%20Warrior%20Breacher%20Conversion%201.jpg

http://www.powerfisted.com/public/content/P14/Iron%20Warrior%20Breacher%20Conversion%202.jpg

[Frater Cornelius]

It really dependson how heavy you want to weather your models, which in tern really depends on the Legion. Personally, I would never weather the 3rd as much as the 14th for example. I find that some slight weathering can be done with washes. Aggrax Earthshade over gold, Seraphim Sepia over yellow-ish tones, Nuln Oil over metal, you get the idea. Add a scratch here or there with a detail brush and you have a slight weathering look but still prinstine.

[Theredknight]

http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g449/ben_fabz/Mobile%20Uploads/2C232D6D-1516-44B2-9ADC-DF83647F6E77.jpg

 

It depends what you are going for.

I went for the istvaan 3 look for my ec for instance.

Really easy and effective.

First I got the model painted, once all the bits were done, I took an old brush and spread the bristles a bit, then went for adeptus grey, wiped some off and applied to the model. You can do as little or as much as you like. My assault marines were a little heavier than others for example. But aim for areas of most wearing, knees/hands etc

 

With that done I did the same again over these grey areas with rune fang steel.

I then used typhus corrosion around the bottom of the feet and no further up the legs than knees!

 

Easy, simple, and looks pretty good.

 

http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g449/ben_fabz/Mobile%20Uploads/0ECB2D0F-CD09-445B-9787-408E3835BD2C.jpg

[Brother Callius]

Great idea collecting the different techniques in one thread

Since I love to weather my VII legion, I thought I would add my take on the old sponge technique.

After the model is completed with transfers, drybrushing and all I follow these few steps:

1. Weathering the decals with the colour they are applied on, i.e. black transfer on yellow background gets yellow weathering.

For this i take a cheap kitchen sponge, take the corner and dip in yellow. Then it's just a simple job of dabbing the sponge to achieve a chipped paint effect.

2. Since my Fists are yellow I use a dark brown for the next step. Take a sponge again and go over areas with hard edges and where chipping would normally occur, such as feet, corners and hands. This step is not applied to the black areas.

3. Now that the brown has dried go over the same areas with a metallic colour (i use leadbelcher) again with a sponge. This simulates the paint wearing down to the metal beneath. The metallic is also applied to black areas.

4. All over wash with agrax earthshade, or similar brown wash. This ties all the colours together and darkens the yellow I use.

5. Apply a light coat of typhus corrosion to the feet and smear it upwards to the shins with a q-tip to get a more realistic effect as opposed to brushing it on.

That's all I do, it's not much but it gives a ton of character.

It can be easily changed to another legion, all you have to do is change the brown to a darker colour of the base colour of the chosen legion.

[grand_master85]

I've got a couple of different schemes I use to weather various legions...

 

Death Guard:

 

Prime black.

Spray the model with a deep brown.

Splodge Orange on various points over the mini.

Gloss varnish the mini.

Airbrush some chipping fluid over the mini.

As soon as its touch dry, airbrush your armour basecoat over it (I used a mix of Aged White and White from Vallejo).

Again, as soon as its touch dry, I coat the mini with a think layer of water. I then use a toothpick to pull little bits of the armour off to show the brown/orange underneath.

Leave that to dry for a good few hours then get onto painting all your other basecoats and any necessary layers for the metals, black, green etc (I don't layer or highlight the main armour colour itself).

Gloss the mini again (make sure it's a 1:1 mix with paint thinner so it doesn't go on too thickly).

Panel line the mini using enamel oils.

Once touch dry, use a cotton bud and dip into white spirits. Wipe any excess from the recesses.

Then I use rust grime from AK Interactive on any bolts, bits of chipping etc. Again, once touch dry, wipe any excess away using white spirits.

Spray Matt varnish over the mini, and done.

 

http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag332/liam_harrison2/Mobile%20Uploads/71B00467-E25A-49A8-B357-77A078CDB372_zpsynkuwmmy.jpg

 

Thousand Sons & White Scars/Ultramarines:

 

Process is very similar to the DG. However, I don't use chipping fluid etc. Instead, once the basecoats are done, I paint small chips on the armour using Army Painter Gun Metal. Over these, I paint smaller chips using Ironbreaker. After that, I paint either a dark grey (for the Ultramarines) or Vallejo black brown (for the Thousand Sons and White Scars).

After this, I use gloss varnish over the whole mini, then panel line the mini (black blue for the UM, and AK Interactive Sand camouflage for the TS). Once dry, I wipe any excess away using white spirits. Then I use weathering powders along the bottom of the legs/feet and any front facing raised surfaces and seal it all with Matt varnish.

 

http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag332/liam_harrison2/Mobile%20Uploads/4483F998-3233-4F7C-A99F-E04B6EF2D31C_zpswi2athpl.jpg

 

http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag332/liam_harrison2/Mobile%20Uploads/A8A6E31D-3064-48C8-9AAF-0297C239FEFA_zpsgmogzfrd.jpg

 

Iron Warriors:

 

As above, but I don't bother with the paint chips. I just panel line the mini and use weathering powders.

 

http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag332/liam_harrison2/Iron%20Warriors/CCB10698-0847-49C3-8A5B-05283FF933EA_zps57pji6gw.jpg

[Atia]

Funny enough, I just ordered a bunch of weathering products for my next 30k project. Here is what I'll use, aswell as other techniques/products I used in the past:

- Varnishs:

You need varnishs. They change the surface, and make some techniques possible. Gloss/Satin is for example great for transfers or panel lines. Matt is great for weathering powders.

- Streaks:

There are a few cool streaking products out there that can help a lot, as they have the right consistency to work with. The good thing about most streaking techniques is that you use either enamel or oil paints, which makes it possible to manipulate the paint after it dried a bit (but isn't fully dried).

If you want to use Oil paints for this, I recomment Winsor & Newton Oil paints (but that's just what I use). You will also need White Spirits to thinn and manipulate your paint. We have a pretty cool oil paint streaking guide here.

If you want to use enamel based paints, Ammo of Mig makes some fantastic stuff. It basically works exactly like Oil paints, but you dont need to thinn the paint first, etc.

Before you do this, use a varnish coat to protect your painting!!

There are also different kind of streaks you can do - rust streaks, rain streaks, dirt streaks, etc

Filters:

These are pretty cool to bring your paitning and weathering together, and tone the whole miniature a bit down.

Panel Lines:

Can be done with a wash, enamel based or oil paints work great as you can manipulate both.

Chipping:

You can do chipping either with a sponge or brush, or even use chipping mediums. They react to water and you can "chipp" away a layer of paint with it. Pretty cool but a bit risky/lucky, so you need to experiment with it.

Technical Paints:

Both Vallejo and GW have technical paints. From Verdigris to blood and various rust paints. I prefere Vallejo, they have a bigger range.

Weathering Powders:

Basically pigments, you can use them for various different things, from toning to create dirt on your tank tracks. You can manipulate them with white spirit. Fix it either with a coat of varnish (will tone the colour down a bit), or a pigment fixer.

Clear paints:

Can be used to create some cool heat effects on your weapons.

This video series may also help a lot - yes, this guy paints a gundam, but the techniques are usable for Marines :P

Hidden Content

[Raktra]

If anyone's got a simple way of doing it for black, share share! I got a free pot of Secret Weapon iron pigment and I have no idea what to do.

[Atia]

If anyone's got a simple way of doing it for black, share share! I got a free pot of Secret Weapon iron pigment and I have no idea what to do.

Basically, the techniques are always the same

You just *should* try to use the right colours for your scheme. Black tends to go well with rust effects, or brown mudd. Or light brown dust. What army do you want to weather?

[Marshal Rohr]

Weathering actually requires a bit more color theory than most think. Because grays and browns are created from different bases you can easily end up with something unusual. For green models a red based brown is complimentary, but on a yellow it can be too intense and make the model look like its got pox.

[Raktra]

If anyone's got a simple way of doing it for black, share share! I got a free pot of Secret Weapon iron pigment and I have no idea what to do.

Basically, the techniques are always the same

You just *should* try to use the right colours for your scheme. Black tends to go well with rust effects, or brown mudd. Or light brown dust. What army do you want to weather?

Iron Hands, of course!

[Atia]

Weathering actually requires a bit more color theory than most think. Because grays and browns are created from different bases you can easily end up with something unusual. For green models a red based brown is complimentary, but on a yellow it can be too intense and make the model look like its got pox.

Of course, that's why i wrote you should try to use the right colours for your scheme. For yellow, FW shows how to weather Imperial Fists

If anyone's got a simple way of doing it for black, share share! I got a free pot of Secret Weapon iron pigment and I have no idea what to do.

Basically, the techniques are always the same

You just *should* try to use the right colours for your scheme. Black tends to go well with rust effects, or brown mudd. Or light brown dust. What army do you want to weather?

Iron Hands, of course!

Did you used flat black, or metallic black? Again, FW can help you with finding the right "scheme"

Hidden Content

Otherwise, metallic chipping and brown durt on the legs can help a lot

[Hellath]

I have tried several weathering techniques in past projects, but for my current Alpha Legion army I am going for a subtle, slightly battle damaged look.

 

 

In order to achieve it, I am pretty much mimicking the Painting Budha method. I think it balances battle damage without sacrificing the painted detail.

[Raktra]

Flat black, I'm bad at making the metallic. It's more the mixing etc of the powders I don't get (GREAT JOB BEING CLEAR, 2AM RAKTRA). But damn that is a helpful pic.

[Marshal Rohr]

Weathering actually requires a bit more color theory than most think. Because grays and browns are created from different bases you can easily end up with something unusual. For green models a red based brown is complimentary, but on a yellow it can be too intense and make the model look like its got pox.

Of course, that's why i wrote you should try to use the right colours for your scheme. For yellow, FW shows how to weather Imperial Fists

If anyone's got a simple way of doing it for black, share share! I got a free pot of Secret Weapon iron pigment and I have no idea what to do.

Basically, the techniques are always the same

You just *should* try to use the right colours for your scheme. Black tends to go well with rust effects, or brown mudd. Or light brown dust. What army do you want to weather?

Iron Hands, of course!

Did you used flat black, or metallic black? Again, FW can help you with finding the right "scheme"

Hidden Content

Otherwise, metallic chipping and brown durt on the legs can help a lot

I was speaking generally :D if I tried to weather my fists like FW I'd end up with brown models because I'm not great at anything besides the simplest techniques.

The citadel technical paints are actually great for weathering mark 3 if anyone has some. Typhus corrosion targeted around the lower ridge lines is how I get the accumulated dirt feel on my guys.

[Atia]

I was speaking generally if I tried to weather my fists like FW I'd end up with brown models because I'm not great at anything besides the simplest techniques.

The citadel technical paints are actually great for weathering mark 3 if anyone has some. Typhus corrosion targeted around the lower ridge lines is how I get the accumulated dirt feel on my guys.

Ammo of Mig has some awesome products for streaking grimes, one of them in a rust tone, another in a blackish grey. Really really cool, my order just arrived ^.^

http://www.migjimenez.com/en/10-streaking-effects

[Brother Pheidias]

Flat black, I'm bad at making the metallic. It's more the mixing etc of the powders I don't get (GREAT JOB BEING CLEAR, 2AM RAKTRA). But damn that is a helpful pic.

You can also use a soft pencil to make scratches, use it like you would a dry brush, catching on the edges especially.

[ThatOneMarshal]

Does anyone have tips for weathering dark blue for night lords? I love the weathered, as it makes everything seem more realistic.

[Brother Pheidias]

Does anyone have tips for weathering dark blue for night lords? I love the weathered, as it makes everything seem more realistic.

Aeternas have done some fantastic work on hisNight Lords Seeker(scroll down a bit), I'm sure some sponged-on black and metal, and a few rusty/grimy washes and/or weathering powders can yield the results you're looking for?

[Atia]

 

Does anyone have tips for weathering dark blue for night lords? I love the weathered, as it makes everything seem more realistic.

Aeternas have done some fantastic work on hisNight Lords Seeker(scroll down a bit), I'm sure some sponged-on black and metal, and a few rusty/grimy washes and/or weathering powders can yield the results you're looking for?

 

Yep, rust also goes very well with blue.