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Shading the underside of creatures


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Hi, sorry for the rather weird title, I didn't know a good title to start with.

 

Right, I'd best get this out of the way, I'm not currently painting a 40k model but I ask a question about basic painting principles that could be applied to Sslyth or Tyranids, Exodite conversions and so on.

 

IMG 20200911 135633

 

Right, here's the model in question. As you can see I am establishing a basic colour that transitions to a lighter colour for the underbelly. I am however not sure how to paint shadows in the folds and recesses on the underside. How do I go about this? If I just shade with a darker version of the colour it will just look like the gradient I am going for is patchy. Should I shade with a different colour and if so, what should I go for? Do I need to use a cooler colour like a grey? 

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Magos, you may need to break up your thoughts on it a little (something I'm about to have to try for my 'Nid Swarmlord).

 

So my first thought is that even though you are building a gradient, you probably want to have a single neutral shading color that works for all the colors in your gradient - this is probably best applied thinly overall to all recesses in the model and should help to unify them.

 

For shadowing - shadows are typically darker and cooler, so perhaps something like a dark purple or very dark grey-blue might work in just the very darkest recesses to give the impression of shadow.

 

BTW, I'm assuming you are working with a brush, I really don't have anything I could say with regards to an airbrush, never used one.

 

That Exodite mount looks really good (although it also looks like maybe you started with a brighter than your midtone color?)!

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Jings suggestion of the mix at the blend area seems like it would also work well - question though, are you looking to do an all over wash for all the painted areas, or only a recess shading effect with the wash?

 

The "all over" idea is more like a tint/color filter, in which case there are other techniques that I've seen folks suggest to do those, and from what I understand, they all start with "varnish your model".

 

A blog thing I found talking about both (maybe info you already know): http://www.scalemodelguide.com/painting-weathering/weathering/paint-washes/

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Thanks for the replies, I was feeling a bit lost how to give the impression of lighter skin in shadow rather than just darker skin, I have been trying to think about lighting more in models recently so I appreciate the help.

 

Just to clear up a few things yes, I have started off lighter than my midtone this time, I decided it would be easier to apply shading to a light colour rather than lighten up a dark colour. I was testing out my new pot of Typhon Ash for the first basecoat so coverage could have been an issue. Additionally yes, I was too lazy/impatient to grab the airbrush for the first few layers. That would have improved the coverage of the first layer for sure.

 

Thanks again, I'll keep working on it.

 

Edit: Thanks for the link, I was intending for the shading to be a bit more targeted than a typical wash. In truth I am not entirely sure what technique I wish to employ to get the effect I am after. I usually end up relying on GW shade paints to darken an area.

 

Here's an example of where I'm hoping to go with this:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/361565

 

Although I'm not copying the colour scheme of the model I do like that the underside of the creature looks paler but it looks to me that it's still a bit darker under there without taking natural light into account (Since I think it's was a pretty large model the natural shadows might be having mode of an effect?). I find that I struggle to break down people's work into steps I can repeat myself. I've never really tried using filters myself, I never really understood what the purpose of them was.

Edited by Magos Takatus
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If you can find some, and the effect you are going for is a more natural/realistic one like scale modeling (as opposed to the more artistically stylized finishes), I'd try and get some lizard reference photos to look at that very subject - how do lighter underbellies in shadow actually look, how does the light interact with the curves, etc.

 

I've always found that hard on 3D miniatures, personally, because unlike when I painted canvas to replicate photos, you are trying to replicate the impression of light falling on a surface, and that surface then moves and light falls on it a different way - it makes it hard to me, the impression from the "light" is only correct when viewed from a single viewpoint, so while gaming it ends up looking wrong, IMO.

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Is Angel Giraldez' dino tutorial any help? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTSX7zoPXRo

 

Or GW's Mawkrusha video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qollOdPJ8Oc

 

Or Cold One video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vA0kbijHy0

Edited by Firedrake Cordova
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Thank you! I have to take a look at these. I ended up thinning some of The Fang paint and glazing the underside of the model in places. I'll take a look at those tutorials for future though.

 

Edit: I found the dino tutorial interesting in particular, if I build any more dragon/monster models I will have to try to remember these techniques. The grey used in the shadows was a bit more neutral than the blue grey I used and I probably over thinned my shadows into a thin glaze.

Edited by Magos Takatus
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