Close up looks great. Very nice work.

Just to be clear.... Those finished models are from the previous batch. The progress report really showed them with just spray coat and base coat for the faces. Ahem. So here is a progressively improved picture showing the first base layers and shading.

Amazing warriors ! The best warrior colour scheme I have seen so far

Inspired by one of the best pieces of Dark Elf artwork ?

Well.... I don't really remember the original point of inspiration so accurately. I came up with the scheme a decade ago. Blue was my preferred colour and goto theme for about anything, including my DE. So when I saw the black armour with red tips in the 6th ed book, I wanted an adaptation with blue.

However, the similarity has played an influence over the years and I have used it as an inspiration to improve upon the original scheme.

Looking nice Daeron - giving me inspiration to put some paint on my Warriors as well.

And progress report : first layer of blue and copper decorations. The bluelayer is subtle, but it really helps define the shades and flats of the armour.

The blues work beautifully! Nice colour transistions and highlighting too, can you tell me how you got such a smooth flow form the deep blue to the very light blue?
That will be a great looking unit, keep posting.

Yeah.. I should update my OP where I put the details since the actual proces is a bit more detailed. The bad news is... it's quite some work.

Color scheme
Armor
- Base: Kantor Blue
- Shade: Drakenhof Nightshade
- Layer: Kantor Blue
- Layer: 50%/50% Kantor Blue - Caledor Sky
- Layer: Caledor Sky
- Highlight 1: 50%/50% Caledor Sky - Lothern Blue
- Highlight 2: Lothern Blue
- Glaze: Guilliman blue
- Highlight 3: Lothern Blue

I reckon a more skilled painted could skip the 50%/50% intermediates by properly diluting the paint and layering it like a pro, but I found it difficult to avoid high contrast lines. The glaze is really crucial. Without the glaze, the lines between layers would still show (though acceptable for tabletop standards).

The picture above finished the third step. Right now, I'm doing the 4th. This is the slowest one, I reckon, having to mix two paints constantly and still cover a notable area with the paint. Once the 100% Caledor sky step comes up, things go faster

Finished the kantor bkue and caledor sky mixture. I left one without this step for the picture to show the subtle contrast change.
On to Caledor sky layers!

Thanks for the detail, I haven't used glazes before so I looked up Guilliman blue and have decided I need to go out and buy some! I have been using shades and they tend to muddy bright colours, great in some situations but now I know about glazes blending should be better.
Much appreciated!

You're welcome.

And the next step is done. I left one undone to the right of the Darkshard, to show the difference. They really are becoming brighter, but it is mostly the next step that will bring out the sinister highlighting

Great progress on the unit. The highlighting really does bring out the details.

And the next highlight.


Unfortunately, I won't have time to complete the models today so I didn't complete the pledge in time. Still.... I have a few days of vacation left until Monday so I hope to finish them before the work starts again

Really nice work there! Keep it up! I totally love your colour sceme

The sheer impact of the striking scheme, consistency across volume and controlled execution is awesome. I couldn't quite visualise it from the first shot with the largely indigo unit and the finished example. Seeing them ranked up here is so powerful. Kudos for the control, keeping them all so uniform across such a dynamic look and the multi step process.

(Additional - in fact, the visual impact of them makes me think whether one could manipulate an opponent by painting your preferred targets with this kind of effort and skill, then choosing to "under paint" the things you didn't want them to target, in the hope they adjusted their subliminal impressions of threat. These guys look way, way more threatening than standard warriors.)

The colour scheme is awesome (yes, blue is a great colour ) and the execution is just stunning, especially when a big number of models is ranked up like this. I can't wait to see it done across more different units in the army.

Great colour scheme. Looks like a lot of work but I'm sure they'll be well worth the effort.

Thanks for all the positive and encouraging feedback. I'll certainly make a picture of all the units painted like this together... When they are done




Hah! Why yes. I'll move this silly bunch of cheerleaders with their inflated party pool of red water on the flank, I mean sideline, so they can spectate while I move in with the Awesome, terrifying, Drrreadspears!!


Anyhow. Here is the final highlight before the glaze. The goal here isn't really to add detail but to liven up the sharp edges.

Really are coming along very nicely.

And here is the effect of the final stage. In order : without glaze - with glaze - with glaze and retouch of the tips.

I really like how the final highlight before the wash brings out the edginess but it feels a bit too strong in contrast. The glaze softens the layering and gives the model a slightly deeper blue... But dimishies the edges a tad too much. A retouch gives them back their sharpness. It's not much work, so i find it worth the hassle for such a subtle difference.

I agree, the softening and retouching does help to improve the effect. For the amount of work necessary, I would say it is definitely worth the investment.

Blue armour done.



Coming next... Probably the chainmail. Meanwhile I'm thinking of a scheme for the spear handles. I tried blue but it looks a bit over the top.. Like too much blue. Grey doesn't look as good as I had hoped. Brown doesn't contrast nicely with the copper hook under the spear tip. White contrasts too heavily. Hmm.. What to choose!

Have you considered an Ivory colour for the handles?

Looking good! Another option for the handles might be a dark red, GW did that for their studio Tomb Kings army and it looked pretty good.

I second ivory, red might pop too much and (I think) it would be a pity to shift focus away from the lovely blue.