Friday 15 June 2018

Isharann Tidecaster Part 1

When I choose which miniatures to paint I do it by gut instinct. A miniature will grab my attention and inspire me to paint it. My best work has always come from that initial burst of enthusiasm, without which I would quickly lose momentum!



Over the years, I’ve displayed a distinct preference for certain types of models. I’m known for my Nurgle themed minis but I’ve also painted quite a few elves in their various guises. In addition I’ve been drawn to models with a nautical, or undersea, theme on several occasions.


So there are no prizes for guessing what this is leading up to because the recent release of the new Idoneth Deepkin was bound to capture my attention. After much deliberation I decided to paint the Isharann Tidecaster.

I’ve chosen this model first and foremost because I really like the ornate armour, dramatic pose and striking base. But I was specifically looking for a single character model to paint, rather than anything larger, as a comparatively quick project. Put simply it’s what I fancied doing before I return to Horticulus Slimux and Mulch!

The Deepkin are a fascinating new twist on the Aelves and their conflicted dual nature. Once there were clear choices between High, Wood or Dark Elves but now the old definitions are gone and the boundaries seem blurred!

Right from the start I wanted to go with a dark, sinister scheme for my Tidecaster something that would help to convey the idea of the cold inky depths. I also knew that my scheme would feature lots of saturated blue and green tones. This would reinforce the atmosphere while bringing some variation to a dark colour palette.


My overall colour scheme has a cool blue/green cast to it, evoking an under sea feel, but it needs some contrast. In order to give the blues and greens an extra pop, I’m using purple worked into the shadows. This gives my blues an oily/iridescent look. But the strongest colour contrast comes from the armour.

Silver would seem to be the obvious choice but I decided to go with gold! I wanted a little bling for the scheme and gold will certainly provide that. It also provides a strong colour contrast to the blue tones.


A potential problem with all this blue and gold is that it could look very ‘High Elven’ and ‘good’. That’s countered by the overall darkness and also by the gold tone I’ve decided to use. Like the Abyssal Warlord this model features a cold gold tone. I’ve also gone for a dramatic high contrast look with almost pure black shadows. This is something I’ve wanted to try for a while and the Tidecaster gives me the perfect opportunity.

The high contrast cold gold is a little tricky to get right but I like how it’s beginning to look in the context of the overall scheme. The Tidecaster is perhaps the least sinister looking of the new Idoneth Deepkin models but I think I’ve managed to catch something of their inner darkness with my scheme.

Next time I’ll look in more detail at the colours I’ve used in my palette to create my Deepkin colour scheme.

Tuesday 5 June 2018

Exploring contrast in miniature painting

I’ve just got back from a thoroughly enjoyable time teaching my second workshop at Element Games in Stockport. It was great fun but after 18 hours on the go, plus the five hour drive each way, I’m taking a couple of days to chill!


Understanding the importance of contrast in miniature painting and taking control of it is vital. Over the course of the weekend we examined different types of contrast, degrees of contrast and comparative contrast with regards to painting miniatures. Contrast is the foundation of every paintjob and it helps to create a focal point, impact, visibility, character and atmosphere.

While my workshop contained plenty of theory and demonstrations, I like to get everyone painting their own miniature as soon as possible! The aim was not to be going home with a finished miniature but to gain some useful theory, techniques and, most importantly in my view, experience. Painters can then build upon this experience and apply it to their own projects.


The focus for Saturday was on the use of tone and colour to create contrast.

We looked at:

• ways of establishing global lighting/contrast on a painted miniature

• colour theory and different types of colour contrast

• how tone and colour can be used to create an effective colour scheme.

On the Saturday evening I delivered a seminar titled ’10 top tips, tricks and techniques’. This was an illustrated presentation where I discussed some of my favorite ‘tricks of the trade’ and demonstrated how I had applied them to my own projects. In a new development from last year, Element Games live streamed the seminar via their Facebook page.


During Sunday we continued to develop the colour schemes we had created and explored other types of contrast using various techniques and materials. This included:

• painting texture and detail

• True metallic versus Non metallic metals

• Surface finishes - matt/gloss/satin

• a highly worked versus loosely worked finish and using this contrast to create a focal point

• adding textures and special effects to a painted miniature.



We rounded the weekend off by looking at ways of bringing together the different types of contrast on the same model to achieve a balanced effect and create overall impact.

I was impressed to see how thoroughly everyone committed to the weekend and applied themselves to the exercises I set. One of the most rewarding aspects for me was to see the total variety of colour schemes and types of contrast that the painters had created! No two Poxwalkers were alike but all of them utilized the aspects of contrast we’d discussed.