Creating a Colour scheme. Part 1 of 3

Having decided to write a series of tutorials on my Kastelan Robot I quickly realized that, before I get to all the fancy stuff, I need to go right back to the beginning. Colour is a fundamental part of miniature painting and a good understanding of how colour works is key to creating and controlling contrast.

No pressure then! 

Please note that our (devilishly handsome) model is not picking his nose.
He is pondering the mysteries of colour theory. Although this might
explain where he get's his snot green from!

Colour Theory.

To be honest this subject could easily fill a book so I’m going to keep things as simple as possible (here’s hoping) and explain my personal approach to colour and colour schemes.

That’s a very important point to stress because I’m not claiming that anything I write about here is the ‘only’ or the ‘best’ way of doing things. In the same vein, I’ll try to be clear, concise and consistent with the terminology I use and explain it where necessary. But you may well encounter different terminology from other sources. So please remember this is my way of doing and saying things, no more and no less.

First of all we need to understand the nature of any given colour if we are going to use it successfully. To help us do that we can describe a colour in terms of four values or characteristics. They are Hue, Saturation, Tone and Temperature.

Hue.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple are examples of hues. The order I’ve listed them in relates to their position in the spectrum and on the Colour Wheel. The different hues contrast with one another in various ways depending upon their position on the colour wheel.

Saturation.

This is a term used to describe the intensity of a colour. A saturated colour will be rich and vivid while a desaturated colour will be washed out and pastel.

Tone.

This refers to how light or dark a colour is.

Temperature.

This refers to whether a colour is warm or cool. This can be quite complicated because the relative temperature a colours will be dependent on context. For example while red is most definitely a warm colour a purple/red is cool next to an orange/red. But the Same purple/red would be warm next to a blue.

It’s important to remember that all aspects of colour contrast should be considered in the context of an overall colour palette.

The Colour Wheel

The colour wheel is a reference tool that can help us to understand the relationships between different hues. You may well find more complex versions elsewhere but the basic example I’m showing here has served me well since I was 14!

The hues are arranged around the wheel in a specific order that relates to their position in the spectrum. The three primary colours red, yellow and blue are at equidistant points with the intermediate shades between them. We go from red to yellow via orange, from yellow to blue via green and from blue to red via purple.

Adjacent hues are considered to be in harmony with one another. A colour scheme only using hues that sit next to one another on the colour wheel is called an Analogous Color Scheme.

Technically speaking analogous hues are three hues next to one another on the colour wheel. But for my own purposes I consider any adjacent group of between two and five hues to be analogous.

However, as hues get further apart from one another on the wheel they become less harmonious and more contrasting. Hues that are directly opposite each another are considered to possess maximum contrast and impact. A colour scheme using hues that sit opposite each another on the colour wheel is called a Complementary Color Scheme.

While it’s possible to use a solely analogous or complimentary colour scheme it’s also possible to include a combination of hues that features both types of contrast within the same colour scheme.

Analogous and complementary schemes are both built around a contrast between hues. However you will also need to consider the saturation, tone and temperature of those hues. This can greatly alter the nature of the colour contrast.

For example a green and red directly opposite one another on the colour wheel, and of roughly the same saturation and tone, will have an extreme contrast. This may be too strong and visually confusing. That is what’s meant when colours are said to clash!

In the next example I’ve lightened and desaturated the green while the red has been darkened. This has altered the contrast so that, although still very bold, it clashes less.

In the final example I’ve further adjusted the contrast by making both colours slightly cooler. Both the red and green now have a bluer hue making them slightly closer on the colour wheel. They are still complimentary but are now also more harmonious then the previous two examples.

If you are familiar with my work you may recognize that final example was the basis for my Gutrot Spume colour scheme.

The strongest and most obvious colour contrast on Gutrot is that between the complimentary hues of red and green. As shown above I’ve chosen to use relatively cool versions of both colours; but there is more going on with my colour choices than a simple complementary scheme.

In addition to the turquoise blue/green I have used other warmer yellow/green hues and together they make up an analogous grouping of colours within the overall palette. There is a strong temperature contrasts between the warm and cool colours. But a more subtle temperature contrast also occurs between the warm & cool greens. Most of the colours on Gutrot are saturated but they are in contrast to the desaturated brown & greys on his base and equipment. The tonal contrasts between the colours are relatively understated.

By understanding the characteristics of the colours in my palette I’ve been able to balance what might otherwise be an overcomplicated and visually unclear colour scheme.

There are no rules about what type of colour contrast you should or shouldn’t use when painting your models. The important thing is that you understand the characteristics of the colours you are using. You are in control and everything that happens in a colour scheme should be there because you have chosen to feature it.

Coming next...

I'll take a look at colour palettes and how (from my point of view) they differ from colour schemes. Then I will describe how I go about building a colour palette for my projects.

Weathering a Kastelan Robot – Part 1.

I’d planned to keep the details of this project fairly close to my chest because I’m painting it for my next workshop ‘Dirt, damage and decay - weathering a Kastelan Robot‘. However, as the workshop has been postponed (for obvious reasons), I’ve decided to share my progress in more detail. I’ll also be posting a series of tutorials, focused on different aspects of the weathering, over the coming weeks.

Why a Kastelan Robot?

My choice of model for this project has been a long process. The weathering workshop grew out of my previous Abyssal Warlord workshop. That was focused on painting the amour and especially on texture and damage. I’ve been on the lookout for a model that:

• had lots of armour/hard surfaces;
• was lighter and easier to handle than the warlord (he’s very heavy!); and
• was more economical to use as a workshop model.

I very nearly settled on the Easy To Build Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought. But then I took a closer look at the Kastelan Robots and they fit the pill perfectly! In addition to meeting my criteria they had the benefit of being particularly appropriate for a weathering workshop. The model represents a ‘huge ancient robot built ten thousand years ago’ so it’s more than likely to have picked up a scratch or two. On a more personal note, with it’s rounded form and curved surfaces, the aesthetics of the Kastelan appealed to me more than the boxy Dreadnought.

With the model selected it was time to think about how I was going to approach painting it for the workshop. Broadly speaking this meant how much and what type of weathering was I going to demonstrate. Over the years I’ve expanded my repertoire of weathering effects and I wanted to go well beyond what I’d demonstrated in the Abyssal Warlord workshop. Off the top of my head, the Kastelan afforded me the opportunity to explore corrosion in the form of rust and verdigris, dirt, staining, battle damage and general wear and tear. I decided to go all out and maybe even over-the-top with the weathering. This would enable workshop participants to thoroughly explore the subject, it would also be fun!

The very first thing I did was to sit down and make some notes. These are simply a series of random jottings on my thoughts for things like techniques, materials, colours and the workshop’s structure. As and when I have a relevant idea it will get added to my notebook so that it’s not forgotten. And then it was time for my least favorite part of any project, preparing the model for painting.

 

Preparing the model.

If there’s one drawback with my choice of model it’s that there are a lot of parts to prepare and assemble! However, I think the model is worth the effort required. The process was a straightforward enough matter of following the instructions. But first I removed the mould lines by using a scalpel to scrape them away and then lightly sanding them with fine grit sandpaper. I like to wet sand a plastic model because I think it gives a smoother finish; it also stops dust getting into the air.

It’s well worth taking some time to study the instructions before you start, because later parts often cover up the mould lines on earlier parts as you assemble the model. This can save a lot of time and it’s most frustrating to carefully clean a part only to discover that it gets covered up! The same principal applies to gap filling. A little bit of planning and test fitting can go a long way towards making the job easier!

It’s also a good idea to think about the model’s pose early in the process. The Kastelan allows some degree of choice in the final pose so you need to consider the situation and setting the model will be in as well as the overall composition. You want to create something interesting and dynamic but you also need to be mindful of how easy (or not) the pose will be to paint. It was at this stage that I decided to leave the arms off and paint them as sub-assemblies. This would enable me to access the side areas of the model. I also considered keeping the legs separate for painting but decided against this. I wanted to establish the pose before I had committed to painting, and the relationship between the legs, hips and torso was crucial. It was more straightforward to assemble these parts unpainted. All in all I found the model quicker and easier to assemble than I’d expected and I’m very pleased with the pose I’ve created.

To prime or not to prime!

It was time to start painting and that meant I had to consider primer and basecoat. I know it still shocks some people that I don’t always prime my models before painting. This is very much my own personal preference not some rampant crusade against priming! I want as few layers of paint between myself and the detail as posible! I make my decisions on a model-by-model basis.

My models will not be handled once finished so I don’t need a primer to help protect them from wear and tear. For me primer is most useful in helping the paint adhere to the surface of a model. This is only really an issue on large surface areas which can be more difficult to cover with a basecoat alone, and may be prone to rubbing during the painting process.

In the case of the Kastelan I decided to go without primer. Although it’s quite a large model (for me) it’s made up of a lot of smaller surfaces and I didn’t anticipate any problems with paint coverage. When I paint a basecoat onto a model I prefer to use Citadel base paints, slightly diluted and applied in three to four thin coats. The first coat will look like a patchy mess but, as long as each coat is thoroughly dry, the coverage gets better with each successive coat.

The ugly truth! These are my basecoating brushes.
I've used them on all my slayer sword winning models!

I apply the paint with a dabbing (dare I say stippling) action. Spreading the paint as far as it will go before I reload my brush. A little dilute paint can go a very long way and this will help to ensure the finished result is smooth and even. The Kastelan posed a particular challenge to this process because the model has a lot of nooks and crannies. Getting paint into all these tricky areas took a lot of concentration and was a little frustrating. Repeatedly checking the model under different lighting and studying it from every angle are the best ways to deal with the issue. It’s very important to spend time and effort getting a good basecoat down. You do not want to be finding any spots of unpainted plastic halfway through a project!

In my next posting I’ll be looking at my choice of a colour palette and how I use that to create an overall color scheme for my Kastelan Robot.

Rockgut Troggoth – Part 6. Some thoughts about painting hands.

For the best part of a year I’ve had difficulty in establishing a regular painting routine. That hasn’t prevented me from making progress but it’s been coming in fits and spurts. Now life is settling into a more regular pattern I’ve been able to focus my energies back onto my hobby and, over the last week, I’ve made a point of painting every day. Taking a ‘little but often’ approach is a very good way of getting back into the swing of things. I think its far better to break out the brushes for an hour or so every day than to attempting some sort of marathon painting binge!

It’s a less punishing approach and it works very well for me because, if things don’t go so well, I can simply put my brushes down and try again tomorrow. I usually find that after a couple of days I get into the flow and end up painting for three to four hours a day. Such has been the case and it’s resulted in some satisfying and productive painting.

Which is just as well because it was time to turn my attention to one of the potentially tricky parts of the model. Hands may not be quite as difficult to paint as faces but I’m undecided about that! A model’s face is usually its focal point and a major element in creating the illusion of a living being, but don’t ever overlook the hands. Hands are used to communicate and they can be just as expressive as a face. They are usually a key element in a model’s pose - be that making a specific gesture, holding a weapon or as part of a greater action. Hands will always be doing something, even if it’s something subtle.

On top of those considerations hands have a lot going on in terms of their form and structure. Fingers are not simply fleshy sausages (unless you are having a very bad painting day) but contain bones, joints and tendons all of which affect the overall form. It’s important to have an awareness of the structures inside a hand in order to paint the outside surface.

In addition to that some of the structures inside a hand, like the veins and joints, may be visible through the skin. As if things aren’t complicated enough you also need to consider how the character’s age, gender, ethnicity and species will affect your painting choices. In short hands can be extremely complex to paint and, like a face, if you get them wrong they will undermine everything else!

Which should all go towards explaining why I’ve taken the best part of a week to paint one hand on my Troggoth! It’s particularly important to take the time and effort in this case because the hands are, literally, a huge part of the Troggoth. The hands are at least as big as the model’s head and feature the distinctive stony scales that are a defining element of the Rockgut Troggoth.

My colour palette for the hands is the same as for the fleshy parts of the Troggoth. I‘d considered painting the hands in the same grey/brown colours as the stony back. But I felt they would not stand out against the boulder they were holding if I did this. I also wanted to create some variation within the stony textures on this model to describe the transition between rock and flesh. To do this I’ve painted the stony parts of the hands and forearms in my flesh colours. So, although painted with the same sharp highlights, the ‘pinker’ stone parts look a little softer than the grey stone parts.

Sproket's Troggoth Masterclass - January 25th & 26th 2020

The Troggoth Masterclass has proven to be my most popular painting class so I’m delighted to be returning to Lead Belt Studio in Nottingham, to run it once more! This will be the last opportunity to attend my Troggoth Masterclass before I announce a new workshop in 2020.

For further details and booking info go to the Lead Belt Studio website.

Adding plant effects to a model. Or, the grass is always greener on the other side of the Troggoth!

Now that the paint job on my Troggoth is progressing I’ve been able to implement something I’ve had planned from the start. That’s the addition of grass, moss and lichen to the rocks on the Troggoth’s back. I consider these sorts of additions to be ‘special effects’ and, done successfully, they can add extra layers of texture, detail and interest to a painted mini. The addition of plant effects to my Troggoth will also help to tie him in more closely with the environment and narrative I’m going to create on the base.

There were a couple of factors I had to take into consideration and the most important by far was scale. It’s all too easy to blow the scale of an effect by making it too big. This applies to drips and splashes as well as it does to vegetation and, if such additions are too big, they will look unrealistic and cartoony at best! As a rough guide I tend to make these effects half as small again as I think they will need to be. This usually works out about right but, if you feel you are going too small, remember it’s easier to add more later on than it is to remove it and start again.

The second factor is specific to adding plant effects to a model. Over the years I’ve decided that my plant effects look better if I combined several different types. This is based on observation as you nearly always find a mixture of plants growing together. Even a simple area of grass can contain a wide variety of species. On a miniature this approach will result in a more realistic effect creating a varied texture that adds a lot of interest!

Grass

In the case of my Troggoth I wanted the plants to look like they were growing in the cracks between the rocks on his back. The first step was to use grass tufts. However, grass tufts can often look a bit too dense when used straight out of the pack. What’s more even the smallest of the tufts were far too big for my purposes because I most definitely did not want to create a heavy mane of foliage.

I always pick through grass tufts removing any lose or oddly angled fibres to thin them out a little. In addition I usually cut my grass tufts down to the required size. These steps will create a more natural, less regular, appearance. A surgical scalpel was perfect for this as it enabled precision and control. There is no getting away from the fact that this sort of work is extremely fiddly but I think it’s well worth the effort!

The resulting micro tufts often comprise of only a few fibres but they are perfectly in-scale for use on the Troggoth’s back. To apply them I pick each tuft up using needle nosed tweezers and carefully dip the rooted end into Vallejo Matt Varnish. I then position them onto the model where the matt varnish will hold them into place. Do not leave the model unattended because the surface tension of the adhesive can sometimes pull such small items out of position. If this happens nudge the tufts back into position using the tip of a clean dry paintbrush.

I’ve found that Vallejo Matt Varnish is an excellent adhesive for fixing small, lightweight, elements onto a model. Once dry it has a clear matt finish that effectively disappears on a painted surface. Just as importantly, if things go wrong, the varnish can be removed, before it dries, with a clean damp paintbrush leaving no visible traces. I’ve used Vallejo Matt Varnish to fix grass tufts, laser cut leaves, cotton wool tufts and microbeads onto my models.

You can further enhance the natural appearance of grass tufts by adding individual stems made from old paintbrush bristles. This gives the effect of different varieties growing together and creates a more varied grass texture with different lengths. My preferred source for the bristles is an old natural bristle paintbrush. The ends of the worn bristles are tapered and sometimes split making them ideal for use as grass stems.

The bristles can be painted, stained or left natural depending on the look you want to create. I trim the bristles to length and then dip the root end into matt varnish. That end is then inserted down into the grass tuft creating the effect of a longer coarser stem growing up through the tuft. This is something I nearly always do when I’m using grass tufts.

Moss and Lichen

I think the grass looks good on my Troggoth but the addition of a little moss and lichen would greatly enhance it! The first part of this process was done using tiny wisps of sponge. These were picked off a piece of synthetic sponge using my tweezers and then torn into even smaller pieces. I did say this was fiddly!

The resulting wisps are VERY small but have a convincing plant texture. The next step is to paint them green and I did this by dabbing them with a paintbrush. Do not dunk the sponge wisps into your paint. You need all over coverage but must avoid saturating the sponge and filling in the cells. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly before moving on to the next step.

Once again I used the matt varnish as an adhesive. In this case I applied a small dot of varnish to the model and then fixed the sponge to that. As with the grass tufts, keep an eye on it as it dries.

The third type of plant texture is made using chinchilla sand. I made up a mix of the chinchilla sand, green paint and matt varnish. The varnish makes the mix bond together once dry and stops it crumbling off the model. This was applied, with a brush, into the crevices on the Troggoth’s back. Remember my warning about keeping effects in scale and only apply a tiny amount at a time. When I use this mix I am often quite literally pushing it around one grain at a time. Now that’s REALLY what I call fiddly, but it makes a difference!

Muddy Roots

I’ve also added grass, moss and lichen to the rock the Troggoth is holding. I want it to look as if it has just been picked up off the ground. To further enhance this effect I’ve added roots and soil to the underside of the rock. The roots are taken from some bamboo growing in my, overgrown, garden. I stuck the roots on to the rock with PVA glue because this has a stronger bond than the varnish.

When the PVA was dry I add my 'soil' mix of chinchilla sand, Scalecolour brown leather and a couple of drops of Valleyo Matt Varnish. The chinchilla sand is my current choice for making a fine texture paste. It has many similar qualities to baking soda not least its’ ability to absorb colour. So far it has proved to be more stable than baking soda so I’m beginning to use it more extensively. Only time will tell if it remains stable in the long term but it’s a risk I’m ready to take.

Once the soil mix was dry I glazed some dilute brown leather into the surrounding areas to blend the edges a little. I then added a few dollops of the soil mix to the roots to make them look as if they had just been pulled up.

For the time being I’m very happy with how the plant effects have worked out on my Troggoth. Once he is based up I may add a little more to him but I need to get an idea of the overall composition before I make a final decision.

At this point I want to say that in my view using ‘special effects’ on a miniature should be approached with some consideration and caution. Special effects can enhance a miniature by contrasting with the painted surfaces. They should only be used when and if their addition is appropriate to the miniature and not simply because they look ‘cool’.

Special effects will not make a weak paintjob better but, if used unsuccessfully, they could ruin a good paintjob. Having said that the successful use of these effects can bring a painted miniature up to a new level of technical skill and greatly enhance its atmosphere and narrative!

Building a ‘better’ Splash

Back when I was making the base for Gutrot Spume I created my wave and splash effects using a foundation of clear plastic. These pieces of plastic had been partly melted and distorted over the heat of a candle. While the finished result was very effective it was also quite a bit of fuss and bother to achieve!

For my Abyssal Warlord I decided to try a slightly simpler method of creating dynamic splash effects for the base. This involved a similar technique to the one used before of building up layers of water effects but, in this instance, I would be using cotton wool as a foundation material.

I’ve used cotton wool previously to create candle flames and seaweed and while I was adding a wet weedy fringe to the Warlord’s cloak, I had the idea to use it for splashes. The technique is very straight forward but it is best done slowly, allowing each stage to dry before adding the next. I’d recommend making up a load of these splashes as a side project fitted in between other jobs.

Materials and Equipment. 

Cotton wool – I used cotton buds as only a very small quantity is needed.
Water effects - I used two types of water effects Transparent Water and Still Water, both by Vallejo. Transparent Water is thick and has some body to it, the Still Water is fluid.
Paintbrush size 1 or 2
Scissors
A plastic tray/ palette – I used an old blister pack

Step 1

Pick off a tiny amount of cotton wool from a cotton bud. Give the cotton wool a coating of the Transparent Water. Take the piece of, now soggy, cotton wool and attach it to the edge of your tray/palette. Gently draw your brush along the length of the cotton wool to pull it out into a longer shape. Now leave the cotton wool alone until the water effects have dried.

Step 2

Trim off any stray or straggling ‘hairs’ with a pair of scissors. Build up the splash using Still Water applied in several successive layers. I found three to four layers gave me the look I wanted. Let each layer dry before you add the next one. As you build up the effect form rounded droplets at the ends of the splashes. The droplets may need a few extra layers of water effects.

Step 3

Once you are happy with the splashes let them dry thoroughly over night. This is an important step as the water effects will shrink somewhat and go totally clear as it dries. The next day you can assess the fully dried splashes to see if they are done, or if you wish to add a little more of the Still Water.

Step 4

When you are satisfied with the splashes and they are totally dry you can cut them from the tray/ palette using scissors. The splashes can then be fixed to your model using a small blob of the Transparent Water. When this has dried you can add further layers of both types of water effects to incorporate the splashes into your base/model.

To finish the splash effects on the Warlord’s base I added a few microbeads (of course) and some slimy seaweed, using more cotton wool, but with less layers of water effects. For a final touch I’ve used a little green pigment powder to tint the last layers of water effects.