Saturday, February 25, 2012

Thrud the Barbarian: Step by Step - Shading


Now that the main colors are done, it's time to add some shading with washes.  These can be a bit tricky.  I can't count the number of times that I've used too dark a wash and had to repaint sections of a miniature!

I started by applying a heavy wash of sepia to the base.  This helps to bing out the texture of the gravel.

Next, I applied a darker brown wash to the belt and axe haft.

Then, I applied the same sepia wash that I'd used on the base o the loincloth.  I was tempted to use the same darker brown that I'd used on the belt, but in the end, I was glad that I'd gone with the lighter wash, as I think it made the loincloth stand out from the belt a bit better.

Then, it was back to the darker brown was for the boots.  I was careful to avoid the straps at first.  This allowed me to use a slightly watered down dark brown wash on them so that they would stand out better.

Next, I used a muddy greyish black wash on the helmet and axe head.  This helps to bring out some of the detail in the recesses and also makes them less shiny.

Finally, we come to what I consider to be the trickiest part of shading, the flesh.  When I mess up, this is usually where it happens.  Fortunately, this time it didn't go too badly. I applied the wash to all of the flesh colored areas to shade the muscle lines and facial features.  In then end, I wish that I had watered the wash down just a tiny bit, but overall, I'm not too disappointed with it.  Thrud has just been well bronzed by the rays of the ancient sun!

Next:  Highlighting!

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