And Hello a Third Time...

This set of tutorials and blogs are going to build on the Previous two set of blogs - from the more basis in SO, you want to paint some TIE Fighters , to the more colourful advances of the SO, you want to paint some Rebel squadrons .

(andhere are th links)

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/250538-so-you-want-to-paint-some-tie-fighters/

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/266018-so-you-want-to-paint-some-rebel-fighters/

Now, we're going to be on to the Rogues, Heroes, Scum and Villainy... I leave it up to you who gets what designation...

But we're going to break away a bit from the format previously - above, in the previous two articles, you got step by steps on how to do the whole bit from start to finish... I am going to operate on the assumption that you have at least perused them - if not, I do suggest you do... And instead, I'm going to get down here into the more creative side and show you overall how I get some effects that I'm known for and how they can be applied in general .

There will be specific colour-scheme ideas for people - because really, when we deal with these things, we deal with two concepts... Canon and Free-For-All.

There are general, Canon and Near-Canon paint schemes for a lot of these famous characters and vehicles... So generally, for those named characters, we look at what they are...

So, awesome... We've painted up our first VCX as the Ghost .... But what now? There are no other official depictions of a VCX Freighter other than the Ghost... So where does that leave us?

Free for all.

Sometimes, we get lucky, in that there are others we can draw from.. Firesprays for example, have not only Slave 1, but as "Canon" and "Near Canon" (EU/Legends) we have Jango's Slave 1, Kath Scarlett, and even the Andrasta if we're really feeling adventurous (trust me, tiny Twi'lek Dancing Girls are not as hard as you first imagine!)

So, here we go...

Expect both Canon and Crazy...

THIS TOPIC IS WIP AND MORE IS TO COME

THE HALL OF CANONICITY

So now we;re working "with respects" to the Canon. The idea is, essentially, we're not looking to 100% represent it exactly... The models, although detailed, are poorly defined in the wrong areas to work correctly for that, so we kind of go for the "Treatment" technique.

Here, we're working on both a Shadowcaster (Lancer) and a Ghost (VCX). They share a very similar pallete in the fact that they are mostly grey with striking yellow markings... So we get down to that.

Its a lighter grey than usual, so I work with Administratum as the most part... I layer on the yellow, and correct it, as needed with the Administratum... Just to get it neat and detailed... Note that at this point of the picture, I havn't corrected anything, and are still in the process of "Get Yellow where there needs to be Yellow." and will be touchingit up afterwards... The same applies for the Red on them both, and the Grey/Green patches on the Ghost.

Perhaps the #1 thing I will stress here is to not forget the underside ... Part of the full job is respecting the underside, and at least for the Shadowcaster and the Ghost, you can get stills from SW: Rebels that show the underside portions...

Once main colours are down,its a matter of choosing wther to do an overall unifiying wash colour, or to wash areas separately... In the case of these two, they got a unifying, as I wanted to dirty down the yellow with the Nuln Oil I was using... But for example, on a Kath Scarlett Firespray, where there are alternating Red and WHite bands, I'dbe washing those portions separately - Red with Crimson, White with Nuln... And making sure the wash is completely dry before switching colour, so they don't flow and join.

****. it appears I'm out of Fuel for now.

CANON AND NEAR-CANON

Now, at the moment, I'm swamped in Lancer and VCX paints - so I'm concentrating on the Lancer now... The Lancer itself is "fairly New" as an actual 100% Canon Craft... I say "fairly", because it was based on previous design details - including unreleased and unused portions.

Which is what I am going to look at today, for some of my "Generic" Lancers. The Shadowcaster has already been painted in all of its glory. That one's a given for Ketsu Onyo.

So Let's look at what we have.

Now, its not 100% canon, but we do have one other "official" picture of a Lancer painted. At least, its a front view.

Its on the Lancer card.

Yes, yes. I know no-one takes Generic Lancers... So you probably havn't seen it.

But that's okay. We'll start with that one.

Not too hard.. Some white, some Purple-Red. Some Red... Not too difficult at all.

But now, let's look at something that is a little trickier... This is all about Research for the most part.

Now, we're going to look at The Banshee .

For those who do not know, the Lancer is basically "based" off a craft that was planned, mocked up, and prepared to be used for the Clone Wars series, by Assaj Ventriss. This is the Banshee. You'll notice there are some differences in overall design that sets it apart - but these days, heck, we'll just say its, y'know, a Standard Lancer vs a Heavily Modified Lancer or something.

At any rate. We're going to go for the paint scheme - not replicating it exactly , as the surfaces aren't there for it (its too bumpy on our little lancer model), but we're certainly going for inspired by the paint scheme.

And honestly? I love painting Purple. Its a guilty pleasure for me. Purple just happens to be, in paint pigments, colour that I get ... It layers well for me, it covers well, it washes well, it gives nice depth and great coverage... Purple is fun for me.

The AWESOME part about all of these digital resources is that they make designing and considering paint schemes much easier, as you get some great angles and breakdowns - like this:

So how does this translate to Models?

Well, here we go...

Blocking in some basic colour. I've started with the normal Neutral Grey primer, and we're going to work up from there.

Here, the Purples I am using are a Purple Triad of colours from Reaper Miniatures... Specifically, Nightshade Purple, Imperial Purple and Amethyst Purple. I purchased these in one pack as a Triad, as they are designed to be complimentary highlight colours to each other!

The front section - the brighter purple, will start Imperial. The darker purple on the rear, starts Nightshade, which is a half-shade away from Black... Its important to remember that after a Wash and a Highlight, the Dark Purple at the back will be closer to the Imperial at the Front, and the Imperial will be brighter and more defined. Also, I didn't miss spots on the back,the paint is still wet and is reflecting


Once all that's dry, we then grab some white and start defining - loosely - the areas in question. The Banshee has an organic design which won't translate perfectly, but we can work on the basics...

As you see, some rough progress... Just blocking in the white and getting things set as basics...

We can then go back with more white to define, and more importantly, more of our base colours to overbrush the white to sharpen it up and neaten any mistakes... This is why, primarily, I[m doing all of this with simple single block colours. If they were pre-highlighted or mixed colours, it would be more difficult to match and match and match...

The shape of the White is more defined here, as are the Banshee's "Wings" and "Claws". There is still some bits to tidy up, but we;re making progress, even re-establishing some grey where it needs to be.

Next up, more definition before we work on washing.

FINAL POSTS OF BANSHEE TO WAIT

THE GAUNTLET

The single Largest squadron model in the game.

Let's do this Twice.

Here we go.

So, primed black, since they're primarily dark, and I didn't want to have to paint one black and one grey in the priming - so, short cutted...

I started with the standard Gauntlet getting a Side-Brush of Grey... This is one pass. really. The model has beautiful flat surfaces, raised edges, and gorgeous crisp detail. The model did ALL of the work here.

The Nightbrother I just spotted on some grey, since its patchy and worn - that'll be the hardest part of this paint, but we'll get to that.

Basecoat of Red to go on the Nightbrother... Just a matte rof hitting the areas closest to it... I mean, really, you can't 100% replicate but you can basically "Tribute" as you go...

So, I got a little "In the Zone" and started just going crazy... The Grey (Dawnstone) was touched up on both, the Black on Nightbrother got a going over (because Priming isnot Painting, folks!). and then I picked a nice blue I havn't used in forever for the Gauntlet - Teclis blue.

That got painted on... The gauntlet then got a lightening of the lower grey sections and part of the fuselage as shown on the main picture - but I also drybrushed a little on the rest of the grey to give it a highlight.

This picture was taken while the 3:1 Water:Nuln was drying... I wanted it super-light here, because Ive got some more highlighting work to do , and I didn't want to obliterate everything with a heavy wash.

And then, once it was all dry - I went back and edged Highlight... I mean, these models are BEAUTIFUL for that. Sharp raised edges, plenty of gap space... Just beautiful...

Teclis Blue got Hoeth Blue as an Edge... Dawnstone, Administratum... Wazdakka, Evil Sunz... You get the Drift...

And in the end, all I needed was some 5 Colour Engine Glow (Because I'm kinda tired at this point )

And boom.

POST IS STILL WIP

THE FREE FOR ALL AND GENERAL TECHNIQUES SECTION

ENGINE GLOWS

As part of my pricing structure, I put as much effort into each Irregular Squad as I do a full Hero squad - and charge accordingly... but even then, sometimes, I go a little nuts...

For example... You will have noticed in the previous tutorials that basic Squadrons tend to get a 3-colour engine glow... More advanced ones get a 4-5 one...

But sometimes... I go nuts.

Like, for example, what does an 8 Colour Progression for Engine Glows actually look like .

Here.

That's what it looks like.

As (kinda) shown, the colour progression is:

Evil Sunz Scarlet
Wild Rider Red
Troll Slayer Orange
Hearthfire
Yriel Yellow
Flash Gitz Yellow
Dorn Yellow
Leather White (Ordinarily, this would be linen white, but Dorn is already kinda creamy)

Reserving one last topic before General Comments Start...

HOLY CRAP THAT 8 COLOUR ENGINE GLOW IS NOTHING BUT ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! Can’t wait to see the rest!

Explicititive deleted!! I'm seriously impressed by you engine light that's some good stuff....we need to get this man more fuel NOW!

Added the start of the Banshee painting.

After going through the three of your posts, I'm all fired up to start painting my squadrons! But then I look at the actual miniatures and reality sets in...

"Aww, fuuuudge.. they looked so much bigger, and easier to paint in the pictures..."

Don't worry, I'll phych myselfto do it.

Adding soon: a Nice sized Canvas...

#MandaloriansOvercompensate.

PICTURES UPDATED TO HOPEFULLY REMAIN!

I really like the Gauntlet fighters, can you make a guide on how to use them? That red one in particular is great.

Posting to the front page due to a resurgence in popularity.

On 1/16/2018 at 7:28 AM, Drasnighta said:

The AWESOME part about all of these digital resources is that they make designing and considering paint schemes much easier, as you get some great angles and breakdowns - like this:

where do you find those pictures?

10 hours ago, Kaashifar said:

where do you find those pictures?

Rebels production art.

19 hours ago, Kaashifar said:

where do you find those pictures?

The purple/navy Lancer is concept art for a ship for Ventress in Clone Wars animated that didn't get used because the episode didn't get finished. (I think that it was for the story that ended up in the "Dark Disciple" novel which is a very good read as a fan of Ventress in Clone Wars.) They then adapted the ship to be Ketsu's ship in Rebels animated and it made its way to X-wing and Armada based on the presentation in Rebels.

21 hours ago, Kaashifar said:

where do you find those pictures?

My Technical background is Records and Archive Management.
Knowing how files are indexed and précised for search engines means I'm Good at the Googles