Eldar Fire Dragon

By Assistant Doc Jason Pyett (a.k.a. No Remorse)

Colors needed:

Skull White (pure white)

Chaos Black (flat black)

Snakebite Leather (brown-green mix)

Vermin Brown (medium brown)

Shadow Grey (gray-blue)

Codex Grey (dark grey)

Ghostly Grey (very light blue)

Red Gore (dark red)

Blood Red (true red)

Blazing Orange (medium orange)

Sunburst Yellow (medium yellow)

Golden Yellow (dark yellow)

Goblin Green (medium green)

Equipment recommended:

000 brushes

Wet Palette

Acrylic Extender

Acrylic Flow Release

Plaster of Paris

Testors Dullcote Spray

Acrylic Sealant Spray

First step, as always, is to figure out what type of base you desire. For this squad I wanted them to be on a volcanic type of terrain with the exarch on the top of some cooling lava. To that end I mixed up some plaster of Paris and let it harden just slightly before putting on the bases, this allows you to create a more rough type of rock.  After I was done with the bases it was time to prime and blackline the squad. I recommend doing this to the whole squad at once, since this will save you time in the long run.

Before I get any further along in this tutorial I would like to apologize for the quality of some of the pics. I did not have the best conditions for photographing so some of the images are quite blurry.

After priming and black lining.

I first basecoated the helmet with blood red and chaos black.

The fiery effect on the helmet was achieved by layering from a 1:1 mix of chaos black and blood red then more blood red added to the mix for each higher shade up to the basecoat. Blazing orange was added to blood red for each successive highlight. A very watered down golden yellow was then used at the tips of the area and then the edges of the area were painted white. This is way throughout the entire model that the fiery effect was achieved.

The symbol on the helmet and black flames were done by slowly building up the shape with watered down chaos black until it was the desired intensity.

The gems are the same way on all my minis I follow this procedure. First basecoat the gem the colour you want, next in the top left hand corner paint a black 1/4 moon (like they show in the codex) after than mix your basecoat with the black 1:1 then just blend in the basecoat and the straight black with this mix. The basecoat should still cover about 3/4 of the gem right now) Next mix the basecoat with white 1:1 paint that on the bottom right hand corner of the gem. Use a mix of the basecoat and white about 2:1 to blend in the basecoat to that area. Finally add a very thin white line on the very bottom right hand of the gem (where it curves into the setting) and put a white dot in the black area (near the middle of it) It should be circular but also should follow the curve of the gem. This method works very well for most average size gems but for large ones you will have to put in some more intermediate steps when blending the corners into the basecoat. And for small gems just do the basics without worrying about blending in the areas. For really small gems (like those on so many GW Elven units) a simple and very small white dot on the top of the gem is all you will need.

The black was achieved by adding progressively more shadow grey to black for each successive highlight. Usually following these ratios 1:3 shadow grey to black, 1:1 and 2:1. It was edged with ghostly grey. The black was done the same way throughout the entire mini.

The “brass” bits of the helmet were first basecoated vermin brown. To shade I added scorched brown to the vermin brown about 1:1. The deepest shade was pure scorched brown. They were highlighted by adding golden yellow to the vermin brown 1:1 then the highest point of the area was given a final highlight of white and golden yellow mixed 1:1, just a very fine line. The brass was done the same way throughout the mini.

Chest done and arm with fiery effect done.

The armband was accomplished by basecoating it goblin green then adding dark angels green to shade and adding progressively more white to the goblin green for each successive highlight with a final highlight of goblin green to white ratio of about 1:3. The honor badges were first basecoated white then given a wash of vomit brown. A watered down chaos black was used to add the inscriptions on them.

The upper body finished and the legs basecoated. The tabard was given edges of black.

Legs finished, except for badges.

The scales were basecoated Goblin green and followed the same gradient as the armband. With the highlights directed towards the highest points of the scales, which are aiming downwards.

The rest of theses shots are just stage shots using the above guidelines.

The base was done very simply by basecoating with black then using the same formula for highlighting black as the rest of the mini, but using drybrushing instead of blending.

Dullcote with 3 thin coats and there you have it a Fire Dragon which will inspire fear into any Imperial regiment (especially those loaded down with tanks hehe).

Thank you for reading this tutorial and I hope it helps. Happy Painting, and be sure to visit my Mini-Painting Yahoo! Group for more painting tips and tricks.