Judas Bloodspire, Vampire

By Anthony Karl Erdelji

I know its been quite a while since I've written a full painting article and in that time I've learn many new painting techniques. On this miniature I’ll be using two new techniques I have not used in any other articles to this date. To start with I am using black primer instead of white. 

Black primer has benefits over white PROVIDED you use the proper painting techniques. If you’ve read any of my other articles you know my typical painting procedure is to apply the basecoat, then give it a wash of paint or ink for shade, and then apply the highlights. However several months ago I gave up using washes. Washes are good for some quick shading, but they are inaccurate and tend to dry where the wash wants to go and not where the painter wants. Tossing the washes into the trash I return to a painting technique I first used when I began painting many years ago; starting with the shade first and working up to the lighter highlight colors. So instead of applying in the order of base coat, shade and highlights, I’ll be applying them in the order of shade, base coat, and highlight, or in other words from darkest to lightest. For example if painting a medium blue with my old method I’d paint a basecoat of medium blue, give it a dark blue wash, reapply the medium blue basecoat (if necessary), and then mix in light blue for each highlighting step. With my new method I start with dark blue, then a mix of dark blue and medium blue, then medium blue, and then add light blue for each highlighting step. Using this method ensures the shade is placed exactly where I want it and I can do away with messy washes.

I have often heard of painters having problems with paints covering black primer. This is most likely because they are applying the basecoat color first and the color is too light or thin to cover black. By working from darkest to lightest each color is applied over another color only slightly different in hue. Its even possible to use light colors like yellow or white when using black primer because the white, for example, is not being painted over black, but over a light gray, which in turn is over a medium gray, which is over dark gray, which is over the black primer.

One word of warning regarding this method of layering. We will be applying many layers of paint, so it is vital each layer is thinned well. If not many of the fine details on the miniature could get clogged with paint. If you don’t know how to thin your paint I recommend reading my article on Highlighting and Shading before reading on. While it does discuss using white primer instead of black the paint thinning techniques still apply.

Of course you can still use white primer with this layering technique, but I find it easier on my eyes working from dark to light rather than from light to dark to light. Black primer can also hide those little areas you’ve missed or cannot reach with a paintbrush. If you are not using washes and are use this layering technique there is no reason not to use black primer!

Another new technique in this article is painting non-metallic metal. Non-metallic metal (or NMM) simply means using non-metallic paints to paint metal items such as weapons and armor. This technique has grown in popularity in recent years since the French miniature company Rackham uses this technique religiously on their Confrontation miniatures. There are two different types of NMM; plain NMM and reflective NMM. Plain NMM is painting metal the exact same way other areas such as a cloak or skin would be painted. No different techniques are applied. Plain NMM is good for metal that is burnish, not polish, or has seen general wear and tear typical of most adventurer types. Reflective NMM is a much more complicated technique used to paint highly polished, almost chrome-like metal. Rather than painting in our typical overhead lighting style, reflective NMM requires extreme contrast to make the metal appear so polished as to have a reflection. Some go as far so to reflect the color of the ground and sky onto the metal, much like a canvas landscape artist would paint a lake to reflect the surrounding mountains and trees. Reflective NMM is too complicated to explain here, (and I’m still learning it myself), but I mention it because its important to know the difference between the two and more importantly when and where each technique should be used. A crusty skeleton or zombie would look ridiculous carrying a reflective NMM chrome-like sword, yet a miniature of a soldier on parade may benefit from this technique. Either style may be more realistic and effective depending on the miniature being painted.

Now on to our miniature. Reaper has once again delivered an excellent sculpt from the hands of Werner Klocke. I always try to get an idea of the personality and style of the miniature before painting. To me Judas Bloodspire appear to be a nobleman who has recently been turned into a vampire and the paint scheme should reflect this idea.  I plan to use bright regal colors, but have then all slightly dulled and darkened to show his recent turn to the "dark side". Please note that all paints are Vallejo Model Color unless stated otherwise.

After removing any seam lines with a hobby knife and file the miniature is glue to the base and the cloak is pinned and glued into place. The top of the base is covered with slightly thinned Liquitex acrylic gel medium and then dipped into a bowl of Games Workshop gravel. White or PVA glue can be used in place of the acrylic gel medium, but acrylic gel gives a stronger bond.

After the gel medium as dried the base is brushed with a large brush to remove any loose gravel and the miniature is primed black. Expensive primer is not necessary. I use a product called Brite Touch Primer from a local auto parts store and it costs under $3 a can. After the primer has cured overnight any bare areas are touched up with black paint.   Quick primer tip! Always let primer dry at least overnight. As primer cures it releases vapors. If you begin covering the miniature with paint too soon those vapors are trapped and may weaken the bond between paint and primer, or primer and metal.

The base is painted first since it involves heavy (and messy) drybrushing. If the base was saved until last I might accidentally get paint onto other painted areas of the miniature.  The base gets a good layer of SS Camo Black Brown. It is then drybrushed with English Uniform and then again with an equal mix of English Uniform and Coat d’arms Bone.

With the base done its time to do some real painting. I decided to start with the cloak since it is very large and imposing. Large, smooth areas like this are difficult to paint and require many more layers of extra thin paint than typically called for with other areas of a miniature. Each layer listed below was layered itself five or more times to get a smooth transition of color. The cloak is first covered with an equal mix of Cadmium Maroon, SS Camo Black Brown, and Black paint. This layer would be my dark lining and once finished is visible only where the cloak touches another area on the miniature. A dark line can be significantly darker than the darkest shade color and the added contrast helps to define one area or object from another.

After the dark line the deep shade color is the same mix as above, but with only a touch of black paint added to the other two.

The second shade is an equal mix of Cadmium Maroon and SS Camo Black Brown. Then the basecoat  of Cadmium Maroon is applied.

The first highlight is Cadmium Maroon mixed with a small amount of Cavalry Brown and a touch of Dark Red.

The same mix is applied again, but this time with more Cavalry Brown added. The next highlight is straight Cavalry Brown.

Since the back of the cloak is folded over the front it is not receiving any direct lighting and is now finished. However the back of the cloak is in direct light and requires a few more highlights. The back of the cloak gets two more highlights of Cavalry Brown with a small amount of Dark Flesh added each time. Now the cloak is totally complete.

For his robe I wanted something that at one time could have been white, but has darkened due to many days in the field. The robes start with a layer of English Uniform and SS Camo Black Brown for the dark line. To being the shading process this is covered with English Uniform.

For the second shade a mix of English Uniform, Iraqui Sand, and Green Ochre is used.

The basecoat is the same mixture with some Buff added. The first highlight is an equal mix of Iraqui Sand and Buff.

The second highlight is straight Buff, and finally a mix of Buff and Ivory for the final highlights.

The armor and sword comes next and now is the time to choose an NMM style. Reflective NMM would look silly considering all the wear and tear our vampire has been though, (just look at his clothes!), so we’ll go with plain NMM. For the dark lining I’m leaving the black primer. The first shade is a mix of German Grey and Black, followed by the second shade of German Grey. The basecoat is a mix of German Grey and a touch of Neutral Grey.

The first highlight is Neutral Grey with a touch of German Grey. The second highlight is Neutral Grey and the final highlight is Neutral Grey with a touch of Coat d’arms Elven Grey.

The armor came out lighter in color than I wanted, so I wanted to counteract it with some dark old gold. The gold trim on the armor and pommel of the sword gets a layer of SS Camo Black Brown, then a mix of SS Camo Black Brown and English Uniform. Next is English Uniform, then Gold Ochre. Straight Gold Ochre finishes the gold.   The gloves and boots are painted with SS Camo Black Brown (yes, I use this color A LOT!) for shade. Coat d’arms Dark Leather is mixed in for the basecoat, and I-Kore Swamp Brown is added twice for the highlights. The boots get a little extra highlighting to show additional wear and tear typically found on footwear.

Rather than paint him with pale skin (remember he just turned into a vampire, so still has a bit of a suntan!) I decided to use something closer to a normal skin tone.  SS Camo Black Brown provides the dark line. This color is worked up to Camo Pale Violet Brown for the basecoat.

A touch of I-Kore Flesh is added to the Camo Pale Violet Brown for the first highlight and then Coat d’arms Light Flesh is added to the same mix for two more highlighting steps.

The lips and eye sockets are again painted with SS Camo Black Brown. The eyes are painted in with Off-White and the pupils are dotted in with Black and a 20/0 brush. The lips are a mix of Camo Pale Violet Brown with Coat d’arms Poison Purple and a touch of SS Camo Black Brown. A decent drop of White is added to highlight the lips. The teeth are picked out with Coat d’arms Bone.   After trying out a few different colors (notice the red?) I finally decided to paint his fancy, ruffled shirt Black. Coat d’arms Iron Grey is added for the first highlight and Coat d’arms Elven Grey for the second.

The hair is painted Burnt Umber and Black. It is then drybrushed with Burnt Umber and then again with Yellow Ochre with a tiny touch of Burnt Umber.

The final item(s) to paint are the ruins he’s standing on. Instead of the layering technique used on the rest of the model the ruins are wet blended. Wet blending is basically the same as layering, but each layer is applied while the previous layer is still wet. It requires a quick hand (hence, no in-progress photos) and works well for items where color gradation has to be considered. Stone, for example, is a perfect candidate for wet blending since a single rock can have many variations in color due to nature or moss or lichen.   Starting with a Black undercoat the rocks and ruins are painted with a mix of German Grey and Coat d’arms Field Grey. Green Grey is added for highlights. While wet blending stone I usually work back and forth between each color until I’m happy with the results. One of the benefits of wet blending is you can go back and forth between color to add more shade or highlight as long as the paint is still wet. Once finished (and dry) the recesses of the ruin get a thin placement wash of Military Green for some mossy growth.

To protect the paint the miniature it gets two coats of Testors Lusterless Flat, sprayed twelve hours apart. Finally random parts of the base are brushed with thinned acrylic gel and a mixture of Hudson & Allen Winter Grass and crushed basil spice is sprinkled on top. All done!

While I painted the miniature with mainly dark colors you can see by the robes that very light colors, even white, can be used over a black primer. It just takes the right layering technique and many layers to get it right. Since I’ve switch to black primer and gone back to my old (now new) layering technique my painting skills have improved by leaps and bounds. Ink and paint washes can provide shading, but they can only take you and your talent so far. Perhaps its time you turn to the dark side and learn to true power of black primer!