Skaven Painting Log - Purple Colour Scheme

[CaptainFaramir]

Just started Skaven. First ever hoard army (my O&Gs were always cavalry/chariot/pump wagon focussed). Stuck in Berlin for six months away from the missus so little else to do but paint. Just finished assembling the Battalion box set. Also have a Screaming Bell for later.

First up - choosing a colour scheme. Have done five clanrats in Purple rags. Want thoughts on:

a) Quality of the pics (and how can I improve - using Nikon D40)
b) Whether the purple looks good.

Re the second, have only done base, first wash, first layer of paint, so no highlighting... it's not a finished product yet,just want opinions on the purple. used a liche base, liche and chaos black 1:1 wash, and liche and blood red 5:1 for main. May try liche and scab in same ratio as this is a little "red".

Thanks

[Ultimate Life Form]

Ah, yes-yes, fine pictures they are. However I think you are right about the result being a bit too red. Tone it down a tad and I think it looks great.

[babyberg31]

I love it. In fact, opposed to ULF, I would say put a little bit of red in this. Could match their eye if your planing to put them red. and the pics looks great!

[themasterofstyx]

Want thoughts on:

a) Quality of the pics (and how can I improve - using Nikon D40)

Well, you certainly dont have bad pics but I can give you few hints (altough im no pro either but just passing on the advices I got when I wanted better pics):

1. Use tripod! Its a must. You have pretty clear photos but it still makes your life easier. Get one.
2. Preferably a white background, atleast light in colour and no texture. White paper is easy, put it under the mini and curve it behind the miniature.
3. Make a "tent". Again, you can use white paper to build a tent. It divides the light nicely with the white background.
4. Enough light. With the tent you can bring the light sources close to the mini and get enough light. I guess two lightsources is about right, one from above and one from the direction of the camera.

Thats about it. Heres my setting for the last photo shoot: http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/a...vauspaikka.jpg
Really fast and basic, with some effort I could make the tent better by building it around a cardboard box for example. Should be little bigger too. And I really should use another lightsource also. Results with that setup you can see from my blog.

Oh, and also remember that you dont have to take pics extra close. Think about when you pick up a mini and inspect it in real life, you get a better view of the mini when its bit further away than too close. So when its bigger than in real life, its too much.

Hope that helps!

[ftayl5]

lovely, very good paint job, this your first?

The purple might be too red, sorta seems like the guy failed at dyeing his clothes, which is fine coz he's just a rat really. Looks good either way!

[Ultimate Life Form]

Thankfully we have a color option here. what I would go for is this, simply because I like it, while babyberg seems to be in favor of this.

[babyberg31]

Thankfully we have a color option here. what I would go for is this, simply because I like it, while babyberg seems to be in favor of this.

Well, I've got a Slaanesh army in liche purple painting tone... Might explain some things

[CaptainFaramir]

Guys, thanks for the feedback... especially themasterofstyx (had my fancly DSLR for a year now and still not sure how it all works!) and UltimateLifeForm for the excellent colour palette here: http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=254046


will have the first full rank (of five, none of this ten wide rubbish) done tonight with basing and highlighting, in a Deeper Shade of P(urp)ale

[CaptainFaramir]

So.... as promised as selection of skaven in this season to-die-for colour... purple... ...any preferences... I still think that the red is my favourite (but then he was first, so maybe I'm biased!

In the pics below, from left to right we have...

Squeek: sporting rags coloured with a liche:blood 5:1
Squeel: wearing the rather darker liche:gore 5:1
Scritch: modeling the reasons more depressing liche:royal blue 5:1
and Titchty and Skitchy who are both wearing plain old liche highlighting.

Not sure if the pics are bright enough, but I'm supposed to be going for a curry in five minutes so bit of a rush job with the camera.

Bonus close up picture of Squeek, because I am so very pleased with how the rust on his armour turned out. Was a bit rubbish on the others though so I'll need to practice....

Right, only 195 clanrats to go... if I can pick a colour scheme... and make up another two hundred rat-names!!

I'm going to bash out five more in the most popular colour tomorrow, and then have a crack at Deathmaster Snitch on Monday.

[babyberg31]

Well, those models are ace! In fact, your could match all those colours in your army. I mean, Skaven are not the purest representation of unified mass... So variation might get the Horde feeling better, and your patience might last longer with more variation...

Only my two cent, but I think I love all theses littles critters. My preferred one is (on the first picture) the first one. Maybe he's not that purple, but you can easily spot the shading on he's cloths and it seems to be a better look overall. So my vote for the most left on 1 pic.

PS: your skin is pretty damn good to! Hope to see your Screaming Bell soon!

[Hitsugaya Toushiro]

Hi guy i'm a skaven player and i would like to use a DarkElves-heavy metal-style purple colour scheme for my army....

i don't like very much that reddish purple of yours but i like the darker purple ones (Titchty and Skitchy....the 4° and 5° skavens with plain liche purple highlighting) and i would like to now what colours you used for that DE-style purple expecially about highlightnings ^_^

also i'm wondering if you used Citadel Purple Wash, and if not, than why and what do you think about using it over a liche purple base

tnx

[CaptainFaramir]

Took babyberg31 and did the next ten in a 3 by 3 split (3 blood, 3 gore, 3 just liche, 1 blue). Pics tonight if I get out of work on time.

@Hitsugaya:

I didn't use the GW wash - I only really find Ogryn flesh to be a useful wash - I'd rather make my own...

For all five rats, I simply went 3-4:1 Liche:Chaos Black and then watered in down a lot, and applied two washes. I tend to find that people don't "see" the recesses, because they are looking at the highlighting. Provided it's darker and has a small amount of the base colour in, I find that a DYI wash is better than the product line.

For the highlighting, I always make "excess" of my base colour, so that it keeps "wet" as I apply the base, then gradually water it down (with water) and raise the colour. As these were only test rats, I didn't do it here, but I am going (for example on rats 4 and 5 which you liked).

Undercoat: Liche purple
Wash: 1:4:10 Blackurple:water
Base: Liche purple
First Hightlight: 1:3:1 Rotting Flesh:Liche Purple:Water
Second Highlight 1:1:1 Rotting Flesh: Liche Purple:Water

[CaptainFaramir]

Hmm... I'm only fifteen models in (nearly) and I already begin to realise the enormity of my task. This would constitute an entire unit of High Elves, but I'm not even half way done with my first unit of clanrats, and already I am getting itchy for something... how can I put this... more apPEALing.

So, this is now a motivational course in horde army painting, staying the course, laying the ground work. You can't zzzaap, without slaves to slay.

Anyway, fifteen rats to a gaming standard (under, wash, base layer and based) but the rear ten all need to be highlighted and tidied up. I will be putting them aside tomorrow, however, as I've just undercoated everyone's favourite assasin and I've been lookin up camouflage patterns!

The first fifteen (or the first seventh if you will).

[babyberg31]

Great, with only 15 models done, I can already see a great army coming! The general look is great. The rust is pretty well done to. Only thing I would recommend is to put a point of flashy tone somewhere. It would really contrast with the cold colour of your clothes *rags*. The opposed colour of purple is green in the chromatic circle, the right colour for some Warpstone! With some highlight to catch with yellow, you could give a great vibrancy to your units. Maybe some warpstone on the bases? Or green on their shield?? Yours to decide :P

Also, I've got an idea about motivation! To keep a high motivation degree we could make a painting friendly competition! I've started a WOC army about half a year ago and not so much update have been seen... so we could show both of our project progress in this same plog!

Giving tricks, comments, tips, idea and showing each another our progress would boost our morale! I understand that WOC unit are quite smaller, and fewer, but I'm a really slow painter... I'm also doing some commission works atm, so this could slow my process, putting us on a equality line. Personnal challenge: assemble\paint\modify a 2250 pts Mono-Slaanesh. Does that sounds great to you?

[CaptainFaramir]

Feel free. I would appreciate the company! And Slaanesh will be a similar colour scheme, I assume?

And it's a good tip about the green... I haven't really got any eye-catching points... hmm... I may do some free-hand in green/yellow on the shoulder armour...

[CaptainFaramir]

Hmm... It's such a beautiful model...

...may have another crack at the cloak tomorrow, but progress to date as below. Skin and trousers tomorrow.

[Wise Guy Sam]

Ask anybody, I love purple mini's.

Solid start so far on the rats. The Chaos champion is fantastic, best mini I have seen all day.

[babyberg31]

I there. So I've deleted the pics of my stuff. I've stop putting my pics in your post and I'll start my own tread. Don't want to interfere with your art :P

But be sure to watch my tread time to time ! And from the dark corner of the Northland, I'll watch your progress.

[Blackbolt]

Hey, I think purple is an awesome color for skaven. The only other purple skaven i've ever seen besides yours were my own! I've since stopped playing skaven but i thought id post some pics so you can get a feel for what a small painted force looks like. I did purple/green.

[CaptainFaramir]

Dear Father, it has been a month since my last confession. Forgive me father for I have sinned. I have been busy, and very little painting has been done...

That said, I have bought some new models and finalised my first 2k list based on the current 8th Ed. rules (because at this rate, there is no WAY I am going to have this army finished before 6 July). Currently I am thinking:

Grey Seer, Screaming Bell, PS, DS, TW, WPistol (498)
35 Clanrats, Sh, FC, Poison Wind Mortar (243)
50 Clanrats, Sh, FC, Poison Wind Mortar (243)
21 Slaves, Ms (44)
21 Slaves, Ms (44)
21 Slaves, Ms (44)
30 Plague Monks, FC, Storm Banner (290)
8 PCB (128)
2 Doomwheels (300)
Plagueclaw Catapault (100)
Total - 1996

Of the above, I have now purchased the Bell, 80 Clanrats/Slaves, 40 Monks (of which 8 will be converted to PCB), 2 Doomwheels.

And of the above, I have painted, err... well. 40 Clanrats/Slaves and that's about it! So not even a third of my core models. I've pictured all 40 together so I can begin to get an idea of how my two Horde units are going to look... but I currently imagine that the left half will go to form some of the clan rats, and the right half will go to form slaves (armour/non-armour)

I've also include a few pics of my WIPs. [3] The pet project of Sniktch is going very very slowly because I really don't want to mess him up, but I'm happz with the cloak and now just need to highlight his pantaloons.

[4] The plague monks, I gone to a catchan green main colour, highlighted with rotting flesh. I think this works really nicely with the purple of the clan rats, and I think when I've finished the unit and do an army shot it will look "together" despite the fact that one is green and one is purple. (I will be doing all detailing, like warpstone, in purple on the monks, as well).

[5] The current major bug bear. The BELL. There are so many moulding-lines on the Bell Sprue that it is taking me ages to get the pieces together. THe chassis is nearly done however, so it would be nice to get that finished over the weekend.

Anyway, if you are reading this, I hope you like the colour scheme, and if you want to criticise anything (the colours, the painting, the army list) feel free. It makes me feel important, and less lonely in my little Berlin flat surrounded by scary Germans...

Toodles till next week (ha, who am I kidding, next month!)