Highlighting Black

[redben]

I'm going to be painting some ninja and so I'm looking for a little advice on painting black clothes. Is it just a case of putting down a black base coat and highlighting with grey or are there are better ways of doing it?

[xxRavenxx]

Given it's ninja, I'll skip the tutorial on different colours to do black with (blues n such) and launch into the "grey" bit.

You have two good options:

Hilight sharp edges only, going up to a light grey.

Hilight broad surfaces, but keeping to a dark grey.

The issue with hilighting black is that if you go too light, you'll make the models look grey.

My personal preference is to use both techniques, using "black grey" or "German grey" from vallejo over a pure black, then hilight sharp edges with a mix of the grey and a GW codex grey.

If you click on the link in my sig, theres a few black templars I was working on for you to peek at, as well as the eldar wraithlord (check the edges of his black for sharp hilights) and the eldar platform (notice the black isn't black). Also mephisto is a good example of the black being shaded with greys, and the butcher shows off how I work black cloth with his boots. (hes in the khador bit. along with vlad, also showing off some black). And finally, on the second page, I've posted my bushido items, check out the hilights on their black armor. (they actually contain a ninja, but I don't think I got a photo.)


Hope some of that gives you some ideas.

[redben]

Cheers fella . One pot of Vallejo Black Grey has duly been ordered.

[Lord Inquisitor]

To touch on what xxRavenxx skipped over, I find that mixing another colour other than grey or white can work well with highlighting black. Blue is an obvious one, giving you that sort of shiny blue "comic book" black. These days, weird as it might sound, I like to mix in flesh tones with my black to highlight with. Makes the model look less grey (and I'm not sure why a ninja should be highlighted with grey).

[Verm1s]

These days, weird as it might sound, I like to mix in flesh tones with my black to highlight with.

You're in good company:

http://spyglassasylum.blogspot.co.uk...ck-fabric.html

[Wicksy]

Black looks great highlighted with blue/greys for a cool tone or hard grey tones for warmer blacks. Also, dont just base black, base with a mixture of black and another colour.

For example - cool tone black:

Base: 50:50 regal blue/chaos black
1st highlight: 50:50 of base and shadow grey
2nd highlight: shadow grey
3rd highlight: 50:50 shadow grey/space wolves grey
edge highlight: sw grey

Blended together you'll get a great looking black.