Console-lit cockpits

[HereBeDragons]

Hi guys, I wanted to try painting the cockpits of my venoms to look like they are in darkness and lit by the console lights. I know its been done to great effect before, particularly with IG valkyries, so I was hoping some people here would have some advice on how to achieve the look effectively. This is what I have so far, just a drybrush of scab red then blood red:





And with canopy attached:



Thanks for your help!

[ctsteel]

The general effect is looking good but with OSL you will want the light source ( the console) to be the brightest part, then have the light fading slightly as it moves away (ie on the pilot's head etc). At the moment (from the pics) they seem to be the same intensity. Try getting some more brightness to the console screen and perhaps the areas that are struck by the light first (ie closest in direct line of sight from the screen).

[Symrivven]

Indeed object source lighting (OSL) is what you are looking for, you can find many tutorials online. I can go over the basics right now.
The most important part is remembering where the light is coming from and that is moves in a straight line (in most cases). so it can onli light up the parts of your model that can draw a straight line to the source of your light.
In addition the light will be brighter closer to the source. In this case is chest would probably get brighter red (or orange) than the top of the head.

This is not the only way (and maybe not even the best) but I achieve OSL by painting my model the normal way and adding OSL afterwards with diluted paint (don't just use water, use something to break the surface tension). You can see some examples in my painting logs (especially Dark Eldar -> Incubi).

Good luck with your cockpit.

[HereBeDragons]

The general effect is looking good but with OSL you will want the light source ( the console) to be the brightest part, then have the light fading slightly as it moves away (ie on the pilot's head etc). At the moment (from the pics) they seem to be the same intensity. Try getting some more brightness to the console screen and perhaps the areas that are struck by the light first (ie closest in direct line of sight from the screen).

Ok I'll brighten up the screen a bit and try and get a bit more directionality to the lighting.

Indeed object source lighting (OSL) is what you are looking for, you can find many tutorials online. I can go over the basics right now.
The most important part is remembering where the light is coming from and that is moves in a straight line (in most cases). so it can onli light up the parts of your model that can draw a straight line to the source of your light.
In addition the light will be brighter closer to the source. In this case is chest would probably get brighter red (or orange) than the top of the head.

This is not the only way (and maybe not even the best) but I achieve OSL by painting my model the normal way and adding OSL afterwards with diluted paint (don't just use water, use something to break the surface tension). You can see some examples in my painting logs (especially Dark Eldar -> Incubi).

Good luck with your cockpit.

Yes, I've seen your dark eldar (which are amazing btw). I think that is a bit beyond what I was planning on doing I was going for this dark cockpit look as an attempt to save time tbh. If it doesn't work out I'll probably paint the pilots normally when I do the next couple of venoms. One day I'll try and do some more serious OSL but I don't think these are the models. After all I've got another 2 to do after these 2 at least lol

Thanks for your advice guys!