Hey folks!
This guide will show how I've painted camouflage pattern on Primaris
Eliminators cloaks.
Disclaimer: it is an artistic representation, so don't take it too
seriously from "but what about real-life realistic realism" standpoint. Method will obviously work for other Warhammer, and beyond, models.
Dark Angels Primaris Eliminators in question. Yes, they're loyal.
As I needed to paint 9 models, I naturally looked into the least time
consuming option. I've done some quick google search and this caught my
eye:
The basic pattern here is 3 main colors wth roughly equal areas, plus a lightest highlight color sprinkled in between.
Paints I've used for camo on those Dark Angels.
The bulk of the work, stippling itself, was done with this trooper.
Old,
the most basic flat synthetic brush. Bristles should come together to
somewhat of a tip, but it not being perfect is the advantage here.I'll touch on that leg down below...
Colors used in the guide.
You can do without Khaki and Bonewhite, by mixing Heavy Brown and Off White in various proportions.I've picked an arid scheme to showcase different colors. I'll also do half/half of more "uniform" pattern and more prolonged shapes. Stippling itself is just a basis and you can modify the foundation later to more sharp shapes, or add random elements like dots/lines/etc. "This is your world", as one wise man said.
0. Tutorial bit - a piece of Shadowspear Eliminator cloak. Primed with Stynylrez Grey.
1. Basecoat. Heavy Brown. Few thin coats, in this case it was 3.
I think going from a light mid-tone is the easiest. Idea is to later
make this basecoat color look as if it's also some random shapes, and
one of the 3 main colors.
2. First pass of stippling. Flat Brown.
I've used neat paint, no thinning. Remove the excess on the paper towel, but
there should be plenty so it comes off the brush without too much
pressure. "Feeling" the pattern that brush leaves is somewhat important,
so rotate it in your hand to vary it. I deliberately used crappy old
synthetic, as messy "tip" left jagged edges.Also, worth noting - during initial batch painting of urban Eliminators I've noticed how on some cloaks the pattern shapes were skewed in one direction (noticeable here as well), showcasing my right-handedness, so if you'd like a more chaotic look rotate the model around as well.
2.1. Quick shaky example of stippling process.
3. Second pass. Dark Rust. Overlap patches with previous one.
4. Third pass. Khaki.
"Highlight" of sorts, use it as a filler of blank
spaces and to add random dots here and there. You can also use previous
colors to do the same, by the way.
5. Recess shade. Rhinox Hide.
On urban Eliminators I've used Streaking Grime overall wash (example
below), plus selective Rhinox Hide thin dark lining, to shade the
cloaks. But here, to showcase a different method, I've instead used
Rhinox Hide only. Good luck finding the folds....to help with that, you can do step 6 before this one, which I thought about only after, or take a picture of primed/basecoated bit as a reference.
5.1. Streaking Grime in action, crappy phone pics.
Apply roughly where
the folds are, clean up with q-tips dampened in odorless thinner. I
touched up recesses afterwards with Rhinox Hide (not shown).
6. Do a gentle drybrush with the color used on step 4.
Aim for the tops/edges of folds.
You can leave the step out entirely, but I quite like the slight chalky texture it gives to the fabric.
7. Edge highlight. Khaki.
7.1. Happy little accidents.
Even though they seemed to be in correct places, I ended up not liking
two highlight lines, so painted over them with "stipple colors". I then
re-drybrushed touched up areas and lines kind of appeared again, but in a
more pleasant muted way.If you're using the Streaking Grime over varnish method, you can gently wipe "mistakes" away with a brush/q-tip slightly dampened in airbrush thinner.
8. Edge highlight. Bonewhite. You can also do some dings and scratches.
9. Spot highlight. Off White.
10. Optional weathering.
You can use glazes (thinned paint, contrast,
shades, etc.), pigments or even something like Typhus Corrosion.I've used Burnt Sienna pigment, applied in little amount to the bottom. It can then be "sealed" with varnish (not done here) or whatever method/product you might prefer.
Raptors colors.
Unfortunately, I used eyeball mixes, but basecoat was Heavy Grey. I've
mixed Dark Rust into that for darker patches, and Camo Green + Green
Grey progressively for lighter ones. Mix of CG and GG was used for
highlights. Recess shading is Rhinox Hide, brown glaze is Flat Brown.
Ultramarines colors.
Basecoat was Heavy Blue. Mixed DSB for darker patches, Off White for lighter... you get the idea.Thanks for scrolling this far down and reading the guide, hope you'll find it useful!
Keep painting and have fun!