The Black Sword: Painting Speed Bump!

1/17/2012

So, as you know, the Emperor's Champion has a piece of wargear called the "Black Sword". Well, that presents some issues to a painter when you consider the model we're working with. Namely, I want to keep the sword black, but I also want the detailing of the sword to stand out. This means the engraving on the sword. However, I'm at a loss at how to accomplish painting it and is the main reason I've held off painting him for so long.

I'm considering a couple things to get this done. The first one is simply painting the engraving on the sword with a lighter color (I'm thinking gray) then paint black carefully around it to clean the sword back up. Another option I've considered is simply painting the sword in a gray, then giving it a black wash a couple times. Depending on how thickly I apply the wash, this will give the sword natural definition, shading, and highlights...but it will be difficult to pull off I think. Not only that, I'm not sure if it'd look right with the rest of the model.

Thus, I welcome any advice or alternate methods to painting this. As I said, I want to keep the sword black but I want to be able to read the script engraved on the sword if possible. Any assistance would be most appreciated. :)

32 Comments

carcharodon carcharias

1/17/2012 12:51:33 am

Buy the original, it hasn't got writing on the sword? Ok, for the newer sculpt I simply drybrushed mine and washed it with badab black, it is the black sword after all.

At a push I'd consider thinning red gore and running that into the lettering but without a white background it's unlikely to give you the contrast you'd want.

Stuart

1/17/2012 01:58:02 am

I painted mine black then dry brush it gold running a cloth over it to pick any excess gold of the top surface of the sword and it dosent look to shabby

Iblis

1/17/2012 07:22:50 am

Well, Sir, maybe this will inspire you:

http://www.tabletopwelt.de/forum/showthread.php?t=113718

or, another artist, same style, but slightly different:

http://www.gw-fanworld.net/showthread.php?t=154627

both artist could help with some tutorials, if u like the style

Gabriel

1/17/2012 12:31:41 pm

Hey Laeroth.

I painted mine a Livery Green (Vallejo Game Color) then very carefully pu black back over it, taking care to miss the recesses. Make sure you thin the paint for this though. Then came back with a very gentle drybrush of a less bright shade, then livery green again with a dry brush at the tip and a few spots. This gives it a great glow effect with little effort and still kept the detail in the sword.

Lucion

1/18/2012 05:56:28 am

I would try a black sword, with an ickle bit of a boltgun drybrush to give it some tone.

To give it that runic effect - i,,e space wolf runic weapons, you will add a colour - i.e. yellow - gold, (blue?) if you want it to be that glow. Whatever you want the runes to be. What goes with black? Green? Yellow? Blue? How about the rest of the model - i.e. the leaves on his head, his eyes, the pistol holster. Everything adds up.

Next you will water down the paint, add a little gloss (yes gw gloss) - Major masterclass tip. That mixture - whatever consistencies it is ( use your common sense and experience the different mixtures and their relation to the surface your painting on)

Paint it into the runes. Brush off any excess - it should be easy.

If you play with the consistencies of water,gloss and paint you will come to interesting new horizons.
heres one you could try

half a brush of paint, 1-2 brushes of gloss, 1 brush of water. If the color is weak. Let it dry. do it again. Build it up in controlled layers.
But I'll leave it for you to discover!

Marshal Laeroth (Admin) link

1/21/2012 02:36:40 am

Excellent suggestions everyone, thank you. Looks like I'm going to have to do some test models to see how everything works/looks... :D

Justinian

5/24/2013 06:16:46 am

Hey, I found this post while looking for advice on how to do th erunes on my own Champion, and was curious what you settled on? I just tried a second pass with a silver dry brush but its ot achieving that "Inscribed" look I was hoping for...

Brenomah

1/21/2012 11:06:17 pm

Dude i'd love to give you some advice but i look to you for advice! :P

1/26/2012 06:37:05 am

lol! Even one who normally dispenses the advice could use some once in a while. I'm just as flawed as the next guy and I'll never turn down help. :D

David

1/23/2012 03:32:34 am

I painted mine white, then went to outline lighting with light blue, then outline that with dark blue, then fill in the sword with black. Afterwards, I glossed it to make it stand out. Here is a pic:
<a href='http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/320325-Table%201%20close%20up.html'><img src='http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/1/22/320325_md-Table%201%20close%20up.jpg' alt='Table 1 close up' border='0'></a>

1/25/2012 08:59:02 am

The best thing to do is engage with the experimentation. Whenever you start a new theme you should be looking to develop the default characteristics and principles. I.e. (I will do red this way..) I will do runes this way... Green this way.. with this wash.. and it takes THIS long for me to do. I can therefore more or less estimate the total repetitions required in brush strokes to complete.

Knowing what I am in for sets me up in a better position than not.

This brings up the concept of prototype. People prototype cars with the intentions to scrap them. The purpose of a prototype or concept model is so they can move into mass production. The same mentality needs to be applied to models to iron out the bumps. Its why I said earlier the first objective is to fail, in order to find the path or way.

For army painting what you want is a colour scheme that is simple to apply and can be achieved in shorter steps. For marines you NEED a good brush for highlighting as the look of their armour depends on the easyness of the highlights.

GW brush really wont do, I'd find it so difficult if I used that. Its about the miniature series 7 size 0 I mentioned earlier.

Using brushes is not a rule. Some people apply powders with their fingers. Think of other things you can apply paint with - objects and paint will react in a variety of ways together. There are even some brushes which have no hairs, they are simply rubber (but I have not used them much!)

1/26/2012 06:49:52 am

Yeah, I have a fairly sizable amount of test bits and some fully painted models as well. All with the goal of seeing how different colors look together, trying different techniques, as well as refining the different steps I use to paint a model.

My painting has come a long way since I painted my first Emperor's Champion and quite frankly, I know I can do infinitely better this time around. But, I want it done right the first time...so I'm willing to do some testing to find out what I like, while still maintaining ease of painting (in time and difficulty).

I prefer the Floquil brushes, especially when compared to the Citadel brushes. The balance between price and quality is by far the best I've seen. I go through brushes way too fast to get the really expensive brushes (i.e. Kolinsky), as I've found that their quality is marginally better (if any) than what I am currently getting with the Floquil. I've also been known to paint with toothpicks when I needed ultra detailed painting done. :D

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The Black Sword: Painting Speed Bump!

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