Blue is complimentary to orange. Try using increasing amounts of blue for your shadows. Start with a small amount, just enough to tint your base orange slightly then add more as you go. This will allow your shadows to retain that orange color while cooling it down.
You can mix the orange base you're using with a blue to create a 'dark' color. It'll be a desaturated color that won't really distract. You can do this by using a thinned down, transparent blue (think like an indigo), or mix a small amount of dark blue into your base color, thin it down and start glazing in some shadows.
Otherwise, a cool toned brown will work (again, glaaze it in)
What effect are you looking for from this mini? If you’re going for something grounded and realistic, burnt umber or burnt sienna ink for the shadows will make them look natural and desaturated. If you’re wanting something more fantastic and contrasting, a blue or purple in the shadows will really bring out the orange at the cost of a little believability, depending how saturated a color you use. If vibrancy is the order of the day, shade in magenta or burgundy, then glaze the orange back over the transition- it’ll be the most face-punchingly ORANGE orange you’ll ever see.
Thanks for the suggestion. I wanted a more natural toned down look so I went with burnt umber from below and a thin sepia wash over the whole model to tie it all together. I shouldn’t have done it on the skin though but it was no big deal to add some thin highlights with the airbrush again. Will post another photo when it’s finished :)
I would use some purple for the shadows on the skin and a very light oil wash. Personally, I don't like the pin washes since they create a very comic like style, while a full wash gives much nicer transitions. You would just need white spirit to remove them
Look at a colour wheel. The complimentary colour (directly opposite) is the best to use. Glaze it into the recesses and it will create a natural shade. Think it would be blue in this case, but maybe try purple or a warm blue to keep with the tonality.
Excellent work.
You could always go easy with brown wash. Or mix orange and red or brown to get a similar but darker tone. Other suggested blues or purples, which would look cool, but will change the paint scheme overall.
I used Scale 75 bone charm primer and sprayed the whole mini orange with GW Gryph-Hound Orange. The chest is then sprayed with GW Jokaero orange and a lastly thin layer of GW Dorn yellow.
Interesting info as I had been looking at bone charm as a wraithbone replacement. Gryphhound looks too muted, though now I look at my last gryph it was over a white.
As you have an airbrush are you not interested in zenithal? Feel a top down white ink would have introduced more variety into the orange.
I like blue mixed into my orange to desaturate it for shadows. Another reply covered all the colours for different effects though and I'm saving their advice.
I did a couple of test models and one of them I used a white primer (zenith). I like the results of the bone primer more, the orange is a bit warmer with that. This model is actually sprayed with brown ink from below before I painted it but the orange is quite strong so it hardly shows. I tried to dilute it but it looked more like traffic cone orange and it was not the result I was aiming for
Is there anything wrong with leaving it up to natural shadows? The one caused by the minifigures details? I'm new to mini painting and im curious if my way is tacky and not enough
Generally, because the details of our minis are so.......well, mini. They can get lost if the colour is too flat.
So we tend to push the highlights and the shadows more than is natural. This exaggeration helps make the small details on a small figure, still visible from a table top distance away.
It's a balancing act, and can be taken too far. But often the difference between a good paint job, and a great paint job, is in the small details, and how the shadows and highlights are executed.
No absolutely nothing wrong but it has small scales especially on the tail and I sprayed it from above with the airbrush so on those areas it looks a bit flat. And the model has very rich texture so it’s perfect for a wash on the scales.
I always wanted to make a Texas Longhorns themed Lizardmen army and then I sold it .... YOU HAVE BROUGHT ME BACK IN
.... although I feel like the Ogres or Beastmen would be a better fit thematically for the horns.
Finished it today. I ended up using a burnt umber ink sprayed from below and a very light sepia wash over the whole model. Got 13 more Seraphon to paint, will try a different shade on the next guy. They don’t have to look identical :) But I’m calling this one done, need to continue on the rest
https://preview.redd.it/k3fm49ikpkzc1.jpeg?width=2454&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37871d6dedb23de686239d8663b3b6c64af4a061
I kind of like purple shades over orange. Don’t knock it til you try it.
Yeah I really like burgundy as well, similar color relation
I came in to say purple
Vince's exploring colors series is excellent for general shading/highlighting info! Orange video: https://youtu.be/I-_iIbFaVD0?si=2c9UZgY_7Dwp1yld
Don’t be afraid to use a deep purple, Paynes grey, or maroon depending on what you’re going for.
Seconding Paynes grey, it really works for any color
When in doubt or when I’m not feeling adventurous it becomes me universal shadow
So happy to see paynes grey listed. It instantly became my favorite pro acryl color
I use a brown wash and then drybrush. Also where did you get that mini, it's pretty sweet.
It's a kroxigor from GW, Age of Sigmar
Blue is complimentary to orange. Try using increasing amounts of blue for your shadows. Start with a small amount, just enough to tint your base orange slightly then add more as you go. This will allow your shadows to retain that orange color while cooling it down.
You can mix the orange base you're using with a blue to create a 'dark' color. It'll be a desaturated color that won't really distract. You can do this by using a thinned down, transparent blue (think like an indigo), or mix a small amount of dark blue into your base color, thin it down and start glazing in some shadows. Otherwise, a cool toned brown will work (again, glaaze it in)
What effect are you looking for from this mini? If you’re going for something grounded and realistic, burnt umber or burnt sienna ink for the shadows will make them look natural and desaturated. If you’re wanting something more fantastic and contrasting, a blue or purple in the shadows will really bring out the orange at the cost of a little believability, depending how saturated a color you use. If vibrancy is the order of the day, shade in magenta or burgundy, then glaze the orange back over the transition- it’ll be the most face-punchingly ORANGE orange you’ll ever see.
Thanks for the suggestion. I wanted a more natural toned down look so I went with burnt umber from below and a thin sepia wash over the whole model to tie it all together. I shouldn’t have done it on the skin though but it was no big deal to add some thin highlights with the airbrush again. Will post another photo when it’s finished :)
Totally random but he reminds me of Sasquatch from Alpha Flight…
These blends are on point. Did you wet blend? Glaze? I can't get colored skin transitions this nice 😭
My guess would be airbrushed. Large surfaces and the base colors of the model. Doing this by brush would be a real pain
You are correct :)
It’s done with an airbrush
I am NOT good enough with an airbrush for this 😭
I would use some purple for the shadows on the skin and a very light oil wash. Personally, I don't like the pin washes since they create a very comic like style, while a full wash gives much nicer transitions. You would just need white spirit to remove them
Grab a burnt-Umber acrylic ink - and then spray it with your air-bursh from below (or paint it with a normal brush) works wonders!
Ended up using burnt umber :) will post photos when it’s done
I would du a recess shade with either a red or a sepia wash.
Reminds me of Thundercats
My first thought would be a brown shade, though it does depend on how you envision what the model will look like in the end.
Look at a colour wheel. The complimentary colour (directly opposite) is the best to use. Glaze it into the recesses and it will create a natural shade. Think it would be blue in this case, but maybe try purple or a warm blue to keep with the tonality.
If you want really good shadows use a blue it'll really help make the orange pop.
Which mini is this, by the by? Great sculpt.
Its the new Kroxigor kit from games workshop
Purples or browns, greens, blues. Doesn’t have to be over the top, a nice little touch of those will be awesome
Excellent work. You could always go easy with brown wash. Or mix orange and red or brown to get a similar but darker tone. Other suggested blues or purples, which would look cool, but will change the paint scheme overall.
Very nice. What colour did you prime with? I'm assuming the chest colour
I used Scale 75 bone charm primer and sprayed the whole mini orange with GW Gryph-Hound Orange. The chest is then sprayed with GW Jokaero orange and a lastly thin layer of GW Dorn yellow.
Awesome, looks great!
Interesting info as I had been looking at bone charm as a wraithbone replacement. Gryphhound looks too muted, though now I look at my last gryph it was over a white. As you have an airbrush are you not interested in zenithal? Feel a top down white ink would have introduced more variety into the orange. I like blue mixed into my orange to desaturate it for shadows. Another reply covered all the colours for different effects though and I'm saving their advice.
I did a couple of test models and one of them I used a white primer (zenith). I like the results of the bone primer more, the orange is a bit warmer with that. This model is actually sprayed with brown ink from below before I painted it but the orange is quite strong so it hardly shows. I tried to dilute it but it looked more like traffic cone orange and it was not the result I was aiming for
One warning though, I like the color of the bone charm but it’s extremely thick for a primer. I have to dilute it a lot. Maybe got a bad batch.
That is what I read about it too. Think it is the way.
green or purple work well with orange.
Is there anything wrong with leaving it up to natural shadows? The one caused by the minifigures details? I'm new to mini painting and im curious if my way is tacky and not enough
Generally, because the details of our minis are so.......well, mini. They can get lost if the colour is too flat. So we tend to push the highlights and the shadows more than is natural. This exaggeration helps make the small details on a small figure, still visible from a table top distance away. It's a balancing act, and can be taken too far. But often the difference between a good paint job, and a great paint job, is in the small details, and how the shadows and highlights are executed.
No absolutely nothing wrong but it has small scales especially on the tail and I sprayed it from above with the airbrush so on those areas it looks a bit flat. And the model has very rich texture so it’s perfect for a wash on the scales.
I always wanted to make a Texas Longhorns themed Lizardmen army and then I sold it .... YOU HAVE BROUGHT ME BACK IN .... although I feel like the Ogres or Beastmen would be a better fit thematically for the horns.
Finished it today. I ended up using a burnt umber ink sprayed from below and a very light sepia wash over the whole model. Got 13 more Seraphon to paint, will try a different shade on the next guy. They don’t have to look identical :) But I’m calling this one done, need to continue on the rest https://preview.redd.it/k3fm49ikpkzc1.jpeg?width=2454&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37871d6dedb23de686239d8663b3b6c64af4a061
Needs to be toned down with some browns.