+ Catachan 634th – Crotalid 4-wheeler +
+ Having lurked untouched since – yikes – August 2021, this Imperial Goliath (reclaimed from the genestealer cults!) was a lot of fun to convert [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. I've picked it up again now and decided to get some colour on it. +
+ As a standalone project, I'm hoping to lavish it with a lot of attention; following the enjoyment I had with painting the Phantom Titan [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. +
+ Gunner Marlin +
Starting with my comfort zone (painting skintones), I decided to paint the gunner first. A fairly straightforward process, I worked from a Halford's camo brown undercoat, onto which I painted three thin coats of Army Painter's Mummy Robes. From there, lots and lots of glazing. I used red and yellow inks alongside various browns and black paints diluted down with flow enhancer and water. +
+ I had a lot of fun suggesting and balancing texture on the skin – I wanted the face to look quite grizzled and care-worn, but to retain the 'musclebound action hero' feel on the arms. +
+ I like how he looks at the moment, but am wondering if there's some way to make him pop a bit more – I'd like this to be a real display piece; something I've not really attempted before. I'm weighing up whether to push the highlights and shading a little more, but am also aware that it's easy to overwork things and spoil a good result. +
+ For the moment, then, I'll leave him as-is. My aim is to get the whole composition up to a similar level and then make a judgement on which bits need further work. My standard approach of dealing with things there and then is going to be my enemy here! +
+ Also visible here is a new technique for me: creating cast iron texture. This is an idea I've cribbed from the excellent 'Nightshift' channel of Martin Kovac, which I stumbled over while reading about ways to paint olive drab tanks. +
+ The principle is simple – put polystyrene cement over the area you want affected, then stipple the wet area with a stiff-bristled brush. The result is a textured surface reminiscent of cast iron. It's a fun technique, and one that adds an immediate visual bit of interest – though I confess to some nervousness halfway through... +
+ To ensure this looked intentional, and not simply a bad case of fuzzy primer, I made sure to keep some areas clean and flat – like the top of the driver's cab on the left of the image above. Fortunately, casting was a technique that was ill-suited to small bits: the main body or turret of a tank would be cast (with this distinctive texture), and any additional bits would be milled or otherwise produced with a clean surface. +
+ For me, that offers a nice contrast: texture to show of textural techniques, and clean surfaces to demonstrate cleanliness of highlighting. +
+++
1 comment:
I like how he looks at the moment, but am wondering if there's some way to make him pop a bit more
I think that he looks great already, but you could consider tattoos. Some sort of pattern tattoo or a catachan devil or something would really push this to the next level.
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