Painting Tutorial: Shining Gold

[Nanolathe]

Rules for Painting

1. Clean water, and lots of it.
2, High quality brushes. This is a hobby, if you're not willing to go that extra few [insert currency here] to get a nice horsehair brush, then resign yourself to 'mucky' looking figures.
3. Patience.
4. Practice.
5. Practice.

Rules for Painting Metallics
1. <See, Rules for Painting>.
2. Once more... Yes, we are going to do layers! AGAIN!
3. Never, under any circumstances load you brush with a lot of paint. Metallics just don't work that way. I still have the stick that I threatened you with in the yellow Tutorial. Don't make me use it...


Well then here I am again telling you numb-skulls how to paint... stuff... good... ... ...
You heard what I said!

If you've seen my 'Yellow' tutorial then you know that I'm not going to let you do anything half-arsed, so here I go!

Step One: The Base Coat
A black undercoat, check.
Brazen Brass, check.
Brushes, check.
Well then... easypeasy right? On with the Brazen Brass! No, not easypeasy. Many people will disagree with me here, they will claim that it's fine right from the pot. No, no, no, no, NO! This is never the case, always use water with your paints, though metallic paints are the only case where this is almost true. I prefer a nice 30:70, water to paint ratio, though others have said 20:80 works too. There is a Reason I keep telling you to thin your paints. They need it, crave it. Give it to them and they love you and are all smooth. deprive them of water and they get all stroppy, clog up and leave your lovely model all lumpy. I am firmly against dry brushing. It's fast, easy and looks like you dry bushed it. Take some time over you models damn you!

Step Two: Make it Gold
Just do the same thing again, swapping Brazen Brass for Golden Yellow
Remember 30:70, water to paint. this is because the metallic paints have a much more "watery" quality than most other paints, so not as much water is needed to make it flow.

Step Three: Make it Shine!
Burnished Gold is the lightest colour of gold that you can get and when you put it on (30:70) you're gold will now be light enough for you to call it "Gold". I never think it's enough, it just doesn't... shine. Gold needs to be highlighted. Yes! that metallic paint needs highlights, don't argue, don't winge. Sit back down and do it Right!. 50:50 Burnished Gold and Mithril Silver works a treat (Remember to make this new mixture 30:70 water to paint as well). Do not load your brush with a lot of paint for this one, you're trying to hit the highlights, get a nice thin line; not splatter paint al over your work. Just gently pull the brush along the sharp edges and you should get a little bit of paint from the brush on the sharp corners.

Heed will these words and soon your army's trims will glitter with the best of them.

~Nanolathe: "Fear Me! Fear the Stick!"

Note: GriplionGremlin did a very nice tutorial on how to paint solid yellow, this tut is in no way meant to undermine his work. I simply do my gold a different way. I've already asked him and he said it was ok for me to do my own. So no flaming me
you can find his tut Here

[Mart007]

lol, OK, OK, I wont do half arsed gold anymore! Good tut, good technique!!

+rep

[GriplionGremlin]

okay i think he definately out did mine

good job dude.

[Lord Commander Erus]

Nice. I'll be using some heavy gold painting soon, so I hope this will serve me well!

[hairyyahoo]

well, you certainly have a way with words. the people skills might need some work though but one thing i can't fault is the painting skills!

+rep

[Nanolathe]

Thanks again people. Anything else that people are struggling with that I might help with?

[Lord Commander Erus]

Hmmm... How to get a gloss/burnished look to armor... And a red/black (black marble, red veins) marbled effect to armor?

[Rellik]

great tut!

[bezerker]

heya great tutorial nano,think you could give me a little one for doing my khorne bezerkers, the shining gold parts, otherwise idm be doing it "half-arsed"

[Lord Commander Erus]

Originally Posted by bezerker

heya great tutorial nano,think you could give me a little one for doing my khorne bezerkers, the shining gold parts, otherwise idm be doing it "half-arsed"

Ummmm... Paint it the way he said above... Then do red on the armor man...

[hairyyahoo]

do it like that berzerker and it'll come out nice

[Ides]

personally, the above seems a bit too bright for berzerkers methinks.

I'd say do as GW shows in their Huron Blackheart tutorial. Base coat with a watered down mix of 1:1 or even 1:2(?) scorched brown to shining gold, highlight with pure shining gold watered down as desired and leaving the base coat showing in the recesses, and then highlight the extreme edges with a mix of shining gold and mithril silver (again, watered as needed).

For the red, base coat with either watered down mechrite red or scab red (preferably thin coats until you have a consistant colour) then highlight this with watered down scab red (leaving the darker colour in the recesses), and highlight the extreme edges with a watered down mix 1:2 scab red to blood red. I'm sure the rest with have tips for inks and so forth, but me + inks = mess.

[hairyyahoo]

i with the gold method you mentioned ides, it's how i did the shoulder rims on my space wolves.

[SteveBerenyi]

Great job on that.

Personally i like using "Antique Gold" from the AB line, but you have to thin it like all others and a Black undercoat is a must.

easers part of AB is it does not really need another under-metalic, but i might try just to see how it does.

Thanks!

[God_Grinder]

yup both those metods are good, you can also start with the gold then do a few layers of chastnutink waterd down about 50/50then go back with you gold and highlight. then ad a lil mithral to the goldfor the final highlight. or you can do the same with just brass, and add a lil gold for final highlight

[GriplionGremlin]

Originally Posted by SteveBerenyi

Great job on that.

Personally i like using "Antique Gold" from the AB line, but you have to thin it like all others and a Black undercoat is a must.

easers part of AB is it does not really need another under-metalic, but i might try just to see how it does.

Thanks!

actually steve in my gold trim tut the gold i was using was AB. it does make a big difference when you and an undercoat of anothe metallic like copper or tin bitz (or AB similar).

NO GOLD ON KHORNE!!!!!!!! BRASS!!!!!!! khorne loves brass!!!