I decided to change the color scheme for my Harlequins entirely. I wasn't happy with it at all.
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| Harlequins! Now in bold new colors! |
I also accidentally primered all the Harlequins with black after deciding to primer them in white. Instead of stripping them clean and having to start over, I lightly primered them from the top with the white primer. This creates a model that has been shaded in black and white, allowing me to simply paint on washes and slightly thinned colors. The idea is to make it look like you spent a bazillion years blending and shading when you didn't; more that you're staining the model with colors than covering and highlighting.
I first did this with a Hyperion model for the Retribution of Scyrah (yes, at one point I played War Machine and Hordes). The most common name I hear for this technique is zenithal highlighting.
In the case of the Hyperion, three primers were used to create a much smoother grayscale; black, gray, and white. Works really well on a huge model like a War Machine Colossal, but if I tried that on a small infantry model like a Harlequin I'd just end up with a featureless blob.
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| A study in gray. |
I admit it was a happy accident to find out that a black-white zenithal highlight worked out well. The only downside really is that the white came out a bit dusty, something only noticeable if you hold the model up really close. Or not. You should be able to see the dusty effect pretty clearly on the photo to the right.
I'm still getting the hang of painting colors onto these guys. I suspect I'm going to have to mix most of the colors with a clear matte medium to reduce the opacity of my paints without thinning them too much.
I've learned something else too. For small models like this, I should primer in gray, then dust with white. The black tones end up 'repelling' the colors too much. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much for something that came about because of a mistake.
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