Lesson 5 - Detailing I
After finishing the basecoat and drybrush on our Goblin Archers, it was time to start showing techniques for bringing out the details of the models. Keeping it simple should be a priority if you're just beginning, and these models had just enough detail to get done in one session as a group. Using some contrasting colors and very small brushes, we put our flow control skills to use on a much smaller area to finish off this outstanding set.
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| Won't you take me to ... Goblin Town? |
Your mix of water to paint will normally be less water as you do details, as you don't want the color to run anywhere except where you're putting it. Be very mindful of the amount of water your brush is retaining going into the detailing stage, as even a small amount can be too much and cause all sorts of havoc to your carefully rendered base colors and highlights. After finishing each application of a color or finishing an intricate detail using multiple colors, fix the mistakes and move on to the next stage.
Eyes are hard, but you should do those first. If you make any mistakes, you can reapply the base color and drybrush after the eye has been painted, carefully concealing your mistake and "locking in" the eye behind the highlights of the face. Don't worry too much about mistakes at this stage though, as it's very easily fixed once the paint dries.
Claws are easy. A swipe of paint and you're done. Fixing an overbrush mistake is as easy as letting paint run into the grooves of the fingers. Same for the teeth, which we did with one color here as this lesson was focused on application technique rather than artform blending.
There was a few other details to bring out, such as the fletching on the bows. Overall, they turned out fantastic and the class did a bang-up job all around. We'll have an update on this set very soon, with a complete color guide to the finished models...you know, in case we want to do it again.