Painting up some Eldar

My painting station has been rather idle as of late.   Sure I've been doing some terrain, but that's largely crude, rather than delicate work.  For no reason whatsoever, just the other day I decided to tackle some of Eldar that have been sitting there primed and staring at me with their beady elfie eyes.  "Paint me!  PAINT ME!" they were chanting.  Finally, I succumbed and have enjoyed the change in pace.

Here is the leader (?) of the small band of proto-Avengers. I was always off-put by the demon mask - I thought it wouldn't or couldn't look any good.  He was the first of the batch that I tackled and because he came out half decent, I decided to try my hand at the rest of his mates.

Some things of interest to painters out there.  After a zenith undercoat (executed months and months ago, then removing the dust) I used Druchii Violet Shade (wash) over his armour.  Similarly, I used Drakenhof Nightshade (blue) Shade on his weapon (keeping with the rest of my Eldar) and Biel-tan Green on the helmet.  The metallics you can see are Copper-based and drybrushed Gehenna's Gold Layer.  The helmet's red plume is layered reds, working from dark to light, using a drybrush. All pretty standard stuff.

Of more interest was the use of Moot Green Layer to (badly, I am out of practice) edge-line the armour.  I decided to do that as a direct contrast with, but complementary to the Violet hues - it worked out a lot better than I had anticipated.  Also, the big, green gem hanging off the chain near his right knee...  it's a cheat!  I have a collection of plastic cosmetic jewels in a dozen colours that I bought from a craft shop.  It was a simple case of selecting a suitable colour and super gluing it into place.  Seriously, it is really good for what it is: it catches the light and given it has some depth, it looks like the real thing.

Given that Mr Mask was enjoyable to paint and worked out so nicely, I decided to try another five mates to join him.  They were largely approached in a similar manner.  I got my paints mixed up with one, so his legs are a darker, bluer purple than his mates and my hands were struggling with some of the edgings so they aren't quite the standard of my last batch of Dire Avengers. Not to worry, they are looking good.

Another thing I forgot: bases.  I did these lovely paint jobs and only then remembered to do my bases!  I scrounged around my shed and used zip ties, flyscreen, sand, chain and other bits of junk.  The results weren't half bad!

Even using hot glue and smearing it onto the base (top-middle) looked good once I had painted it up.  I initially was going to use my airbrush to seal the bases in black and even went as far as protecting one of the models in cling-wrap.  Fortunately common-sense prevailed, and I simply brushed on the black paint/sealer.  Once that had dried (I left it for 24-hours - experience prevailed!) I drybrushed metallics and muted ground colours as I was looking for an understated contrast to the model proper.

You know how sometimes it is the littlest things that seem like they matter?  Tiny things that bring you so much satisfaction?  This hobby is all about that.  Everyone chases perfection, however, nobody ever gets there.  Me, I have learned to appreciate when I get something 'right'.  Take these models for example...

... there is a lot to be dissatisfied about, but even amongst the many mistakes and errors, there are glimpses of awesomeness - something that brings me joy in the doing.  In this case, it is the eyes.  You might be thinking "Blue paint, black paint.  Easy." Getting there was anything but!  First I painted the skin grey, then an off white (Pallid Wych Flesh).  The eye was painted Caldor Sky Blue, then Lothern Blue.  I used Blue Wash.  A dot of pure white. Applied a Gloss.  Then a second Nuln Oil Wash.  Yeah, this hobby is all about the little stuff.

I've also started mucking around with some different paint mixes and techniques. This week it's using a Glaze Medium - I can't say I really understand it all just yet, but experimentation is the stuff of life.  I mixed it up in a maybe 5:1 ratio (Medium:Paint).  Here's one of my Eldar who's had the treatment on his armour (black, yellow and blue glazes).  We'll have to see where it goes from here.