The Devils in the Details..

Last night a friend and I went to a local game store so he could get a game of Warmachine in. While driving up and back we started talking about painting. And while talking about painting stuffs it got me thinking about something I'd post up here.

I told him the littlest detail can make the biggest impact. Since Eldar has been my main army for ages I've painted more Spirit Stones then I'd care to think about. But in doing so it really made me appreciate how much a small part of a mini can make it pop. SS and lens on a vehicle really stand out, if they are painted well they will be noticed. And that will stick out in someones mind, at least it does in mine. As I started on my Blood Angels army I was originally trying to get them ready for the table and was painting en mass which is not really the best way I paint. As I slowed down and really finished the model it made a huge difference. Having looked back at past models they feel no finished and that is bothering me. I'm a bit OCD so now I'm going to have to go back and truly finish some of the minis with a little more shading here and there or it will drive me bonkers.

I usually get praise on my stones(haha) or blood drops (pictured above). Which is nice, feels good when someone notices the detail and time put in. Makes me think about how many layers go into each stone. I'll detail how I paint a blue gem, stone, etc...

I'll used GW color names ..
Start by painting the gem with enchanted blue
Paint the top (in this case) regal blue applying a curve
Paint the bottom with ice blue also with a slight curve
Wash the gem with black, wash the edges with a few more layers
Outline the gem with black ink
Wash the gem with a heavy thinned enchanted blue to blend it
Paint a fine line of white on the bottom curve
Paint at least 1 reflecting while dot in the regal blue

It's a lot of steps to go through and a bunch of color changes but I feel it's worth it. To me it makes the difference on a mini when someone has really put the time in to make sure even the most trivial details stand out. Try adding one more color in the blend and see how much of a difference it really does make, you won't be disappointed.