Levelling up my cloaks

For the last month and a half (or there abouts) I've been working on painting the Warhammer Underworlds warband, Xandire's Truthseekers along with Valius, Keeper Aqshian of Hammerhal from the Saviours of Cinderfall unit (because they all have the same colour scheme).

Having started with Taros (Xandire's avian friend) and getting him completed quickly, I then moved on with the rest of the team (and Valius), getting them based, shaded and almost entirely highlighted. So, as of nearly a fortnight ago, everything had been done on these miniatures with the exception of their cloaks (and, truthfully, anything else that is blue).

I've always worked hard on cloaks (not that I don't with anything else), attempting to give them that realistic look when I've painted one. However, of late, I've worried that I've maybe regressed (even on the inner cloak of these very minis).

Therefore, I wanted to try to level up as I finished up this project.

So, selecting the colour of Regent Blue off of the Citadel/Warhammer Paints app, I got together the paints I needed for the plan I put in place (in my head at least): Maccragge Blue, Drakenhof Nightshade (which isn't what the app said, but I felt it was a better fit), Hoeth Blue and Fenrisian Grey


And so I began the process. I first of all applied the base of Macragge and a wash of Darkenhof to get me to my starting point (in truth, I had done these two colours way back when I'd actually been basing all of the minis).

Then came the time to layer. Focusing on the raised parts of the cloak, I started by reapplying a layer of Macragge Blue, ensuring that a little of the original base remained. In fact, I did this over and over as I applied each layer, stopping short so that a little of the last layer was visible.

Of course, this was something I already did. . Previously I would apply the base, wash, base again, first highlight and then second highlight as an edge. However, this time, what made it different was the number of layers that I used as after the second layer of Macragge, I applied a 1:1 mix of Macragge and Hoeth Blue, followed by a layer of Hoeth on it's own, then a 1:1 mix of Hoeth and Fenrisian Grey before finally edge highlighting with the Fenrisian on its own.

By the end, I truly felt that this had worked really well, with the final product looking incredibly more subtle and realistic than my previous attempts.

I know that the reason I had never attempted anything like this before had been due to my fear of mixing paints, concerned that I'd somehow get it wrong. However, this attempt has certainly made me rethink my fear when I go forward into other projects.




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