Hello guys, welcome back to Not Just Mecha,
it’s Marco here and today’s video will make the joy of every army and commission
painter out there uh and of course Seraphon players. I need to stretch the speed painting muscles
before tackling the scary mass of plastic inside Cursed City and Warhammer Underworlds
warbands are great to get a good dose of instant gratification. Plus I have to make a confession… In all my years of miniature painting I never
worked on Lizardmen and this is the perfect occasion to fill this gap in my collection
with a set of cool unique characters. We’ll talk better about my speed painting
philosophy during the video but here’s an overview of my process. I give myself a defined limited time frame
to complete the work, and in this case, thanks to the uniform aesthetic of the warband, I
planned to stay around the three hours of work. I plan every step before starting painting
to maximise my efficiency and I prepare all the colours and tools I need on the table
both to save even the smallest amount of time and to avoid artistic sidetracking. In order to create visual complexity, I divide
the work in many super quick and super simple steps and every phase has to push the model
a bit closer to the final result so I try to minimise the natural back and forth flow
of classic painting creating a more linear chain of events. Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE and hit the bell
button to always know what happens on the channel and if you want to support my work,
watch another video, like, comment, share and maybe check my Patreon page. Patreon is what keeps the lights on so if
you like my content consider joining the community where you can find for example the real time
footage of my YouTube videos! Thanks a million guys! The skinks are really small, so I must be
careful working on their tiny volumes, playing with high contrasts to avoid losing the shape
of the little muscles and their subtle masses. The chameleon has a totally different colour
scheme, but even if with different proportions, all its elements are repeated on the skinks
so with a good planning this will not slow down the flow of the work. The Saurus has many elements in common with
the leader so I’ll work them as the same entity. I start with a quick coat of black. I usually start this kind of paintjobs with
a coloured primer to immediately skip a step, but the coloured plastic of these kits always
gives me some adhesion issues and a bit of tonal interference if I don’t cover everything
extremely well, so I prefer to start sealing the model with a simple coat of neutral black. I put a lot of thoughts in the choice of my
first tone. The foundation of the scheme and what would
have been my coloured primer in a standard grey plastic model is Moltow Burgundy. I chose this tone because as you’ll see
later it’s the perfect contrasting complement for the light blue skins, it’s a good shadow
for the yellow feathers and a great warm foundation for the gold elements. With a single, simple, uniform pass I give
to all the different elements what they need to stand out. Uh and it’s a perfect high contrast base
also for the green skin! Then I shade my base tone using Magenta ink. This is a real shading step applied only on
the parts facing down to start building the progression of a simple all-purpose zenithal
light. Shading with a wash you simply lower all the
values without any sense of the light’s direction and movement. The ink in its pot seems lighter than my base
but layering a couple of transparent passes you immediately get a natural and soft transition
into the darker values of a similar harmonious tone. ^
Plus, the ink adds an interesting reptilian shine to the shadows that makes them deeper
and even more in contrast with the next layers. To create the strong contrast I need to highlight
the small volumes of these models I jump to the main tone for the skins without intermediate
colours or bridging steps. Golden High flow Teal is an opaque tone so
it can easily cover even a much darker and contrasting value with a couple of thin layers
but thanks to its fluid formulation it gives me space to modulate with the base the edges
of the cone of sprayed paint softening the strong transition. I carefully adjust the distance between the
model and the airbrush and I’m super gentle on the trigger, but my main source of control
comes from the position and the angle of the model that I move constantly to always get
the best possible shot. I apply the same reasoning to the chameleon
but because of the higher transparency of light green paints I fist apply a layer of
a solid bluish emerald green, then the real tone I want for him using a powerful florescent
green. As you probably noticed at this point this
process in its steps and visual output is just a zenithal value sketch like the one
we usually do in black and white and the beginning of the work but here I opted to do it directly
with colours mainly because of the small size of the models where layering is more efficient,
striking and easier to read than overlapped transparency effects. I use white ink to base the feathers. This is just preparatory work so if you don’t
feel confident using the airbrush on these small details you can do the same with the
brush without losing anything but precisely because it’s just a base layer the stakes
for trying are extremely low still being a great training for your precision control
on the trigger. I create the sensation of volume and its vertical
movement leaving in transparency some of the red as a subtle shadow. And I use a tiny bit of the same white to
increase the spectrum of the light modulation on the blue skins. This layer is super transparent, so you don’t
perceive it like white but just like a very light blue. I apply it also on the green chameleon in
preparation for the next step. Again, every colour must be applied everywhere
needed a single time, when you have it ready in the airbrush or the palette, always pushing
the models towards their final look. I needed white to support the extreme transparency
of yellow ink, but even working with an opaque yellow I suggest you a solid light base to
boost its vibrancy and saturation. Yellow incorporates the sketch underneath
creating a smooth modulation with a simple flat, overlapping of paint. Similar idea on the green skin that immediately
gets a wider variety of tones naturally flowing into each other in the smooth transition from
magenta to yellow. And since I planned everything to work with
an interconnected snowballing effect, this yellow and its modulation it’s the perfect
base for the green shade. Because of the high content of yellow, green
tones suffer of the same lack of opacity and covering power but working with this kind
of layered transparency they mutually boost their saturation and final visual impact. Same process and behaviour for the orange
shade. Using a fluorescent orange slightly more opaque
than the other two tones I’m sure to obtain a powerful, vibrant, eye catching colour. And since I have it ready in the airbrush,
I use few delicate sprays to add even more complexity to the green skin that now incorporates
six different colours; usually this is an overkill especially for a speed painting process,
but you can’t save on tones painting a chameleon. A quick, light pass of grey on the bases is
the last thing I can do with the airbrush and all the remaining little elements and
the general definition are a work for palette and brush! I base the metal parts with a mix of silver
paints and a warm deep gold. I want these elements to create a soft contrast
with the skins’ cold tones still maintaining a relatively neutral nature that I can alter
with transparent paints later to create different sensations or even totally different metals. Thanks to the light but richly modulated base
I created for the skins now I can use contrast paints to quickly work on the darker scales
on their backs. I use Akhelian green and Space wolves grey
and a bunch of mixing/glazing medium to create a fluid grey blue that will set its tone in
a couple of steps easy to control. The medium adds body to the mix that prevents
the watery paint to flow away from its target making it easy for the brush to move around
precisely and the extra transparency is useful to control the opacity and saturation of the
mix. I need this extra translucency also because
this is not the only layer I want to apply on the scales. I add to the palette Volupus pink and Magos
Purple and I use them slightly diluted with extra medium to lower the value of the scales
adding new tones and sensations at the same time. Again, the plan is to use many quick and simple
steps working all together to create complexity. I use the purple notes also on the chameleon
to enhance the impact of the original warm tones in all the wrinkles and folds of the
skin. These are basically quick glazes made softening
just a bit the strong impact of contrast paint with some medium. I use Plaguebearer Flesh, Aggaros Dunes and
medium to create soft transparent filters for the metal parts. The base tone is already a pale, warm gold
so I use Plaguebearer flesh to add extra character and saturation to specific parts, and Aggaros
Dunes to enhance the volumes using it to underline strong shapes, deeper lines and details, and
everything facing downwards. I use contrasts also in their basic way to
quickly set the red and blue patterns on the equipment of the priest and the Saurus. Fluid paints are great for this kind of precise
works because even if in general they seem more difficult to control they are easier
to use when you have a lot of details that can absorb the excess in their panel lines
minimising the risk of mistakes! Time for adjustments and, more important,
definition and this is the full palette I’ll use for the final steps. Two tones for every major element give me
a huge spectrum of new colours when mixing and in general a good variety of hues and
shades straight form the tubes still keeping my options in a contained, harmonious palette. This is my first test of the the new hydration
membrane by RedGrass games that will come out in a Kickstarter next month! It’s very different from classic palette
paper, with a plastic finish on top that makes it washable and reusable, and it seems to
control better the water’s transpiration from the sponge. I’ll let you know my thoughts after more
experiments! Now all my painting is super smooth because
of all the airbrushed layers and various coats of transparent colours so my main priority
in this stage is to introduce the sharp definition and the grit of the brushstrokes with the
full load of information they carry in every little line and dot. To push this concept to its maximum and compensate
the look of this soft finish I use every colour and mix in its original consistency, without
adding water or medium or using just a little bit to help the mixing on the palette. The thick paint and its natural volume break
the monotony adding a ton of extra information. The use of different brushstrokes is the key
to create a stronger sensation of different materials, different textures and a general
increased complexity. I use a thick stippling on the scales to suggest
roughness and an irregular rocky feel. In few steps this monochromatic layer adds
a ton of depth thanks to the separation of the different levels and planes of the sculpt. I use the light desaturated yellow to add
structure and definition to the feathers. Here I use thin lines applied in the natural
direction of the single fibres to create the illusion of their dimensionality. The colour here is just a bit lighter than
the base because I want a low-key definition where you can perceive the presence of a mass
of fibres but without really seeing the single elements in perfect focus. I want the weapons to look like sharp onyx,
so I paint a greenish blue pattern of irregular lines on the clean dark surface. Even if I imagine it as the same material
the pattern on the armour and the mace of the Saurus becomes more about dots and short
lines to render better the sensation of something delivering and receiving blunt hits. Teeth and claws are painted with thick skin
tones mixed form a base of yellow ochre and red. I use the undiluted paint and vertical brushstrokes
to create the texture of the rough reptilian claws. I break the scheme of the cold skins bringing
back a bit of warmth with a light greenish turquoise. The paint itself is still thick here but I
use longer and more fluid brushstrokes to enhance the volume of wrinkles and the upper
profiles of the muscles. I connect the two different finishes with
little dots of lighter and lighter paint. I use pure yellow in the same way on the chameleon
to add textures and little extra interesting elements. If you want to create the effect of a pool
of water without the need of real depth Tamiya Clear paints are great to set the same kind
of glossiness without messing with resins and their long drying times. The last step is to edge highlight the metallic
elements. Metallic highlights are really powerful and
easy to read even when painted in a quick, simple way so I kept this definition for the
last stage because I like to modulate and adapt its sharpness based on the one I have
on the rest of the model to deliver a uniform effect without having unbalanced details arriving
to the eyes with extremely different impacts. And here’s the final result! Three hours of extremely simple and relaxed
painting to create my speed painted version of the iconic, heavy metal scheme for the
Seraphon. Again, these are my first lizardmen, so I
wanted to test myself on a colour scheme that I know since I was a child, but I never had
a chance to really work with. I think the funniest challenge in these models
is represented by their scale and the size of the details you can paint and add in the
many open surfaces you still have all around their skins and equipment. The choice of tones is of course specific
to the models, but you can easily adapt and apply this same workflow on every other miniature.
