Highlighting
Written by Scarab
Why should I highlight?
Light does not adjust for the scale of models. If you take a good look at a life-sized object, you will notice that there are very dark shadows in recesses and very light places where light hits or maybe even glints. On a model the recesses are no longer deep enough to create the same level of shadow, and the model looks flat. Thus, most people prefer to add highlights to the model.
How do I highlight?
There are several common techniques that are used for a variety of purposes and skill levels, these include inking, washing, dry-brushing, edging, black-lining, and blending. Each of these gets individual treatment below, but the basic idea of highlighting is to get darker paint where there should be shadow and lighter paint where light would strike. Knowing where to put the paint to create a realistic look is not always easy. I suggest studying models done by painters you admire as a starting point. Putting a model directly under a bright light may also help you see where the shadows should go.
Inking
The mind-slave on the left has basic paint on.
The mind slave on the right was inked using Vallejo Game Colour Sepia ink
What is inking?
Inking is a technique in which a dark ink is painted over a lighter base color. If done properly, the ink settles into recesses and creates the appearance of shadows.
What are the pros and cons of inking?
Inking can create dramatic shading with minimal effort and without the need to identify where the shading should go. Ink can also look rough and uneven, because the consistency of the ink varies.
What surfaces can I ink?
Inking is best on textured surfaces. Inking on large, open surfaces often simply leads to a blotchy appearance and should generally be avoided. You are at the mercy of the sculptor when inking; ink is directed by the shape of the model and not the painter.
How do I ink?
The ink probably will require thinning. Simply paint the ink onto the area you want to shade and try not to let it pool excessively. It may take a couple of layers (each applied after the previous one dries) to get the desired shading. Do not do any other painting until the ink is completely dry, or the ink will bleed into the paint and ruin your model.
How do I pick the color of ink?
The ink should be a few shades darker than the base color you want to highlight and is preferably the same hue. For example, an ork's skin painted with Goblin Green can be inked with Dark Green ink. If there is no similar shade of ink that is dark enough, warmer colors may be inked with brown and cooler colors with black. Chestnut ink is excellent for red. Experiment on a small area if you are unsure. Planning ahead counts too : if your base-coat a shade lighter than your desired outcome, the inking process produces better and more dramatic results.
The ink didn't dry in the recesses, what did I do wrong?
This is a common problem related to the surface tension of the ink. The surface tension resists the ink settling into the cracks and makes what looked great wet look lousy dry. There are a few ways to reduce the surface tension: one is to add a little dish soap (a very little!), another is to add some Future® acrylic floor way to the ink. A ratio of 5:1 ink to wax has been reported to be acceptable, but I personally use more wax. Ink with wax added is sold commercially under the name Wonder-wash.
What is washing and how is it different from inking?
Washing involves adding heavily diluted paint, and is otherwise much the same as inking. Washing tends to be more subtle, however, and is therefore useful for adding depth and tone to a color where you don't want the more pronounced contrast that you get from inking. Washes of black will gradually darken a color, or add depth to folds during the highlighting process. Washing can also be used as a weathering technique (see below).
Dipping
What is Dipping?
Dipping is a form of inking where the model is actually dipped into the ink (typically furniture stain is used). A couple of really great examples can be found here:
Before Dipping
After Dipping
Drybrushing
What is drybrushing?
Drybrushing is a technique where a brush carrying a very small amount of lighter color is dragged across the surface of the model, so that only the raised areas catch the paint, providing an instant highlighting effect. It can also be used to add weathering effects (see below), and to paint metallic colors.
What are the pros and cons of drybrushing?
Drybrushing can create dramatic highlights quickly. Drybrushing can also look a little grainy and may not be neat enough for some tastes, though if carefully done drybrushing can be useful for any skill level. The best drybrushing effects are achieved by building up layers of paint gradually, lightening the color with each layer.
What surfaces can I drybrush?
Drybrushing is best on textured surfaces, and on angular shapes. It will provide a fast and attractive highlight on folds of cloth, bones and armor. It is also good for highlighting the edges of large vehicles. Drybrushing on large, open surfaces or smooth curves often simply leads to a streaky or rough looking surface and should generally be avoided.
How do I drybrush?
Drybrushing requires practice, but the technique is quite simple. Put some paint on a brush and wipe most of it off on a paper towel. Carefully draw the brush over the textured areas you want to highlight. You can use more paint/more coats (referred to as heavier drybrushing) where you want a more dramatic highlight. You can go back later and fix any areas that you hit accidentally. Don?t let the paint get too dry on the brush or it will get grainy. Drybrushing destroys brushes; use an old brush, if possible, although the Citadel brushes designed for drybrushing are very good.
How do I pick the color to drybrush with?
The drybrushing color should be lighter than the base color you want to highlight and is preferably the same general hue. I usually highlight the color I used as a base with Skull White for cooler colors or Bleached Bone for warmer colors to create the drybrush color. Planning ahead counts too ? if you basecoat a shade darker than the desired outcome, the drybrushing process produces better and more dramatic results.
Edging
What is edging?
Edging is a highlighting technique where a highlight is painted onto the edges of the model.
What are the pros and cons of edging?
Edging looks neater than drybrushing, but is harder to get right and looks artificial because the highlight has a hard edge. The most common mistake with edging is to paint the highlight is too thick. Edging also doesn?t work where the model doesn?t have well defined edges. It's best employed on vehicles and weapons, where you want to want to retain the base color but still suggest the light catching the edges. Edging is relatively quick, but more experienced modelers tend to use it only as a finishing technique.
How do I edge?
Using a fine brush, paint the edges of armor plates, guns, and the like with a color lighter than your base color. Make the lines as thin and neat as possible. Try to think about where light would hit and make the edging more dramatic in these locations. Keep the line very thin.
What color should I edge with?
Like drybrushing, edging is a highlighting technique. The edging color should be a few shades lighter than the base color you want to highlight and is preferably the same general hue. I usually create a highlight color by lightening the color I used as a base with Skull White for cooler colors or Bleached Bone for warmer colors.
Blacklining
What is blacklining?
Blacklining is the opposite of edging. A darker color (often black) is painted into recesses or between areas of differing color.
When do I blackline?
When there are narrow cracks that should appear deep on the model (such as the cracks between panels of power armor) or when there are two areas of color with insufficient distinction between them. This technique is still used to paint toy soldiers; done well, it gives you a neat and attractive model, but does not create a natural finish.
How do I blackline?
You need a very good brush and a steady hand. Apply black or dark brown (for a warmer look) to the cracks, or to define a thin line between colors.
Blending
What is blending?
Blending means a lot of things to different people. As commonly used, it simply means creating a gradual transition between colors, as opposed to noticeable steps. It is not a technique confined to highlighting. Expert painters blend colors together as well as blending highlights to create both realistic and fantastic effects. For most painters, blending does not actually mean mixing and blending paints on the model the way oil painters do, though it can be done with acrylic extenders and other techniques. Instead, what most painters do is to build up layers of thinned paint, effectively creating a series of steps that is not noticeable to the eye. This is more properly referred to as layering.
How can I get started on blending?
The first step toward blending is layering, in other words, to add more successive layers of highlights. Instead of highlighting with one lighter shade, choose a few intermediate shades and apply them in layers. Each layer should cover a slightly smaller area until the 'final highlight' is just a small spot of white or another light color on the ultimate tip of points and the like.
How can I make the steps between shades look less dramatic without doing many layers?
It may be possible to 'erase' the lines between successive shades of highlights by applying a very watered down coat of the base color. Note that this takes practice and that it dulls the highlight so some degree of forethought and 'over highlighting?=' will be required to create the desired effect. Another more advanced technique is to add very thin washes of black as you go, as these assist in blurring the line between the shades of color.
Glazing
What is glazing and how do I do it?
Glazing is similar to inking, but the purpose is different. The purpose of glazing is to add intensity and depth to color. Apply a very thin layer of ink of similar color to the base color to the area to be glazed.
Metal
How do I highlight metal?
There are different 'shades' of metal. In the Citadel line, they are, in order of brightness, boltgun metal, chain mail, and mithril silver. For gold, shining gold and burnished gold share a similar relationship. One common way to highlight metal is to paint the area black and then boltgun metal, as described above, followed by a moderate drybrush of chainmail and a light drybrush of mithril silver. Inking with black ink with a small amount of dark blue mixed in may further bring out the detail. For a rusty look, chestnut ink may be used.
What is NMM?
Non-metal metal. NMM, uses smoothly blended shades of gray to simulate the appearance of metal, instead of using a metallic paint.
Miscellaneous Techniques
How do I highlight black?
There are many answers to this question. The goal is to keep the area so that it looks black, while also bringing out the shape and detail. Generally, highlights will be gray, and I have achieved a look I liked with a very light drybrush of Shadow Gray followed by an extremely light drybrush of Space Wolf Grey. Fortress Gray and Ghostly Gray may produce a similar effect that is less blue.
How do I paint gems and lenses?
The fifth edition Warhammer High Elf Army Book has an excellent tutorial on different methods of painting gems. The trick is to ?reverse highlight? with the lighter colors painted near the base of the gem, rather than the top. To create depth, the majority of the gem should remain fairly dark. As an example, to produce a deep red gem, paint the gem black, then ¾ of it Scab Red, then 1/3 Red Gore, then a thin stripe of Blood Red with a small highlight of orange. Each color is layered over the previous one. To create a glint of light off the shiny surface, add a tiny spot of Skull White to the top of the gem opposite the Blood Red Highlight. If you study some well-painted gems you will see that they look best if the colors are applied such that the light is coming from an angle, rather than directly above.
Can I combine highlighting techniques?
You can and you should. Different techniques work better on different models or parts of models. For example, an Ork model might have skin painted using inks, drybrushed weapons and edged and blacklined clothing.
What are micron pens and where can I get them?
Micron pens can be purchased at most good art supply stores (e.g., A.C. Moore or Michaels.) They can be used for spotting the eyes of a model, lettering, or any fine detail work that might be beyond the capabilities of a brush. I am told that the 005 size is best suited for eyes and lettering. Ink from pens is sometimes water soluble, test this first. If the ink runs when wetted, then you will need to do any work with the ink just before sealing or risk the ink getting into other paint that you apply.
