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    Painting Wargaming Figures
    Painting Wargaming Figures
    Painting Wargaming Figures
    Ebook573 pages1 hour

    Painting Wargaming Figures

    By Javier Gomez Valero

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The artist known as “El Mercenario” “shares the secrets of his success in this useful guide to painting miniature figures”—includes photos (Stuart Asquith, author and editor of Practical Wargamer).
     
    In this accessible “how-to” guide, Javier Gomez, a highly talented figure painter of long experience and excellent reputation, takes the reader step-by-step through the whole process, from choice of materials (unlike other available guides it is not linked to any specific figure manufacturer) and preparation of the miniatures to basing and even advice on photographing the finished item. Techniques such as dry-brushing, ink-washing, shading and highlighting are all explained clearly with the help of step-by-step photographs and color charts.
     
    Specific case studies tackle a variety of useful subjects across all periods, such as mixing realistic flesh tones for different races; painting horses; guns and limbers; Medieval heraldry; Napoleonic uniforms; WW2 and modern camouflage patterns. Javier also clearly explains how these techniques and processes can be applied to all the major wargaming scales, from 40mm down to 6mm. Whatever historical period (or Sci-fi/Fantasy) and whatever scale the reader is interested in, this book is an invaluable source of practical advice and inspiration.
     
    “Very soon after we started up Perry Miniatures we managed to acquire Javier’s outstanding painting services for our figure collections. He is a true genius with a brush, with a great sense of color that turns figures into masterpieces. His military and uniform knowledge adds a great deal to his ability to produce little painted gems.”—Michael and Alan Perry, Perry Miniatures
     
    “I have used some of the suggestions here as well as the highlights for some of my own figures and they have produced improved results.”—Mataka.org
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateMar 30, 2015
    ISBN9781473852808
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      Book preview

      Painting Wargaming Figures - Javier Gomez Valero

      First published in Great Britain in 2015 by

      Pen & Sword Military

      an imprint of

      Pen & Sword Books Ltd

      47 Church Street

      Barnsley

      South Yorkshire

      S70 2AS

      Copyright © Javier Gomez Valero El Mercenario Photographic copyright © Javier Gomez Valero El Mercenario, Anastasio Giménez

      ISBN 9781848848221

      eISBN 9781473852808

      The right of Javier Gomez Valero El Mercenario to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

      Printed and bound in India by

      Replika Press Ptv. Ltd.

      Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints of Pen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Military, Wharncliffe Local History, Pen and Sword Select, Pen and Sword Military Classics, Leo Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing and Frontline Publishing.

      For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact

      PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED

      47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England

      E-mail: enquiries@pen-and-sword.co.uk

      Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

      Contents

      Preface

      Introduction

      Part One: Basics

      Chapter 1: What Do I Need?

      Chapter 2: How To Paint Miniatures

      Chapter 3: Using Patinas

      Part Two: Colours

      Chapter 4: Black

      Chapter 5: White

      Chapter 6: Blue

      Chapter 7: Red

      Chapter 8: Brown

      Chapter 9: Grey

      Chapter 10: Green

      Chapter 11: Metals

      Part Three: Themes

      Chapter 12: Flesh

      Chapter 13: Faces

      Chapter 14: Horses

      Chapter 15: Shields

      Chapter 16: Flags

      Chapter 17: Camouflage

      Chapter 18: Basing

      Chapter 19: Varnishing

      Part Four: Other Scales

      Chapter 20: Larger Scales

      Chapter 21: Smaller Scales

      Dedication

      To my Dad, the real artist of the family and light years ahead of me as a painter.

      Preface

      A malformed lump of highly toxic lead could hardly be called a beautiful miniature, but it was my first and first times are supposed to be something nice to remember. It was back in the late 1980s that I lost my (painter’s) virginity to that Dungeons & Dragons© half-orc, which I stole from my elder brother’s collection. I had a great time ‘colouring’ it with his smelly Humbrol enamels, at least until he caught me and kicked my arse. Anyway, I guess it was worth the effort as I haven’t stopped painting miniatures since.

      I can’t say that I was alien to painting as my father was a draftsman and a painter himself, so that seed germinated easily in me. Like most painters who started this hobby as kids, I began with fantasy figures for my role-playing games (yes, everyone has an obscure past, even me!). One thing led to another and I found myself fascinated by the Warhammer world. It helped that my brother opened a local hobby shop (that later became Atlantica Juegos, one of the biggest hobby stores in Europe). However, a good Samaritan (someone desperate and lonely enough to teach a teenager how to play Empire) rescued me from the Dark Side and introduced me to historical wargaming. Napoleonic Empire came first, then Ancient Empire and finally Second World War Command Decision. I always liked to learn the hard way!

      By seventeen I was quite an experienced wargamer and I started to paint commissions. A couple of years later I joined with my friend and painting colleague David Gomez (although we were not related at all, besides our common last name, some people started to call us the Gomez Brothers) and founded El Mercenario painting service. I learnt a lot from him. David’s background was painting bigger scale figures and plastic kits, and we incorporated some of his techniques to our painting style. Shortly afterwards, we won some painting prizes at Salute and other shows and started to work for several companies, especially Perry Miniatures. Moreover, we took the reins of the Spanish magazine Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy. I managed the magazine for a couple of years, while David took charge of the painting articles. Later, we swapped roles and I contributed articles and photographs from my own collections. Those were happy days … we lived and breathed for the hobby.

      Over time David replaced his worn-out rocker leather jacket for a suit and became a respected gentleman with a proper job. Corporate suits were not made for me: aside from a few years working part-time at my brother’s store,

      I never had a proper boss. So I decided to keep running El Mercenario by myself. These years as a full-time painter were intense – very intense – painting ten to twelve hours a day, six or seven days a week. I always enjoyed planning new projects, reading about the period to research it and motivate myself properly, looking for the figures, designing the units and then the divisions or the armies and finally painting them. But I never was a collector. Once complete, I sold most of my personal collections. Being a professional painter allowed me to do what I loved and be paid for it! That doesn’t mean I stopped doing things for myself, but that is a perilous path for a pro. Like relationships, it would be tempting to cheat on your usual partner and devote more and more time to a new and exciting affair, but hobby affairs don’t usually last, and by the end of the month … you have to pay your bills!

      Four years ago my life changed deeply. Although I still enjoyed the painting, I felt that I needed something else in my life, and I worked with two friends to publish a new military history magazine called Desperta Ferro. The magazine was a complete success; the business expanded very fast but also became more and more demanding. As a day has only twenty-four hours I had to decide between publishing and professional painting, and I chose Desperta Ferro, to which I devote my full time, soul and mind. However, I would never quit painting: for me it’s much more than a hobby or a job, it’s a huge part of my life. My poor old eyes still can see, but in the end my brushes will need to be pried from my cold, dead hands.

      Introduction

      Before getting down to business I would like to say a few things about my painting technique. First of all, we are not painting 90mm figures destined to be neatly placed in a display cabinet; these are wargame figures intended to build armies from and play games with, so in my opinion the goal is to get the best quality/time investment ratio possible. Although there are several wargame figure sizes, from 40mm to 6mm, this book pays special attention to 28mm miniatures. Many wargamers prefer to play with smaller scales but from a painter’s point of view 28mm, given its size and detail, allows me to show all the techniques needed to paint figures, and it’s also the size of miniatures I enjoy painting the most. However, the techniques used can be adapted to other scales.

      In the past I was accused by purists of doing a rough paint job, with sudden transitions between different highlights and brusque contrasts. Well, sometimes they were right and my painting style has evolved over the years, but my painting goal remains the same: these are not figures (only) to be displayed in a cabinet but to be seen on a wargame table at a certain distance, forming part of bigger units. So, although I always try to paint as realistically as possible, I use strong and vivid colours for my armies.

      Regarding my technique, I normally paint a base colour and two highlights (sometimes three for bigger surfaces) over a black-primed figure, a system that became more or less standard in recent years. Ever since Wargames Foundry released their three-shades colour system of paints, where one blister pack contains the base colour, first highlight and second highlight for a certain colour, with no need to mix, many painters made their lives easier and embraced this new concept. I recognize that this has its advantages, especially for painters of huge armies or people with a limited time whose priority is speed, but I still like to mix my own paints. Call me a romantic, but I honestly think that painting is much more than giving accurate brushstrokes. It’s all about colours: to choose the proper colours, to mix them to a correct shade, to add different paints to obtain highlight effects. At the risk of sounding old-fashioned, I still prefer the old way rather than the faster, standardized new system of three-shade packaging.

      PART ONE

      BASICS

      1

      What Do I Need?

      PAINTS

      The first thing you’ll need is some paint (Figure 1). There is quite a wide choice when it comes to water- and solvent-based paints (known respectively as acrylics and enamels), but I highly recommend acrylic paints as they are water-soluble. Even though enamel paints give better coverage, acrylics are easier to use and give your figures a more realistic finish. And a big plus with acrylics is that you can avoid any

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