Primer - Day 1

Previously I wrote that my husband and I are taking a journey into the world of Hordes from Privateer Press. I was really excited about it, but I was very nervous about painting the figures! The first figure I ever painted was a larger Protectorate of Menoth figure, which had larger areas to paint in. These figures are tiny compared to it! So needless to say, I panicked a bit. But after a few quick text messages and a quick counseling session from my friend Tim (who happens to be a pro at painting these things!), I felt a bit better!

So I started by primering the model pieces and then I let them dry overnight. That was day one. Not the most exciting thing to look at, but it needed to be done. I was told the best primer to use was black, as the colors tend to “pop” a little more against the black background. I wasn’t totally convinced of this at first, but the people who told me this had painted more armies than I had, so I shut up, listened and did what they said. (I’m glad that I did.)

Skin Colors - Day 2

Day 2 brought on the skin color painting. So I took each of the model pieces and painted the Trollblood Base Color, which is a pretty blue. This was pretty easy and I felt pretty good about it. This photo shows the black primer with the blue skin paint. And yes, the color do “pop” more on the black background, so I was very glad that I listened to wisdom. I did all of the skin base colors on all the model pieces and let them dry over night as well. I wasn’t sure if I would like painting with the blue, but for the trollblood skin base color, this is a great pick.

Day 3 (so far): Armor Base and Shading

Armor Base and Shading

The armor base called for a dry brushing technique, which I had never used before. Thank God the Hordes Primal Book explained what this is. (Basically, you put the paint on the brush, wipe most of it off with a paper towel and brush the left over paint on the model in a nice back and forth motion.) So, I did that for the armor base. After that dried, then came the shading. This was the part I was most worried about. I was told previously that my shading and highlighting weren’t that great when I did the Protectorate model. (Granted, it what the first model I had EVER painted, but still.) So I was a little nervous. I started shading just as they showed in the Primal book, but it really wasn’t looking like I wanted it to, so I went back to the dry brushing technique and it turned out MUCH better! The rusty look in the photo above is actually the shading that I did and I am really pleased with how it turned out. To me, when I used the dry brushing technique, it looked more realistic than just outlining the areas.

That’s what I have done on the Trollblood Project so far. Tune in later, so see more painting action!