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Painting flesh,especially faces, canbe tricky. Luckily,when we asked the’Eavy Metal team foradvice on thisextensive subject theywere only too happyto oblige.

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FACE

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Skin Tones

A s the greatest figure painters in theworld, the ’Eavy Metal team aresome of the best at painting

miniature faces, so it was to them that weturned for a valuable lesson.

The face and head of a miniature isvery important because, as we’ve said inthe past, it’s the focal point of the model –the point where the eye is drawn to.

And when we talk about faces, it’s notjust the skin you have to paint either; thehair, and the point where the hairlinemeets the face, eyes, scars, lips, skin toneand stubble are all things that need to beconsidered. This article aims to cover allthese aspects, and even includes tips forgreen-skinned creatures, for all you Ork(and Orc) players out there.

Before we get started it’s worthmentioning a few general points that youshould bear in mind. The first and most

important point is to build up the paint inseveral thin layers so as not to obscure anydetails. This is especially true on the face,as this is the most unforgiving area of amodel. In the guides that follow, the ’EavyMetal painters have probably used three orfour thin layers rather than one thick, solidcoat in every stage. If your paint is too thin,you can always add another layer togradually strengthen the coat. However, ifyou apply the paint too thickly you can’ttake it away and so there’s a good chanceyou will compromise your lovingly craftedpaint scheme.

Finally, don’t get too obsessed withgetting your faces perfect, especially ifyou’re early in your painting career.Practise is a wonderful thing and the moreyou do it the better you’ll get. It’s amazinghow rapidly you’ll improve, even seeingthe difference from one model to the next.

The two diagrams of the handsome chapon the right show generally where to applythe highlighting and shading on a model.For the shading, apply the deeper skincolour on the dark areas as shown on thediagram (a) – around the edge of the face,in the eye sockets, around the nose andunder the bottom lip. For the highlighting,the lighter tones are applied to the whiteareas on diagram (b) – the brows, thebridge of the nose, the cheekbones, top lipand the chin.

Remember this is only a guide, butfrom this you can see the basic theory,which can be extrapolated to any kind offace, even an alien visage like an OrkWarboss, or something subtler such as thesmooth, pallid features of a Vampire.

Assuming you’re not readingthis in total isolation, then takea look around: you’ll noticethat the colour and tone ofpeople’s skin varies greatly.

To get these different tonesin your own miniaturepainting, it’s just as importantto vary the amount of paintyou use rather than justchoosing different colours. Forinstance, you may use DwarfFlesh on both a Dwarf modeland a Space Marine. But to getthe ruddier-looking skin you’dexpect on the Dwarf you needto use more Dwarf Flesh andhighlight it sparingly.

It’s also important to paintthe face last if possible, so youhave other colours on themodel to contrast the tonewith, rather than just a ChaosBlack undercoat.

Step 1. To achieve a Caucasianskin tone, start with a basecoat ofTallarn Flesh.

Step 2. Now give the face a coupleof washes of Ogryn Flesh, makingsure it flows into the depressions.

Step 3. Next, add a mid-tonehighlight using a 1:1 mix ofBleached Bone and Dwarf Flesh.

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Step 4. Finally, highlight the mostprominent areas of the face withBleached Bone.

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FACES: THE BASICS

For a pallid tone:(A) Tallarn Flesh, (B) Elf Flesh, (C) Skull White

For a mid-flesh tone: (A) Vermin Brown, (B) Dwarf Flesh,(C) Bleached Bone

For a dark tone:(A) Scorched Brown/Chaos Black,(B) Scorched Brown, (C) ScorchedBrown/Graveyard Earth

Shading Highlighting

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MASTERCLASS

Basecoat

Mid-tone

Highlight

Ask any novice painter which part of a model he struggles topaint most, and there’s a good chance he’ll mention the face– from skin tones, shading and highlighting to painting eyesand hair, faces can be complicated areas to get right.

A B

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Another area of skin that benefits from extra attention are the hands.

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Around the hairline where the hair meets the skin on the face, a slightly darker shade than the hair colour isused to provide natural-looking definition. For example, blond hair could have Snakebite Leather used for thehairline (a), while brown hair could have a Scorched Brown hairline (b). The important thing is not to use blackaround the hairline, as this will look unnatural.

Top Tip – Hands

HAIRLINES The best way to paint stubble is to mix greys and browns into the last colourused to highlight the skin, layering it in the desired place. A highlight mix ofBleached Bone and Tallarn Flesh might have Codex Grey and ScorchedBrown added, for example. Try applying the stubble patchily, and don’tpaint it beyond a natural beard or hairline, otherwise it’ll look fake.

Generally speaking there are two different types of scars – raised ones,representing old, healed scars (a) and fresh ones, represented by a deep cutor gouge (b). Old scars are painted and highlighted in the same way as therest of the skin, but are then glazed with watered-down Red Gore and LichePurple. Fresh cuts are painted in with Red Gore, before again applying aglaze of Liche Purple around the damaged area.

STUBBLE SCARS

Step 1. When painting black hair, use a 1:1 mixof Chaos Black and Codex Grey as a basecoat,applying it liberally.

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Step 2. Use Codex Grey as your first highlight. Ifthe hair is ridged then run the side of the brushalong the raised areas to get a fine highlight.

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Step 3. For the final highlight, apply Fortress Greyto the extreme edges of the raised areas, beforeapplying a wash of Badab Black.

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Step 1. For brown or blond hair it’s best to startwith a basecoat of Calthan Brown, carefullyapplied to the hair on the model.

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Step 2. Paint on Desert Yellow, applying it in finelines to create the illusion of hair, rather thanpainting it as a smooth surface.

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Step 3. Highlight with Bleached Bone, againapplying it as lots of thin strands with a steadyhand, reinforcing the hair texture.

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Step 1. Basecoat the hand with Tallarn Flesh andshade it with a wash of Ogryn Flesh. When it’sdry, apply a second layer of Tallarn Flesh.

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Step 2. Use a 1:1 mix of Dwarf Flesh andBleached Bone for the mid-tone.

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Step 3. Highlight the raised areas of the handswith Bleached Bone, picking out the knuckles onthe model’s fingers with the paint.

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HAIR

Step 1. Block out the eyes with Chaos Black –this exercise requires a steady hand so as not topaint over the eyelids.

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Step 2. Now paint the eyes Skull White, applyingthe paint as a horizontal line. Try to keep a blackkeyline around the eyes.

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Step 3. Dot in the pupils with Chaos Black. It’simportant that the pupil meets the top and bottomeyelids, otherwise you’ll get a startled expression.

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EYES

A B

A B

Showcase

When painting lips, only paint thebottom one to avoid getting apuckered, exaggerated finish.

The same tips for hair and hairlinesapply equally to facial hair.

By shading the underside of thecheeks, you can really emphasisethe high cheekbones of an Elf.

By painting Hawk Turquoise, oranother cool tone, into the recessesof an otherwise warm palette, extradepth can be added to the skin.

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Step 1. To start with, a basecoat of Tallarn Fleshwas applied all over the face area.

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Step 2. A very thin wash of Dark Flesh was thenpainted over the whole area, making sure itflowed into the recesses.

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Step 3. A second wash was applied, this timeusing a thinned-down mix of Scorched Brownand Chaos Black.

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Step 4. The first mid-tone layer is a 2:1:1 mix ofTallarn Flesh, Fortress Grey and Bleached Bone,applied to all but the recessed areas.

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Step 5. The next layer to be applied was a 1:1mix of Tallarn Flesh and Bleached Bone.

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Step 6. The mid-tone was then completed with a highlight of pure Bleached Bone. This wasapplied to the raised areas of the face.

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Step 7. A wash, mixed from equal parts BleachedBone and Regal Blue, was painted around theeyes. A 1:1 wash of Scab Red and BleachedBone was then applied to the bottom lip.

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Step 8. Skull White was used as the finalhighlight, applied sparingly to the mostprominent areas of the face. How you apply thishighlight will affect the expression of the face.

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Step 9. Finish the face by painting the eyes, asdescribed on page 95.

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Below is a nine-stage face painting method used by manymembers of the ’Eavy Metal team. This is a more involved,advanced method using more washes and nuances to givethe face life, feeling and expression. This method is savedfor characters and special miniatures. With this process thelayers of paint are kept down to a minimum by using

washes but the highlights are applied more thinly andblended to achieve a better finish. The most importantstage of painting on this face is the final highlight of SkullWhite. This is when the facial expression and character isdetermined – you can add lines to change the expressionand suggest emotion.

Step 1. Firstly, apply a basecoat ofOrkhide Shade followed by agenerous wash of Badab Black.

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Step 2. For the next step apply amid-tone of Knarloc Green to allbut the most recessed areas.

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Step 3. The first stage highlight isGoblin Green, painted on all theraised areas.

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Step 4. Finally, highlight the facewith a 1:1 mix of Goblin Greenand Bleached Bone, then finish theeyes, teeth and other details.

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ORCS (& ORKS)

Step 1. Basecoat the Goblin’s facewith Knarloc Green and then applya liberal wash of Thraka Green.

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Step 2. Goblin Green is used asthe mid-tone, leaving the basecolour showing in the recesses.

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Step 3. Next, highlight the faceusing a 1:1:1 mix of Goblin Green,Golden Yellow and Bleached Bone.

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Step 4. The final highlight is pureBleached Bone. The eyes and teethcan then be finished off.

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GOBLINS (& GRETCHIN)

ADVANCED TECHNIQUE

Female faces are typically softer, with less depth and fewer wrinkles. Thepainting therefore needs to be subtler with less shading needed, giving it asmooth and more feminine look. Any makeup applied should be usedsparingly, with just a little colour on the bottom lip for lipstick and a

complementary colour for any eye shadow. For example, if a femaleminiature has a pale green robe then a soft violet on the eyes would drawthe eye and work well. For evil females the makeup can be stronger anddarker, using black lipstick and darker eyeshadow, for example.

Top Tip - Female Faces