By Keith Pogue

Hi! I am pleased to bring you the second of step-by-step articles on how I painted Reaper's Achiah Law Giver Angel. I entered the miniature in Sean K. Reynolds Anger of Angels contest. I recently learned it was chosen by Sean, Monte Cook, and JD Wiker as one of the winners! Here we go with the second half of the step-by-step:

Wings and Kilt

The wings and kilt were painted with Vallejo Game Color 47 Wolf Gray. I must emphasize how important it is to thin paints when setting up an undercoat like this. You want every raised detail to show clearly and thinning is the key. A couple of coats of thinned paint is far superior to one thicker coat.



A quick coat of ivory went over the staff. Then I washed over this with yellow/brown ink mix.

The wings were picked out carefully with ivory. I used what is called an overbrushing method. You can think of it like a wet dry brushing. Load the brush and graze over the raised surface. I usually go back over the areas and smooth the paint, but it really does not take very long. I did the same with the staff. Finally, I went back and highlights to the feathers using straight white. The tunic was done employing the same methods.

Cloak

The base coat on the cloak was painted Vallejo Game Color 19 Night Blue.





Highlights were added to the cloak with Vallejo Game Colors 23 Electric Blue and 22 Ultramarine blue. These highlights are made with very little color on the brush and fairly thin paint.





Straight Vallejo Game Color 23 Electric Blue were added.





A mix of Vallejo Game Color 23 Electric Blue and White were added moving up to a very light, almost white highlight.





The final cloak:

The Gems

I use an undercoating method to make the gems appear a bit different than the rest of the miniature. The gems are painted black, and then the highlight areas are painted white.





The undercoating was covered with a thin blue paint - this gives me a really nice base to highlight up from:

The Spear Tip

The spear tip was a happy accident. I was trying to create a reflective surface on the tip using NMM chrome technique. I failed miserably, but the spear still looked pretty cool. I started by painting the spear tip top Vallejo Game Colors 21 Electric Blue and 22 Ultramarine Blue and white.



The bottom was painted scorched brown. I highlighted both ends of the spear tip up to pure white. I made several mistakes. First, I tried to paint with paint not thinned down enough. Second, the transitions between the colors are far too rough. Finally, the light sources are completely wrong. When I was finished - I liked it - a happy accident indeed!

The Base

I thought I had a great idea for the base and I was excited to get rolling on it. In actuality, the base turned out fine, but nothing special. I have some ideas on how to better execute it next time though. I painted the base Vallejo Game Color 50 Cold Gray.



I highlighted the base with light gray. The base is one place I employ drybrushing.



The final step was to add batting to the base to make a cloud like effect. I think cotton might work better in retrospect. I also would spend more time highlighting the base next time.

The Final Angel

This was the most time I have spent on a figure in quite a while. I learned a lot, but I was not entirely satisfied with my efforts. The final overall effect is pretty solid though.

Next Month

I have several ideas for future columns, but I would appreciate your input on what would be most valuable to you. Would you like to see an article on:

1. Speed painting techniques - metal to tabletop ASAP!

2. Another step-by-step;

3. Dungeon furniture;

4. More advanced painting techniques; or

5. Modeling ideas using RTV molds?

Feel free to leave a comment here or send me an e-mail. Thanks for reading and your input!

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Keith Pogue (pogre) has been painting miniatures since 1981. Although a fine painter he is no where close to world class, however, he has taught two other painters who have gone on to achieve fame as figure painters. A teacher and a coach, Pogue is a recovering attorney who really enjoys his summers off. Pogue's goal for his series of painting articles is "to provide tips anyone can use at the painting table tomorrow."