Sunday, March 22, 2009

Legion Color Scheme Thoughts

Over the last several weeks my pile of unpainted miniatures has shifted pretty noticeably. Instead of 4 unpainted factions, I only have 2. However my pile of unpainted Legion models continues to grow and admittedly, I haven't painted a single one yet. I've been getting them trimmed, pinned, assembled and in some cases even based. However not a single one has been primed, nor have I even played a game with them yet. A big reason for that is that I'm stuck on a color scheme for them.

Something I learned from doing Cryx was that I really enjoyed having a consistent scheme for them. Well, ok, my Cryx isn't all consistent. It's got 2 different types of bases and some models are NMM while others are MM. But, the point still holds. I love the way the models look together. I want to handle Legion the same way. To that end, today's post will be half stream-of-consciousness, and half "research" notes on various color schemes that I've found previously.

Nyss: When I did Cylena Raefyll and the Nyss Hunters, I really did enjoy painting them in the studio scheme. The black was challenging, but I loved how the flesh looked. I think regardless of what other scheme choices I make, I want to stick with the pale blue skin for the Nyss warriors themselves. Beasts are, of course, up for debate.

Painting Practice: When I started working on Cryx, I specifically wanted to do a little practicing of NMM, and a lot of practicing with washes. I found that experience to be very valuable, and likewise I'd like to focus on something specific when doing Legion. To that end, something I haven't worked on much up to this point is greens. I've done a fair amount of whites, reds, blacks, and blues. However I haven't done much work with green and I'd like some practice. Somehow I need to work that into the scheme. Perhaps light green flesh for the Nyss instead of light blue? Hmm...
Also, I want to practice the whole "layered streaking" of chiton/bone. There's a really great tutorial on this here.

Basing: Ok, as cool as those snow bases were to make for the Nyss Hunters, I do not want to be making those on a large scale. It was fine for on-offs, but I'd like something more jungle-ish instead. Below are a couple prototypes for bases that I made.
Personally, I like the right one better, but the contrast in it is lower. To that end I'm probably going to get some alternate moss colors to fill in and create more of an autumn look to it. However, this is generally the style I want to go for; rocky and mossy. To that end, I want my Legion scheme to not look wildly out of place. Greens and browns would make good predominant colors.

Prior Work: Here's a few links of various Legion beasts I've seen painted by other folks:
* Dead Dogg's Carnivean for NQ - I love the paint job, but honestly I feel like the carapace and the soft tissue are too similar in color and reduce the "readability" of the model. However the green skin is excellent.
* Speed Painted post on Privateer Forums - Not a huge fan overall (the green skin is a little too "ghostly"), but the brown carapace is magnificent. Hints of purple really create an interesting effect.
* Another post on the Privateer Forums - I specifically don't like the brown armor, but the browns and greens are about the level of brightness and contrast that I like. If nothing else, it makes for a nice reference.
* Deathstalker from Jarrett Lee's blog - Love this paint job. Jarrett's very impressive. The interplay of blue and purple on the cloak is remarkable.
* Raek from CMON - Not particularly a fan of the color scheme, but it illustrates the "streak" look of the carapace that the studio scheme also has. I definitely want to practice that technique.

And now for something completely different:
Nature rocks. Just look at this frog! I love how there's massive contrast and conflicting colors, and yet somehow it works. I love the idea of contrasting spots on my beasts' soft tissue.

Summary: So, where does this leave me? Well, after putting all this together, letting it tumble around in my head, here's what my plan is looking like:
* Carapace - Browns with white/black streaks in it
* Beast flesh - Green with spots
* Armor - metal
* Warrior flesh - Light blue
* Cloth - Dark blue/purple
Odds are things will change as I go, but this is my working plan for now.

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