More Cryx Airbrushing Trials

So after giving my 20-year old airbrush a run out with a Cryx Slayer I had sitting around, it was time to try again. I had several bonejacks from when I started my fledgling Cryx force so they would do nicely. I took the two Deathrippers, based and undercoated them ready to go.

I mixed a little black in with the Cryx Bane Base colour and used this as my first pass, leaving black in the lower parts of the model. I then went for pure Cryx Bane Base, followed by Cryx Bane Highlight. Because the paint in the airbrush is considerably thinned, it took a couple of coats for each pass.

I used bits of kitchen towel to loosely mask off parts of the model to avoid the overspray that occurred with the Slayer in my first go with the airbrush. The photo above shows the post airbrush results. As you can see the armour is highlight-heavy, but that was all a part of the plan.

I then switched to a more conventional method of painting – brushes. Taking small amounts of paint and a lot of water, I gradually added more depth across the entire armour, dumbing down the highlights as I went. I then added thin layers of black to the shadows to just help crank up the contrast across the armour plates.

I used my version of the two-brush method throughout: I add some very thinned black paint to the bottom half of the armour plate. I then quickly rinse my brush but don't dry it – just drag it across some kitchen towel to remove excess water. Then, starting at the very top of the armour plate I paint the water on and when I reach the black paint I blur the line with the water to create a smooth(ish) graduation. By working top to bottom with the water I don't bring the shadows too high.

I then repeat the process with the Cryx Bane Highlight, except working the other way round – paint on the top half and water from the bottom. I then started to add some GW Bleached Bone to the Cryx Bane Highlight and added edge highlights to the armour on the legs.

Once I was reasonably happy I painted in the metallics and added Black and Brown washes to knock them back. Ironically I think the armour is now looking too 'fresh from the factory'. You may also have noticed that the main body armour (behind the shoulders and legs) is looking odd. Whilst I was using the airbrush I thought this was going to be metallic and only when I'd moved on to the brushes did I discover it should have been the Cryx Bane colour. I will be going back in to fix this later, but for the purposes of the trial my technique is working so far.

Lots more Cryx Bonejacks to paint so I'll be getting more practice soon.