Step by step Mjolnir

 

This is a tutorial that I originally wrote as a commission for Hasslefree Miniatures, and can also be found on their website.

 

Hasslefree Miniatures make a fantastic range of anatomically correct 28mm miniatures and I painted one of their first releases, the Ogre Mjolnir Haxelfrei. Due to the realistic anatomy sculpted by Kev White, I wanted to give it a natural colour scheme, but at the same time not use any metallic paint.

 

The colours that I feel have been important to this look are listed below:

 

	Flesh tones	NMM Steel	NMM Gold
Base coat	GW Tanned Flesh + GW Dwarf Flesh + VMC US Olive Drab	VMC Grey Green	VGC Cobra Leather
Mid tone	Basecoat + GW Elf Flesh	VMC London Grey	VMC Yellow Ochre
Highlight	GW Elf flesh + Basecoat + VMC Ivory	VMC Pale Greyblue	VMC Yellow Ochre + VMC White
Light spot	none	VMC White	VMC White

GW = Games Workshop paints
VMC = Vallejo Model Colour
VGC = Vallejo Game colour.

After pinning all the parts of the ogre together and filling any gaps (which were minimal), I sprayed whole miniature with GW black spray primer and touched up any areas I missed with brush-on VMC Black paint. The first area of this model I decided to tackle was the face. I started there as it is a focal point of the model and I wanted to capture the essence of Mjolnir from the beginning. I mix up my usual flesh tones from GW Tanned Flesh with a touch of Dwarf Flesh and the secret ingredient of US Olive Drab. Only add enough Olive Drab to take away the ‘pinkness’ of Tanned Flesh. Don’t forget to add plenty of water to the paints before you lay any paint on the model.

 

Apply this mix to the model in thin layers until you get an even finish (it may take 2 or 3 layers). Once you have laid the flat flesh tones down, start to highlight by adding Elf Flesh to the mix and painting thin, semi-transparent layers in progressively finer strokes to the raised areas such as the cheek bones and tip of the nose (also the brow and bridge of the nose, but in this instance the helmet covers these).

 

This technique is typically called ‘layering’ and applies to all of the colours on this model. It is important to think about where the light would fall before you add the highlights. With each layer of highlight, add a little more Elf flesh until you are nearly using it neat. Before the flesh mix reaches 100% Elf Flesh, start adding VMC Ivory to the mix to keep the colours muted and natural.

 

 

Once the face was finished, I painted in the eyes (which for Mjolnir are large and a fantastic shape). I first blocked them in in black, and then painted them completely white, leaving a fine black line round the edges. I painted the irises in Bestial Brown then Bubonic brown and finally painted the pupils as a black vertical, almost cat-like, stripe. The 5 o’clock shadow was painted in a mix of black and brown ink painted on in short vertical strokes to simulate the direction of growth. I did this in a number of layers to control the depth of colour. The teeth were painted in VGC Cobra Leather and highlighted with GW Bubonic Brown and Bleached Bone

 

After the face I used exactly the same technique on the rest of the flesh areas, firstly the back, chest and arms, and then the hands and thighs. I split the areas like this so that I can concentrate on each one specifically. The trick with flesh tones is to keep them really smooth, and always highlight faces more than you think you should they are the focal part of the model and really catch the eye if done well. The larger areas of flesh require more blending to keep the transition of colour smooth. To help with this I combine the layering with another technique called feathering. When you put on a highlight layer, pick up a clean moist brush and draw the colour out over the darker colour making it more transparent towards the edge of the layer letting the colour beneath show through.

 

 

Using this method means you do not need so many layers, but it requires practice, so do not be disheartened if you do not get it right first time.

If you want to add extra depth to the flesh tone and create deeper shadows, you can use a mix of black, brown and green inks (with a lot of water) and paint this into recesses such as under the arms, beneath the pectoral muscles, in the eye sockets and other shadowed areas (you can see it down the spine on the right hand picture).

 

Gems and Non-Metallic Metal (NMM)
The next thing to do is decide where you want the light source to come from as the gems and NMM both need directional lighting. I chose a point on the model’s high right (somewhere above Mjolnir’s sword arm) as I felt that this would give the most dramatic effect.

 

I painted all the steel in VMC Grey Green, and then after deciding where on each area I wanted the bright-spot I started working VMC London Grey onto the colour and feathering each layer onto the darker colour beneath. I then added VMC Pale Greyblue and continued the highlights. The bright spot on each steel area was painted in white and feathered into the Pale Greyblue.

 

The gold areas were painted in VGC Cobra Leather straight over the black undercoat and highlighted by first adding VMC Yellow Ochre and then white to the mix.

 

The gems were painted using the same technique whether red or green, but each one had the light source in a slightly different place depending on where they were on the belt/shield in relation to the light source. The red gems were painted in VMC Burnt Cadmium Red and highlighted with VMC Red, Flat red and Light Orange. Final highlights were in GW Bronzed flesh. The gem was then washed with a thin layer of red ink to bring the colours together and the light source was painted in as a point of white in the darkest area.

 

I then did the same with the green gems but using GW Dark Angels green highlighted by adding GW Camouflage Green. A dark green wash and a white point of light completed all of the gems. The whole lot were then gloss varnished with a thick layer of GW ‘Ardcoat.

 

Details
The horns were painted in GW Bleached Bone and blended through GW Graveyard earth to black going from the base to the tip. Although opposite to the way you normally see horns painted on miniatures it is actually a more natural way horns look in the wild.

 

 

The fur on his boots were painted in VMC English Uniform and highlighted by drybrushing with VMC Khaki and then VMC Ivory. Dry-brushing gives the fur a really different texture to the rest of the model which was smoothly layered and adds to the contrast between the leather straps and the fur.

Leather straps, cuffs, belt and the leather on the shield were all painted in GW Scorched Brown and highlighter with GW Bestial Brown, VGC Cobra Leather, and then GW Bubonic Brown. The shoe parts of the boots were also painted in these colours. The ‘pants’ were painted in VMC Black and then highlighted by adding VMC Khaki.

 

The base was a special edition snow base that came with early versions of this miniature and was painted in VMC Pale Greyblue and highlighted with white. I kept the highlights all in one direction to give the impression of drift and left it slightly mottled to give texture to the snow. White paint was also drybrushed onto the boots to represent snow being picked up as he strides through the mountains.

 

Blood is always a difficult thing to get right on miniatures as it is always easy to put too much on and make it really over the top. In this case I decided where I wanted to put the blood before I started. I decided for some on the blade of his sword and a splatter on his chest/shoulder and thigh. The colour is a mix of red, black and brown ink, dapples and painted on to give a mottled look. Once it was dry I gave it a heavy gloss varnish to keep it looking wet.

 

A few coats of Testors Dull Cote (and some more layers of ‘Ardcoat on the gems and blood) later and the ogre was complete!

 

 

 

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