On The Desk - Necron Overlord Part 2

Back to the Overlord, this week I'm going to be focussing on the weapon head. I wanted to have a strong alien appearance, making it clear that this isn't just some metal club that he hits people with! I decided to use strong orange and red tones to make it really jump out. You can see from the pictures that I've also painted the gauss areas of the miniature in an icy blue, the orange blade will contrast nicely with this.

I started with a base coat of 09005 Phoenix Red from Reaper Master Series, despite the name this paint is much closer to orange than red. If you wanted a GW equivalent then Jokaero Orange looks to be pretty close but I haven't used it myself.

Once that had dried I started working in the light areas using the base colour with increasing amounts of white and a little yellow (I used GW Flash Gitz yellow but it isn't really that important, I just had it close to hand). This lets us lighten the base colour without desaturating it too much. The paint consistency is pretty thin here, once I apply the paint I then use a second brush that is just wet to help feather the transition out slightly.

Now onto the darker areas. Using 09003 Blood Red, again from Reaper and a little black I blend the shadows in the same way as the highlights. All the way to about a 75:25 mix of black to red. You can see one of the highlights in the bottom right changes pretty significantly, I got my brushes mixed up and managed to get some black on it so had to redo it!

Once I'd done the shadows I went back in and pushed the highlights closer to white to really improve the contrast. I also used some thin red glazes in the mid tones to help tie things together. I've also attached a picture of my wet palette here so you can see the kind of transition I was using.

The final step is perhaps the most terrifying. I went back in with white with a slight touch of orange in it and edge highlighted the blades as well as painting a thin line down the central ridge. It's very intimidating doing this as a mistake can be very difficult to correct. It is important to use slightly thinned paint so it flows easily as well as using a brush that has a good point. Just find a comfortable position and take your time. I still find this very difficult to do but like any other technique you have to practice to improve.

With this I'm calling the blade finished! If you have any questions or constructive criticism please don't hesitate to share them in the comments.