ELDAR
AUTARCH MASTERCLASS
Inspired by the new miniatures, Marc Raley and Jeff Wilson set to work painting the new Autarch models to fit in with their Eldar craftworlds.
MARC RALEY
Marc Raley: I knew from the outset that I wanted to give my Autarch a more-subtle paint scheme than is usually seen on Eldar. The trick was to achieve a that subdued scheme while still maintaining a clean, polished look.
Before I painted the Autarch, I experimented with the black and brown armour scheme on a Guardian first. I usually find it is easier to hone your palette on a couple of rank-and-file troops before moving on to a more elaborate character. I stuck with this basic black and brown look for the Autarch's armour but used a little more colour on the drapery and details. Still wanting to keep the colours muted, I used Shadow Grey for the blues and Snakebite Leather for the yellows. The only really rich colour on the model is in the gems, where I used Enchanted Blue. Since the rest of the colours are so subdued, the gems really stand out on this Autarch.
HOW'D HE DO THAT?
Sword Detail. To make the power sword grey, I basecoated with Codex Grey and hit the edges with a mixture of Codex Grey and Skull White. I added more Skull White to each successive highlight, with the brightest spots reaching pure Skull White. For the gold portions, I used Snakebite Leather instead of Codex Grey.
Gemstones. I basecoated the gems with a mixture Chaos Black and Enchanted Blue. Then, I highlighted one of the lower corners with straight Enchanted Blue followed by Enchanted Blue mixed with Skull White. In the opposite upper corner, I placed a single dot of a nearly white mixture of Enchanted Blue and Skull White. The only gems I painted differently were the ones on the grenades, which I made red.
Scenic Base. I decorated the base with some Medium Slate from the Urban Basing Kit, a plastic skull from the Warhammer Skeleton Warrior Sprue, and filled it in with a little sand. I painted the rocks with a mix of Chaos Black and Codex Gray and highlighted by adding more and more Codex Gray to the mixture. For the sand, I basecoated with Scorched Brown and drybrushed with a mixture of Scorched Brown and Bleached Bone. Finally, I glued on small amounts of dull-green static grass.
Warp Spider Generator. For the Warp Field Generator, I painted it brown and black with blue gems, like the rest of the armour. I painted the runes with Codex Grey and successively highlighted by adding more Skull White to the mix, giving the uppermost surfaces a dot of pure Skull White.
Outer Cloak. I painted the cloak with Shadow Grey and successively highlighted by adding more Skull White to the Shadow Grey.
Inner Cloak Detail. I painted the inside of the cloak and the tassels on the helm with a mixture of Desert Yellow, Bestial Brown, and Skull White. I highlighted the edges by adding more and more Skull White to the mix up to almost all white. For detail on the inside of the cape, I wanted something with an Eldar feel but different from the standard runes. I ended up going with lines and circles, which gave it an interesting alien "crop circle" vibe. Maybe it really is those pesky Eldar messing up all the fields in England...
Brown Armour Plates. I like to paint the recessed parts of a miniature first so that I don't mess up any finished work while trying to get at these hard to reach places later. For this reason, the first thing I painted on my Autarch was the black portion of his armour. Since I primed the model black, I simply highlighted the edges of these parts with a mixture of Chaos Black and Codex Grey, and then added a final highlight of pure Codex Grey.
Next, I based the brown plates with Bestial Brown while being careful to leave the black showing between the plates. If I messed up, I touched up around the plates with some thinned-down Chaos Black. I successively highlighted the edges of the plates by adding more Bleached Bone to the mix. I highlighted the very tips of the armour plates with a mixture of Bleached Bone and Skull White.
Golden Armour. I picked out details such as the helm crest, Mandiblasters, and parts of the Shuriken Pistol with Snakebite Leather and then successively highlighted the edges by adding more Skull White to the mix. I gave the very tips and corners a dot of pure Skull White.
