ARAGORN

Here, Dave Thomas describes how he painted Aragorn!

After giving the model an undercoat of Chaos Black spray and painting over any recesses where the spray did not catch with thinned down Chaos Black paint, I started by painting Aragorn's coat.

This was given a basecoat of an equal parts mix of Goblin Green and Scorched Brown. I then added a small amount of Chaos Black and painted this mix into the recesses.

Using the original basecoat mix, I added a small amount of Bleached Bone and used this for the highlights. Finally, I gave the whole coat a very light drybrush with Codex Grey to create a cracked leather appearance.

The underjacket was painted with a basecoat of Dark Flesh. I highlighted the edges and raised creases with a small amount of Bleached Bone added to Dark Flesh, and then gave the whole coat a wash with Chestnut Ink.

For Aragorn's trousers, a small amount of Bleached Bone was added to Chaos Black and I painted this as a highlight straight over the black undercoat. The boots were painted using a basecoat of Bubonic Brown mixed in equal parts with Bestial Brown. To highlight them I added Bleached Bone to the mix.

The sword was painted with a basecoat of Boltgun Metal. I then gave it a thinned down Black Ink wash that was left to dry before highlighting it with Mithril Silver.

FINE DETAIL

I gave Aragorn's face a basecoat of Scorched Brown mixed in equal parts with Dwarf Flesh. I then gradually built up the highlights using Dwarf Flesh followed by an equal parts Dwarf Flesh and Elf Flesh mix, painting these onto the prominent areas such as the nose, cheekbones and forehead. Lastly, I gave these areas a final highlight of Elf Flesh on its own.

The stubble on either side of his beard was painted with a greatly watered down mix of Scorched Brown and Chaos Black. Because the mix is so thin, the flesh underneath will still show through, creating the stubble effect.

His hair and beard were painted with an equal parts mix of Chaos Black and Scorched Brown. I added small quantities of Bleached Bone to this mix for each successive highlight. Once I had finished the highlight stages I applied a final wash of Brown Ink.

His bow, backpack, belt and oilskin wrapping were all painted using the same technique and basic colours. I started with a basecoat mix of Scorched Brown and Chaos Black mixed in equal quantities. For a variation of colour between different equipment I added a small quantity of Chaos Black to the basecoat mix before painting the oilskin wrapping, and slightly more Chaos Black for the backpack. Then I simply added small amounts of Bleached Bone to this mix for each successive highlight, building them up more for the oilskin and the tips of his bow.

FINISHING TOUCHES

I glued sand onto the base with PVA and then, once dry, gave it a Brown Ink wash. Then I drybrushed this with a mix of Snakebite Leather and Fortress Grey. This was then flocked with static grass.

WEATHERTOP ARAGORN

Many of the models that we have produced come in a variety of poses and costumes that the characters wear throughout the course of the film. One such variation is Aragorn at the attack at Weathertop. Most of the figure can be painted by following exactly the same techniques and colours, although this model brandishes a flaming torch in his hand.

The flames were given a basecoat of Vermin Brown. I then began the highlighting process by painting Vomit Brown down the length of the flames, running from the base of the flame to the tip, blending it in with the Vermin Brown to create a smooth transition and lifting the brush away before it reached the tip. This technique was repeated using highlights of Sunburst Yellow. I then added Bleached Bone to the Sunburst Yellow in an equal quantity, finishing the effect with a final highlight of Bleached Bone on its own, followed by a thinned-down wash of Yellow Ink.

Next: How to paint Aragorn from The Heroes of Helm's Deep Boxed Set.
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