OPTION 2: "PAINTERLY" HIGHLIGHTING

This option is almost at the opposite end of the spectrum from the extreme highlighting technique. For lack of a better word, I call it "painterly" highlighting, as it has more in common with the classical artistic rendering of the way light plays across a surface than just picking out the edges of armour plates. However, there is no reason why you can't incorporate both techniques into one. It also takes quite a bit of work to finish properly, so be prepared for more of a time investment compared to Option 1 or Option 3.

The "painterly" highlighting technique relies heavily upon the Halo of Light painting concept. Instead of using it to figure out how your extreme edges will be handled, the halo will provide you with ideas on how light realistically falls on a grieve or plays across a helmet. Please read the Halo of Light section before trying the technique explained below.

Be careful and take your time when using this technique, since working up to a light highlight too quickly sometimes results in a overly grey model when working over black.

Special Note: This technique works especially well on rounded surfaces, but tends to look a little strange on flat panels such as you would encounter on a vehicle. For tanks, drybrushing and picking out edges with extreme highlighting tends to offer the best finished results.

PAINTING A BLACK TEMPLAR WITH THE "PAINTERLY" HIGHLIGHTING TECHNIQUE

1	Undercoat the model with Chaos Black (or use Chaos Black spray undercoat to achieve a thorough undercoat). Paint a 1:1 mix of Chaos Black and water over the entire model to cover any spray undercoat (see Chaos Black undercoat mentioned before). Mix: 1:1 / CG:H20
2	Prepare a mix of Codex Grey and Chaos Black. Hold the model underneath a strong light source to see how the light falls across the armour. Thin down the mixture with water (until it is the consistency of milk) and carefully apply the paint in the areas shown by the lamp's illumination. If you find that you have too many sharp layers, have a clean, wet brush on hand to blend the lighter gray into the black basecoat. You will notice that this leaves large areas of model still untouched by paint, which is exactly what you want. With this technique, less is more. Mix: 3:1:12:4 / CB:CG:GM:H20
3	Prepare a new mixture with less Chaos Black and more Codex Grey. The reason why you want to create a separate mixture instead of adding to a previous mix is so that, in the case of a mistake, you can dip back into the mix from Step 2. The glaze medium in both these steps also act as a retarder so your puddles of paint will stay fluid for much longer than they normally without the glaze medium. Mix: 1:4 / CG:H20
4	Make another mixture and cut back on the Chaos Black by one drop while keeping the Codex Grey the same strength as in Step 3. With each progressive highlight, think of the target surface as a bull's eye— you want the lightest area at the centre. Mix: 1:2:12:4 / CB:CG:GM:H20
5	Now, create a mixture from Codex Grey, a large amount of glaze medium, and water. This highlight will be starker than the previous ones, so make sure to be careful when applying the paint. Don't work up too bright a highlight too quickly. Mix: 1:12:4 / CG:GM:H20
6	Apply a final extreme highlight of thinned Skull White. This last step should be just a pinprick in most of the highlighted areas — just enough to bring everything into focus and make it pop. Mix: 1:6:4 / SW:GM:H20

The main thing to remember when using this technique it that each area on the model will have to be handled differently depending on three major factors.

1. Pose of the Model. A figure with its leg raised as if it were running will have a substantial highlight occurring on the armour covering the upper thigh, with next to no light hitting below the knee pad armour.

2. Shape of the armour. Long, cylindrical pieces of armour tend to have long, thin strips of highlight, while rounded areas (eg, sides of a helmet or knee pad) usually have circular highlights with the lightest area near the "top" of the circle.

3. Halo of Light. Trust the Halo of Light. It won't lead you far off course. It can be used much like training wheels on a bicycle: once you get used to using the halo, you won't need it every time to figure out the highlight placement.

Next: Option 3 - "Hyper-realism" Highlighting
Previous: Option 1 - Extreme Highlighting