OPTION 4: TONED BLACK

If you look at most paintings, you very rarely see true, RGB 255:255:255, depths-of-space black. Artists tend to use a toned black in their work, with a slight shade used to complement the rest of their work. For example, you probably want a slightly reddish black if you are painting a predominantly red scene from Dante's Inferno.

Since everything in the 41st millennium is supposed to be old, it never made a lot of sense to me to see crisp whites on models. That applies to Black Templars, who I think would look more "authentic" with slightly yellowed shoulder pads. However, that would look weird on straight Chaos Black.

Hence, you can use the technique below to tone your black so it complements the other elements of the model.

PAINTING A BLACK TEMPLAR WITH THE TONED BLACK TECHNIQUE

1	Undercoat the model with Chaos Black as described in the previous three options. You don't have to worry about going back over the model with Chaos Black as it won't be the basecoat. Mix: 1:1 / CG:H20
2	Basecoat the model with a mix of Chaos Black and a touch of Scorched Brown. Leave black showing in the recesses. It will be hard to see the brown at this point, but it will show eventually. Mix: 8:1:4 / CB:SB:H20
3	Add a broad highlight with a lighter mix of Chaos Black and Scorched Brown. It's the same idea as the extreme highlighting option. Bright light will help you see where you've painted. Mix: 1:3:4 / CB:SB:H20
4	Accent with a slightly narrower highlight of an even lighter brown-black mix over the highlight you just made. This might seem like a big jump from the black, but you need to be drastic at this point. Mix: 1:2:3 / CB:SB:H20
5	Now it's time to make the brown tones "pop" with a edging highlight of Graveyard Earth. Edge just like the extreme highlighting option. Note how this really brings out the brown tones in the "black." Mix: 1:2 / GE:H20

Shoulder Pads. Though this article is about painting black armour, I had to show you the shoulder pad so you can see how the toned black supports off-whites. Undercoat with Bestial Brown and then build up to straight Bleached Bone. As you can see, this yellowed white doesn't look as odd because it is surrounded by a toned black (black-brown in this example). Now you have a Black Templar shoulder pad that looks like it could be centuries old rather than right off the Forge World assembly lines. Add insignia and enjoy slaying heretics!

Previous: Option 3 - "Hyper-realism" Highlighting

Related Articles:
Painting Black Templars | Paiting Scouts | Interactive Space Marine Painter

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