Zenithal Highlights anyone?

It's when painting in this style that you really become greatful for your airbrush. I really would have hated doing a gradient like that with a conventional brush.
The colour is vallejo imperial blue with airbrush thinner, then progressive additions of vallejo air white. The zenithal highlights on this Night Lord are a 3 part process and you should use the 0.2mm needle on your airbrush so you can do the fine bits (because masking and waiting for drying on every armor panel would be agonising).
Next step for me will be the iconic Night Lords painted lightning on the armor, followed by non-metallic metal on all the parts that need it. I ordered vallejo's nmm set last week, so I'm hoping it arrives soon. Can't wait to finish painting this guy!!

Night Lords praetor conversion complete

For my first time sculpting a hand, I don't think I did that bad. I'll start painting him today.

Sons of the Sunless World

So, my diorama flopped at the painting comp. I'm a little disappointed, sure, but if anything, my passion to create something even better has been invigorated.
Anyone who's talked to me about hobby stuff will know I'm absolutely in love with the Night Lords legion. Aaron Dembski Bowden's Talos trilogy was the start of something beautiful for me! I couldn't get enough! Sevatar is the greatest badass in the Heresy novels as far as I'm concerned and I can't wait to get a hold of his model when forgeworld releases it.

So, I've put in another order with forgeworld - a Night Lord's contemptor pattern dreadnought with a plasma cannon and death claw and a unit of night raptors.

This afternoon after work however, I was taken by inspiration! I couldn't wait any longer. I took some parts and a couple of pre heresy marines and I made a Night Lords Praetor. Complete with Nostraman chainglaive and flayed skin gloves.

I'm very proud and I can't wait to paint him (when he's finished of course - still need a few icons etc).

Painting comp entries!

Well here it all is! I was thinking of entering the squad section too, but didn't really have anything appropriate lying around. Wish me luck :)

Very close to finished!

Just gotta finish painting the apothecary and another admech attendant and she's all done!

Airbrush aurora and freehand banner

More sneak peaks?

With only a week to go before the contest, progress on the fists surges ahead!

A quick update...

Work on the schism diorama surges ahead!
It's finally coming together and I'm getting proud of my work.
I made up some martian sand by using regular reptile substrate and adding some pigment powders through it. It looks fantastic, but you would want to use gloves to lay it down (trust me).

Diorama progress

With 3 weeks to go, I've become a little frantic about this painting comp!!

The current surface looks like crap, but it's far from finished. Ive pigmented some reptile sand to put over the top of it - I'll be doing that tomorrow :)

All of the metal is applied and to a certain extent, weathered.

Marines are also shaping up.

I'm reconsidering using chaos cultist models - just making it a 'space marines in a heroic pose' sort of scene. The reason is that I was going to have to do a cral load of sculpting and maiming etc to get them even ready to put in the scene.

I've been reading some tutorials on painting galaxies and the blue blob you can see in the background is the beginnings of that.