Blending

Introduction

I don't often do "how to" articles; the Internet is awash with those already and there doesn't seem much need to add to the number.  However, just occasionally I come across something where I've used a simple technique and haven't seen anything describing it anywhere else.

This was the case for my recent post on painting horses for wargames, where nobody else appeared to have published a straightforward, step-by-step guide.  Mind you, I'm probably mistaken here: there are almost certainly such articles around - but I've not seen them.

With that in mind, here's my version of blending...

Colouration for Kodama Mooks

To illustrate this technique, I'm going to use a model from the Super Dungeon Explore range.  This is a Mook, from the plant-man Kodama warband that ships with The Forgotten King (SDE version 2 started set).  Here's a part-painted mook from my assembly line:

Mook with khaki base coat

Now, the colour on this model is definitely a bit on the bland side.  This plant-man warrior has been base-coated in khaki, but there is very little detail beyond that.

I want my mooks to look a little bit like a fancy cabbage, with some vivid colour in the leaves (especially towards the tips):

Fancy kale (image not my own)

Right, now that I've decided what I want, let's apply some colour to the tips of the leaves:

Mook with dark pink tips to the leaves

This doesn't look good, I think.  The colour transition from the dark pink to the dull green is too abrupt and unnatural - not that aggressive plant-men are necessarily "natural", but I think you know what I mean!

Blending

So, here's what I'll do: I'll create bands of colour between the pink and the khaki with different proportions of the 2 base colours:

4 zones in total should do.  At each end the colour will be 100% of one colour or the other.  The 2 "inner" zones will be mixes with different proportions of pink and khaki, so that we transition more gradually from one of the "primary" colours to the other.

Obviously you can have as many or as few transition shades as you desire.  The more you have, the more work you'll need to put into the model, but the colour shading will be finer...

First transition applied (2:1 pink/khaki)

Second transition applied (1:2 pink/khaki)

These models are still not completed (there's painting to add on the shield, eyes & base.  Additionally, I might give the entire miniature a thin, black was).  But does the leaf look better now?

Here is a group shot showing the full effect of the transition colours:

Stages of painting, from 100% khaki to 4-tone blending.

Conclusion

There's nothing particularly difficult or revolutionary in what I'm doing here.  For the record, this is technically "dry blending": I'm applying each colour separately and waiting for it to dry, rather than mixing the wet colours on the model.  However, even if it is simple to do, I think the result is a vast improvement over the original single or two-tone colour schemes.

These mooks won't win prizes at any modelling competition, I think.  But they'll do just fine as game pieces!