Sylvaneth Dryads (2nd set of 16)

I posted about my first set of Dryads here. This set came from the 2nd Start Collecting Sylvaneth box I'm working through.

The process used for these models is the same as that described in the post linked above. However, I'm still trying to fine tune my colours/technique for this army so I tried to achieve a brighter finish for the blue details. I did this simply by wiping away the wash from those areas... and it worked a treat!

Next up will be my 2nd unit of Sylvaneth Hunters.

Sylvaneth Dryads

Hot on the heels of last weeks work in progress (WIP), these models are now done! I'm absolutely thrilled at how they have come out. This is the first unit to which I've applied my new process (which I covered here). I'll cover the paints/process below and then follow up with a conclusion.

The basics of the process flow is as follows:

1. Prime. Airbrush first with black and then, from above, with grey,
2. Base coats. First using the airbrush as much as possible, then with paint brush,
3. Gloss varnish,
4. Shade. Applied a 50/50 mix of Army Painter Soft Tone and Army Painter Wash Medium,
5. Apply details to base,
6. Matte varnish.

For the main bark colour I first applied Baneblade Brown and the highlighted up through Ushabti Bone and finally Screaming Skull. The green accents were applied with Caliban Green. The leaves were painted Moot Green and the bark 'robe' was painted Waagh! Flesh. Finally, the blue runes were painted with slightly diluted Baharoth Blue.

For the base, I airbrushed Dryad Bark and then highlighted areas with Gorthor Brown and Baneblade Brown. The wood details were painted with Mournfang Brown whilst the sprites were painted White Scar and glazed with Gulliman Blue and Bloodletter. Other details like the rocks and skulls were painted with the Mechanicus Standard Grey/Zandri Dust and highlighted up with the standard colours detailed in the Citadel Painting System.

After the gloss varnish had been applied I mixed up the 50/50 mix of Soft Tone and Mixing Medium. This is the first time I had used these washes but the wash mix worked perfectly! the wash toned down the colour scheme perfectly and applied a subtly shade with no coffee staining! the wash also completed matted down the models which was nice!

Finally, I turned my attention to the bases. First off I applied tufts of Daffodils to roughly half the models. After that, I applied some vibrant grass flock and finally added some leaves onto the rocks. to seal everything in place I applied a heavily diluted PVA/water mix to the bases. Once that had dried I painted the rim of the bases with Steel Legion Drab and applied a light coat of matte varnish.

In conclusion, I'm super happy with this unit. It's easily the best unit of models I've painted and fills me with great confidence as to how my Sylvaneth force will turn out. I've spent an awful lot of time thinking about my painting technique finding a process which fits my style. I've finally found it and the feeling that the models I'm producing are closer to the standards I set myself is fantastic!

Next up to apply the same process to a Branchwych.

Dryads: work in progress

Here we have a WIP of the Dryads. So far I have completed the base coats I’ll be applying with the airbrush. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ll be following the colour scheme of the Harvestboon clan; as you can see below from one of the example colour schemes which the Dryads of Harvestboon follow, I’ve gone for a pale brown fading into green at the extremities of each model.

The models have been undercoat with black Vallejo primer with was then followed up with grey Vallejo primer, applied from a zenith perspective (e.g. from above).

Next, I painted the brown bark . This was achieved by airbrushing Baneblade Brown onto the model and then gradually highlighting the with Ushabti Bone and then Screaming Skull. It’s worth pointing out that I’ll be applying the shade as the last step of painting these models so at this point I am deliberately aiming to paint the models to a degree lighter than they will finally be.

Once the bark had dried I moved on to the green. This was once again airbrushed on in order to achieve natural transitions. First of all I applied a 1-1 mix of Caliban Green and Ushabti Bone. Then I slowly added more Caliban Green and applied these shades closer to the end of the areas being painted green.

Finally I turned my attention to the bases. Dryad Bark was first airbrush all over the base and then subtly highlighted with Gorthor Brown & Baneblade Brown.

As these steps concluded the airbrushing of the base coats, I sealed the paint onto the models with a couple of coats of Vallejo matte varnish.

Next up I will pick out the remaining base colours, apply highlights to those areas, apply gloss varnish and then finally shade the model down. After that I will have some fun with the bases!