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All things Chaos: Nordicus's Chaos project log

115K views 922 replies 65 participants last post by  Nordicus 
#1 · (Edited)
Right, time to jump into this whole project log business.

Introduction

I love Chaos. Simple as that. I think that both the Chaos Daemons and Chaos Space Marines are awesome armies, with great variety and some very awesome looking models. They were my first choice and my last - I've never regretted it, never reconsidered and never looked anywhere else.

Seeing as my armies are reaching some decent sizes, I thought it would be time to start a project log. So here goes.

This project log is for both of my armies. Every time I start a new model I will upload my progress in this thread going forward. I hope you will enjoy this log and I welcome any feedback, tips, salutations and hugs.

Armies

The painted models so far can also be seen at these 2 army pages:

Chaos Space Marines:
http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/army.php?do=viewarmy&army_id=833

These are primarily painted in the Black Legion style. I've always liked this theme and the fluff behind the Black Legion. I do take my liberties at certain places (specifically the gold/silver ratio on the armor) and on models such as the Plague marines, but overall I stick to the theme for now.

This army is at roughly 2.500 points so far.

Chaos Daemons:
http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/army.php?do=viewarmy&army_id=861&like=like

For now it's primarily Khorne. I really enjoy the speed and general carnage the Khornates can produce and so far they have been working great! I'm slowly but steadily moving into the Tzeentch department now however, but will only display the finished painted models in this army list. After this, I'm not sure which god to choose - We shall see!
.

This army is also at roughly 2.500 points so far.

Picture examples

For some examples of my work so far, here are a few to start off with. The rest of the painted models as of today can be found in either log, along with the amount of models that are in each army:

Chaos Daemons:
Soulgrinder


Skulltaker


Bloodthirster


Chaos Space Marines:
Chaos Lord


Obliterators


Chaos Space Marines
 
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#2 ·
Right, now that the project log has been established, let's get on to the first model that I'm currently working on; A daemon prince of Tzeentch. That's right, the very first Tzeentch unit!

This is my first model with a blue theme, so it's very much a experiment for me - I use the techniques from the previous models, but are trying out what colors to use for the theme overall.

So far I have it primed, 1 layer of wash and the first highlight. Currently it looks like this:


I am missing 1-2 highlights yet, but so far I'm liking the hue of the blue.

I'm currently contemplating what the metal parts should be (on his arms, legs, etc.) but I'm thinking gold as it is Tzeentch. The cloth will probably be a shade of white.

When the final highlights on the skin is done, I will post another update.
 
#4 ·
Well depends what you define by interesting - He's very much a experiment in the blue theme for me in addition to white cloth, which I haven't done either. However, I am contemplating how to do the sword to make it look more magical.

Also considering doing something about the star in his chest - Either burned or red or something - Making it look like it's a fresh wound.

Alot of thoughts - Not sure which to choose from!
 
#5 ·
Go with a contrast color. Everything else is going to tie in well the contrast being on the weapon and the chest star (maybe even the body runes) would make it pop really well. Orange/yellow comes to mind but to really keep the tzench going pink/red/purple would work too
 
#8 · (Edited)
Nice work on the DP, not a huge fan of the model for 40k, much prefer the old one but the blue is a great start
Thanks!

I think I will do the wound as the very last bit, as I'm still in doubt as to whether should do it or not.

For now I have finished the flesh highlighting and gave it a blue glaze. The result is quite good and I'm happy with it!

I decided to mix a gold for the "runes" on his arms and legs, as I will be going gold and white cloth theme for him. Thinking both of the Lord of Change and The Thousand Sons, it looked to be a obvious choice for now.

However, I am not a fan of the current gold range from GW so I made a 33/33/33 mix of Hashnut Copper, Warplock Bronze and Auric Armor gold. This gives the old shiny gold that I also use on my Space Marines.



Today I will finish the rest of the armor (most likely the same gold. I did the parts yesterday and then went to sleep to see if I still liked it when I woke up.) and maybe the teeth and bones as well.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Quick update:

I decided to go along with the gold part and got it all painted up. The belt is black metal (similar to a anvil) and the bones on his body will be done with a grey variant, shaded with blue. Missing the highlights on the bones at this point, as he's drying.

Oh and now he's got eyes and teeth!



Next update will most likely be when he's done. My biggest question is what color to do the wings in. I'm thinking grey as well, but not entirely sure.

Any and all input are, as usual, welcome.
 
#11 ·
He's looking really good. The gradation in the blue-black skin tone is very . . . satisfying. I feel like you need more color contrast in the model somewhere.

Will you be doing the wings as well, they might give you an opportunity for more contrast?
 
#12 · (Edited)
Will you be doing the wings as well, they might give you an opportunity for more contrast?
I was actually considering this, and was playing around with various color schemes. However, I found that the small points would give a better contrast, so I based the rest of the model around having the contrast focus on his eyes and the gold armor.

As such, here is the finished result:


He became a bit darker than originally anticipated, but overall I like it. In my opinion Tzeentch models quickly become almost too shiny and cartoonish, which is what I wanted to avoid. The blade was made to be dark metal, with the runes trying to shine a bit. I will admit however, that I have alot to learn about shading and grading on metals - It's damn tough!

In the end, I like how focus his eyes and armor gets with this color theme. The wings became a dark grey mixed with turqoise (as can be seen on the right) and his bones became grey with lighter highlights.

Oh and I tried a few things with the chest-star to emphasize it. In the end, I decided to leave it be as there are already enough things on him to take attention, so I dropped this under the "kill your darlings" category for now. Maybe I will change my mind in the future and re-do that part.

Overall, quite satisfied with my first blue themed Daemon prince! :)

Oh and thank you all of you for your feedback. Many things on him got altered thanks to you, so I hope you will follow this project log and keep giving those awesome feedbacks!

Next project will be a Helldrake, which is also going to contest for Octobers painting competition :) As such, I won't start it until I can make that proof-of-priming-on-date shot.
 
#18 ·
The quality of the work looks great =)

If you get a chance could you take some photos in brighter light?
 
#20 ·
Amazing color on the big smurf prince! deep and smooth! Altough the base could have been a bit more detailed for a character like that.
Thank you very much! I did consider the basing, but I prefer simple bases myself - I would rather have the focus on the miniature itself and have the base being a overall theme for the entire army.

Maybe I will change my mind in the future though.
 
#21 ·
I tend to think it's a good idea to paint the base, but it needn't be more complicated than you made it.

I agree with you, I prefer simpler bases. When I place my models on the table the base should almost disappear. I do simple green bases because I typically play on green mats, but I've often wondered if transparent bases would be better. So every model looks more like it is directly on the game surface.
 
#22 ·
I tend to think it's a good idea to paint the base, but it needn't be more complicated than you made it.
Oh I absolutely agree - Bases should be painted and have a theme. A unpainted base looks (in my eyes) like a incomplete model.

I also agree wholeheartedly with the rest of your statement.
 
#23 ·
Righto, time for the next project; a Heldrake!



It is going to be done in a Black Legion theme (as that's the rest of my Chaos Space Marine army) but I will be trying to do a few, subtle, things with it. Especially the.... rump, will be trying to be given the "goddamn that's blasting heat out of that!" experiment.

Beyond that, I will try to keep it sleek, simple and (hopefully) a nice example of how the Black Legion theme can work really well on a model. I will be using my custom gold color though.

Other than that, this is also a return to my Chaos Space Marine army, as I haven't painted anything in that since June.

I will keep you all posted!
 
#25 ·
What kind of scheme are you thinking?
I will be going Black Legion with this birdy. With the antique gold mix (that I also used for the Pappa Smurf daemon prince) and some hellfire here and there (eyes, weapons, exhausts, etc), I believe it will be a nice looking flyer.

Black Legion can be a tough theme to make look really nice, and not just look standard (as on the box - That's a hideous Black Legion theme in my opinion), so I'll be trying a few things :)
 
#26 ·
Right, time for a little update. Sorry for the long wait, but this month has been quite busy so far, so I haven't had that much time to paint :(

The gold parts are now painted, and it looks like this:



I'm still quite happy with this gold mix, as it has the right balance of darkness and shininess that many gold colors doesn't. They are often either too bright or they don't have the right shine to it.

Now for the metal parts and some shading. I'm still contemplating if I should just shade the gold a bit or if I should lightly drybrush it with a light metal, to give it a weathered look. I'm just a bit sceptical as it could make it look less gold and more bronze'ish that way.

Either way, Stay tuned for more progress on the Hellchicken.
 
#27 ·
Very shiny! Wich paints have you used?
 
#28 ·
I made 2 layers: The undercoat is a 50/50 mix of Warplock Bronze and Rhinox Hide. The actual gold itself is a 33/33/33 mix of Hashnut Copper, Warplock Bronze and Auric Armor gold.

The undercoat is not necessarily needed, but it gives a good "worn" look on the areas where the gold coat could be a bit thin. You won't need to cover it all 100% with the undercoat.
 
#32 ·
Personally I would try and do a progressive shade from front to back, so made it darker at the front just to simulate wear and tear, probably also make it quite dark around the "engines" as well.
May i suggest adding a bit of wear and teal to the front edges of all the wings?
Those are some excellent suggestions and I will be trying out various things. Currently I'm battling with getting the metals to look a little rough, and oh god is it hard. Fleshy bits is so much easier to work with -.-

Great project log. The Daemon Prince looks stunning (in a grim, chaosy way) and your Heldrake shows great promise!
Thanks man! If you have any questions to any of it, just shoot and I will do my best to answer.

I expect an update this weekend as I will try to finish it within the next few days. So here's hoping for some good results!
 
#33 ·
Right, time for an update.

As the wings are currently a work in progress, I though I'd show you the body and how it's progressing.



As you can see, the iron details have come on now and the body is nearly ready for it's glowy effects. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but th weathering is also good underway but it takes a TON of shading layers to get it right.

I tried to make a closeup. I hope this shows it better:


Currently I'm contemplating giving the weathering a final treatment (after the next shading) of brushed iron on the heavy weathered areas. Not sure yet.

Now before I do the glowing effects and the final shading and cleanup (yes, there is a bit of gold flowing out of bounds) I will make the wings to an equal standing as this.

I hate working with metal colors - It's so slow and tedious :p

A followup will come either tonight or tomorrow as I'm working on it heavily this weekend.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Hey Nord,
The drake is looking good. I'm sorry to hear the metallic are irritating. I tend to think they are easier to work with than other colours.

I think the metallics are looking very nice. The trim has a satisfying amount of shading, texture, and variation.

I think the black is lacking in comparison. Demonstrating that level of texture on the trim makes the black look flat. On the one hand, that means it fades away and the trim stands out; on the other hand it looks like everything hasn't weathered at the same time.

I would encourage you to break up the tidyness of the black areas with some washes, streaks of metal or gray as though there are scratches or striations, and stippling or sponging some silver(lead belcher) or silver-brass for wear and battle damage.

Here is how I handled a similar project problem. I was painting a Heldrake as worn bronze covered in verdigris. But I varied the wear so there was less verdigris on the leading edges of the model.
 
#36 · (Edited)
I think the black is lacking in comparison. Demonstrating that level of texture on the trim makes the black look flat. On the one hand, that means it fades away and the trim stands out; on the other hand it looks like everything hasn't weathered at the same time.

I would encourage you to break up the tidyness of the black areas with some washes, streaks of metal or gray as though there are scratches or striations, and stippling or sponging some silver(lead belcher) or silver-brass for wear and battle damage.
I was thinking the same after I posted the pictures. My thoughts was to try and make the black look a bit oily actually, combined with battleworn.

I will try a few things out - I want it to look dirty in the end, so I will definately take some inspiration from yours!

The metallics look great. Love the weathering.
Thanks alot! It's all learning at this stage, as I have learned alot of new things since last i painted a Chaos Space Marine model :p
 
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