Temple of Skulls

[Persuader]

I got this nice piece of scenery for my Birthday a few days ago.
Now, obviously, i don't want to mess this up. So how would you guys start painting this?

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod2120011

This is the Games Workshop version and it's pretty nice so I'm ok with that quality.
BUT how do I start on that.
Which Colors/Techniques

All help/comments are appreciated!

[Assassination nation]

Id start with the standard black primer and then stone drybrushing.
I use GW paints so it goes black, codex grey, fortress grey and then light drybrush of white on the top.
If you wanted the skulls to look like giant skulls or something i always go, bleached bone, brown ink, bleached bone, then skull white.
Then it appears that there is sand applied in random areas and thats probably painted scorched earth, beastial brown, snakebite leather and then whatever top color you want. i usually use bleached bone.
Probably not a bad idea to leave static grass off seeing as it is a chaotic area but it might add some nice contrast to all the drab coloring.
Another option to add some contrast would be to add some red ink into the chaos star and then add a bit of blood red and maybe blazing orange to make it look lava like.
Great piece and would really like to see how you paint it.
Good luck!

[Lord tsunami]

i would paint the skulls grey too. they are most likely carved from stone since they are so much bigger than even a giants head

drybrushing is your friend, but i prefer to mix my own colors. a mix from black to flesh color will give a softer grey that is very plesant. you could also use black+(blue)+white for a different feel. Black+yellow (preferably iyaden darksun) actuallt gives a very interesting color for rock.

if you are uncertain, just pick up a few rocks outside and practice on them

i would make sure to paint some of the "gravel/dirt" on the stone brown and maybe add some grass (there is yellow "dead" grass that suits well) to get some color in. it will look terribly boring if it is all grey.

ps. post pics when done

EDIT: yes, the GW version has the brown colors i was talking about. my guess is that it is based on graveyard earth mixed up with bleached bone for highlights.

[Loki_the_black]

Check out July White Dwarf for a good example. I like how they have cut out the centre circle of the chaos symbol and made it into a spiked pit.

[Persuader]

Hmmmm, I don't want them to look as 'real' skeleton heads. but maybe that would add some more color...

1) As you can see on the picture. I've already sprayed them black.
2) i'll start painting once I have some additional paints for rock. The colors I now have just won't do it.

And i'll keep you guys updated.

I use GW paints so it goes black, codex grey, fortress grey and then light drybrush of white on the top.

So I should drybrush the whole structure with codex grey first, then fortress and then a very light drybrush of white on top.
But I have use the drybrush Technique 3 times, right?
(i'm really new to painting....)

Thx for the respons btw

[Duguay-trouin]

The recommendations above are good. I would also add that you could glaze some of the sculls, pillars, or stone.

Using a gray glaze would smooth out the dry brushing, so that it doesn't look so chalky.

Using a thin green glaze would add a toxic, rotting feeling to the appearance

Using a thin purple glaze could add a mystical feeling to the appearance.

By glaze I mean a thin wash that is applied carefully, using multiple coats if necessary to slowly build up pigment in areas that should be more shaded.

This is opposed to a regular wash where you just slap on a thick, dark wash and let it settle into the recesses. This would not work very well on large flat surfaces, and you would probably end up with water marks from the wash drying in puddles.

[L1qw1d]

I heard they have "rough coat" for this so that it looks more weathered?

[Assassination nation]

I use GW paints so it goes black, codex grey, fortress grey and then light drybrush of white on the top.

So I should drybrush the whole structure with codex grey first, then fortress and then a very light drybrush of white on top.
But I have use the drybrush Technique 3 times, right?
(i'm really new to painting....)

Yes. Do three different stages of dry brushing making sure to get almost everything off the brush each time before brushing the mini. it can be built up over 20 coats if you have to, to get the right color. one coat too thick will ruin it. slow and steady wins the race this time.
cheers

[Persuader]

Hello again,

I've painted my Temple for about 75% now.
The Chaos symbol looks nice (and is nice :p I presume)

But I'm not so pleased with the color of my Stone.
Its to light... I want it darker, Is there a technique to do that? ink maybe? or just a darker drybrush over the stone ???

I'll try to post a picture of it tomorrow morning.
But in general how can I make everything darker?

[Persuader]

Ok, tomorrow became a few weeks

I used:

- Adeptus Battlegrey as undercoat.
- Then I highlighted it with Astronomican grey (but I overdid it i think...)
- and a very light highlight with Skull white..... (Now it was just over the top!)

- And yesterday I gave it a Badab Black Wash. making it 'OK' i think.






So what do you guys think?
Is it ready to ass grass etc? or Should I paint some area's with brown to give it an 'earthly' touch?

Greetz Kenny

[Brennan]

Dude I like that!
I would leave it as is personally. Though im pretty new to painting aswell..

Looks cool though man! Can we get a pik of the skull side?

What colours did you use on the symbol?

[Persuader]

Skull White, Mechrite Red & Tausept Ochre.
i'll Try to upload a pic of the other side this evening.