Painting Gandalf (Khazad-Dum)

Introduction

After one or two very flattering requests to do a detailed guide on painting faces, I decided to tackle an article on the subject. I initially intended to make an article in which I painted a number of different faces. I It soon dawned on me that I wasn't comfortable with doing just faces. A mini is a culmination of all it's aspects, not just the face. Instead, I decided to stick to complete painting guides for all the models, but to spend more time discussing the face (and some other aspects), making for a more detailed guide. This is the first guide in that vein, with (hopefully) more to follow. This may be too detailed for many, and no doubt the style will not suit everyone. There are plenty of people who paint great faces using a completely different approach. What I believe this approach will provide you with though, is a neat, somewhat realistic, look that will be quite adequate for gaming.

This approach will not win you any competitions. At least, I don't think it should. I don't use umpteen highlights, highlight teeth or try to paint the iris in the eyeball. I paint the detail that the sculptor provided, and that's about it. What I aim for then, is a simple way to create a decent looking mini, without pushing the boundaries. If you keep things simple, and paint neatly, you can maximize the (in my opinion, considerable) talent of the sculptor. The sculptors have more talent for sculpting than I have for anything, so trusting their judgement and simply painting what they have created is bound to produce good results.

Painting guides, by nature, are inherently prescriptive, telling you to do it like that, then do this, and don't ever do that. I have never, and still don't, feel comfortable prescribing anything to anyone. I am still a relative newbie, having discovered the hobby in June 2004 (what a day that was!). As such, I feel there are people whose techniques, different from mine, produce better quality miniatures. I am only telling you how I approach my miniatures, without any suggestion that it is the "only way", or even the "right way". What I hope will happen, is that you find the techniques that suit both your painting style and your intention with the finished product. A gamer will not care about fine detail, while competition hopefuls will want more detail than I provide here. I paint with gaming in mind. I would love to even place in a competition one day, in the distant future, but for now I paint with the fact that my son and I will be playing with these pieces kept firmly in mind. There is no need for 4 shades of white on Aragorn's teeth, nobody is going to care.

I used some unconventional colours here. The belt and scabbard for Glamdring is blue (I used the Weapons and Warfare book as a reference), but not this blue. Seeing as Glamdring is an elven blade, I wanted a nice, strong elven blue. I know this will receive the lion's share of criticism of this mini, but I am happy with the decision, so please just substitute your preference for mine. My sincerest hope is that this guide will, if not assist you in any way, at least prove interesting.

Materials

Paints

General:
Chaos Black
Shadow Grey
Codex Grey
Fortress Grey
Bleached Bone
Skull White
Scorched Brown
Bestial Brown
Snakebite Leather
Regal Blue

Flesh:
Dark Flesh
Tanned Flesh
Dwarf Flesh
Elf Flesh

Metallic:
Chainmail
Mithril Silver

Inks:
Flesh Wash
Black Ink

Step 1 - Preparation

The first thing that needs to be done is to take a good look at the model. What you should be looking for are all the imperfections, flash, and mold lines. Most of the imperfections (such as casting errors) will have to be accepted, but you might be able to minimize their impact. Flash and mold lines, however, can be remedied. Remove them using your hobby knife and/or files, whichever you prefer.

Once the model looks acceptable, I like to wash and scrub it (using an old toothbrush) in warm, soapy water, before rinsing it off. When the model is dry, I glue it to the base using some epoxy glue and then use the same glue to cover the base in sand. Then it is time to prime it. I primed this model in white because it is the only colour I have ever primed in and wanted to preserve my current style for this article.

Step 2 - Face, hair and hands

To paint faces, and particularly eyes, you really should have a very fine brush. My brush of choice for such work is a Winsor and Newton of size 0000, shown below.

Often, before I tackle a face, I like to examine pictures of the character. Let's take a look at a picture of Gandalf the Grey.

There are a few things to notice here. Firstly, the pupils are not precise circles in ovals of white, they have somewhat fuzzy edges. Remember this when you are frustrated because you cannot create crisp pupils on your mini. Also, notice that there is very little white showing. This is often the case, and can help you in that, should you make your pupil too big, the lack of white is not always crucial. Notice also how much character is in the expression because he is clearly looking to his right. See how the pupils are not dead centre? You can use this to add character to your mini in the same way. Lastly, note that the eyes are fairly small, so don't be afraid to paint just a sliver in some cases. Small eyes will most often look better than large ones.

The next thing I do is examine the face of the mini. Now, the way I see it, the sculptor knows best where the eyes should be, and what size they should be, as it is his model, after all. All I try to do is colour them in, like we did with colouring books when we were younger. In the following picture you will see a close-up of the face on the left and a duplicate on the right, but with my plan for they eyes sketched on top. I always try to visualise where I want the eyes to be focused before dotting them in. In this case, it was slightly to Gandalf's left, it seemed to fit the pose, as his left foot is also forward.

Once I know where I want the pupils to be, I proceed to dot them in. I used Shadow Grey for Gandalf's pupils, a colour I use for most "humanoid" pupils. It's amazing how Shadow Grey will look green or brown depending on whose face they appear in. The theory here is that eyes, from a distance, look a kind of grey for most colours except dark brown and black. Don't be afraid to be a bit messy here, I always am, and it works out for me. We will fix any mess soon enough.

If you are unhappy with the placement of your models pupils, you can either paint over the eyes with some white, or scrub the paint off (thinners works very well) and reprime, before trying again. Once you are happy, reach for some Tanned Flesh. The idea now is to define the shape of the eyes while giving the entire face a basecoat. It is important that you thin your paint, especially for faces. Don't be worried if it seems so thin as to be somewhat transparent. That is good, because it will allow you to make mistakes, gather in the recesses (like a wash) and thus leave "highlight clues" for you, and, of course, not obscure too much detail. I draw the mixing brush across a piece of paper to check the consistency, looking for some transparency as in the following picture.

Don't try to give the entire face an opaque covering, all you need is to define the eyes and cover the recesses. The higher surfaces don't need to be covered completely. Here is how far I went with my basecoat.

Notice that Gandalf's left eye appears to be all grey. This is not the case, there is some white, but it is not being picked up in the photo because of the shadow created by that eye socket. This is another thing to get used to. Eyes (and other aspects) will look different from different angles. This is just how it is, so relax if your model looks squint from a certain angle, or if you can't see the whites of their eyes at all times. It's the same when you view real people at any kind of distance.

The next thing I like to do is give the hair (and beard in this case) a basecoat. I do this because it makes it easier for me to complete the face. The hairline acts as a natural barrier for the brush bristles. I think Gandalf is at his grimiest in Moria, and so went for a basecoat for his hair and beard using a mixture of Codex Grey and Bestial Brown (as in the GW guide). I won't disrespect you by spouting percentages here, just mix them until it looks like a dirty grey.

Now it's time for the first highlight over the Tanned Flesh basecoat. I go straight for Dwarf Flesh after Tanned Flesh. Again, make sure that you thin the paint appropriately, aiming for a consistency like that shown below.

What I try to do next, is paint over all but the deepest recesses and the lines across his forehead. I also drew the brush across his lips. With the paint being so thin, you can create very subtle graduations, using more coats for those areas you want lighter. At the end of this stage, my Gandalf looked like this:

Now we add some Elf Flesh to the Dwarf Flesh. The amount is best left up to your own discretion. For an old wizard like Gandalf, especially when in Moria, I didn't want to make the highlights very, well, light. I find that the stronger the contrasts, the more artistic the effect, but the less realistic. I might be talking nonsense here, as it is only my opinion, please go lighter if that appeals to you. I make the consistency very watery here, as shown below.

With this, my last highlight stage, I went for the highest areas: above the eye sockets, the bags under his eyes, his nose, and across his forehead. If you think it is needed, you can add some to his cheekbones or anywhere else you fancy. Use very little paint on your brush, wipe it off on some paper first, and that way you can build up safely. After this stage I had the following:

Now I needed to pay some attention to his mouth. I wanted the inside to be darker, but black was too strong as I paint with rather subdued colours. I opted for some Flesh Wash, thinned with a little water, and deposited a brush point full into his mouth. The was will dry with a darker colour towards the back of his mouth, which suited me nicely. Then I used some Skull White to paint the few teeth he has showing. This completed my work on his face to leave it looking like this:

Unfortunately, I could not get the camera to pick up the white of his left eye, but I assure you, it is not entirely grey as it appears in the image above. I think the idea is nonetheless adequately conveyed by this series of images. Notice that it does not look as much like the film Gandalf as it does like a wild man of Dunland, but I just go with it when that happens. There are places in the films where Gandalf doesn't look much like Gandalf, if you know what I mean.

His hair and beard I completed towards the end, just adding Bleached Bone to the basecoat mix. If the colour is turning a little too white/yellow for your liking, just add some Fortress Grey to bring it back towards a grey shade.

To paint his hands, just use the same approach as above, using the same paints. You may find it convenient to paint the hands at the same time, while doing the face. I do this sometimes, but it can detract from the energy you are putting into the face, so leave the hands for later if you want to give 100 percent of your attention to the face.

Step 3 - Robes

Another controversial colour choice here. My wife often winds me up regarding my Gandalf, calling him "Gandalf the Black", but I like the darker shade, especially for the Moria version. Besides, in the Fellowship film his robes have quite different shades depending on where he is at the time (of course), so a darker shade is not really a problem I feel. Anyway, I used the GW guide's recommendation of Chaos Black and Bestial Brown for the basecoat, highlighting by adding Bleached Bone. Let's take another look at the film Gandalf.

Right, notice the texture of that material? Well, I reckon that drybrushing, while often maligned, is perfect for duplicating that effect on his robes. So, I used drybrushing to create the highlights. If you don't fancy drybrushing, please use the method of your choice, but I urge you to give drybrushing a chance. It is often dismissed as a newbie technique, because it is one of the first techniques picked up, and is often overused, but it can be very effective too. I still like it plenty, but then, I am a newbie, so it figures.

Step 4 - Glamdring, scabbard and belt

I like the idea of a sword like Glamdring, with it's history, being rather shiny. I just can't bring myself to paint it any other way, so I went for a basecoat of Chainmail, then a wash of thinned Black Ink, then a touch up with Chainmail again before highlighting with Mithril Silver (especially along the cutting edges). For the grip, I used Regal Blue with a touch of Chaos Black added, and then added Bleached Bone for one highlight stage. I used the same approach and mixes for Glamdring's belt and scabbard, also shown below.

Step 5 - Satchel, strap and belt, and staff

For his satchel, it's strap, and his main belt, I used a basecoat of Scorched Brown with a little Chaos Black mixed in. For highlights, I simply added Bleached Bone. Again, make sure to use thin paint to create a nice blending effect, and be careful of adding too much Bleached Bone, or the colour starts to look somewhat pink. I find that subtle highlights, while not standing out and blowing people away, will still be noticeable, and will create a good look. It's really a matter of personal preference.

For his staff, I used the same basecoat of Scorched Brown and Chaos Black as for the satchel, but then highlighted with pure Scorched Brown, before a light drybrush of Bestial Brown. I'm afraid the camera focused on his face and body in all the shots, so the staff is not clear at all, but you aren't missing much, it's pretty standard.

Step 6 - Basing

Since I paint to game, all my bases are the same. I start with a coat of thinned Scorched Brown, then a drybrush of a mix of Snakebite Leather and Fortress Grey, and then one last drybrush of Bleached Bone. The sides of the base are painted with a very dilute Dark Flesh, applying coat after coat to obtain a smooth finish.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. I love anything sculpted by Brian Nelson, and feel a bit of a cheat when painting them, as they are so good that they almost paint themselves. I have painted all three of Brian's Gandalf sculpts, and they are all magnificent. I hope you enjoy your experience of painting these as much as I have. Happy painting!

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